Gobble Gobble 2014!

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.”
― W.T. Purkiser

The kids have been excited about Thanksgiving all week, Ashlyn was dancing around the house the days leading up to Thanksgiving.  Isla got a kick out of it.

Thanksgiving started on Wednesday at Nina and Papa’s house.  The highlight of the evening for the kids was watching Nina open the box with the fake mouse inside; I think my ears are still ringing from all the screaming.  They also enjoyed pie.

We started the actual Thanksgiving day watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade (don’t ask why there’s a ghost under the TV).  James was excited when Thomas came on and ran around the living room shouting “Thomas!  It’s Thomas!”  Isla even got a kick out of it, although I’m sure she wasn’t sure what she was getting a kick out of.

Later in the evening it was time for round 2, this time at Grandma and Grandpa’s.  More pie was enjoyed, James thought he was being sneaky by moving a stool over to the get on the desert counter, and Isla did a little Black Friday planning.

The day after Thanksgiving is the traditional day to set up the Christmas tree and as Aggies we are required to follow every tradition we learn about.  So up the tree went and Ashlyn was excited to be able to put the angel on the tree.  We tried decorating the lawn but didn’t have enough lights.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Clowns, charity walks, and nails…

"Keep the circus going inside you, keep it going, don't take anything too seriously, it'll all work out in the end."
-David Niven

My little girl is growing up too fast for me.  Holding Isla reminds me of holding Ashlyn when she was a baby and I half expect to see a baby Ashlyn in front of me when I look up.  I don’t though, instead I see this beautiful little kid smiling back at me.  And now that smiling kid has learned to paint her own nails.  Too fast, it’s just too fast.

Our family has been supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for 10 years and this weekend gave us the opportunity to participate in the St. Jude Give Thanks Walk in Frisco.  It was cold and rainy but everyone stuck it out and walked to help support a great cause.   St. Jude’s mission is to “advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. No child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay."   If you’d like to donate click the following link:  Donate to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Sunday could not come fast enough for the kids, ever since we told them Nina and Papa bought them tickets to the circus.  This was James’ first circus and while he started to get a little restless at the end it still didn’t stop him from saying “I like the circus, Daddy” as we walked to the car.  Ashlyn’s favorite act was two acrobats hanging from a star shaped apparatus hanging from the ceiling.  James couldn’t think of his favorite act so tossed his vote to Ashlyn’s favorite. Thanks Nina and Papa!

 

Pickles and presents…

"A 'naughty pickle' is how I'd best describe myself.  I think fun and laughter is the whole point of life."
-Celia Imrie

Winter hit us this week and thanks to some forethought on our part (not laziness) we were able to use Ashlyn’s birthday decorations for some indoor fun.  Ashlyn’s strong resistance to dizziness helped her quite a bit when playing pin the bow on Hello Kitty as she got real close every time after being spun.  James didn’t care much for the blindfold so he mainly watched.

Isla is able to sit up in her bumbo now and while she doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy it she doesn’t hate it either.  It usually gives us about 30-45 seconds of hands free “quick clean up” time, which is a bonus.

Not to plug the company I work for, but if you haven’t tried the new in-house made pickles at Chili’s you should head over and try some.  I was fortunate enough to learn how they were made at a restaurant visit and recruited some helpers to make some pickles.  They turned out pretty good too although the kids thought they were a little too spicy.

Pepa was at the lake for his birthday so we had him over this weekend for a birthday breakfast.  Ashlyn went upstairs with wrapping paper, tape, and scissors and came back with an assortment of birthday presents for him.  These included a picture of James and Ashlyn (the only present he took home with him), a bug catcher, art balls, and 51 cents in change.  It’s the thought that counts.

Playing and planes…

"The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
-Douglas Adams

When she’s not being fussy, Isla is happy to lay down under the play mat and bat the hanging toys around. She’s still fussy more often than not, but hopefully this means when she grows out of the fussy period she’ll be a playful baby.

Ashlyn’s teacher says she’s most interested in art and math.  She’s pretty good at math too, doing basic arithmetic in her head without needing to use her fingers.  Her art is always different and if you look closely you’ll see an “A” on every piece.   It seems she already has a signature.

She’s also happy to share her artistic talents by helping her Cousin Ben.  Being a 2 year old boy, he was more interested in smearing paint across the page (and himself).

Mom heard about a spot at DFW airport named “Founder’s Plaza” where you can go and watch planes take off and land.  The kids thought the first couple of landings were interesting but got bored fairly quickly when similar looking planes made similar looking landings over and over again.