Giving Thanks

As November comes to an end, I love to reflect on all I have to be thankful for. It can be so easy to get caught up in the pile of dishes by the sink, in the sea of toys on the floor in the basement, or on the tantrum one of the kids just started throwing that I often forget just how thankful I actually am to be going through each and every one of those "problems" I have on the daily. 

I'm thankful for the pile of dishes by the sink, because it means my family is getting fed. Eric and I work our butts off to put food on the table for our family. And those dishes means that its working. We have food. Is it always a 5 course meal? Absolutely not. Some nights it's more of a frozen pizza vibe, you gotta have a little give and take. We have family time at the table. We have "please" and "thank you" and "oh that's so yummy". A few "I don't like that", "get that off my plate", and "can I just have chips?" in there too. But we are fed.

I'm thankful for the sea of toys on the floor in the basement. For one, that means that they aren't upstairs in our living room ha! But it also means that we have a house with a basement, one we helped design and build (and will be paying for for forever, but I digress). We have laughter and giggles and dress up and destruction. Our house is filled with fun.

I'm thankful for the tantrums. For the tearful "mommy up" and the whiny "Wait for me, I want to hold your hand!". We prayed for years and years (7 years to be exact) to finally hear all those whines and screams and tears that can overwhelm us on the regular. But when I really think about it, hearing those sounds is so much better than hearing the silence that we were so used to. 

This Thanksgiving, I was reminded of how thankful I am for us. We may be a hot mess 97% of the time, but it's my hot mess, and I can't ask for more than that. 

Katie: 18 Months

Katie has graced us with her pure orneriness (doused with the cutest smile I've ever seen) for 18 months now, and we are sure loving every minute of her. 

She is the true definition of ornery. She will walk right up to Eric to give him a hug, then say her sweet little "no", smile, and turn and run away. Or she will act like she wants to give you a kiss, then turn her head and put her hand over your mouth. Then she'll just laugh and laugh at herself like she's the funniest person in the world. This girl is sassy and she knows it.

Her favorite thing in the world right now would have to be me. I couldn't tell you how many times I hear her say "mama" in a day, followed with a close second of "no", and a third of "up". She absolutely loves to read books, and will sneak in as many books as she can before bedtime. She is still a huge fan of bath time, her lobster, and going downstairs to play. She likes being tipped upside down, pushing the laundry basket around the house, and sneaking into the office to push all the buttons on the printer. She smiles so big when she gets to throw away her diaper, and if there's a mess on the floor, she is getting a towel to clean it up. 

Dislikes include someone taking her food or being in her space, especially when she is sitting on my lap. She also dislikes when she can't be held, or if you tell her no. That lip comes out fast and goes out far. And protein, Katie has a strong dislike for protein. I literally watched her pick all the pieces of hamburger meat off her noodles at dinner time last night before she ate each noodle. At least I can say she has great fine motor skills, right?

Katie weighs 23 pounds and is 31.25 inches tall. She is wearing size 18 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 3 shoes. She has 11 teeth totally in, 6 on top and 5 on bottom, with another one on bottom poking through. 

She is saying (or has approximations for) mama, dada, no, up, off, eyes, Brady, Ashley, puppy, moo, oink, baa, please, mine, drink, and probably a ton of other words that I can't quite understand yet. She likes to talk a lot. She knows several body parts, including belly, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, fingers, and toes. 

Katie is a ray of sunshine, a needy crabby patty, and everything we could ever ask for. Here's to all we have to look forward to with her!

Fun in the Fall

Every season has its advantages and things I look forward to, and it just so happens that Fall has a few of my favorite things in it. 

Fall means family time. The weather is still nice enough to play outside. The sun still stays up late. Basketball season hasn't started yet. Need I say more? We spent a lot of time together this fall. From time just as a family of five at home or out in the community with cousins at the pumpkin patch, we enjoyed it all. 

 

Fall means friend time. I try to carve out a little time every few months (and more often if we can make it work!) to see my besties. Ashley, Kaci and I enjoyed some wonderful time in Champaign together, which consisted of many glasses of wine, many laughs, and a piercing (not mine!). I'm already counting down the days until I get to see these girls again, with hopefully the addition of Kendra next time. 

Fall means the start of Broadway season at the Fox! This is Nichole and I's third year getting season tickets, and I want to get them forever. What a fun way to spend a day!

Fall means spooky season. And while Halloween isn't my favorite holiday- because it's obviously Thanksgiving with all the amazing food- it is one that I really enjoy the traditions that come along with it. We carved pumpkins and pulled out the pumpkin guts. Brady wanted a scary one, and Ashley wanted a cat one. Katie mostly just watched. Shout out to Eric with his mad pumpkin carving skills. We also did all the trick-or-treating as our favorite characters from the Mario Movie- Mario, Princess Peach, and Toad. I'm thankful that Katie finally agreed that her hat wasn't so bad and actually wore it. We scared on the square, trunk or treated, and trick or treated to our hearts delight. And we will be eating all their candy for a long long time. 

 

Fall means fun. So much fun. Maybe a little a lot of crazy too. But mostly fun. 

September Catch-Up

September. It seems so far away already, but we are just now a full week into October, so I'm still safe to post a recap post of the month, right?

