The Road Goes Ever On...: Thanksgiving, 2 months

Thanksgiving came and went. We are now in the throes of Christmas prep.

Gideon helped me make cookies for our Thanksgiving.

Teach them young :)

There was a sort of warm day prior to Thanksgiving. I wanted to get Gideon outside to play. So, I bundled up little missy.

She was not appreciative

Gideon enjoyed playing in the leaves.

Thanksgiving:

these two turkeys :)

He had to be bribed with candy to smile

hehe

Getting so big.

she is such a sweetie.

After church we went to Paul and Jeans for the food and merriment portion of Thanksgiving.

Troy sleeping amidst the chaos

Uncle Paul

hahaha

We have so much to be thankful for.

Friday, Black Friday, I went out mid-afternoon. The crowds weren't too terrible by then but there were still deals. I stocked up on cute clothes for Aurelia and got myself a few post-pregnancy basics. (oh the trials of ever changing weight and shape)

Girly girl does not like my Black Friday finds.

In the evening, Nathan took Gideon over to Bob and Jenny's. I took Aurelia and met Kacie, Kandace, Carli, Kayla, Lori, and Cliff in Peoria. Us girls went to Target for a bit of shopping and then headed over to Ron and Kary's for their hot tub. :) Aurelia is a night owl, so she was happy to just be held until late into the night. It's more fun to be hanging out in a hot tub until 12:30, than sitting at home. Don't worry, Aurelia got no where near the water. :)
Nathan and Gideon were up just as late. He got a flat tire and was stuck at Bob and Jenny's until they finally borrowed their van and came home.

Saturday, it was nice out, so dad came and helped me clean up all of our brush. Our one tree drops a massive amount of leaves and a storm went through and brought a ton of branches down. That plus the garden, we were able to get a truck load.

It was practically warm that day. So, we bundled the kids up again and took them on our last walk of the year. I would think.

Sometimes cleaning up the inevitable disaster and doing dishes is still better than fighting a toddler that just wants you to play.

It's just water.

Gideon has been climbing out of his crib. So, it was time for the side to come off.

very happy about being a big boy

It snowed! again.
During one of Aurelia's naps, we managed to get outside and play for a while.

The mess after is a little tiring...

cocoa in a cool mug someone gave us :)

Gideon has suddenly decided he LOVES Aurelia. Things have gotten scary.

"heyy missy girlie" :)

Quiet moments are very rare around this house. But, sometimes they both fall asleep on the way home.

I got out my Christmas decorations a little earlier than normal. Gideon loves lights.

so pritty!

Yes. I let him play with a string of lights. Yes electricity is involved. Yes my baby is on the ground.

No judgment. :P

Bath time!

Last Wednesday, Gideon and I went to the Peoria Playhouse Museum with my parents.

boats with Grandpa

kinetic sand table

driving the combine with Grandma

Thursday, I had a doctors appointment. So, Gideon got to go to the farm. He stayed through supper. Nathan had singing practice so he dropped me off at the farm on the way and Gideon and I got to hang out until it was over.

Friday we hosted the Sunday School boys for a game night. They seemed to have a lot of fun. Though, I'm not sure why board games would cause the house to shake... ;)

Aurelia is 2 months old!

Gideon was a little jealous of all the picture taking attention. So, he had to get his quilt and join in.

Two months... She is a really good baby. She's pretty clingy and rarely falls asleep without nursing. But, otherwise she's really easy. She is super alert and smiley, she loves watching Gideon, and she coos a ton. This little girly wants to be sitting up and taking in the world. Despite the fact that if she is awake, she must be held or the whole neighborhood with know, and she likes to be wide awake between 10pm and 2am, she is a great sleeping. She has giving me 7-8 hours every night for the past week! (Unfortunately, Gideon has been up twice every night and awake by 7am. So, we still aren't really sleeping much. Seriously, how is my 2 month old a better sleeper than my 2 year old? I'm really not doing anything differently.)

This little ornery bugger.

look at that smirk.

well hello

stuck in the mud

Saturday we went to the Braker breakfast in Roanoke. The Braker family is pretty big so they don't get together very often. It was good to see everyone again.

That evening, I wanted to get out of the house and do something. I'm not the 'stay home and cuddle' type. Cold winter nights make me even more stir crazy. So, we went out to the Festival of Lights in East Peoria. It was nice in Goodfield when we left, but it got nasty. Halfway through the lights it started hailing. Apparently, there were also tornadoes. We were going to go out to eat and do a bit of shopping too, but decided to just head home.

Gideon loved it.

Carriage, carriage going to the ball...

Dragon!

firetruck!!!

Sunday, was Christmas Caroling at church.

Aurelia had her 2 month check up on Monday. She is 10.4 lbs. 22 inches. She is in the 23rd percentile. :) Chunkin' up.

She got her shots. Which she was not happy about.

My mom watched Gideon while we were in with the doctor. And, then we went to the tree farm to buy a tree.

I am not sure who would ever buy the red one...

Loaded up with our trees.

After his nap, Gideon helped me decorate.

Monday evening, we went out to the Braker's.

Yesterday, we went grocery shopping in the morning. And then we were going to make just a quick stop to buy Nathan a new button up. Ha.

Society is not set up for people with Children.

1. They need wider parking spaces for unloading and loading.

2. They need to be closer to the door. Instead of risking a tired toddler having a melt down in the middle of the parking lot, I choose to carry him and the car seat.

3. Motion activated doors. Please. With which hand do you expect me to open the door?

4. Carts. Carts need to be designed so that your cranky toddler is within arms reach. So, they can't stand up and jump off on a whim. There should also be a space that a car seat can sit without risk of it falling. Because, it is great fun to try to navigate through clothes with only one arm to steer. And, wouldn't it be nice, if when both those criteria were met, there was still room to put the stuff you want to buy??? (I'm looking at you grocery stores and Target.)

5. Aisles. they need to be wide enough to push a cart around corners WITH toddler legs sticking out. And, wide enough so when your toddler starts emptying the shelves next to him, you can actually reach around the cart to stop him.