Thanksgiving 2013

We spent Thanksgiving at my aunt's house out in Corsicana. It's always fun to go out there, cook in her big kitchen, eat good food, and get a change of scenery and lots of attention for the boys. 

Benjamin did a lot of this:

And Logan did a lot of this:

My boys on Thanksgiving (can you tell Logan loves his baby brother??):

I'm almost positive Benjamin never touched the floor over those couple days, someone was always holding him.

                           With T-Luv

                     With Uncle Ryan

                With 2nd cousin Chad

          Wait, he's not being held! 😉

                Trying out a sippy cup

                   Our yummy turkey

A few pictures from before Thanksgiving of the boys and Benjamin's cute turkey butt:

Ice-cation 2013

Last week we were hit with a huge ice storm. We were house-bound from Thursday night until Tuesday. Well, we got out a couple times starting Sunday but Logan was out of school Friday, Monday, AND Tuesday. Yeah. Luckily, Chris was off work the whole time except Tuesday so I had help entertaining both the boys.

The fun started Thursday afternoon:

This one started sitting up with very little assistance. 

Daddy came home.

 

Sweet brothers played.

Friday we woke up to ALOT of ice. Logan was pumped. He did some sledding and learned to FaceTime with his BFF, Reagan.

Benjamin and I stayed inside for the most part but we had to come see Logan sled a little.

Benjamin did enjoy a little Baby Einstein, too.

That night Logan and Chris worked on their annual gingerbread house. It turned out great, Logan gets better every year, but Chris is a bit of a perfectionist. :)

Saturday brought more ice and more sledding. Chris was great to have around, he and Logan had a blast together.

Logan loved exploring outside and finding huge icicles and "ice leaves." He made Chris send this picture to Reagan to show her. She sent us one later.

I love the way these two love each other.

Benjamin had fun in the bath that night (as always). 

Sunday, church was cancelled so we watched it online and then ventured out for lunch. It was so nice to get out, even if only for an hour or so.

Logan decorated our front door with some window clings from his elf, Buddy.

We also made some sugar cookie dough but didn't get around to making them that day. 

Monday Buddy brought him some stickers so Logan made a picture and dictated a story to me. I love his creativity.

 

And this is how he ran around the house:

He played great this whole weekend and surprisingly wasn't on "screens" all that much. He played in his playroom, "fixed" things around the house with his Scooby Doo toolbox, and lots of singing/talking to Benjamin. Benjamin worked hard on sitting up some more and rolling everywhere.

Chris went back to work Tuesday so Logan, Benjamin, and I headed to the mall to adopt our annual angel. Every year Logan picks our angel (he always picks a boy his age if possible) and we shop for just that angel that day. This year we got him a jacket, 2 shirts, underwear, socks, and some Skylander mega-block things. I really hope Logan enjoys it as much as I do and understands the meaning of it all--I try to explain it as best I can. T-Luv met up with us and took us to lunch, too!

We came home and he drew a wonderful picture to add to our ever-growing Christmas art gallery (on our fireplace surround).

And finally, while Ben was napping, we got a chance to make our sugar cookies. He loved using the cookie cutters and making the icing different colors by mixing the food coloring. Neither of us are destined to be decorators, though...

That night we went to the Keller Holly Days, but only stayed for the parade because it was COLD and also a school night (finally!). 

I enjoyed all of our family time this weekend and loved that Chris was home for most of it. I know the boys loved it, too. But man, I was glad to drop him off at school this morning. 

Fall Zoo Trip with Friends

Last weekend we went to the zoo with my BFF Lindsey, her husband, and their 2 girls, Reagan (Logan's BFF) and Reese. We got to go in early since they were members and it was a perfect day for it. It wasn't crowded, even for a Saturday. I was shocked. The kids had so much fun and Benjamin did great too! All the animals were out and active, which is usually not the case when we go.

The two BFF's--they always have a blast together.

Benjamin and Linz

The mountain goats were very close!

Logan and Reagan on the carousel.

Logan loved the Komodo dragon.

Benjamin's first train ride.

And...the end. Our day was done at this point, as you can see. 

