Turkey In The Desert

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Hope yours was lovely...

Ours was a glorious time with family. We were in Palm Desert with beautiful warm weather (although not as warm as the 80 degree hot spell we came home to!) so we were able to swim. Here is Abby - first time with floaties on...

Fordy did a little swimming but sometimes we felt just like doing this. Feet up. Sun shining down. Ahhhh.

And when I dove in, Fordy got to hang with fun Aunt Stacey.

And every time I turned around, Grandma was there with another gift for the kids to open. Each and every one was apropos for the moment. A float suit for Ford and a big inflatable airplane that Abby enjoyed more than Fordy did.

Later, Abby got to open her first sleeping bag. Big news, people. Big news. It had princesses on it, too. She literally said, "I'm so excited to go to sleep in my sleeping bag!" This from a girl who never likes going to sleep. Angeles were singing. It was fabulous. So fabulous that she took naps every single day. Maybe it was the sleeping bag. Maybe it was chasing her cousin Abram around. Or maybe it was all of the swimming. Either way, winner!

Fordy's last day at the pool...

And in the great Nieporte holiday tradition, Grandma busted out some cheesecake which Abby was able to take a big spoonful of before anyone else could touch it.

And then....the next day we were off to the club for dinner. It was the second year in a row where we've done this-- no insane cooking for Grandma, no insane dishes for the guys... I must say, it was wonderful. Abby stole this pink thing from Grandma -- her name is Bernice and she sings a little song and flaps her wings. All very cute. But definitely not allowed to come to the club. Frown. She got over it.

Abby even got to eat salmon. And Ford only fussed for a minute. It was actually more calm than dinners at home. Maybe it was because of the sleeping bag. Oh no, wait... maybe it was because we went to dinner at 3:45. Yep. That was it. Maybe we should always eat dinner at 3:45. That way, everyone would be in a good mood instead of the craziness at our house at 6pm.

His first collared shirt...

Grandma and Grandpa at dinner with Fordy (this was before Abby's ice cream which was covered in m & m's which sent her into an insane sugar rush with her running around the house, stripping off her clothes and chasing her cousin and both dogs).

And finally - the four of us. Three years ago, I never would've believed this picture would be our future....

And a week ago, I also would not have guessed that Thanksgiving night would be the first time I'd sleep through the night in 6 plus months. That's what happens when you accidentally turn the monitor to the wrong channel and can't hear your baby crying at night. Sleep training got kick started and now, voila -- I don't get up at 3am!

486. being pampered by my inlaws for 3 days

487. loving watching Abby and Abram grow up together

488. sleeping from 12-7

Classic Fordy

And while I get my Thanksgiving thoughts together, here are some classic Fordy pics from the aforementioned birthday party.

483. no dishes on Thanksgiving

484. knowing that at least I can pray

485. not getting up at 3am (update to come!)

Big Girl Birthday Revisited

We've already shared the birthday party of our sweet friend, Katie.

But.

That was before I saw Katie's mommy's pictures from that day. They're so much better than mine... I just have to share! Check out her blog...she takes amazing pictures.

Abby having her tea (punch!)...

The line up of all the girls. I just love Abby down there on the end, hanging with the big kids.

Her awesome marshmallow necklace (and not giving a crazy "cheese!" face for the camera)...

The three of us!

Abby doling out hugs...

Katie doling out kisses...

The best part! Mini ice cream cones!

479. fordy's nap schedule developing

480. a family to plan the holidays with

481. a new and improved swing set situation

482. our faithful mailman

Thankfulness

Warning! Just-out-of-bed-still-in-my-PJs pictures coming. You might want to put that permanent airbrush option on your glasses or contacts for this one.

Here we are talking about our "30 Days of Thankfulness"-- every day we write down things that we're thankful for- for the entire month of November.

See this little scab on her eyelid? We think she fell asleep for her nap while reading and it poked her eye. Yowch! Didn't seem to stop her for long though...

And that same day, she fell flat on her face out back and smacked her head on the concrete. Not even a minute of crying... we didn't even know it was bruised till after her nap.

Right handed thankfulness.... ("Mom! I'll do it!")

And left handed thankfulness (just like her dad - uses both of her hands).

Hebrews 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful...

476. a covered front porch in the rain

477. watching the leaves in our neighborhood change color

478. planning things to do in december to bring in the Christmas cheer

Reinforcements

Dear God,

Thank you, thank you, thank you that they're both asleep for at least 10 minutes. Now I can take a 3 minute shower instead of a 10 minute shower, 9 of which is busy playing peek a boo with Ford in the bouncy chair just outside of the reach of the over spray. And thank you for Matt Damon's acting career. What? Amen.

When I start praying those prayers, I know it's time to call in the reinforcements. Lucky for me we have two sets of grandparents who love to visit!

Papa keps saying, "I don't feel like I'm helping much..." But he was doing this :

And that is everything. It freed up two of my arms to do other things! Priceless.

Plus, he did some awesome assembly line work on a card job for me. Priceless!

