Almost there

I am thankful for traditions.

Like today's Black Friday shopping with mom,

Turkey and ham every Thanksgiving,

My dad hanging his opossum ornament at the top of the tree,

Greens and black eyed peas on New Year's Day,

Easter egg trees,

And my mom running barefoot in the snow.

These are things I can always count on.

Things that I always looked forward to growing up.

I'm thankful that I've already got to share some of my family traditions with Mayson

And I'm also thankful that we get to create a few new family traditions of our very own.

The 28th

Today is my birthday :)

Thirty one years and counting.

Who couldn't be thankful for that?!

On to 27- Because I can't count & because I thought yesterday was the 25th

450 miles traveled.

7 1/2 hours on the road.

Forty minutes spent napping.

Three Disney movies.

Two diaper changes.

One chocolate chip cookie.

One pack of fruit snacks.

And a handful of goldfish later.

We arrived at grandma's house safely and unscathed.

Mayson Pearl handled the road trip like a champ...

And for that I am extremely thankful.

Thankful Day 18... Or perhaps 25... But who's counting?!

Is it true what they say about having the best intentions? Because honestly I can't for the life of me remember what "they" do say about intentions just that I know "they" say something!

Thankfully, since I don't remember the before mentioned quote, i'll just proceed with all those good intentions and see this thing out.

A million times over (easily at least for day 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25!) I thank God  for this amazing little girl that I named Mayson Pearl. She is by far the best surprise that I've ever been blessed with and i couldn't imagine living a life without her in it.

Miss Mayson's Toddler Approved November Activities

Felt cornucopia and felt food.

This was super easy to make. I stole this idea from Pinterest but couldn't find a pattern so I just made my own, hand sewed it together, and added some thanksgiving themed food. 

Maysie loved putting the food in and then promptly pulling it out of the cornucopia!

We did a sensory activity with autumn colors. The goal was to mix the red and yellow to make orange but she was more interested in trying to pull the tape loose from the sliding glass door. Silly girl!

Mayson's go to favorite activity of painting; this time with fall colors of course.

Last but not least Mayson is really starting to get the hang of stickers. She can't pull them off the sheet yet, so I simply put them on the back of her hand and she pulls them off from there and puts them on her paper.

My personal fave is the beheaded pilgrim!! Guess she has her own idea of how that very first thanksgiving played out!

Colander fun

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I couldn't wait to try it with Mayson...

I bought some pipe cleaners, pulled the colander out of the cabinet and let Maysie have at it.

And she did... For all of two minutes I think! 

 

I left it out all day and she barely touched it... 

Until it was time to put the pipe cleaners up; then she spent nearly thirty minutes putting the pipe cleaners in and out of a ziplock bag!

Toddlers definitely have their own idea of what's fun and I've learned it works best to simply follow her lead and roll with it. You can always try the activity again later. 

 

 

So fast forward to today when I pulled out the colander again; only this time I decided to try feathers.

We made a turkey...

 

And wouldn't you know it ended up being her favorite activity of the day!

 

Day seventeen

I am thankful for our pets.

They may get on my nerves from time to time but there's nothing like the unconditional love of a dog or cat. Which is good because i have no choice but to be thankful for them because my two favorite people are definitely pet lovers; getting rid of the flea-bitten mongrels just isn't an option!

Sweet sixteen

I am thankful that she seems to love being crafty and creative just like her mom!

 

 

 

halfway there, #15

I am thankful to have a good vacuum.

Between our uber shaggy dog, two cats (one of which is basically a ball of fluff!), a rambunctious toddler running around and my husband constantly leaving cookie crumbs in his wake I vacuum at least once daily...

 and even then my floor never seems clean!

13 and 14

I am thankful for my parents. 

I would never trade those two for anything.

My mom and dad always made sure that i felt loved, cherished, and valued as a child.

And while I will freely admit that I was spoiled with "things" growing up; more importantly I was spoiled with their time. 

I never had to doubt their love for me,

And still to this day they have never let me down.

a dozen days

I am thankful for walks around the neighborhood.

Weekly visits with the ducks.

Swings,

Slides,

And playgrounds.

