Our Weekend with Froggy.

A couple of weeks ago, Harris had the incredible privelege of bringing home Froggy, the class "pet," for the weekend.  Both he and Babe were beyond excited.

We took pictures of Froggy's adventures and Harris wrote about them in Froggy's journal to share with the class. 

Here's a little of what we did:

Ate "fly" pizza:

Played Wii:

Had dinner at IHOP with friends:

Went to church:

 



Harry did a fantastic job writing up Froggy's adventures.  Along with being Froggy's host for the weekend, Harris was also the "Student of the Week" for the following week.  He had to answer the following questions for his "All About Me" poster:

When I grow up, I want to be...a policeman.
I like to...play Star Wars legos.
My pet is...Norman.
My favorite food is...macaroni and cheese.
Someday I want to...go to The Today Show.

It was such a special week for my sweet Harris.  As "Student of the Week," he also brought a home a nicely bound "book" of writings and drawings about him by each of his friends in his class.  He LOVED it.

And I LOVE his teacher.  In addition to all things academic, she has done such a wonderful job of making Harris' class like family...I'll be forever thankful.

I'm so proud of my guy!

Thanksgiving, 2012.

Emmy Doe celebrated her very first Thanksgiving by spending time with friends and family at Aunt Sally's house.

We had quite the spread for lunch, but I'm certain Doe's favorite food item was the sugar cookie we gave her.  She gobbled that thing up!

Because we were out and about and hanging with loved ones we don't often get to see, we let Emmy skip her afternoon nap.  That sweet baby was exhuasted!  Ben was a troooper at keeping her entertained and (eventually) helping her fall asleep.  She is an awesome sleeper at home, but tends to struggle in unfamiliar areas...especially when there's not a quiet place for her to simply lay down. 

We made it through the afternoon, though (and had a fabulous time!) and then headed over to Granti's to meet up with Harry and Babe.  We hung out with Cody for a little bit, playing video games and listening to music, before heading over to the square for the annual Lighting of the Tree.

The weather was perfect!  We were able to meet Auntie and DB and have a great time exploring the light displays and singing along with the Christmas carols before watching the tree light up for the first time and waving to Santa as he rode in on the back of a tow truck!

After the festivities on the square, Granti and Daddy headed over to look through the antique stores while the rest of us got a table at McCray's for a quick bite to eat.  We then headed home, put on our new Christmas pajamas for the first time this season, and (after putting Emmy in bed) snuggled up to watch "The Charlie Brown Mayflower" show before calling it a night.

I am so, so thankful for my family!

Thankful. :)

I have so much for which to be thankful.  Even if I were to list everything that came to mind, I know I'd still overlook/leave out/take for granted/etc. hundreds of blessings in my life.  But I won't let that stop me from naming just a few of the obvious.

I am so, so thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for the education my children are receiving and for the schools they attend.  And I'm thankful for my job:  thankful that I enjoy it, thankful that it is close to home and close to my kids' schools, and thankful that I can take time to participate in some of the "stay-at-home mom" stuff that happens with my awesome kiddos.

Last week, I had the awesome opportunity to attend Thanksgiving celebrations for both Harris and Hadley.  On Wednesday morning, I made it over to Freeman's Mill for the "Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast." 

The entire Kindergarten population paraded into the cafeteria on Wednesday morning to find a feast waiting for them!  I guess celebrating Thanksgiving with turkey, corn, rolls, applesauce, popcorn (?), and brownies at 9:30 in the morning is as good a way to celebrate as any! 

The kiddos were dressed as Pilgrims and Indians and performed a funny Thanksgiving song for the parents.  And then they chowed down while all the adults watched.  It's such a hoot to watch Harris at school:  he has TONS of friends and smiles and waves and talks to everyone.  I have no idea what happened to my shy little guy, but I am so thankful he feels so comfortable at school.

Every student had a particular place setting at their lunch table.  Below is Harris'.  I'm pretty sure he's the only one who wrote his last name. :)

He's a mess.

I had to head back to work before his class left the cafeteria, but it seems like a good time was had by all.

And Wednesday morning wasn't the only day the Kindergarteners spent in celebration!  On Thursday, Ben (and me-briefly!) got to join Harris for the "Thanksgiving Lunch" prepared in the school cafeteria.  It's been a long time since I've eaten in an elementary school cafeteria.  What a rite of passage that is!

On Friday, I was able to head over to Primrose to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with Babe.

Her class also performed a couple of songs for us parents.  Hadley's favorite Pre-K song, by far, is "A-Toodie-Ta," and she was stoked for me to watch her sing it with her class.  So stoked, in fact, that she told her teacher earlier in the week that I was going to get up and sing with her!!  God bless Ms. Audra for allowing me to sit that one out. :)

Watching Babe interact at school is crazy fun, too.  She is the epitome of the word "silly."  She LOVES to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.  And she certainly doesn't shy away from attention.  She, too, is quite a hot mess.

