Thanksgiving 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!  First of all, let me say- these pictures are in no particular order!  There, now that is out of the way let's proceed.  This thanksgiving was particularly fun for me!  Nanny, PawPaw, flat SaSa, James, Storm, Caleb, Micah and Ellie all came to Texas to spend some time at our home.  It was such a blessing for them to come and we had a GREAT time!  We ordered Franklin's BBQ one day and it is at the top of the best bbq I've eaten!

Jared smoked a turducken on Thanksgiving day and oh. my. word. So good!

We, of course, had several photo ops.  Here all the kids are in their Christmas best.  

Flat SaSa was always in the mix.  During thanksgiving lunch she sampled the chocolate delight and pecan pie.  

Before we opened gifts I read a Christmas story.  This might have been my favorite thing from the whole week.  All the big kids sat and eagerly listened while Colson went from lap to lap sitting with everybody and then making circles around and through the big kids.  I loved watching all the kids interact the whole week.  Colson learned how to hold his breath and make a funny face from Caleb.  Adelyn and Ellie were attached at the hip.  Katelyn loved playing wii and Settlers jr. with Caleb and Micah.  Such joy just watching them play!

Another photo op.  This time in their turkey shirts!

We took a hike on Thanksgiving day to a little trail down from our house.  I think the kids liked being out of the house and in the woods a little.  

Having 12 people in the house we all were running on less sleep than usual.  Adelyn fell asleep on Caleb's shoulder at one point- precious!  

I love this picture of Nanny and PawPaw!  

Katelyn took this picture of PawPaw.  

One night we went out to the Geeslin River place.  Jared, Stanley, James, Micah and Katelyn stayed the night and went hunting

That night we has hotdogs over the fire and smores!  The kids loved riding 4-wheelers, and the ranger.  I think Micah said that was his favorite.  And Caleb said he was able to drive the 4-wheeler which was his favorite thing!

We skyped with the real SaSa often.  We sure missed having her here with us, but at the same time we are SO thankful for the technology to see her smiling face or call her at whatever time we want (for Katelyn that may mean 4:00am her time).   

Yet again, another photo op...

...

Silly!  

The guys played lots of Catan... 

Flat SaSa getting her chick-fil-a fix!

I guess hunting took it out of Katelyn and Micah!

All the girls (Nanny, flat SaSa, Storm and Haley) all took a shopping afternoon.  We went to Mardel, Hobby Lobby, Charming Charlie, Starbucks and World Market.  Maybe I lied earlier, this may have been my favorite thing :)

We had a great time and are so thankful for the Hughes family.  

Soccer- season 2

Katelyn is almost finished with her second season of soccer.  She is quite the little player!  Yes, she is the only girl on her team, but she could care less.  She has scored at least once in almost every game and usually scores more than one.  I think her biggest advantage right now is speed (she must get that from Jared!).  She is faster than most the kids so when she gets in the open field, she can beat them!   

 She is a tough cookie too!  When she falls down, she jumps back up and keeps going.  She has a competitive spirit and keeps score even though this league doesn't keep score.  

She will be playing again after Christmas, and this time Jared and I will be coaching her team!  

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Interview with Colson-
What do you love about Daddy?  I Daddyyyy

Interview with Adelyn-
How old is Daddy? uhhh, 6 year olds
What is Daddy's favorite color? he likes my favoirte color, he likes purple
Where does Daddy take you? to the bus stop
What does daddy like to eat? chicken salad
What does daddy like to drink? lemonade and coffee
What does daddy do that makes you laugh? tickle and give me goosebumps
Why is daddy special to you? because he loves me because he gives me a heart inside my tummy
What makes daddy happy? he gives me hugs and I like it
What makes daddy sad? not giving him hugs or kisses
What does daddy do at work? play on his computer. play a game on his computer.
What is daddy good at? working at his office
What is daddy not good at? not very good at eating
If daddy was a cartoon character, what would he be?  a ghost!
What do you love about Daddy? giving him lots of hugs
Message from Adelyn, "I love you and when you get home, I'm going to give you hugs and kisses.  Happy birthday and I love you.  And that is all I know of."

