Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we ventured up to Goldthwaite, where Steven's Uncle Charlie & Aunt Linda live. Goldthwaite is a tiny little town situated up on north 183. I hadn't been up that piece of road since oh, late 2000 when I would drive 8 long hours up to Amarillo to visit Steven while he was in pharmacy school. Looking back I can't believe how often I used to make that trip. But, I would do it again and again, because being with Steven is that awesome. :)

Aunt Pam, this open mouth pie shot is just for you! We had a lovely visit with everyone...Ken & Joyce were there too, as well as cousin Zach. Matt & Will had a blast running all over Charlie & Linda's new home. The stairs were especially fascinating. We had a lovely meal, some pie, and an overall relaxed & enjoyable day.

We made it back to Austin in time to join Nicole and some other friends over at her house for some post-Thanksgiving treats and football viewing. Matt & Ava were more than excited to see each other.

Like the season or not, we still cheer on our Horns. I for one am glad to put an end to the pain for the year. We will just look ahead to what 2011 has in store!

Since Steven was at work for most of the day on Friday, the kids and I along with Nicole, drove to Wimberley to visit with the Brown family. Matt was overjoyed to see Josh. All the boys had a blast playing together. Watching them play is so entertaining.

There was a large pile of gravel in the driveway that proved to be great fun for all of them. Will enjoyed climbing to the top like he was king of the mountain. We all--and by all I mean myself and the kids, Nicole, Chris, Alison, Josh, Mr. & Mrs. Brown, Hershey the dog, and Tim and his ladyfriend all piled into Chris's truck and drove down to the river. It was so, so beautiful. There was skipping of rocks and throwing of rocks and lots of running around. The Browns were so hospitable and generous enough to share their Thanksgiving leftovers with us for lunch. Matt was so worn out he actually took a nap there and ended up sleeping longer than Will did. We had a great time spending the day with our good friends who we feel are an extension of our family. Thanks, Browns!

Saturday morning while Steven & Zach were back in Goldthwaite on a deer hunt, Joy & I took the kids downtown to see the Chuy's Giving to Children Parade.

I was so, so nervous about how Will would do. Perhaps all my fretting had the opposite effect because he really was quite good for the duration of the parade. I was expecting to be chasing him all over the place and preventing him from joining in with the parade, but he surprised me.

My heavy arsenal of snacks helped quite a bit, and there was plenty for him to look at. Henry kept pulling his hat off and Will really wanted him to keep it on so he thought he'd help him out.

I love this one because Will is right up front with the big kids as close to the line as possible. So cute.

Lately, Will has been attached to Matt's sunglasses. He enjoys wearing them around the house with a red baseball cap. They were great entertainment at the parade, too. After the parade we all had a nice lunch at Chick-fil-A. The special treat for the day is that our friends Bret & Sara Oliver stopped by for dinner that night on their way back to Houston. We finally got to meet sweet little Anna Teresa--she is so precious! Matt really enjoyed Isa's company because she would sit on the floor and spell words with him with his magnetic letters. True love! We had a wonderful visit with them. It was a really great Thanksgiving weekend...and here we are tomorrow is the first day of December! What??

Ava's Birthday

Ava had an awesome dress-up birthday party last weekend. It was another opportunity for Will to wear his gnome costume, and yet again he refused the beard and hat. Matt's monkey costume from last year still fit, mostly, so he was excited to get to wear that again. Ava's pink super Ava outfit was fabulous.

There was lots of running around in the back yard and games going on.

The kids played pin the nose on the clown.

Even Will got to have a turn.

Ava picked out a #5 pinata just like Matt's which I think is pretty darn cute.

Ava had a very heavy hand in decorating her cake and cupcakes, and they were awesome. Will scavenged off Matt & Ava's plates until I got him his own piece.

There was face painting in which Ava was the main participant and artist. Matt let me draw a speed limit sign on his arm. 30 minutes later he wanted it washed off. Ava drew a lovely rainbow on her mommy's cheek.

Later that afternoon Matt & Ava made dessert creations out of moon sand on the patio. It was a great day celebrating sweet Ava. The Olivers came over for dinner last night, and Sara told Matt that she heard that somebody had just turned 5. Matthew said very enthusiastically, "Yep, me & Ava just turned 5!!" It's a package deal with those two.

Scootin'

Matthew got an awesome Razor scooter from the Reners for his birthday. He's been cruising around on it on the back patio clocking speeds that you wouldn't believe--55, 65, and even 70 mph. He always asks me how fast I think he's going, and when I reply with something realistic like 10 mph he immediately disagrees and says it was more like 25. Ok Matt. You can see Will scaling the picnic table in the background. He climbed to the top and jumped up and down while Matt scooted in circles around him.

