Gobble, gobble, gobble.....

Well, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year.....and while we are thankful each and everyday since we brought Paul home, it is always nice to celebrate these "firsts"! It was a small gathering this year but you couldn't tell from all the food! We hosted GranJo and Auntie Jen at our place and had a great time.

We had picked up a little tent for Paul when we were at IKEA a few months back - it was a mere $7 and I think might be the best toy EVER for $7! He was antsy this morning so we got the tent setup and we all took turns climbing in - too funny. At one point, Paul was sitting in there rubbing his head against the side - can you say static cling??

Hey mom - cool tent!

Tickle Me Elmo liked the tent too!
Coloring with daddy before dinner.

The ladies and Paul wearing our crazy Thanksgiving hats (thanks Mimi). Nothing like a turkey carcass on your head to celebrate the day!

What a dork.....mommy's proud of her 19 pounder!

Paul didn't end up eating much dinner - he went down for a nap instead. However, he was pretty happy to eat the pie with whipped cream!

Mom, is this bite too big??

Who needs a stinking fork?

Whipped cream is GOOD!

Right before she was getting ready to hit the road, Paul gave Auntie Jen a big hug and kiss.....here's a shot as he is going in for the kiss......very heart warming!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and took time to count your blessings......we are so grateful for our wonderful friends and family!

Jason, Katie and Paul

Paul's first parade.....

I find it amazing that throughout Paul's first summer home with us, we never made it to a parade! Today was the kickoff of the Festival of Trees and they always start the week of events with a big parade with big balloons (like a mini Macy's parade) and lots of floats and marching bands and all sorts of fun stuff. We got there early to get the perfect spot - it was a nice day and Paul enjoyed hanging in his wagon.

When is this parade gonna start???

Hanging with mom watching the tractors.....it wouldn't be a Midwest parade without lots of John Deere green rolling by!

The cutest face EVER!

Mom - check out that balloon.....

......it's Bob the Builder!

.....and here's the monkey (one of Paul's favorites!).

We had a little incident with a clown.....Paul was sitting with mommy on the curb and a clown snuck up on us and sat down right next to us.....it scared Paul a LOT and he was upset for a while after that. It even turns out that we knew the clown! Needless to say, we kept a close eye on all of the clowns from then on and tried to shield Paul from them for the rest of the parade.

Here's a few minutes after the clown incident - still squirming and unhappy....poor baby.

And only in the Midwest would you see THIS woman carrying a pot bellied pig in a parade.

And here's the Weinermobile followed closely by the Garfield balloon!

Time for a little snack - all of this parade watching makes me hungry!

About 5 minutes after getting in the car....someone had lots of fun and was tuckered out!

We got home and grabbed a quick lunch before naptime.....Paul was digging his cheeseburger.

Mommy, don't try to steal a bit of my burger......

What a fun day today....Paul just continues to be such a blessing. I found myself seeing the parade through HIS eyes today which made it even more fun!

Mimi comes for a visit!

Well this post is LONG overdue! We were so thrilled to have a quick visit from Mimi last weekend.....Paul loves his Mimi! Since we only had 3 days with Mimi, we had to balance our bum around the house and play time with time spent doing fun things! One thing that wasn't lacking from our fun-filled weekend was a large quantity of food!

Saturday brought a fun trip to the Children's Museum. This was Paul's second trip to the museum and he had just as much time as the first......

Usually Mimi is on the other end of the phone - this time Mimi was sitting right next to Paul while he was on the phone.

Paul took Mimi for a drive in his favorite truck!

One of Paul's favorites....the neon tube!

Can you even imagine how many germs are on this fake carrot? This explains the look on Mimi's face......
The museum has a great play area outside and the day was so nice, we had to play for a while. We had fun on this springloaded motorcycle with a side-car made for Paul.

Mimi had just one thing that she absolutely HAD to do while she was in town....and that was cover Paul with kisses. We let her have at him right before bathtime so we could wash off the after effects.

Look out Paul, here comes Mimi.......

Ha, that tickles!

Mom, can you help me please......

It was SUCH a fun weekend - we are so glad that Mimi flew all this way to visit. We look forward to seeing her again soon!

What a treat!

We have been blessed with unusually warm weather - and we are taking full advantage! I picked Paul up from school on Friday and we swung home to pick up daddy and head to the park. Paul is such a fan of the slides - he can't get enough!

Yeah....the park!

Look at me - I can slide all by myself!

Whhheeeee...........

Cheesey grin through the bars of the drawbridge!

Saturday brought even NICER weather - so we ran over to the German Shepherd National Schitzund competition. Paul enjoyed seeing all of the "Maya's" there.

Check out my new shades.....cool dude!

We hit lunch at the Boat House and sat on the patio overlooking the Mississippi River. I must admit that I will miss that when we move.....check out the beautiful views from our table.

Grilled cheese in one hand and a fry in the another - life is good!

Paul quickly figured out that he could stick a fry in the holes in the table.....funny, I think!?!

Gnawing on his pickle.....

And big surprise, we hit another park for some more sliding.....I am not sure what kind of withdrawal is going to occur over the winter when we can't go to the park.....frightening really!

Hanging out under the playground equipment....daddy is standing above him!

Sliding with my new shades.....

My cheesey little man.......

It's been a great weekend so far and we aren't even halfway done! Sounds like tomorrow is supposed to be nice as well....can't wait to see what fun we will have! Paul should be waking up from his nap soon and then it is playtime.

Happy Saturday everyone......