Mommy Mistake

This morning, as many Saturday mornings, I sleep on the couch with Mackenzie while Hunter watches cartoons. However, this morning Hunter was not in the mood to watch cartoons. I remember him asking if he could clean his wagon, which was on the back porch, and I told him we would do it later. I drifted off to sleep to wake up to the sound of water. I slowly realized that there was water squirting in the house through the back door. I quickly put Mackenzie in her swing and stepped out on the patio to discover Hunter, in his PJ's, with my nice bathroom towels and hand soap and the hose, cleaning his outside toys, which had been left outside after Thanksgiving @ 7:30 in the morning. It was quite humorous, but I didn't laugh at that moment. It was a "teachable moment". We discussed how we DON'T go outside without an adult. After the discussion, I looked around at all of the bubbles and wet toys and just asked myself (not expecting an answer from Hunter) and said, "Boy, how long were you out here?" He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Just 1o minutes." At that moment, I couldn't help but laugh :)

Thanksgiving

Hunter and Adam in their Indian gear. Hunter wanted to dress up like Indians so he cut strips of paper and taped it to our heads. Really funny!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. We have hosted Thanksgiving at our house for 5 years while living in Florida. We invite anyone and everyone who is away from family and needs a place to fill their bellies. I cook the turkey and dressing. Everyone else brings a few dishes. This year I forgot to take pictures. I was so busy cooking and entertaining and being a mom that I completely forgot until everyone had left. We served lunch around 2:30pm, but had guests from 12:30pm till 7:30pm. It was so much fun getting this together. I love having people in our home enjoying each other's company. Adam and I hate being away from our true family, but having our Florida family with us on this special day means a lot to us.

Hunter's Birthday Party

Shaun enjoying his cupcake.
Mackenzie enjoying the party.

It was comical watching them blow out their candles.

Jackson, Hunter, and Samantha wearing their birthday gear.

Riding the zip line

Riding, what Hunter called, the "hot dog".

Having a blast!

Our good friends, Samantha and Jackson, happen to have birthdays close to Hunters. In fact, Jackson was born one year after Hunter on November 2, 2007. Sarah, their mom, and I decided to combine their birthday parties at My Gym. It was a simple, but a fun birthday party for the kids. We showed up with food and let the kids run wild. The staff did a few games with the kids and highlighted the birthday kiddos in the process. It was fun watching the kids have a blast. The best part was the clean up! We didn't have to do it. It was the perfect birthday party for a lot of kids with a lot of energy.

Hunter's Thanksgiving Feast

Ms. Elisa, Mackenzie's teacher, captured a picture of us.
My little Indian!

Yummy food!

Getting to ride on a fire truck after the meal.

I was lucky enough to have coverage for my class so that I could experience Hunter's and Mackenzie's 1st Thanksgiving Feast at Eagle's Nest. Hunter was so excited that I was able to come and join him. I just couldn't resist when he asked. We enjoyed the food and company.

Titans vs. Miami

Go Titans!!!

Adam and I were lucky to get some tickets to the Miami vs. Titans game in Miami. Bud Flodeen, a family friend, has season tickets and were not going to be using them for this game. I was a little hesitant to leave the kids on the other coast and be gone for the whole day, but after much convincing from Adam we did it. One of Mackenzie's teachers, Ms. Helen, offered to keep the kids for us while we spent the day together. We enjoyed the time away, but felt a little lost without kids all day. Unfortunately, the Titans lost. The kids did great and we had a blast.

Random Pictures

A Haley, Emily, and Hunter hug
We can't decide who she looks like. At this point, Hunter started to look like me. Mackenzie is a good mix of both Adam and I.

Mackenzie has been smiling and cooing a lot lately. Her check muscles aren't soft and smushy anymore. They are getting tightend up because of all of the smiling she is doing. Her smiling and cooing is getting in the way of some of her feedings at school. I have found out if I don't look at her while she is eating she will stay focused on the task at hand. If I look at her, she stops eating and smiles. Then she looses track of what she is doing. We are having lots of fun watching her grow.

Mommy and Me Date

Checkin' out the zebras.
Just a cute picture.

In the Banyan tree.

Coming face to face with a tiger.

After a few weeks back at school and life being hectic, we had 2 days off. Luckily it fell on a Thursday and a Friday. I wanted to do something special with Hunter. I don't get the opportunity very often to go and spend the day with him without Mackenzie in tow. Mackenzie spent the day at school and Hunter and I went to the zoo. I did send him for a few hours that morning and then surprised him by picking him up after lunch. His face lit up when I told him we were going to the zoo, but he was really concerned about leaving Mackenzie at school. I reassured him we would come back and get her later. We had a blast spending that time together. It was a much needed Mommy and Me Day!!!

Hunter's 4th Birthday!

Hunter's Birthday hat from school.
The birthday book his class made him. Everyone of the kids had colored a picture and put it in the book with a message for Hunter.

Proud to be 4

Adam and Hunter made a microphone with his Tinker Toys that he opened that night.

Skyping with 2 clowns.

I can't believe my baby is 4 years old. 3 years old, I still considered him a small preschooler. 4 years old sounds so BIG! Several things change when you are 4. I realized the other night that no longer does he sit in the catagory of "younger than 4" on the cough medicine bottle. He now is in the "4 and older" catagory. So big!!!

Hunter's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year. Adam took cupcakes to school for his class to celebrate. Hunter came home with a birthday hat and a tummy full of cupcakes. His class even made him a birthday book. Really cute! We had a really small birthday dinner at Jason's Deli and then came home and celebrated at home with a birthday cake. We ended the evening with Skyping Nannie and Papa singing "Happy Birthday" with clown wigs. We tried to Skype with Annmother and Pops and weren't successful. They did get to talk to him and sing over the phone. He loves talking to them all!