THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

Happy Thanksgiving!  (My camera stayed in my purse for most of the weekend!  We travelled to Great Aunt N's house for the annual big meal and then up to Grandma K and Grandpa A's house.)

On Saturday we had Thanksgiving at Grandma S and Grandpa J's house.  We strolled the tree farm in their backyard and JP found the perfect tree topper for our front step. 

And while AA and I searched for the perfect tree to take home for decorations, JP couldn't pass up a ride with Grandpa!

EATING OUT

Before choosing to take part in a social activity with my kids I find myself trying to determine the work to fun ratio before comitting.  Last year, the thought about going out to eat at a sit down restaurant with just the four of us seemed exhausting.  My purse-turned diaper bag needed to be carefully packed with extra diapers, underwear, wipes, bibs, water bottles, bottles, snacks, baby food, coloring books, stickers, books ... all to sit around a table and quickly scarf down food without barely holding a conversation with A. 

What a difference a year makes!  This work to fun ratio seems to be flip flopping with the passing months.  Tonight we made an impromptu decision to go to a local bar and grill without my purse!  The kids munched on appetizers of popcorn and talked with each other while A and I ordered a drink. 

I know each stage of parenting comes trials and tribulations; I think I'm quite content with this stage!

PUDDLE JUMPERS

As the leaves fell from the trees and the cold weather arrived, A and I decided to enroll the kids in gymnastics.  What a great way for my kiddos to burn off energy!  Over the four week course, we witnessed definite improvement in balance, coordination, and listening skills!  Lil' AA LOVES "cheesesticks" (aka "gymnastics").  Cameras are not allowed at this facility ... but I just had to snap a few! 

I think we'll sign the kids up again!

GIRLS

And what are little girls made of?

Well, sugar and spice and everything nice.

And what else is my little girl made of?

Plenty of Addie-tude!

GEORGE

And just look who JP met at the Children's Museum today?

Curious George! 

(Yep, AA met him too ... but she didn't want anything to do with this large monkey!)

BIRTHDAY FUN

We just can't let a birthday pass without a celebration these days!  Both JP and AA LOVE singing "Hoppy Bowthday", eating cake(pops), blowing out candles, and unwrapping presents.  Grandpa T (and Uncle J) recently had birthdays so we invited them down to celebrate.  We spent most of the unseasonably warm (75 degrees!) afternoon outside at a park with the rest of the city.  JP ran into a few of his classmates and we all had so much fun witnessing their interactions.  What a great day!

And so the countdown for AA's birthday begins ...

GOAL!

JP just completed his first round of soccer lessons.  The four week Monday night lessons gave me a snapshot of what life will soon bring: more chaos.  Certainly organized sports and other activities will foster JP's personality, team builiding and listening skills, coordination, friendships, and talents ... but these events will also cut into precious family time.  Just making it to these lessons was a feat for me ... picking the kids up from daycare, changing, eating dinner in the car and making it to practice by 6pm was my workout.  I suppose we were still together as a family, but our nights were far from the normal routine.  By the time practice had ended, we headed home and went straight to bed.

Each week, JP's attitude toward soccer changed.  A few of the nights he was an aggressive little guy, dribbling with actual precision and scoring goals; other nights he ran off the field with tears in his eyes since the other kids weren't sharing the ball with him.  Some nights he'd squeal with delight when the coaches sang silly songs to stretch and warm up; other times he'd run off with the ball with his buddy instead of listening.  The entire experience was a great one to witness; my little boy is growing up so fast.  These four weeks of soccer presented many new lessons for all of us!

And AA?  Well, this whole process was really hard on her ... they let her warm up with the older kids, but when the actual practice started, she had to sit next to me on the bench!  I cannot wait until she's old enough to play!