Poor Dude

Macie got some new dress up stuff when we went to Sturgis. Grammie's friend, Judy, got her some new tutus, fairy wings, and a Snow White outfit. She even got Gavin a ninja outfit. Last night, Macie wanted to wear her wings. Then, she wanted me to wear them and then Gavin. He looked so adorable in them, but the look on his face was like, "Why in the hell are you doing this to me?" Poor dude...

Sturgis Thanksgiving

Yesterday was a crazy day! Every year on Black Friday, my sisters and I go shopping with my dad. My dad (who doesn't like shopping or crowds) loves to go shopping with us on this day. We get together around 7:30 or 8:00, go to a few stores, eat lunch (the highlight of the day), and then either shop more or go home. Annie had to work, but Brian was able to join us this year. We took the kids to daycare so they could be on a "normal" schedule. We went to Kohls, Target, and Gordmans. We got some GREAT deals! Surprisingly, the lines weren't bad at Kohls and we have a strategy when we go to Gordmans and Target. One or two people stand in line while the others shop. Then we trade off. It always seems to work out well. The good news is, we are completely done with all of our Christmas shopping! All gifts have been bought or made! Tonight, Brian has to bartend so I plan to wrap everything after the kids go to bed. I will be so relieved and excited to have this done! Next up...Christmas cards!
We picked up the kids around 2:30 and then headed to Sturgis to celebrate Thanksgiving with Brian's parents. We actually picked up some fried chicken and then Brian's mom made all of the sides. We had too many to count, but they were all delicious! She even sent leftovers home with us! We had a great visit! What a long and exhausting day!!

Aunt Katie was excited to get out her doll house from when she was little to show Macie
Macie was a bit overwhelmed, but loved it!

Gavin wanted in on the action!

Before we left, we tried to get a picture of the two...Macie was a little slap happy!

Next up...Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving

We had a busy Thanksgiving planned as usual! We started the morning with breakfast, baths, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Macie kept saying, "my parade?" Sure honey...whatever you want to think! Our first stop of the day was my dad's side of the family. The kids had a great time getting lots of attention and even a gift! Macie loved playing with Kaylee and looked up to her so much! I looked up to Kaylee's mommy when I was little! After playing and eating lots of yummy food, we went to my mom's side. There are a lot more people there and it can be a bit overwhelming! Both kids handled it pretty well and Gavin even napped. I was so proud of Macie because she didn't have an accident all day! My favorite part of the day is when my whole family (almost 80 people) pray before we eat. There is something magical about that moment and I tear up every time! Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays because it includes my two favorite things: family and food! What a great day!

Kaylee and Macie

Macie thought she was big stuff because she got to sit at the table like Kaylee!

Gavin loved his new toy!
Kaylee actually took this photo

Playing around with Grandma

Macie loves playing with this Elmo doodle pad....there may be one in her future!

"Look Mom!"

Our little turkey!

Gotta love the butt!

I am thankful for...

I am thankful for so many things! God has been good to me. Here are just a few of the things I am thankful for...

• Brian...my husband, partner, best friend, and rock! I honestly couldn't (and wouldn't want to) make it without him!


• Macie and Gavin...they are the center of my world! Being their mommy is the best job ever and I am so grateful God chose me to care for them!


• My job...even though my job is causing me a lot of stress this year, I still love what I do and know that I am making a difference in the lives of my students each and every day!


• My friends and family...I'm not even going to start listing names, because I know I would leave someone out!


• Movie nights, scrapbooking, wine, and blogging...simple pleasures in life that relieve my stress!


• A roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my belly...these simple things we can easily take for granted. I'm trying so hard to not want to want and take every little thing as a blessing from God!

Last Monday night we switched things up and did movie night in the living room. Macie was SOOO excited! We watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

First Steps Evaluation

This afternoon, two therapists came to our house to do an evaluation on Gavin. They were looking at six areas of development: fine motor, gross motor, adaptive, cognitive, social-communication, and social. Basically, they sat on the floor and played with him. Gavin was in heaven! It is very rare for him to have three people focus all of their attention on him (I sent Macie to daycare). He was in a great mood and all smiles as usual. Although I haven't seen the official report, they did go over the results with me. He actually has a deficit in 4 of the 6 areas, but they are only recommending that he receive therapy for the gross motor deficit. Even though I was an Early Childhood Development major in college and I know a lot about child development, I still feel like I learned a lot today. I found out that his lower trunk muscles and leg muscles are very weak that he is making adaptations for it. That is actually the reason he curls in his feet so much. The gross motor deficits are also causing all of the other deficits. Long story short, next Tuesday I have a meeting to determine eligibility. Some time in the next week, I will receive a copy of the report. I also need to find a therapist. At the meeting we will set up a time/day/how often for therapy. They think probably once a week. Until therapy starts, they gave Gavin some homework. We have two exercises that we are supposed to do with him every day. I have to admit that while I am a little sad that there is something "wrong" with my precious little guy, I am also relieved to know that he is getting the help that I know he needed!

