THANKSGIVING

Dan's sister, Mindy, hosted Thanksgiving at her new home in Midway. She has a beautiful new home, prepared a delicious feast, and led us in several fun activities that have now become permanent Thanksgiving family traditions (Whether we are in town or not, I will continue them!)

This is not the best picture, but I had to show how cute this little table was. Thomas (Mindy's husband Dave's nephew) turned 3 in September, so he is exactly 1 year older than Brendan. They were instant friends and had a blast playing with one another.

Each time we have come to visit, Layton and Connor (Mindy's sons, Brendan's cousins) have dressed Brendan up in their football gear. He loves it! He would seriously do anything his cousins asked him to do... I am glad they are super good cousins!

Doesn't this look intense?

One of the traditions is to play Thanksgiving trivia. This year everyone brought three trivia questions -- everything from "Where is the Mayflower today?" to "What is the heaviest turkey ever recorded?" to "When is the last time both the Cowboys and the Lions won on Thanksgiving Day?" It was competitive, intense, and FUN!




Tradition #2 - PIE CONTEST. It is both stressful and fun because few people really make pies on a regular basis. There are many categories of competition such as best flaking crust, best creating, best tasting, best slice (appearance of presentation of slice), and more. The presentation counts nearly as much as the pie. We (I) made a White Chocolate Cranberry Walnut pie that was super yummy! Our presentation involved an inside joke on Dave. Long story short, he was taken captive by the Canadian government when he was going through customs and questioned for hours. He works in the jewelry business and was traveling for work, so we used a custom's declaration form to "declare" the ingredients of the pie (rubies - cranberries, gold - butter, pearls - white chocolate, diamonds - walnuts) and named it "Smuggler's Pie". We won the category of 'Best Creating"! This made Thanksgiving a day we were all looking forward to and made the leftovers the next morning even more exciting.

Another tradition that I must talk about even though I have no picture for it, is one of sharing your blessings. Mindy passes around little pouches and everyone blindly takes one. Inside is a random number of little seeds. For every seed you have, you must stay something for which you are thankful, particularly reflecting on the past year. Some people have just one or two, and others have 11 or 12. I had 11. It was absolutely beautiful to hear others express their sincere gratitude for all that was going on in their lives over the past year, and it was both spiritually uplifting and gratifying to be able to express such thoughts myself. Once again, a tradition I want to always do on Thanksgiving!

Cute Hadley


Had with Grandpa John

Look how serious Brendan is taking this. He LOVED the piano. He wanted to sit next to anyone who was playing and immediately jumped at the chance to play a few tunes himself. I can't wait until he is old enough to actually take lessons. I know he will love it! Here he is with his cousin Anna and Grandma DARling. He actually motivated me to ask Mindy for a few lessons, and for the first time in my entire life I played a song on the piano! YAY! It was the primer for "Jingle Bells", but it still counts! I am super eager to learn more!



All of the McMaster grandchildren stood and sung a song that their McMaster grandparents had taught them. It was a song the McMasters learned while serving a recent mission in Australia. Although Brendan is neither a McMaster grandchild nor someone who knew the song, he stood confidently and hummed along.


Dan's brother Andrew and his cute wife Loni just had their first baby -- a precious girl named Bella Cait. It was so fun to see her and be able to hold her while she is still so tiny! She was only 3 weeks old.

Here is Connor reading Brendan bedtime stories. His cousins were soooo good to him. It makes me super sad that they live so far away!

All of his McMaster cousins: Anna, Connor, and Layton



BETA GIRLS

The number one reason I get excited to go to Utah is to see family; a very close number two is to see these girls. They are the wives of Dan's BETA fraternity brothers and they are some of the most impressive, engaging, genuine, supportive, loving girls I know. We always make a point to get together when I come out to visit. Although I cherish every single moment of our visit together, each moment I get more and more upset that we can't hang out every day.

We joined in with our husbands to watch the Utah-BYU game (HUGE rivarly). Here is Stillman Lear (7 months) and Hadley (5 months). We thought they kind of looked alike!

BETA girls

Each time we get the families together, we try to take a picture of all the kids. I have a post from last summer ('08) when we took the last picture. It was quite a challenge to get them all on the couch without dropping any babies!

