Turkey, Diet Coke, and SHOPPING!

There's never a better time than when the family is all together! Our Thanksgiving day was full of good food and family fun! The men made yummy fried turkey and Tri tip! 

Then..... when all the kiddos are tucked in bed and the men are back from the movies, the girls head back over to Richelle's to prepare for Black Friday!!! During our card game, Mom and Alissa decided to try the saltine cracker challenge! (eat 6 crackers in 1 minute with no drink!) Jackie tried to warn you both that it couldn't be done! She was right as we almost lost Alissa from choking on crackers! That will be one that we will laugh about years from now when we gather together for more games!

We started our shopping right at midnight! We hit the mall.... and maybe that will be a first and last for us.  It was more of a teenager hangout, but fun nonetheless!

Next on the list was Kohl's at 4:00 a.m.!  We were actually crazy enough to stand in the light rain for 30 minutes until doors opened! 

We made it to Target at 6:00, (thank goodness for Diet Coke which is what kept us all going!) then ended the fun shopping adventure at Kneaders for some much needed breakfast at 7:30 a.m.

Fun times for sure and can't wait to do it again! 

(P.S. I'm not sure why you can click on some of my text... I didn't even know I did that, which means I have no idea how to get rid of it!)

Life is awesome!

I finally got to see Grandma and Papa Gailey on Friday!  See how happy I was with the reunion!  Not that it's been that long, but it felt like forever!

Check this out.... Mom finally let me have those teething biscuits!  YUM is all I have to say about that! I demolished it with my 2 teeth!

Oh ya.... so satisfied!

My mom was trying to take a picture of me using my strong legs and arms to pivot myself around the room!  I see my cool train set and want to face it so bad.....

Well..... I did it!  Mom waited patiently for the perfect shot! TaDa!  I know.... you are all so impressed with my mad skills!

Everyday Thanksgiving

I was given this handout a long time ago and always loved reading it around the Thanksgiving time as a reminder!  I am thankful for ALL of you!

EVERYDAY THANKSGIVING

Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings each morning, thank you Lord, that I can hear. There are those who are deaf.

Even though I keep my eyes tightly closed against the morning light as long as possible, thank you, Lord, that I can see. There are many who are blind.

Even though I huddle in my bed and put off the effort of rising, thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.

Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned, tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely.

Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in the magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.

Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.

Even though I grumble and moan my fate from day to day, and wish my circumstances were not so modest, thank you, Lord, for the gift of life.

Can we say "jealous?"

So I asked the girls, "What should we do today?"  Taylee, with no hesitation says, "get my hair cut!"  So we went on ahead to the local Cookie Cutters to start the hair cutting process! Her cute stylist cut what we thought would be a good length, but Taylee said, "Shorter!"  Well, she sure knew what she wanted!  Shorter she went and what a good choice! 

Now during this whole time April is saying, "I can't believe she wants to go so short!  I don't want to cut mine.  But if I change my mind, you can just cut it for me Mom."  Tyler and I knew what was going on.  Sister was a tad bit jealous!  We asked her a few times if she wanted a cut, but she kept saying no.  After she saw how cute Taylee looked, she quickly changed her mind!

Now we have two cute girls with short hair.  Tyler was dying (as he prefers long hair), but agrees that it looks adorable!  We kept Brynn's hair nice and long for Daddy! (for now!) 

Justin update!

Thursday Justin had his first cardiology appointment.  He won over the nurses with his charm right from the start! They did a typical exam on him and heard nothing to make them concerned. They were unable to do an ultrasound on his heart because he was talking too much and very wiggly!  Apparently the lungs cover the heart when they talk, cough, etc. which would give a terrible reading of his heart. They would rather rule out heart issues the right way, even though they don't suspect any defects. He will go in for an echocardiogram the middle of December.  Poor guy will have to be put out for the procedure.  From start to finish it will take about 6 hours! I'm a tad nervous, but I have faith in the Doctors.  

Friday was his 6 month well baby check-up.  There is actually a Down Syndrome growth chart!  He is no longer considered tiny and short!  Hooray Justin!  He is now in the 60th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height!  Just Perfect! He is doing all that he should be doing including the beginning stages of sitting up on his own! 

We continue to take him to weekly physical therapy sessions to work on his low muscle tone. His arms are getting stronger every day. HE is getting stronger every day! He's making great progress.  It's amazing how much stronger he's gotten in the 5 weeks he's been going to therapy!  5 weeks ago he could hardly hold his head up when on his tummy, couldn't bear weight on his legs when held in a standing position, and definitely wasn't even close to sitting up! His arms were very weak. Just this weekend he was able to reach his hands up to aunt Wendy's face and touch her! Something so simple like that was very hard for him to do, but he's doing it! 

I will continue to post Justin updates as they come!  We love this little guy!

Kiddo Updates!

April and Taylee.... what can I say! It still baffles me that these two didn't want to share a room anymore because they are the best of friends!  Every weekend they end up having a "sleep over" in Aprils room!  So funny! We just had Parent Teacher Conference yesterday and they both did awesome! We are very proud of them and their desire to make excellent grades!  They are both loving dance this year and are looking forward to their Christmas recital.  We are so excited that tomorrow is their last day on track.  We'll be off track for 4 weeks and can't wait!

Brynnie the Brynnster..... still in love with her dinosaurs!  They are multiplying around the house like crazy.  I'm constantly stepping on dinos! It is so cute to watch her play house with them.  She talks to them so sweetly and motherly like!  She's totally bored and wishes every day that she was in pre-school.  Doesn't chick-fil-a with cousins count as pre-school?

Justin the J-man!  He is doing awesome!  Yes... he is sitting up all by himself! (unlike the professional shot of him in the previous blog. Daddy is holding him up behind the curtain!) We have been working so hard with the physical therapist to make his arms stronger.  He is officially using his arms to hold himself up!  HUGE step!  He cut his first tooth on his 6 month birthday! He will go in for an echocardiogram next month to rule out any heart issues.  They are pretty confident that he will be fine.  Just procedure.  

We love our kiddos and are proud of each of them!