November 26, 2011

It seemed, for a while, that Halloween was ages away and then it came... and went. And then we waited impatiently for Thanksgiving... which also came and went. And now Hanukkah and Christmas are right around the corner. Which means that before we know it, they will have come and gone and the year will be over and 2012 will be upon us. And then I'll have 4.5 months to plan Lily's birthday party and she will be THREE. Too much!

School is going well still. Trying to shake things up a little and introduce new things. We recently spent some time with an introduction to geography book. It gives wonderful explanations that seem to really pique Izzy's imagination and natural curiosity. I think she's going to be a visual/tactile learner when it comes to things like that. 

Lily is suddenly speaking much more clearly than before. Her favorite things to say right now are "It's not funny, guys," "That's enough," and "Nice to meet you." Her enunciation of 'f' sounds is hysterical to me. I'll irritate her repeatedly just to hear her say "That's enough, mama. That's enough." Her napping is a little out of whack lately but I'm chalking that up to allergies and learning new skills. Surely she can't be headed out of the nap stage already. 

Thanksgiving with the family went really well. We had an early dinner, as usual, with my parents and Anthony's crew. Waaaaaaaay too much good food. :) The kids were constantly digging new holes in the yard, batting shuttlecocks around, or letting flies into the house... I think that's how you know they're having a good time. Actual Thanksgiving day was spent with the boy's family at Joel and Stacey's house. More screaming, laughing kids and lots of amazing food. The only thing missing was Heather but she'll be home soon and then hopefully we'll see her much more often. 

It really bugged me that while Noah was there with us, his daddy was not... of all days to pick the girlfriend over his son! Yeesh. I don't think he realizes how hard it is on many dads that only have their kids for the odd weekends. I get the impression that he feels put-upon to have Noah as frequently as he does, rather than blessed to be able to see him as much as he does. 

Thanksgiving night, Sunny came with me to meet up with Megan and her MIL to go Black Friday shopping. I thought we were crazy for doing so but it actually went really well. Waiting for nearly 2 hours at Wal-Mart was a pain in the rear but being able to get what I was looking for seemed to make it all worth it. I think the kids are going to be happy with what they get and hopefully, not overwhelmed to the point they don't truly enjoy the gifts themselves.