Thanksgiving 2012

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We had a wonderful day and have so much to be thankful for!

I took the day off Wednesday to help my mom get everything ready.  I got to her house at about 8:30am and I didn't end up leaving until 4:30pm that afternoon.  I never expected everything to take that long, but it was nice to get most everything done ahead of time.

Some of what we made...cranberry apricot chutney & green bean casserole

We are not really potty training yet, but we do let Brennen sit on his potty whenever he wants just to be getting used to it.   Wednesday while we were at my mom's I was changing his diaper and he wanted to go sit on the potty.  I asked my mom if he had ever actually went to the bathroom on the potty for her and she said no.  He had never gone at our house either.  But of course since I said that, sure enough he pee peed in the potty.  I think I scared him half to death because I started cheering and he got this terrified look on his face.  He hasn't done it again since, but like I said we are just letting him get used to  the potty for awhile.

So proud of himself!

On Thanksgiving we took it easy and stayed home all day and went to my parent's house around 4pm where we had a great dinner!  Ryan's parents went to Texas to visit family this year, so we only had to have one meal.  It was nice not to have to indulge so much!  We definitely missed spending the day with Ryan's family too and seeing his family that usually comes in town!

The start to our day...B wanted to wear his KU hat as soon as he woke up.  We enjoyed some beer & football while B took his nap.  We are keeping Ryan's parent's dogs while they are out of town. We aren't used to lap dogs, but they are good girls! 

Baby Shane's first Thanksgiving!

Such a big boy not needing the handrail to walk up the steps

Meg & Dustin

Dad carving the turkey

Uncle Dustin & Brennen being silly! 

So thankful for our wonderful families! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving that made me realize how blessed we are!

Brennen 19 Months Old

My baby is 19 months today!  I really can't believe how fast time is flying by.  He is turning into such an amazing little boy and I just can't get enough of him!

Here he is this morning.  After I got him out of his crib and I was changing his diaper he said "snack" which means he is ready for breakfast, so I asked him if he wanted a bar (granola bar).  He said yes then said "chair, Elmo".   This meant he wanted to sit in his Elmo chair to eat his breakfast.  Then he said "Mickey, ball", which means he wants to watch the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode that we have DVR'd about the bouncy ball. (I think we have only seen it about 1 million times.)  He knows what he wants and it is so fun to see him grow and change everyday. I just love the way he sits with his legs crossed and has his little pinky finger sticking out. It just cracks me up!  And he never wants to get dressed right away.  I usually let him run around in his diaper for 5 minutes until I tell him he is too cold.

My happy boy!

This picture was taken about a week ago, but I just LOVE it and I don't think I have posted it here yet. 

Just a few things I want to remember about this time are:

- You watch MMC as often as we will let you and you are crazy about the hot dog dance.
- You love playing with your trains (choo choos)
- You give your dogs bones and tell them to "sit"
- You could read books all day long
- You are in size 18 month clothes, size 6 shoes and size 4 diapers
- You can jump!
- You are pronouncing all of your words very well (some of my favorites are "biscuit", "money" and "love you")
- You love getting money and putting it in your piggy bank
- You can count to 10 (usually you skip 4 and 8, but with a little help you say them all)

I look forward to watching you grow and learn new things everyday!  Happy 19 months my sweet little man :)

Double Weekend Recap

I never got around to posting last weekend's recap, so I am just going to do both in one post.

Last weekend, we had a very busy weekend but we had a lot of fun!

Friday night we made some last minute plans and went to Panzon's with some of Ryan's coworkers. Brennen ended up just staying at my parent's house, so he got to have two sleepovers with them this weekend.

Saturday we watched our nephew Landen for a few hours and him and Brennen had a lot of fun playing. Then he took a 2.5 hour nap so I knew he had a good time!

Brennen loves his Landen!

We took B over to my parent's house Saturday night and my cousin Sheila was over there with her new baby Shane.  Brennen decided he needed to help Grandma feed the baby.  He was adorable! 

Saturday night we celebrated our friend Rachel's 30th birthday.  We went bowling and dancing and had a blast!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Sunday my brother had booked a tour at the Boulevard Brewery, so Aunt Sarah, Caden & Landen came over to watch B while we went to the tour.  It was actually a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend trying it out if you have never been. I am not a huge beer drinker, but over the past year and a half I have learned to actually enjoy beer, so it was fun to get to try new kinds.

It was a wonderful weekend, but very busy.  On Sunday night I was really just wanting one more day to relax and do nothing! 

