Pants On Da Ground

Ria is a crazy mess ... after baths on Friday I got her ready and by the time I got Javan out the tub she had grabbed his underwear and put them on (well almost) and on was jumping on his bed!

~V

Thanksgiving Weekend

This has definitely been a wonderful weekend celebrating thanksgiving. I know I've mentioned before that this isn't a holiday in either of our countries but we have always gotten together with friends or just done something on a small scale at home. This year our friends Becky and Mikeal invited us to join their family for lunch. They food was delicious, but the company even better. Mikeal grilled a turkey and it was fantastic. They have a wonderful family and it was really nice of them to invite us to share in their celebration. We had a fun and relaxed time and enjoyed getting to know them better. A bonus was the great weather cos the kids got to play outside.

Javan and Tucker

 I didnt slave in the kitchen all morning, but I did get my hands dirty by helping Mikeal cut up the turkey

How gorgeous is Bella (and Becky) ... her baby blues are just beautiful, esp with her dark hair.

Later that evening we went over to Pastor Jim and Kathy's house and the fun just continued. Kathy is a great cook and along with some help from her mother-in-law and Carolyn, her sis, cooked up quite a spread. We always enjoy their company and really appreciate them including us at family gatherings. Its definitely a plus for Javan that his friends Jacob and Caden are here now. The only downside about hanging out with them is actually leaving ... the trek back home is no fun cos it takes a good 50mins but lets just say that the trytophan kicked in and the kids and I succumbed:)

I had zero intentions of going out for any Black Friday shopping. I would have loved to, but J had to work the entire day (9-7:15p) and shopping in crowds with two little ones is really not the greatest combo (for me). BUT, Miss Ria missed her whole nap on Thursday and was over tired so she didn't sleep well at all through the night. She was up screaming from about 2:30am. Since I was up and couldn't go back to sleep, I decided to check out Target sales. I have NEVER gone this early. I've always heard about the crazy crowds that go this early in the morning but wow, seeing it is a totally different ball game! It was pouring rain and it took about 10mins to get into the store. Before I could even enter the store people where walking out with items they had just purchased. Insane. I didn't get anything of importance and since I was too sleepy I headed home to catch up on some sleep.

Saturday we had a fun time at Kyle's 5th birthday party. We all got to bowl and the boys had a blast. Its so funny listening to 4 and 5yr olds conversations ... they are quite entertaining to say the least:)

the birthday boy

 Little miss wanted to bowl SO badly!

 Hudson was cracking us up with his crazy bowling techniques!

 I am not a great bowler at all but it was fun ... my fall included ... dont ask. it was so stupid)

 Birthday boy and his pretty mama

 These boys can eat

I never did blog about this but at the end of August our AMAZING neighbours moved:( Travis got a job at Faulkner in Alabama coaching baseball and it was a better move for the family so he couldn't turn it down. The night he told us I cried. Its been such a God-send having Eleanor as my neighbour and friend and what stinks the most is that just as I became a SAHM, she moved away and all these years she's been a SAHM wishing I could be at home with her too. Every so often I would take a day off so we could do stuff with the kids. Their moving away has been really hard - She really has been my go-to for everything and was such and amazing support system when I had both my babies. Our kids are pretty close in age and we pretty much spent most evenings outside in each others back yards chatting while the kids played. I miss our impromptu picnics and those 'hey wanna come over for supper?' or 'ready for our walk' calls ... only we rarely picked up the phone, we just opened our back doors to let the other know we were ready for the kids to play! This is going to be a long winter without them around.

They were visiting family in Tennessee for thanksgiving so on their way back to Alabama they stopped to visit us last night. Javan was so excited to see Leah. He really misses her. Both Leah and Brody have grown so much and its only been 3mths since we last saw them. We had a great time catching up. I hate goodbyes ...

They have two new family members ... Woody and Oreo (pictured below)

J got the kids pics before church this morning .... not much of a selection to choose from but they're still cute!

 Ria's dress is actually made from a skirt of mine. I love the fabric and decided to hold on to it and I'm glad I did ... I think the dress turned out great. I don't always remember what I wore to events (unless I have a pic) but I wore this skirt to my very first pre-natal appointment with Javan 5yrs ago so it has a little fun memory attached to it:)

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend with your friends and family.

~V

Thanksgiving MK Style

Javan had his Thanksgiving celebration at school this morning ... it was a fun time for the kids and their families. The kids had a little presentation and then we ate a yummy meal. There were fun games for them to play and the parents had the chance to listen to them sing new songs they had learned for the event.

Here are a few pics from the morning: 

 (when did he grow up ... and how is it that he is 4???)

snapping his fingers .... his newest thing to do ALL.THE.TIME

 

 so thankful for my little family

 the last time J and I were at this place together (5pts Museum) was at our wedding reception almost 7yrs ago and now here we are with our two little ones ... wow!

 Steph and Nathan

 My sweet, amazing friend ... love her

 group time ... waiting to start their songs

They got out of school early so I had a fun time with both of them all day ... I am so thankful that I don't have to miss these moments with them.

* I know this is very unrelated to Javan's Thanksgiving post but I had to share this cos its something I'm thankful for. We were at TJ Maxx today and I was in the fitting room and Javan was keeping an eye on Ria for me. I could hear them giggling and peeked out and he was being such a sweet big brother and making her laugh. He saw me peek at him and he says 'mummy I love you so much.' Later tonight I was loading up the dishwasher and Ria came up to me and grabbed my leg and I asked her if she wanted to snuggle and she reached her arms up to me and hugged me really tight. She started to walk away but turned around and signed and said 'I la you.' Two very simple moments that I may not always remember but will always cherish. I am so thankful that these two love me so unconditional.

~V

How Low Can You Go

I remember when we first placed Ria in Javan's her crib ... she of cos didn't go anywhere!

 

(Ria - 2 days old May 2009)

When she wakes from her naps or in the morning, she usually just sits in there and waits for us. She's never stood up which was kinda odd but I guess she was just content to sit and wait. But a couple of weeks ago when I went to get her she was standing up and she just looked SO tall. J was certain he had lowered the crib to the lowest level but last night I made him check again cos I was certain it could go lower and sure enough it was able to go down one more level.

 

She no longer just lays in there ....

 

 

but is constantly trying to climb in (thankfully not out!) and since the side rail was off she was having a grand time climbing up and down

the minute she climbed in, she propped herself up and gave me this face

and just cos I love this pic ...

he's still such a proud and protective big brother

So last night was another one of those 'slipping away from babyhood' type of days  ... *sniff sniff* my baby is growing just too fast.
~V