Thanksgiving Is Over...Here Comes Christmas

Our family enjoyed the short week of work and school that the Thanksgiving holiday provided this past week. Anna was so excited that she only had to go to school on Monday and Tuesday. Kevin was off work Wednesday-Friday. Mason did have to go to daycare for a few hours on Wednesday, but not all day. I had a hair appointment on Wednesday afternoon, and that is just somewhere that I can't take Mason along. Anna stayed with Kevin...or more like ran around with Kevin. They left the house before I did to go have lunch together and run by the farm supply store. I called them on my way to town, and they hadn't eaten lunch yet. They had stopped at a guy's farm to look at some cows, and Anna ended up leading one of the steers around (it was halter broke). It looks like Anna may be showing a calf in the spring. Kevin said she wasn't scared and did a great job. It's looking like we have a little cowgirl on our hands.

Thanksgiving Day was spent at my parent's house. Although our family is small, we still have a great time together. We had fun visiting with Papaw, Grammy, Aun'tee, Unc, Uncle Scott & Aunt Debra. The kids love all the attention they get from everyone. Aunt Debra & Uncle Scott are really fun to play with! The kids don't get to see them very much, but they get lots of loving when they do see them. Here are our little Indians in their headbands from school/daycare.

Anna's Indian name was Rainbow Butterfly. It looks to me like Indian Mason is up to no good!

Friday morning Christopher the Elf was found sitting on our entertainment center. It seems that Santa has sent him again this year to watch Anna & Mason's behavior prior to Christmas. Anna and Mason were very excited to see Christopher again this year. Anna has talked about Christopher all year long. This morning he was on top of our refrigerator.

Friday morning the kids and I held our annual tradition of putting up the Christmas tree. We always wait until after Thanksgiving before decorating for Christmas. It seems like after Halloween so many people and stores jump right to Christmas mode. Kevin and I have made comments through the years about this. We were in a store several weeks ago and all the Christmas decorations were out. Anna said "Did they forget Thanksgiving??!!!"

Anna loves to decorate the Christmas tree, and she does a great job. Mason didn't help much, but he did put on a few ornaments that belong to him. But he got mad because he wanted to play with his John Deere ornament instead of hanging it on the tree. Last year when all the after Christmas sales were going on, I bought Anna a small tree for her bedroom. I never told her about it until we got our big tree finished. Then I got out her very own tree and let her decorate it. She is so proud of her tree.

Kevin is still busy trying to get our fence completed. He started stringing barbed wire this week. Anna has been helping him some with the fencing. She is ready for him to get the fence done because she "wants a pony". They are outside working as I type...except I think I hear Anna riding her 4-wheeler instead of helping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Party All Week Long

Anna's 6th birthday was the focus of our attention for the past week. Tuesday (November 17th) was her actual birthday. We started the celebration at breakfast with a candle in her waffle and a Happy Birthday cup. Before leaving for school she got to open two of her gifts from us. (We saved the other two for her party.) She got a new outfit to wear to her birthday party and a Winter Wonderland movie. She got to hear her birthday announced on the radio twice that morning. She thinks that is so "awesome". For dinner that night I cooked her favorite meal, Tacos and cheese dip. Then we had birthday cake that I had made that day. After bathtime we all curled up and watched the new movie. Anna received so many phone calls to wish her "Happy Birthday" on Tuesday. Thank you to everyone that called her. Although she didn't have much to say on the phone, she enjoyed all the birthday wishes. Then on Wednesday evening before church service we ran by Timmy & Debby's to celebrate Anna's birthday with them.

Thursday afternoon Mason had his Thanksgiving party at snack time. The girls wore pilgrim hats and the boys wore Indian headbands. Mason wasn't thrilled about the idea, and I never got a good picture of him. He wouldn't stand over by the other kids for a group picture. Shortly after this picture he took his headband off and never would wear it again.

Saturday morning was Anna's birthday party. It was at a local gymnastic place. She had a great turnout for her party. I counted 14 kids and 18 adults plus our family of 4. The kids were a combination of old friends from PreK days and friends from Kindergarten. It was a little crazy and busy but I think the kids all had a great time. I know Anna & Mason did, but they were so exhausted after the party.

Anna loved swinging on this rope.

Anna & some girls doing flips.

The party had a Taylor Swift theme. We listened to Taylor's "Fearless" CD while the kids (and some adults) played. The cake was Taylor Swift too. It turned out great.

After cake and ice cream Anna got to open all her gifts. She got so many great things and loved all of it. After the party we ate lunch with Papaw & Grammy and Aun'tee & Unc. Then we had to go by the mall for a little bit. Once we got home and unloaded the truck, Kevin spent over an hour taking toys out of boxes. It's crazy how well they secure toys in the packages. I think Anna played with each new toy at some point that night.

