Thanksgiving 2013 Plus…..

Well,  with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season the blog has just gotten away from me.  I uploaded this pictures last week and I am just now getting back to writing the post.  I already have pictures from our 'cut down the Christmas tree excursion' on my phone so hopefully I'll be able to get them posted in a more timely fashion than the Thanksgiving photos. I find with Maddox 4 and Kennon 2 there are just tons of cool activities to do around the holidays….some things at home and a TON in the Quad City area.  Eric and I try to expose them to as much as possible.   A few weeks ago we went to the Museum…a favorite of ours.  It was a Saturday which means two things…more people and more gray hairs on my head as KTK runs from activity to activity and I lose him in the masses of people. I think Eric was working that morning so I was solo. But, the kids always love the museum and beg to go everyday. They got to make a bird feeder this visit using a piece of bread, Crisco, and bird seed.  Maddox really loved the dancing area this go around!! It seems each visit they find something a little more interesting than the last. The hardest part is just getting them out of the place :)  Generally always a break down in the coat room….

Genesis Remembrance Tree

At the beginning of the holiday season (before Thanksgiving if I remember right) we loaded up Sienna on a very warm and windy night to see the lighting of the Genesis Remembrance Tree.  Genesis (my company) moved this tree from Niabi zoo to downtown Davenport a few years ago and it is lit each season with LED lights sponsored individually by families who have lost loved ones.  We sponsored a light in remembrance of Grammy.  The money goes to Genesis VNA and Hospice and the Clarissa Cook Hospice House which is an absolutely wonderful facility that I get to see patients in occasionally. It is truthfully like walking into zen when you open the front door of the facility. What a fabulous place to spend your last days, much like the Hospice House that mom was in at the end.  The ceremony consisted of some Christmas music including the hand bells (Grammy's favorite) some singing and then the lighting of the tree.  KTK decided he had to go potty right when they were going to light the tree so we had to make a B-line for the Radisson hotel after they flipped the switch. Phew…we made it only to discover that I had somewhere lost the keys to Sienna…..Whoops!!  ( I got the 'WHAT' look from Eric when I told him I didn't have the keys) What could have been a terrible scenario turned out ok when I found them about 20 minutes later.  Grammy must have been watching over us!!  We miss you every minute Grammy. 

Peter Pan and Captain Hook's crew at Disney on Ice

We made our annual trip to Disney on Ice a couple of weeks ago.  It was really good this year and captivated both Maddox and Kennon AND our attention for the entire show. Of course Maddox's favorite part was seeing  Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and the whole (insert name of the family….I can't seem to remember) family fly high above the ice.  An annual tradition for the Kies family for sure…for as long as the kids will allow it!! 

Captain Hook about to get eaten by Tick Tock Crock!! Look out Hook!

Maddox and Mrs Kinning leading the way into the sanctuary at Our Savior

Maddox had her Thanksgiving feast at Church school the week before Thanksgiving.  The 3 and 4 year old classes had prepared some songs and then a fabulous feast complete with homemade applesauce, pumpkin bars, jello,  and yummy honey butter and cornbread.  All the parents got to enjoy the songs and feast together. The tables were decorated with handmade place mats and centerpieces that each of us got to take home. Our Savior even gave us a copy of all the recipes to the foods that were part of the feast (this has to be the most organized pre-school….. !)   The festivities were fun and we even got to meet Rowan and her parents, one of Maddox's best girl friends from Church school.  We hear a lot about Rowan and their family apparently hears a lot about Maddox :)   

Maddox is in the top row, in the middle, in the back raising her hand up as if to wave. Brown dress.  I still don't seem to have that 'parental chip' that forces my way to the front row to catch the best shot of my kid…so for now we'll settle for the back pew blurry shots..!!  Eric was even able to leave work to join us!!  Anyone that wishes to come for the Christmas celebration December 16th is welcome…  10AM and Kennon's class will sing too!! We'd love to have anyone. They call it their Happy Birthday Jesus Celebration

This was the day of the Thanksgiving feast so I thought I'd grab a few more pictures of them in their sort of nice clothes.  They both look so old…Maddox with her braid and Kennon with his big boy striped sweater.   Cuties have been a popular item in our house since they came available a few week ago. Maddox was eating like 4 to 5 a day there for awhile and KTK wouldn't touch them for some reason. So one day Maddox, very big sister like, decided to show Kennon how to peel the cuties.  The whole thing was priceless completely unsolicited by myself and in the end Kennon loved the things as much as she did!!   She was so professional and sweet in her teaching to Kennon. I swear she is going to be a teacher…but then again I think all big sister 4 year olds like to teach their little bros how to roll (right Jody??)   

I love KTK's expression on his face here!! Like he was really gathering all the info on how to peel that round orange ball and storing it away for future use. 

Maddox and cousin Carter making their oreo  Thanksgiving turkeys.  

So most of you know we got to spend Thanksgiving weekend at the Knowles house in Madison. Their home is really warm and inviting and just the perfect place to host a nice Thanksgiving feast.  Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean came up to join in the festivities as well.  Saturday morning Uncle Tyler and Eric and the grandparents  loaded up all 4 kiddos and headed to the Children's Museum on the square!! That left Brooke and I home to enjoy one of both of our favorite activities…..COOKING…and COOKING with no kiddos is an even more special treat!!  We prepared almost all the dishes together while they were gone and even got the bird a cookin'.  Brooke has this great new oven that has it's own probe that goes into the bird and keeps track of what the internal temp is. Totally cool….which made for a perfectly done turkey. Our plates and bellies were full after the yummy feast. GREAT JOB Aunt Brooke for a wonderful meal and your inaugural turkey!!  

