{Thanksgiving Week 2014!}

What a week! Thanksgiving came and went quickly. The boys were off the whole week from school. I remember the days when I would dread the weeks of no school. The boys were at hard stages and it would be long days. I can honestly say we had a wonderful week and I was almost sad for them to go back to school. Although they are not perfect by any means, they are both at a good stage and great friends.

 

So first on the calendar was heading to Abbott, Texas to visit Chat's grandmother. We do this every year -- the one time we go see her. She is 93 years old so it is important to make this trip. We woke up early and hit the road so we could make it for lunch. We spent several hours there visiting with her as well as Chat's two aunts, his mom and one of his cousins. Luke enjoyed picking up pecans with Chat's Aunt Nancy.

 

 

We couldn't leave without a picture of the boys and their great-grandmother.

 

After a good visit, it was back in the car to head back to Houston. We made it home around 7:00 pm and felt like we had been gone an eternity. We were tired and happy to be out of the car. But I had work to do! I still had to make three pies for Thanksgiving the next day. So the boys and I got to work! I made two pecan pies and one chocolate. The boys love helping me bake which is usually a good thing. I was a bit tired this night to manage them, but we someone how got it all done with smiles on our face.

 

The next morning was actual Thanksgiving Day. We woke up and made breakfast for the birthday boy. Yes, it was Chat's birthday! So we all had breakfast and then I made a casserole and then we all headed to my parent's house for lunch. As soon as we got there, we tried to take some family pictures before the children got wild! Or cranky :).

I can't believe we got a picture of all four of us looking semi-decent. It was a Thanksgiving miracle! So this is all of us -- Chat, Me, Luke (4.5) and Ben (almost 3). Oh and don't forget bambino in my tummy -- about 18 weeks strong.

After eating waaaaaaay too much, we celebrated Chat's birthday. It was the big 3-4 this year. The boys and I picked out a cake earlier in the week. They saw this turkey one and couldn't leave without ordering it. Since Chat's birthday was on Thanksgiving this year, I think it was fitting for him to have a turkey cake :).

Of course, the kids loved it and had to blow out the candles for him. Luckily, he didn't mind.

We stayed at my parent's house all afternoon and headed home between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. It was a long two days, but so much fun and family. We all conked out that night and had trouble waking in the morning. I call this the Thanksgiving hangover...

 Ben loves to wake up in the morning and get in bed with me and then sleep like no tomorrow. He practically lays on top of me and then snores very loudly. At least I get to lay there a bit longer and get some snuggles in.

Friday morning we headed to the park to meet my Aunt Judy and Uncle Kevin at the park near their house. My cousins were in town and we all wanted to visit for a bit. With the kids busy and crazy these days, it was easiest to enjoy visiting and catching up at the park while the kids burned off some energy. That night we got a babysitter and we went out with some friends to celebrate Chat's birthday. It was nice to be out with adults and enjoying great food and wine (them, not me)!

The next morning we headed to Avalon Diner for Chat's celebratory birthday breakfast. It is tradition so we didn't break it this year. And what do you do after that? Get a flu shot of course! Chat still hadn't gotten his, so we headed to the drug store for that. The boys had some fun in the Christmas aisle as we waited for Chat to finish up.

We spent the rest of the afternoon putting up Christmas lights on the outside of the house. We then had a birthday party for a friend at Wonder Wild and then headed to Thankstrimming (Thanksgiving/trim the tree party) at Chat's stepdad's house. It was a fun and exciting night. The boys love it because they get to play with their cousins Kaden and Macey. They also got to watch The Grinch (the original cartoon) for the first time and it was a big hit!

Yes, these are turkey hats with Santa hats. They go ALL OUT and it is so much fun! The boys loved decorating the tree! I can't wait to do ours -- hopefully this weekend if we can get our act together! It got me so excited that they are at the age that they really really enjoyed it. Even though they put about 30 ornaments on maybe 3 branches :).

Last but not least, we went to Chat's dad and stepmom's house on Sunday. Chat's dad is out of the country for three weeks, so we went to make Christmas cookies with Chat's stepmom. The boys had a ball!

They made a huge mess, but had a lot of fun. We came home and had dinner then all crashed. Then comes the best part -- we all slept without interruption all night. No one woke up. It was amazing and sooooo needed after all the festivities.

So today is back to normal -- school for the boys and work for Chat. The boys did get fun advent calendars and so we were able to open the first door today! They were excited and can't wait till tomorrow.

Happy December to everyone! I hope I can keep this blog updated with all of our doings. This is a fabulous age right now and I am just soaking it all up.