Ya Ya Judy, Booty

...my complete infatuation with this little guy. However, I'm not alone. He's got pretty much everyone around him in love, including his sister. We all like to sing a song to the tune of Roly Poly from the classic film Pillow Talk but we say Judy Booty instead of roly poly.
Jude is currently in love with Kate's American Girl Bitty Baby Cindy. At least someone plays with her!

We WILL Keep Blogging, No Matter How Busy

..a few things going on around here. I didn't want to go too much longer without posting Halloween pictures. Kate was a princess and Jude was Raider Red. Just as we got to the church Kate vomited all over the place. Nevertheless, she rallied and it seemed she already lives by the show biz phrase, "the show must go on." She held it together for a while and we had a great time. However, it was once again a reminder how we had no family here because once we saw the Hill family at church we realized we had nobody else to show off our kids to. That will soon change though!



The orange hue on the left side of her top is a bit smelly!

Random Pictures from Our Life

...Kate and her affinity for her brother Jude. We have had some rough, and I mean rough, days with Kate over the past week. We think it has something to do with a growth spurt and the uncertainty of moving. She is going to figure out that moving to where we are going is a good thing for her, but it is going to take some time I think. That said, Kate really loves her little brother Jude and she is so good with him. We are thankful and hopeful it will last.

We have some good news about Jude--he is finally eating good and feeling so much better! It is amazing how happy he is now that he is able to eat a full serving, which he has never done. He is eating his formula and baby food now, and it is great to see him doing so well. Now he is really going to grow!

The biggest thing we are going to miss about Lubbock are the friends we have all made. We don't have a lot of friends left here, but the ones we do have we will all miss tremendously. Below is a picture of Kate and her friend Izzy. Izzy's mom is Amanda's hairdresser and long-time friend here in Lubbock. These girls are only a couple of weeks apart, and we actually have a picture on the blog of them when they were only a few weeks old. They are so grown up looking now!





Sadly, my Grandpa (my mom's dad) died a couple of weeks ago, and we went back for the funeral. Why is it that funerals seem like the only time we really get to see all of our relatives? It was so good to see everybody, despite the circumstances--I just wish my Grandpa was there to be in the middle of all of it like normal. We are really going to miss him. This is my great-aunt Maxine. I have always loved Maxine and my parents used to fly me to San Antonio for a week during the summers as a kid to spend time with her. She is in her 90's. She looks amazing for 60, let alone 90! She has lived such a neat life--I wish I knew more of her stories. She got some good one-on-one time with Jude, her great-great-nephew.



Kate also adores Maxine.


After a long weekend (this was also the trip Amanda and I drove to Tulsa the day before the funeral and I interviewed for the TU job) it was nice to unwind on "the farm." Jude spent a lot of time swinging with Grandma Donna while Kate curled up under a quilt and watched movies with Papa Ron. It is strange (and very, very exciting) to think we only have one more round-trip from Lubbock to Choctaw and for this weekend. Wish us luck as we try to find a house to buy in Tulsa!

Pumpkins!

...being a bit busy of late! Between keeping up with the kids, traveling to Oklahoma for my grandpa's funeral, interviewing for a new job, getting said job, and packing up the house to sell and trying to plan a move to Tulsa in a month we feel like we are running around while getting nowhere. That's our excuse for taking so long to post pictures. Sooooo, here are some long overdue pictures of the family at a couple of farms--the Orr family farm in Norman, and the Harrington family farm in Choctaw.

This was our 2nd visit to the Orr Family Farm, and it is definitely a family favorite of ours. Kate loves pumpkins, train rides, hay rides, and carousels--so it is the perfect outing for Kate. Jude just likes being with his mommy and daddy, so he could have cared less where we were. He enjoyed himself just fine.



We spent a lot of time on this carousel. Luckily they weren't very busy because we were there during the OU v. Texas football game, so Kate got to ride again and again. We still had to pry her away from that thing at the end of the day.



"Hello ladies. I don't always like to take my picture with pumpkins. But when I do, I prefer Orr Family Farms. I am the most interesting baby in the world."




Settle down everybody! No, she is not sitting on his shoulders. That is merely a strange camera angle, but as pictures with both of them at the same time are rare we posted anyway.




"Ginny" --that's pronounced with a hard "G"--with Kate and Jude on the hay ride to the pumpkin patch.





Kate after her appointment with the eye specialist. Her eyes were dialated, but it just gave her a chance to rock some sunglasses.






Jude (above, in case you didn't know) and Kate (below) at the Harrington Family Farm. "The farm" is one of Kate's favorite places on earth and will no doubt be high on Jude's list too. As you can tell from Kate's dress there are no "don't get messy" rules at the farm. I think that is one of the reasons she loves it so much--she gets to be a kid with full reign of the farm. She plays with abandon there, but she does make sure and check often with Papa Ron and Gamma Donna that she's not getting unknowingly close to Porky's pen. Ask her about Porky sometime, she loves to tell the story of how Porky got to the farm. She also loves to talk about how much she loves Porky. Until she sees Porky, which causes her to scream and/or cry and go in the opposite direction. She still has a little city left in her.

Farewell Texas Tech

...a job application just a few weeks ago to the University of Tulsa. Normally university jobs take a very long time to hear back from, often stretching into several months. Not this one. I, Michael, applied, heard from, interviewed with, and received an offer of employment all within a span of two weeks. We've barely had time to wrap our heads around the idea that we are actually moving to Tulsa and will be only an hour-and-a-half from family! We will officially say our farewell to Texas Tech on November 27th, and I will start my new job on November 28th.

