Kinley, You're 15 Months Old

Kinley, you're 15 months old and there's just one thing to say!!!!!

 

Yes, it's true.  I hesistated to make it public but after a solid week and a half of restful nights AND mornings, I decided it was time.   Kinley's held out pretty long but has finally embraced sleep.  It has been wonderful!   I attribute most of our recent success to the sleep sack, a Snuggie of sorts, but without sleeves.    She loves that thing!  Apparently it keeps her snug as a bug and sleeping soundly making for a happy baby and a very, very happy mommy.  Dare I say she's even been making up for lost time and sleeping 12 hours at a time, meaning most mornings I have to wake her!  Gasp!

So, Kinley, happy 15 months!    All of us in this house are thrilled that you have ended the up all night torture.   I think that eventually I will miss our middle of the night meetings, snuggled up on Great Mimi and Pappy's recliner.  But I'm not there yet.   For now I'll enjoy a good night sleep and the pretty little smiles you give me in the morning.    Love you, baby!!

Thanksgiving 2012

On Thursday morning we loaded in the car and made the short drive to Mimi and Pappy's house where Pappy prepared a big Thanksgiving dinner for us.   We were so blessed to have guests from Lewistown - Mom-Mom and Pappy Landis,  Aunt Carol and Uncle Frank, and Aunt Mary.  But we missed Earl's family who were in Sharon bravely manning their posts as employees at Wal-Mart and Sears.  And when I hear about the craziness at Wal-Mart on Thursday evening, I really do mean bravely!

 

 Before dinner was ready we spent a little time visiting...and snapping some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 Kinley got the first plate of food this year.   It was her first Thanksgiving to enjoy all the yummy turkey, mashed potatoes and corn she wanted.   I have to laugh when I look at that plate.   There is no way she was going to eat all that food.    But we piled it on for her just like we overloaded our plates too!

 

I feel guilty that I don't have a picture of the cook!  Well, I do actually have one picture of him.  He's sitting at the kiddie table eating a big bite of food.     I hope to be invited back again next time so I decided against putting that picture on the internet.     There is just one picture of Frank, Carol and Mary but none of them were actually looking at the camera!  I have to catch them in another month at Christmas!

After everyone left, my mom and I did something completely out of character for us...we went shopping on Thanksgiving.  GASP!      We got some good deals at our favorite craft store and then rushed home to get the kids ready for bed.   Shortly later, Shane and I were headed back out for some early Black Friday shopping.   It was my first time to experience the craziness of waiting in line to enter a store.   I chose Target and found myself standing literally behind the store for 45 minutes in 32 degree temperatures.   Lots of people around us had a game plan or a certain item they were looking for.  Not me.  I just really wanted to go for the experience.   Earl had to work the next day or I would have stayed out all night.  But since I had to be back to relieve my mom who graciously agreed to stay with the kids, Shane and I grabbed a new TV, a DVD, a toothbrush (totally random) and a sweatshirt for Cooper then hit the road.  Our experience was a positive one.  Everyone at Target was polite, orderly and having fun!

So, that was our Thanksgiving.  Food, family and shopping.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Pre-Thanksgiving Festivities

It's been a week full of Thanksgiving festivities in our house and we haven't even carved our turkey yet!

Both McKenna and Cooper had Thanksgiving feasts at school this week.  McKenna's class partnered with another classroom for a big celebration on Monday.  Her room was the Indian's.  She, of course, insisted on dressing the part.  I think she did pretty well!

 

 

On Tuesday, Cooper's preschool class put on a feast of their own.  Turkey sandwiches were on the menu.   His teacher, Miss Hilary, told the kids to wear something nice.  I wish I could have her say that every day because Cooper took her very seriously and picked this shirt himself.

 

And this little turkey, well she will get her first taste of a butterball tomorrow!

 

We look forward to celebrating with part of our family tomorrow and remembering all that we are thankful for. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mommy, You're...How OLD???

This week I celebrated a birthday.  My 35th birthday.  Probably the only person who will be more shocked to see that in writing than me are my parents.  At any rate,  I had a wonderful birthday full of birthday wishes from friends and family.   I didn't get the day off from laundry or dishes or cooking and I barely sat down all day.  But, I still count myself so very blessed to be busy taking care of my own family.  They certainly made my birthday special.   They bought me a new fluffy blanket to wrap up in while I watch TV with them in the basement and then I was surprised with my favorite - lemon pie!  It was delicious.   Earl also picked up a peanut butter pie which was also pretty cool because that was one of my Pappy Richard's favorites and his birthday is the day after mine. 

