And that afternoon, she looked 15 years old.....but still had to do "silly one first"!!
And we headed over to her bestie, Natalia's house for a sleepover.....and both kids fell asleep on the way there!
I LOVE these girls!!!
The next day, this handsome fellow was ready to get to church and get his sissy!
And that night, our littlest Bass was a rock star :)
Wool tights! In Florida! YEAH for cooler temps!
We were excited to get Tutu the Turkey out of her plastic bag and onto the wall so we could start adding her thankful feathers each day!
And of course Bingo had to get in on the action!
I want this girl's wardrobe and accessories :)
At bedtime, Grady said, "Cuddle me, Mommy!" I said, "Awww, Buddy, your cuddles are the best!" and he snuggled closer and said, "Aww, Mommy! Happy Halloween!"
I suppose practicing saying "Happy Halloween" all month really worked! We immediately started working on "Happy Thanksgiving!" :)
We got Whitney's school picture re-takes back. This was the first attempt:
And this is the final attempt....definitely an improvement and more "Whitney"! And those two front teeth were missing!
I got a very rare (but well-deserved!) girls' night out with some of my favorite favorites!!
And, of course, the matchy matchy carries on!
Leaving the chiropractor (where Grady was an all-star!) and the next patient (aka angel on Earth) complimented me on Grady's behavior and then asked how old he is. When I said he's 2.5, she said, "Wow, that's really good! My kids didn't talk til they were three! And they are seven and nine and aren't as well behaved as your son!"
It was so reassuring and exciting to hear a complete stranger compliment Grady's speech and behavior. And that was a few weeks before his recent language explosion! He has really knocked our socks off lately!
We hit up Magic Kingdom for some time with a duck and a mouse, some teacup fun, and some messy, gluten-free treats!
A sure sign of a successful Disney adventure!
The BingoDog continued stealing our hearts. Its so fun listening to Grady say, "Aww, its okay, Beengo. I petchoo!"
I was extremely skeptical of Aldi at first, but their "Live GF" products have been life changing for this little dude! He can no safely have gluten free, dairy free bread (that actually tastes like legit bread!), pretzels, cookies, cereal bars, and other toddler staples! It makes life easier for everyone :)
And this kid? Is crazy smart. And creative. And silly. And messy.
He LOVES trains. Thomas the Train, in particular. He can name ALL the trains from the shows and movies, and while he likes other things, too, he could spend HOURS reenacting scenes from Thomas and Friends with his own trains.
Cranky the Crane was a favorite toy....and also happens to be the only toy that Bingo chewed. ;-/
In November, we started an official chore chart for Whitney, and it was an instant hit! She has certain chores she is expected to do around the house (windex the kitchen table, take out the recyclables, feed Bingo and give him water, make her bed, and put away her own jammies/undies/socks from the laundry), but now we have a place to track her work so she earns her $5 each week!
Next we did what any respectable, exhausted, frustrated parents would do. We whipped out the lollipop. Whitney one-upped us, and whipped out her teenage 'tude.
But, in true Bass kid fashion, they got it together and made the magic :)
...well...sorta.......
So. My. Kids.
Getting ready to make a break for it!!!
....and....he's done.
faux smiles.
Daddy knows how to make them laugh and get their real smiles!
Grady is anti-family-photo
Holy cow, he loves his Daddy!
Oh, Daddy-O!
So because we couldnt pull it together that morning, we headed to my parents' house for a change of scenery and another attempt.
Yeah, that was an even bigger flop.
We tried to give pep talks.....
but picking limes from Mac and Gramps' lime tree seemed like a better use of their time.
And because we are gluttons for punishment and it wouldnt be the holidays without some family photo torture fun!
A HUGE Thanks to the "O" family for stepping in (TWICE!) to capture our Christmas card cuteness and for totally capturing our kids' smiles perfectly!
The Winner, arriving in all our favorite mailboxes this week :)
no wait....maybe this was the winner....?
Family Photo Dazed and Confused
So we finally got it together and ordered Christmas cards and had a huge sigh of relief. :)
I went to the doctor who said it was strep throat and two ear infections. I told her my cyst pain was throbbing and she said it could be my appendix, so after begging Eric to ditch a conference call, we finally headed to the ER.
