Getting Pictures for the Christmas Card

When I started getting ready to make the Christmas Cards I asked Andy if he was fine with only putting the kids on the card.  He said we needed to be on the card because people like to look at him.  :0)

One day after church we stepped outside to get some pictures of us since we haven't had any done recently.

Bradley was my model to help me find the right light.

Andy posing for as I checked the lighting.

Bradley was our photographer.  He did a pretty good job with what he had to work with.

He was a little bit far back on this one.

Sun ray shining through.  Not too bad though...

Andy shines like a beacon on a cloudy day.  :0)

Time to adjust the angle.

Oh!  The Dad loves the Mom!

Thanksgiving with the Andersons

Bethany and Tory drove up to see us for Thanksgiving.  They left on Tuesday, Nov. 26, to avoid all the holiday traffic.  Unfortunately for them a storm front had moved in and it rained, a lot, on them.  Their 5 1/2 hour trip turned into 8 hours.  They were super excited to be out of the car!!  We were glad to see them as well.

Wed. morning the kids found Uncle Tory and got the games going.

They were excited to play chess and some snake game.  Uncle Tory has a couple of strategy games on his tablet.  They LOVE to play with him.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.  Our neighbor Mr. Charlie came as well as the Warburtons.  Their dad was scheduled to work, so we had them come for dinner and to play for a while.  Daniel is showing off the cool whip from his pumpkin pie.

Turkey dinner always makes dad sleepy...or maybe it is just that he sat still for too long. :0)

Aunt Beth and Sarah-Jane playing while our delicious dinner settles.

Nathan 

Eliza and Bradley snuggling with dad.  We didn't let him sleep for too long before we headed outside to terrorize the cul-de-sac.

The boys got some stomp rocket wars going.

Bradley shooting at Daniel.

Daniel shooting back.

Edward practising his swing.  He is a pretty good hit.

Catherine loved our flower pin wheel.

Nathan was interested in anything that the kids were doing.  He had to investigate everything.

Once he gets a hold of something he doesn't want to let go.  He chewed on a rocket most of the afternoon.

Eliza is getting pretty good at hitting off the t-ball stand.

Edward getting ready for another round under Nathan's supervision.

Sarah-Jane riding the Winnie-the-Pooh truck.

Uncle Tory and Aunt Beth enjoying the nice fall weather.

Uncle Tory playing catch with Dad.

There's Aunt Beth's smile!

Daniel 

Daniel trying to block Bradley's throw.

Eliza ran around trying to shoot people with the stomp rocket.

Daniel throwing the ball to Dad.  Can you see it?  (It is green.)

Dad making a one handed catch.

Bradley trying to run across the cul-de-sac without Daniel getting him.

Sarah-Jane 

We just love having this girl around.

Nathan caught a ride on Dad.  He really liked it!

Nathan and Daddy

Catherine and her mom Emily shooting the stomp rocket.

This is a fairly normal picture of Nathan.  He is constantly heading out across the cul-de-sac.

Aunt Bethany is a kid magnet.  The kids love to play with her.  She had kids chasing and hanging on her most of the afternoon.  Edward is catching a ride on her leg here.  (Debbie doesn't have anything on these kids!)

It was a great day and we are so glad we had family and friends to share it with.

This is an apple swan that Aunt Bethany made for us.  The kids thought is was so cool we couldn't eat it.  It is still in our fridge.  :0)

Aunt Bethany and Uncle Tory stuck around until Sunday, Dec. 01.  Uncle Tory had some work he had to get done over the break.  We tried to let him work as long as he needed, but there was a party going on...and we did stay up way to late too many times.  (I am too old for that!)

We really appreciate the Anderson's willingness to drive to see us again.

Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2013

Daniel Loses His First Tooth

A couple weeks ago Daniel came home from school super excited because he had a loose tooth!  It was his first one and he couldn't wait to get it out of his mouth.  He was very proud of it.  As time went on it got more and more loose, but not enough to fall out.  It would cause him a little bit of pain if he chomped down on it just right while eating.  This helped him decided it needed to come out sooner than later.  Since Andy was in Denver for  a week, he decided to wait for Dad to come home and take it out.  Andy finally made it home, but Daniel was a little nervous to pull it.

On Nov. 21st he had had enough!  The tooth had to go!!

He asked me to help him tie some dental floss around his tooth so he could pull it himself.  I did a fabulous job with the tie job.  So good that untying it wasn't an option when Daniel started to get too nervous about pulling it.

Daniel wanted to pull it himself, but he kept hesitating when he would yank on the floss.  

I finally convinced him to let me help him.  He wanted me to slowly pull his tooth out.  I told him you can't pull a tooth out slowly...it just don't work that way.  Then I had him count down from ten using his fingers and then I would pull.  He was so focused on the counting down that he didn't notice me pull it until it was all over.  :0)

I pulled it when he got to three.  He was so upset that he didn't get to finish before I pulled that he almost missed the part about it already being out.

Daniel's first tooth!!

I can't believe he is getting so grown up.

Andy got home shortly after I pulled the tooth.  He was sad he missed it especially since he had called on his way home and told Daniel to wait for him to get home.  Unfortunately I didn't get the message until it was way too late.

Nov. 21, 2013

Nathan and Ben

We got to have a play date with Ben on night while his parents went to a Duke basketball game.  He does much better at our house when his mom isn't chasing him around with the vacuum.  :0)

He was excited to have Bradley and Daniel here as well.  He and Nathan played really cute together.  They both wanted to be doing exactly what the other one was doing.  Surprisingly enough they got a long really well.

When I started to make Nathan his bottle just before bedtime Ben felt he needed his as well.

Silly boys.

These two are a lot of fun. 

The go into nursery in Dec.  Yeah!!

Nov. 19, 2013