Trimming the Tree

As I've done in past years, I frantically tried to get the tree up while Connor was down for his afternoon nap. It's a fun surprise for him when he wakes up and gets to help decorate the tree. Leave it to Riley to throw a wrench in my plans though. He woke up from his nap early, and wasn't about to go back to sleep. He was being very vocal, and I was afraid he might wake up Connor. I brought him downstairs and let him "help" me get some of the decorations out. He got ahold of Daddy's Barry Bonds ornament and ended up biting his foot off. (I'm telling you, he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth.) When I told Daddy, he said Barry got what he deserved. Well then. I hit gold when I found some Christmas stuffed animals, one of which is a dancing/singing dog. Riley loved it and was entertained long enough for me to finish putting up the tree.

Time Well Spent

Unfortunately, Rea hadn't been feeling well on Thanksgiving and wasn't able to join us for dinner. After we had the family pictures taken, we ate dinner at a great mexican restaurant, then headed over to Rea's to spend some time with her. She was feeling much better than the day before. I took the opportunity to get a "generation" picture of Rea, Nanny, Julie, and Abbey. Riley had us in stitches when he first attempted to eat Rea's walker, then gave "kisses" to Nanny. His kisses consist of him opening his mouth as wide as he can, then sucking on your cheek or chin, whichever happens to make contact with his mouth first. As messy as it is, it's very sweet. The highlight for Connor, and very probably Rea as well, was when Rea gave Connor a ride down the hallway on her walker. Although we missed having her with us on Thanksgiving, this extra time with her was extra special.

Picture Perfect

The last time we had family pictures taken with Daddy's family was three years ago, when Connor was just 6 months old. With the addition of Riley to the family, it was the perfect time to update the family picture. Not only had Connor changed drastically, but so had Caleb and Abbey. I can't believe how much they've all changed in three years!

Another First

Since Riley is such a big eater, we were all pretty excited to see how he would handle his first Thanksgiving. As of now, the only food he has refused to eat is green beans. However, even with that said, he'll eat them if they're mixed in with something else. When it was time to sit down and eat, we handed over one of the turkey legs to Riley. He stared at it briefly, gnawed on it a bit, moving from one end to the other, then set it down and moved on to Nanny's yummy sweet potatoes. He loved those. I think he ended up with 3 helpings. Before he was done, he had relegated the turkey leg to the floor. We all ate until we were stuffed, then lazed around in tryptophanic bliss. That night, most of us played a rousing game of Chicken Foot (dominos). Much to his delight, Connor even got in on the action and helped Nanny play. I think he was surprised he didn't have to beg or plead. Of course he had no idea how to play, but he felt pretty special being able to play with the grown ups.

As for me, I realized not long ago that we don't have very many pictures of our get togethers. Therefore, I insisted on taking candid pictures while everyone else played the game. We made it an early night since we(the girls) were getting up before the crack of dawn for our big shopping day.

Together Again

Unable to get away sooner, Derrick, Julie, Caleb and Abbey arrived this afternoon. We had not seen them since last Christmas, so it was great being together again. Just like her mom, Julie had to whip out the boys' Christmas gifts early since we wouldn't be together for Christmas, especially since this is Riley's first Christmas. Of course the opening of his very first Christmas present had to be well documented. As with most babies, I think he was fascinated more with the wrapping than the gift. He loved the tissue paper! The gift was a little dog that is supposed to bark when you pull the string and make him walk. However, as Derrick quickly pointed out, it sounded more like the dog was passing gas than barking. Connor was absolutely thrilled to get a superhero memory card game featuring his favorite web slinging Spiderman. He barely took a breath before exclaiming that he wanted to play it. Luckily, Abbey came to the rescue and played a game with him. She also came to the rescue with taking care of Riley. It gave me a much needed break to just sit and relax a bit.

Endless Entertainment

After a long day in the car, we arrived in Amarillo this afternoon. After being cooped up in their carseats all day, the boys needed to stretch out and expend some pent up energy. Although we brought some of the boy's toys along for our stay, of course Nanny couldn't resist getting a few new ones for them as well. One was a Curious George jack-in-the-box for our Little Monkey. Riley took a break from "cooking" long enough to check it out.

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Although Riley lost interest in the jack-in-the-box after seeing Curious George pop out of it a few times, he resumed his previous task of cooking. Connor, however, seemed to get endless enjoyment out of it. Over and over and over again.

Play Time

We love having Lexi come over to play. It not only gives her parents some time to themselves, but it also allows her and Riley time to play together. It's been fun watching the two of them the past few months as they socially develop more. Lexi is kind enough to show Riley the ropes every now and then.

Whatever It Takes

Rather than just play the piano with his own fingers, Riley likes to use various objects to get the job done. It turns out Mr. Incredible is quite the pianist.

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Busted

Daddy told me a story today that had me laughing for a while. Apparently, the other night he saw Connor hanging over the back of the couch.

Daddy: Whatcha doin' there bud?
Connor: Looking at all the papers.
Daddy: What papers?
Connor: The papers from all the candy I ate then hid.

No wonder our stash of Halloween candy disappeared so quickly!



(Just a small sampling of what we found under the couch.)

Gramps

Riley has recently started making a face that Connor has affectionately dubbed "the old man face." Connor thinks it's absolutely hysterical. Riley won't do it on demand, of course. He seems to do it most when he's crawling around, deep in thought on what trouble he can stir up next.