Jed is trying to start a new onesie style I think!!
I have to brag about Avery - today Oliver was counting (he days left until Christmas I think), and he started 1-2-3-4-5-6, and then paused. Avery chimed in, "7-8-9-10-11-12." What?! She isn't even two years old yet and she can count to 12!? What else is in her little brain that we don't know about yet?
I haven't blogged in a while, so bear with me...this could be a long post! BTW - happy thanksgiving to everyone - I am morally opposed to skipping over Thanksgiving and going straight into Christmas without a mention, but I did not take any pics on Thanksgiving (Maybe because I was coking all day - it was a blast and so yummy!), but when I borrow pictures from my father-in-law I will give Thanksgiving the attention it deserves. For now, this will have to do!
The day after Thanksgiving, we went to Temple Square to see the lights, as well as Gateway. We ate out (it's a good thing, because I was DONE cooking for the rest of the weekend!), then rode the TRAX train up to Temple square. The train ride was Avery's favorite part of the night - the second we stepped off, she started saying, "again, again." She talked about it the whole time we were walking around seeing lights, the nativity, etc. After our ride back, she was a bit sad to say goodbye to the train for good! The tree at Gateway was lit as well, and the fountain was going, "dancing" to all your favorite Christmas tunes! It was a bit chilly, but nothing like the weather is now. Good times! I was exhausted by the end of the night because of my 4:00 AM "Black Friday" shopping rendesvous at Walmart, Home Depot, and Shopko, but it was worth it!
Flash Forward to this last weekend: We went to the Festival of trees, where Oliver and his cousin Kade got to make crafts in the kiddie korner. The kids loved all the themed trees and gingerbread houses too. Avery decided that day that she would truly become a two year old, terrible and all. She "asserted her independence" all day, which is really quite fun in public! Check the pictures - there is a really good one of her during one of her fits! Wendy, me, and the kids all ate at Spaghetti Mama's afterword.
Then on Saturday, we had our "Meatball" holiday party at our house. I got the idea of a meatball party from my cousin Mark - it is an annual tradition for he and his wife, and it sounded so fun that I thought we would give it a whirl. Basically, a meatball party is an appetizer party where everything is ball-shaped. Everyone got really creative with their recipes and it was super-yummy - chicken cordon bleu balls, sweet and sour meatballs, mozzerella balls, truffles, bleu cheese and bacon stuffed mushrooms, rice balls, grape balls, and ice cream balls. A bonus to the meatball party over a regular appetizer party is that the food is its own conversation piece - the jokes never ended! It was great to get together with all our friends and celebrate the holiday season.
