Coming Attractions!

* Thanksgiving : STATUS- Posted below.
* Pictures with Santa: STATUS- Waiting to be scanned!
* Shopping, shopping, shopping
* Field Trip to Bud's Best Cookies: STATUS- Posted below.
* Sophie Update: STATUS- Posted above.

STAY TUNED!! Moving Day is tomorrow and we will have our internet connection back, instead of borrowing from my parents!

Bud's Best Cookies

Tres and I went on his second field trip to a local cookie maker. It was very interesting and fun! Because of 9/11 and laws about warehouses, we couldn't take pictures on the tour. This was as far as they let you take pictures and this was at the beginning of the tour. But we got to see the whole process from mixing the ingredients in huge vats mixed by machines... all the way through packaging and shipping. They fed us warm chocolate chip cookies straight off the line too! Tres was in hog heaven let me tell you! Throughout the tour, I kept seeing where cookies were falling on the floor and I wondered what they did with those. It seemed like such a waste to just throw them away. So I asked the tour guide. She directed our attention to a huge green machine in the packaging area and told us that they grind up the cookies that hit the floor and give them to local farmers to feed to their livestock. Hmmm... interesting, huh? After the tour, they gave us some vanilla wafers and a coloring book.If you live in this area, you should go. The tour is free, and it's off Valleydale Road. I've heard these cookies advertised as local, but I had no idea just how local!

Thanksgiving Goodness!

We had a lot to be thankful for this year. We have a new home. We have a new daughter. And we have each other.... All together now: Ahhhh! This was my parent's year for Thanksgiving, so we planned a HUGE meal. All the ladies helped Mom cook and organize to the point where nothing seemed frantic this year! Yeah for organization! My brother Matt his wife Kayla and Tyler, my grandparents, Aunt Mary and her husband Lane all came to enjoy the feast. The boys waited ALL DAY for Tyler. I think they woke up asking when he was gonna get here! (Kayla, you might want to right click on that one and 'save as' so you have a copy of that one too! Isn't it cute?)

I dressed them up for the occassion, and they looked so cute! And even managed to stay clean for most of the day! Will wonders never cease. My Dad enjoyed time with a couple of his Grandbabies before we all stuffed our faces.And even though Hankie had to work, he was able to come home to eat. Doesn't Ava Sophia look so cute in ONE of her many Holiday outfits! This one she will wear to get her picture taken with Santa so she will match her brothers.I didn't get to take a picture of anything else because of all shoving food in my mouth between fixing kid's plates and feeding the little girl. But we enjoyed ourselves! I used the Recipe Place Blog for some excellent side dish recipes this year, including Oven Fried Corn, Carrot Souffle, and Mac & Cheese. Until next time.... Gobble! Gobble!

November?

Can you please explain to me how it is mid-November and we are still experiencing hot days?? I took the boys by the park again today to let them run out a little energy. There was hardly anyone there, so I took advantage of the beautiful weather and scenery and snapped a few pics of two of my favorite guys!

Give Thanks!

This morning was special. Tres's school put on a Thanksgiving Musical and we were so excited to see how he did! He was a pilgram.
I cannot begin to describe to you the feeling of pride I had watching my little man up there on stage. He smiled and sang, and did his hand motions. (He's on the second row from the bottom, in the middle beside the mike stand... and right beside Ryleigh, I might add!)

He waved at us from the stage. He turned to the little boy beside him and said really loudly, "That's my Daddy!" To me, it's the best thing in the world. I've said it since he was itty bitty: Tres is my joy. I think if he could have, he would have come out smiling!After the program, they had a reception for the parents with pie and coffee. The kids got to give their parent's the Thankgiving items they had made... you know, the typical turkey made with their painted handprint, a pilgram family, and a turkey made from a paper plate. It's amazing to me how something so simple made him so proud when he presented it. And it's amazing to me how much I treasure this little captured moment of his growing up years.


Of course Bryant and Sophie just HAD to wear the pilgram hat! :)

Pretty Baby

Ava Sophia is nearly four months old and I just now got around to getting her pictures taken! I guess that's the price she pays for being the third child, huh? :) I have talked to Anna White about taking family pictures and was going to have her take Sophie's pictures for me, but I was trying to wait for Bryant's ever damaged face to heal (again) from one of the many bumps, bruises, or scrapes. I called Portrait Innovations Tuesday night and asked if they had anything available any time soon. They happened to have a cancellation for Wednesday morning, so we jumped on it! Here are the results: I had them turn this one black and white... it is so gorgeous!I spent enough to get the disk with all the pictures on it. But I got the unedited version of all the pictures, so this one isn't centered. Mom & Dad don't have Photoshop, so you get what you get! This is the main one I got. They even gave me 6 free cards with this picture on it. I have them put her full name, her birthdate, and her birth weight.They did a special effects on with these three that I love. it has the picture of her on the right, and on the left side is the picture of her feet and a close up of one of her hands with the bracelet on it with faded, fuzzy edges.
I love this outfit, but didn't realize until after the photo session that it really needed a bow. She almost looks like a boy in it! Thank goodness for the little bracelet!

