Things I'm Thankful For

1. My wife and kids.
2. The rest of my family.
3. Every visit with my mom.
4. Two-ply toilet paper.
5. My tailgatin' truck (currently being rebuilt).
6. Five pound largemouth bass.
7. Football.
8. Family Guy re-runs.
9. Micro-brews.
10. My wife's two incomes.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Best Week Ever

Of course you already know that this is Thanksgiving week. I look forward to this week more than any other. Christmas is nice, but over-commercialized. Turkey Day is about family, food, and football. Does it get any better than that? This year, we are expecting at least 24 people including six kids ranging from two to nine years of age. (Three of the kids are two-year-olds!) Oh, and we'll have five dogs, two cats, and a parakeet here, too. As always, there's never a dull moment in this family.

Social Butterfly

Yesterday was "Meet Truman Day" for a lot of people. First, he went with Bethany to visit her co-workers in Jeff City. Then, he met Grant while we ate brunch at Bob Evans. He was a big hit with the waitresses. Next, he went to the car auction I used to work for and met some of my good friends including Jerry, Lisa, and Kristin. From there we drove to Nonna's house for some quality time with her (and some smooches.) Later, back at our house, our neighbor's and their kids came over to play. Even after all of that socializing, Truman had enough energy left to dance with Mommy and Alex in the front room. It was a hoot.

Today, Truman is learning the importance of saying "please" instead of taking what he wants from someone without asking. Lots of tears. Several tantrums. Quite entertaining. But it has been a good day so far. I woke up early and built a cozy fire in the fireplace. I made coffee and when everyone else woke up I surprised them with pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast. And now, it's time to veg-out on the couch and watch college football all afternoon. Life is good, y'all.

A "Normal" Naughton

Truman has settled in quite nicely. Last night after going on the potty, getting his jammies on, and getting his teeth brushed, Truman laid down in bed while Alex read him a book. All of this without any tears or tantrums. And early this morning when he woke up in bed, instead of crying out for us, Truman simply got up and wandered around the house while babbling something in Chinese. I called out to him and he found our room, crawled into bed with us, and went back to sleep. (Just like his brother does most nights.) In his new house for only a few days, little Truman Jiang Naughton is perfectly at home with his new family. He's just a normal Naughton now. If there is such a thing.

#1 Son

With all of the attention focused on Truman lately, it would be understandable if Alex felt neglected or jealous. So far, however, he is showing no signs of that. He is being a super big brother and enjoys making his little brother laugh. He carries him around, helps him in and out of the van, and even took a bath with him last night to show him that bath time can be fun.

Last evening, we had parent-teacher conferences at school. Alex is getting perfect marks for reading, writing, and math. He still has some issues with self-control, but he's never in trouble for being mean or "bad." He just likes to talk a lot and it gets him in trouble sometimes. The past two weeks were hard for him while we were in China, but he is getting back to normal again now. He wants to take Truman to school for show and tell so he can show him off to his friends. How cool is that?!