You had a great 1st Thanksgiving!

<-- Max conks out on Aunt Susan's lap.

Hi Max!

I can't wait until you can read this blog. We are getting tens of thousands of hits per month! People like to "hear" our conversations. :)

You had a great Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend. We went to mom's for lunch and Sheri's aunt and uncle's for dinner. I've found my place in the pecking order now.

We went to mom's and when we walked through the door, it was "Hi Michael, Hi Sheri, where's Max?" Aunt Lisa (OK) immediately put you in her arms and was off to the back room to sit with you. Sheri and I were like, "hi, good to see you too." We sat down to eat and the topic of conversation was of course, "How's Max?" I am now Max's Dad and Sheri is now Max's Mom. We've lost our identities, or is it that we've gained a new one?

For the rest of lunch, you were tossed between another Aunt Lisa (MO), Aunt Susan, Grandma, and cousins Marisa and Elizabeth. You slept through the whole thing bless your little heart. It was like watching a bunch of women at a K-Mart blue light special on soft fuzzy sweaters. There was more grabbing, pulling, dirty looks, and mini-tug-of-wars than the last piece of chocolate cake at a Jenny Craig convention. Crazy. How you remained composed and cooing with so many beautiful women doting over you I have no idea? No really, I have no idea. =0) And we still had another Thanksgiving to go to!

10 minutes later we are at Sheri's uncle and aunt and it was a replay of the Maher's Thanksgiving. Another Aunt Lisa (KS) sat her daughter down and immediately took you off Sheri's hands. She's so nice. The food, packages and bags we had would have been nice to have help with as well, but for some reason, she helped with you. =0) All the great-aunts were on you like a duck on a Cheeto. Geez, what is it about ladies and cute little babies?

Sheri and I ate in silence at a table in the dining room. We could hear the crickets chirping. The room was cold and dark. In the next room, it was light and sunny. The women were cackling, yes cackling. Is that even a word? If it's a word it has to mean the sounds mother hens make over a new chick. If it's not a word, it is now a word that means "sound mother hens make for a new chick". I've always thought Sheri's family was weird, but in this case, they were just like my family.

{Side story: We were driving to my mom's and talking about this that and the other and Sheri asked, "If a herd is a group of cows, a flock is a group of seagulls, what is a group of turkeys? Is it a gaggle?" I said, "It's called a soetaert." By the way, her maiden name is Soetaert. I'm witty if you didn't know it." =0) She didn't laugh, but I thought it was funny.}

Max, you handled it all like a pro, but when you got home, you were exhausted from being "on" all day and immediately conked out. You sleep like an angel.

On a day called Thanksgiving, Sheri and I were the most grateful parents in the world. We are so thankful for having you in our lives. You are the sun of our solar system - energizing us, lighting our days, and the center of everything we do - truly a sun of a son. And the aunts would agree, you are a hottie. =0)

To Your Success,

Max's Dad (Michael)