Thanksgiving 2013

One of Jamie's current big clients has a 10/31 year end, which means he is always swamped in November. It is nice that is predictable and it now means that we look forward to Thanksgiving break because it means that we get our Daddy back!! It is really nice to have a five day weekend of him all to ourselves and we make sure web plan some fun activities and pick out our Christmas tree to start the holidays. 

This year I did not take any pictures of our actual Thanksgiving - I know we had it!! We started doing it just our family when we moved back since it is a full day we get with Jamie. It tends to be low key but we have all the sides and fixings. 

Hadley loved preschool and all the crafts that they did for Thanksgiving. They had a little feast that we were able to come to and eat themed treats.

We talked the entire month about what it means to be thankful and all the many ways we have been blessed. It was so sweet to hear what she came up with. One afternoon we wrote why we were thankful for our Daddy and left it for him when he came home.

We traced her hand and she did all the coloring and dictating, I just wrote exactly what she said.

November Catch Up

 I basically stopped blogging the day I sent this to Jamie...

We were so very excited to find out we were expecting a new baby and also to find out we would be adding a baby brother. I started feeling sick early and it seemed to linger so now I am finally hoping to get caught up to at least the end of 2013! Here is how our November went - 

In the winter we always spend a good chunk of time inside, either because the weather is poor or the girls are not feeling well. It is great for cuddles and down time.

The girls also became obsessed with picnics and tried turning every meal and snack into a gathering on the floor

I also moved a tiny table that was rarely used in our front room into Hadley's room, she now hosts tea parties on a regular basis and it can keep her occupied for longer than anything else we own!

Daddy also worked a few weekends in addition to his long days (I honestly will never understand how he can work from 7am to 2pm and repeat it the next day) so I tried coming up with activities to get us out of the house that were not too crowded, this day we checked out the car wash which is a family favorite.

Hadley discovered these little carts at our local Trader Joes, it makes shopping with her a dream since she loves them!!

Elise will eat any and all fruit, we bought the blueberries the same day she polished them off!!

We also took a few trips up to our favorite Super Franks, we rode in our friends car and this was the view we had riding back. A successful trip!

In addition to picnics the girls have started playing nap time, where they pile all the blankets and pillows we own on the floor and look at books together. I love this happy face of Elise's!

When daddy could make it home before bed we liked to show him all our new tricks, like building towers with our blocks. One of Elise's favorites!

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We played lots of dress up and took our babies on walks

Elise now knows there are always treats in my bag, especially when I wasn't feeling well there were always tic tacs or gummy bears to suck on. I kept finding her trying to rummage when she thought I wasn't looking!

Elise is my child that is a little slow to wake up after naps and some mornings

Double dentist appointments!! I have such poor teeth that we have been trying to get them in on a regular basis. We really like our dentist, this was the first time Elise went (you don't really need to go for awhile when you don't get teeth until you are over a year) and they were really patient with her and have fun toys and movies for them to watch. Both girls came out with a clean bill of health!!

Other Bits from October

Most of our month is in the previous posts, here are a few things that didnt really fit anywhere...

We have a small collection of Halloween books now that the girls requested every night. Knowing that his busy season was around the corner (November he works like a madman) he did his best to get home in time to read to the girls even if that meant he got back online after they went down. To say the girls loved it is an understatement.

They tried to soak him in as much as possible

Elise is still a mess and loves freeze dried blueberries

She also prefers to live life sans pants. She really wants to potty train, I am not sure she honestly does (two seems young) and am a still a bit traumatized by Hadley, so I let her try for fun(with some success) but we probably wont get serious for a few more months if she stays interested. For now I see her naked bum pop up and race around the house from time to time,  I secretly love it:)

 

Cold and flu season is in full swing so we have already spent a few days snuggled up warm and watching shows hoping it passes quickly. I know it is the season and with as many places as we visit there isnt much we can do but stock up on Tylenol and keep the hand sanitizer close.

Hadley has discovered the photo function on my phone. I had to delete almost 100 photos before I could download this month! She will take pictures of almost anything. Here is one of her best selflies!!

We continue to love the parks and have a few favorites.

She is getting close to swinging on her own but still loves to be pushed.

A friend brought over a high chair that her little girl wasnt using, Hadley spent the afternoon feeding and taking great care of her babies. I love seeing what my kids enjoy doing as they get older. She is such a sweetheart.

