Well, well, well lucky readers, are you in for a treat! To make up for my being remiss in blog posting, I have not one but TWO entries for you to read today! First of all (drum roll please) I'd like to introduce our first ever guest blogger, the wonderful Shani! Shani came to visit for a week and we had such a wonderful time. I'll let her tell you all about her experience:

Notes from an outsider…a guest blog…

Greetings all! Keri has been kind enough to allow me to guest blog here, so I’ll try to make this at least mildly entertaining (FYI, I’m her cousin Shani from Michigan). Sitting in the SeaTac airport, I feel rested and happy to have spent a week with some of my favorite people (yes, that means you Keri, Jeff, and Max!). They treat you well in La Casa de Moore- I’m still full from the homemade cinnamon rolls and pizza we gorged on yesterday (courtesy of famed Greg “the doughboy” Moore, who made a whopping six pizzas despite his pesky case if Nintendonitis)**. I would have taken some pictures of the spread, but what’s the point if you can’t actually eat it? It simply wouldn’t be fair to you as the reader.

You know every parent is going to think their kid is the cutest ever, but I must attest that I agree with Mom and Dad WagenMoore on this one…Max is undoubtedly delicious. Max agreed to let me care for him on Monday and Tuesday while Jeff and Keri worked. Understandably, there were a few brief exchanges of concern between Max and Jeff as they modeled the diaper and sleeper routine the first night and I pestered with a few dopey first-time caregiver questions (hey, when one is in the presence of such parenting greatness, one becomes aware of doing the best she can!). Of course, I needn’t have worried as Max and I became fast friends. Now I won’t bore you here with each and every moment that Auntie Shani and Max spent together, but there are a few things I think you should know about Jeff and Keri that they might not tell you themselves.

First off, they have rules. But as we all know, rules are made to be broken, most specifically by aunties and grandmas (basically, it’s Grandma Barb’s fault as the rule-breaking instigator). Upon leaving for work on Monday, Keri left me a detailed note on Max’s naptime routine (i.e. “go up the stairs, turn right, left in to Max’s bedroom, reach for the light and turn it on, smile and coo at Max three times"…etc). This is a slight exaggeration, but you catch my drift. Part of the directions indicated to read Max one story and sing him one song before settling him in his crib. At Grandma Barb’s encouragement, I broke that rule every time I put Max to sleep. There’s nothing like a cuddly kiddo in your arms as you read together, and nothing like the way he cozied and calmed in my arms when we were singing. I don’t have one of my own, so it was my attempt to soak up as much of this time with him that I could (word to the wise though-- “Silent Night” is not his favorite).

Second, they just can’t get enough- you’ll see what I mean. Just before getting into bed on the second night of my stay, there was a light tap on my door. Jeff announced in an excited whisper that they were going to go “watch Max sleep”. I could tell that this wasn’t the first time they had done this, and I believe they admitted that this was an every night routine. The procedure involved using a flashlight covered with a t-shirt, so as not to be too bright to wake Max as they peer at him in his sleep. Naturally, I was thrilled as we crept into the room and gazed silently while he dozed (words that came to mind… angelic, adorable, peaceful ). Nothing short of precious (watching the boy sleep, and watching the parents watch the boy sleep). Clearly, this kiddo is not short on love.

Okay, there is more I could tell you, but my time is up. Thanks Jeff, Keri, and Max (and Grandma Barb) for a great week- I’m so glad we’re family!

**Please note, nickname coined due to his superior and time-tested skill in making bread, pizza, and melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls.

Thank you Shani for the guest entry!

We had a great time with Shani and only wish she could have stayed longer! Max had a wonderful first Thanksgiving at his great-grandma's house. He's still a bit young for turkey and cranberries, but he loved the potatoes, both regular and sweet. As usual, there was a houseful of relatives and we even had sunshine! Greg, Leah and Emma journeyed over from the other side of the mountains to join us. As always, we loved having them here and Max had no shortage of attention!

We are still waiting for the appearance of a tooth, but would not be surprised to see one any day, as Max is showing lots of signs of teething lately. I'm not sure if it's teething-related or something else, but he's been waking up during the night again these past few days. I'm hoping that's something that fades away quickly, as I have really enjoyed being well-rested! We can tell that Maxwell is becoming more aware of his environment and of his individuality. He's started to play a back-and-forth game with us wherein Max will shake his head back and forth, then Mama or Daddy has a turn, then Max...so cute! And he'll get mad now if you have to take a toy away, definitely more of a "Hey, I want that back!" then the previous "Huh, where did that toy go?" attitude.

Can you believe he's 8 months old already? Let's do some pictures!










Fun with Aunt Shani:







Thanksgiving dinner:




Max's cousin Kendra is just one month younger than him. We took some pictures of the two of them together. This one is blurry but it's so funny I have to share. I think Max is trying to eat her hair:




Family Thanksgiving pictures:







Max was way too interested in grabbing Emma's hair to look at the camera for this one:


Max and Uncle Greg:



I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!