Childcare, Christmas Music & Round Rock

Some quick updates, I guess, as I can't think of any over-arching "theme" to this post.

Unfortunately, we recently received news that our nanny Bonnie's last day will be Dec. 11. Apparently she is a little behind in her curriculum, and she's going to have to take more hours in the spring than anticipated, not to mention a class or two during winter-mester. It stinks, of course, because we spent the time and money to train Bonnie, and we really liked her. She has been doing a good job taking care of Zoe and keeping our house cleaner than we can normally keep it ourselves. So, now we're "back to the drawing board," contemplating what the future holds with respect to childcare. Grandmas and aunts should be able to fill in sufficiently over the holidays, but when I start full-time in mid-January, we'll need to have something else in place. We toured the daycare located on Medical City's grounds last week, and it looks good. I think Lisa is a little weary about that option for the time being though, so we'll continue to analyze. If you know of a great person looking for some work as a nanny, please let us know!

Zoe is more fun with each passing day. She's still a tremendous baby sleep- and behavior-wise, but now we're getting exponentially more smiles, and the cooing is increasing, too. Just recently she has really begun staring at the lights that flash above her in her swing, and she'll coo at them. Similarly, she stayed awake during an entire walk through the neighborhood twice last week, staring at the trees and sky above her for much of the time.

Though I've been trying to stave off the impending Christmas music onslaught (just until Thanksgiving - I'm no Scrooge!), Lisa has managed to sneak in a few pre-Thanksgiving jingles, mainly through the Jim Brickman CD that's been playing as Zoe's sleepytime music. Consequently, many of its songs play in my head every day, as well. (That goes for the U2 and Coldplay "lullabies," as well.)

We visited the Notgrass fam in Round Rock this weekend, for Abbie's 3rd birthday and the Junior League Christmas Affair. The party turned out very well, especially considering it rained almost up until party time. When the girls left to shop and the boys (Neil, Blake, and me) were left with the kiddos, everybody got a little napping in. Abbie was very sweet with Zoe, for the second visit in a row. Morgan keeps us all entertained.

We're headed to Houston for Thanksgiving, to catch up with Lisa's extended family. Wish us clear sailing as we drive down there on Wednesday (ya, right!). Enjoy your holiday!