Without any prompting, Brendan just leaned over and kissed Hadley....awwww!

CHURCH - almost

Cute Hadley, again. Always smiling...
He was all dressed for church (as were Dan and I) but Brendan never woke up in time so we ended up not going. Had looked so cute I had to at least take a couple of pictures.

Seriously, is your heart melting?


CHRISTMAS - Early

Dan's parents decided to hold the family Christmas party while we were in town. It is a very special event, and we were honored that everyone was willing to move up the date for us!

Hadley with cousin Sarah

The kids each get assigned a role to reinact the Christmas Story. Here is Brendan (a wise man) with his cousin Anna (an angel).

Our Shephard

This was the Shepards' role, but Brendan did not want to be left out. He removed his crown and joined his cousins on stage. Once again he was happily humming along to a song he had never before sung.

Here is Dan playing the piano with his mother - a tradition for the Christmas program each year.

Uncle Paul led the family in playing the bells. Brendan thought it was fabulous and was eager to help Grandpa with his role.

Brendan's first Christmas present of the year!

This was Hadley's first Christmas present of his life, and he TOTALLY knew what was going on! He ripped off the paper and immediately tried to play with the toy. I can't wait until Christmas morning!

DINOSAUR MUSEUM

We took Brendan to the world's largest display of dinosaur bones! We all had a blast, but especially him. Hadley napped in the Moby Wrap (love, love, love that thing!).

This was an exhibhit that demonstrated the role erosion plays in excavating dinosaur bones. Combine sand, water, and toys and it is a 2 year old's dreamland.

Everyone should be able to ride a dinosaur at some point.

Dan and Brendan enjoyed meticulously excavating dinosaur bones -- a very cleaver and fun exhibit!

FRIEND RENUION

Each visit we also vow to see the men (and wives) of the "Millcreek Manor" -- the name of the apartment complex where Dan once lived. After a splended night out with the adults (I love, love, love those girls and always have soooo much fun with them!) the mommies decided we also needed a playdate so our little ones could reunite and so that we could see how much everyone's kids had changed in just one year. We tried for a photo... this was as good as we could get!

RICHARDS FAMILY GAME NIGHT

Lisa and Johnny are famous for always hosting a family game night while we are in town. It usually consists of a little Turbo Scrabble or Rook and a lot of Rock Band. Last year Brendan was oblivious to it all, but this year he was the main man on stage. He certainly takes his musical talent very seriously!

Singing along with the Beatles

Rockin' it out with Daddy, Uncle Andrew, and Cousin Johnny IV

Grandma DARling took over the mike and Grandpa hit up the drums!

Is this not absolutely hilarious?

Brendan's cousin Will took him downstairs, dressed him up like this, and brought him upstairs to show all of the adults. We about lost it we laughed so hard. Brendan loved it. Will was just like a big brother to him the entire time we were there and was constantly entertaining and taking care of him. We wish he (and all the other cousins!) lived closer!

Our little gangster

ON OUR WAY OUT

The last morning was quite hectic. With three huge suitcases in tow, two heavy backpacks, a toddler, and a baby we had our hands full. We actually missed our flight by 5 minutes, but luckily got on one that was just one hour later. As we got home and finally laid our heads on our own pillows, we were certainly exhausted, but we were also in complete agreement that it was a truly wonderful trip, we loved every minute of it, and we dearly love and miss all of our family and friends! Please come visit us in Georgia!

Innocent fun or moments away from torture? We are never quite sure...

Brendan: incredibly active, very demanding of attention

Hadley: incredibly chill, low-maintenance, easy as pie

The boys are already strikingly different (yet both oh-so-wonderful!) and I can't wait to see how their personalities to continue to develop. Perhaps it is because Brendan came first, but Hadley is shockingly easy. Unless you get him drastically off his sleeping schedule, he never, ever cries (not even a whimper), smiles at anyone that talks or even just looks his way, and will lay on a blanket and play with the same toy until you decide that he needs to do something else (not vise versa). He goes to sleep very easily, takes 3 naps a day, and sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night.

Brendan, on the other hand, woke up at 6 AM this morning to go to the potty and decided it was time for breakfast. Ugh.

