Thanksgiving in Review

1. From the time we began the Turkey Countdown William asked DAILY if he could go to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Then Grandma told him she was going to give him a new bulldozer for going in the potty. The daily discussion evolved from just going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving to going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving Toys. Grandma did not disappoint. William is one happy camper with his new bulldozer, tractors, and monster trucks.

2. We ate well. Yummy. Yummy. I am proud to say that I only gained 1.5 pounds this year, as opposed to the 5 pounds I gained last year. I attribute that to the fact that this year I was chasing Marie (and William for that matter) around the house all weekend long. Last year Marie was 5 weeks old. All I did all day long was sit and feed her, sit and hold her, and sit and eat. It's not hard to gain weight that way. I do not attribute the lack of weight gain to the fact that I ate any more healthfully. Heavens no. That did not happen.

3. Speaking of Marie. She decided to take a flying leap from the top of Grandma and Grandpa's stairs, with no one there to catch her. The girl just walked right off the stairs. Brilliant. I was right behind her, moving to pick her up so we could both go downstairs together. There is nothing worse than seeing something like that happen to your child and knowing you can't help them. That was definitely a very scary mommy moment for me; and it was definitely a blonde moment for her. The upside, she has finally decided to learn how to crawl down the stairs. After we had unsuccessfully been trying to teach her since she learned to crawl up them, which was about 6 months ago, last night she just did it. I guess the tumble knocked some sense into her.  Thankfully it is the only thing that got knocked. No injuries to report.

 

  4.  This moment is absolutely precious for two reasons. First, the obvious reason, it’s William cuddling with Grandpa. Second, it was a source of bribery for several meals. “William, you better finish your dinner or you won’t be able to watch “The Incredibles” with Grandpa. It worked. I love it.

 

5.  Somehow, whenever we go on a hike or something with Jeff, Brandon ’s brother, the two of them  always end up throwing rocks. Boys. This time, Marc and Brett joined in on the fun as well.

 

6. We stole William away to the park for a bit while Grandma stayed home with Marie. William gets so wound up when he is with other people and especially when he is inside all day. He needed a bit of time on his own driving his newly acquired toys in the sand and running out his energy and Brandon and I took advantage of the time, too .

It was a great weekend. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for letting us come and stay!

Once Upon a Time

Sir William off to fight the dragons

Princess Marie, "Someday my prince will come."

Apparently she had a different prince in mind.

Halloween Flashback

Our first Halloween as a married couple do you want to know what Brandon and I did? Nothing. We didn't even buy candy. Or pumpkins. Trick-or-treaters came to our door and all I had for them was Nature Valley granola bars that were, like, a year old. And if I'd known they were trick-or-treaters I wouldn't have even answered the door because I knew I didn't have any candy. It wasn't like we were consciously ignoring Halloween, we just didn't think about it.

The next year we semi-dressed up because we had a birthing class that night and our instructor threatened the class with old costumes from her dog if we didn't come in something. We went to WalMart and each found something under $5. Oh, and we bought some candy, since we were all out of those delicious granola bars.

Halloween #3. William's first Halloween. I'm not sure what came over me. We bought candy. We bought pumpkins. I even planned a Halloween concert for my K-2 kids. William was a sheep. I was Little Bo Peep. We had a grand time.

That was the beginning of the end for me, in regards to Halloween Scrooge-ness.

Last year I started planning William and Marie's costumes around the time I found out that Marie was going to be a girl, and that was in May. This year's costumes have been planned since last November 1st. We carve pumpkins now too. And, of course, we buy candy.

And I can't wait to get the kids in their costumes and take pictures tonight. If it is anything like last Halloween William will be a mess. A colossal temper tantrum will ensue right as we pull out the camera and ask him to say, "cheese." Heck, if it is anything like this morning when I needed to try on a piece of his costume, it is going to be dreadful. Kids. Who told them they could have opinions? Oh, and Marie decided to keep up with the tradition of Halloween injuries. Last year William provided her with a lovely gash on her forehead. This year she got in a fight with the stairs and lost. Her nose has a battle scar.

Whatever the case, I have begun to love Halloween. Temper tantrums, scratches, and all. Thanks to my kids. About three more hours and the fun begins!

While we were away we...

Loved the weather.
Learned how to stand.
Got spoiled by Grandma.
Watched a parade.Enjoyed fireworks.
Played some frisbee.Adored Marie.
Played at the park.

And that's only what we took pictures of.

It was a good week.

End of An Era

Sara graduated from RHS this past Thursday. She is the last one of our clan to walk those halls. After 17 years my parents will no longer have a child in high school. At the graduation, I wondered if my mom was going to cry. I wondered if Sara was going to cry. Heck, I wondered if I was going to cry. There weren't any tears. Not one single salty drop fell that night. The reason? Because, yes, this is an end of an era, but it is the beginning of so much more. It is her chance to discover herself more so than her 4 years in high school ever allowed. It is her chance to step outside of the box that 6 siblings and familiar surroundings have created for her and truly found out what she is made of. I am thrilled to see Sara enter this stage in life because I know that she is going to shine. I know that she is going to make something wonderful of herself because what she has already made is already wonderful.

Graduation also causes reminiscing. I mean, how can you look at your youngest sister in her cap and gown and not remember holding her for the first time, changing her diapers, rocking her to sleep, doing her hair, helping her get dressed, talking with her, laughing with her, singing with her, just loving her? With so many memories behind us, I can only imagine and look forward to all of the memories that are yet to come! I love you, Sara, and I am so proud of you.

Does it Get Any Better Than This?

I submit that it does not!

Cousins.

I have started and restarted this post a dozen times. I want to say something sentimental and profound. Somehow I want to say in just a few words how much it means to me to see these 9 kids interact and make memories together. Words just won't suffice. This is a time when the saying is true, "A picture is worth a thousand words." I love these kids!

Josh, William, Jayna, Ethan (standing in front), Kaitlyn, Emma, Mary, Christian, Marie

(The little girl in the back is a neighbor)

Dave and Tanya's kids: Christian (9), Jayna (7), Kaitlyn (4), Ethan (2)

Dan and Genni's kids: Josh (7), Emma (5), Mary (2)

Snapshots

Rachel!

My dress is complete.

Rachel is married.

Let the vacation begin.

Note to self: encourage Marie to elope (to the Las Vegas temple, of course!)

Pictures coming soon to a blog near you.