The Thurber Family

Hi, Family! Obviously it's been a while since we've posted. 1/2 a year, actually. I thought this blogging thing was suppose to get easier as a stay-at-home mom. Wrong-o.

So here's what we've been up to in the interim!

(I apologize for the sheer chaos of this post. So many things all jumbled up. And for the picture repeats in case any of these have been seen already on FB or Instagram. I just picked our favorite pictures. We have an insane number of pictures of our "first-born in the wilderness." It is what it is.)

We are working very hard to introduce Cannon to his hometown of Houston. Houston was almost his name at one point, and we really want the city he was born in to be a part of his identity. So we started him off early with picnics in Hermann Park (pictured above) and off to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo with the whole fam (pictured below).

Kate & Jane set up a massage parlor at Grandma Marleen's house following the rodeo & graciously offered to give massages to the whole family. They even paid us with their fun homemade currency to get the massages. I wish real life operated a little more closely to their business model. Above: Jane giving a premium massage to her sleepy-eyed Uncle Clint. Below: Kate handing out the special currency while Jane works her magic on Grandma. Meanwhile, Jennifer ~~anxiously~~ awaits her turn.

Kate & Jane were so sweet with their new cousin, Cannon. We are so happy that Cannon has three fun older cousins to grow up with and look up to!

For Clint's Spring Break, we hopped on over to visit the Mortensens in North Carolina. Below you'll see us in my old stomping grounds: The Old Mill, Oak Ridge, NC; Hiking at Hanging Rock; Grandpa Spencer holding an ~~apparently terrified~~ alert bundled Cannon; Megan & Clint enjoying the Gothic cathedral at Duke University.

Cannon's first hockey game was also my first hockey game. He liked all of the bright lights, and I enjoyed the random fights. Clint was a proud papa and hubby that night :).

Just a little nudity.

Below are two of our favorite sleepy buddies. Caught this one of Christine snoozing at Guadalajara's. We're so proud of her hard work last year (!), even if it did cause occasional somnolence at the dinner table.

Man vs. Canine. The daily stare-down.

This is our favorite Cannon smile. The Flat Smile. It affords us a little glance into the future-- Cannon as an 80-year-old temple worker.

Bath time is always the best time.

Due to an unfortunate and very persistent rash, Cannon's face has been lathered with lots of different creams over the past months. Although he does not find this particularly enjoyable, the view affords us some mild delight.

Cannon's most favorite thing in the whole wide world-- the Noisy Book with Daddy.

Speedo day. Taking after his Uncle Austin.

Cannon's first time at the Galveston Seawall.

We've recently taken up rock climbing as a hobby. Stone Moves is our turf.

Christine gracing us with her presence at the rock gym. BIG THANK YOU to Marleen for babysitting when we go!

Like father, like son.

More proof that Clint is an awesome dad.

This is what Clint does when he babysits.

Cannon's first time at the pool...

...didn't last long.

Cannon has spent a lot of time with the Mortensens this year. Below you can see him bonding with various members of the family over fun activities: Barbecuing and birding with Grandpa Spencer's bald head; Hanging out with Aunt Megan at the Raleigh Children's Museum; Attempting to grab one cousin's fingers and to eat another cousin's face; Doing tricks with/for Grandpa Spencer; Enjoying the windy pier with Grandma Annette at Ocean Isle.

Cannon's blessing was held in Utah in July. My entire extended family was in town for family reunions, etc., and it was a very special experience having so many people come to witness his blessing. We were so sad we couldn't share it directly with our Texas family as well, but here is a glimpse. The blessing notes were kindly taken my my sweet aunt--no, I did not spell my child's name wrong :). The other pictures were taken a couple of hours after the blessing, but we are still waiting on the pictures from the actual event:

Another highlight of our time in Utah was getting to visit Uncle McKay on his birthday. Cannon inherited his uncle's sweet heart, and I know they must have been buddies on the other side.

Cannon is also a big fan of The Bachelor/The Bachelorette. His father was Team Zak W. His mother was Team Chris. But he was secretly Team Brookes. Just in case you were wondering.

We loved our vacation time, but we were so glad return home to our Texas family!

Grandpa Mark serenading his rapt audience with Bullfrog on the Bank.

Grandma Marleen teaching Cannon proper Pattycake form. He can't help but love it.

Cannon admiring Uncle Austin's huge arms.

It was so special to be able to meet Grandpa Thurber and to have Grandma Helen & Grandpa Walt in town! Four generations of handsome men in this picture!

Cannon has been exposed to lots of new baby friends since we've been back in Houston. This was not his finest moment as far as social graces are concerned, but it sure was fun to watch!

My 13-year-old cousin was in town for 2 weeks. She was a big help with Cannon, & she now claims to want to move to Houston. So the trip was an all-around success. Thank you to Mark & Marleen for inviting her to dinner(s) & lunch with the family; she thoroughly enjoyed her time with the Thurber gang!

We came across this amazing color-block wall while exploring Discovery Green with Emma. And I think this is where Cannon fell in love with her. :)

In more recent news, last Friday Clint & I went on our first ultra-fancy-shmancy date since Cannon's birth. With Cannon's safety and happiness being secured by our very responsible friends (thanks, Smith family!), we enjoyed a lavish 2-hour dinner at The Lexington Grill (a-mazing!), followed by our first experience with macarons (the sea-salted caramel was my fave!) and a late-night Sonic run. Then a movie after we got home. It was a perfect night.

Although Saturday's debut BYU football game was ultimately disappointing (surprise, surprise), we enjoyed repping the true blue as a family. #BYUNation

Discovery Green photo shoot...