Here are a few of Had's favorite things:

1. Anything that is the appropriate size to fit in his mouth -- sleeves, fingers, toys, blankets, spoons, etc.

2. Rice cereal and sweet potatoes. He just started solid foods last week. Aside from the cereal, we've actually only tried sweet potatoes and bananas, but he loved the one and hated the other.

3. Conversation. He completely lights up anytime anyone talks to him, even if he is extremely tired and about to fall asleep. He loves to hear your voice and will often talk back in his own sweet way of making sounds.

4. Sleep sack. If you have an infant and don't have one of these, get one! It keeps them feeling as if they are swaddled but with their arms free and they come in sizes all the way up to 2 years! Had sleeps amazingly in it and sleeps very sporadically if we happen to leave it behind.

5. Moby Wrap or sling. He loves to be snug. I can carry him in either wrap all day long as far as he is concerned. The sling is great for quick trips, but the Moby Wrap is something I can wear for hours (such as all around the zoo or the airport) without hurting my back or shoulders one little big. It is amazing for me AND for him. He sleeps well in it, nurses in it, and loves to just relax and be close to me even if there is no other reason but that one to be in it... I love it.

6. Standing/jumping. He thinks he's big enough to stand and walk. He always wants to stand on your lap, stand on the ground, etc. but of course he can't go anywhere. He also loves his Jumperoo and will stay in that for as long as we let him.

Brendan is now 27 months old. It is so interesting, intriguing, and downright entertaining to watch his personality develop. This time of year always makes me more conscientious of my many blessings and having him and Hadley (focus of next post) in my life is certainly a big one.

These pictures capture two of his favorite things. I will explain those and share a few more...

1. SONGS. This might be his absolute favorite thing right now. The kid is always singing and always asking us to sing. In the car he asks for specific CDs (what?), he plays nursery rhymes on his toy piano (not hard - you hit any key and the right notes play!), he loves to learn a brand new song and learns them VERY quickly, and he is particularly enthused when he learns a song with accompanying hand motions. He is currently supposed to be down for a nap but is in his bed singing "Jingle Bells"....

2. INSTRUMENTS. Drums, piano, tambourine, homemade maracas (milk jug and beans), etc. -- if it can be used to keep a beat, he loves it. We play with instruments every day and not a day goes by that he does not find some ordinary household item and find a way to make it into an instrument.

3. BATH BUBBLES. He wants the bathtub to be as full of water and as high with bubbles as we can possibly allow. He loves to carve animals out of the bubbles, blow the bubbles, and submerge himself within them. Bath time is certainly one of his favorite times of day.

4. WASHING DISHES. And he actually does a good job! His Grandma DARling started this when she was in town and he has not backed down yet. He helps us each night.

5. ABC's. He will sing the ABC song, tell you all about the letters, or watch a video on letters all day long if allowed (and he's not - don't worry!). He also likes to "read" books that he has memorized, especially when it involves reading to his little brother.

6. FRIENDS. He loves, loves, loves his friends. When we went away to Utah for over a week, he kept asking for his friends by name. As soon as we got home he sleepily looked at me and asked where several of his friends were. He was dying to see them. He gets super excited for play dates and is very concerned if we go very long without seeing his closest buddies.

7. THE PHONE. Since he started making babbling sounds he has called his MaMaw to talk on the phone. He still does it, nearly every day.

8. IMAGINATION. This has just really taken off. He plays with imaginary animals, builds imaginary towers, carries imaginary objects, etc. I LOVE IT! He reminds me of how to create any world I want right inside my own home.

9. CHOCOLATE MILK and CANDY. He really does not care for any food except for sweets. When you ask him what he wants for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the answer is always candy (nice), and he often tries to bargain for chocolate milk, too.

10. BLANKIE. He was never overly attached to it until he switched to the big boy bed... and now it is a staple.

11. TRAINS. He can spot one from a mile away, will play with one for HOURS, and is begging Santa to bring him his very own. He is obsessed with trains.

Washing dishes in his Indian Chief hat.

November has been beautiful here in Georgia! A couple of weeks ago Brendan and I spent over an hour just playing in the leaves in our driveway. Later that same week, his pre-school lesson was on leaves, and they had the chance to rake up a big pile and then tumble into it. He loved it!