Thanksgiving

We got to spend several days in our hometown for Thanksgiving.  It was nice to not have to rush around like we usually do.  Our holiday was full of tons of food and lots of visiting with our families.  Q and Annabelle were cute together.  He kept giving her hugs.  I don't know if she was trying to slobber on him or give him kisses.  I only took a few pictures.  We were too busy making memories. :)

Happenings with A & Q

Quinn has discovered Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He absolutely loves it.  Anything that can make a one year old be still for a few minutes is a miracle.  Q is constantly on the go.  His favorite thing to do lately is climb.  Mia wasn't too bad about that when she was little, but Quinn is like a little monkey.  One of the reasons for that is that he wants to do everything that Mia does.  He follows her around and tries to do the things that she does.  He would rather have her toys than his and even her snacks must taste better simply because they belong to her.  Unfortunately for Mia, some of the extra attention he showers on her isn't always welcomed.  That's because hitting her on the head with anything handy amuses him nowadays.  She's usually a good sport, but when he finally gets a good whack to her head, she's over it.  The two of them like to wrestle, too.  We have to remind big sister to be gentle.  Quinn likes rough and tumble activities, so Mia forgets sometimes that he's still just a baby. 

Mia is doing so well in school.  Pre-K has been going good, and she's made some friends.  It's funny how every day she has a new best friend.  When I say that yesterday she said so-and-so was her best friend, she just says that that person is her best friend, too.  I love that.  She has been learning so much at school, but it wears her out more than daycare did.  Many mornings it's hard to roll her out of bed, but she still seems to like it.  I'm very proud of her for adjusting so well to a new school, new teachers, new rules, etc.  She's doing great!

Sissy left her Oreos unattended.  Q taught her a lesson about doing that.

 

Spots, Stripes, and Feathers

The next day we all went to the Dallas Zoo.  At one point we went into a building where a zoo employee had a small python.  She was telling the children facts about the snake and allowing them to touch it on the tail.  Mia and Zoey wanted to do it, so I was standing beside them.  For some unknown reason, Mia reached up and grabbed the snake's head in her hand.  I about had a heart attack and so did the poor zoo employee!  Mia immediately released the python who thankfully did not do anything to Mia in retaliation.  Good grief!  I don't think she really meant to grab its whole head, but we got out of there pretty quickly.  It was a fun trip, though!

Mia is pretty much as tall as the emperor penguin now.

Touching the snake's tail as instructed.

 I was taking this picture when she grabbed the python's head.  She immediately released it, so it looks here like she's just touching its chin.  The poor girl holding the snake was terrified.

 Annual fall picture on the rock by the meerkats

 

Frolic in the Pumpkins

Even though we were just there, we went to the Arboretum again this weekend.  We have a membership, so it's nice to be able to go whenever we want.  This time we took Mimi, Aunt Rachel, Zoey, and Annabelle.  We still didn't make it to the new children's garden, but that's probably a better activity for warm days anyway.  None of the kids were really compliant with my efforts to capture them all sitting still and smiling for the camera.  We just went with it.  I was glad to get to see the pumpkin village one more time before it was finished for the season.

These two just giggle...

 and giggle, and giggle when they're together.

 They sure do love each other!

 Sweet Annabelle

 

Pumpkins with Friends

We took the kids to their first drive-in movie this weekend.  Wes and I grew up with a drive-in nearby, so we went lots of times.  I was surprised that there aren't too many of them around Dallas.  There is one in Ennis that is pretty nice, so we tried it out.  It was actually a double feature, but we only stayed for the first movie.  We watched Free Birds which is a cartoon about turkeys at the first Thanksgiving.  It was an okay movie, and Mia loved the experience.  I sat in a chair with Quinn who slept for most of the movie.  Mia sat in the back of our Pathfinder with Wes and a big tub of popcorn.  I was impressed that she stayed awake for the whole movie.  She definitely wants to go again.  I think we'll wait until it warms up in the spring even though the Ennis drive-in is open year round.  It's getting a little too cool at night.  I didn't get a picture of this "first" since it was dark, but I guess I can't document everything.

We went with our friends, the Roberts family, to the Arboretum this weekend.  The girls loved all of the pumpkins.  Reese, Ryleigh, and Mia were constantly going in three different directions.  Reagan and Quinn were thankfully contained in their strollers.  It was a beautiful fall day and perfect for visiting the pumpkin village.  It's always a fall favorite for us.  It was great to catch up with Scott and Holly.  We'll have to get together again soon somewhere that's not so packed with people.  Plus, it's hard to talk when you're constantly chasing after one kid or another.  It was a good time, though, and I'm sure we'll laugh about all of these exhausting outings when the kids are older.  For now, we just try to control the chaos and let the kids have fun!

Reese and Mia

Ryleigh wasn't into making silly faces at that moment.

 Cinderella's carriage