Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to make sure to get a quick update in before the holiday. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. I know we sure have a lot to be thankful for!

The past few weeks have actually been pretty 'normal' which has been really nice! Waylon was traveling last week so my mom came down to help out. What a nice treat for me! She did drop off and pick up for kids and cooked up a storm - made dinners and even put some extra ones in the freezer for us! how great!

First though, going back to Monday, the 15th - just a few cute shots of the kids using my dad's camera that he's been letting us borrow. I'd been trying to decide on a new camera and just got a new one a few nights ago! So exciting!




For a few days, Noah was sucking on his bottom lip and was making marks... not sure what that was about but he's stopped now. You can see it in this picture though.
That afternoon, we went to a new park close to our 'in-between house' as we are now calling the rental we are in now. :-) Noah seems to get that.

Tuesday morning, Kylie had her 1 year shots. She had her appt the week before but since she was sick, she couldn't get the shots so we had to go back for them. I also need to add her stats but I didn't write them down so I have to call the office for those. I do know that she's a big girl (as we all know). :-) She was about 25 lbs! Not sure of the percentage but I know it's up there. After the shots and being off of school the whole week before, I wasn't sure how well she was going to do at daycare that day. Her teachers said she had a great day though so that was good.

Waylon flew out that afternoon and my mom drove in. She met me at daycare just in time to pick up the kids and they were so excited to see her. Noah was out on the playground with his friends and he just came running and jumping! It was really cute. Here's a cute one of her with Kylie that night.

Like I said above, she really helped us out so much that week - thanks Mom!! She also managed to meet me for lunch both days and one of those days, we went by our new neighborhood so I could show her all the choices that we have made for the new house. Speaking of which, we have our pre-construction meeting on Monday and they should be breaking ground soon after that. They are still targeting March 28th as our close date so we'll see if that still happens! We can't wait to see things start happening.

On Friday morning, we ran a few quick errands and while we were at WalMart, Noah tried out a bike. He thinks he wants to ask Santa for one so we needed to figure out what size to get him. He was such a big boy riding around the store! This one is a 16 inch wheel which is too big for him but he still loved it!! :-)

Another one of my handsome BOY (where did the time go??)

On Friday afternoon, we had a follow up for the family pictures that didn't go so well the last time. Dana got some great shots and we are so excited about them!! I'll be posting some soon since she is sending us the CD but if you want a preview, check out Dana's blog.

This is an 'after the photo shoot' shot. :-) We did a cupcake smash at the end.

After the pictures, we went to the mall to play some and had a quick dinner there. Noah wanted to ride the merry-go-round so we brought Kylie along, too. She wasn't sure at first but then liked it. :-)

Then we just happened to walk by Santa and Noah was so excited!!! There was no line so he went in and said hello and tell him what he wanted for Christmas - apparently Spiderman - news to me! :-) It was cute. Kylie was not thrilled with him at all and the closer we got to Santa, the harder she would grab my shirt.

Thinking about what he wants - or is he thinking about if he's been good or not? :-)

Waylon got back to town Friday night and the kids stayed up to welcome him home. They were so happy to see him.

Saturday morning, my mom left bright and early and we got ready to head over to Megan and Jason's to watch the State/UNC football game. The game was at noon but we decided to go anyway and just see how the kids did. They only live a few miles away so we figured if we had to come home, it would be easy. Noah skipped nap but laid on their bed and watched TV for a while and Kylie slept for almost 2 hours in the pack and play there! We stayed a long time and ended up feeding the kids dinner over there before coming home. It was lots of fun!


Ryan, Noah and Kylie in their State outfits - poor Ryan is not used to the abuse! :-)

Jennie smelling Noah's 'stinky feet'

On Sunday morning, we ran some more errands and got some ideas from the kids for Christmas. Noah is so funny... he just HAS to have everything he sees! :-) We had lunch out and the kids fell asleep on the way home.

Here's a funny story.... after Noah's nap (while we were waiting for Kylie to wake up to head over to Nana and Grandad's), I was painting my toenails and Noah was watching. Waylon walked by and said, 'maybe Mommy will paint one of yours!' Well, of course then he wanted me to paint his toenails. I told him that 'normally boys don't paint their toenails' and he said, 'but sometimes they do!' How could I argue with that? AFter I did it, he said, 'Grandaddy is going to LOVE it!' :-) I agreed and he said, 'He's going to think it's silly' and I said, 'Yeah, cause normally boys don't paint their toenails' and he, again, said, 'But sometimes they do!!!' :-) Too funny....

After Kylie woke up, we took off to Nana and Grandad's to celebrate Dick's birthday. Always craziness but so fun!! We are looking forward to more of the same tomorrow for Thanksgiving.

