Thanksgiving Weekend

Goodness, I’m getting a little behind here.... so a few days before Thanksgiving we put together our annual gratitude turkey.   I can say "annual" because we did it for the first time last year and have enjoyed it so much we fully intend to do it every year from here on out.   Everyone took turns adding a feather to our turkey and sharing what they are thankful for.  

We weren't allowed to say the same thing more than once.  A day or two afterward I was expressing to Jason how much I loved him.  He quickly responded, "No, you said you were thankful for Drew ('squishy thighs and chubby cheeks'). Dad said he was thankful for his kids."  I knew he was thinking he was pretty clever cause he was trying to hold back a smile.  I quickly responded that he must not love me then because Katie said she was thankful for, "Mom" and he only said "Dad". Ha, point proven and we all just accepted that we love everyone.  

That reminds me of another little story.   For a awhile there Katie would say something like,  "I love Mommy, and Daddy, and Drew", when Justin or I tried to add the rest of her siblings to her list she would say no, just those three.   We realized that the kids weren’t expressing love to each other often enough for that to sink in with Katie.   So one night we challenged the girls to tell Katie they love her.  That was all it took.   In the days that followed everyone was telling each other that they loved them, it became a funny thing, but it's important that they feel comfortable saying those three words to the people they care about. 

So onto Thanksgiving.  The girls helped me prepare a double batch of crescent rolls that morning and finish up the desserts we were bringing and before we knew it it was time to wake up Drew from his morning nap and head to Grandma and Grandpa Fletcher's house for the feast. 

I didn't take along my camera but thankfully Justin's sister Tami did.   

The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins.   Hallie was especially attentive of Katie, which Katie took full advantage of. 

The kids came home with workbooks and color-by-number pictures that we worked on in the following days.   Even I got a color-by-number page, it was fun to stay up with the girls that night and work on them.  I haven't worked in mine since (how often does a mom have time to sit down and color?) but the girls both finished their pictures the following morning. 

Black Friday also happened to be Justin's birthday.   We don't usually do much Black Friday shopping, but I thought it would be fun to go out and test drive cars while we had a free morning.   It's inevitable that Justin's car will need to be replaced soon.   We bought it used nearly 15 years ago and the fact that it's still running (for the most part) is amazing.  We really have been blessed that it's lasted this long, but we're pushing our luck at this point.  We headed to Toyota to drive the Prius and Camry.  Right when we got there we noticed they were doing a big Black Friday giveaway all weekend long so before the salesman could even talk cars Justin made sure we were both entered to win. 

The idea was to go with a smaller car than the Maxima we have. Something with great gas mileage so we were also considering hybrid.

This is a Prius V that we pretty much eliminated immediately.   Not at all a fan of the style and after test driving another Prius version we’ve decided it’s just too small of a car for a 6’ 6” tall guy to drive around.

Justin test drove a few cars, we got a ballpark idea of pricing, then we ran a few more errands, picked up a salad to share at CPK so we could redeem Justin's birthday coupon for a free dessert and then headed home.  We meet up with Justin’s family at Red Robin that night then Justin and the three big kids went into Seattle with them to watch a UW volleyball game.  Great end to a fun birthday. 

We spent most of Saturday hanging around the house and cleaning things up.  As we were getting ready to go to a friends house to play games that evening I got a phone call from Toyota informing me that I won a $250 visa gift card.  Needless to say I was super stoked. Since college Justin has had the reputation for being "King of Free Stuff" but I rarely win anything so I was thrilled with my winnings. 

The good news didn't stop there, Sunday afternoon Justin had a message on his phone, also from Toyota, informing him that he had won a Samsung 60” TV. Thankfully he was listening to a message because he totally freaked out, screaming and jumping up and down, the kids thought he was hilarious. Ironically, we had just purchased a new TV online Saturday night.  Justin had Monday off of work so as soon as we got the kids off to school we drove into Toyota to pickup up our prizes. The gal was a little taken back when after Justin had signed for his new TV I mentioned that I had also won a gift card. What are the odds that two people from the same family would win 2 of the 21 prizes they gave away over a 4 Day weekend?  We ran a few more errands including a stop into a Honda dealership to check out the competition.  Making a decision of this magnitude is not going to be easy for us.   Toyota or Honda?  Full size or compact? Hybrid or gas? New or used? Buy here or in Utah?...

I've listed the TV we won for sale, but if we don't sell it soon I'm afraid Justin will have it hanging above our mantle.  We had some friends over to watch a BYU game several weeks ago and my friend commented that our 46" TV was too small.  Justin now thinks he would rather keep it than to sell it for more than $250-300 below retail.  Sure we can look at it as a free TV, but you can also look at it as $800 cash and cash sounds good to me. 