Princess Sofia

I need to brag about my Mom for just a minute - she is amazing and sewed Hadley's Princess Sofia dress this year. It made all her little dreams come true and I just wish I had a photo that did it justice!!

A few months ago she asked Hadley what she wanted to be and we looked through different options and she finally settled on Princess Sofia. She talked about being Princess Sofia CONSTANTLY!!  My mom pretty much made up the pattern as she went along since the princess is new enough there really isnt one. Hadley has only seen the show a few times but I think she was attracted to the pretty dress! My mom made the three layered skirt, hand stenciled the patter, made the little tulle top and included enough fabric on the bottom that I can let it out when she grows. She also found this edging that is tiny white pompoms that look like real pearls but is so much more comfortable and kid friendly. Hadley honestly loves it and asks to wear it all the time! We are so lucky to have a talented and wonderful Grandmother!!!

Halloween!!

This year Halloween lasted all week much to the girls delight!

Started off with our church Halloween party - they throw a fabulous one each year with individual rooms with fun activities for the kids. The girls started off in the craft room and made crowns for themselves

This was the first year that Elise knew what was going on and had a blast! This picture also is the best we got of Jamie's costume. Hadley was determined that she was the princess, Elise was a strawberry, I was a witch and Jamie was going to be a ghost. I really didnt have any ghost ideas and didnt want to cut up our sheets (also the party discourages masks) so I sewed Jamie into a sheet and stitched some eyes and mouth on. Hadley was happy (Jamie was a bit less impressed but is a good Dad) but about 15 minutes into the party she got freaked out and asked him to take it off.

We then headed over to the princess dancing rooms that she loved last year. There were a few ladies dressed up as princesses, she just stared at them in awe!! After two songs she finally warmed up enough to dance a bit.

Afterwards the girls wanted their face painted. Elise got a strawberry and Hadley asked for a pumpkin.

We then had a parade! Afterward they did the trunk or treat and had fun collecting candy.

A few days later Hadleys little preschool had a Halloween party. 

They then paraded around to a few of Elementary school classes. She loved showing off her costume with her buddy Blakely.

The kids were asked to bring little treats to hand out, we took dum dums and made them into little ghosts. We were wrapping them and I stepped into the back room for a second, I came back to find a handful of suckers unwrapped and with one lick out of each one. Elise had decided she needed to try a few before deciding on the one she wanted - I love her.

The following day we had music class and an extra excuse to dress up!

We finally made it to Halloween night!!

I love it when they laugh at each other!

They were so excited, and so so cute together!

We couldnt resist going together with the girls, we left our house for probably 20 minutes and the streets were filled with kids! When we got home I expected to be handing out candy for the next hour or two, but it looks like there is a sweet spot in our neighborhood and we only had a couple kids show up after!  Luckily I buy dum dums every year so I dont eat them because we have lots left over!

They loved going through their loot!

They each got a few pieces and headed to bed. It was a great night!

It is so fun that they both seem to understand what is going on - Hadley had a countdown and loved to dress up in her costume and Elise didnt quite know what was going on but was happy to be along for the ride. I have to admit after a jam packed week of Halloween fun (we even had Jack o lantern pizza) I am definitely ok with moving onto the next holiday!!

Pumpkins!

This year we went to a local pumpkin lot to pick out pumpkins - not a patch, Jamie had been working late and Elise had a cold so we opted to go to the local pumpkin seller just down the block. Hopefully we can make it to one of the big places next year, but for this year it was great!

I love watching my girls with their Daddy, they look so big

Hadley was quite choosy

Always a bit tricky to get both to look at the same time!

There were these jump houses on part of the area, but the price was insane. Luckily they had a few little bunnies and a little tractor ride that kept them plenty happy!

Elise probably sat there for 15 minutes just watching the fluffy baby bunny

We then "carved" our pumpkins with a sharpie, if we have been doing the same thing for three years I think we can call it a tradition. We started it on a desperate night when I was sick and Hadley was only two and we just needed to get it done. It is awesome for this age group though so we keep going! I hate pumpkin guts and the kids cant really help with cutting and just dont have the attention span. The girls help Jamie guide the pen or tell him what they want and it take about 15 minutes  - they love it! When they are older we will probably go to the traditional method but for now this is perfect!

Hadley was extremely focused and got full control of the pen this year

Finished product

Elise had a little help and giggled the whole time

So proud!