Thankful

Our thanksgiving celebration almost didn't happen due to a random stomach bug poor Anni picked up a couple of nights beforehand. Luckily, no one else picked it up and she recovered much quicker than she usually does from these kinds of things. We drove through a flurry of snow to my in-laws and spent a day filled with lots of stories, a nap for me, and a whole tableful of amazing food. It was lovely and happy, annnnnd now I'm ready to welcome this little one. 

Thanksgiving

Happy week-after Thanksgiving! Our weekend was lovely, filled with family, food, and a visiting puppy named Tinkerbelle. The food? A 24 lb turkey my friends. My sister and her husband raised it, and by golly... it was delicious! It was, in fact, larger than Miss Colette. And the puppy? The girls were obsessed. It was probably the highlight of their holiday... well, Anni says it was the turkey, so maybe all of the of above.

Thanksgiving

There's been a whole lot of radio silence in these here parts, why, you ask?  Well, we decided to take a nine day road-trip through Kansas, ending in Wichita to spend time with my family for Thanksgiving.  It was wonderful, loud, and exhausting.  Actually, I admit that I feel surprisingly better than I thought I would at this point (we just did our 8ish hour drive home today) ... but I have a feeling it will sink in when people start arriving for the Jesse Tree ornament exchange tomorrow.

The trip really was wonderful, though.  We stopped at our alma mater to visit with some friends and soak in a little nostalgia (though, really, alma mater, why were you decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving?!  Boo!)  I got to see (and photograph, an added bonus!) some college friends of ours that lived out in DC until this year (meaning, Daniel saw them every year at a conference he goes to, but I hadn't seen them since our wedding and certainly hadn't met their darling twin boys!)   We also did a quick jaunt through the campus (oh, my, was it cold) and made sure to stop off at the grotto where Anni got very excited about the St. Bernadette statue (though she did wish that they had alllll the Saints).

Then came the insanity of my family all in one place!  There are 22 of us, including our brother's beautiful, sweet, fiance.  She is wonderful!

An entire beautiful meal was organized, made and eaten, even with one of our primary organizers off her feet with a very bruised and swollen foot (who knew that accidentally kicking a dresser could really slow you down?) 

The turkey was carved, places were set, the cousins antagonized each other... No, really.  Especially our Anni and her cousin who just happens to be about six weeks older than her.  At one point, before dinner even started, they got in a tussle over the completely imaginary food Anni was pretending to eat and spilled a drink.  Later, her cousin informed her there was no talking at the table, so, of course, she started singing "talking at the table, talking at the table".  Ah... good thing they love each other so much, too!

One of my brother-in-law's is part native american, so his girls all wore feathers in their hair to celebrate their heritage. 

We stayed with my sister on their homestead most of the week, which was truly wonderful.  Anni got to play with her cousins every minute we were there, I got to follow my big sister around (oh, how I already miss getting to spend so much time with her!), and I finally got an in-person introduction to their chickens.  There is not much that is better than a fresh egg!

Colette kept claiming that she was terrified of her godfather, but then, as he took a nap in the middle of the living room one day, she slowly worked herself up to sit between his feet.  She was quite pleased with herself!

We also got to celebrate my big brother's 30th birthday the day before we left!  I have been trucking away at the big ole project of putting together a book full of photos from his first 30 years, so I was grateful to have the book printed and in his hands. 

I shouldn't forget to mention... we took a big family photo!  Every time we are all together, I try to set the tripod up and capture as we grow.  This year we added two babies and a fiance!  You can see last year's here and the year before here.  We actually managed the photo without too much pain this year.  We did it first thing (before babies and adults had had a chance to melt down) and I tried not to be too picky.  Anni's not looking?  Oh, well, she's there!

 

 

I hope you all had beautiful thanksgivings and that your advents are off to a wonderful start!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving celebrations at the in-laws became at risk when Miss Anni threw up everywhere the day before.  See, we had it all worked out.  Daddy would get home around noon, we'd pack up the car, stop in a town on the way for some playing at a park while Mommy had a photo-shoot (and maybe throw in a haircut for the ridiculously shaggy mop on mommy's head), then proceed to in-laws and spend the next several days eating, playing and being happy and merry.

Well.