Clearly we had a pretty awesome Thanksgiving weekend: food, friends, family, and free stuff!   We have much to be grateful for! 

6 Months

Here we are, already half way through Drew’s first year.  My baby is six months old (6 months and one week to be exact).  I’d say I can’t imagine our lives without baby Drew, but it’s not true.  It really wasn’t that long ago that we didn’t have our sweet little boy.  So I can imagine life without Drew, it’s just not nearly as happy and joyful as it is with him.  

Wednesday was his six month checkup and his stats…

Height: 27.5 inches (75^th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs, 7.5 oz (60^th percentile)

Head: 17.72 inches (75^th percentile)

Drew remains consistent with his morning nap. He goes down about 9am (waking up around 7:30am) and usually sleeps 2-3 hours. The afternoon nap continues to be less predictable.   

Still sleeps swaddled and his crib remains in our room

Drew has been really gassy this month.  I’m pretty sure our Halloween candy has been the culprit.  Those first few days after Halloween he was super stinky.  He was uncharacteristically fussy too so after a few days of overindulgence, I've tried to eat in moderation, but it hasn't been easy. 

Drew is no longer our cryless boy.  He still doesn't cry often especially during the day, but this past month has been different during the night.  I used to have no concern about taking him places overnight cause he slept long spans and if he did wake up he'd just make a little noise, barely audible, then lay silently while I changed his diaper (smiling of course cause he loves getting his diaper changed) and then go right back to sleep after eating.  I remember at my family reunion in a house with 30 other people, nobody heard a thing out of him all night.   Drew hasn't been as predictable at night lately.   Sometimes he'll sleep all night, other nights I'll have to get up with him more than once.   He still smiles every time we change his diaper, but during the night he gets impatient when I take too long fastening his clothing and he'll start fussing at me.   He doesn't like the 0.5 seconds it takes me to get situated to feed him either.   And there was even a night or two this past month where he didn't go right back to sleep, that hasn't happened since he was a newbie. I know for some Moms that record sounds heavenly, but this mama misses her peaceful nights and can't wait for Drew to get back to sleeping like an angel.  

It’s not very often that I cuddle him while he sleeps – one of the best perks of having a baby without a doubt

Carly continues to be my biggest helper with Drew.   She loves to hold him, can’t wait to be able to feed him, and even offers to take him when he's fussy so I can get things done.   Ever since he was born she's wanted to carry him in the Bjorn, she kept reminding me that I let Abigail do it with Katie. 

Katie was much smaller at the time than our boy Drew is now. 

Still does great in the car.   We'll often think he's fallen asleep back there, but here's just sitting silent enjoying the ride. So glad we've never had a kid who's disliked being in the car. 

A few weeks ago Justin gave Drew his first tastes of rice cereal.   He seemed to enjoy the first couple bites, but the experience soon turned to tears. 

Last week we tried carrots and that was even less successful than the rice cereal.   We've never had a baby that didn't love to eat so we’re not sure what to do there.

The girls babysat him on Saturday while Justin and I when to the new Hunger Games movie with friends.   I was nervous leaving him knowing he wouldn't take a bottle and we hadn't been successful with any foods.  Just leave it to Carly.  She got him to eat half a container of sweet potatoes while we were gone.

The girls have never watched Drew at bedtime or for so long.  They did great.  When we got out of the movie I immediately called to see how they were doing, I knew the likelihood of Drew going to bed for them was slim.  I asked if we should rush home or stop at Krispy Kreme for our traditional after date reward (half price after 9pm).  They were coping well enough that they wanted their donuts. 

Drew has become a hip baby.  It's nice that he's strong enough to be held on my hip, but a sad sign that he's growing up. 

Spends lots of time with his hands and fingers in his mouth.  The other night he got a hold of Abigail' s finger and was just munching and sucking away on it.   I don't think I've ever seen Abigail giggle so much.   We were laughing so hard that I was nearly in tears.

Blows bubbles/spits often – still think it’s totally adorable

Drew had his first rolling over experience back on October 18th.  He didn't roll over again until November 11th.  He's still not fond of it though and can't get himself back over to his back.  

I dug out our Bumbo chair a few months ago and used it to get a few cute pictures of Drew. We've tried to use it a few times since but his chubby little legs don't fit in it very well. 

Drew recently discovered his toes.   He hasn't gotten them to his mouth yet, but it's fun to see him grabbing at them. 

I wonder how long Drew would sit in his little bathtub before wanting to get out.  He enjoys baths so much it seems he could play in there for hours. 