After a CT scan, they determined that I had an appendicolith, or a calcium deposit (? i think?) in my appendix that, though it wasnt large enough to firmly blame the pain on, would eventually cause acute appendicitis, so they kept me overnight for observation.
Wanna know the definition of torture? Forget water-boarding. Catch strep throat and then have nurses deny you liquids.....no water....no warm tea.....not even ice chips. THE WORST.
So after observing me overnight, they determined that my white blood cells (low) and my pain indicated that my appendix was being evicted. So we scheduled the surgery for that afternoon and I earned myself a few nights in the hospital.
Not exactly the "vacation away" I had in mind....but I had some of the cutest visitors in the world!
While I was in the hospital, my mom sent me this pic of the word "Mom" and a heart made out of, what else? Wine corks!
And because that's somehow the way life goes, Whitney had "Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character" day at school while I was in the hospital. We picked Fern from Charlotte's Web, and Eric did an awesome job pulling it together after a run to the consignment store :)
And this little Dude was in hog heaven, getting to spend hours and hours with his favorite Mac and Gramps all week! Thanks for stepping in, Mom and Dad!
I finally got home and was on strict orders to "take it easy".....because EVERY mom with a Kindergartener and a two-and-a-half year old boy is able to "take it easy". Right? Wrong. Thankfully, this guy was ready for some cuddles and healing time while the kids were at school.
The day after I broke outta the hospital, this happened:
Ms. Martha and Papa sent the kids a "Native American" head dress to make for Thanksgiving! They both had fun and it was an activity that kept them occupied for a while!
THANK YOU for being so thoughtful, Martha!!
THANK YOU for being so thoughtful, Martha!!
And this little fellow graduated from puppy class! Doesnt he look adorable?!
He knows sit (both the verbal command and the hand signal) and down and....well....that's about it for now. But he doesnt jump NEARLY as much as he did a month ago. He is very smart and super snuggly. He just forgets that he is so giant compared to the kids, so he thinks he's playing, but ends up knocking them over.
We enjoyed the calm before the holiday storm with a family night on the couch with a new "Sofia the First" episode....and it was perfect!
Whitney has grown SO MUCH since starting Kindergarten. Physically, she just looks older and more mature. And her confidence has skyrocketed! We feel like we hit the Kindergarten teacher lottery, and Whitney has an AWESOME group of classmates. She feels safe and secure going to school (which blows my mind since she couldnt even find her own classroom for two full weeks in August!!) and her teacher has worked magic and helped this timid reader turn into an "I-can-read-that!" reader who is sooo excited to read her little brother books and then count the number of pages she read :)
She was SO proud of herself!
And this creative toddler invented his very own game!
He dumped out both kids' laundry baskets into a giant pile. Then he started jumping in them like they were freshly raked fall leaves!
He then started taking a running leap from down the hallway.
Then he dragged Sissy into the game!
And pretty soon, both kids were holding hands, running down the hall and yelling, "Splish!! Splash!! SPLOOSH!!" and jumping into the pile!
I love these ages!!!
We got busy decorating the ornaments for Nanny's tree! Whitney and Eric picked them out and both kids did a great job coloring them!
And because the cold and rain seemed endless, we popped up the bounce house in the playroom, and Bingo couldnt believe his puppydog eyes!
And it was only a matter of time......
.....crazy mutt.
And then.....finally.........the day I wait for all year.
THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!!
When the kids get an awesomely cute breakfast and we decorate the tree and watch the parade and then spend the afternoon with family!
And this year, Whitney was just as excited as I was!! The BEST.
She just kept excitedly asking "can we put ornaments on now???"
And Grady really got into it, too!
His Mater ornament is a clear favorite and was so excited to hang it on the tree....over and over.
She would get SO excited every time she pulled another ornament from the boxes. "Mommy, LOOK!! A 'G'!!!! For Grady!!!"
And it was the PERFECT year for Thomas the Tank Engine to make his debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Grady got SO excited to see his favorite train floating on TV!
They were both REALLY into the parade this year! Makes my heart happy :)
And it was fun that they both really liked decorating the tree....and themselves!
