Giving Thanks

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Mesa. It was nice to not have to travel, but I still missed my family. The big dinner was at Chris's grandparents house, and it was of course fabulous. I have to admit I don't feel bad at all that I have only ever cooked my own turkey dinner once. I love being with family at Thanksgiving time. It kicks off the holiday season for me to be around those I love. To start off the event, the kids read a couple stories before we sat down. Then Katelyn shared some of her school work that taught all of us about the first Thanksgiving. It was a great way to start off the meal. I'm not sure how much Chris enjoyed Thanksgiving this year. He had been complaining that his throat was hurting, so finally Thanksgiving morning I take a look at it and his tonsils were just huge with spots all over them. So Chris spent the first half of dinner at the Wal-greens filling an antibiotic so he could swallow again. I think he enjoyed the leftovers more once those antibiotics started working. After a wonderful meal, the kids went outside to play for a little bit (gotta love AZ weather!) while we cleaned up and started getting Christmas decorations out. Then it was time for the pie. The Partridge's kindly placed a candle and sang happy birthday to me (my birthday was on Friday this year). Mmmmm. Pecan pie for my birthday. Much better than my pregnant-diabetic-sugarfree birthday from last year. It ended up being a great day, even though the camera stayed safely in the diaper bag the entire time so there are no pictures to prove it.

Please pardon the dust

I'm starting to post some of the catch-up stuff. Except I'm going to put it chronologically as it really happened, so you'll want to scroll down or look at the archive to make sure you've seen everything since September.

The Dark Side

You should only be reading this post if you've accepted an invitation to our (now) closed blog.  Now that it's done, I'll go back and do a few catch-up posts for what's happened since the school year started.

Adam is 9 months

I can't believe we are already at 9 months. It's always a little bit of a milestone for me when my babies reach the point when they have been "outside" longer than "inside cooking." When I am pregnant it feels like the longest 9 months of my life. Then some how the next 9 fly by. Adam is doing really well. He is showing more of his personality. He is active but also sweet and cuddly. Here's his list accomplishments now:
-20 lbs! (it took my girls 15 months to get to 20 lbs)
-getting first teeth - 2 on the bottom - not such a happy teether...we can't be good at everything
-climbs up stairs like a champ, still learning how to get back down
-big belly laughs, high pitched screams (happy and sad)
-loves to cuddle
-babble talking and almost constant motor boat sounds
-light blond hair is getting longer and still sticks straight up!

What to blog....hmmm

There have been so many things happen in our household since I blogged last. We had Labor Day, birthdays, parties, and some not so fun times mixed in with the good. I have been debating for a while whether or not to go private. I'd like to give the excuse that that is why I have not blogged in so long. (It could be part of it.) I have been worried about the amount of information we give and that this world is a crazy place. So, I have 2 options. I can avoid all specifics or I can go private. Since Chris and I like to use the blog right now as a kind of journal, we have decided to go private. I will change over in one week. If you would like to still read about our crazy life and see pictures of our cute kids, please send an email or post a comment that we can take offline and we will add you to the list. Then I will have no excuse to catch up once again!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. Katelyn decided to be Ariel. Megan was Minnie Mouse. Adam had a cute Halloween shirt and a monster hat and monster slippers (thanks to Amy for letting us borrow).

Katelyn's school did a costume parade on Friday before Halloween. The Kindergarten through 3rd graders get to be in the parade and the rest of the school gets to watch the parade. Parents and kids get to come and watch the parade too. I was wisely informed by a friend that the younger siblings often dress up for the parade too (to watch, not participate). That made it a lot easier to get ready for school that morning because when Megan knew Katelyn was putting her costume on, Megan did not want to be left out!

Then on Halloween evening, we went again with the Partridge's to their neighborhood party. We enjoyed hot dogs and chili for dinner, games, and of course candy. We then went home to do a little trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood. Chris chose to stay home with Adam and answer our door, while I went with the girls around the neighborhood. We had so much fun seeing friends and the girls had fun getting candy! We then topped our evening off with one final trick-or-treat to Grandma-ma and Grandpa Ed's. The kids were thoroughly spoiled and enjoyed every minute of it. Now if only we could get rid of all the candy without eating all of it....

We've taken a hit, but we keep on going

Chris has survived many (and I mean many) layoffs at Novell. It seems that our time is up and it is now our turn to join the large crowd of those who formerly have worked for Novell. It was hard news to swallow at first. So many unknowns, but we know we will be OK. We have amazing family to support us, a great severance package from the company to keep us afloat, and we will find something bigger and better. We'll keep you posted on the job hunt and please keep us in your prayers!