Here they are singing Happy Birthday. :-)

Noah would sing really loud and then Dick would grab him and give him a 'noogie'. He (and Savannah) thought it was hilarious. :-)

On Monday, we had lunch and a park playdate with Jacque, Elizabeth and Jacob. It's always fun to catch up with them! I didn't take any pictures when they were there but did snap this one before they arrived. Kylie wanted to swing like Noah and she really did well hanging on! Again... where does the time go??? They are both growing up so fast.

Yesterday, Noah had a Thanksgiving feast at school. He was so excited about it and happy that Daddy could come eat with him. They had so much fun and Waylon was so glad to be there also. I should have given Waylon the camera to take pictures but forgot.

Now, it won't be a problem though cause we now have another camera! I got my new one a few nights ago (a very belated birthday present!). :-) My parents gave me money for my birthday to get one and I just now picked it out and got it. I'm so excited about it so I'm sure there's even more pictures coming for a while. :-) Here are two samples of how the pictures look with the new camera!

A funny face for Kylie

So I had all of a 1 day work week. I took today off to clean the house in the morning then met Waylon for lunch and a Santa date. It was fun to shop for the kids together! We are getting excited about the holidays. Speaking of which - check out the kids' new stockings!! I've been eyeing these for a few years now so my mom ordered them for us. How nice!!

Tomorrow morning, Waylon is running a 5K 'Turkey Trot' and the kids and I are going to cheer him on, then we are off to Nana and Grandaddy's house to hang out for the day and have another yummy feast!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Here we go again!

So it's been a crazy few weeks as always... the highlights this time: Kylie got very sick with a very slow recovery and I lost my job... again! Good times.



Going back to before all that madness though first... we had a nice week the first week of November. Kylie got a great book from Nana and Grandad - she loves to climb into Noah's chair and read. It's so sweet.







On Monday, Andrea and Savannah came over for a morning playdate. Noah and Savannah were running and Kylie just kept following them back and forth. :-)

That afternoon after Kylie's nap, Noah climbed in her crib with her. It was so cute... I'd tell them 'night night' and they'd both lay down and pretend they were sleeping.

This picture cracks me up... Kylie looks so silly! :-)

Then they decided to climb in Noah's bed to play.

My sweet big boy!

Then some playtime outside

One night that week, Noah wanted to play dress up in Daddy's clothes. Then Kylie grabbed my pants and put them around her shoulders. It was so cute!

On Tuesday, we went out to the new neighborhood at lunchtime and finalized our picks for the new house. We are so excited about all the choices!! They should be breaking ground very soon.

On Wednesday morning, we had a follow up visit with the surgeon and he said that Kylie looked great. She'll most likely need cosmetic surgery on her belly button eventually but that won't happen for a while so we are good until another follow up in a year.

Kylie is now sitting at the booster seat pulled up to the table and she looks like such a big girl!!

Noah picked out some sunglasses and gloves at the store on Friday. :-)

Saturday was when Kylie's sickness started. When the kids went down for a nap, I took off shopping with Megan while Jason and Ryan (8 months old) came over to our house to watch football with Waylon, Noah and Kylie. While they were at our house, Kylie threw up all over the place. At the time, we thought maybe it was something she ate. She didn't eat much at dinner which is odd but slept pretty well.

Sunday morning, it was obvious she wasn't feeling great but then seemed to pep up a little. We had plans that afternoon to get family pictures and I had cancelled them at first but then decided to go ahead with them... thinking after nap she'd be happier. So off we went to Old Navy to find some clothes for the pictures.

Noah was excited about seeing the talking dog there. :-)

When we got home, everyone napped well and when they got up, it was time for pictures. Noah was a ham as always but Kylie was having none of it. Poor thing, she was just miserable. We tried as much as we could but it became obvious that we had to cut it short. We are going to try again this Friday so hopefully everyone will be healthy then.

Anyway, we put Kylie down for another nap and when she woke up, she was burning up -- her temp spiked to 104.3!!! It was pretty scary and she was pretty pitiful but we were able to get the fever down and she slept pretty well that night. Here she is with the high fever...

Monday was pretty rough since Kylie wasn't feeling great and Noah was. :-) Noah was very concerned for his sister and is so sweet.

He's into building these days. Right before he made this, he looked around and said, 'do we have blocks here?' I think I know one thing Santa has in mind! :-)

We took a quick walk down to the playground just to get out of the house. It was good to get some fresh air and Noah rode his scooter which he hadn't done in a while.

