Thanksgiving 2015:

Happy Monday Friends! 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving as well as the long weekend! We feel incredibly grateful that in this crazy military life, where we have lived away for the past almost 5 years, that we have been able to make it back home since Charli was born to spend Thanksgiving every year with all of our family. Charli and Crew only know Thanksgiving in Jacksonville and it makes my heart so very happy! It truly is one of my favorite holidays for so many reasons and I love that our children have been able to share in so many special traditions each and every year with family and friends! 

Thanksgiving morning started with Black Friday Ad shopping with Nana (you know, showing her all the latest and greatest toys that they need... which is EVERYTHING if you ask our 3 year old), Mimosas (duh), Charli FaceTiming with her buddy Gavin, and The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade of course!  

Followed by an entire day spent with Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins, filling our hearts with memories and our mouths with delicious food!

 It was truly a perfect Thanksgiving Day and reminded me of just how much I have been blessed with in this life and how truly thankful I am for my little family! 

Now we are just trying to get healthy again. Between fighting fevers, horrible coughs, and feeling like death... I'm just trying to keep on keeping on. 

Recipe: Turkey Rice Krispie Treats:

Just as I was for Halloween, I was so excited to be a room mom for Charli's Thanksgiving Feast at school today! I am so incredibly thankful I am able to do these things for our children. Today's program was absolutely adorable. The children dressed up as Indians and sang 4 songs for us before feasting on some food! 

My contribution was the "sweets". I decided on doing Turkey Rice Krispie Treats, which were super simple to make. If you are looking for a fun Thanksgiving Day (or week) treat here you go! 

Things You Will Need:

*Rice Krispies 

*Marshmallows

*Butter

*Wine Glass (or a circle cookie cutter that I clearly don't have... haha)

*Candy Corn

*Frosting

Make Rice Krispies as directed on the box. Let cool.

I then used the rim of a wine glass to cut the circle's out.

I used chocolate frosting as the turkey's heads.

Frosting for eyes.

Placed candy corn around for the feathers.

Then cut pieces of candy corn to use as the turkey's nose/mouth! 

And voila!

I think they turned out super cute and were the perfect festive treat for all of our little turkey's today!

Chatting with Charli:

 

Charli these days; she's quite the comedian, performer, she's exceptionally dramatic, and she's hilarious. Not a single day goes by that she doesn't sing a completely made up song (that could literally be about anything... the dogs, her baby doll, water, being naked, cooking, helping Nana, seriously the examples are endless) while she dances around with her princess wand, making sure we are all paying attention. It is hilarious and adorable, but most of all her confidence while doing it is incredible. I hope she never loses that trait and that she knows she can do anything she sets her mind to! 

*(singing) This is the day that the Lord has made, the Lord has made, the Lord has made. I am so pwetty betause the Lord made me, the Lord made me, the Lord made me. The Lord made me so pwetty. (and modest too ;) haha!)
*We are at a leaf party; and your name is Lake and mine in Leedo... And we are Lake and Leedo at the leaf party (seriously, this girls imagination is hilarious and I love it!)
*(singing) Old MacCharli had a farm E-I-E-I-O 
*I am going to wite Pwincess Sophia a letta and it will say "Dear Sophia, God Bless Amewica. (with a kitty cat)"
*Oh sweet honey (I call Steven and the kids honey and she now calls us honey too... haha)
*(singing with Nana) Nana: Charlie Brown | Charli: That's me | Nana: Yeah she's a clown | Charli: Uh-Huh | Nana: Charlie Brown | Charli: Oh yeah | Nana: Yeah she's a clown (Seriously.... these two...)
*Awww, he's got a sad case of toe-sis (just one example of the MANY diagnosis she gives during her "check-ups")
*(very dramatically and high pitched/sad) Oh my goodness, bubs got shots? Ohhhhhhh noooooo. Sweet honey, I got you. You poor fang.
*Memba dat (remember that)
*(singing the blessing before meals) God our Fa-da, God our Fa-da, Once ah-den, Once ah-den, Thank you for our blessing, Thank you for our blessing, Ah-Ah-men, Ah-Ah-men
*When I was sisteen (I remind her that she in fact has actually never been sixteen before... Needless to say she gets mad. hahaha)
*(I had a really bad headache and my mom was rubbing my shoulders... Charli points to a bottle of wine...) Mommy, I fink that will help! (hahaha!)
*Daddy is my BEST snuggler and squisher. His squishes make me go to sleep (hahahahaha!)
*(very worried/dramatic) What time it is? Oh, it's 50:01... Well that means we are wunning late.
*(as she rolls her eyes at me) Well, I like to pick my nose betause I am a genius (my response: ummmmm pretty sure picking your nose and being a genius have nothing to do with each other, so just stop doing it already!)
*(after tooting and me asking if she needs to go potty...) No mommy, it is just my booty singing songs up and down (hahaha, I can't make this stuff up people!)
*What she's name? (an example of how she doesn't say "her")
*Your teasing me (she says this to us all the time. I think this is her way of saying "lying" haha)
*(singing) I put a spell on you (as she is waving her "wand" at me... Mommy and Nana may have watched too much Hocus Pocus in October and may or may not have been singing that song all day every day, haha)
*Mommy, you are so pwetty. Don't eva change. 

