December already!

Thanksgiving at the farm was fun! We hit another big milestone this year, in that Matt and I were able to converse with adults and eat without someone holding the baby or trailing two feet behind a toddler. Addie was pretty much able to run loose this year with all her cousins, and Ryan did a great job of keeping up with the big kids. We did keep an eye on him, of course, but he usually stayed in the middle of the pack of kids in the backyard, so we could sit on the big back deck and watch him. My mom was also there to lend her eyes and hands, so Matt and I really made the rounds! There is one baby, Caylee, who was born this summer, and I think that is the youngest kid next to Ryan out of the clan - the next oldest are 2 year old boys. It's funny, and I know it sounds like I'm an old lady, but I really cannot believe how fast all the kids in the family are growing up! I still think of Aunt Sally as having 5 kids under 11, but the youngest of her kids is 9 now!! I have been with Matt for 11 years, so it's bound to happen I guess.

The weather was fantastic. Sunny and high of about 65. We brought Casey to roam around and get some exercise. Matt helped his dad fry turkeys and Mom and I came up later with the kids. We went on a long hayride in the late afternoon, and stayed until it was time for bed. We didn't even attempt a nap for Addie, and she did very well. Ryan slept in the pack n play for awhile. He and Matt were both sick last week and were slowly recovering through the weekend, so he was snotty and gross, but seemed to feel okay. We didn't get many leftovers, but we have two cheap frozen turkeys here, and Matt wants to try frying another one, so we will either do it for Christmas or sometime before, just for fun.


Matt at the turkey fryer


Addie and Matt's dad



Ryan being fed and spoiled by Matt's mom


Our frozen African hound dog




Little Ryan, with five of the big cousins in the background - seems like yesterday that THEY were the little boys digging in the dirt, but now they're in high school and college.

I taped the Thanksgiving parades, since we were gone on Thursday and we watched them Friday morning. Matt was feeling crummy, Addie was tired, and Ryan was cranky, so we laid on the floor (freezing, because our heater wasn't working), and watched the parade snuggling under blankets. Ryan was so tired that he fell asleep laying back on my chest. Matt bought a digital thermostat and he hooked it up. Heat at last! We put the flannel sheets on the bed and have been very snuggly and warm the past few nights.

We had our first, but probably not last, episode of Addie calling me "stupid". She was fussy because I was making her pick up her books that she pulled off the shelf, and she whined and said it was too hard, and when I refused to let her quit, she pointed her finger and said, "You! Stupid!" I'll leave my reaction to your imagination, but suffice to say she had BETTER not say it again. I don't even know where she heard it (no, she does not hear it at least ten times a day from her old man). It must have been Schwarz.

We decorated the Christmas tree on Saturday night. We decided to use an artificial tree this year, even though some of my favorite memories were spending the day at the tree farm, choosing a tree, cutting it down, and cooking out hot dogs. For one thing, real Christmas trees from farms are expensive! I can get one much cheaper from Home Depot. And we already had the fake one from my mom. When the kids are a little bit older, I think we will try to find a really good tree farm and make a tradition, but right now, it's too much work!

I made low calorie eggnog (it was okay) and we got out all the Christmas stuff to decorate with. Addie was really excited about unpacking the boxes and seeing what all we had. I had forgotten that I'd put up a lot of her Christmas stuffed animals (many that play music) with the decorations, so she was thrilled to have a whole new collection of animals to play with. She was actually able to hang ornaments on the tree this year, too, and we showed her all the special ones we have. Ryan was very good about not destroying things - he pulled on the branches some, and carried some ornaments around, but has mostly left the tree alone since then. He did have a nice time pulling tiny pieces of Styrofoam apart, though. Addie had eggnog and called it her "special milk". We also have an advent calendar with boxes for every day, and I put candy in them. Last night was our first night, and she was very excited to open it. I have been looking for a good Nativity Advent calendar - we had one growing up and we LOVED it every year. I haven't found anything I like. I'm looking for one with figures of the Nativity (Mary, Jesus, angels, shepherds, etc), where you open a new figure and add it to the scene every day. I did find a magnetic one online for $40, but I'm still looking. I want to start getting each of them an ornament every year, not just a personalized one or one with a picture, but one that reflects their interests or personality. They can take their collection of ornaments with them when the move out one day.