The Primrose "feast" included food for everyone.  Primrose, as always, provided turkey and dressing for the class and us parents filled in the rest.  There was quite a spread!  Babe chose to contribute green beans and was very proud of my effort in preparing them.  I'm thankful that she is easy to please. :)

Her place setting included a list of things for which she was thankful, including:  having food, being with my momma, playing with my momma, tickles, and salsaltio turkey." 

Guess I need to buy the girl some salsalito turkey.

Thank you, Ms. Audra, for making Babe's first school experience fantastic!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Thanksgiving, 2011.

After spending a wonderful afternoon with Ben's family, we couldn't wait to get back with the kiddos and celebrate Thanksgiving all together!

We met up at Granti's house just in time for dinner:  turkey, ham, mac and cheese, asparagus, apricots, dressing, and buffalo chicken dip.  Harris is a turkey-loving fool!!!!

After filling up (again!), we cleaned up, packed up, and headed to downtown Lawrenceville to check out the Christmas tree lighting.  I love, love, love this Thanksgiving tradition, and the kids really enjoyed themselves this year as well.  Hadley, especially, was mesmerized by the "beautiful, colorful" lights, and both Harry and Babe were stoked to wave to Santa as he made his way up the courthouse steps.

Singing along with all the Christmas carols was a big hit, too.  So far this year, favorites include:  Rudolph, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, and "Funny Big Cooper," otherwise known as a crazy version of the The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Thankful doesn't even begin to describe the state of my heart these days. :)

The Thanksgiving Feast.

Harris chose to bring macaroni and cheese to the Primrose Thanksgiving Feast today.  It's possible that I helped him make that decision; I LOVE me some macaroni and cheese!  Regardless, the kiddos had a great time helping me in the kitchen before bed last night.

They have suddenly become very interested in cooking.  I'm thinking it has something to do with the aprons...I mean, it's not like they're mimicking a behavior they see on a regular basis or anything.

Anyway, Ben and I had the pleasure of delivering the mac and cheese to the Kindergarten Feast today.  Primrose, as expected, provided a fantastic start to the holiday spread, and the parents in Harris' class filled in all the gaps.  We ate turkey, corn, green beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, dressing, pie, and some of the best apple dumplings I've ever put in my mouth.

And the best part is that we got to share lunch with this crazy Indian:

We are so very, very thankful for that sweet boy.

And so completely stoked for the holiday season! :)

Thanksgiving, Larryville Style.

I like turkey.  I like pecan pie.  I like ham and macaroni and cheese and squash casserole and green beans and pound cake and lemon curd and mashed potatoes and everything else that makes up a Thanksgiving dinner.  But my favorite thing about the holiday, by far, is singing along with whatever band happens to be playing when the Christmas tree lights up for the first time in downtown L'ville.

I also really dig watching Santa ride in on a fire truck or trolley or carriage or whatever it is that happens to be carrying he and Mrs. Claus through the square, and I love experiencing the entire evening with my family, even if Jay and Cassidy ended up arguing just a little bit this year.

Mom and Ben spent some time in the antique stores, and the kids' favorite light displays included the train and Rudolph, as always.



One of the best parts of the evening, though, was getting to use "The Situation" (Cassidy's laptop) to iChat with TyTy.  We miss us some Brother.



And, as a special holiday treat, Ben let the kiddos end the day by sleeping together in Harris' bed.  We tried to give Babe her own pillow, but she wasn't too crazy about the idea.



She's pretty crazy about her brother, though, and he loves her right back.  He told me a few days ago that he did not want to grow up and get  married and have his own children because he "wanted to stay with BeBe for always." 

I'll make sure to remind him of that ten years from now.

Thanksgiving, Decatur Style.

Turkey, squash casserole, macaroni and cheese (that Mom paid me $20 to make for her), pound cake, lemon curd, Italian wine (?), caesar salad, broccoli, fudge, cigars, Marge Simpson, reserved seating, and these crazies:





That pretty much sums up Wednesday night's Thanksgiving meal.





Thanksgiving, Rockdale Style.

We've eaten our first fried turkey of the season...and man, was it good.

While The Babe is still a little unsure about turkey goodness, her big brother ate that stuff up like it was nobody's business.  Once he learned the tactful art of "grazing," there was no stopping this little guy.

In addition to eating, we spent a lot of time laughing, talking, and taking pictures.

Dad and Cody took the cake on all three, though, when Dad decided to announce that he was thinking of asking Mom on a date.  C'mon, Babe...

I almost peed in my pants.  Partly because of what Dad said, but mostly because Cody, in that moment, was the spitting image of Pop. 

The kiddos spent quite a bit of time enjoying the absolutely beautiful (and warm) weather.  They began by playing some type of game involving guns and sticks out in the woods, but ended with jumping off the wall over and over and over again.



It started out with the adults simply coaching Harris and Raven on their jumping technique, but ended up as in all-out family affair.



We even got a little preview of Ben's upcoming political campaign!  Can Roy Barnes do this?



BeBe doesn't think so.

I think it's safe to say our holiday season has gotten off to a great start.

Can't wait to experience what's coming up next...