. thanksgiving 09 .

every last thursday in november we are at my grandparents house.  every. single. year.  and we wouldn't have it any other way.  we are so very thankful for so many things this year, but mainly for family. 

speaking of family, ours grew by one this year and we couldn't be happier.

 

right after thanksgiving dinner, my favorite man and i headed out to make it back home for the aggie/longhorn game, which we do not need to discuss further.  the girls were able to have some quality nana and papa time and they always love that. 

we can say that thanksgiving 09 was such a blessing.  only problem ... mykah didn't like turkey, dressing, or sweet potatoes.  she IS my child.
  

. we are thankful .

 
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

. sweet wishes .

i wish i may,

i wish i might,

 

have the wish i wish tonight.

i {heart} traditions and i think we may have just started a new one for our little family.  the girls got to break the wish bone this year.  karsyn broke the bigger end off, so we shall see if her sweet, innocent, 2 1/2-year-old wishes do come true. 

. 10 fingers . 10 toes . 10 months .

this year has flown by faster than i ever imagined.  sweet baby is 10 months old and it happened in the blink of an eye. 

at 10 months, sweet baby ...
1.  is everywhere.  and fast.  i can barely keep up. 
2.  still loves to eat.  she has gone back and forth between baby food and table food.  she can't make up her mind which she likes better.  her favorite is sweet potatoes right now ... baby food, of course.  but she also thinks whenever sissy is eating, she also needs to be eating.
3.  is a fantastic sleeper.  the time change has thrown her off a little bit, but she sleeps 12 hours at night, for the most part.
4.  is in a transition from two naps a day, down to only one.  instead of 2 one hour naps, i prefer her to take one, long 3 hour nap.  it's wonderful.
5.  she has no interest in even practicing walking.  sissy walked at 11 months, so we shall see where mykah is going with this.

6.  she's the happiest baby ever. 
7.  she is even more attached to her blanket now than ever before.  she gets mad when karsyn even comes close to it.
8.  throws stuff behind her back or on the floor when she doesn't want it.
9.  is a great car rider.  she hardly cries at all on long trips.
10. is still dealing with lactoce intolerance.  i've tried re-introducing dairy, but she still can't handle it.
sweet mykah reese, mommy loves you so much.  you literally light up my life everytime i lay eyes on you.  and to think that i once didn't know how i could love another baby the way i loved karsyn.  you have proven to me that it is possible, ten times over.  not that i love either one of you more.  your smile, with your chubby cheeks, melts my heart.  you are such a joy to have in our family and i cannot wait to see what the next month holds.
xoxo mommy

. thankful, even though .

it's thanksgiving time.  i can hardly believe it.  last year i this time i couldn't see my feet and the world around me was sure i was having twins.  i didn't eat for two, but i was still so thankful for the blessings God has given me.

our family is still young.  with an almost 3 year old and a 10 month old, traditions are still up-and-coming.  we haven't really figured out fun and meaningful traditions we want to start, but we'll get there.  i think karsyn will start picking up on things rather quickly and i want to start traditions that she will remember and look forward to year to year.

thanksgiving is coming.  we do give thanks every day, but now is that season.  the season when the people who normally don't give thanks actually do.  the season when people go around the table and say what they are thankful for. 

today, i am thankful for these two sweet girls that God has purposefully and prayerfully given to us.  they are a huge blessing in my life and i'm simply thankful God chose me to be their mommy.

 

especially today.  when karsyn has swine flu and mykah busted an ear drum.  they hurt.  they are sad.  and i'm the one they turn to.  i'm so thankful, not for them being sick, but that they know that i'm comforting and that i love them.  always.
 

. we have a baby brother! .

the hill house has expanded.  it happened fast.  we didn't have to wait 9 months and now we have a mix of both genders.  not equally, but there is at least a boy and a girl now.  this was very unexpected, but we are delighted to have him around.  i'm not sure exactly how much he weighs, but he wears premie clothes.  i know this because i just bought him an outfit today.  "baby brother" must wear blue, ya know.  all we have is pink 'round here.

the new additions name, you ask?  well, it's "baby brother", of course.  karsyn and i discussed names today and i think we may have settled on "max", but soon after we reached a decision, she went back to calling him "baby brother". 

luckily, he doesn't seem to mind.  he's pretty calm.  very laid back and patient.  he has to be.  he doesn't get a word in all day and big sister is insistent that he does everything with her.  although it may not be safe, he does sleep with her in her bed.  on her pillow.  she loves "baby brother" so much, but not enough to share her blankie though.  seems as though no one gets that privilege.

here's "baby brother's" first picture ...

