Happy Turkey Day

These last few days have been so crazy. We had a TON of family in for the holiday and it was a blast. We missed Sarah, Laura and David of course, but we had lots of yummy food, awesome football and family time- so it was good.
I didn't get a ton of pictures on Thanksgiving day, but here a few.

Papa and I made apple place settings for each person. There were 26 of us total and we thought place settings would be helpful. Each apple had the top cored and a tea light was placed inside. Then we wrote everyone's names on an apple and put them around the tables. Yeah we had three tables....SO MANY PEOPLE!


Tanner thought they looked pretty tasty.

Until he got a mouthful of candle.

After everyone got seated we went around saying what we were thankful for and after you listed your blessings you blew out your candle. It was cool.

This is a random kitchen shot, but you can kind of see the counter- that's after we devoured the food. You can imagine how full the dishes were and how much we ate.
There wasn't ANY turkey leftover.

Then Tanner helped out by throwing the apples away. He loved it.


This went on for about 20 minutes. So funny.
Here's the crew- well actually this is about half the crew

After pie we headed home, I had to go to bed so I could wake up at 1:30 am to go BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING. Yeah I'm insane. Julie, Julieta, Tamara and I went up to Branson and then to Springfield to shop. We got to Target right before it opened and rushed inside. Then we went to Kohls, walmart, the mall in Springfield and a baby store. We had a blast!!! It was crazy but so fun. I wasn't really looking for any big items, but I bought some movies, a cd, a couple winter hats, and some clothes for Tanner.
I was so tired after but I couldn't unwind enough to take a nap. I just had to settle for an early bedtime that night.
Friday Night Jon and Julie came over to say bye because they were leaving to drive back to Utah the next day. Tanner really loved Jon and Julie. Julie gave him this lion washcloth and he loved it. They're pretty much best friends now.

Saturday I took Tanner to story time at the library, he loved the stories. But then they brought out a snake-I guess the lesson was on reptiles-but Tanner didn't like it. So we didn't stay.
Then we went and bought our Christmas tree-so excited- and then Tanner had to take a nap. We went over to my grandma's house for the HOG game and watched them Kick LSU's butt. SO AWESOME! It was a close game but we pulled through and had an amazing season. 10-2. Not bad and we're ranked #7 now. It was probably the best birthday present for my Dad.
That night I went out with one of my best friends and had dinner. It was so fun to see her. They live in Florida and I seldom get to see her.
We celebrated Papa's birthday the next day. We opened presents and ate cake. Tanner loved the tool box Papa got. Even Clark got in on the playing action.


Happy Birthday Papa!

Now life can mostly resume as usual! I have so much to be grateful for and I look forward to enjoying my blessings. I have the best boys in the world.

This and That

I was recently getting picture off my camera and realized I need to fill you all in on a few little tidbits of our life.
Tanner loves music. It doesn't really matter what kind. If we're at church and the choir does a special number, Tanner sits up straight and listens so intently. If we're at home and the ipod is on, Tanner dances around the house. Last week Chris pulled out Papa's guitar and started messing around a little and Tanner thought it was so cool. He wanted to help his Dad play.


After his bath, Tanner always plays with Papa for a little while. They do blanket rides or chase each other around the house. Tanner loves it and he loves his Papa. I think this picture says it all.

I have yet to get a good picture of Tanner and his Nanny. They usually have snuggle time when its time to go to sleep and I don't want to get a picture because I'm afraid the flash will wake him. But believe me- He loves his Nanny!!!

On Saturday my college roommate Julie and her hubby Jon came over with their nephew Kaden. Tanner LOVES Kaden and the two of them had fun together for a while. Then Chris' friend Brett and his son Austin showed up and the three boys had a blast together. Austin and Kaden are about the same size and they ran all around, Tanner tried to keep up. We finally took the boys outside to let them run off the rest of their energy. They probably played in the leaves for an hour together.

Look at those baby blues.