I had seen on the food network just before Thanksgiving these absolutely adorable oreo cookie turkeys!!    After great naps Saturday afternoon, Carter and Maddox put them together.  They really had a ball, and so did  I helping them assemble all the parts. Both kids did really well with their find motor skills and even enjoyed in a few of the sugary snacks. In fact I"m pretty sure Carter has something in his mouth in most of these pictures :)

….maybe not this one….love that smile Carter James... darn it blurry iPhone… on the list before Christmas is to get over to the camera shop to see if they can get our regular camera working!! 

Dad,  a smug KTK and Uncle Tyler…   I think KTK probably has an olive in his mouth. He took a humungo nap on Saturday afternoon and woke up to give me these great happy shots with the beautiful color of the veggie tray provided by Grandma Jean!!!  Thanks for the black olives Grandma Jean…YUMMY!

'Peaking at you Uncle Tyler'

'Don't mind if I help myself to another...'

Open shut them prayer before our dinner!!

Sunday morning it was superbly warm for Madison so we bundled up and went over to the park so conveniently located like 200 feet from Uncle Tyler and Aunt Brooke's front door :)  The kids had fun and I was able to snap a few good colorful shots with the nice bright sun.   Happy kids when they all have their own space and no toys to share !!   

Ok…so I thought I'd challenge myself to get a shot of all 3 of them (Reid was at home taking his morning nap).  Both Maddox and Carter bought in, but little stinker KTK was definitely NOT going to participate. You can tell he is even trying NOT to smile. Making sure to turn his head just enough to not look at the camera.  We'll catch ya next time Kennon. Maddox and Carter look great with their hats and the nice brightly colored coats!!  Love to see the cousins together. 

Thanks to the Knowles family for hosting and to the grandparents for lending an extra hand at the museum and during the weekend.  It is nice to be able to to all stay under one roof and more importantly build the cousins' relationship, traditions, and memories.  So glad to have you on the Midwest side Knowles family. 

Look at that pout!! Very purposeful.  

So let's see what else is new..!!  Maddox is becoming whitier and smarter…  I need to start writing down our conversations because they are so fabulously funny!! She is a smart cookie and remembers the craziest things.   She is growing like a weed. Last night at church she had these black leggings on and looked so tall!! I bet she has even grown since my last post when we had gone for her 4 year old check up. Eric and I have already been thinking about the school year for 2014. We have a couple of options for the state funded 4 year old program.  We are pretty sure we'll keep her at Our Savior. So she'll go there 5 mornings a week from 8.45-11.45.  She really seems to love it there more than Kindercare, as does KTK, so it just makes sense to have her go there for the 4 year old preschool program rather than Kindercare's.  But we'll see. I'll have to stand in line on January 10th outside in the cold for likely greater than 2 hours to get her in. The doors open at 10AM for the registration process and last year I got there at 7am just to get her into the 3 year old program. I'll need to get there earlier this year for the 4 year old program….YES…I know crazy…but a sign that it is one of the best pre-schools around.  Kennon is still working on his potty training.  He does fine at Kindercare and generally fine at Our Savior but just is happy as can be to go in his pants here at home if he is busy doing something!!  So the process continues.   He and Maddox have really gotten into board games, more so Maddox than Kennon, and will play together and with us for a fair amount of time.  Kennon seems to be packing on the weight. He is a solid guy and has really filled out in the last few weeks or so.  He really isn't picky about food whatsoever eating just about anything with his favorites being Mac-n-Cheese and string cheese and basically any fruits and veggies other than kiwi… Come to think of it Maddox is eating her fair share of food too!!  Growth spurt. Both kids still take great afternoon naps and are looking forward to the holiday season and a visit from Santa. They are both totally into Christmas music.  We have a local station that has had Christmas music on since like Thanksgiving. They basically play the songs over and over as it is on 24 hours per day up until Christmas day.  Maddox and even Kennon are starting to know all the songs and even their words!! she is extremely emphatic if the station is turned to something other than the Christmas music.  

Oh I almost forgot Kennon and Maddox spent their first weekend at Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean's a couple of weekends ago. Their first OVERNIGHT experience away from mom and dad.  It sounds like they had an absolutely ball and were absolute angels using manners and having no arguments or tantrums…hmmmmmm how does it always work that way??   Anyhow Eric and I got a ton of Christmas shopping done and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves free from the job of being a parent for like almost 36 hours!!  Thank you thank you thank you Grandpa and Grandma :) and Great Grandma Reta. 

The Planning Center is doing well!!   Two fee-only firms merged/are merging in with them. So soon there will be The Planning Center-Twin Cities (Minnesota) and The Planning Center-Fresno California. That means we are part of 6 business owners now instead of just 3.  Really cool stuff happening at The Planning Center.  These 2 other firms are truly excited to be part of the Planning Center. The Planning Center had their client open house on Thursday at the nice new office in Moline and then the employee Christmas Party on Friday. The new partners from Fresno and Minneapolis are really great and were part of the festivities on both nights. I spent a large portion of Friday night chatting with Caree who is the wife of  the new partner from Minneapolis…!!  She is fabulous and we really hit it off…! They have 6 kids!!!  Ages 12 down to 10 months. So we had a TON to talk about.    We now have another reason to head north Jody, Aunt Sue and Uncle Scott.  So The Planning Center's success is likely going to allow me to quit soon….YES…. I know I keep saying this but I think it'll happen soon.  I'm going to hang onto my great Genesis insurance to get through some Dr. appointments in January but then hopefully I'll be hanging my hat up on physical therapy pole for a while.  You all can hold me to it…!!