Interview with Katelyn-
How old is Daddy? 31
What is Daddy's favorite color? red
Where does Daddy take you? on a special daddy/daughter date
What does daddy like to eat? salad and chocolate chex
What does daddy like to drink? smoothie
What does daddy do that makes you laugh? tickle me
Why is daddy special to you? because he is my daddy
What makes daddy happy? me being his kid
What makes daddy sad? when I'm not being nice to him
What does daddy do at work? he buys tickets and gives us money
What is daddy good at? playing skip-bo jr.
What is daddy not good at? nothing
If daddy was a cartoon character, what would he be?  spongebob
What do you love about Daddy? that he gets to play games with me
Message from Katelyn, "Happy Birthday.  Have a wonderful day."

Our 3 little pumpkins

Pumpkin #1- 2009

Pumpkin #2- 2011

Pumpkin #3- 2013

Halloween 2013

 We had a fun Halloween this year!  The night before we sat on the back porch and painted pumpkins and Jared carved one.  They all loved painting! 

On Halloween day we went up to Katelyn's school for the kindergarten halloween parade.  Pirate Princess Katelyn was so excited to see us there!

Next we took Adelyn to school and she had a fall party in her class.  She liked having us there until Colson starting eating her cookie!  And then Colson was not happy that Adelyn wanted to eat her own cookie.  Needless to say, it was chaos so Colson and I didn't stay for long.   

That night we took Pumpkin, Tangled, and Pirate Princess trick-or-treating.  They all enjoyed it, but Katelyn loved it the most!  Adelyn, Colson and I went home around 7:30.  Colson went to bed and Adelyn and I passed out candy.  Jared and Katelyn returned later and they joined us passing out candy.  

Colson- 20 months (almost)

Our sweet, dear Colsy is almost 20 months old.  Oh boy, he is growing up so fast.  This month was a huge jump for him in communication, understanding, discipline, and entertaining.  He has started to talk on command, understands most of what is said and I feel like we are getting over the hump of being frustrated due to communication barriers. He laughs on command which is hilarious.  He enjoys dancing which is also hilarious.  He has started getting really excited at different things and he will hold his breath and shake his head, also hilarious.  Yesterday we saw a tow truck driving down the road.  Luckily Jared was driving so I got to watch him point, shout, hold his breath and shake his head.  

This boy is loving cars these days.  The "pool bus" is his all-time favorite.  He watches for it when we take Katelyn to the bus stop and yells, "POOL BUS!!!" when he sees it.  Or when we are driving down the road.  I don't realize how many school buses are out until I hear him yell, "POOL BUS!!!!" every few minutes!  He also loves playing with toy cars, trucks, buses, etc.  

Colson is a good eater.  He still loves his milk.  I can officially say he can drink out of a cup.  However, I can also officially say I still give him a sippy cup at almost every meal.  I'm just not ready to have to clean up the spills that are bound to happen.  I guess that will be my goal this month, good bye sippy cup!

Little man is becoming a champion napper!  He will nap 2-3 hrs most days.  He sleeps from 7:30pm to about 7:00am.  We will wake earlier some days, later others.  But 7:00 is the earliest I get him.   

Colson has started to like doing crafty things lately.  Mostly he wants to do what his sisters are doing, which usually means coloring.  He has also started having an opinion on what he wants to wear.  He loves his bat-man shirt.  He also loves his "choo-choo" pj's.  

My favorite time of day is right before bedtime and naptime.  We sit in the chair and colson will sing, "Nigh-Nigh, Nigh-nigh.." Sometime he will take my hair and rub it on his face and laugh- oh, it brings me joy!  

My least favorite time of day is right after naptime.  He would really like to wake up to a full meal waiting for him, but he usually has to wait a while before dinner.  He is typically fussy/grouchy so he has to get disciplined.  Speaking of discipline, I will often ask him if he needs a spanking.  He won't answer me, but he usually reaches back and spanks himself (followed by obedience, usually...)  It cracks me up everytime.  

We are beyond blessed by this sweet little guy.  So luckily and thankful we get to watch him grow each day!

Happy 20th month little guy!

Big kids

I can't handle this picture.  

They all look so big!  

I guess it is because they are growing. up. too. fast.

That is all.

Katelyn- Kindergarten and 6th Birthday

How can my baby be old enough for kindergarten?  She is enjoying school so far.  Her first 2 weeks were a complete blur to me.  We were finishing up renovations to the house, school started Monday, we moved out Friday... Crazy few weeks!  Luckily Nanny was here to keep the kids alive and fed, helped pack the house, keep me sane, etc.

Katelyn's teacher is Ms. May and she has been teaching kindergarten for 20+ years.  She knows what she is doing and Katelyn is enjoying it.  Her favorite part of school is recess and music.  Oh, and riding the bus!  I fully intended to take her each morning and pick her up each afternoon, but she wanted to ride the bus (and the stop is right around the corner).  I think she likes that she gets the chance to talk to friends on the bus more than at school!

