Gobble Gobble in the forest

Over the course of 14 years of marriage, we had never spent Thanksgiving in Kingwood until last year & boy were we missing out! That Gaga & Paw Paw are gracious hosts welcoming the crazy that our family brings & faithfully filled our bellies with all things delicious : ) Here's the whole crew.

It is funny to be so delayed (like almost a year behind on writing posts) and notice how much the kids have grown! It makes me a little sad!

Arlo & Paw Paw played a lot of Slapjack which Arlo never quite fully grasped but he liked to win. It was basically like slap any card or cards you put down & if Paw Paw slaps it, take it anyway. It's fun to be three. Owen is there in the background enjoying the train track he convinced Paw Paw to get out. It is the track that wraps around the Christmas tree every year but it looked just as lovely around the entertainment center ; ) They LOVE it! 

Thanksgiving morning we mixed & rolled about a billion sausage balls. It's great to have capable helpers these days to speed the process along so we could enjoy some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Here's Arlo with one of his silly faces. We peeled sweet potatoes together. He has on the trash truck jammies he got for his birthday. He wore them so much that the knees were ripped up. Just a few weeks ago, I mentioned throwing them away but he couldn't bear to part with them & wanted me to cut them into shorts. The holes were big & he now wears daisy dukes at bedtime. Glad the real trash guys don't ; )

Those twinkies love their uncles. I can list a million reasons why because I feel the same way.

Sometimes they smile at the same time!

A bunch of baseball gloves & balls were pulled out of the closet & everyone was hooked! Last summer in Lake City, my favorite things was playing baseball right behind the house where we stayed. Both sets of grandparents, uncles & our crew in the beautiful mountains having a ball.

We attempted a family picture & the live photo looks like Arlo is doing crab pinchers over & over with a funny little giggle. He is pretty much cute whatever he is doing. Lucky guy....siblings might be jealous.

Anson said he wanted to sit next to Aunt Sharon so they could eat rolls together. It's the little things that forge strong relationships right?

I tried to get a shot of the table....tried & failed I guess, ha! It is proof that at least half of Robby was there!

These three made a pumpkin pie & a chocolate pie that both tasted delicious.

The kids were responsible for making place cards with each persons name along with some fall décor to hang from the chandelier. I love that my mom encouraged that rather than being fancy. Our family doesn't do fancy real well right now ; ) I saved all the place cards & will smile year to year at the precious handwriting. 

Before we loaded up to head back to Big D, we took a walk down to the park to burn off some energy. My dad calls us Big Momma & Little Momma. She is the best momma.

Almost Christmas....last year

The holiday season (last year) was yet again, full of fun! This is just a smattering of pictures, maybe some words to accompany. The above picture was taken at a neighborhood not too far away. We walked around a lake (in the dark with disobedient kids) surrounded by trees with beautiful lights. Arlo was rockin' that three year old fake smile. Ha! 

I will begin with saying that around Thanksgiving last year, my mom asked if there was anything I would enjoy receiving for Christmas. My answer was "mama, all I would love is for you to make me an apron." Her creativity & skills are just over the moon & within a week of my request, this adorable Christmas cookie apron was on my doorstep! And then, a few weeks after that, she surprised me with a year round one! That girl, I just love her : ) 

Our past gingerbread house experiences have been ANYTHING but successful due to many factors.
Because of that history, I was reluctant to try again. Rob encouraged me to attempt real gingerbread this year & it worked! The best part was that it was actually fun with 10 little helping hands.  I baked it all & Robby helped me assemble the night before and sadly, we were one house short. Poor Arlo ended up with a small shack. We took the kiddos to Central Market & everyone got to choose a couple candies.  We were all set up & ready to go! Let the decorating begin!

Arlo didn't mind the shack as long as he could cover it in sugar!

Just before December I discovered the option for a live photo.  The live version of the following picture is one of my favorites. The amount of squealing & laughing makes your eardrums feel like they may burst BUT the picture sure turned out cute!

Instead of choosing an official winner, Robby names each one. The kids love it! 

