Pump it Up, take 2

The last time we went to Pump it Up was for Andrew's birthday, and he was the only one who wouldn't play on the slides or jump around. When Papa and Nana and TJ were here, we all went and he had a great time.

Jonathan

Andrew

Daniel

Nathaniel

Emily

TJ

"Shoo, Diaper"

Daniel is my first child to start potty-training before age 3. Yea! I tried to put a diaper on him for night time, and he said, "Shoo, diaper, shoo! Bad diaper!" So, we are done with the diapers and we will hopefully soon be done with the pull-ups.

He is really good at using the computer. He knows how to point and click and he has a fun time on the Thomas and Friends website.

Shopping Tips

For the last few years on the day after Thanksgiving, I do my big shopping trip for Christmas gifts. Michael watches all of the kids and I get started bright and early. I look through all of the ads on Thanksgiving night after the kids are in bed. I write down all of the stuff I want to get on a list, and I gather all of the ads to take with me. My first stop is Walmart. I first get all of the things from their ad that I need before it's all gone. Then, while everyone else is standing in the huge checkout lines, I walk around the store looking for the things I wanted from other stores. Walmart matches their prices! No one is looking for those things, so they are pretty easy to get. My two biggest finds this year were some Thomas trains that were advertised at Target, and Microsoft Office (I saved $60!) which was advertised at Best Buy. By the time I am done finding everything at Walmart, the checkout lines are almost empty. I avoid Target and Best Buy because their lines are crazy, and ToysRUs is a madhouse. I am able to get so many great deals--I love a good bargain!

All of the kids adore Jonathan.

And Thomas!

I've been so busy that I haven't written anything about Thanksgiving yet. We had a nice weekend here. I made our traditional turkey meal, with Michael's help, and we just enjoyed being with the kids. Michael said the prayer for Thanksgiving dinner, and he was listing all of the things we are grateful for when Daniel cut in with a very loud "and Thomas!" It was so hard not to laugh. Daniel loves Thomas and Friends; he knows all of the songs and the names of the engines.

Here is Daniel after a typical day of refusing to take a nap.

18 pounds

Jonathan weighed in at 18 pounds on his 4 month visit in December! I'm grateful to have another big, healthy baby. :-) His smile lights up a room. Here are some examples.

Seriously?

Yesterday was a very cold day. Where I grew up, in the Midwest, we would have considered it a beautiful winter day. However, in Alabama, they cancelled school for it! According to weather predictions, there would be snow and ice and so on Thursday night the school district cancelled school for Friday. Andrew spent a good part of the day playing with this empty diaper box. Later, he ripped down one of the sides and sat in it and used it for a chair.