Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We had a lovely Thanksgiving at my Aunt Vicki and Uncle Bruce's house. As always, the company, and the food, were spectacular. The kids had a wonderful time as well, and they surprised us all by staying awake until after 8 PM without fussing. Clearly a good time was had by all.

Before we went, I made a spinach dip, and the boys helped. Oh yes, how they helped. Corey insisted on fetching items from the fridge for me to use in the dip, such as pancake syrup. And, as everyone knows, pancake syrup is an integral part of any good spinach dip. Especially when it gets spilled all over the floor. And then gets all over everyone's socks. Now that, my friend, is the mark of a good spinach dip. But! We did make it to the party, with the spinach dip, and also clean socks.

Now I must say that this year we are extremely thankful that Corey is doing well, and we are also extremely thankful that Mason has joined our family. I would also be extremely thankful for a full night's sleep, but I guess I can't have everything, now can I? And in any case, it is ridiculously rewarding to be constantly surprised and entertained by our two sons. Mason is on the move. He is constantly rising to his feet and taking shaky toddling steps all over the house. He has also learned to open the dishwasher. And climb on the dishwasher door. And pull out the knives. Right. I find this to be nearly as helpful as Corey's siux chef skills.

Corey also continues to amaze us. His little brain is constantly working, and you never know what will come out of his mouth next. Anything from, "Mommy! I want to do my dickers!" (stickers), to "Please I want a cookie!" to "It's bagel shop day! I got lucky!" to "Make everybody's shakes!" It's so adorable and cute - words can't even express how precious these moments are. This year I think he really is getting a handle on the whole Santa Claus idea. We are talking about it all the time, and he is starting to announce, at random moments, "Maybe Santa bring me that try me toy!" or "Maybe Santa bring Corey busy busy going to places toy!" or "Maybe Santa bring me some dickers!" It's magic for him, and so it is magic for us.

Corey's Quote of the Day

I left Corey at my mom's house for a couple of hours today. When I returned to pick him up, he announced, "Mommy! I have a pea up my nose!"

Fantastic.

We came home and practiced our blowing skills until it came out.

Mason Thomas takes his first steps!

Go baby boy! This morning, Mason, Corey and I were hanging out in the living room, when Mason stood up (as he's been doing often lately), balanced, and took a few steps on his own! I was so shocked and surprised that I don't know if he took 3 or 4 steps, but it was at least a few.

So what was it that motivated my little man to take his first steps, you ask? Was it his beloved mommy? His adored brother? No and no. It was Ariel, The Little Mermaid, on the TV. Right. That stinker! I managed to motivate him to do it again for the camera, though, so I'm pretty excited about that.

I intended to write more on Halloween, but I actually think the pictures tell the story well enough on their own. Corey obviously had a great time, and Mason pretty much thought, "What the heck is going on, and where is my bottle?" At least he was nice and warm in that Tigger costume!

And speaking of costumes, Corey was looking at pics of his cousin, Peyton, in his lobster costume. The next day, out of nowhere, he piped up with, "Baby Peyton was a lobster!" Ha ha! We're working on convincing Corey that Peyton is a real baby, and that Peyton is not Mason. Peyton and Mason look so much alike that when I first showed Corey pictures of Peyton and asked, "Who is that?", Corey immediately said, "Mason!" It'll be interesting to see if the similarities continue as the boys get older.....

Halloween Photos!

Here are the pics we took for Halloween:

Halloween

And here's a bonus set of a breakfast with Grandma Jeanne:

Breakfast with Grandma Jeanne

More on the Halloween fun later......