The After Effects of Thanksgiving

Too much turkey.....

....And too much turkey milk.

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a sick kid.....

....And an emergency trip to the doctor for some antibiotics. It's a Thanksgiving tradition.

The Fun of Thanksgiving

Awesome family viewing of "Wreck It Ralph." My mom is doing a good impression of a grandma who didn't just get peed on by Jack.

Stucki Family bowling. The girls barely made it through one game. (That ball gets heavy half way through.) The boys played two games. There was chest pumping, trash talking, and a pool of money involved. 

Everybody needs a best buddy to bowl with in life. Maddie is lucky to have her sister cousin.

I'm lucky to have my Josh.

When all the wild and crazy Stuckis went home, we got to go over for a peaceful Harris Thanksgiving Feast. I always feel special using real glasses and hard plates at a Harris dinner gathering.  :o)

The Family of Thanksgiving

Everyone in the family got to have exactly what they wanted for Thanksgiving. I got my family picture finally.

Jack got to be held by his Great-Grandma Stucki.

Josh got to watch football with Grandpa Stucki.

Maddie got to play with cousins.

Perfect.

The Fashion of Thanksgiving

What outfit could possibly be cute enough to dress this little turkey? (you might ask) This one came pretty close!

Gobble Gobble Toes

Turkey Butt

Ahhh!!! Cuteness overload!

Maddie's Thanksgiving outfit had to be feminine and include sequins. If the sequins can also spell out her name and match her favorite pink leggings, then it's perfect!

The Preparation Of Thanksgiving

Maddie insisted we have Christmas decorations up for Thanksgiving. 

I volunteered to host my Stucki Family for Thanksgiving a) so I wouldn't have to travel with a baby and b) so I could make the food assignments and make sure I have the easy stuff. Maddie watched Grandpa Dale make apple pies.

My dad also volunteered to make the turkeys. He is so cute. He wanted to deep fry a turkey AND bake a turkey. Maddie named them Nibble and Gibble. (Or something like that.)

Maddie also loved making the playdoe-ish cheeseball.

My Darling Madeline

I'm very surprised at how easily I transitioned into being Jack's mother. I am completely and totally obsessed. It's like when you are in love and the rest of the world doesn't even exist. So much so, that I have to remind myself every day to pay attention to my Maddie too. I just sort of forget sometimes. So I took Maddie out to dinner and be bought matching, ridiculously fuzzy bathrobes. She looks so much like I did when I was eight years old in this picture. 

But I assure you, I was never this fashionable or adorable when I was eight.

I found this self-portrait of Maddie on her camera. It makes me want to put my arms around her and protect her from the world. I hope that she still feels adored by her mother even when I am feeding and holding and changing and bathing the baby for hours every day. 

Although she complains that Jack gets to "stay up later than her" even though "she is older", she still likes to sing to him at bedtime. Every single time she sings to him, Jack becomes very peaceful and alert. I know that he already adores his big sister.

She also likes to "play Barbies" with him. I think she is just so happy to finally have a playmate.

In other news, this Saturday is a very special day for our family. Our Madeline will be baptized and our Jack will be blessed. It makes me tear up just thinking about how blessed we are to have these two little miracles in our home.

Grandma Linda went to Maddie's school's Grandparent Day. By all accounts, it was a fabulous time.

Maddie still loves performing. She loves acting and singing and being on stage. So.....I'm just going to go with it. She takes voice lessons, performs in a children's chorus, and here she is in her theater dance class. I will NOT be shocked when she is performing on Broadway someday. I couldn't be more proud of my daughter.

Jack's First Haircut. (And his possible thoughts.)

"I can't believe my mommy is making me do this. It is so demeaning."

"I guess this isn't so bad...."

"No! Not my rat tail!!"

"Get me out of here! Save me!"

Some Cute Pictures of Jack (and his possible thoughts)

"We represent the lollipop kids...."

"Don't hit me! These aren't boxing gloves, they're socks!"

"I'm dreaming of a happy world full of pacifiers and blankies and mommy."

"I seriously have to do this 12 times?" (1 month picture)

"These are supposed to be fun toys?"

"Don't mess with crazy crab!!"

"Mommy takes too long. I'll just drink this bottle and hold it myself."

"I am a very important person, thank you very much." (thought in a snooty tone of voice)

"I farted. It was me."

"Pooping on mom's lap takes serious concentration."

"Yes. I know I'm adorable."

Pictures I Forgot

I think I tried to hurry and keep updated on my blog, so I forgot a few choice pictures. Here are some pictures from Josh and Maddie's Birthday Day at Disneyland. They got to eat in the exclusive, semi-secret Disneyland Club 33 Restaurant. Don't know what I'm talking about? Exactly. They felt very VIP.

While they were at Disneyland, I took Jack on his first trip to Jack's Surfboards and bought him some cool threads with his name on them.

While we were in California, it was our 11th Anniversary. How did we spend it (you might ask)? Just like this. It was awesome.

I also forgot to post this adorable picture of my family carving a pumpkin.

And of our Halloween costumes. Maddie is a fuzzy, fancy, one-eyed monster. I don't know exactly what it is or why she chose it, but she does look adorable.

Jack was, of course, a JACK-o-lantern. And the cutest, littlest pumpkin.

Once again, I made Josh dress up as one of my fantasies. He is a very sexy Maverick (in my opinion).

Seeing as how Halloween was one month after I gave birth, my Halloween costumes seemed limited. So I work black (black is slimming) and put on my spider necklace and bracelet and earrings. Maddie was very unhappy with that costume. First of all, I already wore it last year. And second of all, she says it isn't a real costume. She insists that I never wear it again.