November.....

I've had many moments in the past few weeks that I thought to myself....I should blog about that.  I really can't believe that it's Thanksgiving already tomorrow!!!  Time to record some memories before they are long forgotten.

Turkeys:
Dorian loves to make things.  He came home from school one day with the idea to make turkeys.  He also wanted to make one for his brother, as he often does.  So with construction paper, scissors, markers, googly eyes, and a stapler, he created "Zoom" and "Flyer".

Ice skating:
Levi really wanted to play hockey so we told him that he should take ice skating lessons first.  Dorian wanted to also, only if he could be in Levi's class.  :)  They've had 3 lessons and both of them are making improvements.  It's a tough sport.  Poor Levi was pretty discouraged after the first lesson, but he has a great attitude and keeps getting up each time he falls.  I'm proud of them both for learning something new together.

Free:
Nathan had just finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Dorian and Levi.  They loved it!  A few days later, the boys came home from school so excited that they found this coupon on the ground.  They couldn't believe it.  It was as if they found the golden ticket.  They were going to get a FREE candy bar.  Dorian was SO excited.  I don't think he realized that we first had to pay for 2...but I couldn't crush his enthusiasm.  We went to the store and picked out 3 candy bars!  :)

Tonic Sol-fa:
Nathan came home after work one day with tickets to a Christmas concert.  I had never heard of the singing group Tonic Sol-fa and I was nervous to leave the boys since last time we did that, I came home and both the sitter and her mom were over trying to calm down Mason who was scared.  But I knew Nathan was excited about it, so I just prayed that my little ones would all stay sleeping while we were gone.  It turned out to be a great concert, very entertaining, and I even was called up on stage (in front of 325 people!).  Thankfully I didn't have to do anything more than say my name and take a cell phone photo.  :)  A fun memory.  Even though it was only mid-November, I loved the Christmas music and enjoyed our date night.

Crawling:
Mason is crawling!!!  When he took his first crawl steps forward, we were all entertained and even caught it on our video camera.  Now that he's been crawling for a few weeks, he is ALL over the house and getting faster!  He has learned how to get up into a sitting position from his stomach.  And he has also pulled himself to the standing position while trying to get dishes out of the dishwasher and while he was in his crib!  :)  I took out the tub of 18 month clothes and found that many of them fit him!!!  He babbles, mama.  Yeah!!!  What a precious little 8 MONTH OLD boy!  Love him!

Levi's creations:
Levi made his very own book.  The knock-knock jokes are originals, and I only helped with telling him how to spell the words.  He was very proud and couldn't wait to show Dorian when he came home from school!  When he finished it, he read it to Molly who was sleeping in her bed.  :)

Levi gets to check out one library book each week at school.  He is usually SO excited about the book that he picks out, as was the case this week.  It was a book about diggers and it had instructions in the back on how to build your own digger out of boxes and lids.  We unrolled 2 rolls of paper towels, bought some more puffs to get the right kind of wheels and emptied a few of our cracker boxes, and I bought a glue gun from Walmart.  Nathan helped them put it together.  Levi couldn't wait to take it to school to show Mrs. VanderWerf!  What a fun project.

Favorite spots:
Mason's favorite spot to crawl to is right here under daddy's office chair.  There are plenty of cords and lots of books...many things that he's not supposed to have.  Thankfully it is possible to lock the doors to the office!  The other spot that Mason found already is Molly's water dish.  After tipping it over and playing in the water one day I was interested to see if he would remember it was there.  The next day while crawling in the kitchen, he went straight over to the laundry room, but I picked him up just as he was about to tip it over again.  What a smart kid! 

Favorite boots:
How cute!  Levi was walking around in my favorite boots.  :)

8 months old:
I tried to capture a little of Mason's personality again this month for his 8 month pictures.  It seems appropriate that the first place I found him was getting into the scrapbooks that are right in his reach.

Mason has learned to put his arms up when we say "So Big!"  I'm also convinced that he intentionally clapped once for me also.

 I had a hard time getting him to stay on the blanket.  :)

 The gate is now installed at the top of the steps.

It's fun to see Mason exploring, growing, and learning so many new things the past few weeks.  The not so fun part about him being more mobile is that he already has a little bruise on his forehead.  :(  I hate to see him get hurt. 

Sick:
Dorian was up a lot last night with a stomach bug.  :(  He stayed home from school today and he fell asleep this afternoon next to Molly on the floor.  Poor little guy.  He seems to be doing better and I'm praying that the rest of us stay healthy!

Thanksgiving tomorrow:
I don't remember a holiday when our whole family was together, but that is our plan for tomorrow and I can't wait!!!  I'm so excited to spend the day in Sioux Falls for Thanksgiving and to go shopping with my mom, sisters and sister-in-law on Friday.  And I think I'm nearly as excited to put up our Christmas tree, hang the ornaments, and put up the Manger Scene on Saturday with all of my boys!