Thanksgiving 2009

We usually have two Thanksgivings a year because our families live somewhat close. We hit A's family first and then head over to my family.

As we were finishing our meal, we were serenaded by my nephews playing Christmas music on the piano and guitar. E loves her music. She sang along as she ate.

O and W finally conked out while we were there. O pulled up his borrowed pack-n-play mattress and fell asleep in this position. How?

My sister-n-law makes the BEST monkey bread and I love to devour it each year at Thanksgiving. A fresh, hot batch came out of the oven during our meal and I got a special delivery straight to my table. I heart monkey bread. Thanks J!

That evening we stuffed ourselves again with my parents. E felt special as she ate on the fancy plates and drank "sparkly" out of a fancy glass. We were sure in for a treat to watch E drink Sparkling Cider for the first time. You'd think someone spiked her drink! She was waving her "sparkly" around, gulping it, laughing and giggling. She was so excited, she slurred her words as she tried to speak. She wanted everyone to drink up. Hiccup! This is good stuff! Hiccup!

W and his crushed water bottle

Every year we head to the mountains to chop our tree and then have a picnic on the Blue Ridge. Last year we didn't go because there were several sick kids among us. We planned to go this year, but it had been raining prior to the weekend and when Thanksgiving rolled around the temperature plummeted with massive wind gusts and snow. Now, we've been there in similar weather conditions, but not with little ones...sooo, we decided to get our trees locally.

E and Pa searching for a tree.

O investigating.

Group shot

Every year I help my mom decorate her Christmas tree. This year E joined in on the tradition.

Discovering the cranberry and popcorn garland.

Finally! The day arrived when Pa unpacked his train and placed it around the tree. E was right by his side the entire time. She has been talking about Pa's train for months, and now, she and the boys finally get to enjoy it again.

Once we were back in town, our family went searching for our tree. We decided to go skinny this year. It looks great!
While we, ehem, while I was deciding between trees, E was running through the tree lot. There were a lot of trees ranging from 6 feet to about 20. So it was like running through a thick forest when we played hide and seek. Very fun.

The Arctic Express

The local library held a special story time for kids called "The Arctic Express". A "conductor" was telling stories of celebrations around the world with a little bit of music and magic. The kids were encouraged to wear pj's, bring blankets, pillows, and then after the event, check out all the holiday books on display. E was dressed in her pj's and boots for a night of storytelling, music, magic, and laughter....a special treat for just us.

She was very uneasy. She sat beside me and watched the other children file into the room dressed in their sleepy time attire. They fluffed up pillows, rolled out sleeping bags, wrapped themselves in blankets and some even had a stuffed animal to throw around. E watched in silence. "Are you ok?" I asked. She leaned to my ear and whispered, "What are they doing?" After a brief explanation, I asked if she wanted to join them. With wide eyes, she just shook her head no and moved a little closer to me.

Look at that face. This was her expression for most of the event. This is boring. He talks too much. I don't understand. I don't like that story.

But every time music was played or a magic trick performed, she lit up.

The best part of the night was when he tore up a tiny piece of paper and cupped it inside his hand. He then spoke of how he wished it would snow. He waved a large fan towards his hand and the snow began to blow up around him. The magical ending was the fact that snow kept flying out of his hand. More and more and more "snow" flew up into the air, swirling around him. It was impressive. E loved it.

At the very end, the conductor had a rabbit magically appear within a box. E couldn't believe her eyes. "Is it real?" she asked. She definitely knew it was real when she reluctantly touched the rabbit while exiting the room.

I'm not sure if it was a hit. When daddy asked her about it she didn't offer too much information. She did mentioned hearing Josh Groban's song, seeing snow, and getting daddy a book to read. I think she was more excited to have a treat before bed.

The Kids in November

Hi! I'm W. I'm 20 months old and love to run around the house. I love to take toys and run, things to be in order, clean hands, toothbrushes, light switches, the vacuum, wear other people's shoes, and hold a bottle of hand sanitizer...I MUST have the hand sanitizer. I can wash my own hands, remember where I put my toys, and pack a highly unusual amount of food in my cheeks. Sometimes I trick my mom into thinking I don't have any food in my cheeks and then I spit it out during nap.

I enjoy playing with bottles, buckets, and containers of all sizes. Puzzles and blocks are great toys, as well as anything that makes noise, has dials, or buttons. I'm very curious as to how things work and I want to investigate.

Hi! I'm O and I'm 17 months old. Although, I'm much larger than my big brother, I'm still the baby around here.

I can hum "This Old Man", climb in on and around everything, rough house, turn furniture over, rip knobs off, tear down all baby gates, and I'm the responsible party for 1/3 of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. I have mastered a deep scowl for others to enjoy, jump on the couch when I think mom's not looking, and I am capable of hurting myself daily and bruising my face at least once a week. I may act tough, but I'm a softy. I like to be tickled, I sleep with my blanket, cuddle my teddy bear, and enjoy mommy slathering me with lotion.

I'm E and I just turned 4. I'm the mom around here, I mean the big sister. I'm a big help when I want to feed the boys, get their diapers, or help settle disputes over toys. I try to help mommy keep my brothers happy and safe, but every once and awhile I lead them into trouble. But don't worry, if mommy asks me why the boys are crying, I always tell her the truth. I love to dress up, reenact Cinderella, dance in the kitchen, and wash dishes. I love to sing really, really loud.

O's First Haircut

All the men in the house got a haircut before Thanksgiving. It's almost a monthly event for A, it was W's 4th, and O's very first haircut. Look at my boys...they are adorable.

He rocked the mullet.

I was nervous to cut it. His hair is so baby fine.

He was extremely squirmy.

Almost done.

Ta-Da!! He's so handsome.

The Duet

E and her cousin, E, played on the piano together. They happen to make sweet music together. The music selection for the evening was from the Primary Songbook.

"That was wondaful. Now let's do this one."

As they both tickled the ivories, E sang.
"Oh my Loooord! My Savior, my Saviooooor! I'll do what's wight,
I'll obey! Oh! Oh my Saviooor!"

Oh Deer

For the past few years our garden hasn't been too successful and it's because we have several deer who roam our backyard. They easily hop over our garden fence and consume several plants at a time. It's been extremely frustrating. We've seen does and fawns mostly, just hanging around our yard. Then we saw this guy. He was also leisurely strolling about one day, most likely wanting the remnants of our garden. I guess he doesn't realize that he probably already ate it.

At first I thought it was a 6 point buck, but after looking at the picture, I've noticed two more points closer to his head. An 8 point buck...just hanging out in our yard. We wish A's brother were here to take care of the problem.