Thanksgiving and Thereafter

Mommy is late posting about our Thanksgiving holiday, but better late than never. We decided not to travel for Thanksgiving this year since we will be traveling for Christmas. A very nice family in our ward invited us to share Thanksgiving with them. Joseph and Audrey had such a fun time playing with Mark and Ammon, the family's two boys. The Thanksgiving feast was so good, and the best part was that Mommy did not have to make most of it. Mommy just made the green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. After eating, the kids played for awhile. Then, both families made their way to another family's home that had invited everyone for dessert. There was every kind of pie imaginable! The kids had a blast there too.

Joseph and Audrey were exhausted by the time we left to drive home that they both fell asleep in the car even though it was only 6:30pm. Those power naps are not so great though because both kids woke up upon reaching home and were hyper. Mommy and Daddy had a hard time getting them to bed at bedtime.

The only bad part about Thanksgiving was Mommy thinks she broke her toe. Katelyn was fussy so Mommy put her in a bouncer in the kitchen while she was making side dishes. Mommy accidentally kicked the bouncer really hard and stubbed one of her toes. The toe turned black and blue and swelled up. Daddy said Mommy should just put ice on it and then Daddy taped the broken toe to the toe next to it. The toe is doing much better, though it still hurts, especially when Audrey steps on it. Audrey seems to enjoy stepping on feet.

Audrey did not say what she was thankful for this year, but Mommy and Daddy assumes she is very thankful for milk. Audrey actually calls milk, "milka." Every morning she says she wants "milka." Actually, every morning and throughout the day she asks for "milka."

Mommy asked Joseph what he was thankful for this year. Joseph said he was thankful for Mommy, Daddy, Audrey, and new baby. Then, a little later he said, "oh yea, and food." Funny that Joseph is thankful for food since he is such a picky eater that Mommy and Daddy can barely get him to eat anything. He eats tiny portions and says he is done. So, Joseph was probably the only one that did not gorge himself at Thanksgiving dinner.

The friday after Thanksgiving, we decorated for Christmas. We decorated the outside and then came inside and put up and trimmed the tree. The weather was great. Mommy was a little frustrated with Joseph and Audrey because they pulled out every single Christmas item they could get their hands on. Audrey is also a bit destructive so she literally destroyed a number of ornaments. Luckily, they seemed to have missed the "special" ornament box. Mommy and Daddy have a Christmas tradition of buying one ornament for each year of marriage and then the kids each get an ornament that reflects something that will remind them of that year. Of course, the first Christmas ornament has always been a baby's first Christmas ornament.

Yesterday, Mommy took Joseph, Audrey, and Katelyn to the library for storytime. We went with Ammon and his Mommy. Storytime did not go very well. Joseph and Ammon would not sit for the stories and were all over the place. Poor librarian kept asking them to sit down and listen to the story. Audrey shrieked when Mommy asked her not to mess with Katelyn's bottle. The kids seemed to like the craft after storytime. They decorated paper Christmas trees with stickers and fun shapes. After the craft, the kids played in a little play area that had toys and books and huge stuffed animals and little people-sized chairs. Unfortunately, Joseph and Audrey fought about the stuffed animals and so there was plenty more shrieking and crying before it was all over with. Mommy was a little embarrassed by the time we left the library.

After library time, we went to McDonald's for lunch so the kids could get out their energy. We must have spent a good two hours in the play area. Then we went grocery shopping at apparently one of the only real grocery stores in this area. Most of the time people shop at Super Walmart or Super Target. Mommy really liked the grocery store. Katelyn snoozed in the Baby Bjorn carrier while Mommy pushed Audrey around in the cart. Ammon and Joseph wanted to ride together so Ammon's Mommy pushed them in a separate cart. By the time we headed home, Audrey and Joseph had fallen asleep in the back seat of the car again.

Mommy has been really tired today after the all day adventure yesterday even though overall, it was a lot of fun. Mommy really likes spending time with Ammon's Mommy. Today Mommy decided we should stay at home. Braeden, the little boy next door will probably come over in a little bit to make Christmas decorations with Joseph. Joseph keeps asking to decorate more since last friday. Joseph painted some styrofoam balls with glitter paint to go on the tree (much safer for little people than glass ornaments). Joseph also made some melted crayon ornaments to go on the tree. We'll probably try to make paper snowflakes this afternoon since Joseph is still fascinated by scissors.