Turkey Day!

 So much to be thankful for this year...not the least of which is the fact that we only had 2 meals and one house to travel to :). We began with lunch at our house....Greg offered to make the turkey so we quickly conceded and offered to do a few sides and desserts. Everyone brought something so it was fairly easy....these days "easy" is my new favorite word!

                                                                                       Maddie talking to Aunt Tamra!

 Seems like blue was the color of the day....

 Coloring place mats, dress up clothes and a parade=happy little girls!

Saying Grace at the kids' table...it was cute, they all took turns saying what they were thankful for!

Before we left for the 2nd leg of our tour (Momo's), I quickly made Maddie her annual hand print turkey shirt...and by "made" I mean, hot glue...no sewing for Mamma this year! She came out of her room like this. Pick my battles, right??

 The creepy appetizer en route to Mo's....it was so much cuter on Pinterest...

 Pretty great day with the people we love....not a thing to complain about! I mean, besides an aching back, multiple contractions, swollen feet....but, despite the physical ickyness, we are beyond blessed to be welcoming our baby boy in a few short weeks :) So close....

Making Progress!!

 

 Two more marks on the list...down! 2nd date to Music Walk Dowtown (thanks to YaYa for babysitting) and a somewhat cool night for smores (and what we Floridians call a "bonfire": a firepit). I also marked off hayride although Maddie did this at school so I have no photo but it did happen...I swear!

Facepaint Friday!!

So...we were bored. Daddy was working late and Mommy was tired :) Maddie found her facepaint kit (that I thought I had well-hidden...ppfft) and decided she wanted to be a kitty. Well, far be it for me to deny  the sweet thing such a small pleasure, and hey, it involved little physical activity on my part so.... I used my non-existant artistic ability to create my best Hello Kitty. She, in turn, decided to make me a, um, "princess". Yeah...she clearly has the same artistic "ability" I do...

Whoaaaaaa Nelly!

Baby Gavin has been indescribably active. I thought maybe if I try to capture him going crazy on video I could better show Garret and anyone who would listen how wild he is! He seems to get more active at night and almost always on my right side. I didn't think it would show up well, but there is some serious alien-stuff going on that's pretty obvious (and super cool :).
I don't remember feeling Maddie nearly this much, although I was constantly told how small she was....maybe because he's bigger I feel him more?? That or he is a total wild man. If this is true, Heaven help me. I will have two super active ones to keep me busy! No rest for the weary!!

Showered with love...

 

Today, our amazing friends, Trisha and Jason hosted a shower for us and Baby Gavin. It was  just perfect! Like our first shower, we wanted it to be intimate and casual. As expected, our friends all went above and beyond and made it so beautiful...down to the monster themed decorations to match the nursery!

 I am so in love with these adorable monsters and the colors.... 

While the boys enjoyed some cornhole, we girls decorated onesies....

I

Presents!!!!!

I can't deny I love presents...not from a materialistic standpoint but I swear I revert to a six year old with excitement when I get to just open stuff. I am equally nutso about buying and giving them!

 We were so spoiled and got almost everything we really needed! My wonderful friends all pitched in for the "big ticket" items and so many personal touches were added....from the amazing monster doll my friend Christy found at a craft fair to the FSU sock monkey Colleen found for Garret  Gavin. :)

 I am overwhelmed by the effort made by so many to make this special for us....it really made us feel so humbled and grateful that although not our first, Baby Gavin is still being celebrated with equal enthusiasm. Now we are ready! Bring on the little bundle!!

Halloween

 YAY! We are making more progress on the list...whoop whoop!!
We started off the Halloween festivities with our annual adult party benefitting Caleb's Crusade. We raised almost $400 (!!) and got to immortalize our cable TV obsession...DEXTER! It's this amazingly dark and twisty show about a blood spatter analyst for the Miami/Dade PD slash serial killer of only DNA proven bad guys. I know, morbid but sooooo good! He creates a "kill room" and wraps his victims in plastic (duh, he's a cop, he knows how to cover his tracks...), slits their cheeks to collect a sample as his "trophy" then with a single stab wound to the chest, makes them pay their dues. I, pregnant and all musta been naughty cause I suffered the wrath of Dexter. On a stupid/hilarious note, Garret wrapped me in a Costco sized Saran Wrap get up and upon adding the final layer we had one of those moments....how, pre tell, was I going to pee?? Let's just say I had to bring a roll with me for each trip to the ladies' room. Oy.

On Halloween Day, Maddie's class got to dress up....partly because she's a diva and partly because her home-made Ariel costume wasn't quite finished,  she wanted to be yet another princess, Snow White. The outfit is precious so I was all for it!

And on one of my FAVE nights of the year, Maddie donned her Ariel and while, admittedly, she slightly resembled a streetwalker (so unintended but the coral lipstick Oma put on her and the horrid wig were certainly not helping), she loved it and worked her Morticia Addams walk to perfection! After school, she saw her costume hanging and squealed with delight. She said "Thank you so much for my costume Mommy!!" It was worth the glue-gun burned fingers and endless frustration just for that!

Another amazing Halloween! I am so grateful to live in such a child-friendly neighborhood and have a daughter that finds the thrill in the silly traditions her Mamma so enjoys!