Baby girl, YOU my darling are so pretty. 

I don't want you to ever change either! 

The Greater Jacksonville Fair:

On Veterans Day, we took advantage of the free Military entry to the Jacksonville Fair. 

I grew up going to this fair and remember it like yesterday. Going with my family and friends, being dropped off by my mom as a teenager, and even going with friends to the country concerts that were held there. So many great memories (and even bad... like puking in the trash can after every ride yet still going on them... teenagers) and something I knew I wanted to make memories with my own family now! 

Charli's love for rides is contagious and makes me want to participate but ultimately my motion sickness has gotten really horrible over the years and it is something I cannot (or should not) partake in. I am so thankfull that Steven absolutely loves rollercoasters and fairs which means Charli gets to do everything she wants! My mom and Uncle Yaya joined us which gave Charli another riding buddy. To say she was on cloud nine would be an understatement. 

She had the best day ever!

Crew joined in on some fun too and he 100% threw a ping pong ball into one of the little bowls to win his big sister a fish!! Everyone was in shock as he just stood there clapping like no big deal. Charli ended up winning 3 goldfish to take home... Lucky us...

 

We had a fun family outing and couldn't have asked for a better day at the Fairgrounds! 

And welcome to the family Bella, Bubbles, and Jote (yes, all named by our 3 year old)

(Although Jote sadly met his  porcelain tombstone over the weekend... We told Charli he had been really sick. She has continued to go into the bathroom looking into the toilet just to see if she can see him... Poor Jote.... And even more unfortunate we came home from school this afternoon to find Bella "napping"... Remind us to never be fish owners... ever.)

I hope everyone had had a wonderful weekend! 

Happy Monday.

Crew Benjamin: 15 Month Update:

Happy 15 months to our sweet little boy! My how he has grown. It has been a pretty busy few months since his Last Update. Summer ended with a trip to The Florida Keys, Crew finally started Walking, we celebrated Halloween, he took his first plane ride and visited all of his family out in Washington State for the first time (that trip will posted soon), and can we take a moment and look at his Big Boy Haircut. I can't' even. 

Crew is such a love and joy to be around. He loves to be held, kissed, and rough housed with. He truly is all boy. He still isn't talking as much as big sis was by this point but he has added a couple of new words to his vocabulary, "wow" and "whoa". We absolutely love you little man and love watching you grow into such a big boy these days! 

Crew's Stats:

*Weight: 28lbs (15 month check up is Monday morning)

*Height: 32inches 

*Diaper Size: Size 5 Pampers Swaddlers

*Clothes: Anywhere between 12 months and 2T

*Teeth: 11 (he cut his bottom two incisors plus 3 molars ((top 2 and bottom left)) all within 2 weeks). His last One Year Molar is almost cut as well which will make it 12 teeth.