When we moved to Lubbock it was just me and Amanda (well, and Sophie--our dog). I didn't have any gray hairs in my beard and Amanda was yet to be Dr. Harrington. Planning to stay in Lubbock for just 3-4 years, we will be leaving Lubbock a little more than 6 years later with 2 children and an extra dog. We have been wanting to move closer to home for a while now (since having kids), but really focused on finding a job in Oklahoma since this summer. Countless job applications, phone interviews, and rejection letters later--the "right one" finally came along. We are so grateful to be moving to Tulsa. Tulsa is the place we have always wanted to live, but never figured we would because the university job market is pretty small. Even writing it now seems surreal--it probably won't sink in until we leave Lubbock for the last time.

Even though we've been trying to figure out how to leave Lubbock for a while now, we are really going to miss it. Someway, somehow we became Red Raiders. Lubbock eventually found its way into our hearts, just like the piles of dirt that somehow find a way into our house. This windswept, isolated, West Texas town was the last place I ever thought we would start a family. Yet, we've made so many memories here. So many good friends (most of which have already left us--you know who you are). So many good co-workers. It's such an easy place to live, and I know I will miss my 10 minute commute regardless of where I'm going. We will be very sad to leave a few people behind, and wish we could somehow figure out a way to move the Hill's with us. C'mon guys, Tulsa needs a Blue Sky or two!

I was talking to Stephanie Rhode, one of my co-workers, today about moving. She was saying how sad it is to know that Kate (and definitely Jude) probably won't remember much of Lubbock or the people that were here. She has such a good memory it hasn't even dawned on me that she really won't have many memories of this place--I don't have many memories from under 3. Stephanie was right, that's very sad.



The Saddle Tramps performing the bell circle during the Homecoming parade. That's Will Rogers (an Okie permanently ensrhined here in Lubbock) wrapped in red crepe paper. His horse's (Soapsuds) rear end points directly to Texas A&M some 9 hours away.



The Masked Rider riding Midnight Matador (Kate knows the horse as Amos--his real name, that not too many people know).



The real Raider Red above, and our live-in infant-sized version below.




We get our Guns Up in the Harrington family! We will be Tulsa fans, but we will still support the Red Raiders.




Kate watching the Goin' Band from Raiderland perform with her classmates. We are going to really miss her and Jude's school.



Jude and Daddy above and the whole family below listening to the band. "Long live the Matadors!"

4th Annual Grandma Debbie Day

...4th Annual Grandma Debbie Day! Taken in context, the above picture is sweet and heartbreaking at the same time, don't you think? This was Jude's first Grandma Debbie Day (outside of the uterus anyway), and Kate was excited to teach him all about it. We were overjoyed to be able to add a new Harrington for Grandma Debbie Day. He is an amazing little boy, and I know mom would have been in LOVE with both of her grandkids.

There are a few traditions that we carry on each year for Grandma Debbie Day, but keep the rest of the day unplanned and just do what sounds fun. For the traditional pieces of the celebration: 1. We started with making a sign for the Komen Race on Friday night. 2. We participated in the race. Kate thinks it is cool that so many people show up every year for her Grandma Debbie Day--this year a little over 9,000 people came out to show support! 3. We buy a book for each kid, because one of my favorite things to do with my mom was read. We spent a lot of time at the library when I was a kid. The good news is that Jude loves being read to, just like his sister. I think Kate could sit and be read to all day, and I think we are getting closer to learning how to read. She is now recognizing a lot of letters and can spell a few simple words. Only a matter of time! 4. We go out to eat somewhere fun. This year we included going to Red Mango for some ice cream...yum!

For the non-traditional, but just as fun parts of the day. This year we included a trip to Toys-R-Us and watched a movie together. In all, it was a very fun day again this year, despite both kids being a little under the weather. In fact, one addition we made to this year's day (that I hope we never repeat) was a late night visit to the ER for Jude because he was having so much trouble breathing. He just had an upper respiratory virus, which is nothing new in the Harrington house. So, here are a few pictures from our annually wonderful Grandma Debbie Day!

Kate was telling Jude all about Grandma Debbie Day, and showing him how many people came out to celebrate.



Oh, that smile. This little boy is a big hit with everybody, but when he smiles like that his mommy (and the women who keep him at the CDRC) is powerless against him.



Kate was excited to start the race. I am equally powerless when it comes to her and her smile.



Kate and I racing...well, more like walking, but it still counts.



Warriors in Pink. Don't we look fierce?



I love these girls! Speaking of looking fierce, Kate got a free "warriors in pink" scarf and it has become a staple around our house these past couple of weeks.



They love each other too.



Our traditional crossing the finish line picture!



This little guy was the hit of the race. At least for everyone who saw him out there. No doubt about it, mom would have been head over heels for Jude.



We are all anxiously awaiting what the 5th Annual Grandma Debbie Day will bring!

Dancing Queen

...Kate's dance class having a visitor's day. Michael, Jude, and I loved watching her dance. She was joined by 3 other girls, Kate, Katie, and Bryce (our Kate is the youngest). One of the grandma's leaned over and told me Kate should do pageants. If only she knew how loaded that statement was! As you will see in the video, Kate dances to the beat of her own drum.