Thanksgiving 2010

I was so excited for Thanksgiving this year. Last year we had a week old baby in the house and decided to stay home and make it low key. It was nice at the time, but this year I was ready for the craziness of a big family Thanksgiving at my parents house.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is not the eating, but the cooking. I love to try new things especially baked goods. This year I made a red velvet cheesecake. I didn't get a chance to try it out, but it sure looked pretty!

The before.... I don't have an after.

Uncle Dan, Uncle Charles, and Cousin Ben.

Aunt Karina and Wynnie.

Cousins Nate and Tim.

Grandma Worlton cooking up a storm.

Cousin Sam surveying the appetizers.

It was such a nice day. We spent the morning at home cooking and watching the Macy's parade. We got to the grandparents house at around 2pm and by 4pm we were stuffed to the gills. After dinner the kids headed downstairs to play while the adults just lounged and chatted. Our kids just love their cousins and it is so fun to see them all running around together.... chaotic, but fun. I feel so blessed to live so close to most of my family. We don't get together a lot, but when we do it is always a great time!

First Birthday: Part III

Are you sick of hearing about Ashlyn's B-day yet?

Too bad....... I'm not!

Wynnie was sick with a stomach virus at her birthday party, so she was not really able to enjoy it like I thought she should. We decided to do another mini-celebration once she was feeling better.

Ella helped make the cake.

Abe and Gavin made her a princess banner.

She didn't eat any of the cupcakes at her party, so I made her a 2nd cake (hmmm... banana with cream cheese icing). She didn't eat much of that either :(

We gave her a giant lollipop instead, but she mostly just looked at it.

She didn't get to fill up on sweets like I'd imagined, but our house was full of love for this little girl and that is what really matters.

We love you Wynnie!

Karate!

For the past couple of years Gavin has been taking Karate. It has been so wonderful for his discipline and coordination. He has a great sensei (Sensei Bob) who is patient, but firm with him. This year he received his orange belt and he was proud! They had a mini-tournament during class one week and Gavin dominated! His unique mind is an asset in his fighting.... nobody expects the moves he pulls. He marches to the beat of a different drummer, but in this sport I guess that is a good thing!

Bedtime Stories

Our boys have always loved to read bedtime stories. For a long time they only had the attention span for short picture books. Just this year we've started to read longer novels to them. Matt recently read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to them and they were enthralled. Now we are reading the Harry Potter series and they are getting pretty excited about that as well. I love to watch their minds work as they listen to the words.

The First Party

She's one!

My baby is one year old.

Time seems to be flying by,

but it is also hard to imagine a time when this little girl was not part of our life.

A few facts about Ashlyn at one year.....

* she loves people and is always quick to offer a smile

* lately she is really attached to Mom... still loves to see people, just not be held by them.

* she loves animals of all kinds

* she is absolutely adored by everyone in the house

* she loves broccoli

* she is not even close to walking..... she just barely learned to pull to standing

* I don't want her to walk because I want her to stay a baby forever and ever

* she refuses to stay a baby forever and ever

* when she babbles it sounds like she is barking orders.... very authoritative

* her nickname is wynnie because Ella has always pronounced her name "ash-a-wyn"

* she loves to dance

* her favorite (and only) word is "Hi!" and she currently says it about 2,000 x a day

* she hates going to bed at night and cries almost every time

* she has the sweetest smile :)

We love her so much.

October 2010

Just because

My baby.

Back to School-ish

These photos are from Gavin and Abe's first day of school 2010. I know.... long overdue.

This year Abe is in 1st Grade. This is his first year of full day school. He is lucky to be in class with his best friend and our next door neighbor Ethan and they are both happy to spend so much time together. He has kept true to his word and plays with Gavin every day at recess. It has made such a difference. I see that Gavin is happier and more confident each day and a lot of that is due to the unconditional love he receives from his little brother. Abe continues to love his artwork and spends hours and hours each day working on it. His teacher chuckled at parent/teacher conferences as she showed us his homework/tests/journals completely covered with doodles. He also has a real knack for math. This is really the first year he has been asked to do math problems and I am surprised at how quickly he catches on to the concepts. He even helps Gavin with his math homework. He certainly did not inherit that skill from me! He becomes more and more like his Dad each day and I am completely charmed by him.

Gavin is in 3rd grade. I can't believe it! He is so grown up now. He has a wonderful teacher this year. She spent 15 years as a special education teacher before moving into a mainstream classroom and has such a patient and positive attitude. It helps so much to know he has a champion in the classroom who is focusing on his strengths rather than his weaknesses. He has a great friend in his class which has made him so happy. He loves to play with Abe each day at recess. He continues to wow everyone with his memory for trivia. His latest course of study is British history.... mostly the monarchy. He sits and studies the royal family tree and has taught us all about it. I learn so much from him each day. I have always been terrible with history, but Gavin is changing that for sure. I am inspired by his humility and determination each day. He tries so hard to be teachable and tolerant even though those things do not come naturally to him. He is going to have a great year!

Ella will begin preschool this year, but she will not be starting until late January. I will post some pictures of her when the time comes. Until then she is having fun hanging out with Mom and Ashlyn and has standing weekly play dates with five of her girlfriends.

Abe's new love

Abe was so excited to find out that our Holland hotel had a tennis court. He has always loved tennis..... even though he's never had a chance to play.

When he was 3 years old he decided tennis was his sport and he's never strayed.

We were surprised to find out he does have some skills. Not bad for a 6 year old!

He would have stayed out there all day if we'd let him.

Gavin gave it a try, but lost interest after one serve. Ella just wanted to pick flowers.

More from Holland

(I'm trying to catch up on my blogging before the holidays. Sorry about the out of date posts.)

We spent most of our vacation at the beach, but Holland also has a cute little Dutch village that our kids loved.

Doesn't he look like he's loving it?

When we first walked in they told us there was an area where you could sample Dutch cheese. From that moment 0n he didn't want to bother with anything else. Don't come between this boy and his cheese!

Ashlyn loves animals (a girl after my own heart)!

Her favorite part of this day was seeing the bunnies, goats and chickens.

Abe on the wooden shoe slide.

Abe on the carousel.

Gavin at the well.

This goat got a little too up close and personal for her taste.

Gavin and the alpaca.