Thanksgiving

Maya had a great Thanksgiving week with the Wayne-Reiner-Chernow-Tacketts in Bakersfield, CA, and especially enjoyed playing with Peanut.



Cousin Mimi also cracked her up.


Even though Katie's family spent Thanksgiving in Dallas, Maya said "ahhhAH" to all of them on Skype.



It was the first time that all the second cousins (and soon-to-be cousin) got together--Justus, Sarah, Maya, Samuel, and Pookey.

The entire group of Wayne cousins (from left to right): Derek, Justus, and Mimi Chernow; Benji, Amy, and Pookey Tackett; Sarah Chernow; Tom Reiner and Laurie Lopez; Larkin, Katie, and Maya; Anne Reiner; Brian, Samuel and Tammy Chernow.

Even the dogs took a family portrait: Holly Chernow, Rootbeer Chernow, and Peanut Tackett.

Maya missed the turkey and trimmings, but Shushu made sure she had her new, daily fix of rice cereal.


This year, we ALL have LOTS to be thankful for.

Playdate with Anna!

We had a great dinner with Matt, Jessica, and Anna Kreager on Saturday night. The girls had a great time sharing toys and entertaining us - and then both went to sleep and allowed us to drink wine and talk!

Below is a picture of the girls from June 20th, when Maya (left) was 11 days old, and Anna (right) was 10 days old.

The photo shoot on Saturday went much better than that first one! (In these photos, Maya is on the right).
Despite this picture, the girls didn't really acknowledge that the other one was there. Maybe next time...

Another week of firsts

Maya accomplished two big "firsts" this past week. On Tuesday, she accompanied Larkin and Katie to the polls to participate in her first election.

On Saturday, Maya went to her first Longhorn game. She lasted about a quarter and a half - which was plenty of time to see multiple Texas touchdowns and feel confident about the victory over Baylor!

Halloween and Camping

Maya's first Halloween was Super! Wonder Woman soars through the neighborhood.

A superhero's proud parents


Uncle Benji and Aunt Amy came to town for the celebration and got into the spirit.

Daddy and his friends showed Maya that grownups can celebrate Halloween too. The toxic stocks--AIG (Marshall), Lehman Brothers (Aaron), Credit Default Swaps (Larkin), and Freddie Mac (Benji).


Even though he's was bought out, Bear Stearns can still dance.


After a quiet Halloween night, Katie organized a man's camping trip to celebrate Larkin's belated birthday. First stop, BBQ in Lockhart.



Then on to some camping in Pedernales State Park.


Eric shows us how to use the bull whip in case a bear attacks.


A beautiful sunset from the campsite.



After a LONG last few days, it was a great weekend.