Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, we all weigh a few more pounds! ;0)

The day before Thanksgiving, we went to Sarah Grace's preschool for her "Thanksgiving Feast". It's the annual lunch the school does for the kids and their families. Before lunch this year, we went to her classroom for a little "program". When we got there the kids were gone. When all the parents were there the kids came in, in full Indian garb, and their teachers announced them by their Indian names. Sarah Grace was "Drawing Bear", SOOO appropriate!! After they were all in place they sang/danced to several turkey songs and did an ABC rap. Then they led us in a blessing, and we went downstairs to eat. The food was good and the kids had fun. It was Payton's feast day too, so the WHOLE family was there! Thanksgiving morning we woke up to the sound of Sarah Grace clapping and shouting, "Mommy! Daddy! Come get me! I don't want to miss the parade!!". So we got up and turned on the Macy's parade and watched while we ate breakfast and cooked. We went to Nani and Pawpaw's (my dad's parents) house for lunch. When we got there it was our annual family photo time. We got in every imaginable combination for group photos and photos of the kids. Then we snacked on hor d'oeuvres until lunch was ready! We had all the Turkey Day staples, the bird, dressing, gravy, tons of veggies, cranberries 3 different ways, and lots of dessert! Charlotte enjoyed every bite of her first T'giving meal! She had turkey, dressing, TONS of green beans, creamed corn, and cranberry sauce (and a little whipped cream from the pie)! After lunch my grandmother gave us all our Christmas ornaments for the year and had another surprise for Payton and Sarah Grace. Crafts!!! If you know SG then you know she was thrilled! She, Payton, Nani and eventually even Charlotte colored wooden ornaments with not-so washable markers. We discovered they weren't washable after Payton colored her entire belly (they had the shirts off to keep their outfits clean) and then her daddy colored her face to look like an Indian... lovely. After much scrubbing, we left Nani's house and went to my aunt's house to see my mom's side of the family. There were 8 kids under 5 yrs old. So, you can imagine the entertainment and frustration of trying to take a group photo of them all. The kids played until the youngest started to get tired and then it was back in the car (and a quick nap for Charlotte) to Nani's house for leftovers and dessert. Then it was home and to bed, because mommy had to get up very early to do LOTS of shopping on Friday!!!

"Quite an Ablility"

Adam says I have "quite an ability" for stretching my birthday out longer than any other person. Is that bad? My birthday was on the 28th, and I made the most of it! On the night before my birthday we took the girls and met mom and dad at Red Robin for dinner, as a kick off to my birthday festivities. Not to mention you get a free burger on your birthday. So, is it wrong to take advantage of free food? I think not! Dinner was great and the girls helped me eat a birthday treat.

On my real birthday, Sunday, we went to church and then afterwards I came home and took a TWO hour nap! Believe it or not, I don't nap as much as I used to...so it was quite a treat! After my nap we went to my extended family birthday dinner at a Japanese (my all-time fav) restaurant near the house. There were 18 adults and 2 highchairs. The food was great and so was the entertainment (and I got my meal free again). Not only did the guys do the usual egg catching trick but the owner of the place did magic! He loves kids and was quite fond of Sarah Grace. So, she was his assistant. Bear in mind, she had never seen a magic trick before. When he would make something disappear and ask her "where did it go?" she thought she was being accused of stealing and ran and hid saying "mommy did it!". Blame it mom. ;0) After the tricks, he became a one man band and sang Happy Birthday while he played several instruments. It was funny! After dinner, everyone came back to our house for cake and gifts. The kids were wild and it was so much fun!