I walked into the living room and found Mason inside one of the boxes. I told him to stay in it while I ran to get my camera. After taking the picture I told him to stay out so he wouldn't suffocate. Is that priorities or what?? Take a picture then worry about the health dangers.

Anna's favorite gift was "Lulu", a cat that she had seen at Target over a month ago. (Lulu is the cat in front of Anna with her paw lifted up to her face.) She has talked about Lulu ever since she saw her. I think she was almost obsessed with the cat. It's the FurReal brand and moves and meows by the use of sensors. She also got the white cat on the left at her party. It too is the FurReal brand and meows and moves. She has been named Snowball. Anna bought the puppy on the right at Target yesterday afternoon with a birthday gift card. The puppy walks and barks. Needless to say our house was full of meowing and barking last night!

Happy 6th Birthday Anna!

A beautiful blessing was bestowed on our family six years ago today. That blessing is Anna! Anna is an amazing little girl who is beautiful on the inside and outside. We thank God every day for blessing our family with her. Happy 6th Birthday, Anna!! We love you!!

Smiley Face Week

Oh yes, this week has been much better than last week! The smiley faces returned on Anna's daily behavior sheet. She was so proud of herself. As soon as she got in the truck, she would say "I got a smiley face today!" She was very glad to get her stuffed animals back to sleep with at night. What's funny though is she used to sleep with about 12 at a time. After not having them for a few nights she decided that she would have more room to sleep if she slept with one at a time. So each night she has chosen a different sleeping companion. Kevin snapped this picture of her curled up with Hello Kitty.

Mason has a new word for getting our attention. It is "HEY!" One night this week after putting him in bed I walked by his room. We leave his door cracked open so he heard/saw me walk by and said "HEY! I want covers." Then one morning while I was in the shower Kevin said he started saying "HEY!...HEY!...HEY! I'M HUNGRY!!!...HEY! I'M HUNGRY!!!" So now when he wants something he starts it with "hey" instead of "mommy" or "daddy". He says some of the funniest things. Sometimes after our bedtime ritual he will say "I wan a kiss an hug" even though we've already done them. One night this week he said "I wan a kiss an hug an five." So we again kissed and hugged and then I gave him a high five. Where does he come up with these things??!!

Since Anna had a great week, she got to do something that was scheduled for last weekend but we canceled due to her behavior. This afternoon we took her to our friends house to ride a pony. I thought she'd be a little scared but she did great. Kevin lead the pony for a few minutes but then Anna was ready to go on her own. (She was in a round pen so the pony couldn't go far. Not to mention it's around 20 years old and very broken in. Plus Kevin never got very far from them.)

Mason on the other hand was a nervous wreck. He didn't want anything to do with the pony. While in the barn getting the pony saddled up other horses were naying, a chicken bocking and a lamb baaing...his head was turning every direction and he was soon in my arms. He said "I cared (scared)!" He was even scared of a barn cat that was harmless. All it wanted to do was rub against him and be petted. But as you can see, he wanted no part in the cat...he's running from it.Mason finally warmed up to the cat (a little). Kevin kept asking if he wanted to ride the pony. One time he said "yes" but then backed out when it came time to get on. Finally Kevin put him (unwillingly) on the pony with Anna. Within a few seconds he was saying "This is fun!"
Mason seems to be thinking "this pony riding isn't so bad after all!"

Mason decided he wanted to ride by himself. Anna wasn't too pleased with having to get off the pony. She said "Why can't he ride another horse?!!"

Loosened up and having fun. (I didn't realize until viewing my pictures that Kevin didn't even have ahold of the horse.)

Anna loved riding and wasn't ready for it to end. She asked if she's good again this week if she will get to ride again next weekend.

As you can see, Mason ended up having a great time after he got over his fear. He even became "friends" with the cat before we left. We hung around a little bit to watch Kevin and Mr. Harlon rope a few steers. Harlon & Kevin (on the gray horse).

While we were watching the guys rope, the cat and the kids played. At one point the cat put it's front paws on Mason and started biting his hand. I knocked the cat away and told them to leave it alone from then on. (It was only playing but play biting still hurts. I didn't want Mason to be scared of it again.) On the way home Mason said "That was bad kitty! He need to go to the principal's office and get a spanking!" Hopefully the cat is the only one that will need to go to the principal's office this week!

Being A Parent Can Be So Hard...

...that sums up last week at our house. Being a parent is so rewarding and fulfilling but at times it's just plain hard! I didn't fully understand until having my own children, and I'm sure I'll understand it even more as my children get older and make more mistakes.

