Thanksgiving

I hosted Thanksgiving for the first time this year. If I do say so myself, I think it went really well. I didn't make all the food, which made it a lot easier. But 14 people in the house was definitely no small feat. We all enjoyed the company and the delicious food, and it was a really fun day of family.

The ham making the green bean casserole:

 

 Please, no pictures:

The kids cooked their own Thanksgiving meal:

 Some Gigi love:

And Grandpa/Grandma love:

I'm not sure you can tell that we're sisters:

The feast:

 The big table:

 And the little table:

 And the kitchen table contingent:

 

My blue-eyed beauty:

Uncle Ben dishing up seconds:

After lunch a bunch went to the new playground to work off some calories:

The end!

November Photo Dump

 I haven't made many photos in November, and all of the ones I have I made on my phone. So here they are, not really in order. Just a few things we've been up to (mostly mundane).

Audrey's creations for Thanksgiving, proudly worn before she started eating the dry painted pasta necklace:

Snuggling in bed with her baby:

 And snuggling with a real baby, Silas. Just practicing...

 (she thought her finger in his mouth was really interesting!)

This is a picture from the video monitor. I have to do this about half the time in order for her to fall asleep at naps. Otherwise, she destroys her room and ends up sleeping on the floor on a pile of blocks. It's a work in progress. 

  See what I mean?

 

Shades

 And rocking her cupcake sweater and hat:

Swinging on the swings at the new playground our neighborhood just got. It's been GREAT and she just loves it!

Some music with Owen and Amanda at my parents' house:

Audrey went to her first MOVIE with me a few weeks ago. We had such a fun time eating candy and watching about half of a movie on the big screen:

Audrey at the petting zoo

A traveling petting zoo came to Audrey's school today. She got to go see a bunch of animals who patiently stood around and let a bunch of 1-5 year olds pet them. I felt really sorry for the animals, but they seemed to be totally oblivious to all the little hands. It was quite cute to watch. Audrey just thought it was the best ever.

Here's her posing with a baby alpaca:

And the mommy alpaca:

A sheep:

 Donkey:

 COW!!!:

Rooster: (they offered to let her hold it, but when she tried it started fluffing its feathers - smart chicken)

These next two were her favorites. You can't see from the picture, but it's a potbellied pig (black). She got to brush its fur. It kept grunting when the kids would get too close, but mostly it just slept. It was pretty amusing:

And the bunnies - VERY loved on bunnies:

And here's the chicken again - it cock a doodled, so I thought it was a rooster, but what do I know:

Too Too Feet!!

Audrey's version of "trick or treat" is "too too feet". She had no idea what she was in for, but was so excited to get to walk around the neighborhood in a hot dog costume and get candy! She told everyone that "Mommy is mustard. Daddy is ketchup. Audrey is a hot dog!!" Her excitement was well worth dressing up in silly costumes and walking around the neighborhood.

All dressed up and ready to go!

 

 

Starting out:

 Carefully choosing candy (she always went for the lollipops and never anything good):

At this point (near the end of our walk), she sat down on the sidewalk and said "Audrey sit down". She was so tired! Nick carried her the rest of the way home.

 And then we came home and she got to have one piece of candy. After she went to bed, I separated her candy into "Death" and "Allowed" (peanuts v. not) and promptly kept her safe by eating some of her peanut-riddled candy. As my friend so aptly put it, "motherhood is sacrifice." ;)