*Sleep: He is still such an amazing sleeper (thank you sweet boy). We had a few rough days during his teething (obviously) but besides that, he still takes 2 naps and sleeps through the night. 

Morning nap: around 8:30am, sleeps around an hour

Afternoon nap: around 1pm, sleeps around 2 or more hours

Bedtime: 7pm, wakes at 7am. Crew was still nursing just at night until he decided on his own that he is done with it last night... (cue the uncontrollable tears from this momma as I was not quite ready to give it up yet... I don't want to talk about it). Thankfully he is still such a Momma's Boy that all he wants at bedtime is for me to cradle him, rock him, and sing to him (I sing Hush Little Baby to the kids every night) while his sweet little arm is wrapped around my neck. We truly have been blessed beyond words with two amazing babies/toddlers!

*Food: This kid can eat! I don't think he has ever refused food. He seems to love everything and always tries it. But a typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: Banana, Cheerios, Yogurt (he loves when we have eggs & bacon or Waffles)

Lunch: Turkey, Cheese, Blueberries, Grapes, Strawberries, Goldfish or Veggie Sticks (he also loves when he gets a PB&J sandwich)

Dinner: He gets whatever we are having. He loves Pasta, Spaghetti, Chicken, Broccoli, "Taco Tuesdays", Sweet Potatoes, any kind of Potato, Pizza, etc.

Snacks: His snacks normally consist of Veggie Sticks, Applesauce, Goldfish, Blueberries, Grapes. 

Milk: This boy is a milk machine. He drinks almost 3 gallons of milk by himself every week. 

*Words: Mama, Dada, Nana, Hi, "Ni Ni" (night night), "Daaahh" (Dog), Bay (Bailey), Wawa (Water), Wow, Whoa, "Ta-Da", "Hahhhh" (hot, and even blows)

*Social: Crew had a big week last week getting to meet all of my moms side of the family for the first time (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins). And finally getting to meet his Great Nana and his Great Papa. I can't tell you how special our time was with them. So incredibly thankful for our trip! Crew loves people and people love him. He will wave at Every. Single. Person we walk by and says "Hiiiii" to them. He is also the biggest flirt. He will stare you down until you look at him and as soon as you do will give a head tilt and side smile. I mean come on. I can't tell you how many compliments we get on our children when we are out but especially when it is just Crew and I while Charli is at school; "Wow, what a calm, happy little boy" "Oh he is just darling". It doesn't matter that I have heard it a million times, it never gets old and Steven and I are so grateful for our two beautiful babies. 

*Other: Crew is still very ticklish, loves bath time, and loves playing with his toys. He absolutely loves all of his cars, trains, blocks (he can stack about 6 blocks on top of each other), and dinosaurs. But he also loves chewing on all of big sisters princesses heads! 

Happy 15 Months Crew!

We love you!

Crew's Corner: My First Haircut:

From Crew's Crib:

Mommy & Daddy 

Said it was finally time

To chop off all my locks

For a cleaner hair line

They tried to hold off

For as long as they could

But they knew the day was coming

Even though my shag looked good

So today was the day

We went to the salon

I sat in Daddy's lap

And got my big boy cut on! 

***

Note from Mommy:

Yes, it's true, we finally felt it was time to tame the locks! Crew did such an amazing job today (thanks to the 5 suckers he had). He didn't move, squirm, cry... In fact, he sat still, smiled, laughed, and even gave out kisses to everyone in the process. Sweetest boy in the entire world right there. 

One thing I am incredibly grateful for with us being back home right now is that his first haircut was done by the exact person who gave me my very first haircut. Sheri is basically family. She has been doing my mom's hair for 30 years, remembers me from when I was a brand new infant, nursing under the smock. And funny enough, my brother and I were her very first children's haircuts in her career! There was absolutely nobody else in this world who I would want to cut my children's hair than her (and Angie, who has always been cutting hair in the chair right along side her).

Thank you Sheri! We love you! 

xo crew