Gobble Gobble 2011

we had a wonderful thanksgiving this year and clearly have MUCH to be thankful for.  we headed to justin and tiff's house around 11:30, enjoyed appetizers followed by lunch at 1.  the kids' table looked like southern living and potterybarn  pow-wowed.  it was complete with coloring sheets, pilgrim boat name plates, colors, candy, and goodies.  i am so jealous of tiff's skills, but thankful i can enjoy them!  we tried to put L down for a nap around 2.  she ran circles in her crib for about 30 min until we decided it was a lost cause.  she may have missed her beloved 2-3hr nap, but you would have never known it.  she didn't stop giggling until we strapped her into her carseat (at which point she promptly said "night night" and conked out).

new thanks this year include:

1) thankful to be within 20 miles of all of my immediate family since the north dallas invasion of summer '11

2) thankful that my work days start at 9 instead of 6 which means seeing my lovebug almost every morning

3) thankful for a supportive husband that is willing to commute to dallas from frisco (aka oklahoma...)

4) thankful that we have found a new church home and excited to see the Lord's plans

5) thankful to be the mommy of an adorable, hysterical, smart, beautiful, chatty, sweet TODDLER

6) thankful to be paci free! (for non-facebookers we said bye bye 1 week ago and it involved one nap refusal, one 15 min fuss before bedtime, and one 10 min fuss before a second nap).



 Presley (6 mo), Parker (8), Abigail (9), Lofton (18 mo), Kendall (7), Peyton (4)

 Family Photo 2011

 Love Bug!

 Goofy girl saying "hi" to Parkerman

What a difference a year makes...

Dog!

this is what i'll remember about Lofton's "first" halloween.  technically it's her second, but does it really count before you can consume sugar??  i don't think so.

1) i thought long and hard about what overly girly, but still devoid of sassy and full of sweet outfit my little one would wear.  i am well aware that these years are numbered...in the end, it only made sense for her to be a dog.  that is her obsession right now.  that and elmo, but elmo is a little gender neutral for me.  i did manage to find a pink dog :)

2) daddy wasn't with us ;(  he was in the midst of a heart-wrenching trial that he had been pouring hours upon hours into. 

3) you loved the "choo choo!" and talked about it long after your back-to-back rides with your cousins

4) you wore your poodle hat for less than five minutes and then just looked like an adorable pink bath mat with a tail...

5) abigail and kendall claire wanted nothing more than for you to be happy.  there were a ton of super fun big kid bouncy houses and bungey cords.  i asked KC what she wanted to do and her reply, "whatever baby lofton wants to do".  melt my heart.  and big girl abi wanted nothing to do with the baby train until her sister got to ride with lofton.  she then magically wanted to take a ride as well.

5) you ate 2 suckers, but you didn't know to swallow the sugary goodness, so it just ran down your chin and onto your costume.  i NEVER thought we would get all of the black fuzz off of your neck

6) you said "night night" and "hot dog" the entire way home.  you were having too much fun at the carnival to eat much of your dinner.  you quickly devoured a hot dog upon our return home, had some deep cleansing in the tub, and were fast asleep by 8pm.  the next night you got your first tummy bug and spread it to your nanny and daddy.  good think abigail refused your offer to share a sucker!

7) we had a ton of adorable trick-or-treaters.  definitely a change from our old neighborhood!



 couldn't be more in love

 later poodle hat. you threw it on the sidewalk and continued to stroll toward the fun...