Christkindlmarket and Counting Down

I've been immersed in working, baby-tending, and writing so much I haven't had much time to blog. Still, I've surfaced every now and then to meet with friends and family. We got to see our friends Adam and Natalie (and their daughter Sarah) last week. It was great seeing you again! (waves) As for Thanksgiving, we celebrated at Eugene's aunt's house. There were a lot of people there, and unfortunately Alex didn't handle the noise well, despite our efforts (and Eugene's parents' efforts) to soothe him. He's also showing more signs of teething these days, such as chewing on things and drooling, so that doesn't help.

Despite all of this, we decided to try taking him downtown today to the annual Christkindlmarket in Chicago. This is becoming a family tradition of ours, so we were looking forward to it. We also thought it would be better to go now, instead of doing it in December when it might be even colder. I brought my camera along, but I only took a couple of pictures, which I haven't uploaded yet. One of the funniest sights was seeing all the pigeons gathered around a fenced-off memorial flame for fallen soldiers. I guess in the winter it serves a dual purpose, though some of the birds got so close to the fire I thought they'd roast themselves.

We stopped at some of our favorite vendors at the market. Eugene bought some pieces for our holiday village (we started collecting them last year), and I bought an embroidered runner for the holiday table. We didn't get any ornaments this year, though. Alex looked around for a while but then started getting fussy, even after I changed his diaper and tried to feed him. He finally fell asleep, which gave us a chance to eat. But we didn't stay too much longer after that. Alex was much happier when he woke up, so we stopped at my in-law's house so they could see him in a good mood. They appreciated the unexpected visit.

Writing Update: I'm over 40,000 words, which means I have less than 10,000 words to go. (To meet the NaNoWriMo goal, not to finish my story. My novels never turn out so short.) I have a lot to do now to start prepping for the holidays, but I think I can make my goal if I push. Wish me luck!