Giving thanks.

We had a busy, fun-filled, yummy, noisy, exhausting Thanksgiving weekend. We enjoyed a delicious turkey day lunch in Colwich at my Grandma's house. After that, we traveled to Salina to Grandma and Papa's house for another great dinner and a weekend stay. After dinner, Grandma had a fun scavenger hunt planned for all the little ones. Carter didn't quite grasp the concept as he just wanted to follow all the big kids around, but he still had LOTS of fun.Asher got tons of attention from his cousins, aunts & uncles and grandparents. He was loving it!Mommy, Aunt Tammy and Grandma took off for our annual Black Friday shopping at 4:30 a.m. on Friday. It was madness as usual, but the thrill is just so much fun :)
Then on Saturday morning, the mall offered a great event free for all kids. The kids were invited to come listen a conductor read the book Polar Express and they all got a special "I Believe" bell.Asher preferred to chew on his bell.After the story, we all got to watch the movie at the theater. Carter sat very well through the whole thing and Asher even took a little nap so mommy could watch some of the movie :). Next, they all got to ride the train in the middle of the mall.

Waiting their turn..."I've got my ticket, mom!"All Aboard!!

Carter and McKenna peeking out the window.

And they're off!Asher and Papa kept each other company by the train tracks.

Aunts Tammy, Kerrie and Geri across the way.

And a trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without riding the Ninja Turtle truck.

What a fun weekend with family. We are also mindfull of all the things we have to be thankful for. Just a few of the things that I thank God for include:

*A fun, loving, supportive husband who is a wonderful daddy.

*Two beautiful, healthy sons who bring me immeasurable joy every day.

*Extremely generous parents and parents-in-law who are always willing to care for our boys and who love them *almost* as much as I do :).

*Incredible siblings (both mine and Chris') who shower our boys with attention and love and who've blessed us with nieces and nephews to repay the love. Carter and Asher have so much fun playing with their aunts, uncles and cousins and we're thankful that they have the opportunity.

*The best group of friends we could ever ask for. We regularly keep in touch with childhood, high school, college, football, church and neighbor friends. We are so thankful for each and every one of them and know that our lives would be very boring without them!

*Our health...despite the typical colds and coughs, we have been pretty healthy so far this season.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

A fun night out.

Last weekend a group of our college friends got together for a fun night out in Old Town Wichita. We ate a delicious dinner and saw a hilarious show at Mosley Street Melodrama. Great entertainment with great friends!

One end of our table...
The other end of our table.
Chris and I have been to the melodrama several times and somehow he ALWAYS gets up close and personal with the cast members. Last year he ended up on stage dressed as a woman. This year wasn't that embarassing, but he still got plenty of attention ;).
If you've never been to the Melodrama, we HIGHLY recommend it! The name might not sound appealing, but I promise you'll leave with aching cheeks from laughing so much! Cheers, friends... thanks for a great night!

Just call him "Bruiser."

First black eye: check.
Please don't call Child Protective Services. Little man was chilling on the floor and rolled into the base of his bouncy seat Friday evening. He wasn't happy about it, and the evidence didn't show up until several hours later. Not bad for his first shiner :(. It's turning some crazy colors now (4 days later), so hopefully we're on the mend. He's totally over it, thank goodness. Dad thinks it makes him look really tough. As tough as a 7-month-old can look, I guess?And Carter couldn't stand the idea of being left out of a picture. Imagine that.

Five on Friday

1. We've attended a couple more weddings this month and Carter's best gal Mal happened to be at one of them. The kids had a GREAT time on the dance floor boogeying, chasing each other and playing with balloons. I might have to break these pictures out before their senior prom :).

2. A few weeks ago we took advantage of the beautiful fall foliage and attempted to get some pictures of the boys at the park. Asher was just thrilled to be outside and proved to be a pretty willing model.Carter sat still for a few moments and even ditched his "pirate smile" for some shots. Then it was back to the ornery 3-year-old that I know and love.

And this is what happened when we tried to get a picture of the two together. I think the feeling is mutual. The geese were cooperating at least.3. This is what we get to see every morning when we walk into the nursery: crazy bed-head, rosy red cheeks and a big ole' toothless smile. Asher is a happy camper to see "his people" in the morning. When he flashes that adorable grin, it definitely starts our morning off right.And big brother is usually a step behind me (sometimes in front of me) checking things out.

