Thanksgiving 2012

Petey got home from traveling and studying in Italy on the Monday before Thanksgiving.  I picked him up at the airport very late and the girls were so excited to see him on Tuesday morning.  Oh, how I missed that littlest brother of mine.  He has had quite the adventure over the past 3 months.  He has traveled to 11 countries, countless cities, and a once in a lifetime experience.  This was his Facebook post from the Dublin Airport before he boarded the plane to come home, it pretty much says it all:

53 busses
30 Destinations 
17 trains 
16 hostels
11 Countries
13 Airplains
1 cruse 
-------------- 
$7,400

1 Italian Study Abroad Experience
------------------

$ Priceless

 He studied in Florence, Italy during the week and traveled every weekend while he was there.  Can you tell I was living vicariously through him while he was gone??  Good thing he took lots of pictures and posted them regularly on Facebook for me too see ;)

We headed up the hill on Wednesday and Jon's mom joined us for the festivites.  The girls were so lucky to have Both Grandma's and Great Ma around, not to mention Pops and Great Pa, too!  Uncle Nick and Aunt Megan were also there.  It was the second annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Community Center near my parents house this year.  It was pot luck style, and Cecilia loved sampling all of the cranberries.  I think she ate four servings of cranberries!

I love how she crosses her ankles :)

I failed to take very many pictures of our time this year (all of the ones above are from Ma, thanks Ma!!).  I did get these cutie pictures of Lilly and Grandma Cheryl playing beauty shop.  My mom saw this happening and ran to get the photo album from when I was about Lilly's age.  Check out what she found below.  What's crazy to me is how much I think Lilly looks like me at this age.  I have always thought, and I still do, that she looks like Jon, but looking through these photos was like looking in a mirror at Lillian.

Beth with Nan (Great Grandma), circa 1985

Family Pictures 2012

You know those sweet pictures of families, where the small children sit next to their parents and smile for the stranger with the camera.  Ya, not my family, not my kids.  Never the less, we did end up with some pretty good pictures this year.  It took two sessions to finally get one worthy enough for the wall and for Christmas cards.  It started off really rocky.  On the first try we were walking down a path on a green belt and Cecilia let go of Jon's hand, bolted across the path to some bikes and tripped on my foot. She face planted on the ground and scuffed up her nose pretty good.  This was before Kim, the photographer, even got her camera out of her bag.  Lilly was clingy and sad the entire time, unless she was snuggled on me.  We were able to attempt the session, but ultimately decided to give it another week and try again.  Take two was just as crazy.  Cecilia kept running away and was just being a pill.  Ah, this is our life though.  Life with a three year old and an one year old is in no way shape or form, posed and pretty.  It is chaotic, silly, and sometimes stressful.  Never the less, we love each other so much, and I'm so glad that we take as much time as we need to document our family each year.

Thanks to Kim Shokouhi for putting up with our antics and doing a beautiful job capturing my busy girls. In no particular order, here are our favorites.

Thanksgiving Tree

We started a new tradition this year: the Thanksgiving Tree.  I found the idea on Pinterest last year, and have been thinking about it since.  When Jon and I went on our getaway, we visited an art gallery and found these beautiful sculpted trees.  I thought it would be perfect for our Thanksgiving tree.  Two problems, 1. It was $165, 2. It wasn't quite big enough.  So, we went back and studied the tree and decided we could probably make our own.  So I did, and I think the total cost was less than $15.

I found the bark covered wire at Hobby Lobby, and I found the branch base while on a walk with my Mom in the mountains.  I cut the tree branches to approximate length and then just twisted the them together to make the trunk and then shaped the individual wires out from there to make the branches.  I sprayed my wood base with some clear polyurethane and then tacked the wires at the base of the trunk to the real wood base with thumb tacks and colored them black with a sharpie.  I bought some pretty scrapbook paper and cut out leaves, and tied them to the tree with twine.   I loved the finished product.

Each day we would discuss as a family what we were thankful for.  On day one, we put "Family" on our leaf.  On day two, I asked Cecilia what she was thankful for.  I wasn't expecting her to get the concept, but she thought for a moment and said "Jesus!"  Jon and I were so shocked and happy.  YES! She got it, and what a wonderful thing to be thankful for.

In no particular order, here is some what we were thankful for in 2012:

• Family
• Jesus
• Swings & Slides
• Stella & Bogart
• Food on the Table
• Jon: The love of his life
• Internet
• 1st Dates, 12 years ago
• Veterans of the USA
• Our Health
• Christmastime
• Grandparents
• Security Blankets
• MOPS
• Beth can be a Stay at Home Mom
• Our House that keeps us warm, dry, comfortable, and safe
• Fall Leaves to rake and play in
• Petey is home safe!
• Extended Family
• Cecilia
• Lillian
• Good Friends
• The Mountains
• Spirit of Christ Community
• Reliable Cars
• Jon's Job

Here is the manifestation of our gratitude, our Thanksgiving Tree.