Tanner trying to catch up with the big boys... He was so funny because he learned quickly that if he stayed in one place he could just watch them, instead of running after them. As soon as he would catch up to the boys they would take off again, so Tanner gave up and just walked around and watched. haha


Yesterday we went to lunch with Jon, Julie, Julieta and Joseph. Oh and the babies came too. We ate at Gastons and it was DELISH! Then we went across the Dam and walked around the observatory. Tanner loved it. They had this stuffed bear at the entrance and when we walked in Tanner started growling at it. I laughed so hard.
You can kind of see the look of terror in Tanner's eyes in this picture. He wasn't sure about that bear.


Then we saw the different fish in the tanks

and we peeked in the wall hole to see the turtles.

Here's Tanner with his "I'm about to get into some trouble" look.

Then Dad showed Tanner how to ring the old steamboat bell. And he thought that was pretty cool.


Then we went out to the observatory deck. He was enthralled with the bars on the deck


Tanner enjoyed the sunshine but most of all he enjoyed pushing Clark's stroller around. He thinks he is pretty big stuff. Oh and Yes- Clark is inside the stroller.
He has some pretty trusting parents!

Don't mind that he can't see where he's going...


It was a nice afternoon and the weather was great, especially considering it's late November. It was in the high 50's. So beautiful!
Now if the weather could just stay nice for Thanksgiving.
Happy Turkey Day tomorrow everyone!

Fall Frenzy

We're doing our best to make the most out of the Fall before it gets too cold to go outside. On Saturday we went over to Yellville for their Fall Frenzy on the Square. They had face painting, hay maze, pet show, crafts, food, live music and lots of other fun stuff. Tanner had a blast. We met some friends over there and Tanner adores their kids. He had so much fun following them around and playing together.
It was cooler that day so we bundled up. We'll we bundled Tanner up.

Tanner and Mom- don't mind the weird face Tanner is making in this picture.

Tanner and Dad- love these boys!

Tanner loved playing in the piles of leaves.



After we took some family pics we headed over to the face painting booth.
Because of Tanner's newest obsession with Dogs, we decided to get his face painted like a puppy.

He was possibly the cutest puppy ever.


Then we went and got some lunch and went to watch the pet show. Tanner loved watching the dogs before they went to be judged. One dog even came over and started trying to lick his face. Tanner loved every minute of it.



Then we listened to one of our friends perform some live music and went to the craft booths. It was a fun afternoon and even though it was cold we had a great time.
Our little puppy was so tired from his afternoon of play, that he fell asleep on the way home.


Later that night AR play UTEP and Tanner was ready to cheer for the HOGS.



We also discovered Tanner LOVES corn dogs. I think its more the thrill of getting to hold his own food, but whatever it is- He LOVES them!
Seriously, could this kid be happier with his corn dog?




Last night Papa took the boys on another blanket ride. Tanner knows just what to do when a blanket comes out of the cupboard. He walks over and lays down, prepared to get pulled around. He does really good with Clark too. They're so cute!


This week is crazy, but I'm getting so excited for Thanksgiving. We have a bunch of family coming in and one of my best friends is coming down too. So excited! Comon' Thanksgiving- get here faster!

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

This is Tanner lately... Poor kid! It seems like his head is a magnet for the cement. As soon as one bruise heals he falls down and gets another. I know its all part of the learning process, but seriously its so pathetic! Look at that forehead. Don't mind that he isn't wearing a shirt- I love my naked baby! Also- Tanner is going through a little withdrawl. We took some of his old toys, swings, and his bouncer seat over to my parent's house to use for baby Clark- and last night Tanner found his bouncer and decided he wasn't too big for it after all. So funny. As soon as Clark was lifted out of it, Tanner would crawl in. Then he lay there making it bounce by shaking his body. He looked like he was doing the "worm" on his back. And then he started just laying his head down in the seat because it was vibrating and he loved it. This kid is a constant source of entertainment.