Happy Fakesgiving, 2011!

On the Sunday after Thanskgiving, we celebrated with our annual Fakesgiving dinner.  This is always one of our favorite holidays.  Jimmy and Jessica brought their amazing pumpkin soup, Jen and Mike made pumpkin martinis, and everyone contributed to a great meal on the table.  Mairead was very helpful in the making of the martinis.    The kids had so much fun playing together and we all enjoyed the quality time together.  Also, Katie and Steve made the big announcement that Lily is going to be a big sister in June!  Congratulations to the Crowder family!

At one point, my mom brought out a bag of old costume jewelry and let the girls have at it.  They LOVED it.  Lily kept yelling, "More Jew-ry!"  They tried on all kinds of combinations and Mairead declared herself to be "gorgeous."

Awww, how cute is this?  If she can't have a sister, a cousin is the next best thing!

This last picture is not actually from Fakesgiving, but I thought it was such an interesting shot.  Look at their hands and their faces- they are exactly alike.  They are so interesting to watch sometimes.  Their personalities can be completely opposite at times, but they have these little habits and connections that are fascinating to us.

We hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season!  We have been having fun with family gatherings, parties, decorating, and all kinds of Christmas-y activities.  It is the best feeling to watch them get so excited about Christmas and everything that comes with it!

More fun at Grandma's

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed over to visit Dave's grandmother, who everyone calls Memire,  Mim has faced a lot of health problems recently so it was great to see her doing well.  The kids were a little shy and grouchy at first, but then they saw that Mim had a Christmas tree and some goldfish crackers, so everything was fine after that!  They had fun running around and on each lap, they ran by Mim and stopped to get a hug.  It is very special that our kids have great grandparents in their lives!

When we got back, Grandma had a fun project set up for us.  We used peanut butter and pine cones to make birdfeeders and then decorated a tree with our projects.  The girls really loved it, and the boys actually did, too!  Mostly, they liked scooping the birdseed and dumping it over the pine cones.  Also, they love doing anything that Rachael does.

The weather this November has been unbelievably cooperative, so it was great to spend time outside!  At Grandma's house, there is plenty of room to run and the air is crisp and clean.

Because it was so nice out, the kids were able to explore a bit.  Daddy took the boys down to check out the pond on Grandma's property.

 The boys loved having so much space to run.  They are sort of like dogs, that way.

For the record, this vehicle was not running or even on.  She just wanted to climb up and sit on it for a minute.

Thanks to all of our NY family for a great visit.  The kids had fun and made some great memories!

Over the river and through the woods...

To Grandma's house we go!  We packed up the car and the kids and headed to NY for Thanksgiving this past week.  The kids were so excited to visit Grandam and Grandpa and to see Rachael.  They were also looking forward to seeing Rosie (the dog) and And Ry... that's what Mairead calls Aunt Ry.  The kids were really great in the car- thanks to the dvd player that Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids last year.  It was a lifesaver!  We did watch They Might Be Giants... Here come the ABCs about 20 times, but they loved it!  It's actually a great dvd for helping kids learn letters.

When we got to Grandma's house, the kids were instantly energized and had a great time running around and playing with their cousin.  They pretty much worship Rachael and she was so great and so patient with them.  It was so nice to see the cousins playing together... especially Mairead and Rachael.  If Mairead can't have a big sister, I am glad she looks up to her cousin so much! 

The boys had fun running all over the place, playing trains, and jumping on the air mattress that would be Mairead's bed.  They chased Rosie and Ava (the cat) around a bit, too.  At one point, Jack looked at Rosie and then at me and said, "Um, Mommy?  I think Rosie is feeling a little jealous."  Where does he come up with this stuff???

Grandma and 'AndRy' had some great gifts waiting for the kids so they spent some time coloring with their aunt and cousin.  Jack and Ben kept their bowties and suspenders on for about five minutes.  "No necklace!  I don't want to be beautiful anymore!"

Ben's tie is blue.  Also, we got the boys hair cut last week and for the first time, they have different styles.  Jack's is pretty short while Ben's still has some length.  Maybe this will make it easier to tell them apart?

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner and enjoyed the afternoon with the family.  We hope that the boys' whining about who had what train wasn't too bad!  For the first time ever, they did not nap at all, so they were a little, um, challenging, from about 5-7pm.  Then, they stayed awake laughing their heads off in their pack n' plays until 11pm!

That late night didn't bother them, though, we had a very busy and fun day the next day!

Danny's Confirmation

Tonight, we went over to our cousins' house to celebrate Danny's confirmation.  It was nice to see everyone!  Before those pictures, though, I just have a couple from when Lily last came to visit.  How nice it is for all of the kids to be so close... Nana can play with all four of them on the swingset!

 It is really fun to watch the kids together.  Lily has SUCH a personality.  She is still calling me 'May-ya' and the boys are 'Jackandben," always one word.  She calls Mairead 'Raid' and the two girls are so sweet together.  Ben is still a little jealous.  When Lily arrived today, she was looking for me and then ran over.  Before she could get to me, Ben sat himself on my lap while glowering at her.  He's definitely my baby!

Mairead wore a new coat today and she loved it.  She gets more excited, now, about getting dressed up.  She asks to look in Nana's mirror (it is full length) and when I ask, "How do you look?" she says "Beautiful."  That's right, little girl... I hope you always think so!  The coat is from Jimmy and Jessica and it's so pretty.  I'm happy that it is just a bit big so that she can wear it longer!

Ben and Lily created a great game at Danny and Katie's-- ringing the doorbell and banging the door knocker.  Pretty exciting stuff!

Jack conned Mike into sitting and reading him several stories.  These kids get treated pretty well by their uncles and aunts!

For dinner, the boys had... cupcakes.  Eh, what are you gonna do?  They pretty much ate only the frosting, and they used forks to do that.  Whatever floats your boats, kids.

Mairead had a great time socializing.  The dress she is wearing was mine when I was younger.  I don't know if it's the dress or not, but she looked so much like me tonight!

The next few pictures were taken during The Hokey Pokey.  Mairead loves it and was very comfortable performing for everyone, which was really nice for us to see. Lily was a little confused by what was going on, but when the time came for clapping, she was thrilled.  She is really big on the clapping.

 Judy even got in on the fun!  I love moments like these because they remind me of the fun we had when I was little.  We treasure the great times we have with our family.   I hope my kids grow up with memories of fun, laughter, and all the good times we have together!