Twelve

He's been my boyfriend for 12 years now.  Whoa- when did that happen.

Somethings are just not meant to be repeated.  We went to Macaroni Grill to celebrate.  This was where our fist date was, but the food was not as good, and the service was not as good either.  The company was grand!  The we tried to see a movie, just the two of us.  I honestly can't remember the last time that happened.  Apparently, now a days you have to arrive at the theater about twelve years before the show starts.  We were only an hour early, and the show was sold out.  Never the less, it was a good date.  Just to get out of the house together is nice.

I still can't believe its been 12 years!

Lillian Jeanne is 1.5

She grew and she grew and she grew.  She grew until she was 18 months old!

Photo Credit: Kim Shokouhi Photography

Lillian Jeanne had her check up, and aside from some slow bowels that we are still trying to move along, she is doing well.  Here are her stats at 18 months:
Weight  21 lbs, 25th Percentile
Height 31.5 Inches, 50th Percentile
Head: 46cm, 25th Percentile

She definitely grew in the vertical direction over the last 3 months!  Almost 3 inches.  No wonder none of her clothes are fitting.

Lillian Jeanne is getting to be quite the little girl at this point.  She is still so sweet, and such a snuggle baby.  I feel like she is really growing up though.  She is starting to get more and more independent and she is learning so much about how to be a big girl from her big sister.

• She talks and talks and talks.  She will repeat anything you say.  She has well over 100 words now.  Two and three word phrases are not uncommon.  The most common phrase we hear is "No, MINE!"
• She has the sweetest little voice.  Melts my heart every time she says "Thank you, Mommy". 
• She loves to sing and dance.  She has some wicked moves.  
• She loves shoes!  I am in trouble with this one.  She loves her snow boots and her pink loafers.  
• If she gets the chance to play without her sister around, she loves to play in the little kitchen.
• She loves babies, and baby dolls.  She is at the age where she thinks the babies should all be naked.  Lucky for me, Cecilia thinks they should all be dressed.
• She is starting to like the bath.  Kind-of.
• She is learning the art of a temper tantrum.  Thanks to you-know-who.  
• Has all but 3 teeth.  The last 3 eye teeth are on their way in.  Thank goodness for Infant IB Proufen!
• She loves to laugh.  I think she is developing quite the sense of humor.  She will start laughing if we are laughing, and if you ask her to laugh, she will do it on command.  Its hilarious!
• She is still a fantastic eater.  She will ask for snacks, and say "eat, EAT!" when she is hungry, which is most of the time.
• Her favorite book is Love you Forever, by Robert Munsch.  She even sings the song with me and it is so sweet.  I still can't get through the book without crying.
• Not a big fan of watching TV.  She will sit for a short while, but not like her sister.  
• Likes to put things away or in other bags or boxes.  Her fine motor skills are pretty superb   The other day she was putting playing cards away in their box.
• Her hair is growing in so nicely!  She might even need a haircut before her second birthday.
• Speaking of hair.  She is obsessed with it.  She loves to have her hair combed and she will play with my hair or Cecilia's hair any chance she gets.
• I call her Lillian most of the time.  Cecilia calls her Jeanne all the time.  It is priceless.  Other names for her include: Lil' Bean, Lilly, Littles, Little, Muffin, Lil', and the most popular one, Lilly Jeanne.  She will even tell you her name is Lilly Jeanne.  It might just stick.
• She still sucks her thumb.  Usually when she is tired or upset.  I'm not too worried about it.  Obviously it is not impeding her speech.
• She loves her blanket, and calls it "gee", just like her sister.
• Still a Mama's girl, but she will go to her grandparents and great grandparents whenever we see them.  She will give them a big hug and snuggle into them.  
• She has recently discovered playdough, and she loves it.  She actually plays with it, and it will keep her entertained for at least 20 minutes.
• When she gets excited about something she wants she will do a little happy dance and shuffle her feet excitedly.  Its so cute.
• She has transitioned to one nap durring the day, although it is not uncommon for her to fall asleep in the car durring morning errands.

Happy Birthday Grandma Cheryl

We celebrated Grandma Cheryl's Birthday on November 11th.  I made dinner (homemade french onion soup, roasted veggies & sausage, and homemade pumpkin spice cake) and we invited Uncle Bill and Uncle Mike over to celebrate with us.  The girls love playing with "Mammaw Cher".  I can always count on hearing lots of giggles and squeals when she comes over.

Happy Birthday, we love you!