Another Month Bites the Dust

November was a good month.  I got older (officially) and Mark and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary.  For all you math nerds out there, we've now been married 1/3 of our lives. Only 11 more years till we reach the halfway point.

Early in the month we took Graham in for his 2-month well baby check-up.  He was 11 lbs. 6 oz and 23 1/2" long.  I have to admit I was a little concerned about his weight.  A friend of mine had her baby 5 days before me and he was only 6 lbs. at birth.  By 2 months, he was 13 pounds!  When we put her baby next to Graham, Graham seemed so small.  Her baby gained 7 pounds in 2 months, and Graham only gained 2! 

I told my pediatrician, "he was born big, but then he went all spider-monkey on me!"  The pediatrician wasn't concerned.  "Well, he hasn't exactly had a typical first 2 months.  He has had a lot of interventions."

Oh yeah.  I'd forgotten that part.  

He seems to be doing better this last month, but he still seems small and people are always commenting on how little, yet alert he is.

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As a prelude to Thanksgiving we decided to try doing a "Thankful Tree."  Aubree took to the concept with zest.  A friend gave her a small gratitude notebook as well, and she  soon had pages filled with her blessings.  "Mom," she'd announce, "now I have seven pages!  Now, eight!"  The hardest thing for her was choosing from so many good options only one to write down on a leaf every day.  Some top choices included: flowers, commandments, our freedom, our safety, and pumpkin pie.

Bryce and Thane were equally enthusiastic.  Bryce is now old enough to understand the concept and think of things outside of what's right in from of him, things like: soldiers, Jesus, Little People, and candy. Thane always wanted to choose what he'd chosen the day before, but still managed to come up with some fun ideas: blankets, trains, tic tacs, Dad, Graham, and Bryce.

I loved coming down the stairs every morning and seeing the bright leaves full of things for which my kids are grateful.  I think it's a tradition we'll continue.

After taking down the tree, that part of the wall looked bare and boring, so we put up a felt nativity stable (kind of like the felt Christmas tree that's hugely popular on Pinterest, only I cheated because I already had the felt nativity characters).  Fun for December!

We also tackled another Pinterest-inspired craft - turkey hand prints.  Have you ever tried to get a hand print from a newborn?  Let's just say I totally get why hospitals take footprints instead! 

At our homeschool co-op we had a Thanksgiving themed day and did lots of fun activities and crafts.  They seemed to like wearing the pilgrim and Indian costumes, but weren't awfully excited about actually acting out the events of the First Thanksgiving.  At least it was a good photo op.

For the actual Thanksgiving holiday, we again gathered with our Bonus Family.  I have a terrible habit of always forgetting to take pictures when we get together.  This time I was determined to do better.  I made sure I had my camera readily accessible, and I remembered to take it out...as we were driving home. D'oh!  Rest assured, there were lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun.  

Aubree and Bryce loved hanging out with their second cousins and having free access to treats.  Thane refused to leave Mark's arms the entire visit because he was terrified of the little dogs (who were perfectly harmless).  Graham was the hit of the party (they all love babies).