Thanksgiving

Wednesday night we stayed at my parents and had fun making little cookie/candy turkeys for the place settings

 Mac cruised and tore down all the decorations mom put up

Dinner was fabulous. We had a great time and Cindy and Penny's fam joined us

Mac liked the pie :) Check out that adorable face

 Black Friday supposedly starts on Thursday now. I had a few toys on my list from Toys R Us so I convinced my mom to stand in line with me at 8pm on Thursday. This was only part of the line. We were number 401 and 402 in line

 Even though its crazy, I love all the crowds and madness, and I did save $50, so I was happy

 

The next morning we still all scoured the black friday ads together and did a little more shopping

 

 We headed home Saturday but stopped at the new outlet mall and said hi to santa. Lyla was super excited before and after, but during she wouldn't even look at him or acknowledge him, it was hilarious

During nap time on Saturday we started putting up our Christmas lights. Our first year we actually got to put some up on a house. It was so much fun, I loved it, I'll have to post a picture with them all on. 

Uncle Davis

 We had a big family dinner with all the cousins and Kurt and Wendy at our house. Davis decided to drive down from Rexburg and join in the fun. I took these pictures of Lyla and him the next morning. She really loves him and they are so cute together.

First Snow

 It snowed, a lot. I loved it. There is something so magical about snow, I just love it so much. This year Lyla actually liked it too and was wanting to play in it as soon as she looked out into the backyard. So we pulled out all the snow gear and headed out

 Friday was the first day of the big snow. That night when Josh got home from work we bundled up and went sledding, in the dark. The park had lights and the reflection of the snow really lit up the hill and we had a great time.

 It was still snowing when we went so we brought the umbrella for Mac to sit under. We dont have snow pants for him yet so we used a plastic bag over his legs, ha

 The next morning. A winter wonderland. Just having the snow fill the air and streets made me incredibly happy all day.

 We played for hours. Sled down the driveway, built a snowman, caught snowflakes on our tongues and walked around in it. Can't wait for the next big snow.

Trick or Treating!

 We went over to Eagle Mtn again this year and trick or treated with the Nelsons. They have a perfect little neighborhood with a ton of kids and close houses. We went with a family theme again, this year was Peter Pan. I made all of Lyla, Mac, and my costume and the ruffles on Dad's shirt. Its always fun to see the kids looking so cute dressed up and the homemade costumes make it that much better.

 Mac was super scared of Josh and just cried and cried and would hide his face in my neck and grab onto my shoulders as tight as he could. It was adorably sweet, and sad, all at the same time. So Josh took off the wig to trick or treat and Mac seemed to be ok with that. I had to back in to the family picture so he wouldn't see him, haha

 "I'm a princess!"says Lyla. She loved wearing this costume and you could tell she felt pretty in it

 Wendy and Peter Pan

 He loved trick or treating and seeing all the kids, until it got dark and cold, and he was tired. But he was still a good sport and enjoyed most of the night.

 Hook and Tink. Man those two are cute together.

 The funniest costume I saw all night. I guess he was "bubble-wrap" man?? Haha

Washington DC

Josh went off to DC for a week for another conference/trade show for Darts. While he was there this time he had some spare time and got to take a tour of the city with his boss.

 His favorite part was seeing this statue he said. Lincoln is his favorite president.

We sure missed him while he was gone, but stayed busy while we were up at my parents house. We always do appreciate dad a little bit more when he leaves!

Louie

Louie had to go to doggie heaven today. The past month he has really started to slow down and stopped eating in the past week or two. He got really skinny (abnormal since he was always a fat dog!) and would sleep all day only waking up to go outside and then come back in and go right to his bed. He stopped begging for food or wanting to walk around and we knew he was not doing well. I happened to be staying at my parents house the last week he stopped eating. We decided it was time to take him to the vet again (he had gone a few weeks before) and see what the vet had to say. My mom didn't want to hear the bad news so she made me go with my dad. The vet told us he had lost about 4 pounds in the past few weeks and could tell by feeling his stomach that it was swollen and he had other internal problems. The fact was that he was in pain and was obviously not doing well. On October 6th Louie had his 13th birthday and was well into the range of being an old dog. My dad and I had decided after hearing the news from the vet that it was time to let him go. He wasn't going to get better and we couldn't take him home just to watch him be in pain and starve to death. The vet left the room and we both lost it. Dad wanted to leave right then and there but I just couldn't let that be my last goodbye. So we walked him around outside and around the back of the building for a few minutes and let him have his last moments of being outside sniffing around, one of his favorite things to do. After rounding the building we went back in and I picked him up and handed him off to the nurse who came around the desk to take him. I gave him a hug and lots of kisses as she took him and then left to put him in the back room. It was so hard seeing his little face look back at me. My dad had to pay the bill so he stayed in for a minute and I went out to the car. I had to cry and just let it all out. I loved that dog and it was so hard leaving him there. I knew it was the best for him, but his sweet little face looking back at me was just too much to bear. We rode home in silence except for the sniffing and trying our hardest to hold back the tears. When we got home I went in and saw my mom in the kitchen and lost it again. She ran and gave me a hug, knowing already what the outcome was. We hugged for awhile and then sat on the couch and I told her what the vet had said, and then talked about what a great dog he was. The house already seemed like it was missing something and wasn't quite right. Louie was such a family dog. He wasn't one that just stayed outside all day. He had to be inside, laying next to you, or touching you. He left the room when you left. He howled when you came home and ran around crazy getting all excited. It was easy to love him and become attached to him. He was a hyper fun and excitable dog most of his life and loved kids. I will definitely miss that dog and the happiness he brought to my life and my kids. RIP Lou (Sweeca Beeca)

