That's How You Know

You know you are raising a girly girl when she asks for a bow to wear with her jammies to bed :)

Our Big Girl

As sad as it is for me, AP moved out of our room last night and slept in her room like a big girl all night. We felt like having been thrown out of our normal routine for the last few weeks was a good time to make the change before she got comfortable with us in our room again. I really liked having her there, but know it is best for her in the long run to get used to her own room. We feel like she has come a long way with attachment and knows that we will be there to get her in the morning. She doesn't need anymore night time reassurance, and really never did, I think it was more for me. It was still sad to see her walking to her room dragging her blankie behind her knowing that a part of her "baby" days are gone.

Last Day in NC

Today is our last day in NC. We are biting the bullet and making the long drive home in one day. It will take about 11 hours (ugh!) If we left today we might miss part of the UT game on TV and the world would just not be right. We have enjoyed visiting with extended family the last week and a half, but I must say we are ready to be back in our own child-proof home and back on our schedules. You can only say "no" so many times. This morning AP was so excited that she found a cradle of "babies" at her great-grandmother's house, but those babies happened to be antique and not babies that she could play with, that's too hard for her to understand yet. "Baby" is her new favorite word since we were visiting with my sister's new baby last week. Yesterday we set out to find something for the kiddos to do and found a little family fun center. There was one of the big bouncy things there and C loved that. There was a zip cord in it and he had lots of fun pretending to be Diego. AP did her share of bouncing, too. Hubby and I took a few turns in the batting cages. It's been a while since either of us had swung a bat and we both have blisters today :(

There is a tree in hubby's grandmother's yard that is just the right size for tree climbing.

On Thanksgiving Eve

I am thankful for...

beautiful weather...
a day in the park...with the ones I love.

Guess who?

Guess who we ran into at the mall yesterday? It's Santa time already. It took me by surprise to see the North Pole set up in the mall near my in-laws house. There was no turning back once C caught sight of the man in red. He ran to get in line to tell SC what he wanted. We have a slight problem in that area. The one thing that C consistently tells anyone who asks what he wants for Christmas is Aquadots! Do you know that Aquadots have been recalled? Try explaining a recall to a 4yo who thinks that Santa can make anything.

Have you ever?

Have you ever seen a newborn this cute?

I am a proud aunt. I enjoyed sharing her first few days. I had fun taking pictures of her, too :) I miss her already. She will look so different the next time we see her.

We left Ohio yesterday afternoon and drove to the WV/VA line to spend the night. Then we drove the rest of the way today to spend Thanksgiving with hubbie's family in eastern NC.

She's here! *new pic added*

The kiddos and I scrambled to get packed and get on the road yesterday after getting the call that my sister was in labor. We made it to the hospital in Ohio at about 9:45pm, then we waited....and waited...and waited. Then at 4:15am, my niece was born! I am officially an aunt. Everyone is healthy and happy, but tired. My trooper kiddos stayed up all night long at the hospital! They were so well behaved and C was so excited that Baby S was going to "grow big enough to come out of her belly." At one point when C and I went in the room before all the pushing started, my sister had her feet up on the bed with her knees bent up. The blanket was over her legs and C said "that baby is so tall". He thought the baby had been born and was standing up under there. It was too cute. He also thought the heart monitor was the baby snoring. I have lots of cute pics of the baby and lots of cute pics of my kiddos entertaining themselves while waiting for the baby, but my camera thingy doesn't work on my mom's computer, so this phone pic will have to do for now.

14 hours old

Cheers to Grandparents Day!

Pumpkin Farm At Long Last

We finally got to go to the pumpkin patch with C's class on Tuesday, despite the tornadic activity the night before. It was a clear, but chilly day. We were not ready for it to feel that cold so quickly, especially since most of November had been in the 70's so far! But, C had a lot of fun. He got to milk a fake cow, learn about how pumpkins are pollenated, visit the petting zoo, go through the corn maze, go on a hayride, jump in a huge bin full of corn kernels, and play on the huge playground! We crammed all that into an hour and a half b/c of the chilly wind. C even picked a pumpkin for his little sister :)

Nanna comes in town today! Tomorrow is Grandparents Day at C's school.

Vols and Mac & Cheese

Saturday hubby and I headed back to Knoxville for UT's Homecoming Game. The Ragin' Cajuns got stomped, but isn't that always how Homecoming games go?

Some of you probably remember C wearing that exact same UT warm-up suit the first week he was home. AP is wearing her first official hand-me-down from her brother. I'm sure there will be more to come :) I'm not above little girls wearing their brother's clothes.

This was the scene after AP fed herself all of her mac & cheese last night. She was very proud of herself.

We have AP's second post placement meeting with our social worker tonight. Then tomorrow is C's rescheduled pumpkin farm field trip. We are praying it doesn't rain and get cancelled again!

Little Goblins

Ok, so I am supposed to be showing off my Halloween decorations for The 2007 Halloween edition of the Bloggy Parade of Homes, hosted by Shanny. However, I never got around to spooking up our house! So, these pics of the cutest little goblins will have to do. (Shanny, I promise I'll do better next time) The trick-or-treating wiped my kiddos out. They were so tired by 7:45 that they were actually asking to go to bed! I guess the long walk around the neighborhood wore them out...or they were crashing from their sugar highs :) We cut off candy eating at around 5pm.

C in action!

AP double-fisted :)
Uncle came over to pass out candy while we were out. Scary!

Then the kiddos decided to be scary, too!