Katelyn had her 6th birthday a few weeks ago.  She wanted a rainbow party, so she got a rainbow fruit tray- worked for her!   

She has moved up to using 2 hands for her age- ugh!  She is so old!  and wonderful!  Katelyn is such a sweet, joyful, blessing.  She is so independent.  She started picking her clothes out the night before and putting them in the hallway outside her door.  She told me she didn't want to disturb Adelyn in the mornings- how thoughtful is she?!?  I have had to wake her up once, every other morning she wakes on her own, without and alarm or anything!  She comes downstairs when she hears me in the kitchen, and we get a few minutes alone before Adelyn and Colson get up most mornings.  I cherish that time and miss Katelyn while she is at school.  

She did swallow a penny Wednesday afternoon- the look on her face, priceless.  Of course it won't be priceless if the penny doesn't come out on its own :/  She has started Sparks, and I'm sure she will enjoy that!  She asked for a camera for her birthday and is quite the photographer.  She takes the camera on walks to document all the nature she encounters.  Yesterday instead of a camera, she brought a journal along.  Katelyn also started her second season of soccer.  She is the only girl on her team, but I know she will hold her own.  She is rough and tumble when she needs to be!

Adelyn- Preschool

I can't believe my sweet Ada-girl is old enough to be in preschool!  She is growing up so fast and LOVES preschool.  She asks each morning if she gets to go to preschool today.  She loves her teacher and is learning a lot.  She has been working on letters A, B and C.  She also started cubbies this week and can't wait to get her vest- such a girl!   

Colson- 19 months old

Well Friends, it has been a while!  The last post was July 11, but according to my calendar it was either yesterday or 3 years ago.  Life has been crazy, but I can proudly say- things are slowing down- slowly :)

We are officially all moved in to the new house and beginning to settle.  Our routine is coming along and life is good!  So, on to Colsy-Wholsy:

Colson has grown up so much the last few months.  I am so thankful he is at a point where we haven't had to completely baby proof the whole house.  No gates needed for the stairs, and only 2 cabinet locks (for cleaning chemicals under sink and bathroom sink).  He is into everything, that is for sure!  I have decided that moving with an 18 month old isn't much fun.  He thinks that every closed box is just a stool to climb on and every open box is full of toys and he must empty it :(  We have had some fussing as of late, but that is to be expected at this age (at least that is what I tell myself).  He knows what he wants and either a) cant communicate it b) doesn't yet understand that you don't always get what you want... Sorry buddy- mean mommy here ;)

Colson makes me laugh often.  He makes silly faces, and has a way of doing something really wrong in a hilarious way (making it hard for me to get onto him). He is all boy, that is for sure!  Below is a picture of him using the girls detangling spray as a gun, "Pew, Pew, Pew!"  A remote also makes a great gun!   

Below is our shoe box and pile of shoes from the old house.  He was (and still is, but shoes are out of sight for the most part in the new house) obsessed with shoes.  I should go ahead and put this out there- he has put my red heels on more than once ;) 

Colson loves his sisters and they love him.  He does get into Katelyn's things which she doesn't appreciate much though!  The current favorite game is playing chase around the kitchen.  They all just run around and around laughing at each other.

Here is Colson's "cheese" face.  Such a sweet boy!  He could still drink a gallon of milk in no time flat.  I have actually started waiting to give him his drink until the end of his meal, because he will fill up on that.  He has slowed down on his eating, but I don't expect that to last long.  At his 18 month well check he was 95% for height, 80% for weight and 90% for head size.  He is a big boy, and is growing taller by the second!  

Little man keeps my hands full and I am loving watching him grow.  He has started to use lots of words.  It melts my heart when he says "I youuuu." (I love you)  He probably has about 30-40 words.  His favorite part of the day is probably going to drop Katelyn off at the bus stop and picking her up.  He loves the stroller and he loves to see the "BUS, BUS, BUS!!!"

He loves his "baby" (fox), and likes to "oock" (rock) before I lay him down before nap and bed.  He is hilarious in the car.  If he is starting to fall asleep in the car (which even 2 minutes means no nap at home) I can yell, shake him, turn music up and nothing works- until I roll down the window!  He pops right up and is alert like he isn't even sleepy.  

Well, Happy 19 month little buddy!  You are a joy and I can't wait to see how you grown and change this month!