Then Will climbed down and liked to think that Matt was chasing him. And he was for awhile, but Will just kept on running and squealing. Hilarity!

Matt had his Thanksgiving program at preschool last Friday. He stood on the risers with his classmates and sang a few Thanksgiving themed songs complete with arm motions. He did a great job. He was rewarded with a delicious turkey lunch with all the trimmings. I could hardly keep Will from running up on stage and joining them. He got his chance once it was all over, and a group of them ran circles up there. Somehow, the teachers didn't like the tom foolery and asked them to stop.

It's Thanksgiving, and I am thankful for so many things. And people. It's really the people in my life that make it so wonderful. I am thankful for Steven who is witty, handsome, and attracted to me--he works so hard for our family and is the perfect father for our two boys. I am thankful for Matthew; he's so good-natured and easy going and typically very obedient. He's ridiculously smart and impresses me daily with his knowledge, and yet he is still as silly and potty humor inclined as any 5 year old. I am thankful for William; he is the life of the party, and a boy with an agenda. He is on the move every second he is awake and does his best to participate in whatever big-kid activity is taking place. He is trouble, naughty, and scheming, but he can make me forget about all that when he's giggling and running around the dining table wearing a hat, sunglasses, and carrying a phone. That child is going to be the challenge of my parenting career. Thank you Lord for my family. They are amazing! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanks again, Chuck

Tuesday evening we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. We started this tradition 3 years ago, and now we can't escape it. Matthew started talking about it in October. The place was packed that evening; it turns out there was a school fundraiser there that night. The crowds didn't deter Matt & Ava. Or William for that matter. I am so, so very thankful that Steven was off work that night and could come with us (even though he dislikes CEC's). There's no way I could have managed it without him. I chased Will ALL over that place. He was climbing on everything, most notably the skee-ball table. He would dart in and out of the crowds and refuse to be held or have his hand held. What a nightmare. He wasn't too keen on sitting in a booth while we ate our pizza either. That child has stuff to do, y'all.

Matt & Ava had a blast with the games and rides. Chuck himself made the rounds, and Matt was excited to see him and ran up and gave him a hug.

As expected, Matt traded in his tickets for lollipops. Looks like Ava did the same. And, we got another awesome photo of the two of them. Add that to the stack!

A party fit for a sign lover

**There's a lot of pictures here, people, so prepare yourself!**
This picture kind of sums up Matthew. It's hilarious. It was taken after he woke up from his nap Friday afternoon. He helped himself to a snack (yes, it was prunes) and then retrieved the step ladder, climbed onto the counter and sat and admired his car cakes. He was very pleased.

The bounce house was delivered at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Matthew sat at the back door and watched them set it up. Will ran around excitedly and then once he saw it begin to inflate he ran and got his shoes and stood begging at the back door. So, my kids began the bouncing early. It was a brisk 50 degrees but they couldn't have cared less.

The party started at 11:00 a.m. The morning went by fast for me, but for Matt it dragged. The bounce house was awesome...part jumpy castle, part obstacle course and part slide. I'm happy to report that no one was (seriously) injured! Still can't go wrong with a bounce house.

We had a delightful pizza lunch thanks to Papa John's. Matthew had fun making up all kinds of silly games and sharing potty humor with all his friends while eating. Classy, I know.

Will was right there in the thick of it. He wedged himself between all those big kids and sipped from whomever's juice box he could get his hands on. Ah little brothers.

More bouncing fun... There were lots of pile-ups at the bottom of the slide.

Then it was cake time. I made two cakes for a few reasons: a large number of guests, I had a cool mini car cake pan I wanted to use, AND my darling boy wanted an interstate cake. It was my first attempt at making and working with fondant. I was pleased with the result, and I know Matt was.

Here he is reciting all the interstates he sees to those gathered around.

He did a fine job blowing out the candle this year!

The kids all went for the car cakes. Surprise! That's fine with me because I thought the strawberry interstate cake was tastier. Hopped up on sugar, it was then pinata time. We walked every aisle of Party City, and while Matt was tempted by the Thomas and Curious George pinatas he landed on the #5. Perfect choice.

I believe Caroline was the one to give the final blow to the pinata. Once again, I couldn't keep Will away from the swinging bat. Like a moth to a flame.

It was a fabulous party. I had a great time. I know Matt did. The Morans stuck around and continued the bouncing fun and to watch Matt open his presents. It was really funny to watch him because he would close his eyes while opening each gift. He said that way he would be surprised. Hehehe.