I'll save you all from my current stats, like my weight and what size clothes I wear.  Those things are best left to monthly updates about Kinley and even then I'm not sure they are so interesting. 

But really, thank to everyone who took the time to wish me a happy birthday.   I love you!

Time to Start Getting Your Craft On

The weather is getting colder and there's been a little sickness in the Mowry household as of late.  Unfortunately, we have been suffering through some sinus issues.   We have all shared in the fun to some degree over the past three weeks.
This past weekend it was my turn to attempt a full recovery.  It was a fairly cold weekend and I was glad to have some crafts to keep the kids busy.  If there's one thing I can always count on it's crafts.   This weekend we cut a large Christmas tree out of felt and hung it on the door.   McKenna and Cooper worked all afternoon making felt ornaments for Kinley to "decorate" the tree.  They did a wonderful job and they have all enjoyed taking ornaments on and off the tree every since. 

Later in the evening we had our first family game of Monopoly.  I don't have pictures of the beating that McKenna and Daddy gave Cooper and I.   The important thing (ahem) is not who won but that we had a fun time spending the evening together and even doing some learning along the way.   Plus, there will be many more opportunities to beat Daddy!

The holidays are just around the corner and our list of craft projects is a mile long.  Stay tuned for pictures of more crafting fun!

It's Been A Little Scary Around Here

It's been a little scary around here lately and I'm not just referring to the crazy schedule that we've been keeping.   We are in full blown Halloween mode this week!

 

These cute little children could be found loitering in the neighborhood looking for candy on Wednesday evening.  But more about that later...

We began our festivities last Thursday with some good old fashioned pumpkin carving.    Cooper and Kinley did a superb job cleaning off the pumpkins.  Well, Cooper did.  Kinley more or less just shredded the paper towels into a million tiny pieces.  I have to say that one of my biggest challenges as a mother lately is meeting the needs of all three kids, all of different ages, at the same time.   This was the only night we had time to carve pumpkins.  It also happened to be a night that Earl was working late.  And so it was a challenge to help McKenna and Cooper carve pumpkins while making sure Kinley did not slip in pumpkin goo or otherwise impale herself on carving tools, all while trying to keep the mess on the mat.

Which kept her from trying to eat pumpkin seeds which is how this ended up.   Oops!

And I'm afraid that's where their involvement in the project pretty much ended.  While McKenna was a trooper and did most of her own pumpkin preparation and carving this year, the other kids bailed out.

 

This was the only time Cooper touched the inside of the pumpkin at which time he exclaimed, "This smells like puke."   He did rejoin the group to draw a face on his pumpkin, as well as ears and arms.  That was interesting.   But, we managed to figure out how to accomplish both and he was a happy camper.

I'm sure you can pick Cooper's out there in the middle.  It's the one with the nubby little arms.  The face on McKenna's (far left) still makes me laugh as does Kinley's because it sort of resembles the newest face she makes!

October 31st was a busy day filled with my first duties as a home room mom.   I've always wanted to serve in McKenna's classroom in this capacity but it just never worked out until this year.    I'm glad to have the opportunity to share in so many special projects with her this year.   For Halloween this year the kids did a pumpkin exploration.  They weighed, measured and then carved pumpkins.  They had a great time, worked well in their small groups and of course were rewarded with yummy snacks at the end.
As soon as school was over we headed home and got into costumes so that we could be ready for the second annual Bailey Halloween Party.   Our neighbors hosted a halloween party last year prior to the beginning of trick or treat.   It was a huge hit and the kids were eager for this year's party too.  They were so nervous that Hurricane Sandy was going to ruin the plans but the party and trick or treat went off without a hitch.

Wolverine,  Frankie (from Monster High) and our little octopus!  I never thought Kinley would tolerate that costume but she wore it on three different occasions and never once made a fuss.   In fact, I think that she enjoyed the attention.  Shane says that she will hate me some day for dressing her in that costume.  I hope not.  But even if she does, I'm afraid it was worth it. 

The girls from the neighborhood orchestrated a plan to dress as each of the Monster High girls.  I think they did a fantastic job!
And so, another Halloween party is in the books.  It was a bit of a whirlwind but it was fun too.   I never was a big fan of Halloween but the kids sure love it and  that makes it all worth the effort.