Like all my children, Drew is entranced with television from a young age.   If I need to keep him content for a while I can put in baby Mozart and he'll enter the zone.   It's not just baby shows though.   Justin claims that Drew loves watching sports with him. 

Drew is a smiley baby and recognizes when his Daddy gets home.   Justin gets lots of love when he walks in the door.

Seems to still be fine with other people holding him.   If you remember, my friend held him so I could enjoy our ward primary program.   He also has a cute relationship with a counselor in our bishopric who has also been our home teacher until just recently.   It seems every Sunday Brother Willis will come across Drew and I in the halls.  Drew always gets excited when Bro. Willis talks to him and he usually wants to take Drew for a few minutes to get some baby lovin’.  

We sure love our little guy!  Monday at parent teacher conferences Carly’s teacher gave me the most adorable story about Drew that Carly had written.  She starts her essay with, “If you had a five month old brother, would he be special to you? I bet you he would.”  A few of my favorite lines are, “He’s so adorable and even just holding him cheers me up.” “He is always there to greet me with his cute and chubby smile.” And the last line, “Don’t you think brothers that aren’t big and annoying are special?”

Snoqualmie Falls from Below

We live just a few miles away from Snoqualmie Falls – an uber popular scenic attraction in the Seattle area.  It is beautiful.  Since we moved here the hydroelectric plant at falls has been undergoing major renovation so the hiking paths down to the base of the falls has been closed. Not a huge loss for us, we’ve only hiked down once and that was before we even moved to the northwest.  Everything recently reopened so we thought we’d take the kids on the hike to the bottom.  The kids goofed off a bit while Justin read the map.

We (as in me and the girls) were worried when we read that the hike back up is like climbing up a 30 story building and that many people get to the bottom of the falls and then can’t hike back up.  We walked down anyhow and were pleasantly surprised to find there was a parking lot down near the base, which meant that when we were done Justin could hike up to the van then drive down and pick us.  My legs were already getting painful and itchy (you recall I am allergic to exercise) so that was a relief. 

We continued past the hydroelectric plant and down the boardwalk to the falls viewpoint.  I’m sure there's a lot to be learned from looking at the actual plant, but until someone in our family actually has an interest in hydroelectricity I think we’re good skipping over it.  

To be honest the viewpoint is so far away from the bottom of the falls that the view really isn’t that spectacular.  I was surprised that there were several people that ignored the warning and jumped over the boardwalk to get a closer look.  Next time I think we’ll just stick with the views from up top instead.  

Drew and the girls hung out with me at the parking lot while Jason and Justin hiked up to the van.  Apparently, the hike wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the sign indicated because we didn’t have to wait long til they picked us up.  

Neon Ninjas Soccer

Justin went to the bulk of the girls’ soccer games this year.  I only went to a few of Abigail’s and either I didn’t bring my camera or just didn’t use it, but here we are the season is over and I don’t have a single picture from her games.  Major bummer.  I found this one I’d taken at one of Carly’s games, but I don’t think it counts.

Thankfully someone took a good picture of the team and emailed it to all the parents.

Abigail’s soccer season was frustrating.  She has had cruddy soccer teams ever since we moved here and we haven’t been willing to commit the time and cost to put her on a select team.  Her team lost six players to select teams this year.  By the end of this season she was frustrated and ready to be done.  Hopefully next year we will see more competitive and skilled playing when she can play through the middle school program. 

She had her last soccer game on the 9^th, but their end of the season party wasn’t until this past Saturday since they were waiting on ordering sweatshirts for the girls.  A fun alternative to useless trophies though I’d rather have them at the beginning of the season so they could wear them while they were a team.  Oh well, Abigail loves her new sweatshirt.

Sayonara Neon Ninjas – I think this is goodbye for good!

Bracing for the Future

Big day at our house today!  

She's smiling now, but I don't think she will be tomorrow!

(Justin came up with the title, isn't he clever?)

Gummy Bear Soccer

The girls’ final soccer games were this past Saturday.  It was a divide-and-conquer kind of day.  Justin took Carly to her 9am game and was able to stay for most of it before needing to leave with Abigail to get her to her game.  I picked up Carly as her game was wrapping up and headed over to the train depot for her end of the season party.

I think it surprises some people with how athletic Carly is.  She is a competitor and is easily one of the strongest members of her team.  She played a great season, scored in multiple games, and most importantly had fun.  We were glad that her coach from last year decided to coach again.  Her expectations for the girls are high and we’ve enjoyed having her coach these last two years.

While passing out signed soccer balls and pictures to each of the players, the coach commented about how Carly is a strong team player and how she can count on Carly to play well in any position.

Good Season Gummy Bears!