Thanksgiving Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Idaho. First of all, we were greeted by dad's turkey which was possibly the best one yet...

Not to brag on dad's behalf of anything, but we saw several people stop to take pictures of his turkey over the course of the weekend.

Azalea was showered with attention since both sets of grandparents were there. That basically meant that under no circumstances (barring sleep) was she ever without someone to play with, talk to, be picked up by, or go outside with. She loves going outside and finally got used to the idea of her big winter coat because as she says it was "coldy."

Bill and Gail went outside one morning while dad sorted cattle with Spence and Ephrain. Izzy got to come along too so she could demonstrate her cattle working skillz. I got some video of her in action too and I'll try to post that later.

Gail and I decorated the table and I was quite pleased with the final look.

Dinner was delicious as always although I seemed completely incapable of taking a shot that was focused or adequately lit. For crap's sake.

(I put together the cheese tray and then promptly camped out in front of it)

Mom and Aunt Connie hustled around the kitchen and wouldn't let me take a decent picture of them. I told them I was taking these action shots for posterity.

(mom is very happy when she is making pie)

(Connie hid behind somebody else in EVERY SINGLE picture I took of people at the table...therefore, I'm forced to post this picture as the only documentation of her presence)

(One out of focus and one poorly lit. COME ON! Why did I even take pictures?)

And now...the picture's you've all been waiting for: Azalea's second Thanksgiving.

Hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings and best wishes in your upcoming holiday festivities!

Not a swimsuit

We had another big snow storm this weekend. Church was cancelled and we had a great day bumming around in our pajamas. When Nate went out to shovel the driveway, I decided that it would be a great time to dress Azalea up in the new snow suit that Grandma Nina gave her. I was, however, mistaken.

I think the misunderstanding happened when the word "suit" left my lips. I'm pretty sure that anytime Azalea hears the word "suit" she automatically thinks, "swimsuit" and that she obviously must be going swimming. When I began stuffing her into something that was decidedly NOT a swimsuit there began to be much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

I persevered.

We'll probably need to get her some gloves. Or some socks wrapped in grocery sacks.

Azalea appeared to be apprehensive about the snow...though I prefer to think she was just keeping an eye out for ninjas.

We didn't spend too much time outside...mainly because I was not dressed for the elements. But you can bet we'll be out there again before the 50 degree weather comes back. We can't have Azalea growing out of that suit without getting any use out of it!

I'm sure she'll like it more once she forgets what a swim suit is right?

Waiting for Parker

We've started going to Parker's school early to pick him up so that Azalea has time to play on the playground equipment. Why on earth did it take me two months to decide to do this? I don't know...

She can go down the slide all by herself...but it takes her about three minutes to gather her courage.

Chicken Little

This is the best picture we have of Azalea's Halloween costume.


And it was taken by Ben. (Thanks Ben)

I could feel bad about the pitiful lack of pictures that we took of her on the second Halloween of her life; but, considering the waffling that went on about her costume...I'm gonna go ahead and declare us successful parents once again.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween. And from the looks of all the adorable costumes floating around on blogs right about now...it looks like you did. :) Happy November!

Always the helper

I see a few speech clients on Mondays so Nate stays home to take care of Azalea. Yesterday I arrived home to this scene:

Apparently Azalea walked up to Nate while he was washing dishes and said "help." Which is code for, "let me play in the water next to you."

Nate is a really good dad.

Azalea is a really awesome kid.

Fashion Advice

There are times when these luscious locks just need to be tamed.

For times like this, may we suggest: the headband. Simple, fashionable, and always in season.

Be sure to stock up on a few basic colors so that you can always coordinate with whatever you're wearing.

Even if you're wearing your winter footies too early because you've grown out of this season's fall fashion pajamas.

I forgot...

I forgot to mention here that I'm hosting a giveaway over on my personal blog. Check it out if you haven't all ready. Be sure to hurry though because comments close tonight at midnight!