When the month started, our calendar was basically empty. I honestly thought that it might be a laid back, easy month. But by the 2nd or 3rd day of the month, I had decided the laid back life definitely isn't for us. One day I hope Eric and I can sit back and watch the sun set every evening drinking a glass of wine from our back patio, but we are so far from that being our reality, and I am totally ok with that.

I've found that I love having a plan (and honestly I already knew that. I'm not much of the spontaneous type). Seeing the calendar full is a little overwhelming at first, but as the month gets rolling, I realize how much I love the busyness that currently engulfs our lives. 

Labor Day weekend is a big one for Palestine (the town I work in). I made plans with some of our friends who live there to go to the rodeo that Sunday evening with them. 

Eric and I had been to the rodeo years and years ago (pre-kids with lots of drinks in a certain tent behind the grandstands), so I didn't really know what all actually happened at a rodeo. But I thought the kids would be the perfect age to come see all the animals. 

And I was right! Brayden and Ashley really loved the rodeo. Brayden's favorite part was probably the popcorn (which is honestly his favorite part of any activity lately), and Ashley really loved the rodeo clown. She was always asking where he was and if he was ok when he wasn't out in the arena. Katie was interested in the activities very briefly, but much more enjoyed walking back and forth behind the grandstands. I'm calling it a win and looking forward to bringing them back next year for even more fun! 

The next weekend was Fall Festival, and I knew we would be all about the parade. Brayden left no candy behind, Ashley loved seeing all the different groups walking by, and Katie loved when a band played as they walked by us. We are still eating parade candy almost a month later.

That night I decided we should test out the new camper in the back yard! We enjoyed smore's by the fire and riding our bikes till it was too dark to see. I think Brayden and Ashley really loved having one whole side to themselves. Katie slept in her pack and play, but Eric ended up going inside with her about half way through the night. We didn't turn the heat on that night and I think it just got a little cold for her, no matter how much we thought we layered her up. Oh well, it was a fun night and the kids loved being able to sleep in the camper!

The next Friday night was a home football game. We were a HOT MESS. Water bottles were rolling under the seats in front of us, popcorn was eaten off the floor (like a lot of popcorn- I don't even think it was all ours), and Katie refused to sit still and we ended up in the second or third row of the grandstands so she had more room to walk. Like I said, a hot mess. But I chalk these up to learning experiences and exposing the kids to all things fun that they can do one day. 

The 17th was a girls day with my besties. We missed Kendra, but I'm so thankful that I was able to get together with Ashley and Kaci for brunch, piercings (not me!), and wine. It's time to get another date in the books!

The 22nd was another home football game where my children redeemed themselves from our previous disaster. All the popcorn for the win!

  

It was probably that Friday night that I had talked to Eric about taking the kids to the zoo that weekend. I had talked all summer about wanting to go with them this year still, but we never made it happen. I basically didn't take no for an answer this time, and that Sunday morning we loaded up the van for a fun day at the zoo!

On the way there, we talked about what animals we might see there, and Ashley decided that we should go see the snakes first. Whose child is this!? Penguins and cheetahs were also high on the list for them. But snakes were first, and Ashley really wanted to get a picture with all of them. 

We loved the monkeys, dinosaurs, hippo, and bears, and the kids asked when we would get to see the penguins and cheetahs the entire time we were there. 

Brady was our keeper of the map. He is always so fascinated with maps and loves to have them open and look at where we are going. He told us his favorite animals were the penguins and the dinosaurs (though he refused to take a picture by one of them). I honestly think the dinosaurs scared him just a little bit since they moved and you can get really close to them. He talked all about seeing penguins and the cheetahs (we didn't tell him that we never actually saw the cheetahs, they weren't out when we went past their enclosure), but those didn't make his top animals list.

Ashley was definitely all about the experience and wanted pictures with everything. She told us her favorite was the dinosaurs, but she also asked the entire time we were at the zoo for the penguins and the cheetahs. 

Katie enjoyed seeing all the different animals. She would point at different ones she could see, and really liked the snakes and the small monkey enclosures since they were animals that were easier to see. But her favorite was most definitely the penguins! She clapped and pointed the entire time we were in there.

We ended our month with some time in the combine with my dad. Katie was less than enthused, and spent the majority of the ride with her head on my shoulder. Brayden and Ashley loved every minute of it. They thought it was so cool how the corn went into the head and then came out the back as corn, and loved it even more when dad would dump the corn into the wagons once he was full. 

After the second dump, my allergies were in full swing, so I happily exited the combine to the comfort of my Kleenex box. Katie and Brayden opted to come out with me, but Ashley wanted to stay in and ride longer with grandpa. When I finally made her get out so we could run a few errands in Effingham, she was all smiles about her time in the combine with grandpa. Can't beat those memories!

And of course sprinkled throughout the month were random moments of cuteness from these three. 

They sure keep me on my toes. And while it may get the best of me every now and then, I prayed so hard for so long for days just like these. I'm trying to remember to soak it all in, because I know that one day I'll be looking at these pictures and then at my kids and wondering when the heck they got so big. It's a busy season that we are living in, but I'm here for the ride.