Thanksgiving 2019

Happy Turkey Day. Zac and I kept to our new-ish tradition of putting on the Macy's parade for the kids to watch while listening to some Christmas classics while baking in the kitchen. We arranged to go to Mom's in the afternoon since Rachel was cooking a few dishes and Meredith was in town with her family. It was a decent visit aside from typical comments and remarks, ha. Oh well. Next year, we'll just be "out of town" and enjoy a more intimate setting. I'm glad the kids were able to hang out with their cousins, though. Rachel's sister came over with her boys, so more cousins-by-relation to hang with.

From top to bottom: Seth, Payton, Molly, Jordan, Abbi holding my Cole, another Cole, Elias, Wes, Jac, Aidan holding Katie, Leah, and Brendan. I swear the stairs get fuller every time we snap a picture of the kids.

Cole is ONE!

My last baby is officially a year old! It's crazy to think that this time last year he was just a tiny, squirming (screaming) burrito. I was so miserable after I brought him home, just from the recovery, that all I wanted to do was sleep and snuggle him up.

Anyway, as for my littlest pumpkin, caboose, endcap, runt... A last celebration of a first birthday with a pumpkin pie and stack of toy doughnuts that Elias has been trying to capture as his own because "Cole loves sharing wif me."

My little bear has SIX teeth! He'll get in a silly mood where he just wants to bite and thinks it's funny when we say "Ouch!". He doesn't realize he's hurting us... or does he? He likes pressing his face up against the mesh of his playpen and cackles at himself. So far, he's taking tiny steps! Usually just one or two before realizing crawling is faster, but he's trying. And he'll clap when he's just standing there. This boy LOVES food. All the food! He really hasn't opposed much aside from spinach and rice, but I think it's a texture thing and he's not realizing how to chew it. We made it a whole year breastfeeding, even though my right side stopped producing. I'm curious when he'll be ready to wean, but I think he's nursing for comfort as of lately.

He can say "Mama" and "Boob" and has his own sign language of patting his mouth with the back of his hand when he wants a boob, pacifier, or food. It's super cute. And he loves baths so much he gets mad when it's time to get out. At night, he doesn't like being covered up, even if his legs are ice. He'll kick the covers off or start fussing if he gets stuck under a blanket. And his favorite game is peek-a-boo. He'll hide below the top edge of his playpen and pop up really fast. He also gives kisses! It's so sweet I could cry. I'll be holding him and kiss him on the cheek and he'll whip his little mouth over and smooch me (open-mouthed) on the face. I love it. Happiest happy birthday my sweet baby ColeBear. You are loved so very much.

Santa Pics

Zac got home early today, so we spent some time out and about running errands. Last minute, I convinced the kids to get a picture taken with Santa at the outlets so I could also finish up some Christmas shopping before the dreaded Black Friday crap. I found Cole a cute pair of Converse as an early birthday gift. All four kids were great for the picture, even my grumpy bug, who was upset when we passed him to Santa, but calmed down once he caught sight of the fluffy white beard. The best part was it wasn't crowded, probably because we came before Thanksgiving.

Sick

Fun fact: my little family of 5 (because Zac doesn't count as he didn't catch our cold) is finally over whatever the funk we had in our sinuses. Leah caught it first, then passed it to Jac, then Cole got it, finally me, then Elias. It's been two very long, very gross weeks of mucus and coughing and fevers and exhaustion. Just in time for the holidays! I'm still waiting for Elias' lymph nodes to go back to their usual size, and Cole still has some junk in his eyes when he wakes up. Other than that, all good.

I'm hoping this is it for the rest of the year. We almost made it the WHOLE year without catching anything, but oh well. It had to happen at some point. Luckily, Mom's coming by in the morning to sit with the kids while I go to the dreaded DMV to renew my license and update my current address. Zac joked that it's time for us to move again because we always get our information updated right before we move, ha.

That's all for now. Time to round up the critters and start getting them ready for bed.

C-Spire

C Spire day! Elias was so happy to have his cast off so he could run around. He even made friends with a little girl named Lily and they took turns playing hide-and-seek. I didn't participate in the Treadnauts tournament, but none of my kiddos won. I ate too much pizza for sure, though.

