Giving Thanks

 

We had a quiet Thanksgiving at home on Thursday, and were thankful for a low key day of relaxing, as we had just returned to SC after several days of traveling.  Daddy assumed his annual role of Thanksgiving Day chef and prepared our yummy turkey, which Leah named "Turkey Head".  This was kind of funny, as Luke has been asking us for the past few days, "Are we eating Turkey Head again?" and I always had to pause to consider what he was asking before I realized that he meant left-overs.

 

We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in the morning, and the children entertained themselves by playing with homemade pumpkin play dough:

 

 

In the afternoon, we heard that there had been a sighting of the Magic Turkey in our neighborhood, and Daddy took Luke and Leah on a walk to follow those infamous turkey tracks.  Lassos in hand, our little turkey hunters tried to catch the elusive feathered character, but once again, he got away.  True to annual tradition, the Magic Turkey left presents behind for both children and provided a great mid-day distraction/activity:

 

 

I have so much to be thankful for this year, and give thanks for sweet moments where my children still seem so little.  They are growing up so quickly, so when I glimpse even a brief instant where they are full of childhood innocence, I pause.  Last week, we were at our neighborhood playground, and Luke was playing with his construction vehicles.  It reminded me of a much younger version of my son, and I wanted to freeze this moment in time:

 

Leah insisted on taking her "baby alligator" to Luke's school last week, and he clickedy-clacked down the hallways of the elementary school, eliciting smiles from many of the teachers and students.  We are thankful for such a welcoming place, where we were able to visit and participate in Luke's kindergarten Thanksgiving celebration:

 

We volunteered in the classroom to help the kindergarteners make turkey cookies and stayed for story time and lunch.  Once again, Leah made herself right at home in the class: 

 

 

 

Luke and Leah were also especially thankful for an unexpected snowfall earlier this week.  We returned home on Wednesday morning after 7+ hours in the car to see big, fat snowflakes falling at our house.  All three children ran into our backyard, squealing with glee, as they burned off some pent-up energy and tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues.  The snow disappeared within a half hour, but it was a magical moment for these southern kids.  Note: We heard on the news that this was a record snowfall for this date in November in Greenville, SC, with a whopping total of .1 inches (narrowly beating the past record of "trace" set in 1954!). 

 

 We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week, and are very blessed indeed!

Go Firehawks!

 

Earlier this month, we celebrated the end of Luke's fall soccer season with a Kids vs. Parents game.  Luke's team named themselves the Firehawks, and he had a wonderful first organized team soccer experience.  Luke played two nights/week this fall, and Leah served as the team's sideline cheerleader and biggest fan for each practice and game.  Here are the highlights of the ultra-competitive Firehawks vs. their families:

Those poor parents didn't stand a chance!

Daddy, Leah, and her stuffed "Chickie" served as goalies for the Parents' Team.

Ready to defend the goal!

 

Luke vs. Daddy/Leah!

GOAL!!

The parents' attempt at offense.

 

Firehawks in action!

I think the final score ended up being something like 22-1, in favor of the Firehawks, of course!  It was a great group of kids and we had a ball watching this team grow and learn this season.  From the initial games of "cloud" ball, where the players formed one giant cluster around the soccer ball, to the final games where we glimpsed some strategy and skill, the kids came a long way.  Even Peanut practiced her soccer skills on the sidelines during games:

The Kids vs. Parents evening/soccer season concluded with a pizza party and medal ceremony.  Luke is already asking what activity he can do next, and we have really enjoyed this year's introduction to team sports for our high-energy, sports-loving little boy!  

Babyland General

 

Last Monday, Leah and I took a day trip to Cleveland, GA, to visit Babyland General, the home of the Cabbage Patch Kids.  Cabbage Patch dolls are born at this "hospital", and visiting families can watch the nurses deliver the new babies and see all of the "kids" who live here.  The estate was gorgeous, nestled in a valley among Georgia's mountains, and we met our friends from Atlanta for our visit:

 

 

Leah loved visiting all of the Cabbage Patch Kids, and rocked the new babies in the nursery:

 

Babyland General was already decorated for Christmas, and we enjoyed seeing the festive holiday displays and reindeer friends of the Cabbage Patch kids, too:

Leah's favorite display was the school bus.  She helped load the students onto the bus and posed as their bus driver:

 

Leah and Ashleigh also had fun at the hair salon and at a tea party with the Cabbage Patch Kids:

 

Next, it was time for the main event.  We watched as a new Cabbage Patch baby was born and received her first check up in the Babyland General nursery:

 

The nurse introduced the new baby to all of the children and they helped name her.  Then they each took a turn holding the sweet bundle:

We dubbed our day "Girls Day" and actually got a rare picture of the mommies with our girls:

 

 

Leah and Ashleigh posed as real live Cabbage Patch Kids, and had fun together on our girly day, which concluded with a Ladies' Lunch out.  Hooray for a fun trip to Babyland General, and a great day with girlfriends! 

Winston-Salem Children's Museum

Last month, I took Luke and Leah to the Winston-Salem Children's Museum while we were visiting Wake Forest.  Now that Luke is in school full time, we aren't able to take daytrips or excursions as frequently during the week, and we took advantage of his Fall Break to visit this museum on a Friday morning while Daddy was recruiting at WFU.  We arrived at the Children's Museum just after it opened, and had the entire facility to ourselves for awhile.  I anticipated that we would spend an hour or two there, and then go back to our hotel to wait for Mark to be done working.  However, the stars aligned and we ended up having a perfect day, where we played at the museum for over 5 hours.  I realized that my children have hit a wonderful sweet spot, where we no longer need to work around nap schedules, are able to be flexible with snacks and meals, can share with peers, and have longer attention spans.  Luke and Leah played together beautifully at all of the exhibits, and it was one of my favorite days this year. Here are some highlights of our day:

The Build-It Section was a big hit with both kids.  They had the entire area to themselves, and were a riot with their construction hats on, pretending to work in their construction site:

 

The Enchanted Forest was another great place to use our imaginations.  L&L are belting out "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" below.  I wish I had a video of this- I couldn't stop giggling:

 

Fishermen in action.

Entertaining Mommy with a puppet show.

 

The veterinary clinic was also adorable.  Dr. Leah gave the animals check-ups while Dr. Luke checked out the x-rays:

Hands down, our favorite exhibit was the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory.  We visited it at least three times, and the kids were fascinated as they simulated the doughnut-making process.  There were hats and aprons, dozens of yummy pretend goodies to prepare and box, and of course, the Krispy Kreme truck to deliver all of the doughnuts:

 

 

 

Winston-Salem is the original home of Krispy Kreme, and after this exhibit, we couldn't resist treating ourselves to hot, fresh doughnuts the next morning!  

 

Our museum day continued with story time and songs in the Amazing Library, followed by craft time and a visit to the playground:  

Luke worked on this Rainbow Fish art project for over 30 minutes!



 

Leah loved this hammock in the outdoor garden playground.

 

We also found a "Where the Wild Things Are" mural, and e-mailed this picture to Luke's teacher, as it is his class theme this year.  Mrs. Wells hung the photo in her classroom, and we were excited to share our "Wild Things" sighting with Luke's kindergarten friends: 

 

What great fun I had with my Wild Things at the Children's Museum!