And Little Grandma did a lot of this with her partner in crime...

And introduced the little guy to tea sets and cars...

(yes, this was the first and last time he sucked on a car this size, you choking-police-people, you.)

And usually looked like this with her hands completely full...juggling everything with grace.

473. Fordy graduating out of his swing -- too big! too wiggly! too crazy!

474. the first fire in the fireplace of the season

475. rescheduling our music class

"I Love You Edward Ford"

Could there be any better words from the mouth of Abby Mae? I think not.

This weekend, it rained. We had grilled cheese with turkey and tomato soup. Oh, and grapes. Abby's favorite part. Yum.

And we did some legos, which were also known as "candy." Because that's what you do with candy, right? Line it up on the couch.

And we did laundry. And I found this cute little guy in the basket. Doesn't it look like he's saying (in his best Jersey accent) "hey! anybody gonna hand a guy a soda pop?"

In this one he's just wondering why I've left him in there so long. He often gives me this look. Usually when it takes me 20 minutes to do the dishes and he's s t i l l in his exersaucer.

And nothing beats Abby snuggling up to him and saying, "I love you, Edward Ford." Absolutely nothing. 469. the warmest boots ever

470. a nice card job falling in my lap

471. trimming nails with no problems

472. fordy's amazing smile

Sit Up Britian II

Not to be confused with Sit Up Britian! (JJ, this post title is for you a la Bridge Jones!)

And suddenly, Fordy sits!

We had his 6 month check up this week. 80%(!!) for height and 14% for weight. Somehow, our kids are long and lean. I blame the grandfathers.

And Abby can put on her own shoes, even the ones with the "thingy between my toes!" that she absolutely would not wear over the summer when those shoes are actually appropriate. After she put on her metallic shoes today, she looked at me and said, "mom! we match!" So, i took a picture of her...

And she took a picture of me! See? Pink shirt and metallic shoes? No? Oops.... :) A good first try, though, right?

466. running a letterpress job in record time

467. a husband who happily hangs with the kids as i work

468. earphones that let me escape to another world

Long and Loud and Clear

Abby is suddenly singing. And I mean constantly singing. Long and loud and clear (Mary Poppins!). I love it. Her newest is Bah Bah Black Sheep Revised.

"Bah Bah Blacksheep

Alligator Wool

Yes Sir, Yes Sir

3 bags full

One for the little girl

That lives down the street

Not lane, mom! Street!"

And when we go to Trader Joes, you can hear her from 3 aisles away. "JESUS LOVES ME THIS I KNOW!" Sorry if that offends you, shoppers. She's happy to sing/shout it out. As soon as she finds "Cap'n Jack" (this gives you the right to have a lollypop, ensuring that when you go to any other grocery store your child complains, "but they don't have LOLLIES!!!!") she stops singing and screams, "Cap'n Jack!!!! Cap'n Jack!!! He's in the frozen section! I get a lolly!"

This is how she feels when she's singing...

And at night the new "program" for bed after turning off the light consists of "Holy, Holy, Holy, mom! Then Jesus Loves Me - the wrong one- Jesus Loves Me - the right one- and then Twinkle Twinkle. Okay?" We know two versions of Jesus Loves Me and she loves to call them the "right" and "wrong" ones. I'm realizing as I write this that we do have our own little language. Hurrah the singing!!!

Book Of The Week :

The Good Humor Man -- in her collection of Golden Books.

463. all the "help" abby gives me

464. learning to love "holding" fordy when he naps while sick instead of wishing i could get the dishes done

465. our friend's daughter recovering from burning her arm - and doing great

Just The Three Of Them

This is what it looks like most early evenings -- now that it's completely dark at 5:30! -- with me cooking dinner and Grant trying to keep two kids happy in that lovely witching hour. There is no question which parent is more fun. And I'm absolutely fine with that.

459. a lit pilot light

460. being completely exhausted when i fall asleep

461. hearing abby say, "okay, mom! I will do it!"

462. a wednesday morning group of young moms in the same boat

Halloween A.M.

Halloween was a beautiful day even if we were fighting runny noses. This cold is really hanging on for the kids.... but it makes me really thankful that we aren't terrified of Abby getting sick anymore. In fact, a little immunity is good for her.

She sure felt good in spite of it.

On these beautiful days, she spends lots of time putting "bunny with the ears" in her "cart" and "runnnnnning over heeeeeeere!"

And "baaaaaack!"

And if all goes well on these days, Fordy is bouncing away in the sun.

Happy as can be.

This is usually when she says, "Mom! i'm going to Trader Joes! Where is my list?!"

Then it's usually time to play in the large mound of mulch in the driveway...

"I'm just sitting, mom..."

Bout time for a haircut, eh?

Contemplating what a cheerleader is...her costume is a mystery to her.

See the runny nose + chapped lips?

Inevitably the shoes come off....

"Mom! Is lunch outside?" Yes. Almost everyday now, it is. Glorious, isn't it?

And something totally cool I learned about today -- online read along stories from Barnes & Noble. Free! Genius.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime/index.asp