Thanksgiving was great this year. Low-key with family, great food (No thanks to me. I'm officially putting myself in charge of dishwashing from now on. Spare the food!), games, and best of all, an old-fashioned slide show.

The little kid's table.


Grandma was brave and gave the three and four year olds glass goblets. They all felt VERY special and sophisticated.







*after a drink*"Aaaah!"

The big kid table.


The adult table.





Not pictured was Marshall, who was living up to his Baby Bin Laden nickname in the other room and Dave, who was on a work call.

Alaina was feeling very ladylike and extended her manners to her silverware.


The kids lasted about 10 minutes at the table, then all went downstairs to play. My kids have a habit of screaming and squealing when they're really happy, and it was SOOOO loud, so I had to put on my mean face and order them outside. They didn't mind at all. I'm trying to be conscious of all of the benefits of having older kids to keep my baby-hunger at bay, and being able to say, "Go outside!" while I stay toasty warm is definitely one of them!


Since I had been the one to request the slideshow, Dad appeased me by slipping in lots of pictures of cute baby Carolyn. I do see some Alaina in there!


Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Alaina is taking after her mama and is now a coupon queen! My binder gets a little disorganized when I let her do it, but she asks me every day to clip some coupons.




Connor is more apt to sit and watch, especially when he can get an apple cider out of me! Unfortunately, this extends to a lot of circumstances and we are working on responsibility. WORKING on it...


Connor's still a little shutterbug and often sneaks pics of me. Alaina loves to hang on my right arm and it is cute and frustrating at the same time. I am very familiar with the "Step backward" command on Photoshop because of this little habit of hers.


A different day, same pose. Thank you, Connor, for the forgiving motion blur. This is me pretty much every morning. Fumble through getting the kids their juice, set them up for their only mommy-sanctioned tv time for the day, wake up with my caffeine, dink for 15 minutes before Alaina moseys over and says, "Dan I sit on your lap?"


Sundays are still the best day of the week. They usually include Alaina and Daddy watching some football together...


...while Connor busies himself elsewhere. Baby Olivia is still alive and kicking, and Connor has asked for a carseat for her for Christmas. Some mornings he'll ask me for milk to give her a bottle. He's a good daddy. :)


I've been practicing a new piano song every day. While playing one day, the light was streaming in a north window just right, and highlighted a tiny handprint. I've been using microfiber dusters on the piano for a long time, forgoing the Pledge, and wow, I could barely handle the nostalgia. The oil from Alaina's hand (I can tell it's hers because she still has edamame-shaped fingers, while Connor's are still conical) must have been there for over a year because her fingers are all more than an inch longer. My, how quickly my babies are growing. :/


For size reference:


You can tell it's been a long time since Mommy and Daddy have been on a date (nine months!) when Daddy starts sculpting playdough dates. Can you tell what "we're" doing? The kids asked where they were in the scene and Daddy emphatically replied, "Not here!" :)


I lost ten dollars in a bet against Anthony. I said Alaina couldn't fit into her stocking from Grandma and Grandpa from this picture:


Apparently, she can:


Until next time...

The past few weeks have been a bit crazy for us. Anthony went in for arthroscopic surgery to scope out and possibly repair a suspected labrum tear, then came out with five anchors in his shoulder and a diagnosis of a SLAP tear. Bleh. He's getting stronger and more capable every day, but this experience has shown me how much he'd been doing at home while I've been at work. We've had to call in a lot of favors to make this happen (thank you Aunt Cynthia, Mom and Dad, and Theresa!) and we're grateful for all the help we've received!

Since Daddy was laid up in bed, we had Theresa and baby Oliver over to carve pumpkins a couple of days before Halloween!





Look at that concentration!

My creation, the Headless Horseman:

As cool as these template pumpkins are, I feel a bit like a sell-out. I wish I could take the credit!

Theresa's scary pumpkin:


Anthony was determined not to miss out on the Halloween spirit! It was a bit of a feat getting his uniform on, but it looked good!


I didn't have a costume, so Grandma and Aunt Marinda seized the moment to dress me as an 80's style Strawberry Shortcake with cowboy boots. Do you think I could submit this one to Awkward Family Photos?


Grandpa showing the videos he took to a robot and Darth Mater.


We've confirmed over several dentist visits that Connor has been cursed with my teeth. Let's hope this is not a glimpse into the future!


On the actual day of Halloween, Papa happened to be in town! We went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. The kids adored it, of course!


Connor checking out his loot on the go.


A family photo where everyone's looking! Miraculous!





BFFs.

I swear the weather went from gorgeous and warm to nasty and cold overnight! Thank you, Pinterest, for making our time inside a little more enjoyable! Shaving cream+food coloring=bath time fun!


As usual, things started off deliberately and controlled.




...then mayhem ensued and the bathwater turned black. One funny moment: Connor was chasing around the globs of shaving cream with his hands and saying, "Come to Papa...." I'm not sure where he heard that expression, but since the only Papa we know is THE Papa, Alaina assumed that she would do the same thing while saying, "Come to Nana!" :)


And to end the post, a definitive picture of three-year-old Alaina. Messy hair, dirty face, still in pajamas at noon (some would say that this is a mothering failure, but if my kids are playing nicely together, I let them be!), tutu, one slipper on the wrong foot, one snowboot, and Beantie. The only other thing that could be added to make it more accurate would be three or four plates of food in the shot!