Turkey Overload

We survived Thanksgiving! Rich was disappointed that he could only put down one helping of dinner. He had, unfortunately, filled up on my rosemary spiced walnuts prior to the feast. The kids have colds, but managed to charm all the relatives as usual. Even with snot dripping down their faces, people still wanted to be surrounded by them. (I don't get it...)
I brought home some leftovers, and will eat turkey sandwiches (whole wheat bread - slightly toasted, with mayo, turkey, salt and pepper) for a few days. Saturday we head down to Marin County for another Thanksgiving. This one will be filled with lots more eating, and tons of visiting time with relatives.
Just for sentimental sake, here is a short list of the things that I am thankful for:
1. My family
2. My warm home
3. My church
4. My friends and family
5. My pregnancy
6. My dog
7. Yummy food
8. Good jokes
9. My favorite TV shows, and a VCR to record them with (no we have not stepped into the world of digital TV, DVRs, etc)
10. Diet Soda

Brynn's List:
1. Mom
2. Dinner
3. God
4. God loves me
5. Jesus
6. Lord
7. The people who didn't be naughty
8. Leaves that are pretty on the trees
9. Pictures
10. Carpet in our rooms

Cannon's List:
1. Turkey (It really sounded like he said this)
2. Binky (This could have been the first one...)
3. Thank you

Thanksgiving Season

I love this time of year. The holidays are almost here, the weather is turning slightly, and most of the leaves from the trees are either a beautiful color of red, or lying on the sidewalk ready to be kicked and crunched by happy walking feet. I am being a slight overachiever this year, and have started to tackle my Christmas gift list. I am half ashamed and half proud that my shopping is almost done. I love picking out the perfect gift for someone, and I love the anticipation of them receiving it.
On another note, Thanksgiving is next week. Its not my favorite food holiday, contrary to the rest of the world. I would much rather eat steak than turkey. Rich looks forward to this day for months and months. He loves the family time, the day off, and also the food. I love the fact that he is happy. A friend sent these cartoons, and I almost bust a gut (mine is rapidly expanding, by the way) laughing. I thought that I would share. Enjoy!!!

New Words

It's always a joy to hear your child learn to say new things. They have finally figured out how to communicate in the way that most people accept as traditional. In a few short months they go from crying to grunting to giggling to jabbering to syllables, and then finally to real, recognizable words. Every day we are amazed to hear new identifiable words come out of our sons' mouth. It's almost a better form of entertainment for us than most TV shows.
Cannon recently started muttering a word over and over again on Thursday. It had been rainy and foggy, and so we started teaching him those words. He rolled the sounds of the letters around in his mouth, and started to repeat over and over again "fog". He has nailed down the 'f' and the 'o', but the 'g' is a little bit tricky to get just right. So it sort of morphed into a hard, guttural 'ck' sound instead. As I listened to him, I went a little bit pale. Since kids usually mimic what they hear their parents say, this was going to reflect rather badly on Rich and I. Imagine if you will a 18 month old boy toddling around mumbling "fock, fock, fock, fock". Now, imagine him saying it at some friends house, and in the grocery store, and AT CHURCH!!! Unfortunately we don't have to imagine, because it all happened.....

30th Birthday!!!!!

Wow, what a day. Give me a few moments to bask in the glory of having an entire day dedicated to me! Nothing beats a birthday, and this one was great!

Let me brag about my hubby for a few minutes. Rich took it upon himself to entirely plan my 30th birthday. He worked on it for months, and I was amazed at the results.
We started off the morning with pancakes - or as we call them - mancakes. Yummy. I will give you the recipe if you really want. Then the kids were dropped off at Bamas and we took off for the first part of the day. We went to Safari West. It was amazing. It is surreal to take a safari throughout the hills and see tons of varieties of animals that are usually found on the African continent.
We had up close and personal contact with 18 ft tall giraffes, and watched impalas bounce skittishly along the hillsides.
We saw long horned cattle, buffaloes, and gazelles. We watched zebras graze on the grass, and wildebeests prance around. (Ok, so they don't prance so much as scuttle) It was weird to think that we had just driven a short distance and were now surrounded by all these exotic animals enjoying the freedom of hundreds of acres of Sonoma county hills.
After our 3 hour tour, we headed to Calistoga for the most delicious BBQ that I have had in a long time. Then we headed home for our scheduled "nap". My hubby thinks of everything! A pregnant lady always needs her rest!
We had "dinner plans" at 6:30, that turned out to be a well planned surprise party for me!
My very first one! I was very surprised, and immensely enjoyed seeing all my friends and family. Rich had everyone write a letter and send a picture to put into an album for me to cherish forever. It was pretty special, and I cried over a few of the entries.
All in all, it was a day dedicated to making me feel special. To my friends that helped out, thanks. To my family that opened up their home, thanks. To all the people that took the time to write down some letter of affirmation, memory or remembrance, thank you so much. To my hubby, who spent more hours on this day, than he did helping plan our wedding - you scored major points and I LOVE YOU!!!!

Happy Halloween!

We had a busy, yet mellow Halloween eve. We actually only made it to 2 houses, but they were important stops. My parents came over for dinner, some friends stopped by with their kids, and then we took off for aunties house. At aunties we were greeted with tons of candy (the good kind) and hugs for the kids. We then went to Bama and Poppa Bills' house, where we met up with all the cousins. It was a great night, and we were able to see all the family.
Brynn was supposed to be a cat, but adjustments had to be made so that she could be a "princess cat". Cannon was a chicken, and did he turn heads!

The Princess Kitty


Chicken


Some of Brynn's friends stopped by for some treats.

The Family at auntie's house. (My legs looks crazy!)