Giving Thanks

We had a lovely Thanksgiving last week.  The best thing was that daddy got to stay home for five days!  That meant lots of great, quality family time.  It was the first true holiday since we became a family of five.  I can say that being a family of five makes everything more intense; the hard times are harder, and the good times are even better.  Even with both parents home, the five days seemed long and arduous.  But we did manage to squeeze in some fun as a family.

Thanksgiving dinner took place at my parents' house, with both sets of grandparents.  We were also joined by a distant cousin, Betty Jo,  who actually lives just down the street from us.  We had planned to smoke a duck, but ultimately decided to do seared duck breasts with a port-cherry sauce.  Amma made mushroom soup, brussels sprouts, and a delicious cranberry sauce.  Granmom made cornbread stuffing, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie.  The boys had so much fun riding their scooters around the house, which really put some good energy and excitement into the evening.  There was always the possibility of an impending crash.  Never boring with three boys!

After Thanksgiving we put the tree up and began to enjoy some holiday traditions.  The boys wanted their hot chocolate, and we also guzzled some egg nog while decorating the tree.  Sawyer saw the Christmas tree for the first time.  I am pretty sure he thought it was beautiful!  Evan really got into decorating the tree, and Lance and I had very little work to do hanging the ornaments.  However, I did have to go back and put a few closer to the top of the tree.  

Five Month Fun

We are now almost to half a year.  Seriously, where does the time go??!!  It seems so cliche, but it is mind-blowing how quickly these little boys grow up.  At five months Sawyer is now eating some solid food, hanging out in the Baby Einstein, almost sitting up, and laughing out loud.  The other morning the boys and I were hanging out and decided to put Sawyer in the Einstein exersaucer. When Evan played with one of the toys that makes a funny noise, Sawyer laughed out loud.  It was so amazing to hear such a real laugh from a small baby.  Evan kept playing with the toy, and Sawyer laughed over and over again.  We were all cracking up. Since then, Sawyer has laughed hysterically when we sneeze, and also when Benjamin acted like a dinosaur.

This really is the last little bit of baby that our family will have.  I know I tend to rush their development because I am excited to see them walking, talking, and relating.  However, I really should remember to just enjoy this last bit of baby time.  Ah-goo!

Time with Friends

This weekend we had our firsts dinner guests since Sawyer was born.  I was a bit skeptical at first, but Lance assured me that we would make it through.  He wanted a practice run for the smoked duck that we planned to make on Thanksgiving, so we decided to make pizza with smoked duck.  The funny thing is that we thought it best to do a trial run for the pizza as well!  At least we have learned that you should not try a difficult menu item for the first time when there is an important occasion.  

It was great having Janet, Todd, and their two girls over.  Actually, they have four girls, but they only brought their younger two.  It was so cute to see them playing so nicely with our boys.  It gave us a glimpse of what the other side might be like.  The good thing is that we can always have the Andersons over when we feel like we are missing girls.  For now, I am pretty darn happy with my adorable trio of boys!

First Food

Things just go by so quickly.  Sawyer has already had his first taste of food.  The whole family stood by as mommy fed Sawyer some oatmeal.  He definitely took to it right away.  I must say that I was very impressed with his beginner eating skills.  The very next time I fed him, he was ready!  I have found that if you are too slow in your delivery, he will be unhappy with you.  The basic idea from his perspective is, "Keep it coming!".  I don't know what this says about his future as an eater.  After all, I thought Evan was going to be a great eater based on his first few months.  The boy who was once open to squash would not even give it a consideration today.  I will have to enjoy these non-picky months as much as possible!

Halloween

This was our first Halloween with three children, and Sawyer's first Halloween.  Benjamin wanted to be Darth Vader and I found a great Yoda costume for Sawyer.  We did order a storm trooper costume for Evan but it was way too big.  He decided that he would rather be Jake from the Neverland Pirates.  That is Evan's personality.  He does his own thing.  I love him for it, and it also drives me crazy!  We had so much fun trick or treating around our neighborhood.  This is such a great place to live, and really perfect for our boys.  Evan really got into the spirit and was chanting, "Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat".  It was great to see all of our neighbors out and about and to chat with some that we don't know well.  The only problem is that we now have tons of candy.  Maybe the boys will forget about it in a few days and I can throw it out?!

Benjamin Turns Five!

The day has come, Benjamin is finally five!  In his own words Benjamin describes the occasion perfectly; "Mommy, I can't believe I'm five!".  We can't believe it either.  Our little baby, our first little boy, is well on his way to middle childhood.  He seemed overwhelmed by the occasion.  Not just because of all of the gifts, but because he recognized that this was a significant milestone.  Five is such a round, solid number.  As usual, we celebrated three times.  Once with each pair of grandparents, and once with Benjamin's friends.  Some of the gifts that Benjamin was given include a training computer, a pirate ship, a marble run, a helicopter, and many, many games.  

I spent many hours working on his birthday cake.  I think he appreciated it, but he later told me that it was too sweet!  I couldn't believe that those words came out of his mouth, the candy king! I did enjoy making the cake.  It was a challenging project and allowed me to get some creative juices flowing.  Lance will tell me next year that I was too stressed, and I should just buy a cake, and I'm sure I will again tell him that I must make my own.

I'm proud of my biggest boy.  He is so sensitive, sweet, and loving.  He is also smart, curious, funny, and gorgeous!  He loves his little brothers and I know he will be a great leader both at home and wherever he goes.