Thanksgiving 2010

This year we hosted Thanksgiving and were excited to have my parents, my oldest brother and his family, and my younger brother and his new bride join us for a few days.  This made for a total of 13 people in our home - that's the record thus far!  Thanksgiving day was rainy and cold, so we enjoyed playing games, reading books, and of course eating food!

Card games with Uncle D.

Uncle S. reading our new book from Uncle D. and Aunt R.

 We are so thankful to have this little one in our family this Thanksgiving!

Jonathan digging in to the Thanksgiving feast!

Looks like the turkey is already making this little guy sleepy!

Reading Goodnight Moon with Granma before bed.

We loved having Uncle D and Aunt R with us for a few days!

Cute, cute, cute!

Granpa Bill's computer provided lots of fun entertainment.

Storytime.

Cousin L.

 Cousin T.

 Cousin D.

 Learning how to play Rummikub with Granma.

30.5 Weeks

30.5 weeks!

While my dad was here for Thanksgiving, he took some pregnancy pictures for me.

*we are now 30.5 weeks

*my belly is growing!

*baby Kellen is kicking and moving quite a bit - especially when I lay down on my side at night

* weight gain = plenty!

*I have a little heartburn here and there

*overall I am feeling pretty good, a little tired, but good

*I definitely feel like I have started doing the pregnancy waddle

Merry Christmas from Shutterfly!

I was super excited to discover that Shutterfly is doing a Christmas card giveaway for bloggers!  If you have a blog and would like to participate, you can get 50 free holiday cards!  And boy are their holiday card options cute, cute, cute.  Check out their super cute photo cards, creative Christmas invitations, and great gift ideas (these would be great for grandparents)!

I think this card is super cute!

Or if we can manage to get a good family Christmas picture, I think this is a really cute card too.

Or this one - oh my, is cute, cute, cute!

What do you think?  Which card is your favorite?

I have never used Shutterfly before, but this generous and kind holiday offer may very likely turn me into a loyal customer :-)  There are SO many great options!  It's going to be a very hard decision to decide which card to get :-)  Merry Christmas and a great big thank you to Shutterfly!

And to all my blogger friends - go take advantage of this awesome offer!

While in TX, we visited a dairy farm!  Boy was it neat - cows, calves, turkeys, chickens, dogs, and cats.  They sold the most delicious raw cows milk - boy am I jealous.  Apparantly it is illegal to sell raw cows milk in Arkansas.  You can do a cow share in Arkansas, where you own a share of the cow and get paid in milk (do any of you Arkansans know of anyone who does this?).  They also sold cheese and fresh eggs.

My little guy fell asleep on the way to the farm. 

Cousins V and W petting a baby calf.

Aren't Jersey calves soooooo cute?!?!

Cousin J was enjoying his view from the stroller.

Turkeys - they are much bigger when you get close to them!

I was happy when my little guy finally woke up and got to join in the fun!

He sure does love animals!

"Hi baby cow!"

"Mommy, their tongues tickle when they lick my hand!"

This picture was taken right before the calf stuck J's entire hand in his mouth!  J didn't mind at all, and just stood there while the calf chewed on his hand :-)

"Hmmm, how can I talk Daddy into getting me one of these???"

Trying to kiss the calf.

"Here you go little cow, want to lick my hand again?!?!"

Cute Cousins

At 7am these two cousins had already had their breakfast and were begging to head outside!  Aren't they cute!?!?

Little John Deere

This little John Deere tractor was Aunt M's dad's when he was a little boy.  And the kids all love it!  Jonathan thought it was the best thing ever!

TEXAS!

Jonathan and I spent 5 days in Texas with my brother, sister-in-law, and their precious kiddos.  And boy did we have a blast!!!  Thank you M & M for a wonderful visit - your hospitaly and generosity were greatly appreciated!  My little city guy sure did enjoy life on the ranch.  We had beautiful weather and spent a lot of time outside running, exploring, playing, and getting really really dirty :-)

Aunt M, cousin J, and Jonathan out for a walk in the world's coolest stroller!

Cousins V and W showing off their cattle guard crossing skills :-)

We saw a lot of cows, to which my child promptly said "quack, quack!"  It only took us about 2-3 days to teach him a cow says, "moo" not "quack" :-D

The new chicken coop.  Isn't it neat!  You can move it from place to place around the yard so the chickens have fresh ground to dig, hunt for bugs, etc.  There is a ramp where they can go up to the top of the ark to roost.  Think I can talk my husband into building me one?  I would love fresh eggs!

They have 12 of these little chicks, which will each start laying an egg a day in a few months - yummy!

Cousin V loves life in Texas!  She takes great care of the chickens, and you can often find her in the coop with them for hours.  She will hold and cuddle one for a few minutes, then let it go to hold and cuddle another one - those are some well loved chickens!  V and W both love to catch grasshoppers to feed to the chickens too!

When the chickens were out to play one day, Jonathan discovered the secret to getting all the chicks to flock to you - you simply pour their food out right by you!  This little guy sure isn't afraid of animals.

"Here chickie chickie chickie!"

Cousin J is now on the go!

"Look mom, it's a car just my size!"  Jonathan loved climbing in and out of the Cozy Coop!  By the end of the week he could move it backwards, but not forwards.

We spent 7 hours outside the first day we were there - and this little guy couldn't be happier!

Uncle M, cousin J, and Jonathan.  J and J are only 3 months apart, and I'm sure in another year or two they will be partners in crime :-)