Our Thanksgiving Visitors

C, M, and D by the Lake
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

My brother, Darren, and sister-in-law, Caroline, along with my precious niece, Maddie, flew all the way from Indy to spend the holiday with us. After having them around for almost 6 days the house feels pretty lonely without them. We had such a great time and took lots of pictures...Here are some of their family photoshoot. Yup, Maddie is as sweet as she looks!

Maddie Sandwich

Maddie Sandwhich
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

D and M
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

C and M
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Fam Shot2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Thanks so much for visiting and spending Thanksgiving with us! We had a great time gaming it up, eating, talking, and laughing. Maddie is a treasure. We love you guys!

Johnny, 1 Year Old

Johnny, 1 Year Old
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Happy Birthday - rough and tumble, wheel spinning, truck pushing, sister tackling, mommy's leg hugging, daddy wrestling, slobbery kiss giving, cheese and yogurt devouring, outdoor loving, quick toddling, blanket snuggling, butt in the air sleeping, busy, busy- baby boy! You fill our lives with joy and excitement! We love you John Daniel!

Johnny8
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Johnny7
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

HAAAppy Birthday Johnny!

HAAppy Birthday!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Yesterday we celebrated Johnny's 1st Birthday. I decided to go with a monkey theme since Johnny is such a fun and energetic guy and he really likes his "Five Silly Monkeys" book. Thought you might like to see some photos, especially his first experience with cake.

Silly Monkey

Silly Monkey
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Monkey Cake

Monkey Cake2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Hmm...what's this?

Hmm...what's this?
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Starting to Get Into It

Starting to Get Into It2
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

"Sweet" Face

"Sweet" Face
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

So Fun!

So Fun!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

After

After
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Dora the Explorer Fall Festival Edition

Miranda dressed up like Dora for the Fall Festival at our church. So we got Dan to be Diego- Dora's animal rescuing cousin and Johnny to be Boots the monkey- Dora's best friend...and we even got someone (who prefers to remain nameless) to volunteer to dress up like Swiper the Fox.

Beautifall

Our friend Angela came and took some family photos for us today. Here is one of my favs of the kids. I also took some 1 year pics of Johnny outside yesterday, which I'll post later. It's so pretty with the leaves on the ground and the nice weather.

So Excited

So Excited
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Today we went to get Miranda's hair cut for the first time. She was really excited about it. I had pumped her up the night before telling her everything that was going to happen. She said, "Mommy, you talk about it", asking me to continue talking about it. In the van on the way there she asked if there was going to be a living room. Dan told her that there would be couches and a waiting area. She was pleasantly surprised to find that the "living room" had a basket with a few toys in it.

We took her to the gal that cuts Dan's hair. She was really sweet with Miranda and did a great job on her hair. They pulled out this board that goes across the armrests for a booster seat. Miranda loved everything about the haircut from the waiting "living" room to the lollipop at the end. I think her smiles tell it all.

Before

Before
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

First Haircut

First Haircut
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Snip, Snip

Snip, Snip
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Watching Miranda's Haircut

Watching Miranda's Haircut
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

I love how Johnny plays with Dan's hair while he sits up top for a "giraffe ride" as Dan calls it. He sat up there the whole duration of the haircut.

Sitting Still

Sitting Still
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

After...haha

After...haha
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Barber Shop

Barber Shop
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

"I Got a Lollipop"

"I Got a Lollipop"
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Ready to Go!

Ready to Go!
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

After

After
Originally uploaded by dandeelines.

Attention to Detail

Painting is one of Miranda's favorite rainy day activities. She does so well keeping her colors "clean" by washing off her brush in between. She actually does a great job of keeping herself clean too, although, she requests to wear mommy's apron (one of my middle school home ec. projects). If you're wondering if her sleeve was problematic, yes, it was. But that was my bad.

By the way, Miranda is getting her first haircut tomorrow. Ahhh!