our final Thanksgiving hoorah!

We had our final Thanksgiving celebration at Mark's mom and dad's house Saturday evening.

It was a lot of fun! Almost all of the family was able to come--his mom and dad, Colten (Mark's step-brother) and his girlfriend Teri, Kim (Mark's step-brother's wife, his brother was off fishing!), Brittany (Mark's other step-brother's wife, his brother had to work!) and her two kids Dakota (3) and Khia (8 months), and Matthew (his brother)!

The evening plans were to eat, eat, eat and play some friendly poker while grandma played with her grandkids! Mark's dad made lots of yummy food and we (the kids) contributed a little bit...we brought a (really yummy) chocolate silk pie--thank you Perkins!

Isaiah had a blast! Before the games began for me, Cindy (Mark's step-mom) got out her microphones (she owns a DJ business) and let Dakota and Isaiah sing into them They both thought they were really cool...and really they were just down right adorable...check them out:





After the singing, the poker games began, so downstairs I went while Cindy and Kim watch the four little ones...They had lots of fun and even got to play dress up...


The little, little ones had fun too!!

The little ones continued to play and the big kids continued to play cards...and before we knew it, it was way past bed time! Thankfully I remembered to bring Isaiah's jammies and Dakota and Isaiah had a pajama party while we hung out a little longer...


...and by then it was 9:45 and Isaiah needed to go to sleep!! So we headed home, what a great way to finish celebrating Thanksgiving!

another celebration!

On Saturday we had two more Thanksgiving celebrations!

We got up and drove to Ames to celebrate with my Grandma Carol and Aunt Sharon (my mom's mom and twin sister) along with my sister, Jay and Liahna. The drive was pretty uneventful...my parents, Mark, Isaiah, Levi and I all fit into our Rendezvous so it was pretty full...as our double stroller filled the only open seat!

We met at a really yummy restaurant called Olde Main. I was hoping that after a long car ride Isaiah would still be able to sit through a nice meal and a nice restaurant...and he did great! We sat in a really big round booth with Isaiah in the middle and he just hung out playing with Grandma and Daddy. Thankfully my Grandma brought an apple and my mom cut it up for Isaiah to eat until the salads got to us...and then Isaiah was good for quite some time...He kept asking my dad, "more please grandpa" wanting to eat more of his salad with honey mustard dressing. When that was all gone, my mom donated the rest(pretty much all) of her salad to Isaiah and he sat and ate the entire salad...dipping each piece of lettuce into the ranch before he ate it...When there was just a few pieces of lettuce left Isaiah said, "I'm all full now." But of course he managed to eat the last of the salad...he hardly touched his chicken strips, but that was just fine...However, in the middle of our meal, Isaiah says very loudly, "I tooted!!!" Ha Ha.

(Can you believe all the sentences Isaiah says? He has really started talking like a little boy...he knows what he thinks and wants and isn't afraid to say it!!)

While we were waiting for our food, Grandma Carol and Aunt Sharon got to meet both Levi and Liahna...they loved them both so much of course...


We even got a picture of the two baby cousins together...how cute are they?

After all the salad was gone, Isaiah did get a little restless...it started with him stiring the ice in his cup with 3 or 4 forks...

and he ended up being a monster that crawled around under the table! After while Grandma got up with him and they walked all around the big restaurant. Which was great...because after the restaurant we were headed back to the car to make it home for our next celebration!

Liahna is still the sweetest little baby girl! Don't you think she's adorable!?

our tree.

After we got home from our Thanksgiving Day celebration we decorated our Christmas tree! Isaiah did such a good job hanging on the bulbs! He put them on very carefully with just a little bit of help here and there. We let him put them wherever he wanted them and we only have a few spots where there are several all together. It looks so pretty!




Levi got to watch from the sidelines...maybe next year he'll get to help!


I still have more to put on it and we haven't put "our" ornaments on it yet, but it sure makes our house seem so Christmasy.

Every year at Christmas time my mom would buy my sister and I a Hallmark ornament. (and sometimes my dad would get one if they had a really cool one he liked--like a funny looking Star Trek ship that made noise or something fun like that:) ). We'd each pick one out that symbolized something that was special to us that year...Looking back at them is really neat...When Mark and I got married, we continued the tradition and each picked out an ornament each year...and we have gotten one for Isaiah each of his Christmases too...(We still need to go pick out ornaments this year---we are behind!!) . But I'm glad my mom did this for me, and I'm thankful I can continue it on!! I'll let you know what ornaments we decide on for this year!

Isn't this a fun family picture??? Too bad Levi was moving, but I still love it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our family had a happy thanksgiving! We had several celebrations and we had lots of fun with lots of our extended family!!

