November 27 = Thanksgiving!

Another actual holiday!  Thanksgiving is Zachary's favorite holiday and we had a really nice one filled with family and good food.  Knowing that we were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving again at his parents house, I ate the ham instead of turkey so I could enjoy two different dinners but I never say no to mashed potatoes- I have no problem having them two days in a row.  This was almost everyone's first time meeting Miss Malia and it was so heartwarming how accepted and loved she was from the moment everyone saw her.  There was no asking, "Can I hold her?"  They just grabbed her and that's how I like it.  Everyone played with Liam too- both of my kids are so loved and there is nothing that makes me happier in this world than seeing my little family happy.  We also got some rare photos- my dad and all of his siblings- and for the first time, maybe ever?- a picture of me and all of my cousins.  I know we had one when my brother had just been born- he was 6 days old on Christmas of 1994 but that picture didn't have Callie in it- she wasn't born yet!  I don't know that we've ever had a picture of all eight of us so that was special.  So this may be picture overload but it was such a good day and we don't get to see everyone that often so these are memories that need to be preserved and shared!

Miss Malia in her "My First Thanksgiving" outfit

Aunt Pat helping Liam with some pumpkin dip (which he loved)

Me and my baby girl

Malia and her "cuz" Josh

Aunt Pat & Malia

All the girl cousins!

Aunt Lynn dominating the kitchen

Brooke, Maggie and Malia- animals love Malia

Cousin Chad & Malia

Uncle Matt & Malia

 

Lynn, Bobby, Pat, Deanie & Dad

All the cousins: Chad, Todd, Brook, Josh, Aaron, Callie, me and Matt

All the cousins plus the newest additions to the family- my little family!

November 24 = Zachary's Birthday!

This is the only picture I have from Zachary's birthday.  It was the day before we left for NC for a week.  And that's really all I remember.  Sad.

I can talk about the birthday gifts I got him.  I gave them to him a few days before his birthday because we are incapable of waiting until the day they are supposed to be given.  I had five paper bags- one for each of the five senses and had quotes on the bags about the individual sense and gifts that appealed to that certain sense.  For sight, I had a shadowbox showcasing mementos from this OBX marathon.  For smell, I had some scented beads and a car air freshener.  For hearing, I had John Legend's latest CD as well as Garth Brooks' first CD since 2001.  One of the things Zachary and I bonded over in the beginning of our relationship was our mutual love for Garth Brooks' music.  For touch I found a massage oil from the Bath & Body Works section at the exchange and I got a Toms scarf from Target.  I wasn't sure if he would embrace the scarf but I thought for when it gets really cold, it'll be a nice thing to have.

November 23 = Failed Church Day

We got up and got everyone dressed and ready to go in time to make it to church.  This is quite a feat and we were proud of ourselves.  However- when we opened our door to go outside, all the neighbors were outside looking at the multitude of emergency vehicles in the parking circle.  We would find out later there was a gas leak in the building next to ours and so it took us forever to get out of the apartment complex and so we were going to be late for church.  Zachary hates being late more than almost anything so we decided to just go to a early birthday lunch for Zachary at one of his favorite places in Annapolis, Sammy's.  He loves their pizza and so does Liam!

She's mad but she's pretty!

Like Father, like Son- they love their pizza!

November 22 = Christmas Tree Lighting Day

One of Zachary's classmates' wives texted the group of us wives and asked if we'd be interested in getting the families together to watch the tree lighting at one of the shopping centers in Annapolis.  Everyone was eager to come together so we met for dinner at Brio and shared dinner and conversations!  Since it was so close to Zachary's birthday, I had one of his classmates order desserts for everyone to celebrate- it was a big surprise for Zachary and for someone who never demands attention to be on him, it was nice.  We missed the tree lighting but a lot of the families took advantage of the photo op anyway!

Also, here's a picture of Malia just because she's really cute.

November 21 = Food Drive Day

At Liam's PT/OT/ST office, they had a box available for people to drop off food items for families in need in our area.  Zachary thought it would be funny to put Liam in the box and one of the ladies that works there thought it was funny too- she put this picture on their facebook page.

November 19 = Thanksgiving Party Day

Liam's preschool class had a Thanksgiving party today!  I dropped him off at the normal time but came to pick him up thirty minutes early and we parents were treated to two songs and muffins that they had made.

I've been trying to post the video but it won't upload correctly- so I'll have to summarize.  All the parents filed in to a tiny space and you can see Liam scanning the crowd but he didn't see me.  He's thrilled with all these adults watching him and so as they start singing "The Leaves are Falling Down," Liam starts walking across their "stage" with a huge smile on his face.  One teacher tries to get him to sit in his seat but proves to be no match for him and he makes it across the room where another teacher grabs him and puts him in her lap and tries to get him to participate in "Hello Mr. Turkey, How are You?"  He resists again and breaks from her grip.  At this point, he finds me, makes eye contact, flashes his beautiful smile and proceeds to make his way through the crowd of parents to me.  He definitely was the star of the show!

After the show, the teachers served muffins the kids had made the Monday before.  Liam shocked me and started eating the muffin by just taking a bite instead of needing it to be cut up into bite size pieces!  It was such a great opportunity to watch how much he is growing!

November 18 = Dentist Day

One thing I want to make sure I do as a parent is teach my children the importance of taking care of their teeth.  We get a practice run with the baby teeth but once those permanent teeth come in- that's it!  I've worn through most of my enamel from drinking sugary drinks and lots of citrus fruits- I had one dentist saying most people in their seventies have more enamel than I do.  So this was Liam's second trip to the dentist.  There's not much they do right now- they count teeth- he's got four molars to go- and just look at the overall health of his mouth.  Sometimes they do find tooth decay in kids this young so it's good to get it checked out to make sure you're on the right track- which we are!  I love this dentist- Dr. Maya Vernon.  Being a pediatric dentist's office, the waiting room was very Liam friendly- he found this easel to draw on.

After we finished there, we went to the exchange and got some winter clothes- a coat for Liam and a hat for Malia.  His coat pictured above is super cute but for when it's really cold, it'll be good for him to have a good winter coat.  We've got Malia covered with clothes from one of Zachary's classmates whose daughter had lots of good winter clothes but we wanted to get her a knitted hat to keep her extra toasty.  Meet Malia the mouse: