Thanksgiving was wonderful. We celebrated at home in the morning with our tradition of pulling our king size mattress out in to the living room floor, and we all piled on top of it to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I made breakfast casserole and pumpkin rolls and drank lots of coffee. It was great family time. We had a lovely dinner that afternoon at Uncle Jess & Aunt Elaine's home. It was very comfortable to be with them, and it was nice to see the cousins play together (Payton, Grant, Lauren, and Maxwell).
Payton Joy celebrated her THIRD birthday (December 17th) in a majorly FUN fashion this year. We hosted the party at My Gym and invited 20 of her closest friends. It was a great hit. Everyone had so much fun, and PJ was especially fond of Stephen the MyGym employee who had them all giggling like crazy, running around, and playing hard. She is STILL talking about "My Stephen" and her birthday party!
Christmas and New Year's Eve were wonderful family celebrations as well. We stayed home on Christmas morning and Granny (Gaga) Linda and Robert came over for breakfast. It was fun to have everyone together at OUR home - even though we still don't have a dining room table! We just sat around the kitchen bar and made the most of it! Later that afternoon, we went to my cousin, Jeremy's house for more food and fun. It was especially enjoyable to see the children play together; although, I will admit that I spent most of the evening chatting with the women in the other room while Michael and the guys hung out in the play room. Score!!
New Year's was nice because my sister and brother-in-law, Shelley and Garry, visited for the weekend. We spent most of the time at our house just relaxing and being together. The funny story of the weekend, however, was that we wanted to make a good but fairly simple dinner for NYE, so we ended up buying a grill JUST for that night! We grilled steaks and had baked potatoes and broccoli and some really great wine. It was the perfect evening. My cousin, Jeremy, and Kimberly joined us, and the six of us rang in the new year with lots of laughter! I really could not have asked for a more fun evening. And remember, that night holds special memory for me and Michael: he proposed to me on New Year's Eve 2005!
Lastly, I want to share a major milestone that occurred for little Payton Joy today. Let me preface this by saying she had her first dental appointment on Tuesday this week, and she was the perfect little patient! She was brave and confident and full of joy. I was so proud of her! We read books about going to the dentist the night before so she was a little prepped before going in but, let me tell ya, it worked like a charm! Becoming aware of her teeth and the importance of taking care of them has been a HUGE enlightenment for her.
So tonight the three of us came home from eating dinner out with Daddy who had to make a stop on the way home. As I was getting Baby Grant ready for bed, I told PJ that she needed to start getting ready for bed (which usually prompts very little action on her part). She proceeded to go potty, wash her face and hands, and brush her teeth - ALL BY HERSELF! Then she put on her pajamas ALL BY HERSELF! I was seriously amazed and so excited about HER excitement. She was so proud of her accomplishments! I am overwhelmed by the obvious feelings of..."my baby is growing up!"...but I'm more excited for HER than anything. Of course, I had to double check to make sure there were no spinach leaves stuck in her teeth or that her pj's weren't on backwards, but for the most part, she DID IT right. We have been flossing every night since the dental appointment, too! It's an important habit to get started early...let's just hope Momma sticks to her guns about making it part of the routine.
Thus concludes my update. What a great start to a new year. I hope and pray that 2012 finds you all happy, healthy, and blessed beyond measure. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He make His face shine upon you and give you peace!
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