Be Prepared to Read!

HOLY CRAP!!! It has been SO long since I blogged!! You won't believe how crazy busy I have been! I have had many "oh, I should blog that" moments but have seriously been so busy, I haven't had time!

Short funny story... A few days ago, I thought Mike had surprised me with a puppy... no, I don't want a puppy. We were laying in bed (all three of us... make that 4. I'm sure Jude was there too!) one morning last weekend when I was woke up by licking on my arm! I opened my eyes and there Jaden was LICKING my arm like a dog! She then started shoving her entire hand into her mouth. I realized she had a hair in her mouth and was trying to get it out. It was too cute but I can imagine her confusion at the feeling...

Book, Brandi, Misty, and Sean P. came to Fort Wayne for a visit over Thanksgiving! It was a lot of fun. We hadn't seen Book and Brandi since their going away party in July, and it had been since OUR WEDDING that we last saw Sean and Misty! We all went to Rum Runners to hang out one night.

On Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad came over for dinner and then went to the Santa lighting with Jaden and me. It was a lot of fun! Cold albeit, but fun. Jaden loved singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Jingle Bells! You should have seen her face when Santa was FINALLY lit! She loved it! They really do need to shorten their speeches before the lighting though. It was a long, cold wait for little kids (and grown-ups)! Nonetheless, it was a great time!

Thursday was a fun, food-filled day! First, we ate at Ina's. Mike insists on having his Gramma's dumplings and mashed potatoes! That's ok though because afterwards, we went to Garrett because I insist on having MY Gramma's cranberry sauce, scalloped corn, and mashed potatoes and gravy! Jaden was so good during the whole busy day. She LOVED playing with Marissa at Ina's. She just follows Marissa around and does everything she does. It is so cute to see them together. They both enjoyed watching Gramma Ina make the dumplings!!

On Friday night (after Mom and Dad had a long day at work), we got Jaden's little pop tent out. It was SO MUCH FUN!! I don't know who enjoyed it more... Jaden or Mom and Dad! You be the judge... yes, Jude was in the tiny tent with Jaden and me.

Oh by the way, we bought our LAST Christmas gift on the day after Thanksgiving... just thought I'd rub it in a little ;o) Enjoy the crowds!!

Sunday afternoon, we set up our Christmas tree!! It is so pretty :o) I love getting all of the ornaments out every year and reminiscing. We have ornaments dating back to when we first started dating. Jaden especially liked the one with a picture of her sitting on Santa's lap from last year! We're a little nervous about taking her this year...

I bought Jaden and Marissa each an advent calendar. I remember back in second grade (yes, Mike I remember...) we had an advent calendar. I looked forward to opening a different square every day and getting that little piece of chocolate. I wanted to pass that on to my own daughter... and soon-to-be niece! Jaden loves it! In fact, she kind of got a little "red-headed" when I took it away after just one piece. She tried to open more doors and didn't quite understand the one-a-day concept. She'll learn in time and hopefully she'll always remember the excitement of opening a door each day.

Last but not least... Remember how Jaden obsessed over pumpkins at Halloween time? Well, she has moved on. Her new obsession(s) are GEORGE and ARGAR (Arthur)! She has a little monkey that the hospital gave us when she was born and that is her George. Gramma J bought her an Arthur book and I swear that child knows it word for word! She also got to watch an episode or two of Curious George and Arthur on PBS and immediately fell in love! She didn't quite understand the whole TV scheduling concept and again, got a little anxious when she couldn't watch GEORGE one evening after dinner. So, mom got smart and DVR'd one episode of each (along with Clifford) so we could watch them during our wind-down time at night. You have to look really closely at this picture but you can see her sitting in a trance on the couch watching Curious George. She LOVES those cartoons... for about 10 or 15 minutes until she gets bored :o)

Well, I'm in the process of addressing my Christmas cards so I better get back to that... I'm a little behind schedule on them!

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as I did!! Have a great week and enjoy Grey's tomorrow!!

(Good luck this weekend, Kelly!)