Our Hearts are Full

We have so much to be thankful for, but I know exactly where to start.  Here:

These three munchkins have filled our hearts with more love than we ever thought possible.  Being a parent is the most difficult, most fun, most emotional, most fulfilling, most special thing I have ever done in my life.  I thank God for them every day, and I am so honored to be their Mommy. 

We spent Thanksgiving at our house again this year.  It's nice to be able to put all the focus on them for this holiday instead of running around like crazy.  I do, however, miss everyone back home. 

This year, the kids made "Thankful Turkeys" and we talked about everything we are thankful for in our lives.  Here is Austyn making (an kissing!) her turkey!

 

Here is a close-up of Austyn's feathers:



Can you believe she is thankful for piggies??  That was the very first thing she said!  I love that she says "The Leeziana."  I think it is too cute to correct ;)

Every night, she includes in her prayers, "And Dear Jesus, please let us move back to The Leeziana!"

Shawnee, you even got your own feather!!  :)

Here is Gannon making his turkey.

And, here are his feathers. 

Our Thankful Turkeys!

On to project number two: Potato Turkeys!  I saw this idea on Pinterest done with apples, then we did it with our kindergartners last week.  They turned out so cute, I had to let my munchkins try them!

They weren't really sure about the project at first...they just wanted to eat all the decorations!  They got into it pretty quickly, though.

 

Ta-daaa!!

This morning, we had a fun Thanksgiving celebration!  Have you ever seen A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving?  Well, if you haven't, you should!  I have loved all the Charlie Brown movies since I can remember!  I have always wanted to have a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving feast, too.  So, that is just what we did!  I can't give up the real feast, so we had this one for breakfast.  The kids loved it!  And so, a new tradition was born :)

buttered toast, popcorn, jelly beans, and pretzels :)

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your hearts and bellies are full <3 p="p">






Oh, and a side note:

I am also thankful for Bryan.  I couldn't ask for a better husband, best friend, and father to our babies.  But, today, I am thankful that he can fix just about anything!

Our washer went out yesterday.  On Thanksgiving.  I guess that's why you don't do laundry Thanksgiving Day!  The mess is so much bigger, now, and the washer is in even more pieces, but he has found the problem.  Our problem now?  Everyone is closed for the holidays :(

Mia is Eight Months! Stats and Milestones

 

Too big, too fast!  You are EIGHT months old, little girl!

 

 

 

You started day care last week, and it has been rough, to say the least.  It's not your favorite place, that's for sure!  What little sleep schedule you had is now gone.  Your naps are still sporadic, as they have always been, but nights are crazy now, too!  You fall asleep anywhere between 7 and 11 pm, and sleep until somewhere between 5 and 9. 

Four days into day care, and you are sick.  No fever, but still pretty sick.  You have a nasty nose and you can't breathe, and your cough is just awful.  It is very heart-breaking. 

Here is a photo of you with Miss Maegen "watching" the Tigers play after Gannon's birthday party.  It's rare that you will sleep with someone holding you, but you napped for almost three hours while people passed you around.

Here we are getting ready for Mimi and Pappy's Geaux Pokes photo.  You had just woken up and it was so bright.

Big news!  You can pull up!  On everything!  You can even take a few steps if what you have pulled up on slides away from you!  Too, too big!

You are crawling everywhere!  You can go all over the house, and you are so proud of yourself.  Your favorite place to be is in the play room with the bigs.  They love having you in there, too :)

You are such a happy baby!  I know I say that often, but you really are.  You love to play and laugh, and we can't look at you without getting a little grin.  You are interacting more and more with Gannon and Austyn, and they love it.  They are so proud when they make you laugh, or when they just go sit by you and you stop crying.

You are still mainly nursing, but we sneak a few things on your tray every now and then.  New this month:  Grilled cheese!

 

Eight month stats!

 

 



Happy Birthday to You!

My sweet, Gannon.  Six years ago, today, your daddy and I held hands as our lives were forever changed.  We became parents.  You did that!  You were the most perfect little person I had ever laid my eyes on, with your sweet little eyes, head full of hair, and squishy little cheeks. 

Since that day, you have brought more joy to our lives than I could ever explain with words.  And now, you are SIX!  I cannot believe how quickly we have gotten to your sixth birthday.  You have had a pretty exciting year!

First, you became a big brother, again!

You are so proud of your little sister!  Even though you really wanted a brother (who you would have named Parker), I can tell how much you really love your baby sister.  You are so sweet and helpful, and even very protective of her!  You worry about her when she cries, and you always try to make her better.  She is eight months old now, which means she can crawl all over the house.  You always help us look after her and make sure she is playing with things that are safe for her.  You make me so proud!

You had a great tee ball season!  It was your first time to play here in Texas.  You had so much fun!

 

You graduated from pre-k.  I cannot tell you how proud I am of your academic accomplishments at your young little age!  You blow me (and most people we know) away everyday with knowledge that is far beyond your years.

 



 

 

You have such a deep love for music.  You get it honestly from so many people around you, mostly your daddy.  You want to be in a band like Parrain E :)

 



Summer fun!  We went to Dallas and Houston this summer.  Here are some photos of you enjoying the Children's Museum and Lego Land.

 

You started kindergarten this year!  You love it, and you are doing so well!  Your teacher says you are where most teachers hope their students are at the end of FIRST GRADE!  So proud of you :)

Here is your very first school photo!

For Halloween this year, you chose to be Optimus Prime :)

You lost your first tooth, and had your first visit from the tooth fairy!

Happy birthday to my favorite little boy in the whole world!  Mama and Daddy love you bigger than you will ever know!

Gannon's Lego Land

This weekend, we celebrated six years with our favorite little boy.  SIX!  Can you believe it?  Me either.  He chose Legos for the theme of his party, and I have to admit, I had lots of fun decorating!  First on my to-do list was the mantle- I like to fill the mantle with photos through the years.

 

 

 

We set up tables outside with tubs of Legos for the kids to build.  They loved it!

 

 

 

 

We ordered plain cupcakes from Sams and used Lego candies on them.  I found them here.  They were perfect!  They tasted great, and the kids could actually build with them.  

 



The birthday boy had a special topper-- his Lego from LegoLand!

 

We used the extra candy to fill treat bags.

 

The birthday boy!!



 

For some reason, I have many more photos like the one below than I do of the one above ;)

 

Bryan even made a Lego piñata!

 

 

Happy birthday, Gannon-Banannon!!