Happy Thanksgiving!

Lunch at Nana & Poppa's! We had a great day at Nana & Poppa's this year. We had family join us from Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania & Massachusetts.

Happy 85th Birthday, Mama Fontaine!!!

November 17th was Mama's birthday, so Ashlyn and I headed to Edisto to eat lunch with my parents & spend some time with Mama. It was a great afternoon. Ash got to meet some of my cousins for the first time & see some of her great-uncles for a bit. She really enjoyed helping Mama blow out the candles on her cake. They are very cute together!

4 Generations...I love every minute that Ash and I get to spend with Mom and Mama! Mom made a family favorite...carrot cake!

Little Stink Bug!!!

I just want everyone to see this..........

Nana and I took Ashlyn for a Holiday portrait & it was quite the adventure! She wanted absolutely nothing to do with the idea. We gave her candy, cola, and even took her favorite rocking horse for her to play on. Ash simply threw her hands in the air & said, "No mo dis!" She went to the door & we really could not change her mind. With NO pictures in hand, we went home! The next day, I summonsed Rick for portrait duty. It was about the same!!! We got a couple of shots, but then she was DONE! The little rascal!!! We came home & she posed for me on the couch for a good 15 minutes!!!

She was pushing some buttons & they were not just on Daddy's laptop.

"I love you Ashlyn!"

Love, Mommy

CHEEZZZZZE!!!

Mimi & The Little Gym

Each time we go to class, the kids sing a name song & when we say each of their names, they run up and give Valerie a high five. Ash LOVES Valerie, so she usually goes back up to the middle of the circle & sings all of the songs with Valerie. She never does this with the other teachers. So Happy!!!

"Catch Mimi"

Bubble time with Valerie! Ashlyn has been going to TLG for over a year and a half now & she still LOVES the bubbles! The Little Beasts class has been a lot of fun, as the kids are so much more interactive. The dance around & squeal when the bubbles get going. Too cute! They all know to run to the door to get their hand stamped after class, too!

"There is no place like home...except for the neighbor's cause they have CANDY"

So, I decided it would be cool to get sick the week of Halloween........urgh!

After planning for the night for several weeks, I did not get to go Trick or Treating with Ashlyn. Thank you Nana and Poppa for coming to help Rick!

Rick and Nana took Ashlyn around to the neighbor's, while Poppa gave out candy at our house. They were awesome & made a video for me to watch later that night.

Dorothy!

One of the first stops...Ashlyn insisted on opening her Tootsie Pop and eating it right away. How many licks does it take to get to the center...if only she could count that high! She worked on that sucker the entire time she went around the neighborhood & finished it up when she got back to the house!

After figuring out how the trick or treat thing works, Ashlyn really enjoyed her night. She would say "Me" really loud after knocking, "thank you" after taking a piece of candy (or two or three), and "bye" before she left. I watched the video several times...it ends with her getting about an inch from the camera & saying "Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"! Too cute!

So many lollipops, so little time!

Yes folks, that is our little angel eating a sucker for breakfast the next morning & yes, she is VERY excited about it!!!

Thank you Halloween..........

Trick or Treat...The Franke Home

Every year, the MOMS Club goes to the Franke Home the week before Halloween to visit with the residents. It is a very fun day! The kids dress up and parade through the halls. The residents sit in the lobby and halls, waiting to see the costumes. Some folks have candy, cookies, and cards to share. The kids have a little party at the end.

This year, I was super excited to get to go, as I used to work in the assisted living community at the facility. I hate to say it, but I have not been visiting the residents like I promised myself I would. I think it is especially hard since Mama is no longer there & some folks that I used to be very close to have passed away. I guess the kids were a distraction from all of my emotions...it turned out to be a very awesome experience! I love that I got to visit with everyone & that they all got to see Ashlyn! (They were all SO excited for me when I was pregnant)

Visiting with a resident that is very dear...she used to be the only person that did every single activity that I planned. She always did them with a smile, too!

A very special friend..."Lollipop"! This was the lady that taught me how to play Bridge when I worked at the Franke Home. She is the sweetest and most entertaining person I think I have ever met. She & her daughter were always very special to me. I am so thankful that we were able to see her. It had been about a year...they came to our house after Ashlyn was born. I will never forget her or the advice she gave...esp. while I was pregnant! She always liked to hear about Rick because her husband was in the Air Force & was also a pilot!

Visiting a resident's room...Ashlyn loved the figurines on the dresser. She had to check each one out & make the animal noises over and over. I think the ladies loved getting to spend time with her. We stayed in the lobby for almost an hour. She was looking at all of their animals and really enjoying the attention. She even danced and did "happy feet" for them. It made my heart smile to see how happy everyone was...it was a wonderful reunion for me.

Play date with Grayson!

A good friend of ours was recently diagnosed with cancer. She and her husband have been traveling back and fourth to Houston for her treatments. Rick and I had the chance to help out one afternoon by having a play date with their son, Grayson. It was a great day. We visited with Nana and Poppa, went to the Memorial Park and Pier, watched a movie & hung out at the house for a bit. I think the kids both slept well that night...we sure did!

Grayson and Rick getting dizzy at the park.

Kickball..."that's my ball".

"Get me Daddy, Get Me!"

Sharing Nana with Grayson...well, kind of! Ashlyn and Grayson were all over the place at the park, so we split up and tried to keep up with them. She was fine until she noticed Nana was pushing Grayson in the swing. All of a sudden she needed to be held! :)

Enjoying ice cream on the pier with Nana

Our neighbor, Mrs. Kellie, and I took Ashlyn and Grayson for a walk around the neighbor. They enjoyed looking at the Halloween decorations and counting the pumpkins.

Cooking with Mom!

Ashlyn really loves to "help" with everything these days! She enjoys putting the laundry into the dryer...and by laundry, I mean anything wet, clean, or dirty! She loves feeding the dog and cat...their food several times a day & her food during and after meals. Ashlyn LOVES to let them in and out of the back door, while screaming "go dog go"! She loves to scrub everything with the toilet brush...which explains why they are now hard to find around here. She loves to help wash Bono, flush the toilet (you would be surprised what she has attempted to fit in there...sigh), load the dish washer, and now cook! This particular night was actually going well, until I turned my back for two seconds!!! We were making a marinade for steak. I had only put the dry wine, chopped garlic clove, and worcestershire sauce in the dish. She was stirring it for me & decided to give it a taste. She screamed "uhhh ohhh" and started spitting everywhere and wiping her tongue on her shirt! Thankfully we were not having guests over that night & we will never tell Daddy about the secret ingredient!