Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week already! Time is flying by this year- it's almost time to start thinking about Christmas! We can't wait to see my parents, brothers Jeff, Andy and his lovely wife Mackenzie. Usually we have Geoff's family here for Thanksgiving, so this will be a little different this year! My parents have hosted Thanksgiving at their house since we moved to Wisconsin when I was a kid, so it's a big deal that they are not going to be home this year! I am hoping to get most of the Thanksgiving stuff ready ahead of time so my Mom can have an actual vacation and enjoy not having to put together a big feast for once! This weekend will be filled with prep work, cleaning and a fun girls only outing for me - a movie with a friend. I'm looking forward to getting away for a few hours.

Next week we are taking a big break from most of our regular school stuff and focusing on Thanksgiving. I have a whole bunch of fun activities planned out - many thanks to Geoff's Aunt Adele for supplying us with a whole bunch of supplies!! I also picked up some library books on Pilgrims and Thanksgiving to read next week. We have reached the math lesson where Anna is supposed to set up a store and practice buying and selling things to get the hang of two digit addition problems. I figured that would be a fun thing to do with our guests and she is really excited to play store while they are here. We have been saving empty boxes and cans all week and pricing items out- it's been pretty fun! I'm looking forward to a really fun week next week!

Anna's outside classes and her school have been going well. Her dance recital is coming up so the girls in her class have been practicing their dances really hard. I am so impressed watching her dancing- she has really come a long way this year! She is loving Girl Scouts, as well. It's her turn to bring a snack next time and she's already talking about how it has to be something "nourishing." She's going to be the most popular girlscout when she brings carrot sticks - most of the girls bring cookies or cupcakes... One project the girls had to do was to demonstrate helpfulness by doing some sort of cleaning project around the house and leaving a little paper daisy behind to show that "a daisy was here." This seemed like a pretty good idea when I first heard about it, but one day in to the project I asked Anna to help clean up the living room. She told me she could only do clean-up jobs that I don't ask her to do... Hmm

Sam and Henry are busy as always. Sam loves everything- he brings so much enthusiasm to all he does. He is currently enjoying play dough, art projects involving cutting and gluing, and attempting to write letters. He learned to count to 100 the other day, although he still needs a little guidance with it. Henry is having fun following the big kids around. He has learned to count to 20 just from listening to the other kids. He also told me the other day "Augusta in Maine, Mommy!" He's like a little parrot... Henry had his 2 year checkup the other day. He is still 90th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight- our string bean boy. He did everything the doctor asked him to do- she was surprised that he wasn't at all bashful with her. We had a surprise at the end of the checkup- flu vaccines for all three kids. I did not prepare Anna for this possibility ahead of time and she did not take it well. She and Sam got the nasal mist, which really shouldn't have been a big deal, but she really freaked out. Sam went first and laughed when they gave him his mist. It was a struggle to convince Anna to move her arms away from her face... We got it done in the end, though. Maybe the shot would have been easier... Henry got the shot in his leg and when the nurse gave it to him he said "Ouch!" really loudly, then he was done. So of all the three kids, the only one who cried was Anna, and she didn't even get a shot! Figures... :)

I am so thankful this year for my family- I am truly blessed in my three unique, sweet, funny kids and my wonderful husband. Here is how my Dad describes his only grandkids to other people- Anna is the smartest kid in the world, Sam is the coolest kid in the world, and Henry is the sweetest kid in the world. He might have to change this once he has more grandkids, but speaking as their mother, I completely agree!! I would be lost without them! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Daniel

I would like to tell you about Daniel. Today he was supposed to be born. He lived for five months, much too short. His Dad never got to feel him moving or hear his heartbeat, although I did. Geoff held my hand while I delivered him alone in our hospital room last summer. We could hear the sounds of a newborn baby crying in the hallway, which seemed like the ultimate injustice at the time. We could see just how Daniel would have looked if he had made it to term. He had features like all the kids- he had Sam’s nose, Anna’s mouth and Henry’s long fingers and feet. Daniel, we miss you every day and wish more than anything that things would have turned out differently. Please send out a prayer for our family this week

Sam and the Giant Gorilla and Henry's Birthday

I haven’t gotten around to posting an update recently, so I’m playing catchup! Last week was Halloween and we had a great time celebrating. Anna dressed up as a princess, Sam was a knight, and Henry ended up being a cowboy (I waited until the day of Halloween to determine his costume and it mainly depended on what he would tolerate. He loved the cowboy boots, though, so we had a winner!). We started off the night with a dress-up party at Anna’s dance studio. Her dance teacher put on a really sweet party for the kids- they played “duck, duck, goose,” “Simon Says,” and a bean bag toss. Then they had snacks and listened to a quick bible study. Whenever she asked the kids a question Sam was the first on to answer- even though he wasn’t paying much attention to what she asked. I think when she asked one question about the bible story she read he answered “I know, guys! Let’s tell each other what our costumes are!!” You’ve got to love his enthusiasm, though! After the party we met some friends at their house to go trick-or-treating in their neighborhood. Sam was our most enthusiastic trick-or-treater- he had to lead the way and be the first to ring the doorbells. Anna took a little while to get into it, but she pretty much followed Sam’s lead and had a lot of fun collecting candy. Henry didn’t seem to know what was going on- he just meandered behind the group looking around and about every third house or so made it to the front door and held out his candy bucket. He seemed to have fun, though! The funniest moment of the evening was when we came across an adult dressed in a full gorilla suit. Sam was pretty startled and didn’t take his eyes of the giant gorilla. He very slowly sidled next to Geoff and casually reached for his sword. He didn’t take his eyes of the gorilla for a second. Then he held his sword up in front of him and looked really hard at the gorilla and said “Happy Halloween.” After the gorilla responded in kind Sam felt it was safe to slowly back away, but he made sure to keep his sword raised and himself between the rest of us and the gorilla. How can you not love Sam?

We had a really fun Birthday party for Henry this weekend- not only did we get to spend it with Grandma Honey and Grandpa and Uncle Tom, but we also got to play at Chuck E Cheese and have cupcakes and presents. Everyone had a great time - but Henry was pretty tired out by the time we got home for cake... Anna and Sam had fun "helping" him open his presents and now they are having fun helping him play with them! Sam picked out a Spiderman keychain for his prize at Chuck E Cheese, then he gave it to Henry as a birthday present along with a few pieces of his Halloween candy. Anna worked really hard to make a stuffed animal snake for Henry- it really turned out great (it was originally going to be a scarf, but she realized that Henry might not appreciate that quite as much as a toy)! She chose the patterns and sewed all the patches together by hand- and by herself. I helped her sew the back on with the sewing machine. She is really proud of it and it really turned out to be really cute! Henry also got a few new books from Mom and Dad, clothes from Grammy and Grampy, and a farm playset from Grandma and Grandpa Honey that all the kids have already thoroughly enjoyed. It’s always so much fun to have visitors- but everybody sure is tired out!

I'll have to post pictures later- it's not working at the moment!