So far, I had managed 2 birthday celebrations but there were still 2 to go! This past weekend, we took a belated b'day trip to the lake. We left the girls at home and went to a really nice dinner at Garrisons on Friday night (also free thanks to a "Mystery Shop") and then headed to the lake for the night. Adam came home the next morning for football, so I stayed at the lake house in the peace and quiet and took a walk to look at the lake and the fall leaves. It was really relaxing! After he got back we did some outlet shopping and then drove up to Amacalola Falls. We walked part of the way to the falls and then came back down and drove to the top for some pictures. It was a gorgeous day and you could see forever! After the falls, we went to my 4th and final b'day dinner. We went to the Oar House...it's an old, converted house on the river outside of Dahlonega with amazing food and a great view! We both had the crab cakes and then called it a night. It was perfect ending to a long, and much needed, date and birthday! :)

Trouble with a Capital T

Can you believe it!!?? Charlotte's 11 months old!...here comes birthday time. Just a little update on what she's up to, or should I say in to. She is almost walking...it will be any day now. She stands on her own for seconds at a time and then chickens out and crawls to where she wants to go. We call her slappy because when she crawls that's all you hear, slap, slap, slap, slap... She's SOO fast! She is gone in the blink of an eye, but at least on the hardwoods you can hear the slapping. She has such a funny personality and is starting to talk. She says, hi dere (hi there), mama, dada, pupa (dog), baba (bottle), mmm (yummy sounds when she eats) and na na! (no no!). When she says "na na" she claps because when I tell her "No", I clap to get her attention.

If she goes missing, it's usually to the bathroom. Just the site of the tub makes her happy. She LOVES her bath, especially when it's with her sister. She laughs more in the tub than she does any other time. She makes quite a mess, but it's hard to tell her not to splash. She loves bubbles, but she now knows they're not too tasty. When you take her out of the water she's in an instant bad mood! She fusses and growls at me the whole time I dry and dress her. She has also found another water source... we thought we could either snatch her up and tell her "No!" or just get the camera. Just another reason to put the seat down...

She's quite the little kitchen buddy too. She loves climbing inside of the fridge and checking out what's on the shelves. She also loves to play in the Tupperware and in the pantry. She recently discovered Sarah Grace's Halloween candy and went straight for the suckers. I would take one away, and she'd dig through and find another and then another... She eats healthier foods too. She's now eating table food. She hasn't tried much she doesn't like. It takes her a LOOONG time to eat, but she eats! She loves fruit snacks the most. Now that she's so mobile the only way I can keep her happy in the Ultrasaucer is to put her in the seat really quick and giver her snacks even quicker!

She's a great baby!!!! Except for the occasional teething fit (she has 4 teeth now), she's a perfect baby. She sleeps great, eats great and is a joy to have around!

The Air is Crisp

Fall is here and we've been busy. We started off by going as a family to Dallas for a visit and to the OU/TX football game. It was Charlotte's first time on a plane. It went okay, but she's not a fan of staying in one place for long. We stayed with Tyler and Lauren and got to meet the newest Self, Ava Elizabeth. She was a sweet little bundle! Friday, David and Bonnie came in and we had some family time together. On Saturday, Adam and I went with David and Tyler to the game and had a great time! We WON!!! The girls stayed home and played with Lollie and Grandmommy.

When we got back, it was straight to Halloween festivities! We started by going with Sarah Grace's preschool to the pumpkin patch. It's really more of a tree farm that they import pumpkins to... Mimi went with us. The kids had fun feeding the goats, going on the hayride, listening to pumpkin stories, and picnicking together. After our picnic, we all climbed back into the hay wagon and rode to the "pumpkin patch". There, all the kids got to go pick a pumpkin to take home. It was a beautiful day and even Charlotte got a "baby boo" pumpkin to take home.

That weekend was the BIG pumpkin patch trip with our Sunday school class. We got up bright and early and headed to the pumpkin patch. It was cool morning and really felt like Fall! Mimi and Pawpaw went with us this year. Both of the girls had fun in the pumpkin patch. Charlotte wasn't sure what to think of everything, but she wanted to touch every pumpkin in the patch. After lots of pictures, we all rode the hayride together. Sarah Grace talked to her friend McKenzie and Charlotte tried to eat the straw. After the hayride, we had a picnic, played on the playground and rope swing, and watched the pig races. We then went to the petting zoo where Charlotte got scared by a really grumpy pig and Sarah Grace practiced her camera skills with a donkey. The last activity of the day was the "cow train". Pawpaw crammed himself into a cow with Charlotte and he and the girls went for a ride. He said Charlotte belly laughed the whole ride! It was a beautiful day and a fun time with family and friends!

