Thanksgivukkah

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah overlapped this year and it made for a nice long celebration! This was a Solomon Thanksgiving year, and everything was yummy, as usual.

We started the morning with kid-dyed/mixed mickey mouse pancakes!

Then we headed to Honey & Papa's, where J&B thought it was hilarious to watch Papa use the leaf-blower. I told them to go outside and watch Papa finish his yardwork, since that's something they don't see daddy do at home - and J retorted that afterwards they would go in the kitchen to watch Honey cook for the same reason. Hah! I do cook, for the record. I just don't really love it, that's all :)

The boys opened one of their Hanukkah gifts that night, and the next day they had a blast riding their balance bikes around! We also had a big Hanukkah celebration at David & Susan's, but I don't think we took any pics for some reason. It was fun to watch the boys check out baby Tyce :)

 

Baby C

I haven't posted much on baby girl, but she is doing well and growing! In the sonogram pic below it almost looks like she's smiling! We have a private-pay 3D sonogram coming up since she didn't quite cooperate at our last dr's visit, which I am looking forward to. People keep asking me if this pregnancy is easier than the twins', and the answer is no! It's probably a combination of things; it's hard to be pregnant and chase toddlers around (potty training is brutal - all the bending over is not easy on a big belly!), I don't take care of myself as well with drinking water, eating snacks through the day, etc, because I'm so busy with them, and I've heard second pregnancies can just be harder. Plus there's those pesky female hormones v. male, who knows if that makes a difference! I've recently had a burning kind of pain on the right side of my stomach, which the doctor said is likely because she's on a nerve - I thought I had a muscle tear or something! So other than that, and increased pelvic pressure (which the doctor said is because I basically have no abs this time around, super), things have been okay but I can see how we will be ready for her to arrive. I do love feeling her move - the other day she waved her hand across my belly and when I pressed on it she paused, then moved over and pressed up. It was almost like communicating with her :) At this visit she was in the 60th percentile for weight and everything looked good.

We can't wait to meet you, baby girl!

And here are a few of our maternity pics from our recent Giggles Photography photo shoot:

Annual Christmas card pics - Giggles Photography

We love our annual Christmas card pictures with Giggles Photography! J doesn't even complain about having to take off work early so we can trek up to Frisco :) Jen is so good and always does a great job at capturing the boys' personalities, and I loved this location - those fall leaves were gorgeous!

Bye bye Pacis

Somewhere along the way this fall, Jack gave up his paci addiction. I have thought about doing it in the past, but I really love seeing him with his paci; it makes him look like a baby and so sweet, plus he goes right to sleep with it!! Well when he was sick and stopped up, one night I told him we needed to keep his paci so he could breathe - it was tough for him, but he really couldn't breathe out of his nose and I just let him cry for a minute and then he was out :)

So, at that point I figured why not keep it up and I let Jack put all of his pacifiers in a bag and take them across the street to baby Wes, Ben P.'s brother. Not that baby Wes used Jack's old pacifiers, but Jack took the honor really seriously and did GREAT that night! For a few days, he would remind us that he gave his paci's to baby Wes, but he went to sleep without tears. Naptime was a little bit harder for Jack to fall asleep, but overall he has done well! I do miss seeing that little baby face with his paci, though :)

The one thing I didn't think through is I didn't get one last picture of this sweet boy with his paci. This is the last one we took:

LECPTA Ball

J and I dropped the boys off for an overnight stay with Honey & Papa and went to the LECPTA masquerade ball. This was something totally new for us to do, so we were excited to go! The Zavalas invited us over for their pre-party, which was probably more fun than the ball! Okay, so it made a difference that I couldn't drink, boo, but it was so crowded and so loud in the ballroom that we couldn't easily visit with the friends we did see. I think it's probably geared more toward parents of Lakewood Elem. students. Anyway, it was a festive affair and a fun time overall, though we left early for a (late) dinner at Pappas Bros, which was fun to fit in before baby C makes her arrival!

Talkative boys

It's crazy to us how fast J&B are growing. They talk so much these days, carry on conversations with each other, and are frequently interested in our/adult conversations. Jack, in particular will listen to J& me talking and say "What you say, mama? / Mama, what you talkin about? / Mama, what you saying?" Hmmm, maybe he's mostly interested in what I am saying :)

They talk to each other, direct each other's play, initiate and make up new games to play with each other, and it's so fun to listen to. Yesterday Jack told me, "Mama, Ben missed you at school today," and when I looked at Ben and said "You did?" he nodded solemnly. When I gave him a big hug and told him I missed him too, Jack watched and said "I missed you, too, mama!" in a silly, almost exasperated voice. Of course he got a big hug as well - I can't stop! I kiss them all the time, and sometimes Ben will pass by me and lean his head into me so I can kiss it in passing. He has been so lovey lately, and will get back out of bed to give me & J "bonus" hugs at night.

When they play, Jack narrates his activity with high pitched voices for his car/dinosaur/etc, whereas Ben softly murmurs in a regular voice to himself as he plays. But both are focused and intent on their activity, and I looooove listening to them narrate what they are doing. I try not to chime in, because it throws off their focus, but sometimes I can't help but respond in high-pitched voices back :)

Ben can be particularly single-minded and focused, and one of J's favorite stories is when he passed by them watching tv in their chairs one morning to sit down and put on his shoes. When the show was over, Ben turned around and saw him and asked "Daddy. When did you get here, Daddy?"

I love the pic below of them chatting over the footstool. They love going to the park - we are even venturing out of our comfort zone (aka toddler swings) and into the big kid swings! 

C&C's birthday party

We made the trip to Lumberton for Connor's 4th birthday & Cooper's 2nd birthday party at the park - it was a ninja turtle's theme, which brought back serious memories because I can remember his daddy's ninja turtle birthday party when he was a little boy! Funny how everything comes back around.

Ben & Jack had a blast at the park, then had so much fun playing with their cousins afterwards :) And Ryan & Katie got great news while we were there that the babies were ready to come home! It was a great day :)

 

Afterwards we spent the night in Houston to visit J's grandparents, Aunt Ali, Uncle David, & Cousin Christopher. J&B loooove Christopher, and he is such a great sport, because they were a little crazy this trip!