The names for 2018 Gingerbread Baking Extravaganza:

Charlotte- Quintessential Martha
Eloise- "There's no place like home" as she swirled it up in the air to take a bite
Owen- Rooty Tooty, fresh & fruity
Anson- Type 2...as in diabetes
Arlo- Lights up all year round

Onward & upward in the gingerbread world!

Another serious Arlo smile....

Little Lolo-bird got to put the star on the tree. It has made it through every Christmas since the year we got married while the broken ornament pile grows larger & larger. Small price to pay to have a house full of little ones!

Advent season was kicked off once again with a beautiful performance by the Children's Chorus. 

Just a few days before Christmas the kids & I had a "leapover" in Arlo language at Auntie Deb's & Uncle Joe's house.  It was full of Twister, tire swings & tons of sugar!

 It was all part of a plan to surprise the kids with their very own playground in the backyard. The plan went off without a hitch & they were SO excited when we arrived home! To be honest, I was more excited than they were!

They couldn't believe it & were so quick to express their gratefulness. We have all enjoyed having it in the yard especially with our school days. It's a popular place for lessons or read-alouds. Not so much in this 105 degree heat index day after day but the fall is a comin!

Well, this gets us to just before Christmas : )

Arlo turns Three!

Darling is Arlo is now quite close to turning four but we can't forget how fun it was for him to turn three : ) He melts our hearts day in & day out....even his brothers would admit to that. 

To capture the pure essence of the day I will quote the birthday Instagram post.

"Darling Arlo is now officially young, wild & THREE! We enjoyed celebrating his sweetness on this perfectly rainy fall day. Starting with sausage balls & ending with a birthday serenade from two uncles, it was a good one! Per Arlo's request we have watched & re-watched the birthday video I made documenting his arrival & early days at home. Our favorite part is the transition of songs corresponding with calm newborn to four older siblings anxious to get their hands on the new baby bubby. The lyrics say, "when I hold you in my arms love, something changes, it's the strangest feeling. The things that used to matter, they don't matter to me. When I see you & you're smiling, how my heart aches, so full it is about to break." That's me tonight, the only one still awake at The Nest, feeling that ache, thankful to be mama to that boy. The moment that the Fab Four met their +1 is a treasured memory for the two of us. God knew we needed a caboose for our crazy train & blessed us immensely with his arrival. I'm also thinking about how just before bedtime Eloise taught Arlo her most well known saying..."it's hard to be three" she would know!"

Starting at age two, we discovered the Llama Llama books at the library & began to check out multiple ones every trip. He was such a little guy to be able to walk from the entrance of the library directly to the shelf of the Anna Dewdney books! His favorite by far is Llama Llama Mad at Mama. For a good portion of the past year, he could finish any phrase in the book if you paused. All that to say, a Llama Llama party was THE way to celebrate!

He continually makes us giggle with his facial expressions & how confident he is to point his finger at you so you know he's serious! He was proud of his birthday sign that his siblings made him.

While the girls were at a friends house, the handsome trio helped make pumpkin bread on birthday eve. Most of the time there are too many helping hands & we say "when helping hurts" but this day was the exact opposite. I must have been in a sentimental mood & loved all the help!

I got crafty & had a successful first attempt at iron on vinyl to outfit the birthday boy.

I also made a trash truck shirt that he has worn more times than I can count.  At age three, his two favorite things besides me (of course) are Llama Llama & trash day. He got his very own truck that he has carried out to show the trash man on more than one occasion.  He loves to get Charlotte's Bananagram game tiles & fill up the mini can to dump in the top. It's a mess & he loves it.

He worked on a Llama craft for about 2.5 seconds but then he loved on his Gaga for a bit. I'd pick her too over paper & glue ; )

Grammy & Grandpa brought over some yummy m&m cookies & ice cream.

He loves to find the letter A anywhere he looks & up until recently would say, "look, my name!" He was delighted to find a couple of those on his sign.

I just love birthdays. They are extremely emotional for me & rightly so : ) One last photo of that little darling....