The stockings were hung...

This story is so...Tyler. Okay, so a few years ago I sewed stockings for the whole family. They're nothing special, but they all match and didn't cost me a fortune, so I'm pretty happy with them. This is what they look like:

Ah, but yes, if you look closely enough you will notice one of these things is not like the others. Yep. That's right. That one...with Tyler's name written on it in black permanent marker.

Last year after the stockings were hung, I was walking past and noticed that something was different. When I looked closely and saw what Tyler had done, I was soooo angry. When I asked him about it he said he just thought it would be helpful for Santa to know which stocking was his. This is just so typical Tyler. He didn't do it just to be naughty or to make me mad. He genuinely had a good reason for doing what he did. I couldn't stay mad. I simply flipped all the stockings around- problem solved.

Well, this year as I got out the stockings, I noticed the one with Tyler's name on it and I kind of got mad all over again and then laughed a little at the whole memory of it. No longer than 30 seconds later, Tyler walked past the room and pointed to the stockings and said, "Hey, do you want me to put every one's names on those so that Santa knows whose is whose?"

I about fell over laughing so hard. At lease a year later he has the sense to ask first before tagging things with permanent marker!

...And the point was well taken. I will head to the craft store to look for some fun iron-ons or fabric paint to make them all different. Maybe I'll put Tyler in charge.

Mini Bob

It turns out that not only was Robby named after his grandpa (my dad), but he also just so happened to inherit one of grandpa's biggest weaknesses: being EXTREMELY ticklish under his chin. When I was younger our family would have wrestling/tickling matches. If one of us kids wanted to completely paralyze my dad and make him defenseless, all we had to do was tickle him in his neck. Done. He'd become a laughing, squawking, gasping mess with his chin tucked down trying with any ounce of remaining energy to defend himself.

Robby is exactly the same way. All it takes is one wiggly finger being poked into his chin and he can barely breathe because he's laughing so hard. Well, this becomes a problem when we're trying to get his helmet on to ride his bike. The minute my fingers come near his neck to try to get the buckle and chin strap under his chin, he starts thrashing and laughing and even drooling. Every time. And I think it's funny every time. See for yourself.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was fantastic! We started the day off by participating in our neighborhood turkey trot. My friend Tiffany has hosted this event for two years now and I give it two thumbs up! Our family participated in the one mile fun run together (Gus in the running stroller). It was the perfect way to start the day. The weather was perfect and it was fun to do something active with lots of our friends and neighbors.

After the run, it was time to start preparations for the big meal. A few days prior to Thanksgiving I was at the store and picked up a flavor injector for the turkey. Robby saw it and asked what it was. I told him it was so I could give the turkey shots. His eyes lit up and he said, "just like me!" And so Robby got to be the official turkey poker.

Tyler was also a great help. He peeled all the potatoes all by himself.

This year was the first time in a long time that we haven't had out of town visitors for Thanksgiving, but it's also the first year that we have actually had the opportunity to live close to family. We were so glad to spend this holiday with John's brother and his family (they live only 15 minutes away). Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures. I suppose I was too busy palying and eating! The kids had so much fun playing together and I certainly appreciated the help with the food. It was a very relaxing and nice way to spend the holiday with those we love.

During the Thanksgiving break we also decorated the tree, went out to dinner, and went to see a movie. The cousins were kind enough to let us borrow their Kinnect for a few days so we also spent some fun times playing that (a huge hit with Tyler). ...and we made sure there was plenty of time for this