The Weber Inn: A House Divided Part One

Ali v. Frazier. McEnroe v. Conners. Magic v. Bird. Classic battles; all of them. But, nothing beats....The Battle Royale: The Weber Inn: A House Divided (A.K.A: The Bengals v. Steelers).

You all know what a mess NFL football season is around the Weber Inn. You've got Mommy, a tried and true and UBER COMPETITIVE Steelers fan. And, you've got Daddy, a died-in-the-wool Bengals fan. This type of fan-loyalty does not lend itself to harmony and graciousness. We've traded barbs, yes. We've licked our wounds (mostly, I must say, on the part of said Bengals fan). And, no one has EVER slept on the couch (no matter how bad the insults have been). But, through it all, there has remained one constant: The Annual Bengals/Steelers Chili Cookout Day.

Each year, J & D host friends and family to enjoy chili, cornbread & all the fixins during the first Bengals/Steelers game during the year. This year was made even more special b/c it was Norah's first Chili Cookout.

Our daughter looked like a hobo, yes. She was wearing Steelers socks, Bengals wind-pants, a Steelers shirt and a Bengals teething ring, but we Webers are nothing if not all about equality and fairness :-).

All in all, it was a blast. The Webers got to enjoy doing what they do best: hosting friends and family, and Norah got to play w/ a whole bunch of her friends.

Of course, there has to be a looser in this situation. And, for the first time in a long time, J found herself at the short end of the stick. Dan got to enjoy singing the Bengals fight song more than once as his team won in a nail-biter. But, J looks forward to Round 2 when the Bengals travel up to the Steel Grounds in Nov. Hmmm...perhaps the Webers will just have to go to that game :-)

Phillipi Creek, Fabulous Friend & Fantastic Fido

Please forgive us for not updating the blog sooner, but it has been a whirlwind of activity ever since we returned from Florida. As soon as we got back, Daddy re-arranged the family room to be more "Norah Friendly" now that she is crawling (correction: SHE'S CRUISING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) We also took the time to spend a small fortune on two new car-seats (she has officially outgrown the pumpkin seat) and baby-proofing items, which we have been installing. We also were blessed to host the BEST Godmother and friend ever, Cindy. Finally, we've been busy loving on, and paying attention to, our other 'child': Norah's big brother, Angus.

Our last night in FL was spent at one of our favorite restaurants, Phillipi Creek. Norah was a doll, as usual, and she even got to have her picture taken w/ Mommy & Daddy and The Big, Bad Alligator (check out Dan's Facebook Photo to see him w/ said Alligator before Norah was born) and be to coolest Oyster EVER.

We had a week to re-arrange the rooms (Mommy is convinced that electrical cords and outlets emit some sort of "Baby Pheromone" that attracts their attention directly to them) before Norah's godmother, Cindy, arrived. What a fun weekend! In addition to some good food at Bravo and an early morning workout, we all got to play euchre, watch "House" (a Godmamma/Weber tradition), go to the Greek Festival and watch some FOOTBALL!!!!! Norah loves her Godmamma SO much!!!!!

There was one constant, as there always is, throughout the hub-bub: our sweet, sweet, sweet dog, Angus. J & Dan may have been a little worried about how a 106 lb. dog would deal with a newborn/infant, but our fears have been completely assuaged. Not only have the adults been loving and cuddling on our boy, but Angus could not be more of a gentle-giant when it comes to his little sister. He truly is The Weber's best friend.

That's it for now. We hope you are all well. J & D

You Go, Girl!

Uh-Oh! She's mobile. Lock the doors and put up the baby gates. Watch out, World!

Norah's Old Man Turns One Year Older

Yesterday, September 4th 2009, started out like any other day has started since we have been on vacation. Norah's little peepers opened up around 7 a.m. J got up and made the coffee and then changed and fed the baby. Nice. Relaxing. There was just one teensy-tinsy difference in yesterday....It was Dan's 31st birthday! And Norah knew it, too.

After helping Mommy make a big sign for Daddy, Norah helped Daddy open cards. Then, it was off to Panera to grab breakfast and get back to the condo as soon as possible for our morning swim (a new tradition for the Webers). Norah's morning nap usually follows swim-time, but not on Daddy's birthday. Our little princess was too excited to sleep more than 40 minutes because she didn't want to miss a minute w/ her ol' man on his big day.

Try as we did, Norah just wasn't going to take her usual 1.5 to 2 hour nap, so we abandoned all efforts and headed off to St. Armand's Circle for some Conch Fritters and shopping.

A quick note about Conch Fritters: J & D discovered the BEST conch fritters in the world at this little Cuban restaurant a few years ago and have come back every year since. They are delightfully, sinfully delicious and we revel in the chance to have them.

It didn't take long for Norah's lack of morning nap time to catch up with her. She conked out a few minutes after we got in the car and slept through the entire lunch.

She did wake up, however, to do a little shopping. Mommy gave Daddy free reign of her credit card in Daddy's favorite tobacco shop so that he could buy some cigars for his birthday. Mommy and Daddy also stopped by a little wine shop that they love and bought two bottles of a new blend: Kiwi Wine (tastes a lot like Pinot Grigio).

The day was capped off by surf and turf and cards on the deck. Hey! Norah's Old Man ain't no Spring Chicken anymore. What did you expect? Clubbing until 2 a.m?!?! :-)

Florida Days 4-7: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Algae..Or Seaweed..Or Moss For That Matter

And if this adage is true, then Norah is squeaky clean, because she has just been goin', goin' goin' on this vacation.

The Webers spent a very enjoyable two days up in Tampa visiting Great Grandma Weber on Tuesday and Wednesday. After dining on a great meal of lasagna and cheesecake on Tue night, Norah used up a ton of energy just being loved, hugged and kissed on by "Super G" and her friends. The visit was topped off by a visit to Crabby Bill's in Tarpon Springs (check out the poster behind Super G in the picture :-) before heading back to Siesta Key.

In addition to her daily swimming lessons, Norah got to see how the real fish do it during a visit to the Mote Marine Aquarium on Thursday. Although she may not remember it, Mommy and Daddy were just thrilled to see the look of wonder on Norah's face as all the different kinds of fish swam by. She even got to take home her first souvenir; a stuffed animal sea turtle that Mommy named Theodolphus (Theo for short). Mommy and Daddy then capped off the day by taking Norah to one of their favorite spots: The Turtle Bay Pub.

Whew! Norah's having so much fun that she didn't even fall asleep in Daddy's arms the past two nights. She is milking every minute of her vacation. And, we've still got Daddy's birthday and dinner at Phillipi Creek to go before we go home.