Movies - Thanksgiving

What do you do every Thanksgiving?  You go to the movies of course!  Ghostbusters was the movie of choice and we thought Nick would actually sit through it with cousins and snacks....and he would have if the dang previews weren't as long as the movie!  UGH!  We grabbed some shopping mall food court lunch before the movie (Panda Express, an all time favorite).  The mall was crazy busy since it was the week of Thanksgiving.  Grandma and Papa brought huge shopping bags of candy for the kids to choose from and the kids had a blast picking as many as they could.  

I really had high hopes.  Xander was nice and sleepy - Nick was full and ready to eat lots of candy - we were going to make it!

We didn't even make it through the first 15 minutes of the movie.  We did make it through almost 45 minutes of waiting and previews, however.  I walked around the theater with Nick for a while, then decided to call it a day and drive the two little boys home.  Home was more our speed.   Toys for Nick, kicking on the ground and playing with his feet for Xander.  Oh well, one day we will watch movies again!

Xander 4 month appointment ::FAILED::

Well, Xander failed his 4 month appointment.  This little stinker is just not gaining weight!  He was born in the 50% for weight, 2 month check in was at 47% and today at 4 months, he is down to the 7th%!  UGH!  Seriously felt like the worst mom ever!  We are going to start him on solids and re0weigh him in a month.  You'd think for being my 6th child I would know what I'm doing.  Apparently not....

 

Cars in Socks

The other day Nick was so busy in the bathroom.  I was getting ready and was just happy he was busy and letting me get dressed.  Then I happened to look over and checked out what was keeping him so busy.  He had about 6 cars that he was placing in his socks and pants.  The best part is when he got up and tried to walk.  I had to record it!  This didn't last too long.  He told me it hurt too much to walk.  It was adorable!

 

Driving Home from Nashville

After an amazing week in Nashville, sadly it was time to head home.  We knew this area is known for being a high holiday traffic area, but we had no idea how terrible it actually was!  We left later than we had planned (mid morning instead of early morning) and soon regretted it.  What should have been a 9 hour drive turned into a 14 hour drive.  Bumper to bumper traffic, accidents, road closures - you name it  - it happened!  These kids were the absolute best travelers.  Xander barely made a peep and everyone either slept or watched movies....hardly any fighting!  That's how you know it was a good trip - everyone is so tired they just want to sleep!

 

Anders and Nick - Thanksgiving

I thought Nick was busy....then I watched Anders and realized Nick is super, super chill.  I'm not sure how Ana watches him with another baby and a dog.  Anders was into everything.  He loves the kitchen, eggs, food, bathrooms, toilets, taking off his diaper, cracking eggs, getting into the refrigerator, every room, and leaving the house without being noticed.  Watching him I had flashbacks of Andrew at that age and having to change all our door locks from turn knobs or key lock on both sides.  Nick was fascinated watching Anders.  Nick is pretty good at stopping when we say no, Anders sees that as more of a suggestion - or hint to move faster!  Being just 2 years old they still don't know how to play together - but Nick sure had fun learning new skills from Anders.  Nick talks all the time and parrots everything we say - where as Anders is pretty quiet most the time - but busy.  Anders is red hair, pale skin, straight hair, skinny body type - Nick is dark hair, dark skin, curly hair, and rock solid.  They couldn't be more different.....  then take Jackman and Xander.  Jackman is chunky - Xander is tiny.  

"Anders this is my arm!"

Anders:  "I think I'm done with diapers - I'll just take it off and pee in the toilet.  Do I need to tell my mom?  No, why would I need to do that?!"

Anthony wasn't feeling well and poor Ana was pretty much in single mom mode with new puppy.  We took Anders over to our airbnb to toss him in the bathtub with our boys.  It was like a little oreo cookie!

Anders loves to crack eggs.  He would sneak into the fridge, grab one, then sneak someplace to crack it.  A table, the floor, the sink, anywhere worked just fine for him!

Attempting to play together.  They even can hug!

Xander and Jackman.  Couldn't be more different than Anders and Nick!

The four amigos!  Oh these guys are going to be fun to watch grow up!

They really loved taking things from eachother too.  Like the big bottles of gum.

Quite the arm and lap full!

 

Ben and Hailey Birthday Competition - Nashville Thanksgiving

What do you do when you have grandkids with birthdays on either side of Thanksgiving.....and you're Grandma?  You combine them and make them compete for their gifts!  Always a highlight of Thanksgiving - the annual Ben vs. Hailey birthday games.  Hailey took home the winning prize this year (bragging rights), but both kids did an awesome job.  This year we had a gumball in soda bottle challenge...

hackisac

Stacking

vaseline and cotton balls...

Cup flippings

Good sportsmanship!

Ben's treats for the games he won...

The most creative Grandma!

 

Nashville Thanksgiving

 This year we traveled to Nashville to join the "on" family for Thanksgiving.  It was my first time there - Christopher and the kids (minus Andrew who stayed home to take care of pregnant me) went last year.  Xander and Nick were perfect little travelers and we made it to Nashville in not to shabby time.

Our week was pack full of fun adventures, yummy food, many games, three birthdays, lots of grandma and papa cuddles, fantastic company, and cousin adventures.  Here's a small snapshot of our week!