 

 

And that even though she no longer needs it for balance;

she still wants to hold my hand. 

 



Fair day

Gregory had Monday off in honor of Veterans Day, so we took Mayson to check out the Jacksonville fair. She's not quite big enough for the rides yet, but it was free entry for military families, so we figured it was worth the five dollar parking to at least visit the animals, try some overpriced food, and see the exhibits. 

 

And even though you can't really tell by the pictures Mayson Pearl loved the animals. We had to help her to "pet them gently" and as soon as we placed her hand on them she would immediately giggle!

 

 

It amazes me to think back to this time last year and her first fair visit.

I can't believe how much difference a year makes!

 

 

I can't wait til next year when she's finally big enough to try out some of the rides!



On to eleven

I am thankful for guys that are NOT my type.

I liked tall and skinny.

Dark hair, light eyes.

Loud and funny.

A bad boy turned good.

I took a chance on a guy who was none of these. 

And I discovered that the boy who WASN'T my type turned out to be the best fit of them all.

Day ten

(9, 10,11... I am thankful that I can skip a day if I want to)

Day nine

I am thankful that my husband still reaches out to hold my hand.

In public,

In private,

On a family walk,

Or while we are lounging on the couch.

Life is somehow just a little bit easier when you have someone's hand to hold.

Farm Day

Conner's Amazing Acres, a farm located not to far outside of Jacksonville, host a military appreciation day once a year. Mayson Pearl and I had already been there once with some friends but we decided to go back and check it out with daddy.

 

Needless to say, she was less than impressed with the goats.

 

 

The piglets were absolutely adorable, but she wasn't very excited about feeding them.

 

 

And even though I squeezed myself into this tiny seat so that she could enjoy riding the cow train, Maysie wasn't all that happy about this activity either!

 

 

Even on the hayride all we got was her super serious face.

 

 

She wasn't happy.

She wasn't sad.

She just seemed very serious the whole time.

The only thing Mayson did get excited about at the farm was that she got to eat a cheeseburger and fries for lunch.

She was VERY happy about that!

 



Number eight

I am thankful that the hubby let me sleep in today! That sweet and oh so wonderful man got up at 7 am with the baby and I rolled out of bed at 10:30. It was glorious!

On to number seven

I am thankful for pancakes!

Not only are they the only food I have ever perfected cooking;

I can prepare them in just ten minutes,

And the list of toppings that can be added is endless.

They work well for breakfast but are equally as amazing for dinner.

Oh pancakes, how I love thee!

Day 6

I am thankful that Mayson Pearl didn't get hurt when she dove head first off of the couch today!!

On the 5th day of thankfulness

I will always be thankful that I'm a bookworm. 

In this day and age when people usually prefer their entertainment in visually stunning HD and room filling surround sound the power of a good book can easily be underestimated.  

There's nothing better than tuning out the world and curling up with a book and exercising your imagination.  With no outside sound or images beyond the words on a page, imagination is required to fully complete the story. Books give you the license to take part in the storytelling. And for that reason no movie or television show will ever be able to become as unique and personal to me as books can be. 

Which is why I am so glad that Mayson Pearl seems to already have a love for books, just like her mommy!

Halloween- Then and Now

Last year she slept through pumpkin carving...

 

 

This year was much more lively!

 

 

 

 

Last year she was a cupcake. I wasn't going to dress her up but I found her costume for real cheap on Halloween day... 

 

 

 

This year I made her peacock costume.

(And not that I want to toot my own horn but I think it turned out pretty great!)

 

 

 

Maysie isn't old enough yet to really know what was going on but she definitely had fun and was excited about everything.

She loved her Halloween inspired snack. And just like her daddy she ate the chocolate first!

 

 

We took her trick or treating and she was quite the trooper. We only did a few blocks (more for her just to get the experience than the candy) and she walked almost the entire time. At first she would willingly walk up to the door but after encountering her first scary Halloween mask mommy and daddy had to take the candy for her!

 

Then to wrap up the night we gave her a Halloween present to replace all of the candy that she couldn't eat. And of course she loved her Magna-Doodle.