Both my kids LOVED Louie. Here is the day before he died

Lyla's Favorite Things

 Dresses. All of them. I prefer them too. Less clothing to battle getting on every day, and she is more willing to dress herself when its a dress. 

(Doesn't her foot popped back like that make her look so old!?)

 Being outside. And climbing. But not always just climbing outside, climbing anything, anywhere

 Swimming. Water. With, or without, a swimming suit on.

 Animals. Petting zoos are always a hit

 As most kids: ice cream! And candy. Pretty much anything that contains sugar

 Playing "house". Mickey and teddy are being served dinner here. Her kitchen (next to the table) is still played with every day since she got it last Christmas.

 Her brother. I'm not sure who is more excited to see the other when Mac gets up from his nap. Lyla always screams MAACCCKKYY-DOOOO!! (That's Mack-eeee-doo) She always requests hugs and kisses when he lays down and wakes up and always climbs up into his crib to see him.

Shoes. See how she doesn't have her own on here? She LOVES getting new shoes. But even more she loves putting on everybody else's shoes. If she sees someone take their shoes off, she immediately takes her own off and puts theirs on. Even random kids at the park...

Helping mom. Silverware duty is one of her faves. 

Excuse the panty-look, in the middle of potty training :)

Her babies. She puts them everywhere a real baby would go. Loves to buckle her in the car seat when its inside, put her in the high chair, in her own bed with blankets on, in the bumbo chair, wherever Mac lays down including his little play gym (pic below). Its so cute to see her treat the doll like its her own real baby. And of course the baby has to have her diaper changed several times a day.

9 Months

9 month stats:

20.4 lbs (about 45th percentile)
30 inches (95th percentile)

He's long and lean! Not quite as lean as Lyla was, so he still seems huge to me, but is about average I guess. Funny to me because at 18 months Lyla had just made it to the 20 lb mark and Mac is already there at 9 months. He had a great doc appt though and is very healthy, woohoo

-Pulls up on everything
-Got his first 2 bottom teeth and never woke up at night. Was a little more fussy during the day for a few days, but other than that he was a dream teether!
-Thinks blocks falling over is hilarious
-Is taking 2 naps a day, sometimes 3, but rarely 3 because we either are out in the morning or evening and a nap just usually gets skipped but he is still a happy little bug and sleeps at least 12-13 hours at night without waking up so I am a happy momma
-Still no stranger danger at all, loves everyone and will let anyone hold him
-Not scooting down furniture quite yet but can pull up on anything and will stand up holding onto my legs when he wants me to pick him up
-Eating more solid foods from the table, instead of just the packaged baby food. He loves bananas, cheerios, pears, peas, green beans. Pretty much anything you put on his tray he will eat. Its never a struggle to get him to eat which is nice since from day 1 to now Lyla has not been easy to feed.
-His neck is his most ticklish spot and always smiles and laughs if you kiss it or blow on it
-Loves splashing in the bath
-Peek-a-boo is a favorite right now
-Loves to babble and hear his own voice and can get pretty loud sometimes

His theme song: Mac-a-doodle went to town, riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his hat and called him Mac-a-roni

Lyla calls you Mack-a-doo, or Mack-ee
Mom calls you the two above, plus peanut, macster, macaroni, big mac, and probably others i cant remember right now
Dad mostly calls you just Mac

 Here is a little sneak peek at the 2 teeth. 

They are both fully grown in now, but this was a few weeks ago