My FAVORITE! Welll....maybe my SECOND favorite. My first favorite is Christmas, when the wrapping paper flies and the kids shout "Mom! LOOK!" while holding up whatever treasure they just unwrapped, with glowing eyes. THAT's my FAVORITE.
But this is a VERY close second! The excitement of the tree and the ornaments bringing back memories ("I made this in Ms. Lori's class!" and "What vacation did we buy this ornament on??" and "I remember buying this Disney ornament with Kylie and Wyatt and Emma!!" and "Awwww, look! Mac bought me this ornament!!") and the parade music and balloons on TV. The rush to get ready to head to Aunt Patti's for the Coggon Family Turkey Day, Eric and Whitney making their traditional pecan pies. The best.
Even Thomas got dressed up!
Whitney was all talk about putting the star on the tree but when it came time to get on Daddy's shoulders, she was nervous!
But she released her death grip slightly.....
....and VERY nervously placed the star on the tree to complete the decorating!
And because my kids are awesome (and apparently forgot how much they loathe having their picture taken), we tried for a Christmas tree pic.....and had great success! Who knew pretending to drop a Thomas the Train on Mommy's head could be SO funny?!
I LOOOOVE when she looks at him like that!
"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!!!"
Another favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition: setting up the Nativity. Eric usually loves this task, but Whitney really wanted to use the picture to set it up "perfectly". And she did an AWESOME job!
Eric and Whitney made pies, of course!
And both kids loved pressing all the buttons and ringing all the bells on all the Christmas toys fresh out of the bins!
And, of course, we are reminded of the reason for the season!
And when we all got out of jammies, we tried to snap a family pic before heading to Aunt Patti's!
Well.....we tried.
We then rolled out (late, as always) to the first family affair of the day. THIS is what holidays are made of. Watching our kids make memories with their cousins, food, chaos, laughter...the works. And we ate it up.
Poor Kyle. Our nephew is a champ. Sixteen years old (WHEN and HOW did THAT happen?!) and totally willing to let his little cousins walk all over him.
Literally.
He is such a great cousin....and I promise I dont allow my kids to treat people like jungle gyms. But Kyle was cool with it and the belly laughs were priceless!
And what would a family gathering be in 2014 without YouTube on an iPhone?? And cousins, of course.
Frozen in sign language with Grandma Debbie!
And finally...for once...we remembered to gather Grandma Debbie and Papa Butch for a picture with the kids.
Again.
We tried.
This is the exact moment where Grady looked at us and said, "No, smile at the camera! I got poop!!!"
Well then.
After we ate and laughed and took pics, it was time to head home. But the fun didnt stop there! We had PROMISED Grady for at least a month that Daddy would open the Polar Express on Thanksgiving. We couldnt disappoint! He's talked about it EVERY day. Multiple times a day!
And then. It was Polar Express time. And it was sorta magical
Eric may or may not have said, "We dont need to buy this kid anything for Christmas! THIS is all he wants!!"
And while his joy and excitement has been priceless, the Polar Express requires a lot of adult interventions. Constantly putting the tracks back together. Putting the trains wheels back on the tracks. Replacing batteries. But does that stop GBass??
Heck. No.
Dude LOVES this train.
Dude LOVES this train.
He was SOOOO happy!
The next day was exceptionally awesome. Because is there anything better than your own mom's homecooked Thanksgiving meal??
No.
No.
Nothing better. Anywhere. And my mom makes the BEST Thanksgiving meal on the planet.
And adding to the excitement?
My brother arrived from Boston!
My brother arrived from Boston!
Silly hates and loud belly laughs. Uncle Jay is in town!!
My mom printed some authentic Polar Express train tickets, and we had them laminated. We gave them to the kids when we broke the news to Uncle Jay let Uncle Jay know we were all going on the faux Polar Express while he was here!
Uncle Jay, as always, was a good sport, and Grady was soooo excited!! Whitney was an awesome big sister and, though trains "arent really my thing", she pretended to be thrilled for Grady.
Whitney was just excited to see Uncle Jay. Polar Express, Schmolar Express. Uncle Jay is here!
