Visiting Santa and more fun

We did some more shopping on Black Friday - Kohl's, Academy, and Target in the morning, and the outlet mall in the evening after naps. We were trying to be secretive since Millie would remember seeing us purchase something, so in the morning round we did more switching off. Millie was sweet and entertained Max when he got restless in the car. 

We are pretty much finished with our Christmas shopping, so I'd say it was a successful weekend.

On Saturday we went to The Woodlands to see Grammy! As is becoming our tradition, we visited Santa at her mall. This was our 3rd time seeing this same Santa. Millie finally did it without crying! I'm proud of her, but also a little sad because it means she's growing up and because those pictures of her crying are really funny.

She climbed over and got back in the stroller, thinking she'd be safe there.

Santa came and greeted all the kids in line before sitting down. He is a really nice Santa!

She was shy but she did it! Max jumped ship way before she did.

Had to pose for a picture with 2 of her best friends. I guess not showing your teeth when you smile is kind of their collective thing.

Millie and Daddy rode the carousel and had a blast.

 We grabbed some lunch and then went to see Penguins of Madagascar. It was cute and funny, but a little over Millie's head. 

 After the movie Grammy showed us a really fun park near her place. It was another beautiful day and the park was packed! We loved watching the ducks and people kayaking in the lake.

We made a pit stop at Grammy's for potty breaks and feeding Max a bottle before heading home. It was such a fun day with Grammy.

Grammy's stone hedgehog is a favorite of all the kids!

We put up our Christmas decorations Saturday evening. Millie is very much my daughter and got so excited about it all! 

This boy is killing us with cuteness lately.

Some Sunday baking in our aprons that have our names on them.

Thanksgiving 2014

I started my day with some potato preparation in the bathroom (so as not to wake anyone else). Sharon's crock pot to the rescue (again)! I saw a recipe on pinterest and tried it - cooking the potatoes in the crock pot turned out really well and it was so easy. They were delicious!

The Mississippi Mud Pie recipe I found on pinterest was not such a success. It was good, just a little rich. And I had the wrong kind of pie pan so the crust was way too thick.

I neglected to get a picture of everyone around the table, but I did capture this - after we had all eaten, Max woke up and it became a game of watching his reactions to tasting things for the first time. He loved it all, not surprisingly.

The weather was insanely beautiful!

Tyler tried out Poppy's new machine. I have no idea what it is.

Max's first time in the bike trailer. Millie was so excited to have him in there so she could "take care of him."

So much for taking care of him! She fell asleep on his shoulder. He loved it.

We finished the day off with some early Black Friday shopping. I went in to Old Navy while Tyler waited in the car with sleeping kids and then we traded and he went into Best Buy while I waited with the kids. The system worked pretty well and we scored some good deals!

We feel so thankful and we loved having some time together to reflect on our blessings. When Millie woke up this morning she asked where Daddy was. I told her he was at work and she said, "Again? Why does he have to work so hard all the time?" It was so sweet. 

Catching up November

Millie cracks me up with the unconventional ways she plays with her toys, especially her princesses!

Halfway through the month here.

We had a fun little cold spell and I instantly wished for summer back.

Pilgrim hat during cousin story time.

One of the great joys of my life right now is feeding Max. I know it's mostly because of our battles with Millie, but it just makes me so happy to see Max eat what I make! He loves food and I love him for it. And other things too, obviously. Oh I just adore this boy.

The messes grow ever larger as he grows more mobile and curious.

Millie puts her crown on Max's head at least once a day. He's a good sport about it for now.

Millie and Max grow more interactive every day and I love it! She saw the break in the clouds (below) and asked if there were holes in the sky. I love the way kids think.

Trying on her dress for Uncle Garrett's wedding. We just can't resist a good twirl around here!

Further proof of his hair. Also, proof of his two front teeth coming in.

More vehicle drama. Merry Christmas to my car.

Some fall baking: pumpkin bread (2 mini-loaves with chocolate chips, per Millie's and Daddy's request) and a Kentucky Chocolate Chip Pie for Pie Night.

Millie's princesses had a bath in some dish water the other day. 

Millie asked for a pink car shopping cart and I was pretty positive they didn't have pink ones... thankfully I was wrong. Also, the baking isle on the day before Thanksgiving almost equals Black Friday at Wal-Mart. Insanity.

Triple J Ranch

We got to visit the Triple J Ranch on Saturday November 8th with Gigi, Poppy, Heidi, and James. MetroNational had their Ranch Roundup and it was a fun-packed day!! The weather was perfect and there was so much to do at the ranch. They had pony rides, a petting zoo, camel rides, an obstacle course, rock climbing, several roller coaster-type rides, carnival games, a hayride, face painting, and of course yummy food! It was fun to see friends we hadn't seen in a while too.

My phone was dead the whole day so I have zero pictures! I'm hoping to gather the ones that everyone else took, there are a lot. For now, Poppy made a video that sums up the day well!