And Alison, these are for you. Pics of my decorations. All credit for the puff balls goes to Alison. Thanks for the inspiration my friend!

It was a big weekend. Did I mention that Friday night Steven & I saw Lyle Lovett at the Paramount? And then on Sunday morning we had Will dedicated at church? By the way, may our experience with Will that morning be a warning to the rest of you to dedicate your children before they learn to walk and run away from you! I could hardly hold onto him while standing there next to our pastor. I was so worried I was going to drop him that I don't really remember much of what was said. I know I pledged to raise Will in a Christian home and that is the important part!

For one last birthday hurrah, and keeping with tradition, we are taking Matt & Ava to Chuck E. Cheese's tonight. Yippee!

He's 5

It's simply amazing to me that that seemingly tiny baby (only by comparison, because 9 lb., 3 oz. is hardly tiny) has turned into a HUGE 5 year old boy.

How can that be? Today is Matthew's 5th birthday. I am reminded of that incredible day 5 years ago when he came into my life. I am still utterly in love with this child. He began his day by rising bright and early at 6:15. He stayed in his room until the required 7 a.m. wake up time, but we could hear him chatting away back there just loud enough to rouse his little brother. He inhaled a container of yogurt and then hopped up to the computer to peruse Google maps and further creep me out with his total memorization of our entire neighborhood. He chose a toaster strudel for breakfast, and I let him finish off the last bit of egg nog. He was thrilled.

He still hasn't filled me in on his day at school, but I do know that he had cupcakes and his classmates celebrated with him. After nap time we let him open his presents. This may go down as the nerdiest birthday ever. But that is one happy birthday boy, let me assure you. We gave him various train track parts, most notably the roundhouse. He also got some more little road signs that will partner with his train track nicely. We got him a huge USA map, map placemats, and more alphabet magnets. Head exploded.

Aunt Pam & Uncle Tim gave him a globe. This was Matt's big ticket item; it was the thing he said he wanted if you asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He spun it round and round and located all the things he was looking for. Will thought it was a ball and kept knocking it down and trying to roll it.

For Matt's birthday dinner we went to Phil's where Aunt Joy, Ava, Henry, Aunt Pam & Uncle Tim joined us.

The kids ran all over that place, ate their dinner and earned their ice cream. Will was especially chatty at the dinner table. Perhaps he needed the attention steered his way. We got home and Matt had a hard time parting with all his cool new things for the night, but thankfully they will all still be here tomorrow. And the day after that. Happy Birthday to my unique, sweet, precious gift of a little boy Matthew Thomas!

Tricks & Treats

Our Halloween this year began with a morning at church, and after luxurious naps that afternoon we geared ourselves up for our big evening. We attended Festival 31 out at the Quarries that was put on by our church. They had all kinds of fun stuff for all ages of kids. My kids enjoyed the bounce houses, balloon-dart throw, bean bag toss, "train" ride, cake walk and the box maze.

Will was dressed as a garden gnome. I had originally thought he would be DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba, but once I found the gnome costume online for a song I thought it was a no-brainer. And it was awesome--except that Will was not at all fond of the hat and beard. I got it on him once for about 5 seconds. The rest of the outfit was still cute though.

He ran all over the Quarries, and I had to go in and peel him off the bounce houses when it was time to go. Matthew was so sweet and watched after him the whole time. He made sure he didn't get trampled in the bounce houses.

Look at that cowboy!!! He looked hot. Just so you know, Steven can rock the chaps. Oh yes he can. The festival was really a lot of fun, but we left early for a quick burger and joined our friends Mike, Michele, and their kids Ella & Jack for some trick-or-treating on their side of the neighborhood.

Will was running the streets with the rest of the big kids. He was truly so excited to just be out there with them all. He had no idea what was going on or what he was partaking in. The first house we went up to he said hi, we got our candy, we said bye, and he tried to walk into their house. He thought we were there for a visit. I had to scoop him up off their doormat when he started to cry because he really wanted to go in. So funny. He did get the hang of it though, and by the end of the night he was saying thank you, bye and blowing kisses to perfect strangers who were giving the cute elf some candy.

Matthew was lights out again this year with trick-or-treating. He wanted to be a ghost because he said that was spooky. I cut out holes in an old sheet, but by no surprise my sweet boy wasn't too keen on wearing a costume that had to sit on top of his head all night so Steven ended up just cutting a large slit for his head to poke through. Then it was too long he complained, so we ended up tying it in knots. Most special ghost ever. But that ghost got a bucket full of candy. Seriously, between the two of them we have a plastic pumpkin filled to the brim with candy. Trouble!