 

and here's his first jump on the trampoline ... he actually seemed to enjoy it, although his expression never changed.

 

and, yes, "baby brother" has already had a visit to target.  and walmart.  and is always safely buckled in the car.  he's only been dropped a handful of times, but dr. mom is always on top of it, however, our bandaids are running low now.

{a quick side note about the trampoline ... ours has a net around it that zips up and locks from the outside.  all three of my bundles played on there for about an hour today.  i must say, the trampoline is my new favorite!}

and back to the story.  we are happy to have "baby brother" join us, even if we can't decide on a name.  when we do, you'll be the first to know.
 
tonight ... "baby brother" gets to meet mimi and pop and go to the farm.

.10 on tuesday .

because this week has already been an adventure, here are 10 things i have learned recently ...

1.  this time change isn't all it's cracked up to be.  someone forgot to tell small children that they are still supposed to sleep.  both of my sweet girls have been up before 6am each day.

2.  i {heart} frappuccinos.  my neighbor gave me a recipe and it's so yummy.  it's definitely a treat, but i want to find a treat that my child doesn't like too.  i don't want to share EVERYTHING. 

3.  i don't put any time into my friendships.  i have so richly been blessed with fabulous friends.  whether they live states away, across town, or next door.  friends are important and i want to be a better friend to those i have.

4.  i really do like chocolate.  all these years i have said i don't like chocolate.  so why did i indulge in half of karsyn's trick or treat stash?  i'll have to clarify.  i don't like chocolate cake.  chocolate pudding.  chocolate ice cream.  or dark chocolate.  but those yummy little candy bars rock my world right now.  hence the reason i sent them to school with my favorite man.

5.  i really do like to cook.  i would so much enjoy it more if i didn't have someone tugging on my pants leg or one screaming that she's hungry.

6.  speaking of, toddlers really are bottomless pits.  my sweet girl wants to eat all.the.time.  seriously.  i have to tell her no, especially after she's just eaten a banana, a package of crackers, and a cookie just after she's eaten a hardy lunch.

7.  i do not enjoy working out.  ok, i already knew this.  it's no surprise.  but i WANT to enjoy it.  just like i WANT to enjoy coffee.  surely the love for working out will come way before the love for coffee.

8.  teaching mother's day out every week makes me want to be a better mom.  it sounds weird.  but seeing those little ones that are so stinkin' cute make me think of my own two children.  i see what these kids wear, what they eat, what's in their diaper bags and it makes me wonder what people think of how i treat my own children, how i dress them, what i put in their lunches.

9.  eating too much chocolate can make your face break out no matter what your age.  'nough said.

10. i feel so very blessed to live here.  we have tried for 3 years to move back to san antonio and, for some reason, the Lord keeps us here.  for what reason we may never know, but we are happy to be in aggieland.  i love it. 

. happy halloweenie .

yesterday, all day, at our house my sweet girl said it was "happy halloweenie" and while halloween is by far my least favorite holiday, having cute kids makes it a little more fun.  valentine's is my other least favorite, but we won't get into that.  so, for the sake of my children, and because i'm no scrooge, i am trying to make these celebrated holidays a little more exciting for them. 

halloween this year was a little more intense than last year.  karsyn still doesn't get it.  she doesn't know how to wait in lines for her turn at the fall festivals.  she doesn't know that we have to carefully inspect her candy before she can eat it.  she certainly didn't know that we had to wait until we got home for her to indulge in 2 bags of m&m's at bedtime.  she didn't know that she was supposed to dress up.  she didn't know that we'd walk door to door down our non-lit neighborhood where more halloween scrooges evidently live. 

she had fun though.  and i think she got it by the end.  she's still wearing her costume and it's the next day.  she wore it to bed and all morning here.  so she still doesn't know that, even though she got frito pie on her little ballerina skirt, mama has to wash it sometime.  i'll convince her of that soon.  but she so enjoys being a ballerina and i'll let her for a while longer.

 

sweet baby?  she was my little bunny rabbit.  although she didn't keep her ears on, she did have a little white tail, made out of a bath scrubbie thing, of course.  our little bunny pooped out before trick or treating though. 

 

because my sweet girl is very uncooperative when it comes to picture-taking and posing, i have no pictures of her in her ballerina outfit other than when she's sliding or stuffing her face with frito pie.  seriously.  

 

the end.