Kylie rode in her car and sported a new jacket we got for her on Sunday! :-)

Tuesday, I stayed home with Kylie and she slept ALL day long. I think she must have been awake about 4 or 5 hours the whole day. This was a good thing too cause I needed time to deal with my wonderful news... I found out Tuesday morning that end of the year budget cuts means time to cut the part time contractor... again. Some of you may recall that I got this same news last year on Christmas Eve! At least this year, they are giving me some advance notice and I will be working through the end of the year so that's good. We are trying to decide what's next for me now but with this new house coming in the spring, I'm pretty sure I'll be back to work very soon.

When Kylie was awake that day, she would play for a short time and really just want to snuggle most of the time. Here was a rare moment when she was happy playing so I didn't have it in me to stop her from pulling out all of the wipes! Instead, I grabbed my camera. :-)

Noah was at school so it was good for Kylie to have peace and quiet but I think she missed him, too. At one point, she picked up her toy keys and said, 'Buh buh!!' and headed to the garage door. Then she tried to open the door and was calling 'Woah! Woah!' It was so sweet.

Her recovery was pretty slow so she ended up staying home on Wednesday also and Waylon and I split the day - he worked in the morning and I worked in the afternoon. Then daycare was closed on Thursday for Veteran's Day so we split the day again. What a crazy week. She seemed to be feeling better by Thursday but then had gotten used to being held cuddled all the time so we had to work on that Thursday and Friday! :-)

Friday afternoon, Megan and Ryan and Amy and Stella Dot came over to play! Noah was so excited that Stella Dot came to visit - it's been a long long time since we've seen them. They had the best time and I can't believe I didn't get any pictures. Kylie was cute, too... she just wanted to play with the big kids. She was chasing them back and forth and eventually, I just let her go and told Noah to keep an eye on her! :-)

Also on Friday, my friend Jenn found out that she had an extra ticket to the NC State game on Saturday so Waylon and I decided to get a babysitter for the kids and go out there by ourselves! Our 'normal' babysitters (Nana and Grandad) weren't available so we actually asked Noah's favorite teacher, Chelsea, to come over and babysit. Noah was so excited that she was coming and woke me up at 6am that morning saying 'Is Chelsea here yet?' They did well and we enjoyed some time away.

Before we left that morning, we walked into the playroom and found Kylie sitting on the train table!! By the time I was able to get my camera she stood up (Waylon was standing right next to her - don't worry!).

We had fun at the game and enjoyed hanging out with friends without having to chase kids all over the place!! :-)

Sunday morning, we made a big breakfast at home and had a quiet morning - as quiet as it can be anyway. Kylie is starting to learn the 'Cheese' face!! :-)

We had plans to go to Nana and Grandad's house after nap but since Kylie wanted a morning nap and ended up sleeping a while, we decided to head over there right after lunch and just let Noah sleep in the car. It was a nice long afternoon and Waylon and I even ran out for about an hour for a quick shopping trip! So nice. Andrea, Sean and Savannah were there of course and the kids had a blast as always.

And here is my blackmail picture for Noah!! :-) He was being so silly just before bath over there. HAHA!! I'm sure he's going to kill me for putting it on here one day but it was hilarious! :-)

On the way home, both kids fell asleep. Noah was playing with some toys and he gave them to me and said, 'I want to climb in bed and cover up.' So sweet. :-)

More Fall Fun and Halloween!

So I've learned that if I don't go ahead and post everything, I get really backed up so here comes a big post! :-)

Going back to last week - my mom was here for a few days and she helped out on Monday while I worked on the garage a little - we have boxes everywhere in there! She got a few good pictures while she was here...

The kids are really playing together a lot and Noah is such a sweet big brother.

We went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and Kylie and Noah had so much fun in the play area. She wanted to climb all over the place and we got her out of the slide just in time a few times (before some kids came barrelling down).

Noah wanted to be more like the big kids, too... he even came down on his belly a few times.

Then we had to have ice cream of course...

Kylie definitely has a sweet tooth!

Grammy left on Tuesday and we really appreciated all of her help!

Wednesday morning was Noah's Halloween parade at school. He was so excited!!

We dropped the kids off and waited outside for the parade to start...

Maddie is now in a different class so she came by first.

Kylie on the buggy with her friends and teacher watching the parade.

And here comes Noah with his friends! Jackson was Woody and they walked around holding hands the whole time. :-)

After the parade, they had a sing-a-long. It was so cute and Noah was really excited about this part. He's been practicing at home a lot!

The whole school!

Daddy and Nana came to the parade also! Kylie was not happy when Daddy left. :-)

Nana and I went inside to see Noah's class before we took off. So adorable!

Here's a close-up of Buzz and Woody

Thursday night was an NC State game and Waylon went there straight after work so Megan, Jennie, Megan and Ryan came over for dinner and to watch Grey's Anatomy. Lots of fun!

