Aidan Kale's Favorite Thanksgiving Food...

Seriously...

Cheetos Puffs??

Not So Thankful

My husband called me a downer today...
And I have to admit...

{Even if not to him}...

I am...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...

And as you {and I} can see...

 I have so much for which to be Thankful...

But for some reason...

I am taking it all for granted...

I am not proud of this...

And there is no one reason...

It could be that I still miss my maternal Grandfather...
Whose celebration in Heaven...

 Began the night before Thanksgiving 2005...

It could be that my parents are spending Thanksgiving with my glowingly pregnant {out of town} baby sister...
My Grandparents have some new Holiday rule...

And Aunts, Uncles and Cousins are sprinkled throughout...

Times have changed for our extended family...

I once had too many meals...

Now I will have one...

One my husband and I will prepare...

And my handsome husband...

Two beautiful children...

And extremely generous in-laws...

Will break bread together...

But something in me is empty...

The part of me that existed before I married the man of my dreams...

There are missing pieces...

Like Monopoly without Park Place...

So today I am feeling off...

Hoping tomorrow I can pull it all together...

Create new and priceless traditions with my incredible boys...

And be forever grateful I have Boardwalk...

"Soaking" it all in...

I want my brain to be more like a sponge...

Soaking in every last memory...

Much like the way Little's drool soaks his bib...

I want to get less caught up in life...

And more caught up in them...

Where our evenings aren't full of chores...

But opportunities...

To make memories...

Shape their lives...

Show my boys how much I love them...

Because at the end of the day...

If I don't...

I will miss my chance...

 Miss appreciating moments just like this...

"New" Toys

Our new gently used toys...

Courtesy of Craig's List...

I am Thankful for...

Sleepy smiles first thing in the morning...

New Mommy friends...

Cuddling...

The Disney Channel...

Internet shopping...

Grandparents who spoil...

Bedtime...

Library books...

Dollar Tree, Craig's List, Goodwill and Name Brand Clothing...

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...

Old Friends who know...

Trash Day...

Changing Seasons...

Familiar scents...

Photographs...

Memories...

A home warmed not only by heat...

But with...

Freedom...

Mercy...

Forgiveness...

Love...

Searching for Thankful

At (in)Courage...
this blog post...

These words...

Lately I've been on a mission to grow in thankfulness, to actively seek it in my life; the kind of thankfulness that helps give perspective on the rough days.

Got me thinking...

Am I truly grateful for the tough times...

If things aren't my way...

Do I still thank God...

 For the disagreement my husband and I had over disciplining our two year old...

For the way the house looks before I pick up the toys...

For the friendship that dissolves...

The wrong turn...

The tantrums...

The fussy nights...

The line at the grocery store...

The elderly man driving 30 in a 45...

When family doesn't show...

Or the gift isn't right...

When a co-worker is right...

Or I fail...

The answer is NO...

And I am ashamed...

I say I am blessed...

I think I am appreciative of this life...

But doesn't life encompass both...

And how can I be thankful for one without the other...

I can't...

No tantrums, discipline issues, loss of sleep...

Would mean no children...

No disagreement...

No husband...

No co-worker...

No job...

No slow elderly man in traffic...

No car...

No family frustrations...

No family...

And the list goes on...

So today I search for Thankful...

As unnatural as it may be...

And I find there is much...

Join me tomorrow...

And see the little things...
For which I give thanks...

Nine Months

We sang Happy Monthday...

Felt the sharpness of your first tooth...

Walking you around the house...

Holding on tight...

Knowing one day soon...

You will let go...

Daddy says your pants are too short...

I noticed...

I just didn't want to...

Last night I watched you navigate around the living room...

Cruising it is called...

You are brave...

Unafraid to fall...
I fear enough for you I suppose...
Afraid of anything that might hurt you...
Cause your precious little smile to twist into a cry...
Today when Mema said your nose was stuffy...
I wanted to make it better...
Because that is what Mommy does...
In my belly I took you with me...
Was never without you...
It doesn't seem like so long ago...
Some days I rest my hand on my stomach...
Forgetting you are not there...
Nine months ago...
It was love at first sight...
And though you will not remember...
I will...
Always...

Here Comes Santa Claus...

Last night, Aidan Kale and Daddy welcomed Santa Claus to town...

Aidan directed the descending helicopter...

With a glow stick...

And he loved it...

Coming home talking about Ho-Ho and Copter...

Proudly showing me the neon green plastic tube...

Waving it back and forth...

 Reminding me of a soft pink coat...

Lining up...
Full of excitement...

 To watch Santa Claus parade through our local mall...

Cookies and cocoa with Jolly Ol' Saint Nick at Wyatt's Cafeteria...

And it saddened me that the Man in the Big Red Suit...

Arrived on a helicopter...

And that my son waved a glow stick...

I wondered how it was magical...

 How it was festive...

And why he landed on November 13th...

Rather than after Thanksgiving...

On a Saturday morning...

With a grand welcoming parade...

Hot cocoa with marshmallows and sprinkled cookies...

Maybe I am too traditional...

Failing to see how cool a helicopter landing might be for a little boy...

But maybe I want my babies to have those warm fuzzy memories...

Maybe traditional isn't always bad...

And maybe Santa belongs in a sleigh and NOT in a helicopter...

This is More Like It...

Sibling Rivalry

We try and feel that we succeed...
In making each child feel special...

Loved...

BUT this morning...

After scooping Kam up...

His face folded in sobs...

As Aidan Kale coward like a guilty little puppy...

I doubted our success...

Big pushes little...

Refuses to share...

Grabs toys from his pudgy little hands...

Throwing them out of his reach...

I don't understand...

They are supposed to be best friends...

We had our babies close together for this very reason...

Aidan Kale spent two minutes in time out...

After much protest...

But it left me speechless...

Wondering what we can do...

What we aren't doing...

And it breaks my heart...

A Date...

My precious Aidan Kale and I decided to spend some one on one time together while Daddy helped Papa with their roof...

So we went to the mall and had fried rice {his favorite}...

And then headed to the movies...

Astro Boy was no longer playing...

But Where The Wild Things Are and Disney's Christmas Carol were...

We chose Disney's Christmas Carol...

Any movie that makes ME jump is NOT appropriate for my precious two year old...

As soon as the Ghost of Jacob Marley made his appearance we were out...

And Aidan reminded me the entire night that the ghost 'cared him...

Whatever happened to good ol' G rated movies?...

Toy Room Sneak Peek

It is just like I imagined...

Almost...

We still need two shadow boxes...

And two shelves...

Then I will take you on a tour...

But for now...

Here is a little peek...

On All Fours

And the very next day...

As Mommy snapped pictures...

Bubby slept...

And Daddy grocery shopped...

Through the lens...

Mommy saw you take your first crawl steps...

And although we don't have it on video...

We do have these...

Pull-Ups

October 31st was more than just Halloween...

Yes my two boys dressed up in adorable costumes...

Eliciting awwww's from around the neighborhood...

As Mommy beamed...

It was also a day that Cousin Logan was here...

And he trick or treated with us...

Which made it so much more fun...

And if that wasn't exciting enough...

Our little baby decided he wanted to be the star...

And started pulling up on everything...

Ottoman, couch, bed, crib, people...

And we were once again reminded how fast it seems to go...

And so we enjoyed the moment...

Refusing to think that one day in the near future...

He would no longer be a baby...

But as long as I'm living MY baby he'll be...

Our All-Star Team

Here they are...

Cute as can be...

The all-stars...

Of Sarah Street...