On Halloween morning, Sarah Grace had her class party at school. When we got there, we did a Halloween craft together and ate a spooky breakfast of orange and black donut holes and fruit. Then it was time for trick-or-treating. Her teachers had made each child a really cute pumpkin and they went class to class, in full costume, knocking on doors for treats. Like always, Sarah Grace and her friend Lauren had to be the same thing (they have to have the same shoes, same lunch, the list goes on...). So, the two Ariels walked hand-in-hand down the halls to get their goodies. It was really fun...and Charlotte got to wear her costume too! ;0)

Then came the big night!!! It all started with Sarah Grace last year. She wanted to be Ariel but they didn't have costumes small enough for her. This year that was the only choice there was, Ariel or nobody! So, Krista had the idea of "wouldn't it be funny if we were all Disney characters?". And the theme was born. After much planning, we did our first themed costume party. There were Mickey & Minnie, Donald & Daisy, Snow White and the Witch, little Minnie, Tinkerbell, Ariel, Piglet and Cinderella. We tried to make Adam an Ursula costume but it didn't work out...so he was the Great Pumpkin at the last minute. As always, there were decorations, themed food and lots of costumes and candy! The food was great... mummy dogs, eyeballs (on a platter with severed head), spider cake, slime fondue, pumpkin sherbet, scarecrow cookies.... it was all great! After lots and lots of pictures, it was time to hit the streets! Sarah Grace couldn't wait! We all went out in a huge Disney brigade and started trick-or-treating. Charlotte (AKA Piglet) even got some in her little pumpkin! Sarah Grace outlasted her baby sister so Sheila (AKA Scooby Doo) took her home to rest. We continued around the neighborhood until about 9:00 when our feet hurt too bad to go on. It was great night and next year can't get here soon enough! :)

DISNEY WORLD!!!

Adam and I had been planning a surprise trip to Walt Disney World for Sarah Grace for over 6 months, and we really thought that when we told her head would spin around in excitement. We waited to tell her until the week before we went so that we wouldn't have to hear her ask "are we going after this nap?" for the next 6 months. So, for 6 months, we had been imagining this HUGE reaction and when we told her we didn't get quite what we had expected. We sat her down one night and gave her this big gift bag. In it was an outfit, 2 Disney DVD's and some trinkets that WDW had sent in our planning packet. We asked her what she thought it all meant, and in a very matter-of-fact way she said, "Disney World." When we tried to explain we were going in a few days she, again, said in very confident way, "Well, I knew we would go some day." We left on Wednesday afternoon after school and headed down. We stopped halfway in Gainesville for the night and drove in early the next morning. We checked into our hotel, Pop Century, and then headed to our first park, Animal Kingdom. We started with the Safari and it was great...she was so excited to see all the animals! After a couple of more rides and lunch we went to ride "Dinosaur". For those that know how terrifying it is, let me say that it was all of our first times at the park and we had NOOO idea. We even asked the person working the ride if it would be okay for SG and she said it was fine. HOLY COW!!!! We very quickly became the meanest parents on the planet! It was awful, but she was a trooper. She never cried but she was NOT A FAN (and neither were we)!! To say the least, we lost ALL credibility for the rest of the week. She was scared to get on almost every ride for the next 4 days. She asked "is it loud, is there fire, is it dark????" before every ride... every ride, even Small world! She also really hated the Bugs Life 4-D show which cancelled every other show of it's kind for the trip. That night we ate at Kona at the Polynesian and then we went to Wilderness Lodge and Downtown Disney. The next day, Friday, was much better!...we went to Epcot. After some convincing (b/c of Dinosaur), we started riding rides and she loved them. We went to the Living Seas and rode the Nemo ride, saw Crush and all of the fish, rode the Greenhouse ride and Soarin' at the Land, and went to a special meet and greet with Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie. After the meet and greet, her favorite thing to do for the rest of the trip was to get autographs. The night before she bought an "otograph" book, at Downtown Disney, for all the characters to sign. She was very brave and got everyone to sign her book the rest of the trip! But the highlight of our day at Epcot was dinner! We went to Norway, to Akershaus, a princess storybook dinner. When we walked in, who was standing there in a ballgown but Ariel (her FAVORITE)! SG was star-struck! While we ate, we were visited by Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, and Sleeping Beauty. They all

