Happy Thanksgiving! (November Challenge: Day 28)

     Today I am thankful that I was able to spend today with (the majority) of my family. Big Brother and I started the day pretty early and ran the Turkey Trot even though it was Snowy while Froggie stayed home with Grandma. Despite the cold temperatures and the slippery road he and I made it to the finish. We put about 15 minutes onto our average time but I figured that it would take us a little longer given the weather. We ran about 1/3 of it, walked about 1/3 and then Big Brother was carried about 1/3 of the way. Towards the end the road was pretty slippery and the snow picked up so I carried him, but he crossed the finish on his own! We stopped for some water before we walked to the car and a bunch of the water cups had begun to freeze over!

Shoes ready to run

all set to run

My sleepy running buddy

There's my smile

The mask he wouldn't leave on

Running

Check out the snow

The water even started to freeze!

     We picked up some hot chocolate and donut holes on the way home and Big Brother loved his hard earned (2nd) breakfast.
     After we showered and got ourselves ready to be presentable we headed to have our first Thanksgiving dinner with Hubby's parents with my mom in tow. Froggie LOVED her first Thanksgiving dinner and ate up everything on her tray. Big Brother on the other hand ate like a bird and after a handful of bites started to play with his silverware.

Sitting at the head of the table

Thanksgiving dinner #1

What is all this stuff?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Froggie on her 1st Thanksgiving

Showing off her spoon

what's this?

Mmmm apple pie!

    Following our first dinner we packed up and headed back towards home and stopped for our second dinner with my sister and her fiancé's family. Big Brother got to play with some other kids his age and had a blast even though he only ate just a little bit more. Froggie got a few more snacks and then fell asleep for the majority of our visit.
     Hubby was kind enough to send us a picture of him having his Thanksgiving dinner away from home!

Pre-Thanksgiving photo shoot 1

Pre-Thanksgiving photo shoot 2

Pre-Thanksgiving photo shoot 3

Pre-Thanksgiving photo shoot 4

Pre-Thanksgiving photo shoot 5

Happy little turkey

Happy little turkey!

Little turkey

November Challenge: Day 26

     Today I am in awe of and so very thankful for the love my children have for their father. This afternoon Big Brother and Froggie were playing before we left work and he picked up a toy phone and he and Froggie called to talk to daddy.

November Challenge: Day 23

     Today I am thankful that my children are as appreciative of music (and musical instruments) as Hubby and I are. This morning we went to our local high school where the jazz band was playing during an arts fair. Big Brother was so enthralled we had to stay until they were done with their set. It was nice to see how he enjoyed listening to songs I had played in jazz band myself more than 10 years ago. He has also been very interested in playing with my stack of instruments and does surprisingly well with my trumpet!
     Froggie seemed to enjoy the band too and took the opportunity to nap while they played. Let me tell you it takes a lot to be able to nap while a bunch of kids on stage are playing into the sound system!

November Challenge: Day 27

     Today I am thankful that my challenge is almost over! In all seriousness, there are a lot of things I am thankful for on a daily basis but there are not many things that I am thankful for that I feel are "blog worthy". Because of this my challenge was a little difficult since I was trying to entertain my handful of readers.
     Anyway, I'm thankful that today was the last day of my work week and that I may be able to relax a little this weekend (if I don't freeze during my 5K tomorrow!). Here are some pictures from today.

Our families feather

Silly Froggie

Big Brother playing with colored spaghetti

Our Thankful Turkey at work

November Challenge: Day 25

     I'm so thankful to have this smiling face back! After 3 days of what seemed like random outbursts of crying and being very clingy Froggie seems to be back to her normal happy self!

November Challenge: Day 24

     As odd as it may sound today I am thankful that we began this journey of having a Froggied Princess. As of today Froggie began her treatment 7 months ago and has been harness free for a little over 3 months! It's hard to believe it was that long ago when we said good bye to pants and normal cuddling and even harder to believe that she is now cruising along the furniture and trying to stand herself up in the middle of no where (she has not been successful yet but she keeps trying…).