A few changes....

I've been trying to update my blog. I seriously don't think that I've changed the music on my playlist in over a year! I added a few Christmas songs and hopefully it won't take me a year to change it again! I'm also working on the title and organization of the blog. I've always described my classroom as "organized chaos", but it seems to apply to my personal life as well. Those two words have shown up more times than I can count in the last few weeks! For now, pardon the construction....more changes to come!

Pure Joy

Macie and Gavin have been interacting more and more. They are even "playing" together at times. They absolutely adore each other! Yesterday, Macie had her play food out and was feeding Gavin. They both sat there for several minutes. The sweetest moment though was in the car. Macie said, "hi dadin dude". Then she kept saying "ball" over and over. They were both giggling hysterically. Brian and I couldn't help but smile. The sounds of pure joy were coming from our back seat!

Christmas Tree

This afternoon, we went to a Christmas Tree farm that is owned by some of my family to pick out our Christmas tree. I love to get a real tree, but we haven't always been able too. Macie's first Christmas we did, but last year we didn't because I was hugely pregnant and I was afraid Macie would pull the tree down. Because it is Gavin's first Christmas, I insisted that we get a real tree. Macie was so excited! She wanted the very first tree that she saw! We ended up tagging a tree after we let Macie run around for a few minutes. I remember running around the trees when I was little, so I'm so glad that she got to do that today! We will pick up our tree in a few weeks!

"I want this one!"

Actually, Macie kept pointing to sticks and saying that she wanted that tree. It was quite funny!

A pic by our tree

Pumpkins, Crackers, and Babies

We've been very busy around the Mitchell household...

Pumpkin Mash: We still had the pumpkins that we got at the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. I decided that I wanted to make pumpkin pies from fresh pumpkin. Brian and I cooked the pumpkins the other night and they turned out great. Two of them we saved to make a pie and the other two I made into a pumpkin mash for Gavin. He LOVES it! It was kind of fun to do something new and to work together!

I took one picture of the before, but I forgot to take one of the after. Maybe I'll remember to take a pic of the pie!

Crackers: Gavin ate his first whole cracker today! He is eating more and more "real" food everyday! Of course, when I got the camera out to capture the momentous occasion, Macie wanted in on the action!

Gotta love the hair!

Introducing Hollis Elliott: Early this morning, my cousin Jamie had her baby! She didn't know what she was having, but she had another boy! Hollis Elliott Mullins weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and is a healthy baby boy! I'm so glad to have another little one in the family!

GOAL!!

I have set a pretty big goal for myself! By December 1st, I want to have all Christmas gifts bought/made/wrapped. I'm also hoping to order/address/send our Christmas cards. Why have all of this done by December 1st you ask???
Well, this is Gavin's 1st Christmas and Macie is at such a fun age that I want to enjoy all of the Holiday festivities this year with little to no stress. Brian and I have so many things that we want to do with the kids (I'll post our official list later), so I don't want to be bogged down with the huge task of Christmas gifts. We are over half way done, and I'm very hopeful that it will all be completed on time. A plus is that I only work one day next week. We have a lot planned (appointments, Thanksgiving, heater tune up, etc.) but I'm going to work like crazy to meet my goal!

What am I doing?

Macie has been cracking us up lately...she talks nonstop! Here are a few of her latest quotes...

"What am I doing?": When Macie is quiet or in the other room, I know that she is up to something. I always ask her, "What are you doing?". I guess I've said that enough that now if she is doing something wrong, she will say, "What am I doing?" It is quite funny, even though she is up to no good!

"Yellow, green, blue, red": Macie gets some mini m&ms when she goes in the potty. It is so funny because as soon as she goes, she will start clapping for herself and say, "I peed, yellow, green, blue, red..." She is telling us the colors of m&ms that she wants!

"Water bothering me": Tonight when Brian put Macie in the bath tub, she wouldn't sit down in the water. She kept saying, "bothering me, water bothering me". Brian and I have no idea where that came from.

A Few Deals Too Great Not To Post...

As you know, Brian and I are always looking for a good deal or bargain. Tonight, Brian went to Target and Walmart. At Target, he bought 2 boxes of Stove Top stuffing, 4 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup, and 2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup. At Walmart, he bought a Woolite carpet cleaning tool. How much money do you think he spent???

78 cents!!! (70 cents at Walmart and only 8 cents at Target for 8 items!)

Oh yeah...that's how we roll:)

Macie and Gavin Pics

Family Pics

Last Saturday, we had family pictures taken at Garvin Park. We hadn't had Allie take a family picture since Gavin was born. I also wanted more pictures of the kids since Gavin can sit up so much better. It was a struggle to get both kids looking the same way, but I think they turned out well!