Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 27th--We had Thanksgiving at Chris and Evelyn's this year. We have the California crew coming in for Christmas this year so Evelyn and I are switching holidays. Usually we have Thanksgiving here at the house and Christmas at her place. I decided that she probably didn't want to host all of my crew at her house so we switched. It was a great day and nice to see everybody. The kids are constantly asking when they can go see their cousins!

Evelyn got the BEST sweet potatoes ever from work. They were fabulous and I hope she can get them again next year....or maybe get the recipe from the chef. Yummy!

S. is starting to walk!

Wednesday, November 19th-- S. is starting to take some steps. Yesterday, he took 3 steps for Kevin but wouldn't do anything for me. Today, he took two steps for me. Yea!! He is getting so big. He turned 9 months old on Thursday of last week. Go, S. Go! You will be off and running in no time.

Gymnastics

Saturday, November 8th--J. is taking gymnastics at WOGA where Nastia Luiken, Olympic gold medalist, trains. Her first exhibition was a series of events on the floor, beam, high bar and vault. It was very cute. Afterward, Grandma, Grandpa, and the family went to Covino's for dinner.

A Puppy!!

Saturday, November 8th--We got a puppy! She doesn't really have a name yet. Her owners were calling her Sydney after the capital of Australia--she is an Australian Shepherd-- and I really like it but we are in the process of coming up with other names. The kids went to a birthday party a few hours after we got her and immediately forgot her name. When they did remember, they called her Cindy. We thought that we might need to come up with one they could remember.

I have been looking for quite awhile for a puppy to ease the pending loss of the kitty. The kitty is not doing well and will probably not be with us for more than about 6 months. I couldn't decide if we should get a new puppy before or after. Before might ease the transition but after might ease the suffering. Well, a few days ago, our neighbor at the end of the street was outside with a small Aussie puppy and I couldn't resist asking where he got it. It seems somebody in the neighborhood had an oops litter and he got one of the pups along with another neighbor around the corner. I called the owner and she had one female left. So.....here we are!

She is a blue merle Aussie with one brown eye and one blue eye. She is 9 weeks old, born on September 8th.

Just hours after I brought her home, there was a knock on my door and both my neighbors had brought over their puppies. It seems the owner had called my neighbor and told her that I had taken the last one. The three girls were together again and had a great time playing in the front yard. There were three boys and three girls in the litter and while the boys went as far as Tennessee, the three girls are within a few houses of each other.

On Sunday, the kids spent all morning outside in the cold playing with her. Max even curled up on the chair with her, covered her with his coat to keep her warm, and layed their shivering while she slept under his coat! It was so adorable.