It was funny though, when they came in, Megan put Ryan down on the floor and Kylie went right over to him and tried to 'love' on him. Ryan wasn't quite sure about that and his little bottom lip came out and he started crying. Poor thing... my kids have no concept of personal space!

Noah actually took this picture!!

Megan and Ryan

Kylie, Ryan and Megan

Kylie and Ryan

Jennie and Noah snuggling

Friday, the kids and I spent some time outside in the back yard.

Kylie wearing one of Noah's old sweaters. :-)

They've been enjoying playing together in the house! Today, Kylie rang the doorbell and then put her hand up to her ear and said, 'hay-ooo?' :-)

Such a sweet girl

And this is what I got from Noah when I tried to get a close up of him!! :-)

When my mom was here last weekend, she let Noah pick something out from the Halloween section and he picked out a pair of ugly nasty squeaking rats. :-) They named them Ratatouille and Rata-one-ee. :-) Noah has been sleeping with them a lot since then! This is how I found his bed one morning after he woke up....

This past weekend was nice - back to 'normal crazy' for us. We had lots of fun activites but manage to not do any house stuff!

Saturday morning, we went out to Hollyfest - a fall festival in Holly Springs. We actually ended up meeting Evia, Tim, Eli and Cole there... that was a nice surprise that they could come! Megan, Jason and Ryan came near the end of our visit there, too. So fun!

First up - an inside look at a fire truck!

And a visit from Sparky the firedog. Eli and Noah look so much alike, don't they??

Then, they went on a kiddie ride set up out there.

Noah loved it (although this was taken before the ride started - maybe he should have been a pirate for halloween this year cause he sure has the look down!)....

Eli wasn't a fan!

Walking to the next activity with Evia

Happy girl in her Halloween outfit.

They had so many fun inflatable things out there - this one was a tee ball game.

The guys with the babies :-)

More inflatables - Noah loves these now!

and more again

Evia managed to catch this shot - I LOVE it - Kylie just walked up to Noah on her own and gave him a hug. So sweet!!!

They had a petting zoo out there, too. Oh and she saw a dog and reached and said, 'Doggie!' The words are starting to come faster!

Jason, Megan and Ryan

Afterwards, we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch with Eli and crew - always fun times there! Then we got the kids home and in bed and I took off with some girlfriends for some shopping in downtown Apex. That was fun to just get out with the girls for a bit. No luck shopping though!

Saturday night, Waylon's parents babysat and we went out downtown for a going away party for Josh and Anise who moved to Charleston the same weekend we moved. We had such a nice time and we are really going to miss them! Can't wait to visit though!! :-)

Our 'crew'

Cory, Jennie, Anise, Josh, Waylon, me, Jason, Megan, Megan, and Dave

Jennie and me

A toast to Josh and Anise! :-)

The girls

Sunday morning, Waylon made a great breakfast and then Noah and I carved a pumpkin!

Then Kylie had to check it out, too.

We relaxed around the house most of the day on Sunday until it was time to head over to the old neighborhood for trick-or-treating! We picked up dinner and ate over at Janet, Frank, Maddie and Mason's house and then played until it got dark enough to go out. Maddie and Noah were so excited - Kylie and Mason weren't quite sure what was going on! :-)

We got to see lots of our old neighbors so that was fun to catch up after being gone for a few weeks. I wasn't sure how Noah would do going back but he was fine. As we were driving in, he said, 'This is our old neighborhood! We don't live here anymore.' Then as we were trick-or-treating, he saw our old house and said, 'Look mommy! Our house is all decorated for Halloween!' Janet took them up to the house but Waylon and I hung back. We weren't sure what he'd say but all he said was 'I'm Buzz Lightyear!!' :-)

The little ones rode in the double stroller for a while but then wanted to come out.

Kylie really started to get the hang of it near the end - she had a blast!! I was quite surprised cause I wasn't sure how she'd do.

This was funny.... Maddie and Noah were getting candy at this house and Kylie was standing there, too. After a while, she gave Kylie a piece of candy to hold and Kylie turned and walked away, held the candy up in the air and said, 'Bah-bah'!! It was hilarious! It was like she knew exactly what to do. It's funny comparing her now to how she was last year when we took her out trick-or-treating at 2 weeks old! Crazy...

Mason had had enough about halfway through and fell asleep so he went home early and the big kids were fading by the end also! Everyone had a blast!!

Then it was back to their house to get on jammies and pick out 1 piece of candy to have before bedtime.

Kylie fell asleep on the way home and I thought Noah was going to fall asleep with a lollipop in his mouth but he stuck it out until we got home. They were both exhausted and happy! What a fun night!!