Our week was rolling along as normal until Wednesday afternoon. That's when all the trouble began. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Anna got into trouble at school. She said and did some things that we would never have expected from her. We know that she isn't perfect and is just 5 years old, but the behavior was so out of character for her. She has been in SO much trouble at home! What she did was wrong and it has been addressed. But what also concerned us was where she was learning this behavior. (Because it's definitely not from our house.) She has said that she learned it from other kids at school. We have once again discussed with her that because someone tells you to do or say something, that it doesn't make it okay. Her teacher says she has no problems in the classroom. Her problems are all at recess. Thankfully Monday was a better day for her. I'm praying the whole week continues to be better than last week.

Mason had a good week at daycare but by the end of the week he was sick. I took him to the doctor Friday morning because he was so congested and complaining of his ear hurting. The doctor said his ears looked okay but that he definitely had a sinus infection. She gave him an antibiotic and cough/congestion medicine. I explained that he was headed to his grandparents house to spend the night, so she also gave us some drops to numb his ear pain (just if needed). Thankfully we haven't had to use them. Mason had a great time at Papaw and Grammy's house and visiting Aun'tee & Unc.

Due to Anna's trouble at school, she almost didn't get to attend one of her close friends birthday party. However, by Sunday we decided that she had been punished enough and let her attend the party. Brianna's party was at Pump It Up, and the kids were so excited to get there. Last year when Anna's party was there Mason wasn't old enough to play on the equipment. But this year he got to play at Brianna's party. Anna and Mason both had a blast. Poor Mason was drenched in sweat from all his activity. He wore me out by having to take him up a big slide and through an obstacle course repeatedly. I finally had to tell him that I couldn't do it anymore which made him very upset.

Anna & Brianna

Mason & Brianna

Happy Halloween 2009

Halloween was a fun night for our family. We attended the Trunk or Treat at our church. The kids enjoyed collecting candy from our Christian family, while we handed out treats. It is so great to have the Trunk or Treat so we can feel safe about the candy our kids receive.

This year Mason was a monkey. (I have been joking that he already has the personality and all he needed was the costume.) He loves to watch Curious George on TV. So we called the costume Curious George, and he loved it. I was hoping for some cool weather, otherwise he would have been burning up in the costume. The weather was perfect for our little monkey.

Curious Mason

Eating the banana attached to his costume.

There was so much padding in the back of the costume that if he fell down it wouldn't hurt.

CANDY!

Anna's costume required a little more work than Mason's. Mason's was so easy- just slip it on. But Anna wanted to be Taylor Swift...and they don't make a Taylor Swift costume We had to start on Anna's look on Halloween morning. I rolled her hair in sponge rollers.

She thought this looked crazy and didn't want her picture taken. I thought she looked so cute.

Halloween afternoon when I took the rollers out, this is how her hair looked.She giggled and thought it looked funny.

But when all the work was done, she looked BEAUTIFUL.Between the eye shadow, blush and lipstick, she looked about 10 years older. I had been concerned that her hair wouldn't turn out very good, but thanks to a tip from Mrs. Heather, it was perfect. We decided that Anna's natural hair made better Taylor Swift hair than any wig we could have bought.
Kevin made her an acoustic guitar from wood and painted it. I made the guitar strap that says "Taylor" from ribbon and glitter glue. She already had the microphone from last Halloween. I bought the dress at Target and earrings at Claire's. She already had black boots. We pulled out the tights and black t-shirt since it was cool. We think she made a wonderful Taylor Swift. She seemed very pleased with her Taylor Swift look.Anna kept asking what I was going to be for Halloween. I didn't intend to be anything other than myself. At the last minute I went to the shop and dug out my camo. So I became a hunter. I laughed and said I was a "monkey hunter" trying to keep up with Monkey Mason.

Kevin didn't dress up although at the last minute he thought about wearing his cowboy hat, duster and spurs. But he never got his costume together.

Every year after the Trunk of Treat we always go to one house- Timmy & Debby's. This year Mrs. Debby fed us dinner when we got to their house. It was soooo nice to not have to cook before or after trick or treating! Anna always helps Tim & Debby hand out candy to their trick or treaters. This year Mason got to hand out some candy too.

Our Halloween Family

Tim, Mason, Debby & Anna

After we left Tim & Debby's house it was time to head home. Thankfully it was the night to roll back the clock an hour to Standard Time. So we didn't stray too far from our normal sleep. When we pulled in our driveway Anna asked "Why doesn't anyone come to our house for candy?" As a friend replied when I repeated Anna's question "They'd have to find us first."

Today I took down the Halloween decorations and put out the few Thanksgiving decorations that we have. Anna is on the countdown to her birthday and birthday party. After Thanksgiving, Christmas will be right around the corner. It's the most wonderful time of the year...or busiest time of the year...or craziest time of the year...