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.