Happy Day After Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner today. Shawn, Marti and Jack made the trip from Ann Arbor a day late, since Jack wasn't feeling well yesterday. We simply postponed our festivities until we could celebrate together.

We had turkey and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, Rhodes rolls, and salad with pomegranate, kiwi, strawberries and avocado! Fabulous. Dessert followed with pumpkin pie and cheesecake. Emma made the place markers. Thanks so much for coming, guys. We loved having you!

On Thanksgiving Day we got an early start on our kitchen cabinets. Jon a.k.a. "the boy in the bubble" got everything sanded down, and I got a coat of primer put on on the cabinet boxes. We are a couple steps closer to getting it done!

To prepare for the sanding, we emptied the cabinets and dumped everything in the office. Wow.

Pumpkins

I want to stop everything and make these pumpkins right now. If only my to-do list wasn't already a mile long! Great tutorial here.

About Hope

Hope is 2. She loves Elmo and Blues Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House. Hope's favorite foods are pears, toast with grape jelly, broccoli, yogurt, apples, cheese and peanut butter granola bars. Hope loves her daddy. She follows him everywhere and yells "daaaaaad!" and runs to where he enters the house from the mudroom when he comes home from work.

Hope loves to color on paper, in notebooks, on her magnadoodles, and on my walls. She likes us to draw hophops (bunnies), kittys, dogs, balloons and pumpkins for her to scribble on. Hope calls every insect she sees a "bee". Spiders, beetles, ants and bees are all "bees". When asked if she would like something, she says, "do. I do." Hope puts everything in her mouth. We are constantly pulling out coins, hair clips and rubberbands, chewed up stickers and paper, erasers, crayons and small toys from her mouth. Hope loves books to read and to destroy. She loves to go on "walkwalks", and is thrilled when we come across dogs and cats.

Hope loves her sisters, and is so gentle and sweet with baby Amelia. She nuzzles her face with her nose and lips, gives her soft kisses and asks to hold her so she can do aforementioned things. When Amelia cries in her crib upstairs, Hope will run up and bang on the door to try and rescue her. Hope loves to take her nap every day. She sometimes begs for it, and happily cuddles up with her fuzzy soft blanket and sleeps for 2 to 3 hours. Hope is a disaster and a joy, a hurricane and a character, a fighter and a lover. We love this girl.

Apple Crisp

A few days ago I got a bag of Macintosh apples for super cheap, not knowing if I really liked Macintoshes. We usually stick to our Fujis. I was not impressed with the tart, white flesh as an eating apple, so I decided to make apple crisp. My usual go-to recipe has been letting me down the last few times, so I tried something new, and found the most delicious recipe that my bag of Macintoshes have been scrumptious in. I've made this crisp twice this week, and is my new fave recipe.

Apple Crisp

4 c macintosh apples
2/3 c brown sugar
1/2 c flour
1/2 c oats
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c butter

Peel and slice apples. Spread in a greased 8x8" pan. Cut butter into remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples. Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes. Eat with vanilla ice cream.

Thanks for painting

We got the first coat of paint on the walls in the kitchen last night! I brushed in the grooves of the beadboard while Jon followed behind with a roller to smooth everything out. Love the thank you note Emma made Jon.

In Love

I am so in love with this little baby.

Leaf Lost

During our walk home from school today, Emma decided to dash through this massive pile of leaves on the side of the road. I watched her as she suddenly stopped, turned, and looked a bit apprehensive. I asked her what she was doing, and she yelled back, "I lost my shoe in the leaves!"

Oh, yes she did. It took me a few minutes of kicking and digging, but we finally found her shoe in the middle of all those leaves!

Amelia at 2 months

Amelia went to the dr for her 2-month checkup today. She is finally as big as Hope was when she was born! Amelia weighed in today at 8 lbs 15 oz, and is 22 and a bit inches long.

She is just starting to get smiley and cooey.

And is getting much better at lifting her head. She is still the sweetest baby in the world. She is sleeping in her crib at night now. I put her to bed at about 7:30, then feed a her a couple times at night, then she is up at 5 a.m. and I bring her back to bed to snuggle for a couple hours until we have to get up to get everyone off to school. Her napping is not regular at all in the daytime - but I think she'll settle into a pattern in the next few weeks. Sweet girl!

Saturday

It was a beautiful day today! We kept the girls outside as much as we could, to enjoy what could be one of last pretty fall days. They kept busy blowing and raking leaves, sweeping the garage and cleaning the van. I tried to get some pictures of Hope, but she wasn't in the mood to look at the camera. This is a photo of her contemplating the pile of leaves Cailin was inducing her to jump into.

This is Emma feigning death by leaves.

Jon was kept busy all day working on my kitchen. He got the last of the trim up, all the crown molding putty-ed and sanded, and all the crevices filled with caulk. We will try and paint the walls and trim next week, and then start on the cabinets!

Blow Candles, Not Chunks

Our day started great today - happy girl, unwrapping presents and cards - but turned into sadness when after lunch Hope threw up all over us both. Happiness was hit and miss after that. I don't know if she's caught another bug or what - but I am in a state of disbelief concerning our sickness rate this fall. This evening Hope was at least able to blow out her candles and enjoy a little fanfare, but poor baby had no appetite for cake.

Of turning 2

Someone turns 2 today. A very busy someone...

who picks foreign currency out of my scrapbooks and sticks the coins in her pockets with the confident air of someone who knows exactly what pockets are for, and what belongs in them.

who scribbles on all our freshly painted walls with exuberant lightheartedness.

who empties purses, backpacks, baby wipe containers and closets with precision, determination, and total annihilation.

who left to her own devices would spend the day smearing toothpaste all over her face and rubbing deodorant on her tummy (with the occasional taste test for complete satisfaction).

It's a wild ride, but one I wouldn't miss. We love you, Hope, and happy birthday!

Great Aunt Amelia

Jon and the girls had a great trip to Illinois. They got home last night at around 11 p.m. tired, but in good spirits. I think they slept most of the way! Jon's grandmother (Mamacita) is the family historian. She showed Jon this photograph, which shows our great Aunt Amelia. She is on the far left in the middle row. I hope we can find out a little more about her. Thanks, Mamacita!

Free Class

Jessica Sprague is offering another free digiscrap class! Check it out here.