Much to Be Thankful For

This Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for.  A year ago this Thursday we lost Grandpa Ray.  He was very ill this time last year, and also the Thanksgiving before.  We miss him dearly and this year we are thankful to have Grandma B still with us and doing so well.  We are thankful for our own health, our family, our jobs, our faith and so much more.  We are so very blessed in this life.

 

I was able to run a trail half marathon on Thanksgiving morning out at Lake Cunningham.  The proceeds went to the Omaha Food Bank.  It wasn't a very big race, but it was fun and I was able to run with a lady that I have met in the past few months.  I have been able to run with her and get to know her just recently.  It was a beautiful morning to be on the trails...just another thing to be thankful for!  I was also blessed to come home to the sweet potato casserole baking in the oven and a clean house!  Jason and the girls took care of these tasks while I was away playing (running)!

 

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my mom and dad's house with my Grandma, Aunt, Uncle and their family.  My cousin and his family will be moving away to Pennsylvania in a few weeks so who knows when we will see them again.  Of course, the girls ate nothing...not even their roll this year.  Why are they so picky?!  They had fun playing with their cousins and with Grandpa in the backyard.  They were tuckered out when we got home, so we decided not to go see the lighting of the lights in Downtown Omaha this year.  The cold front was also coming through so warm jammies sounded even better!  Maddie and I went to Walmart for the start of Black Friday shopping.  We stood in the ridiculous line for no more than 10 minutes and I said ""let's go!"  I couldn't force myself to stand in line for $4 jammies.  I'm glad we didn't because 2 days later at Walmart the same $4 jammies were still there!  SCORE!

 

We missed Jason's family this Thanksgiving.  It is hard when everyone is so spread out and when only certain days work for everyone.  We did get a lot done around the house though!  Jason put up the outside Christmas lights and we got our tree up and all of our inside decorations.  I love this time of year more than any other time...especially now that I have kids of my own.  There is a sense of magic about it and I can see it in their eyes.  We were at Walmart on Saturday and we unexpectedly ran into Santa Claus!  The girls hopped right up on his lap and told him what they wanted.  We got a FREE picture (way better than the mall), cupcakes and fruit punch!  What a deal!  Thanks SANTA!

 

Once again, we have so much to be thankful for this year and we hope that everyone has a BLESSED holiday season!

 The Anderson family

 Grandma B and Lily

 Maddie and her little sister...Presley

 Little Cousins

 Sisters...my mom is the short one :)

 Grandma B, Aunt Lea Ann and mom

 The GIANT in the high chair not wanting to eat

 Pa Pa and Presley

 Grandma B and Kylie

 Putting the star on the tree...a tradition with daddy and his girls

I have been approved to buy a new tree next year...yay!

 

Also, we missed Uncle Justin this year at Thanksgiving, but he was happy to be living a dream come true of his...he was in Dallas Texas at the Cowboys vs. Redskins Thankgsgiving Day game!

Avery's 2 Year Check Up

This picture is not from today, but it is so cute so I had to put it on here.  I took Avery to see Dr. Shidler today for her 2 year well visit.  Yes, she turned 2 last month, but this was the first opening that was available.  Avery is doing great and growing, growing, growing!  She got 2 shots today and a finger poke.  She got her finger poked to follow up and check what her hemoglobin has been doing.  She has been off of iron for 6 months and all is well...her hemoglobin was normal at 12.1...YAY!  Her 2 birthmarks on her back are fading as expected and looking good.  Avery doesn't even know she has them and we tell Lily that they are kisses from Jesus.  :) Avery didn't cry at all with the finger poke and she only cried very briefly with her shots.  She got her influenza shot today and her second Hepatitis A vaccine. 

Avery's 2 Year Stats:

 

Weight~27 pounds 6 ounces (our scale at home weighs her a full pound more than this, so does this mean I really weigh less too? :))~58th percentile

Height~35 1/4 inches~80th percentile

Head Circumference~18 3/4 inches~50th percentile

Hemoglobin~ 12.1

Election Day 2012

Lily went to vote with me 4 years ago when she was just 8 weeks old!

We kept the tradition alive and she went with me again this election year!

 

Before I know it she'll be going with me and voting on her own!

Trick or Treat 2012

This year we had Bat Girl and an Elephant!  Bat Girl picked her costume out all by herself.  She had originally told me that she wanted to be a princess, and I was hoping that she would change her mind...come on...a princess is so boring!  A few weeks later she told me that she wanted to be a Super Hero...now that is cool!  She had picked out the black cat woman costume at Target but they didn't have her size, so the PINK Bat Girl was second choice and oh so cute!  My little Elephant is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen!  A co-worker of mine's husband hand sewed this little gem of a costume for their oldest son when he was younger.  We were lucky enough to get to borrow it and it was a HIT!  She got a ton of compliments on it (and SHE got called a HE several times), and it was nice and cozy warm!

We trick or treated in our neighborhood with the neighbor boys for a while and then we headed over to GaGa's and Pa Mike's to see Presley and Maddie and to eat some yummy dinner!  We usually go trick or treating in their circle, but the girls had already gotten a ton of candy and were pretty tuckered out so we called a night.  It was a BEAUTIFUL night to be out trick or treating!

 Anthony and Sammy...our neighbor boys

 P-Diddy AKA Minnie Mouse

Reading with daddy after a long night.

Halloween Parties for the Girls

Last Tuesday, Lily had her preschool Halloween party at the YMCA and later that day both Lily and Avery had their Halloween party at their daycare.  It was a busy day for mom and dad getting them dressed and ready and taking them from here to there, but it was fun and well worth it! 

Jason was able to take his lunch hour at the time of Lily's preschool party, so that worked out nicely.  Lily's class sang their Halloween songs that they have been practicing, decorated candy bags, and then they trick or treated around the YMCA in their costumes.  After making their way through the Y, the kids came back to their classroom for a little party.  Lily's teachers were so kind and they let Avery take part in the party. 

 

After the preschool party we headed home for a quick lunch and a quick nap and then I got the girls dressed again and took them over to their daycare party.  This was awesome for mom because I got 2 hours of free time...yay!

 I thought it was quite fitting that Avery hopped in the BOYS picture since everyone thought she was a little boy when she was out trick or treating! I should have put pink bows on the elephant's ears!

At least she made it into the GIRLS picture too!