Hanging an ornament


Ryan hanging his first ornament ever

Me sipping non-rotted eggnog



Addie putting the Christmas Toad on top of the tree

Random things about the kids:

Driving through the neighborhood, we were looking at some Christmas lights our neighbors have up, and there was a big inflatable Snoopy. Addie said, "Mama, sing the Snoopy song! Sing it!" I didn't know any Snoopy song, and I said so. She said, "Mama! Yes, the Snoopy song!" and she started singing, to the tune of Scooby Doo, "Snooo-py, Snoopity Do!" It was very cute.

I picked up a bunch of her toys and vacuum, and she came in and said, "Mama, are my friends gonna come over?" Guess that's the only time she thinks I vacuum!

We were driving behind a Longhorn car, and Addie said, "Look, I see a reindeer!" I quickly informed her that it was a horrible Longhorn and that we don't like Longhorns. I taught her to put her hands together and hiss, like the Aggies do. She loved it, and then I heard hissing spitting sound and looked in the backseat. Ryan was clapping his hands and spitting all over, trying to copy us. It was hilarious!

I was at a MOPS meeting on Monday and Addie was playing with the other kids, and then she ran up to the table where we were meeting and tapped my arm and said, "Excuse me, Mama." I have seen other kids do this, but I haven't taught Addie that yet at all. Who knew she could learn good manners from other kids?

Addison is trying out my "other" names. Frequently I'll hear Mom or Mother (which sounds more like Mudder). Last night she said, "This is a very good dinner, Mudder."

Ryan still calls me DaDa, but it is a definite name for ME - he will run up and smile and say, "Dada!" when he sees me. The past few days, he has advance from Dada to Baba, so I guess we're getting closer to Mama?

Addie still loves for me to tell her our daily plans, or monthly agenda, or any other story. She asks me to talk about it. I told her the story about Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph and all, and she listened and listened and then said, "Talk more about Jesus!" She also, for some reason, really likes it when I sing the car. I usually scan through the radio stations to find a song I know and then sing, and if I stop, she'll yell, "Mama! Sing it! Sing, Mama!" Now that Christmas music is on all the time, I know practically every song, and she is really picking up the songs quickly. She gets excited every time she hears God or Jesus on the radio, when we listen to the Christian station. And I have to tell this story - I was actually at the church picking up my cell phone that I'd left in the nursery, and I parked right by the door and ran inside to the front desk to get it. I left both kids in the car with it running. When I got back to the car, Addie said, "Mama, there is a Jesus song on! The man talked about Jesus. He loves Jesus!" I turned up the radio and it was "My Own Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode. I had it on the classic rock station. Another lesson from the classic rock station - Addie can now sing most of 867-5309. She adores that song, and she sang it in the background once when I told her I was going to call her Aunt Jenny.

I have not gotten her room finished yet. I have the bedspread and curtains (not up yet), but I'm still trying to paint. I absolutely cannot do it while the kids are awake, because Ryan can't be left unsupervised for long, and they would of course touch the walls if they were in the room. And I have no time at all when Ryan is not in the picture, except during his nap, which is also when Addie is napping in her room. The aforementioned Aunt Jenny will be out of nursing school next week, so I'm hoping to bum some babysitting off of her for a morning while I finish the paint. Then I can put up the chair rail and decals and curtains, and rehang her stuffed animal net and rearrange her furniture again and finally put the room together. Oh, and I need to paint and hang some shelves too.

This Friday is MOPS again, yay! Then we have a busy next couple of week with Christmas festivities and all. Should be fun! And, we are supposed to get snow on Friday! I took Addie out last year when it snowed for 5 minutes, but I"m sure she doesn't remember. I do have a couple of pictures though.

That's all for now.