On Thanksgiving day we drove to my Aunt Sandy and Uncle John's house in Dubuque. This is for my dad's side of the family. They have a beautiful home right on the Mississippi River. Isaiah, my dad and I played outside for a little while and looked at the river, we even got to see a few trains go by way out beyond the river.


After our big lunch, we decided to pose for a four generation picture! My sister and Liahna, my grandma, my dad, Isaiah, Levi and me...how neat, huh?

Of course everyone wanted to hold the babies!

Soon after the pictures it was time to head home...It was way past Isaiah's nap time and Isaiah without a nap is not a good thing come 5pm. He can get very ornery (okay so that's a pretty big understatement)! We made it a few minutes in the car and Isaiah fell asleep and slept all the way home! How perfect...because I had plans for us when we got home...you'll see them in my next post!

yummy pretzels!

We needed to make something to bring to my dad's side of the family Thanksgiving on Thursday...I couldn't decide what to make and my smart husband thought of making yummy pretzel sticks...it was the perfect idea! It was easy, quick, yummy and Isaiah could help! So Wednesday night we had a family night in the kitchen!

melting the chocolate.

snitching a pretzel.

putting on the first layer of chocolate.

the best part.

We had a great time...this is what the holidays are all about!!

I am thankful...

Every day I am thankful...
Every day I realize how lucky I am...
Every day is perfect...
Here's why...

**I have a wonderful husband who treats me with respect and love...
**I have two happy and healthy little boys who say they love me with a simple smile...
**I have great parents who would do anything to help me and my family...
**I have a sister who treats me like a friend...
**I have lots of extended family who show they care in so many ways...
**I have so many friends who make me laugh and smile and remind me to have fun...
**I have a job that is so flexible with me that I get to work two days a week so I can be home with my family and gives me the opportunity to be involved in the lives of two other little ones...
**I have an amazing God who provides for me no matter what, who teaches me how to be, who to be, and what to be...and forgives me when I'm not.
**I have a perfect Savior who has promised me eternal life in paradise...

For these things, along with many, many more, are the reasons I am thankful today and everyday.

the words of Isaiah...

As we were getting our jammies on tonight, Isaiah says, " I don't eat my shirt."

"That's right," I said, "We don't eat our clothes."

hmmm

gobble, gobble

Today is the only day I have Jayda (and Jonah) this week so I thought I'd definitely better get a fun Thanksgiving craft in! We've already made turkeys so I decided to go with something different today...

It started with this: (sorry it's sideways :) )

And here they are making it...


and here's the finished project...

Can you guess whose is whose??? Someone got bored, huh?
In the middle of the project Isaiah asked me to put the pencil behind his ear...just like grandpa does... ha ha he never did quite get his picture completed...oh well!

what a weekend!!

We had so much fun this weekend that it's 5:45 on Sunday night and take a look at the picture on the left...Isaiah fell asleep in the computer chair watching the Chipmunks...Can you believe that? I CAN'T!!

I'll tell you all about our busy weekend!

Friday night was Girls Night Out...and Boys Night In. I went out with some friends to celebrate LeAnna's birthday! Here we are...drinking the best drinks around...










Take a look at how yummy they look! They are called Moskow Mules (Right, Erin?).

While we were out celebrating, Mark, Isaiah, Levi and a few other boys spent the night at our house playing video games and other manly things. :)

Saturday we went to visit baby Liahna...Isaiah and Mark were very excited to meet her! We decided to drive down starting around 12 so we would be on the road for nap time... To get ready for a long car ride, we went to the playland at the mall. I have never seen it so packed! There had to have been at least 25 kids playing all at once, I guess that's what we get when we go on a Saturday morning in late November! Even though it was packed, Isaiah had a great time...he ran around and around chasing the kids, going down the slide, and jumping off all the toys. It was time to leave when Isaiah kept running out of the playland down the mall and I had to go running after him...

The trip down was pretty uneventful. Isaiah fell asleep about an hour into the trip so he got about an hour nap. Then we got there and saw the baby. She's still adorable and teeny tiny!

We all had lots of fun at Aunt Nikki's house...I played Wii Fit for the first time---FUN!! and Isaiah got to play "balls" on her pool table...that's all he wanted to do...he was laughing and playing all evening with those balls.

We stayed at my sisters until 8:30 (Isaiah's bedtime) thinking he would fall asleep shortly after we got on the road...well that plan didn't work! Isaiah was awake until at least 10:15...He was talking about all kinds of things.. He said: "We be gentle" and "I played with Uncle Jay" and "It's dark outside" and "Aunt Nikki's house" and anything he could think of to keep himself awake. Finally he ran out of things to say and nodded off.

