Happy Thanksgiving...late:)

Thanksgiving has come and gone already so I'm a little late in my Happy Thanksgiving greetings! We had a great TG this year. Our family celebrated the day at our house this year yikes! I have always wanted to host family celebrations and had hoped we could do it while most of our family lived close by. I got the opportunity this year to have 12 for TG dinner...and I quickly found out that I definitely don't have the serving pieces to accommodate a large crowd. We had a great time anyway and everyone chipped in with the food and the serving/eating plates:) My aunt and uncle from Georgia and their two kids (one's in NY the other lives in DC) plus Granny came over. My parents and little brother graciously came from Richmond for the day to help and prepare (I couldn't have done ANY of it without the help of my mom and dad!! I am definitely thankful for them). Then, we have a girl who rents out our basement apartment and since she had to work at the hospital TG evening, she couldn't go home, so we invited her and her fiance to join us. She was one of the nurses who looked after Granny when she was in the hospital, so we will consider her family;) The day was full of fun and laughter and everyone was exhausted by the end of the evening...or was that just me;) Here are some pictures we captured from the evening:

Our attempt at a family picture...Alley acting all of her two years of age...she had had enough:)

A family group shot
Granny, my cousin Mary Tanner and our renter, Leslie getting ready to eat

Alley all ready to enjoy her TG feast...if I recall, she didn't eat any of it! Very rare for a girl who eats anything and everything! She was way too busy:)

Bruce and Dad partaking in the buffet

The guys were banished to the living room to eat and watch football while the girls sat at the dining room table...as you can see they were completely heart-broken...ha!

alley having fun with daddy

We usually top off TG day with the putting up of our Christmas tree, but Andy had basketball practice TG night (partly the reason for us hosting TG). So the tree had to wait until the next day to make an appearance. It must be a holiday, because Alley woke up the next morning sick...blah. We spent the morning doing laundry and changing our clothes constantly...I did finally get smart after the third change and I wrapped Alley in a towel. She promptly fell asleep after that and when she woke up she was a new person. When Andy came home from basketball we just relaxed and put up all our decorations. Alley has become very weary of new things (this is a drastic change from the girl who was so out going) and was very cautious of the Christmas tree (plus any yard blow-up character, and older men - especially if they have facial hair, so no Santa this year!). To finish up the evening, my aunt, uncle, cousins and me and Andy went to see a movie...The Blindside - it was great! It was a great Thanksgiving and a great day after. We look forward to relaxing the rest of the weekend and preparing for Christmas! I hope everyone had a wonderful celebration!

When it rains...it pours

As most of you probably know, we've been having plumbing issues. We've had a heck of a time with our tub and sink drains over the past several months, but recently it's become a major issue. Over the past 3 weeks we've had the plumbers over more times than I can count and are greeted by name when we call! All this finally came to a crescendo this past Wednesday when Andy and I heard rushing water in our kitchen. We go running in and find water coming from our ceiling...awesome. We finally get it under control and call the plumbers, yet again. After a VERY long day for the plumbers and Andy, we have all new pipes in the house (and many holes and a torn up ceiling in the kitchen). Ouch! Apparently we had 2 leaks in the main cold water pipe, 4 leaks in the main hot water pipe and a leak on the tub drain line . The word leak is used VERY loosely here...the pipes were completely coroded and falling apart. The plumber said out of all the houses he's worked on in the past 25 years, this job ranked as the 2nd hardest and worst. Oh the joys of home ownership. Of course we should have known, this house was built in the 40s and we were the first people to change the paint colors inside...why not be the first people to fix the plumbing in the house?! :/ Ugh! Regardless of all this (and the multiple threats made to torch the house and run), we love the house and the fact we are turning it into our own. Its been a great first home, full of learning experiences;)

On another note, Alley is a hoot. Here is a picture from tonight (pizza night) of her watching the pizza cook in the oven. She has never been able to stay away from food! I swear she has kitchen sensors...ever time I start walking towards the kitchen, she comes out of nowhere asking to eat or for a snack. Silly thing:)

Giving me the stare-down and wanting to know why the pizza isn't done...

Here she is hiding under "my-daddy". She loooooves to play hide-and-seek and her absolutely favorite hiding place is under Andy. It's so funny to watch!

Alley is 2!!!

I can't believe it...my baby turned two yesterday! I am still in denial that she is that old, even though she does exhibit typical two-year-old behavior at times just as a reminder! She has been a joy in our lives and has richly blessed us with her personality and spunk. To watch her grow, learn and explore has just been amazing. The things that come out of her mouth each day make us roll with laughter. She has quite a dynamic personality and I am looking forward to watching it develop as she grows.

Some of her likes are: FOOD (she would eat all day long if you let her), she says the word "nack" (snack) and "eeet" (eat) in almost every sentence, animals - all kinds, books (she would sit for hours looking through every book she has and then repeat it like she's never seen the book before), she loves pointing out her "boo-boos" to everyone - even strangers, her big girl bed, doll babies, coloring - she asks us to "cullah" (color) almost as much as she asks to eat, being outside - going outdoors fixes EVERY problem she has, trucks and cars, sticks, bugs, nature, singing, and the piano (hearing and playing) - if she hears the piano she will stop whatever she is doing and get so excited. There's not much she doesn't like, so we are blessed:)

Here are some pictures from her 2nd birthday party - which we had an "animal" theme since it's one of her favorites;)

I decorated the table with farm animals that she got last year for Christmas, and she couldn't help but play with the table decorations:)

Posing for a picture - what a piece!
I decided to make cupcakes instead of a cake so I could make them into animals. We have ladybugs, pigs, sheep and ducks, along with regular ones with sprinkles

A family tradition - everyone has to get their picture taken with the birthday sunglasses on - she's very independant and wouldn't let anyone help her, thus the upside-down glasses;)

Eating dinner - pizza - yum!

Blowing out the candle with daddy - still not a fan of the whole candle blowing out thing (at least she didn't cry this year!)

Opening presents

A baby doll - could life get any better?! ;)

Sitting in her rocking chair next to the bookshelf Papa made for her - happy as a clam!

Happy Halloween!

What a busy but wonderful weekend we had! We visited Mimi and Papa and were thoroughly spoiled;) We were able to get away because Andy had the whole weekend off from work. The HSC football team had an open weekend which means they didn't have a scheduled game - YEAH! Andy hasn't had a day off since July...ugh! Anyway, we took advantage of this new freedom and spent a glorious weekend with family. We kicked off the weekend with a trip to Krispy Kreme on Halloween morning (can't pass up a KK visit when in town!) and enjoyed TONS of doughnuts...delicious! Then we spent the rest of the morning shopping and playing with Mimi and Papa. After nap time we took Alley up to the Trunk-or-Treat at St. Matthew's (my dad's church) and had a blast! I am so surprised Alley put her costume on! Anyway, we had a great day (even with the rain) just relaxing and enjoying our time together. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Mimi and Alley watching the doughnuts being made - Alley was in heaven!

Can't leave Krispy Kreme without a picture with the hat;)
Alley copying Papa and Daddy...she was just so adorable!!

At the Trunk-or-Treat doing crafts

Our little Ladybug getting ready for treats

Taking a break from all the fun to inspect her candy bag

Acting a little shy while visiting Mimi and Papa's neighbor to Trick-or-Treat (it was the only house we went to!)A family photo after all the festivities (yes, that is a pumkin face on my belly - thanks to Papa who said he didn't want any of his grandchildren to be left out in the costume department! Silly Papa!!)