4. Little man has become very active in the bathtub. Since he's sitting up so well, he graduated to the ducky tub. He'll sit really still and then all of sudden just splash like crazy. We're all soaked by the time he's done (not to mention the floor), and he's SO proud of himself.Sometimes he gets so excited that he loses his balance... But he's still smiling!

5. Can I just say that I am SOOO excited for the holidays?!?! Christmas lights, decorating the house, cards in the mail, festive music, anxious 3-year-olds, filling stockings, yummy food, and the best friends and family a girl could ask for...I can't wait!!

7 (and 1/2) months!

All About Asher:

Weight: 18 lbs., 15 1/2 oz.

Length: 25 1/4 inches

Food: He's eating mostly formula now, but we still nurse once in the morning and once at bed time. We've tried peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, pears and applesauce. He loves everything except the peas (that doesn't break my heart--yuck!). I've tried to give him a few puffs, but he just gags on them...he hasn't quite figured out how to gum them up before swallowing.

Milestones: He said "Da-da" on the morning of Carter's birthday party (Oct. 24). Chris heard it first and was quick to rub it in "Ma-ma's" face. Why is it that the mama spends the most time with the babies and the first word is always "Da-da?" Ugh. He's also rolling everywhere! We tried to put one of those sleep positioner wedges in his crib, but he just rolls right over it.

Misc. update: Little man is sleeping much better lately. He'll go to sleep between 8-8:30pm and might yell 1-2 times for his binky in the night, but we call that progress! We've even had a few nights where we didn't hear from him all night...until 5am. Yeah, once that fun time rolls around, he's up for good. We BEG him to go back to sleep, but he's ready to party by then. Ah well, you win some, you lose some.

He's still a pretty big mama's boy, but he's a big fan of Carter lately as well. Carter will sing crazy songs or dance and laugh for him and Asher just CRACKS UP. He's also gotten into peek-a-boo this month and we can usually get him cackling with that as well. We're pretty sure a tooth will pop up any day...he's a chewing and slobbering fool! We also moved him into a bigger carseat a couple weeks ago. We could barely fit the straps around him in the baby seat and it was a LOT of weight to carry around. He's much more comfortable in his new big boy seat!

Mommy's day at the spa!

Since this is the year of the big 30th birthdays, several of my college girlfriends and I decided that we needed to find a time to celebrate together. We agreed that a day at a spa would be perfect. After finding a Saturday that worked for us all (we had to book several months ahead of time to get a Saturday!!), we recently headed out to the Rock Haven spa near Hays. Talk about pampering...

Right when we arrived, they led us upstairs and offered us our choice of peach champagne or sparkling white grape juice. Well, that was a really tough choice--CHAMPAGNE PLEASE! Glasses in hand, we were each led to our own private dressing room to change into our swimming suits and plush robes. Next we followed a stone stairway that led us to a hidden whirlpool tucked away on the property. The staff left us alone to visit and enjoy the hot tub for 20-30 minutes.As we chatted, we enjoyed a platter of cheese, crackers, fruit and muffins. We also managed to finish off the bottle of champagne...YUM.After the whirlpool, they led us inside to the steam room. On the way back, we saw several peacocks roaming the property...very woodsy!We spent 10-15 minutes in the steam room and then followed up with a body scrub. We were all looking very lovely after dripping with sweat in the steam room. I'm pretty sure we all lost 10 lbs. in that room. The grand finale...full body massages! They even had heat lamps hanging over the tables to keep us warm. Awesome.

What a wonderful day...every girl deserves to be pampered every now and then. We mentioned several times that we might need to make this an annual event. 31st birthdays are just as important as the 30th, right???

Beth, Tiff & Sarah...thanks for a great time! We missed you Amber, but we will definitely do it again! Happy birthday, girls!

Halloween Fun - part two

One of the guys I work with opened a small pumpkin patch this year and has been inviting us out all month. Since Halloween day turned out to be absolutely gorgeous, we made the short drive out to his farm that afternoon.

Carter had fun with all the little pumpkin games they had set up.They also had a little barrel train that pulled the kids out to the pumpkin patch. Carter thought that was very cool.Each of the kids got to pick one baby pumpkin to take with them. And here are our two pumpkins...love those boys!That night, our little guys became monkeys!Right before we headed out to trick-or-treat, some adorable penguins stopped by to say hello. It's a regular zoo around here!Carter totally got into the trick-or-treating...before one door closed, he was already saying, "I wanna go to another house!" His favorite candy: suckers!This round little monkey barely fit into his costume!

What does a monkey do when he gets hot? He drops his drawers!

Happy Halloween!