We are thankful for our precious playgroup!

Last Monday, we hosted playgroup at our house. It was so much fun having our friends over to play. We started off by making our first Christmas craft of the season.... a handprint wreath. I traced Tanner's hand and put it together to make a wreath. Then, he glued the berries on. I finished it off by tieing a bow to hang it. We enjoyed sitting around the dining room table visiting and putting together the wreath while the boys played in the playroom.

Then, we headed outside for the boys to play in the backyard while the moms visited some more on the patio! It was a beautiful afternoon! As always, we had the most fun just hanging out and being together. The boys have formed the most special friendships and so have us moms!!! These girls mean the world to me! I cherish every single conversation, piece of advice, complaint, praise, cry, and most of all laughter that we share! Because of these girls, I am a better mom and a better person. Thank you girls for such a fun afternoon and for all the fun days that we have spent together raising our sweet, fun, rambunctious boys!!!!

Sweet Alli... she has such a good mommy & has the most nurturing personality! She always holds the babies and puts them right to sleep in her arms!

The moms just visiting while we watch our boys play

The boys playing in the playhouse... you can't see their precious faces, but it was the best group shot I could get!!
Sutton, Chapman, Reid, Tanner, & Hudson

Sweet Hudson peeking over!It was so funny to watch them climb on the brick railing... Sutton was the first to climb up....then the others followed....

Reid :)

Here are two of the three precious babies of the group (with two more on the way!)... Jace & Ellie

We caught them holding hands.... I think Ellie may be sweet on Jace & I can see why! What a cutie! No playgroup would be complete without some yummy treats...

and pretty flowers! :)Thanks, friends, for coming over to play!!! We can't wait for next time!!!
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Thanksgiving 2009

What a fabulous Thanksgiving we had this year!!! We went to Oklahoma to spend the holidays with Shane's family. We spent a wonderful several days there relaxing and eating, and just enjoying being with family... isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about??? We are truly so blessed in so many ways, and I felt God's blessings this holiday more than ever! I am SOOOOOO thankful for my two littlest blessings who enrich my life every single day!!!!
After a long drive to Oklahoma on Wednesday, we made it just in time for a yummy Blue Moon dinner! Tanner was so excited to see Grandpa & Nana (and they were just as excited to see him)! On Thursday morning, Tanner & Grandpa made the first of many trips to the farm to feed the cows! Tanner was in heaven... he absolutely loved every single second of it! Then, we headed to Shane's precious grandparents' house for a delicious Thanksgiving lunch (it doesn't get any better than Grandma's dressing & rolls... I could eat that for every meal!)!!

Great-grandpa & Ellie... how cute are they???

Sweet Great-grandma & Ellie

Tanner was acting so tired so we fed him early and put him down for a nap. Little did we know that four hours later he would wake up with a fever (during that four hours we ate the most delicious dinner, the girls played games, the boys napped, & we all snuggled with Ellie). Poor Tanner just looked so sad when he woke up. So we headed home to Nana & Grandpa's & all cuddled up on the couch and watched movies... Tanner looked so sweet laying on Grandpa.

Here is a pic of Tanner eating his early Thanksgiving dinner with Grandpa & Nana

Friday and Saturday were spent relaxing with Shane's parents! It was WONDERFUL to just lay around and visit and enjoy each other's company. We did lots of Christmas shopping.... from our computers on the couch!!! Love it!
Nana loving on Ellie

And the absolute highlight of Tanner's trip.... hanging out with Grandpa on the farm (actually he was happy anywhere as long as he was with Grandpa!). Here are pictures of Tanner feeding the cows! He always talks about "Grandpa's cows" and anytime we see cows, he says,"Grandpa's cows!"

Riding in the farm truck with Grandpa

On our last night, I was laying in bed with Tanner as he was trying to fall asleep and he hadn't said a word for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden he looked at me and said, "are Grandpa's cows sleeping?" I said, "yes, honey, Grandpa's cows are sleeping, " and he replied, "Can I go see Grandpa's cows sleeping?" Then, he drifted off to sleep. It was too cute... he feel asleep thinking about Grandpa's cows! Not only do Tanner and Grandpa share a name (Tanner's middle name is Mark after Shane's dad), but they share such a special bond that is so precious to watch!

Nana bought the coolest towel wraps for the grandkids! Each night my little monster ran around the house in his monster towel wrap... so fitting for my little man!
After our daily homemade waffle breakfast, we loaded up and headed out on Sunday morning. We were sad to leave to Nana & Grandpa, but can't wait to see them next month! We drove through Sherman on the way home and spent the wonderful afternoon with Mimi & Pops! More spoiling for Tanner... he loved it!!!!! It was the perfect way to end our Thanksgiving weekend! Now, we have to hold on to our hats... we have the busiest December ever packed full with so many fun Christmas parties and Christmas activities!!!! Have I ever mentioned how much I love this time of year????!!!!

Tanner the Tool Man

Tanner loves to play with his tools! He really got into his tools and "fixing" things a few Sunday mornings ago! It was so cute. He was walking around the house with his tool belt on saying, "Tanner fix it!" He would hammer the wall or window, and the put the hammer back in his tool belt and get another tool out. He loves to play with his Black & Decker work bench that he got for his birthday. We all know that he idolizes his Daddy and he loves to help his Daddy "fix it." He thinks Daddy can fix ANYTHING! (excuse Tanner's hair... it was early in the morning and clearly not styled yet!!!)



Last week, Daddy put together Ellie's bouncy chair and of course, he had the best little helper!!!!

Trucks and Dinosaurs... a two year old boy's dream!

Over the past two weeks, Tanner has gotten to experience two of his favorite things up close and personal! This weekend, our little family of four went to a "truck time" show! There were all kinds of trucks... firetrucks, tractors, dump trucks, ambulances, big rigs, and more! The kids got to climb in and on the fun trucks and even honk the horns! Tanner's favorite books to read are all about trucks so I knew he would just love it! Tanner loved trying everything out, and we loved watching him explore some of his favorite things!

Tanner in the firetruck

Trying on a fireman's uniform... the coat was too heavy to put on. I think it weighed more than Tanner!Climbing on the firetruck

Sitting on one of the tractors

Tanner in the dump truck

Tanner in the Bobcat

Another big truck (I think it's called a backhoe loader???)

Running up and down one of the trailers

And, Sweet Ellie slept the whole time!
When we got home, my two boys were wiped out!!!

Last week, Mimi & I took Tanner & Ellie to the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit in McKinney! It was a beautiful Fall day and the nature walk was so nice. We walked on some trails and saw huge life-size dinosaurs along the way. They ROARED and moved and were so cool! Tanner was a bit scared at first.... he wanted a close look, but also wanted to be held! After we saw all the dinosaurs, we had a picnic lunch. What a fun day we had! My camera died soon after we got there so I didn't get very many pics, but here are a few!

Mimi & Tanner

Mommy & Tanner

Looking from a safe distance at the dinosaurs
Mommy and her favorite little man on the nature trail

And, once again, sweet sissy sleeping while we had some fun!

Halloween 2009... the MOST FUN Halloween EVER!

This year was, without question, the most fun Halloween ever!!! Tanner totally "got it" this year & the joy in Tanner's eyes as he celebrated with his buddies was PRICELESS!!!! We started our Halloween week off with our annual playgroup Halloween party. Cara hosted this year, and as always, she was the "hostess with the mostess" and the boys had a blast!!! She made the yummiest Halloween treats and decorated her house so cute! Check out the cuteness below:
Jonas Brothers (Chapman), Tiger (Porter), Train Conductor (Sutton), Pirate (Tanner), Cowboy (Reid), Football Player (Quinn), Tom Cruise in Risky Business (Landon), Golfer (Hudson)

And with their hats:

And the babes of the group: Jace, Grant, & the only girl, Ellie (who was clearly NOT happy about the photo shoot!)My sweet baby girl who is tu-tu cute for words:

It's not the best picture, but it's the only picture I could get of my two favorite spooks:

Mommy & her loves:

Mommy & Baby Girl

We had the most wonderful Halloween Day with lots of celebrating!!! We were so excited to get to spend the morning at a costume birthday party for sweet Madeline. We had so much fun watching the kids run around the backyard in their cute costumes! Tanner absolutely loved playing with his friends, jumping in the bounce house, and eating the most delicious birthday cake!

How cute is the birthday girl dressed as Minnie Mouse??? Seriously! As always, Miss Madeline looked absolutely PRECIOUS! Happy Birthday, Sweet Friend!!!!After Madeline's party, we came home for Tanner to take his nap before we continued the Halloween festivities! As soon as he woke up, we put the pirate costume back on & headed to our old neighborhood for the annual Halloween Neighborhood party! I miss my old neighborhood friends SO MUCH! I have to admit, when we drove by our old house, I got really teary-eyed. It was so fun seeing everyone and catching up! I love my Aspendale Girls!!! And, Tanner had a ball jumping in the bounce house with the big kids! I didn't take any pictures (what was I thinking?!?!)... I guess I was having too much fun talking and eating the yummy food!

We left the neighborhood party about 6:00 and headed over to the Carroll's for some good, old fashioned trick-or-treating. It was probably one of my top-five of all time favorite nights!!!! Tanner and his best buddy, Landon, had THE most fun ever trick-or-treating, and us parents had the most fun ever watching the pure joy in their eyes as they went door-to-door! Cara, Adam, Shane, & I walked around the Carroll's neighborhood pushing Ellie in her stroller and walking with the boys as they said "trit-or-treat" and then, "thant tu" to all of the houses. They were, without a shadow of a doubt, the two cutest trick-or-treaters ever. The pictures don't even do justice to just how cute these two were! They couldn't have been happier!

One of the cutest parts of the night.... the boys were so innocent and didn't know what to expect in the beginning. They were a little scared at first because they heard scary music down the street. So they bashfully went up the first house & said "trick-or-treat" in their sweet little voices. They seriously couldn't believe their eyes when they got a handful of candy, and together they ran to front yard and plopped down and started eating their candy! They had no idea that they were going to get to go to more houses and get more candy! They were in heaven when they realized the fun was only beginning!!!!
Another cute thing.... the boys thought that they had to ring the doorbell to get the candy. It was a BEAUTIFUL night and lots of people were sitting on the front porch with their bowls of candy t hand out. Well, these two would run right past the people on the porch and ring their doorbell. One sweet lady had to go inside her house and open the door because they wouldn't take the candy from the porch!! They wanted someone to open the door to hand the candy to them!!!
These sweet boys had the BEST manners. They said "thank you" every single time someone gave them candy. They truly had so much fun. As much fun as they had, I think us parents had even more fun watching them!!!

After we walked all around the neighborhood, the boys loved dumping out their candy basket to look at all their candy and goodies!!! They shared their candy (literally one would take a lick of a sucker and hold it out for the other to try!). It was too sweet!

Look at these boys... I am SO thankful for their sweet friendship!

After lots of candy eating, it was time for bed. Shane & I were having too much fun so we decided to try to put Tanner to sleep on Landon's trundle, and to my surprise, he did great!!! So the boys fell asleep in Landon's room, and the parents stayed up hanging out, playing poker, talking, and laughing! Thank you Carroll Family for the best Halloween Night ever!!!!!! Can't wait for next year!
The next morning, Tanner put his pirate hat back on and sampled some more of his Halloween Candy!

If Halloween was this much fun this year, I can't even imagine what Christmas will be like!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!

My sweet baby girl is two months!

My sweet baby girl is already 2 months old... how can that be? We are all so in love with Ellie, and she just completes our family! We are so blessed. Tanner is becoming the best big brother and is adjusting better and better each day! He loves to give her kisses which melts my heart!