This past week seemed to go pretty fast.  It was Ryan's last week before starting his coaching job, so we tried to enjoy his free time as much as possible!

Friday night we ordered pizza and watched the KU basketball game.  It was so nice to just relax and spend time together!

A little half time play break!

Saturday, Ryan took a class out at Smoke n' Fire to learn more about his smoker. Then, we had Syler's 3rd birthday party at Monkey Bizness.  It is an indoor play place and Brennen had a blast!  After a much needed nap, we did some yard work.  Because of the wonderful KS weather, we had to get some of our leaves picked up.  It was in the 70's on Saturday and dropped into the 30's and rained most of the day on Sunday.  I am not quite ready for the cold yet.  Luckily, it is supposed to warm back up into the 50's for the rest of the week.

B playing and enjoying some birthday cake!

Here is B being silly in the bath. It was time to get out and instead he said "night, night" and didn't want to get out.  He thought he was pretty funny!

Since Sunday was so nasty out, we stayed home most of the day and got some organizing done around the house.  Ryan's parents came over for breakfast and to spend some time with Brennen. 

My happy boy...I just can't get enough of him!!

It was a very relaxing weekend, which was much needed. We have a pretty busy week and weekend ahead, so hopefully the work week will go by quickly and the weekend will be here before we know it!

Tracy

Choo Choo Lunch & Park

My brother Dustin and Meg took off work today, so we met them for lunch at Fritz's. For those of you who have never heard of this place, your food is delivered to your table by a train.  Let's just say that Brennen loved it since he is really into playing with trains right now.  He was very tired because he was up at 6:30am this morning. (Usually he wakes up between 7 and 7:30.)  But overall, he was a very good boy! 

Riding the train waiting for Uncle Dustin & Meg!

Conductor Brennen

Dustin might hate me, but this picture made me laugh so I had to include it :)

Then, my mom and Brennen went to the park with them but I unfortunately had to go back to work :( However, they sent me pictures so I could pretend to enjoy the beautiful weather too!

Brennen was so exhausted. My mom said it only took him a few minutes to fall asleep on the drive home!

It was such a wonderful last minute surprise to get to spend some time with them!!

Now we are ready to relax and watch some KU basketball tonight. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Rock Chalk!

Happy Birthday Caden!

We celebrated our nephew Caden's birthday last night.  His birthday isn't until the 11th, but we won't get to see him on his actual birthday.  We got together at Ryan's parent's house for a steak dinner, presents and cake!  It was a great night and I think Caden had a good time.

Caden with his legos we got him!

Even Brennen & Landen got some gifts from Auntie Kay...water bottles & markers!

Caden with his helmet

 Then, Caden got a card saying to go outside for a surprise...what could it be??

An electric scooter!!  (This was the best picture I could snap on my phone.)

 After most everyone took a turn on the scooter, we headed inside for some cake.

Brennen did not like having frosting on his finger

So Papa took care of it and he was just fine...silly boy!

The birthday boy!

Brennen was exhausted and passed out on the way home!

Happy Birthday Caden!  You are growing into such a wonderful boy and we love you so much!

Pumkin Patch & Halloween

I had the day off yesterday, so my mom and I decided to take Brennen to the pumpkin patch.  We hadn't made it yet this year, so I wanted to try to get a few pics of him...nothing like waiting until the last day!

We went to Schaakes Pumpkin Patch.  This was our first time, and I have to say I wasn't very impressed.  I know it was their last day open, but it was Halloween and there was really nothing going on.  There was a field trip group there, but other than that we were the only people.  We were never greeted by anyone and all they really had were two playgrounds and a hay maze. We did get some pictures and Brennen got to see some chickens and cows, but that was it.  Maybe if we would have gone on a weekend it would have been more lively.  Anyway, here are the pictures!

Yes, the cow is peeing and now all B says is "cow, pee pee"

After the pumpkin patch, we stopped by Ryan's work to show off our cute little Mickey!

Then we stopped to show Grandpa and Uncle Chris Brennen dressed up while they were working.

Later that night, we headed over to Ryan's parent's house for dinner and trick or treating.  I made these adorable mummy dogs for dinner which the boys seemed to enjoy!

Caden wore an old man mask that Brennen wasn't really sure about.  He knew it was Caden, but did not like when he put the mask on.  He would point to him and say "Caden, no"!  Other than him getting used to the mask, he did awesome for his first trick or treating experience! Once he realized the people were giving him candy, he was all over it and wanted to do everything by himself.

Caden

Landen the nerd!

It was a great night and we now have way too much candy in our house!