Friday Favorites/Wish List Continued

To add to my "wish list" from last week (I don't ask for much, but apparently when I do, I go big):

I would LOVE a DSLR camera. I know they are expensive, but sometimes you can find a decent sale or even a used one if someone decided to upgrade. I take all the pictures in the family and a couple of years ago my dad got me a great Nikon camera, just one step down from a DSLR and it has been great. Well, it was great until I went on a horrible "dolphin-watching" (we saw no dolphins) boat tour in Port Aransas last summer (2012) and I got tricked into getting soaked, camera in hand. It still takes pictures, but doesn't work *quite right*. The flash doesn't work consistently and it does some weird clicky thing occasionally when I try to snap a picture, typically when using the zoom. I am sure it could be fixed, but I haven't priced that yet and I am not sure it would be worth the price. I have just used it as it is, but I know it's not right. Makes me sad.

Now that I have an iPhone again (yay!) I would love iTunes gift cards. I never buy apps that cost money and I certainly don't download music but there are a couple of times where I wish I would let myself splurge. Specifically, I would love to download a couple songs/albums that I have heard in church that I love. And on that note, in my new car (ha) I need an iPhone connector (??) so you can play your music through the speakers (that is a thing, right?). I am so tech savvy. Obviously.

Now, onto some favorites:

Seriously. How cute are these diapers? Nevermind the fact that I have a huge box of diapers at home that I got on clearance. I HAD to buy these. How could I not? He won't be wearing them until after Thanksgiving, though. I have rules.

I went to see Hunger Games Catching Fire with some girlfriends from preschool/church last night and it was SO good. Now I am impatiently waiting for the 3rd one. Ugh.

I am in love with our Keurig. My Nana gave it to us for an early Christmas present and it gets used every single day. I should add K-cups to my wish list (chai latte, coffee, hot chocolate) because we are flying through them.

I am loving Logan in karate. I mentioned in a previous post that he had tried it and we signed up for a trial month. He's been twice more now and he seems to really like it. He is catching on and excited to go and it gives him a great outlet and some structure/activity to our afternoons. And he's adorable doing the kicks and grinning the whole time.

The baby teachers at my preschool had these made for the babies for Thanksgiving. I LOVE it. So sweet. I am so glad that Benjamin came along to buy me more time to stay home and continue to work there. 

Have a great weekend everyone (all 5 of you that read this)!

Friday Favorites

I rarely have anything that I just really want for Christmas (or birthday or anything). And these things aren't even things I expect for Christmas, but I am just throwing them out there while they are on my mind. Some aren't even for me, just things I would like or that I have come across that I love.

1. A new, to me, car

Yep, I'm there. The second kid sealed the deal. We took a one-night (ONE NIGHT) trip and our trunk was at max capacity with just the one suitcase, a stroller, and the rock n' play. My Passat has lasted us 10 good years, but I am not wanting to put more money into it when we really just need to move up in size. I am not talking a brand new something, I am perfectly fine (and actually prefer) something used that we could get with our trade-in and a little cash. I'm not even stuck on a minivan, just something bigger with more space. I can't even do a big trip to Costco anymore (I know, first world problems).


2. A GOOD housecleaning:

I know, I ask for this almost every chance I get. And really, if I just had the time and energy (and motivation), I wouldn't mind doing it myself, but Benjamin doesn't really like to be put down for long stretches of time and we all know how his sleeping is, so the chances of me doing it right just aren't good.


3. New clothes--I lost all my pregnancy weight and then some (believe me, I wasn't doing anything to make this happen) so my clothes situation isn't pretty. I have bought a few things here and there but I still don't have that many options...even the 2 pair of jeans I bought a month ago are a little big now. I know, a good problem to have, but not when you really don't have the money to spend. And I would love a pair of the riding boots that are in right now, but my big old calves may prevent that from happening...

4. And for the kids: I love these name pillows from The Chocolate Zebra. Not for me, but for the boys, or any kid really. I think they are adorable.

Or these. I mean, really.

AND these: 

Baby legwarmers (for boys!)

For Logan, since he is getting into reading and loving comic books right now:

And for Benjamin, since he is drooling/chewing everything:

         

So, there you have it. That's what's on my mind/list right now.