Pictures

I thought these were random pictures from November until I just realized it is actually December! Where does the time go?!?

This morning the family got to light the Advent candle at Church. We dressed the kids up in their Christmas finest.

Then we stopped at the new Tractor Supply and they got hats which made them look even cuter!

Yesterday the Girl Scouts hosted their annual Elves Workshop. This was the first year that Grace got to attend since she is now a Daisy. Both girls had fun working on crafts with their friends.

Last weekend the kids helped Jason pick persimmons off of the backyard tree. They spend about 15 minutes and picked over 10 gallons of fruit. The tree is still overloaded, but we just don't know what to do with the fruit...

Thanksgiving 2009

Sixteen of us gathered at Grammie and Grampa's house for Thanksgiving this year. It was great to have all of the Gimme Five together, along with the rest of the family.

I love to watch these kids and see their personalities shining through. Grace is almost always happy and smiling (except when she is throwing a fit).

Emma Jo loves to be the oldest and the big helper. She adores her little cousins and her little brother. It was fun to watch the interactions between Emma Jo and Mays. Those two have a very special relationship. Mays even insisted that he needed to sit next to Emma at dinner.

Dallas is a sweetheart. He very definitely has opinions about what he wants, and what he often wants is Daddy. Dallas had a great time throwing the balls into the pool, just as quickly as the rest of the kids could fish them out. Cooper kept a close eye on him to try to learn a few tricks.

Grampa once again spoiled the Grandkids by purchasing an arcade-style basketball game. The little kids weren't quite sure how to play with it, but the big kids sure liked it.

After dinner the little kids were tired and decided to relax on Grammie's bed with a little Blues Clues.

Happy Birthday, Little Dude

Cooper's birthday cake, as captured by Grampa.

Do you see my cake…big breath…they went out…

Salt Dough Ornaments

What to do with three children at home for a five-day weekend? That was my dilemma yesterday and it was only day 3. We were bored by 7:30 in the morning and trying to decide what to do with ourselves. I wanted something cheap (preferable free) and easier to do with a wide range of ages. I thought about going to the pottery studio to paint ornaments for Christmas. Then I realized that is neither cheap nor an easy place to supervise a 2-year old. Then I had my great idea, Salt Dough Ornaments. I vaguely remember making them as a child, so I pulled up Google and searched for recipes. We spent two hours yesterday morning making the ornaments. Each of the kids had a blast rolling, cutting and playing with the dough. I even made a couple of special ones. Then we got to extend the fun yesterday afternoon with painting the dried and cooled ornaments.

I think this is a project that we will definitely engage in again this holiday season.

Thanksgiving

We have so much to be Thankful for this year. We have our health and family. We have our home and jobs. We have each other and God. This year I am especially thankful for all of the blessing that our family has, especially in light of the difficulties that are facing so many of the families around us.

This year was an extra special Thanksgiving Day. Not only is it Thanksgiving Day, today is Cooper's 2nd Birthday! He has been so excited each week. I'm not sure how much he realizes what is going on, but he definitely knows the verbiage. Each night at dinner this week we've asked the kids what they are thankful for. Without fail, each time Cooper has responded "my birthday". When we ask him what he wants for his birthday, each time he asks for "cake".

Today the entire family gathered at Grammie's house. It was great to see John, Tracy, and Mays & Dallas. We don't get to see those cute little boys nearly enough. The girls just love them to pieces and it was fun to see how much the boys loved the girls as well, especially Mays and Emma Jo. Also joining us was Sue and Gene, Linda and Beth, and Butch. We had a great day of spending time with family, preparing and eating great food, sharing stories and just enjoying each other.

I pray that this upcoming year will be easier than the year that is passing, but I am thankful for all of the blessing we have, especially family.

Bananas

Bananas are probably Cooper's favorite food. It was one of his first words and he will eat one anytime it is presented to him. On Sunday, it was lunch time when we got home from church. We asked the kids what they wanted for lunch. Grace wanted salami, cheese and crackers (her favorite lunch). Emma Jo was at a friend's house and Cooper wanted a banana.

As Jason was preparing lunch, the kids had turned their chairs into a cave. They were enjoying playing in it and did not want to come out to eat. Grace eventually relented, but Cooper is as stubborn as they come. When we allowed him to eat in his cave he was happy as a clam.

Cooper ate half of his banana with no incident. I was standing in the kitchen talking to Jason and I thought that I saw something through the corner of my eye. Then I saw it. He was peeling his banana and stuffing the discards under the TV cabinet. Where he came up with the idea I have no idea. I asked him where the peel was and he promptly told me it was "unner dare". At least he is honest...

ABCs

Last night at dinner we discovered that Cooper knows about the ABCs. Connie must be teaching the little kids, because it is definitely not something that we have introduced to him. We were sitting at the table and Cooper pointed to his sister's shirt and said "ABC". We looked and it did have writing on it. Then he looked around the table and pointed out the ABCs on everyone's clothing. He finally looked at me in my solid black shirt and said "No ABC?"
This morning, as I was rocking him at 4am, he started playing with a little pillow. He was running his fingers along the surface and laughing. When I asked Cooper what he was laughing about he responded that his pillow had ABCs on it. He then tried to sing the song. Cooper only know ABC and sing with me, but he loves it when I sing the whole song to him. He even claps when I'm done!

Grace has been doing a great job with her ABC lately too. Of course she has known her ABCs for a long time, but she is actually starting to read! She brought home her first completed reading book last week and a second came home earlier this week. She is so proud of herself and insists she will "really" be able to read by Christmas. Last night she even asked if she could start reading the family bedtime story as soon as she knew how to read. I love seeing her so excited about something I enjoy so much!

Emma Jo continues to love reading! On her last trip to the school Library she checked out the first book from Harry Potter. I wasn't sure if we was ready for it, but she is 10 and I need to give her freedom to pick her own books. She became engrossed in the book and finished it in four days. Now she is constantly asking if we can go to the public library to check out the 2nd book in the series. Apparently they only go to the school library every other Friday and Emma Jo can't wait that long to get the next book!