Two Years Later

It's been two years since Emily's been gone. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it's been that long and other times it feels like it's been so much longer.

Cast-Off

Elias is cast-free! I brought him to the bone doctor this afternoon for his x-ray and they said he's good to go. He's been trying to walk on it "because it's faster", but he's just a little wobbly and so very itchy. I put him in the tub and he didn't' want to get out, ha. And the dry skin... nasty. He was itching in the van and there is just powdered skin everywhere *gag*. I'm going to have to take it to get vacuumed. Lotion is helping, though. He was a pretty good sport getting the cast off, as scary as it was, but started freaking out towards the end because the tech was having trouble. He's been so happy to walk around, even though he's forgotten and started scooting on the floor again. We go back in two weeks to check on how the leg is doing.

Tennessee Trip!

We spent the weekend in Tennessee! We left early-ish Friday morning, loading the van with a single suitcase (because I'm awesome like that), a backpack of electronics, and a large insulated food tote. My kiddos were super tired (except Elias because why not), so they (except Elias) slept a good four hours. Around 11am, we stopped at a Target in Alabama for an in-vehicle picnic before continuing our journey.

Foods to pack:

• Grapes
• Cheese string
• Granola bars (makes a quick breakfast)
• Trail mix (homemade)
• Egg salad and bread for sandwiches
• Juice boxes
• Applesauce pouches

TBH, I packed a bit much in the way of food, but it helped make the trip easier and the snacks will be useful to toss in a bag while exploring Gatlinburg.

Zac woke me from a nap to see if it was alright if we made a stop at Ruby Falls. Duh, Zac. It was actually super cool. Two checks on the bucket list of A: spelunking in a cave, and B: seeing a real waterfall. Cole slept the whole time and we walked a whole mile... Zac had to carry Elias because strollers aren't allowed. Elias' cast may come off the day after we get back, so there's that, ha.

Saturday, we woke up early and decided to head to Pancake Pantry because I was wanting crepes ever since we arrived. The line was super long and we didn't want to stand there in the cold for an hour, so we decided pizza for breakfast, pancakes for lunch. We found a Mellow Mushroom and the kids were so happy. The local one by our house closed up, so we haven't had really good pizza in ages, even though Elias just wanted tater tots.

We headed back to the hotel to drop off leftover pizza and Zac asked the front desk if there were any trails. A few were hiking trails, but since Elias is still in a cast, the receptionist suggested a motor trail. We figured it'd be a good way to see a lot of leaves and mountain views, as well as get off our feet for a little while.

We made it back to the hotel and parked the van, then walked back to the Pancake Pantry (no lines!) right as they were closing... because we didn't realize they closed at 4pm. However, the cashier insisted we come in anyway. It was the fastest we'd ever been served food in a restaurant and probably the fastest any of us had ever eaten as a family (lol). We walked around The Village and explored all the cute cottage-like shops to kill some time before. My favorites were The Candle Cottage, Coffee & Company, The Spice & Tea Exchange, and Celtic Heritage.

Sunday, we woke up a little later than we planned, but enjoyed some leftovers for breakfast before heading to Pigeon Forge to meet up with Jena at The Incredible Christmas Place. It was so magical! Christmas EVERYTHING. And we found an ornament for Cole! We hung around for a short while before having to head back to the hotel for our time share conference. Jena stayed with the kids and they watched a movie and ate pizza while Zac and I (and Cole!) listened to a presentation on how to throw our money in the toilet. But, we were refunded for our trip as promised and headed back to our room. We brought Jena with us to Loco Burro for Mexican food (then caramel apples for the kids) before taking her on the nature drive. We did try to participate in the whiskey sampling, but my driver's license expired (on my birthday), so that was a no-go. Oh well. Nature drive instead. We arrived just at sunset and pictures can't capture what the view looked like in my eyes. Just stunning. Once the sun went down, we brought Jena back to Pigeon Forge to get her car so she could head home.

I was reluctant to check out of the hotel this morning. Zac can tell you that. I was mad to go home, but also sad. Did I mention Gatlinburg is due some snow tomorrow? It SUCKS that we will miss it, even though my logical side tells me it would've been more dangerous to drive home on icy roads. My other side is stamping a foot and holding a grudge.