From our family to yours. Merry Christmas.

tooth #2

Addison woke up Thanksgiving morning before anyone else. The two of us went in the playroom to play hangman, her new favorite game. After 10 minutes she headed to the bathroom and told me she was going to pull her tooth. I didn't think twice about it. She tried that with the first one and several times with this one and chickened out each time. A couple minutes later she calls for me and I go running in to see blood in her mouth. She didn't quite pull it all the way out, but was obviously close. The whole tooth, blood thing freaks me out so I handed her some toilet paper to use as leverage and told her to have at it. Two minutes later and that tooth was out.

It wasn't as loose as the first one so I'm really surprised that she pulled it out all on her own.

She did really good. She didn't freak out or get upset with any of it. I'm okay with the tooth once it's out, but I want no part of the process.

She was pretty happy that she lost a tooth on Thanksgiving. To make it more special, the tooth fairy wrote a little note telling her how she met Zarkle that night.

That's right. Our Elf is back. As you can see, the tooth fairy even left him a little glitter kiss on his cheek.

Right now there are no teeth wiggling around in her mouth. I have a feeling it's going to be awhile until the next one comes out.

giving thanks

Every year we kick off the holiday season with the movie Elf. This year we watched it while traveling to my brother's Thanksgiving day. I mean, Buddy is the best.

There was a big crowd and we all had a great time. It was cold this year, but that didn't stop the girls from monkeying around outside. Literally. She was a monkey.

 She spent a lot of time climbing this tree that day.

 Morgan took the safer route and stuck with the slide.

We were happy that Matthew was able to spend the weekend with us. The girls love spending time with him. They all took a rest and did some swinging in the hammock.

In addition to turkey and monkeys, there was also chicken.

 This one wasn't for eating though. At least for right now.

 Jesse and his chicken.

Hugging and kissing M goodbye. We had a blast hanging out at her house. 

The fun wasn't over. We left my brother's house and went over to my aunt's house for the usual - dessert and four wheeling. It wouldn't be a holiday without it.

Waiting for her turn.

There was also some more swinging...

 And then some teeter tottering.

We had a great day with family and friends. I am thankful for all of God's many blessings. Especially this family of mine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

i had a birthday

It's been a month since I turned 36. The day was pretty uneventful. I went to work, had a salad for lunch and then hung out with my favorite people that night. And since it was my birthday, I let the kids jump on the bed.

I really want to blow one of these up and hang it above her bed.

I got a lot of extra hugs and kisses that day.

The weekend before I did celebrate with my bestie. Shannon took me out for a night on the town and I danced until my feet hurt.

Not a bad way to turn 36.

thanksgiving feast

Morgan had a little feast at her school yesterday. They skip the turkey and do roasted chicken, but in her case that doesn't matter because she doesn't eat it anyway. I was shocked that she actually ate the carrots.

 Now the stuffing. No problem there. I think she had 3 servings.

And wouldn't you know she actually ate some of the pumpkin pie. What she didn't finish did not go to waste. I ate it. She was pretty happy that both of us were able to eat with her.

 I love this little turkey. Actually, she's more like a ham.

thanksgiving celebration

Addison had a little Thanksgiving celebration at school today. It started with a song in which she had a speaking part. A speaking part she volunteered for and then memorized last night. I was proud of her. You better believe I recorded it.

Afterwards we all sat down and had a Thanksgiving feast. Sitting at her placemat was this sweet letter about what she is thankful for. I think I'm going to laminate this and pull it out every time she decides she doesn't like us anymore.

Two of the proudest parents ever.

This little Pilgrim. She has no idea how thankful we are for her.

weekend of firsts

We had a busy, fun weekend. Saturday morning we headed downtown so we could all do the McKenzie's Run. We took it easy on the girls and only signed up for the one-mile fun run. Here we are at the starting line of their first official race.

Addison ran with her good friend Riley and they only had to walk once to catch their breath. I was so proud of her. Morgan has had the cold that Addison had and wasn't 100%, but she made it. Michael ran with her and only had to carry her for just a minute.

 The finish line. We all made it.

Both of the girls had friends over after the race. We had one mega playdate at the house, complete with an ice cream bar. They played and played and I deep cleaned the living room. Not fun, but now I am all ready for Christmas decorations. Things were going so well that Riley wound up spending the night. Addison's first school friend sleepover. Other than the exhaustion meltdown at bedtime, it all went well.

The Jags tickets aren't in high demand right now so I was able to score four of them from work. We were getting dressed on Sunday when I realized I have not one piece of Jaguar clothing. I bet I can get it cheap right now since they kind of stink (as in, lose every game). Their first Jags game.

The usher in the stands was super nice and even got them 1st Game pins to wear. They thought they were VIP's.

At one point it got a little warm, but for November the weather was perfect! I brought plenty of snacks with me so they were set. Even better was the free soda refill in the club seats. We got definitely got our money's worth out of that purchase. 

The nice up front parking pass that we had came in handy. We left around half time and walked right over to the fair. None of us have ever been to the one here. We picked a good year to go. The girls were tall enough to ride all of the kiddie rides by themselves and Addison even rode a few fast ones with Michael. The crowd was light so they were able to ride some rides over and over without waiting. Always a family favorite, the ferris wheel. Have I mentioned that I really hate them? It's not really the height, but the swaying car when you stop at the top, the round and round, and then there's the rusty parts you stare at while you're hanging in the air.

  

 They rode until the exhaustion of the weekend took over and we had to make them leave.

Addison was such a good big sister and let Morgan ride in the front on most of them.

Those are tired faces.

This right here is why I love being a mom. Those are faces of pure joy.

The girls were out like a light by 7:30 and I wasn't far behind. We had such a fun weekend and now have a lot of new memories.