I know Mel's gonna leave a comment about putting a bow in her hair, so let me explain. I had a bunch of bows with me. And even had one in her hair, but it felt unauthentic to me. I love how she looks without bows too... and I thought the dress and bracelet were enough. A natural beauty doesn't need adornment anyway! Besides, the bows kept coming out of her hair! So there.

Park Days

The weather here has been absolutely gorgeous lately. Chilly in the mornings and evenings, but perfect in the middle of the day. We've been able to take advantage of some time at the park lately. This particular day, we met Tonnie, Sierra, and Luke.Aunt Tonnie got her a little neck sugar from my little sweet pea!She didn't seem to mind at all. She loves being outside and, like all kids, she sleeps like a log after she's been in the fresh air a while.

Tres, Bryant, Luke, and a little boy they found to play with wanted to play by the lake (under our watchful eye, of course!).It wasn't long after this that I saw Tres playing a little too close to the water, and called him back over. Here's how he looked:Bryant told us that he didn't want to get dirty. So, Tres took all the mud. That shirt is still not clean!

Two Things Happened

So two big things happened this weekend. First, Hank went in on Friday and had a vasectemy!! He was very nervous but said afterwards that it wasn't nearly as bad as he had anticipated. I'm sure it had something to do with the painkiller they gave him! When the nurse called me back and was going over some things, Hank kept talking, and talking, and talking!! I finally had to say, "Okay, Hank. Let the lady talk!" He thought everything was a little funnier than it really was and would just start laughing. And that would make me start laughing too. The whole procedure took less than an hour from the time he signed in to the time we left. When we left the hospital parking deck, he called his parents. He told him that now that he was no longer a stud, he could "go valaganting around." Then he paused and got a puzzled look on his face, and said, "That's not right, is it? Galavant... I mean galavant!" Then he started laughing hysterically! I took him to get something to eat, and then we went to pick up Tres from school. While we were waiting on Tres, Hank was listening to Jox, a local sports radio talkshow. One of the hosts was talking about how he was counting down to having a vasectemy and was scared to death. Hank starts grabbing for my cell phone, and DIALS IN!!! While he's dialing, all these other callers are talking about how they had the procedure done 10 years ago... 13 years ago... or a doctor calls in. When Hank finally got through, he told the lady that he had had a vasectemy less than a hour ago, and they PUT HIM RIGHT ON THE AIR! Hank tells the guy that it wasn't that bad. He said, "I'm in my wife... I mean, I'm in the van with my wife right now and I'm fine." The sports guy says, "Now there's a huge slip up!" After they chatted with Hank for a while, they asked to talk to me. They asked me if I was pleased with the results... and I told them honestly, that I wasn't able to tell right then, as I had not seen or experienced the results! At any rate, it was funny! Brett, my brother-in-law (Tonnie's husband) called us laughing hysterically and said he almost ran off the road when he heard Hank on there. Hank is recovering well, though. He spent a good bit of time yesterday with a bag of Bird's Eyes frozen peas on the 'area.' But he's just a little sore today. Brett said there's a way to hear it on their website... but I couldn't find it. If and when I do, I'll make every effort to get it on here! :) You better believe it!

The second thing is this: WE GOT OUR HOUSE!!! Thank you, Jesus! They accepted our offer, and we will be closing by the end of November. God is good people. We got it for way less than they were hoping to get. And with a few improvements and an addition of a bathroom, we will be adding some serious equity to our new home!!! THe best part to me is that it is located literally 3 minutes from the elementary school that I wanted my kids to attend! Did I already say GOD IS GOOD!!

"Bakery"

Beautiful weather has made my kids want to go park hopping the last few weeks! And they finally found a park that they have deemed their 'favorite.' Joe Tucker in Helena has an excellent playground in the back near the ball fields. It has a huge sand pit too and that keeps them entertained for hours! I took them to the park a couple of days ago. Now the boys decide that they will make a friend and play with that friend every time they go. This time was no different. I watched Bryant check out all the kids, single out a cute little brunette boy and befriend him. They would play in the sand... then head over to the merry go round. And as they walked, Bryant would put his hand on the little boys back and pat it. Bry finally remembered his brother (who had been playing in the sand with his Star Wars ships) and runs over and says, "Tes, I made us a friend! Come on! Come play with us!"