Sunday was Mark's step-mom's side of the family Thanksgiving...and what a gathering that is! There are tons and tons of little kids and tons and tons of adults that meet to celebrate together! I'd say there has to be at least 60 people (and no I'm not exaggerating!).

All the little ones were having a blast looking at the huge fish aquarium!

Isaiah and Tayton (the only other two year old) thought they were the neatest! But I'm not sure who had more fun, the toddlers or the adults watching them!

Isaiah loves to play with the piano, so when he found great-grandma's organ, of course he could think of nothing but playing....we got him to seranaide grandma and great grandma singing Jesus Loves me... it was so adorable. He sang it over and over again, with The Itsy Bitsy Spider every now in then in between.

We let Isaiah go run and play with all the kids...it was the first time we let him "be a kid" (as Mark called it)...and not a baby...and it made me a little nervous! He got to run all around the house chasing all the other kids... It was hard for me not to follow him all over the place, but it was good for him to play with the big kids...and man was he sad when the kids left one by one... he kept saying "Bye Kids."

Levi on the other hand, just hung out with the adults...he was passed from one to the other...everybody loves the baby...and Levi is officially the youngest great-grandbaby on this side!! (which is pretty crazy since there are at least 20 great-grandkids!)


After hours of fun, it was time to leave great-grandma's house...exhausted without a nap :) So now you can see why Isaiah fell asleep in the computer chair watching the chipmunks at 5:45pm!!

fun with the camera...

They other night Isaiah, Levi and I went to burn some energy at the playland at the mall. Isaiah loves it there...especially when there are other fun and wild little ones to play with!

When we got to the playland there was no one else there which made Isaiah sad, he didn't really want to play too long. So we went shopping for the few things that I was looking for and came back to find a crowded playland!! Isaiah was excited!! There were several little ones that had to be 2, too...and boy were they having fun!! One of Isaiah's favorite games is chase...and man did he get to play chase there!!

I decided to get creative with the camera while he was playing...

innocense

As I was trying to post a video on my blog, Isaiah was off playing in things he doesn't usually get to play with (the junk drawer) and he found this and said, "oh! a purse!" haha :)

somersaults, headstands and cartwheels

The other day when Isaiah and Levi were at Laura's house, Laura's mom was teaching Isaiah and Jayda how to do somersaults...so tonight when we were listening to the "pumpkin song" I asked Isaiah to show me...and not only did he show me somersaults (which are really side rolls as Mark calls them:) )



But he also did head stands!!!


and cartwheels (kinda!)

**Check back...I have a cartwheel video but for some reason it will not let me upload it here...**

PS Isaiah loves the Halloween CD that I got out for him again this year. He asks for the "Pumpkin Song" and will dance along to it in his room! His favorite is the Purple People Eater song. So we're still listening to it even though Halloween is over...

happy baby standing up

Little Levi James is such a happy baby! He seems to be most happy when he is sitting up or standing up...He is starting to really enjoy the "Activity Zone" that we have for him to play in (Thanks Gretchen!!). He's getting tall enough that he can reach the bottom with his tippy toes when he's in it! The other day he stood and played in this toy for at least 15 minutes having a great time!

I can't get over how big he is already!! My boys are growing so fast!

the woods.

Isaiah has always loved to be outside. He loves to play in our backyard, he LOVES, LOVES the park, and he loves to go to the woods. Maybe it's because he was exposed to being outside at a really young age (Above is a picture of Isaiah as a baby out on a walk)

My parents live very close to Hartman Reserve. My dad takes his dog there almost every day (sometimes more than once a day!) When Mark was in Iraq and it was just me and Krypto, my dad and I would take our dogs there together all of the time. AfterIsaiah was born, my dad, Isaiah and I went out together several times...as Isaiah has gotten bigger it's been harder to go--it's not a stroller friendly place...and I have never gotten a carrier that will work well on walks...But this weekend my mom, dad, Isaiah, Levi, Krypto, Flash and I went out to the woods at Hartman... Isaiah is so big now that he likes to walk (and run) along the trail! He's faster than my parents and me! My dad took him out a few weeks ago with the dogs, and he told us that he kept up really good...but I didn't realize he did this good!! He was running and looking around. He even made it up two sets of HUGE stairs (see the picture below)!

Levi, on the otherhand, didn't like it too much! I had him in the sling, but I couldn't get him in right...and he needed a blanket over him and I couldn't get it figured out so I finally just carried him with the blanket...but all in all we had a good time and we all got some much needed fresh air! Needless to say, Isaiah was worn out! He took a 2 1/2 hour nap that afternoon!! And as you can notice in the picture of me and Levi, Krypto had a great time too! I think he loves the woods even more than Isaiah!