Baby Belly Bump

Here I am at exactly 25 weeks pregnant on Thanksgiving Day.

We found out at our ultrasound on November 3rd that
we're having a BABY GIRL!

We're naming her Greta -- still discussing options for her middle name.
I was feeling certain that we'd have another baby boy, as was Gary - so we were very surprised to learn that there's a baby girl in there! All along, Grayson has been telling me, "You're growing a baby sister in your tummy." We'd have been just as happy with a boy, of course - but we're pretty excited about experiencing a new adventure, welcoming a little girl into our family.

This precious baby is among many blessings I'm extremely grateful for this Thanksgiving!
We appreciate all the love & prayers from friends and family during this pregnancy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving morning had an early start, thanks to our early risers -
Gordon & Grayson.
We'd been up for hours before the Macy's Parade started; here are the boys, watching some of it.

Auntie Melissa & Uncle Joey stayed overnight Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday evening, Gary & Joey took the boys to a BSU basketball game, while Melissa and I got some dinner prep done and watched a movie. Melissa made three fabulous pumpkin cheesecakes!

Joey bought a 17.5 pound turkey and Melissa offered up her roasting skills this year. Here she's getting the bird ready to put into the oven, after soaking it in brine overnight.

Several hours later...it looked perfect (and tasted absolutely delicious!)

While the turkey 'rested' and the side dishes were prepared, Gordy and Grayson enjoyed some sunshine and snow outside.

Grayson brought in a slab of ice.

The cool air outside and all the fierce cooking going on inside, provided steamy windows for drawing upon.

This is Grayson's window sketch of Gordon and himself.

Getting the sweet potatoes and green bean casserole out of the oven.

Gordon set the table all by himself.

Carving the bird

Grayson sampling the green salad...and eating a good portion of the black olives and cherry tomatoes out of it.

Green salad, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, fresh rolls, garlic mashed potatoes, turkey gravy.... As soon as the cranberries and turkey were served, we were ready to eat.

After a special prayer, we went around the table and shared what we're most grateful for.

Our dinner was scrumptious and we all enjoyed a relaxing day together!
We are very blessed.

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Myra stopped by Thursday evening for pumpkin pie and cheesecake, as well as bringing some cute little treats - Oreo cookies turned into turkeys with chocolate malt balls, candy corn, and frosting.
Friday morning, Gary got up early and made a big batch of fresh scones for us all before heading to work. Joey and Melissa stayed through lunch and into the afternoon, playing and relaxing with the boys and me.
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Deck the Halls!

Both boys have had all this week off from school, and as fun as that is, there are moments of cabin fever - thanks to the colder than average weather outside.
This situation brought about an earlier than ever pursuit to get our Christmas decorations up. Last Sunday, Gary got our tree and lights set up - then Monday was decorating day!
(We hadn't even celebrated Thanksgiving yet!)

Throughout the day, the boys added ornaments to the tree.

And also spent time studying the variety of decorations and choosing which are their favorites.

The only ornaments I put on were the higher section of the tree, beyond the boys' reach.

Voila! This isn't the best photo - my flash downplays the glowing lights, but we've got over a month to try and get a better shot of the tree.

Thanks for decorating our Christmas tree, Gordon & Grayson!

It's beautiful...and really gave us a jump start on Christmas spirit!

Dressed for the Occasion

Thanksgiving greetings from our little Kindergartner!

Gordon's class made adorable Pilgrim and Indian costumes last week in school.
Awesome!

First Snow!

Last Saturday we got our first dusting of snow!
The boys were eager to get outside and play in it.

There wasn't much of it, and it melted rather quickly....

...but not before Gordy & Grayson made their first mini-snowman of the season.

We're hoping to get a bit more white stuff so we can put together a little bit bigger snow friend soon. But this little guy was pretty cute.

After playing outside, it was time to warm up with some hot chocolate and blueberry muffins.

Grayson called Gordy on his walkie talkie to tell him his hot chocolate was getting cold. He'd better hurry and join us.

Gordon warmed up with a word search puzzle too.

Let it snow...let it snow...let it snow!
(But not so much that our family has difficulty getting here for Christmas next month!)

Indoor Fun

Now that the weather has gotten colder and daylight is much shorter, we're rediscovering some of our favorite indoor activities.

The boys have been making a variety of Thanksgiving projects using watercolors, pine cones, construction paper, glue, etc....

Grayson is our little baker! He loves to help bake cookies, breads, and cakes!

And of course he helps with clean-up too.

After Halloween and recent birthday parties, the boys' costume cubby has even more selections!

Some of their favorite toys lately have been puzzles and a variety of blocks.

This is not to say that there aren't moments of boredom, crankiness, or arguing between the boys. I just choose to highlight these happy moments instead.... ☺

Little Mr. Salesman

Gordon's school held a fundraiser for their PTA, selling flavored popcorn.
Gordy did a fabulous job, calling friends and family, marketing this tasty treat. Orders came from as far away as Portland, Oregon and south central Minnesota, and Gordon sold nearly $200 worth of popcorn in a variety of flavors (including strawberry shortcake and honey-orange! The most popular flavors were caramel and cheddar cheese).
When we went to pick up his merchandise to distribute to customers, we were sent to a special line for "large orders." That was a good sign that Gordy had a shot at winning some of the incentive prizes...!

We found out yesterday that Gordy was among the top sellers, and his name was mentioned at the special assembly celebrating the over $8,000 that the students collectively raised. A 3rd grader won top sales, earning the privilege to throw a cream pie in the principal's face in front of the whole student body and staff.

The dangling carrot that most inspired our little Kindergartner to sell, sell, sell... was the prize to win a pizza party and tour at Channel 7 News. He was very proud of the fact that his Daddy is Chief Photographer there, and really sought to win this prestigious prize! Unfortunately, Gordon was home sick yesterday, so he missed out on the assembly, and we haven't heard for sure if he is among those who will tour the news station, but I think it's safe to say that either way - Gordon will have a special pizza lunch with Daddy and a personalized trip through "Daddy's News!" Way to go, Gordon -- We are so proud of you!
A special thank you to all those who purchased popcorn from our little salesman!

Curious George at the Library!

Tuesday night our local library hosted a Curious George party.
The boys were so excited to meet George!
Here they are, waiting for George to make his appearance.

Just informed - George is on his way!

Thumbs up for Curious George!

All smiles.

George was initially crowded with hugs and high fives from all the kids.
Surprisingly, neither Gordon nor Grayson mustered the courage to hug George.
I think they had imagined a knee-high little monkey running around, like they see in the books and movies. As you can see below, George was a bit larger than expected.

Listening to one of several Curious George stories....

This is where Grayson landed almost immediately after George appeared. I watched him observe all the kids swarming to Curious George as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little. Again, I think he expected a much smaller monkey. ☺

Our wonderful presenters drew names for many prizes: adorable stuffed Curious George toys, books, book bags, and little stuffed puppy toys with the "Library!" logo on their t-shirts. Gordon and Grayson each won a puppy, and they absolutely adore them.

Listening to another much loved Curious George story....

The kids also enjoyed some monkey snacks - bananas, banana chips, and fruit juice.

Another wonderful surprise was that Daddy showed up for the last twenty minutes or so of the party after he got off work. As we were leaving, Gordon posed for a couple of photos with George, though the happeir shot turned out a bit blurry. My flash was delayed and just missed Gordon's big grin for this photo. Grayson waved good-bye to George from a safe distance, at Daddy's side.

We love our weekly trips to the library, and enjoy all these fun-filled events that they put on for our community!