Our Thanksgiving.

We had a change of plans.   You see - we were supposed to leave for Omaha to spend our  Thanksgiving holiday with the McGinnis' on Wednesday after lunch - Mike had five days off of work and we were SO excited to spend the long weekend in Omaha, watching the Nebraska/Iowa football game and visiting with family and friends.  Molly was still a little bit under the weather Wednesday morning (day 6) and Kate was looking like she was getting a cold - or worse  yet - Molly's virus.  But, we didn't want to imagine that - we just decided to wait a day and leave early Thursday morning instead.  We packed up everything. The hardest part of traveling with kiddos is packing - am I right?!  Well, I did all the laundry and packed their clothes, snacks, sippy cups, medicine, sound machines, toothbrushes, pack and play and sleeping bags and we were ready to leave at 6 a.m. on Thursday - but what do you know?  Kate was up ALL NIGHT Wednesday night with fever and coughing - sounding absolutely horrible.  Poor bug.  Molly, on the other hand - woke up with a ton of energy and the  sparkle back in her eyes!  What are ya' going to do? We couldn't travel with a sick one - so we rolled with it.   

I called around and found an unfrozen turkey breast at our little neighborhood grocery store and Mike ran out to get it before it was gone!  Molly and I prepared it and put it in the crock pot before 9 a.m.!  Operation Salvage Thanksgiving is on!

Kate was pretty sick, but she still enjoyed watching the parade!  

And reading books . . .

And being goofy with her sister . . 

We skyped with all our family near and far . . . can you see this picture of my niece Charlotte asleep in the high chair?  Guess we were really boring!  Ha!

Molly and I had fun decorating the Thanksgiving table!

We danced and played music . . .

Kate pretended the pumpkins were balls . . .

Daddy carved the turkey breast . . . it smelled delicious (Ina Garten's recipe)!

SO THANKFUL to be together - sick or not.  Feel very blessed this Thanksgiving . . .

Not bad for a last minute meal . . .roasted turkey, buttered corn, whole wheat rolls, honey-glazed carrots, ham and pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert!

So thankful for my sweet husband who helped make the day so special - even without our extended family.  Feeling blessed and so so thankful.

Thankful.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

I'm thankful for my sister, Kate, because she plays with me - 
and I've never had a sister before. - Molly 

Mama.  - Kate

Do You See the Resemblance?

Photo taken by my mama on my 1st Birthday - 

Sick.

Molly was sick all weekend with a fever and just feeling yucky.  I don't think she's had a fever for over 2 years so it's so weird to see her so sick.  Breaks my heart.  We are so very blessed to normally have such healthy kiddos and I always feel like when they do get sick that God is reminding me how blessed we are that it is so rare.  Feeling very thankful this Thanksgiving week.  We rested and took it easy all weekend - but this morning her temperature rose even higher, so she laid on the couch all morning watching movies and drinking juice.  She finally got up to go to the bathroom before lunchtime and Kate went crazy!  Kate hugged her big sister SO tight - interrupting her route to the restroom - and would NOT let go.  Smiling so big  - it was the cutest thing.  We all miss our Molly!  Our house is definitely not the same when Molly is not her normal jubilant self . . .We pray she gets better soon!  

Sisters Playing Together - Finally!

Molly & Kate are starting to actually play together - only for 30 minutes at a time, but still they are starting to play together!  It's so sweet to listen and watch . . . Here are a few images from them setting up a "tea party" together recently . . . 

Turkey Time!

We joined our Mothers of Young Children (MOYC) group from church this morning at the Ceramic Cafe'.  The girls heard a book reading about Thanksgiving and then painted Turkey Plates - 

Kate was so excited to be able to sit with the "big kids" for story time!

{McKinley, Molly, Kate, J.D.}

The older girls did a great job on their plates while the younger siblings weren't too interested . . . 

Miles to Go Before She Sleeps . . .

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post - Kate just started walking this past weekend and I think I've only seen her crawl once since then. But her latest endeavor is CARRYING her favorite things with her when she walks. This is something she could not do when she was crawling - and she LOVES that she can carry her favorite things with her as she travels around the house.  She is very wobbly and slow and still looks like a total drunk - but she's doing it and she is so so proud and in my eyes, so very courageous!  When she falls - she gets right back up again, time and time again - never letting go of all of her things.  If something drops from her hands, she will bend over (often falling in the process) to get it again.  Here are a few quick snapshots of her with her latest load.  Often the things are totally random -  a couple of socks, a spoon, Molly's underwear, and a piece of paper she found(?).  She's so proud just to carry stuff as she moves - that, or she's just a pack rat.  Who knows at 13 months?  

  

Last Day of Fall Gymnastics . . .

Molly has had a blast this fall going to Gymnastics on Wednesday mornings!  I took along my camera today to get a few pictures of her doing her thing!  

{Molly & Ellie}

{Molly, Ellie, Lauren, Daisy & Luke}

She looks so tiny hanging from the bars . . . 

Kate waiting on big sister in the waiting area with all the other little siblings . . .

{Olivia, Kate, Hannah, Emily}