Our Thankful Turkey

This is our Thankful Turkey this year.  Hannah had fun helping make it - and even more fun tearing it down.  Before throwing it away I thought I should document what we were thankful for.  Here's the list in a totally random order:


Overlapping naps for Hannah and Sofers
Marriage to Britt
Parking garage
Drive thru ATMs (anything drive thru for that matter)
Homemade lunches
Big shopping carts at Target
Family
Free pressure cooker
Hugs at Institute
Amazingly large amount of storage in our small apartment
A small apartment for cleaning
My bike
Runs without the girls
TA position
Pretty flowers
Sleep
Sunshine so we can go outside most days
Health insurance
Blue spoons in the milk carton (compliments of Hannah)
Hannah playing nicely with Sofers
Hot showers
Days of cooler weather for baking
Tuition reduction!!!
Being a dad

Curly Q

I came across these sponge curlers at the dollar store the other day and picked some up.  It has been years since I've used anything like this, but thought it would be fun to try out with Hannah's hair.  She was really excited about them, but I wasn't sure how she would do keeping them in during the night, but she did really well.  Her hair turned out okay, but I forgot to take a picture of the curls the next morning, so there are only before pictures: 

She liked the curly hair.  She kept saying she had circles in her hair.  

Our Apartment

I took these pictures forever ago because several people have asked to see what our apartment looks like, but just kind of forgot about posting them.  They don't really do it justice, but it gives you an idea of where we live:

I've taken all the pictures standing in the doorway of the apartment.

Dinning Room:

Hannah was helping me work on a sewing project!

 Living Room/Office/Bedroom:

 The futon folds out into our bed and it's actually a pretty good bed

Kitchen:

 I decided to take it from afar so you couldn't see any cockroaches!!

Bedroom:

 You can see Sofia's pack n play under Hannah's bed

Here's an inside shot of the bedroom:

This is the bed James built last year during his semester break.  He loved doing it and we love the bed.  Hannah's mattress is in the corner and the rest is play space.  Hannah likes the play area and I love the extra storage space.

That's our 450 square feet of paradise!

Laundry Day

Here are my little helpers getting ready to go do laundry!

Daddy obviously hadn't left for the day considering I never in a million years would have thought to put them inside the basket!

Yummy Cookies

Hannah loves to help out in the kitchen and knows her way around pretty well.  The other day we were having a 'picnic' with her blocks.  She decided we needed some cookies so she ran to the oven, placed the blocks in it to bake, set the timer, used an oven mitt to pull the cookies out, and then placed them on the cookie rack.

What a funny girl.  Maybe we bake cookies too often?!

Our Little Pumpkin

This is the finished pinata.  Hannah and James painted it orange in honor of Halloween...and Hannah kept putting it on her head.

Pinatas

This Friday night James planned our date night and we made pinatas.  It was fun and we took a few pictures of the process.

Here we are gluing the strips of newspaper onto the balloon.

Hannah is so pleased with her sticky hands!!

and Sofers is enjoying her role in the project.

They're Alive

I like flowers, but definitely do not have a green thumb.  I usually buy something and then take care of it for a few weeks, maybe a month or so, until it dies.  Anyway - these are the flowers we've got on our balcony right now.  I've had all of them for at least a month or two.  The pink geranium has been alive for several months!  It might seem silly, but I thought it was a monumental occasion!

sunday dress

A friend from church gave Sofia this beautiful dress and she wore it on Sunday, so I snapped some quick shots before going to church.  Of course, I didn't really get a good shot of the dress - go figure!

We haven't even left for church and Hannah already has a stain on her shirt...typical!

Here's a better shot of the dress. Sofia definitely doesn't mind all the hand-me-downs, but it's fun to have a new outfit for her once in a while.  Thanks Marie!!

air shots

Who'd have thought this sweet, happy, little girl..... 

....would be such a thrill seeking daredevil??

....and this wild, crazy, spunky big girl would be so timid?

Hannah does not like to be tossed in the air...Not at ALL.  It was hard for us to coax her to try it so we could get a picture.  It's so surprising to me since she is normally so daring and adventurous.  I generally wish she would be a little more timid to try some things, but apparently heights are not her thing.

However, Sofer's can't get enough...she loves being tossed in the air.  Dad's arms wear out long before she does.  Here are a few attempts at capturing it on the camera: