Thanksgiving

While I worked on Thanksgiving, Paul and the kids enjoyed a turkey dinner with Granny and Grandpa Tom.  Here the kids are having fun looking at the fish in the fish pond at Granny's retirement home.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we had Granddaddy and Grandma Karleen over for a belated Thanksgiving dinner.  The kids were happy to have Granddaddy read them stories before lunch.

Cool weather cutie

My Thanksgiving Surprise

I had to work on Thanksgiving so my awesome husband took the kids to the hospital to visit me.  I was super excited to see them!

School pictures 2013

I'm pleased with the school pictures, much cuter then when I was in school.

 Johnny age 3

Molly age 4

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

Every year the kids preschool has a Thanksgiving Feast and all the parents are invited.  This year we were surprised when the kids were dressed up, they looked super cute!

Johnny's first trip to the dentist

This week Johnny had his first dental check-up and Molly had her second.  Molly was not one bit hesitant about going and was eager to get right up in the exam chair.  I had to ease Johnny in by letting him sit on my lap at first but he warmed up and sat alone for a better part of the exam.  I love our dentist, their office is amazing.  Let me just say, it is nothing like my childhood dentist office! The exam room had 2 chairs so the kids could go at the same time (meaning half the time I have to be there) and it was so big Samuel was content walking around checking things out while the older ones were being looked at.  Hopefully this will start them on the right track so they won't have such a fear of the dentist like me! 

 The kids played dentist at home after their appointment!

Halloween 2013

The weekend before Halloween we enjoyed a trunk n treat at the church where Molly and Johnny attend preschool.  The kids had fun getting candy, going on a hay rack ride, and jumping in the bounce house!

 On Halloween night our little doctor, nurse, and injured patient ventured into the neighborhood in search of candy.  As you can see, they collected quite a load.  Molly has always loved trick-or-treating and this year was no different.  Johnny was a little more reserved (consistent with his personality) but it didn't take him long to figure out the routine and he happily went to the houses with Molly. Samuel was content eating a sucker in the wagon the whole evening.

Sweet Berry Farms/Pumpkin Patch

 

 

Rainy Day

A few months ago our neighbor girl gave Molly her old Easy Bake Oven.  I had not been too eager to try it out but Molly had been asking and we had nothing better to do on a rainy day, so we gave it a whirl.  Molly and Johnny were excited with their creations.  And yes, they look better then they tasted!

Note the forts in the background, also part of our rainy day activities.

Samuel is Walking

 

Samuel's 1 year stats

Samuel had his 1 year well check last week and his current stats are:

Weight: 20 lbs 3.5oz (30th percentile)
Height: 29" (14th percentile)

It is confirmed, he is a short little peanut!

Here is a picture of Samuel's favorite spot in the house.  Whenever I lose track of him, I find  him in Molly and Johnny's room with a book sitting in Molly's bean bag.  Maybe he is just trying to get a little peace and quite around here-ha!

Year-round pool

Plastic pools are not just for swimming!  They had so much fun, this might become a regular fall-time activity.

 

Quiet time

Paul had all his wisdom teeth taken out on Monday so my mommy duties have been in overdrive.  I am trying to be sympathetic to Paul, at the same time I'm picking up his slack (yes, this has made me realize how much he really does help).  By dinner time I usually only have a few shreds of patience left!  Tonight after dinner I decided the best way to earn a few quiet  minutes was to give the kids ice cream:

 

Of course, we didn't leave Samuel out.  After he finished his ice cream he stole Johnny's:



Samuel's 1st birthday-the actual day

We had to continue the birthday celebration on through his actual birthday.  It was rainy so Paul decided to burn the fire pit and let the kids play outside and cook hot dogs over the fire. 

 

 After naps we went to a bouncy place.  Here is an action shot of Samuel and I going down the slide (we didn't get any good pictures).

To finish off the birthday celebration, we stopped at Dairy Queen and got Samuel his very own ice cream cone, which he loved so much he was shaking!!

Samuel's 1st Birthday Party

Samuel turned 1!  I now every mother says this, but that year really did seem to fly by.  Samuel has been a wonderful addition to our family and we all love the little guy.  He gets a lot of attention from everyone.  Johnny and Molly both love to hug on him and are both very good with him. 
To celebrate Samuel's first birthday, we had a small party Saturday night with Granddaddy, Grandma Karleen, and a couple family friends with boys the same age as Sam.  We had pizza, played, and ate chocolate cake.  Samuel enjoyed all of it!!

Nurse Molly

One of Molly's favorite games is playing nurse.  Today as I was the patient, this was our conversation:
Molly: Do you have any boo-boos?
Me: No, I have a couple mosquito bites.
Molly: I'm not interested in mosquito bites, I'm only interested in boo-boos!

Clearly, I have demonstrated a lack of empathy on more then one occasion-ha!

Pancake Breakfast 2013

Today was the annual pancake breakfast at Molly and Johnny's preschool.  I always enjoy the opportunity to visit their school and am glad they allow the parents to be so involved.

Cold Water

Last week at the pool:

Molly: The water is cold
Me: Cold like an ice cube
Molly: Cold like the arctic

Ha!  I know I will say this over and over again but she is just like her daddy!

Johnny's first day of preschool 2013

Johnny started preschool today.  This is his first year to go and really his first time to be away from home.  He was a little shy when I dropped him off but his teacher reported that he had a great day.  When I picked him up he was very excited to tell me about his day and said that school was "fun"!

Molly's first day of preschool 2013

Yesterday Molly started her second year of preschool at Westside Church of Christ.  She really enjoys school and was very eager to start again.  She came home yesterday with an owl sticker which she earned for standing nicely in line.  She is usually a total rule follower and loves to learn (I pray that will never change)!

Candy Store

I promised Brooklynn, Julia, and  Hallie that while vising we would take a trip to Austin to the candy store.  They held me to the promise and all the kids were elated with what the store had to offer!  We had a special after-hours adventure after we had to knock on the door and beg to let us in when the store decided to close early that night!  We made it worth thier while to open back up.

Port Aransas-take 2

The first part of August we took a second trip to Port Aransas but this time we were so excited to have Grandma Jane, Grandpa Dennis, Uncle Darren, Julia, Brooklynn, and Hallie join us.  We had a ton of fun and as you will see, I had a hard time narrowing down the pictures.

Julia, Darren, Hallie, and Brooklynn

Nighttime at the beach

Morning workout, jumping jack contest



And a push-up contest

One more competition for Darren and Paul

Picture fun on the bunk beds

More cousin pics

 Silly cousin picture

 Beach walk

 Darren, Julia, Brooklynn, and Hallie playing in the water

 Dance party at the beach hous

 Celebrating Johnny's birthday

 The clan, minus Paul

 The clan, minus Grandpa and Grandma

Tired out on the ride home