We had a few tears while we worked out a plan and just decided to wait it out.  I headed out to my shoot, Daniel and Anni watched cartoons, and I picked up ingredients for a lasagna... just in case our Thanksgiving feast needed to wait a couple of days (I have the best in-laws ever... willing to hold off their own feasting for us).  Thanksgiving morning dawned with no more vomit in sight and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the computer (Anni and Daddy had watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving the day before, so she was pretty excited to see a Charlie Brown balloon).  While she seemed to be doing well, we didn't want to infect the entire family, so we called, discussed, watched her a little more and discussed even more.  The in-laws decided they wanted to risk getting sick for the sake of having everyone together (Daniel's brother was home for the first time in over six months), so we started to pack and plan our visit.

Of course, it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a big ole shot of progesterone in your hiney, right?  To be honest, I'm so grateful for this shot and the chance it has given us at a healthy baby.  As my test results come back every other week, it's pretty obvious that I'm just not a great producer of it for myself, so, heck yes, I'll take a shot every few days to keep my little chickadee where she belongs as long as she needs.  Side note: I hadn't actually looked at the needle in months as I'm usually lying down by the time my hubby has it all ready to administer... it's longer than I remember!  

In the end, we actually made it to Thanksgiving, a good 24 hours after our little drama began.  While Miss Anni didn't get to participate in any of the feasting (a fruit popsicle and crackers kind of counts as feasting for a two-year-old, right?), there were stickers, crayons, paper and family ready to love on her as much as possible. 

This face makes me giggle every time I see the picture.

And while Anni didn't feast... oh, my, the rest of us did.  Turkey, cranberry relish, potatoes of two varieties, green beans, gravy, bread and more... ahh... soooo good.  We were pretty worried about Anni feeling left out from the feasting, but she ate her crackers and applesauce and spent most of the meal dancing around the table.

She ended the night snuggling up to whomever was available to read her books, and off to bed she went.

We; however, continued our feasting just a bit into the evening.  I was in charge of desserts this year and here was my spread: chocolate pudding pie, traditional pumpkin pie and mini pecan pies (which I LOVED because they didn't have any corn syrup in the recipe).  I even whipped up real whipping cream (with the guidance of my mother-in-law)!  I had a few little mishaps... a few of my pecan pies stuck to the pan and looked worse for the wear (next year: add more flour) and my pumpkin pie crust folding in on itself a bit while baking, but everyone said the taste was more important, and luckily, everything seemed to be pretty darn scrumptious!   

Despite the rough nights and cranky moments we had (by 5 am, Miss Anni was too hungry every morning to stay asleep, especially the night she threw up all over the room after her tummy refused the banana we gave her for snack), it was wonderful for Anni to soak in some family time and not have to focus on being sick yet again.  And... wonders of all wonders...

No one else caught the bug!  

Happy week after Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, my dears, we are grateful for oyster crackers and applesauce, that a little stomach bug is the most of our worries, that we are blessed with two beautiful baby girls and a joyful marriage and for our families both near and far, who love us and support us in ways we can never repay.  Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you as much joy and happiness as you can handle today!

Baby, don't worry...

 

We've hit a spell of bad luck.  Not terrible luck, mind you just eensily, weensily, bad as Anni struggles with the cruddy cough that immediately accompanies any case of sniffles she picks up (thank you, preemie lungs).  We went to the doctor today, just in case he thought we should check those oxygen stats since she has a history of needing extra oxygen when illnesses get a little long.  Happily, O2 sats were 99%, respiration was good, ears looks good, lungs were clear and really, we just have to wait it out.  

Oh, and things are about to spiral into the random.  Don't worry, I don't know where it's going either.

I have a little over half of our Christmas gifts planned... mostly because we are going as simple as possible.  This year was supposed to be the year we hang out with my family for Christmas... but as I'll be 32 weeks on Christmas Eve, and Anni came at 33... and we have no positive answer to *why* she was early, well, it's going to be Christmas in Colorado.  I love Colorado, but I haven't seen my family since this summer and I miss them rather terribly (just check how much time I spend calling my sister and mom).  Disappointment and homesickness aside, there are now 21 people just on my side (parents, siblings, their spouses and their kiddos), so everything needs to be easily shippable.  I think I've come up with a good solution... but, I happen to know my sisters read my blog, so I can't share everything quite yet!

Speaking of Christmas, what are your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?  We'll be at my in-laws for several days surrounding, so I'm trying to think of some fun crafts Miss Anni and I can do together to bring with us.   

I voted this week.

