gobble gobble

"Anna, what does a turkey say?""GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!"

Thanksgiving always has been, and still remains to be, one of my favorite holidays.  It's my personal reminder to "find the happy in your everyday" (as my late, dear friend Jon used to tell me) and remember what makes me smile -- a loving family, an adorable daughter, a job I love, a warm home, and the sweet sensation of a little ballerina spinning pirouettes in my tummy. 

This year, it was all about LOW KEY. Pajamas were welcome at the dinner table (though, we all classed it up a bit and opted for yoga pants and lounging clothes instead). Mom, Dad, and my Aunt Victoria (Anna's new favorite lady) joined us for turkey and London Broil with all the fixings.

We had a sick little turkey on our hands this year, and she was less than cooperative at the dinner table, hopping from Grandma to Grumpy to Aunt Vic to Momma and finally settling in with Daddy.

We discovered the next day that she had a slight ear infection and an upper respiratory "thing" going on.  However, after a round or two of meds, she was her bright and sunny self again, and has been enjoying leftovers along with the rest of us.  (I never knew turkey could last so long....)

We even got out today and did a little shopping -- grocery shopping, though it was, it was shopping nonetheless!  It is the Christmas season, after all.....

Love to all those we couldn't share this year's meal with, but you were certainly there in spirit!

(p.s.  do you see the stickers on her shirt?  guess who's been a successful little potty-trainer these past couple of weeks????!!!!  and, no, it's not me OR eric....)

little pumpkins

It's been a busy little Fall here at Longoland...

At the first sign of cooler temperatures, we had a tiny milestone: Anna's first haircut.  While we only snipped a few edges, it's made for a much easier mane to tame.

A couple of weeks ago, we bundled up and packed the car heading for Carter Mountain, an orchard and vineyard just outside of Charlottesville.  While the apple and pumpkin-picking made for some funny memories and great stories, the scenery made it quite a tranquil mini-getaway on what turned out to be an amazing Autumn day.

 13 apples tall 

 BIG pumpkin....scared the tar out of her

enjoying the fruits of her labor....yeah, i totally went with the full-on pun there....

We've all been looking forward to Halloween for a while now.  This is the first year that we really felt AK could 'enjoy' all the fun of ghosts and goblins and pumpkins and trick-or-treating.  We started Halloween weekend with a fun Fall Festival at her school, complete with costume day. 

My friend, Vanessa, drove up from Prince George on Monday with her two boys so that we could experience our kids' first Trick-or-Treating experience together (Jack is 4 months older than Anna and Holden is 5 months old).  Unfortunately, that lasted all of about 3 houses -- not because it was a wash with the kids, but because it was a wash with the weather - LITERALLY.  While "light drizzle" was predicted "later" in the evening hours, at 6:00, the sky OPENED UP and poured on us.  The kids still had a great time at the 3 houses they ventured to, not to mention the mad-dash-race to the front door to hand out candy once we were settled at home.

 pumpkin carving laziness 101: rather than try and hull out 2 eyes, a nose, and mouth (or follow a fancy carving kit), cut letters out to symbolize each member of the family....complete with Baby's question mark pumpkinette

press the play button to see Anna and Jack learn how "Trick or Treat" can be a magical saying

One last piece of adorable before we leave you with a little news....

anna's new favorite place to sit....on eric's foot.

And the news?  The little pumpkin that's been incubating in my belly for the past 20 weeks is another little girl!  Anna is coming around to the idea of having a little sister (she was hoping for a brother), and poor Eric has figured out his cross to bear in life: being surrounded by beautiful women and a bounty of estrogen.  (Once I figure out how to upload the ultrasound pics...which means once I figure out if our scanner works.....we'll scan some grainy profiles in for all to see)