Ellie is just beginning to smile (she began truly smiling in response at 8 weeks) and when she does it LIGHTS UP THE ROOM!!!! Just look at that big, gummy grin above!!! Love it! In general, she is such a happy and mellow baby! She has her fussy moments, but they don't last long. As I have mentioned before, she still LOVES to be held at all times. There is nothing more in the world I would rather do than just sit and hold my baby girl and stare into her big beautiful blue eyes! Unlike her big brother, she does not love the swing! She just wants to be in someone's arms cuddling up close! She is still sleeping in our room in the arm's reach co-sleeper (it is similar to a pack-n-play that is right up against our bed... thanks to sweet Amy for letting us borrow it!). She is a good sleeper and only wakes up once or sometimes twice to feed. We aren't on a schedule during the day... she just goes with the flow and naps randomly throughout the day which is so nice because she is so accommodating to our busy schedule! She went to the doctor on Monday and got another excellent report! My only concern for the doctor was that her belly button sticks way out. I had researched it and thought it was an umbilical hernia, and I was right! It is completely harmless and painless and will most likely go away on it's own by age 2 or 3 (if it doesn't, she will have to have a simple surgical procedure to remove it). She did great with her shots. As always, it broke my heart into a million pieces to see pain inflicted on her, but I know that it is to protect her. She did AWESOME and only cried for less than a minute! Her 2 month stats are:

Weight: 9 pounds, 14 ounces (25%)
Height: 22 3/4 inches (70%)
Head: 14 1/2 inches (5%)

My sweet, sweet baby girl... each and every day I love you more & more. I love that precious smile all the way down to your cute little toes! I am the luckiest mom in the world that God chose ME to me your & Tanner's mommy!!!! Even thought it can be exhausting at times, it is the best job in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything! I love you more than words can say!!! Happy 2 month birthday, Ellie Girl!

HAPPY TRICK-OR-TREAT DAY!!!!!

More Halloween posts to come.... with pictures of a TU-TU CUTE Ellie and a SHIVER ME TIMBERS Tanner!

The State Fair of Texas- Daddy & Tanner

Last weekend, Shane took Tanner to the fair for a daddy/son afternoon, and they had a blast! Ellie & I didn't make it because the it was too cold and too many germs for my baby girl (but don't feel too sorry for us...we had a fun afternoon with the girls, hanging out with Tara & Bonnie!). It was Tanner's first trip to the fair & it did not disappoint!!!! They rode lots of fun rides, saw lots of cute animals, and ate lots of fun food (my personal favorite part)!

Daddy & Tanner at the midwayThe famous ferris wheel (they did not ride it... too tall for T)!

Tanner's first taste of funnel cake...
Yummy!Tanner LOVED the swings!

And, he loved riding the super tall (& FAST) slide with Daddy

What a fun afternoon Tanner & Daddy had!! Ellie and I can't wait to go back with them next year!!!!! Tanner is so lucky to have such a fun daddy who takes him on lots of adventures even when mommy & sissy can't go!!!!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

Last weekend, Wendy & I took Tanner and Addie to a cute little pumpkin patch at a church by our house! We have been trying to go the Arboretum Pumpkin Patch the last few weeks for Mommy & Me Monday, but the weather has been less than cooperative. So when the Courts came over for dinner last Saturday night, we decided to take the older kids to the little pumpkin patch to pick out their very own pumpkins to decorate. It was cold and wet so we left Logan & Ellie at home with the dads so Tanner & Addie could take their time and run around and have some fun! The each picked out a big pumpkin for themselves (Tanner chose a bumpy one that looked like it had warts!) and a little one for their sisters (a "baby pumpkin" as Tanner kept saying!). It was next to impossible to get a picture of my little busy body looking at the camera and smiling so this is the best I could get!!!

Cutie Addie dancing on top of the pumpkins

Best Friends chillin' in the wheelbarrow that we used to carry our pumpkins to the car

When we got home, we let the kids decorate their pumpkins with stickers.

Addie & Tanner's finished product...with just a little help from Wendy! :)Hopefully we will make it to a big pumpkin patch and get more pictures with Miss Ellie, too!

My Girl

Ellie had her one month check up this week at the peditrician and we got a fabulous report! Yea!

Here are my sweet girl's stats at one month:

Weight: 8.1 pounds (20% percentile)
Length: 22 inches (85% percentile)... sidenote: she gained 2 1/2 inches in the past 2 weeks!

Head Circumference: 14 inches (10% perecntile)

Tummy Time

Ellie enjoys tummy time way more than Tanner did...she actually doesn't mind it all! She usually will end up just laying her head down. She loves to be on her tummy. I know she would love to sleep on her tummy if we would let her!