November Challenge: Day 22

     Today we made a family trip to the doctor's office. Froggie had her 9 month check up and came away with a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, the visit that would have been a shot free visit ended up being a shot visit for everyone. Because we will be hopping on a plane shortly I thought it may be wise to get a flu shot (something I'm normally not a big fan of) and figured the kids should be vaccinated as well. SO, Froggie ended up with 3 shots (Flu and 2 that they were out of during her 6 month visit) and Big Brother and I got our flu shots.
     Froggie was obviously upset by being stabbed in the leg 3 times by as many needles but Big Brother had an all out melt down at being told that it was his turn (he went after me but before Froggie). I felt so badly that I fished a sucker and fruit snacks out of my bag and then took him to get a cookie and some hot apple cider as a peace offering for making him get stuck in the leg.
     Before all of the shots though the kids were playing with each other, which brings me to what I'm thankful for today. I am so thankful that my kids play together and generally like each other.

Playing peek-a-boo while we wait

November Challenge: Day 21

     This cutie, hands down has made my days both more enjoyable and more crazy as she gets bigger (read as gets into EVERYTHING). Today we tried pig tails! They're a little uneven but definitely cute!

November Challenge: Day 20

     Today I'm thankful that Big Brother is your standard boy in many ways but still enjoys things like raiding necklaces/jewelry, baking, etc. 

November Challenge: Day 19

     It may sound odd, but today I am really thankful for these things:

     It's not a very clear picture but it's a shopping cart with an infant seat AND a regular seat. With Hubby away it has made shopping SO much more bearable.

November Challenge: Day 18

     I'm becoming more and more appreciative of single moms, tonight I'm VERY thankful for this new find (it was VERY needed tonight!):

   

November Challenge: Day 17

Today I'm thankful for this Birthday girl. She is Hubby's God Daughter and it is such a pleasure to watch her grow.

A dazed Big Brother and the birthday girl!

November Challenge: Day 15 & 16

     I'm thankful for my mom and my sister. Without them I wouldn't go on most of the crazy adventures  they drag me on. Most recently we were taken out to the zoo for their annual Animal art show and sale! It's as crazy as it sounds… Throughout the year the animals do artwork with the zoo staff and then they set up a show and have demonstrations of animals making art.

A painting hedgehog

Watching a painting hedgehog

A painting snake

Watching a painting snake

His artwork

November Challenge: Days 13 & 14

     I got a little side tracked last night and didn't get to the blog last night. So, since it's a biggie, I'd like to write today about how thankful I am for Hubby.
     He may not be around all the time for a variety of reasons, primarily Navy related things, but he is just plain awesome! (Right now he's watching Grey's with me from thousands of miles away over Skype since he loves me so much and I think he's bored.) He does so much for the kids and I out of love.
     We miss him for sure while he is away and even if the kids can't say it they act differently. Sometimes for better sometimes not. Rather than play during play time the other day Big Brother drew a picture for Hubby, he worked on it for a long time and put a lot of effort into it. Sitting and drawing or coloring is not typical for him so he was definitely doing it because he missed Hubby. Froggie is a little more restless in the evenings when she would normally have been snuggling with Hubby (it's nice to get some extra snuggles though). Both kids get SO excited when they get to talk to him on the phone or see him on Skype!
     There is so much more that I could put in here but I would just sound like I was bragging…

Skype date

November Challenge: Day 12

As much as I like to complain about it I suppose I'm thankful for snow. More specifically, I'm thankful that we live in an area where we experience all 4 seasons. Sometimes they last longer than we may wish or not quite as long as we would hope but I love that we don't have to leave town to go sledding or play at the Beach (we just have to do those things a few months apart!).

November Challenge: Day 11

     Today I am thankful for our Veterans. There have been TONS of posts to this effect today on social media and, while I'm thankful everyday for my Hubby and our military friends/family, today seems like as good a day as any to reiterate.
     While we were in Pittsburgh this past weekend we made a pit stop to visit a special memorial that had been created for my cousin who paid the ultimate price for freedom in 2012.
     I would love to say that I don't know what it's like to ship off a loved one into a dangerous place, but this simply is not true. I would love to say that those I love have always come back unharmed but that is also not true. However, I can say that I have had the privilege of knowing some very brave and unselfish men and women who give all that they have to complete the tasks they are given to ensure the safety of many who may never even give a thought to what it is they will or have done.
     This being said, today's post is for all of you out there who have served with my husband or they other husbands, wives, sons, daughters, and parents that make up our big military family!