Not long after, my sister Tonnie and her kids came and met us to play for a while. Tonnie was at the swing with Tres and Sierra, when their friend came over and here is the story Tonnie related to me:

Tonnie: Who's your friend, Tres?
Tres: Ummm, this is my friend, Jakery... Zakery... Bakery!! Come on, Bakery... let's go play.
Sierra: His name is Zachary, Mom.

Tonnie said she about wet her pants laughing!

Please Pray!

We made an offer on this house today. Then we found out that another couple also made an offer on it today. Hank and I feel really good about this one, but we trust that the Lord knows if it is our home or not. It would be a pretty big closed door if the other couples offer was accepted, huh?

This one has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths an eat-in kitchen, a formal dining room, a formal living room, and a huge den/playroom in the basement. It has hardwoods, a two car garage and a bunch of other things that we liked! It also has an unfinished room in the basement. But one of the major things for me was that it is in the school district that we wanted.

Trying New Things

So our pediatrician said that since she has more than doubled her birth weight, and since she has reflux, we could try Sophie girl on some Rice Cereal. Apparently (and I vaguely remember this with the boys) something other than breastmilk or formula can help keep things in her tummy.
She wasn't so sure about it though. We would give her a bite she would take it and rolls it around with a baffled expression on her face.... thenpush it out of her mouth!

Baby Boy and Baby Girl

I was in the bathroom the other day while Sophie was napping. Bryant was watching tv in my room as well. When I came back into the room, here is what I found:
Bryant had crawled into the co-sleeper with Sophie. He is so sweet with her!

The Last Firsts

It's starting to really sink in that we are experiencing the last of 'the firsts' with our children. We've seen all of their first smiles and first laughs. I'm so thankful for such a wonderful family. That way, all the last 'firsts' in our life are ten times sweeter!
Sophie loves to 'talk!' She crinkles her little nose and smiles really big and just babbles away. She also likes to stand up (with assistance of course!).

Daddy's Girl

We loaded up the family on Sunday night and took the kids to see the Bee Movie at the Drive-In. It was half price, so we all saw a movie for $5! It was Sophie's first drive-in experience. She was a Daddy's girl that night (with the exception of one mid-movie feeding) and I thought they were cute together.
Waiting in the van for the movie to start. Both boys were asleep in the back and we let them doze until the last minute.Hank has even got her to do this sort-of goat sounding laugh.She actually watched the movie for about 30-45 minutes until she got tired. I think Daddy enjoyed holding her!

Bows and Such

So, I've sensed a bit of frustration from Mel... although we all know how hard that was since she is so subtle... about the fact that Sophie is not often pictured in bows. I do put bows in her hair, but they don't last long. They either fall out, or she pulls them out because she keeps her hands close to her head a lot. But I wanted Mel to know that I do adorn her head with bows!Notice her little hands up by her head. She was cheering for Alabama this day and looked so darn cute!

Tres Re-Mix

So I haven't done 'the list' for Tres since he turned 5. One of the reasons is because I haven't had his 5-year pic taken yet! But, I'll go ahead and tell you guys one of my MOST FAVORITE things that he does right now. It's a little thing, we call the Tres Re-Mix. When he is really excited or telling us a story, dream, or something cool that's happened... he'll say something, then inhale and repeat the word on the intake of his breath. It makes me smile or laugh EVERY TIME he does it! I got him to tell me a story on camera. See if you can see it!

Did I mention that my kids are OBSESSED with Star Wars?

Things I Hate (as the mother of two boys):

1: Transformers and all their little parts that can be and are stepped on, lost, and torn up.
2: Cleaning up pee off of the bathroom floor and toilet every hour of every day from bathroom attempts. And washing the rugs that go in that bathroom.
3: Having to tell both boys to stop picking their noses in public.
4: Legos

Two Lukes and a Princess

This year, both of the boys wanted to be Luke Skywalker from Halloween. BUTTTT, they wanted to be different Luke Skywalkers! (Did I mention that my children are OBSESSED with Star Wars?) So Bryant was X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker, and Tres was Cloud City Luke Skywalker. Their Daddy did a lot of work to make their costumes look good! He did good, huh?
Sophie girl was a pretty princess this year! And since she doesn't have a lot of hair, I made her some! :)
My three little actors!
X-Wing Fighter Luke Skywalker!
A blonde Princess Ava Sophia. Isn't she lovely?
Cloud City Luke Skywalker.The two Lukes use the force!