Testing out the new Polar Express bell Mac and Gramps bought them!
I know.
More family pics.
Its our thing.
And really? When the kids are THIS cute, why shouldnt we capture that cuteness?!
And then the timer shots. "Hurry, Daddy! Get in the picture!!!!!!!'
Grady loves his Uncle Jay! iPad time and Thomas the Train on YouTube? AND his Uncle Jay? Grady's world is complete ;)
Seriously, wasnt she JUST born????
Uncle Jay is such a good sport!
Gramps showed Whitney the wine he is saving for her wedding or college graduation or law school graduation or med school graduation or whatever awesome life event she chooses in the future :) Bottles from the years my kids were born?
My dad is awesome.
This girl absolutely LOVES her Mac.
The next day (late...again), we headed to our annual Christmas tree decorating in honor of Eric's stepmom, Robin. All the Florida siblings were there and the cousins had fun on the playground!
Creeper.
Ms Martha and Grady were excited to head to the playground!
Cousin friends.
Uncle Parker and Aunt Mel!
Papa Bear Bass :)
Our visit was short but sweet, and we were excited to know we would be seeing everyone (plus Aunt Tina, Uncle Jake, Sawyer, and Wyatt) in a few short weeks for Christmas!
Sister friends.
And to send November out with a "bang!", my parents and Jay joined us for a ride on the (faux-but-still-perfect) Polar Express!
Grady spotted the train shop across from the train station....
Uncle Jay spoiled our train-loving Dude. :)
And then it was time to head out to the train platform and wait for the Polar Express to arrive!
Here it comes!!!!!!!!
It was super loud, and Im not sure GBass was ready for it, but he got over it really quick and was excited to be standing near THE Polar Express (sorta)
And Sister was a great sport....acting excited for her brother, who was in train heaven. Whitney is seriously the BEST big sister. Ever.
I mean, the first three years of her life, we pretty much never mentioned trains. Then Grady decides trains are his very! favorite! thing! ever!, and we hop on a train. Not always a fun idea for a five year old, but Whitney "gets it" and knows this made her brother happy, so she made the best of it, and really, she had fun! Cookies and hot cocoa and Santa? The girl had FUN. But she doesnt get the hype about trains. lol
The last time those poor little trains were seen... :(
We finally got to board the train and we chose the open-air car since it was hot. So much fun!
And then........the head elf arrived. And it got even better!
Grady thought it was awesome :)
They had a nice chat about the train Uncle Jay bought for Grady :)
(and it was pretty nice to notice that this complete stranger understood every word Grady said!)
CHEERS to making memories with awesome grandparents!
Grady got to taste the hot cocoa!
And we brought gluten free cookies for Grady, so Whitney got extra goodies!
LOVE these kids!
The train went about 500 yards and arrived at "the North Pole"! Santa climbed aboard the train and the kids were thrilled :)
....and perhaps a bit skeptical at first....
Santa and his elves handed out magic bells and snapped selfies with Mac :)
And this is the happy face of a happy mommy who gets to watch the best of both worlds....my kids and my parents and brother, all together, all enjoying making memories together. It doesnt get better.
Mac showing Grady her selfie with Santa!
While the conductor wasnt exactly Tom Hanks in the Polar Express, he was super friendly and Grady was happy to meet the "'ductor!"
We sang some Christmas carols and really had a great experience!
And before long, it was time for Mr. Claus to head back to the North Pole to rest up before the big month ahead!
....which apparently meant some time in a deserted parking lot......
The train was a great experience, and we all enjoyed! And if that wasnt fun enough,.....
there is a GREAT park right next to the trains station, and both kids were psyched to run off some steam!
Monkey bars??!!
Big kid swings???!!!
When did my kids get so big!?
The closest I will come to pics on trains tracks...I KNOW..I know....its illegal. Sigh.
After the train and the park, we all headed to a new sports restaurant in our town, where Uncle Jay helped Whitney learn how to tie her shoes :)
It was a GREAT month!!!!!
And now....just 26 hours before Christmas....I have officially caught up on the year!!
Hoping I can get Christmas and December blogged "real-time" or at least before 2015 arrives!
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