stopped and chatted, signed her book and took pictures. It was so fun to see SG see them. She was so shy, but it was sweet. After dinner, we went and rode a few more rides. She found her favorite, the ride inside of Mexico. She loved it, and we rode it again. Not long after that, a huge storm came in and the bottom fell out!!! So, we made a mad, very wet dash for the exit! After drying everything we owned over night, we went to MGM on Saturday. We started the day with Beauty and the Beast. She loved the costumes and the music but was not a fan of Beast's roar. She'd cover her ears and bury her head. After a few more rides we went to Playhouse Disney where she got to meet all her TV friends. SG got tons more "otographs" for her book. We took a break from the characters and watched the parade. She sat on daddy's shoulders and never stopped waving. I think she genuinely thought they were all waving right to her. After the parade, we went to lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine in. It's a restaurant designed after a drive-in movie that shows old 50's Sci-fi movies while you eat in your car. She must have said 5 times that "this is really fun!" The food was good too. After lunch we played on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, did the Back lot Tour, went to Narnia, and waited in several more lines for autographs. We stayed 'til the park closed and did it all. She especially liked the Ariel show and Playhouse Disney. Sunday was the BIG day! We saved the best for last, Magic Kingdom! We got there at 8 AM for Little Ones Magic Hour. That is where they open Fantasy Land an hour early for property guests and the characters come out to play. She got to play "Mickey Says" with Mickey and Pluto, the "Hokey Pokey" with Minnie and Daisy, & Red Light-Green Light with Peter Pan, Hook, and Wendy! It was so FUN! She loved it! She started out kind of timidly but really got into it. That's also when we rode Smallworld for the first time. She was in aw... She pointed at everything and tried to sing the song. As soon as we got off, she wanted to get right back on. After a huge breakfast, we headed back to Fantasy Land and rode every ride. Then we worked our way around the park, rode several more rides and met more characters. We then left for a quick nap and came back for dinner at the Crystal Palace. While we ate, were visited by Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. And towards the end of our meal all the kids paraded around the restaurant with the characters waving little flags to music. It was really cute. We left dinner early to go meet Ariel before she left for the day. We got there in plenty of time but they had already closed the line because there were too many people... SG and I are were crushed. She had been waiting the whole week to meet Ariel in her "sea cave". After some tears, on my part, Adam went and begged the lady to let us in. She asked someone else and in minutes we were in line. We were the last people of the night and we had Ariel all to ourselves. She talked to Sarah Grace for a couple of minutes and then signed her book. Sarah Grace was so in aw that when Ariel asked her to spell her name she couldn't even think! Ariel Gave her a huge kiss on her "forenoggin" and we said goodbye. She was in heaven!!! After that we rode more rides and found her favorite of the trip!!! Months before the trip we Tivo'd Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy, and she watched it several times. Well, when we got in line for the ride, she was thrilled...not scared, thrilled. She pointed out everything on the outside of the house from the movie. When got on the ride she talked the whole time. "That's from the movie, that's from the movie......", she was so excited! She wanted to ride again but we were running out of time and had a few more rides to do. The last ride of the night was Pirates. The ride broke down for 30 minutes while we were in the room where they sing "yo ho, yo ho..."...it was catchy the first 5 minutes and torture the last 25. We didn't get to do the last couple of rides we had hoped to because of the huge delay, but it was a fabulous day and she never knew what she missed! The last day, Monday, we slept in and went to breakfast at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was delicious and we had to stop Sarah Grace from eating because we thought she was going to make herself sick! After stuffing ourselves one final time, she played on the playground, and then we went to see the animals at the lodge. Afterwards, we did a little more souvenir shopping and then it was back in the car for the trip home. :)