God is love.  first.  foremost.  and last. the end.

Tomorrow I turn 26.  I had to do the math... I kind of forget how old I am sometimes.  I think it's because most people assume I'm about 10 years younger.  

We did family pictures last week.  It makes me smile every time I look at them, at this little moment in our lives, when Anni is just two and a half and Lil' Bit is growing away inside and we are still oh, so, painfully new at all of this.  It will pass, and I am so glad to remember it.  Jenny, if you read this, thank you for documenting it for us... I don't think I can ever repay it!

I will always be good at picking apart my appearance (I wish that wasn't so), and so it is hard to get past myself sometimes and realize that our memories as a family are more important than that.  I like that, that they're teaching me what's important.  

My dear hubby, he has a secret surprise for me tomorrow.  Well, not so secret, because he has such a hard time keeping a secret that he had to tell me he *had* a secret just to keep from telling me what the secret is.  I love that we are so used to telling each other everything that it's hard to keep even happy little surprises secret.  I'm trying to help him out by not guessing at all this year. 

He's also making me manicotti.  That's not a secret, because he wanted to make sure it sounded good to my pregnant tummy.

Gosh, I have it good, guys.  Really, really good.

Happy weekend, my friends.

Every little thing's gonna be alright.

Thanksgiving: Crafty and family filled... nothing better.

I know I'm a few days late on our Thanksgiving update, but I've been away from my computer... and what's a fun blog post without pictures of equally fun and adorable kiddos?

We started our journey on Tuesday night, driving a few hours with a very tired baby refusing to sleep and finally stopping at a hotel three miles after she fell asleep.  Wednesday, we finished off the drive and arrived at the home I had grown up with.  I'm going to tell you now - I was lucky growing up. I grew up in a family that was loud, a little bit quirky (okay, a lot bit) with a whole lot of love. 

And on that day that home offered a very long nap for our sweet little and then an epic dance party with her cousin Charlie.

 I mean epic.

Then I spent the night churning out a little project, more on that later.


Thanksgiving day was about the pigtails and turkey dress....

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade with her milk and cheerios.

then breakfast at my sister's with pecan rolls, yogurt parfaits, quiche and sweet littles...

And... our annual family picture...

Not that the babies were thrilled about their picture, but all of the adults standing around yelling "YAAAY!" as loud as they could did confuse them long enough to snap one.

From there I finished my project.  Everyone in the family sent me an email telling me why they were thankful for each other member of the family.  I then compiled the lists and printed them for each member, glued them to pretty paper and marked their places at the table with them.  (There is another table to the right of this one).

    (If you've never seen someone strategically plan seating placement for 19 people, 7 of whom are little ones... you've never seen genius in action.  One of my brothers and my oldest sister magically did this).  I think everyone really enjoyed having that little piece of familial love to take home.


It was most fun reading it to the little ones.  I got to watch my niece's face light up as I explained that these were the reasons everyone was thankful for her.

Oh, and I made turkey cookies, stemmed from a small addiction to pinterest.   They were adorable, if I do say so myself and the kids loved them.

 There was also just a little twinkle of Christmas as well.  Because we won't see my side of the family for Christmas, we gave them their gifts now.  I love giving gifts, so here's hoping they loved them, because it was so much fun to see them open them :).

Then I took a little trip with my daddy to cheer on our Cornhuskers.  I hadn't gotten to go to a game with him in two years, so it was awesome being back.

It was a little nostalgic as well.  The lumberyard we always meet my uncles before and after games (where my Uncle has been manager for years and years) is moving and this building is getting torn down for the new arena.   It's funny, I've been going to games for 15 years, and this walk is so very familiar to me.  We always sat at the same table, in the same chairs and ate popcorn while we waited for the parking to clear and the trains to pass.  After the game, I would listen to my dad and his brothers talk about the game, and by listen, I mean half listen.  The truth is, I love my team and I love going to games, but I'm not all that overly passionate about football in general. 

After a late-night arrival home, we spent the next day hanging out with my sister and taking some really fun shots for her etsy shop. Twinkly Christmas lights make everything a little more magical. 

Anni also made sure to leave her hand prints all over the glass doors.  

Have I mentioned my husband is an amazing daddy?  Well, he's a great Uncle, too.  This scene makes me all the more excited that he's the one raising our baby with me. 

And then, we ended our trip the same way we started.  Dance Party.

Epic.