Turkey Day

 This Thanksgiving, we had the pleasure of being houseguests at Matt’s Mimi’s house. The Broyles Family and thePoeFam have always celebrated this holiday with the Poe’s. It used to be at great-grandma Charlsie’s pink house in Winters, Texas. But, now it seems to usually take place at Mimi’s in San Angelo. And, this year, I found myself thankful for lots of things…

THIS GUY…of course!!!!…

He brings more joy to our lives than I EVER could have imagined and I am so thankful to have him blessing us with his sweet little presence every day! …

 

I found myself thankful that I’m a Mommy! …of one and one on the way! What an indescribable blessing… I found myself thankful for my husband…the one that works so hard to provide for our family so that I can do my dream job…and loves me and our son unconditionally. … I found myself thankful for the sweet little heartbeat growing inside of me…and for the practice that Matt got thanks to sweet little girl cousins!!! :) ….

I found myself thankful for family! ….Especially grandparents…and great-grandparents, too….

…and all of the things they do to entertain and make sure that my little man (and Baby Michael) are taken care of…  

….I found myself thankful for God's provision….especially food! And, Quinn agreed. As soon as “amen” was said, he announced, “I want a biscuit!” … …and Quinn LIVED In Mimi’s pantry for the 4 days we were there! He seemed to help himself and, thankfully, she didn’t mind! …

(my good little eater)…   

….And, I found myself thankful for laughter, for good times, for the fact that “I love you” and “Do you need to potty?” are the most commonly used phrases at my ‘place of work', for my home, for friends that care and encourage and for a growing relationship with my gracious Jesus Christ. And minus my first trimester yuckiness and the fact that Quinn didn’t want to sleep, It was a great Thanksgiving!!!…I am so thankful! ….          

We can only be said to be alive in

those moments when our hearts are

conscious of our treasures. 

~Thornton Wilder

“It’s not cool, it’s pretty! …” –Big Brother Quinn

On Tuesday, as we were headed out of town for Thanksgiving, we stopped off at Dr. Webster’s office so that we could see our baby for the first time. I must admit that I was a nervous wreck all day! I just wanted to see (and hear) that precious little flashing light and know that everything was ok.

So, thePoeFam3 walked up the oh so familiar stairs and waited in the oh so familiar waiting room until it was our turn. Quinn proudly sported his Big Bro T and played with Lightning McQueen as we waited.

When they called our name, first stop was the “tt” station. Gotta love peeing in a cup. Then, blood pressure, weigh-in (not too bad yet!), and into the room.

Dr. Webster laughed and said some funny things about how it didn't take us long (since I visited with her last month) and whisked us away to the sono room.

My nervousness must have been pretty obvious, because Carrie, the sono lady, even said that I wasn’t acting myself. …

But, after the lights went off, and I looked at the screen, all was well! Quinn was mesmerized and so excited to see the blob baby. Matt held him as he silently watched that little flashing heart beat. Even thought it really looked nothing like a baby, it was the sweetest moment. The heartrate was 131. (Quinn’s was VERY different!) Then, she turned on the sound (they didn’t have that with Q this early) and we got to hear that amazing sound!!! Tears. Relief. Happiness.

Dr. Webster quickly ran through all of the pregnancy dos and don'ts and gave me my “congrats, you’re pregnant” package! My due date is July 10th instead of the 11th, so I was one day further along than I had calculated! YESSS! She said that she loves it when one of her "favorites” gets pregnant again, because that means 9 months of fun! :) (I think she’s talking about Matt!! ha!)

Matt thinks the baby looks like a dragon coming out of a wall.
Quinn thinks it’s pretty, not cool! (so, it MUST be a girl!…watch the video)
And, I think he/she’s perfect!

Whew!!! I’m so happy and look forward to checking on the little one again in another month! Family of Four, here we come!!!

Team Edward

We swooned. We gasped. We got nervous. (even though we knew what was going to happen next.) We laughed. We LOVED it. New Moon did not disappoint, and I couldn’t have asked for better company. I can’t wait to see it again with my hubby! …And, we already determined that Eclipse (coming on June 30th of 2010) would be my last girls’ night before the babe arrives! I’m already counting down! …

And, honestly, what would a preggo belly look like in one of these!? I think I need one! :)

And, just for fun, I brought along these little treats for all of my friends! They helped me decide that we MUST throw a BIG party when the last movie comes out. (Look at this and other fun ideas on this site!)

Big Brother Moments: Part 1

  
While at Ross, Quinn heard a tiny baby girl crying…and said,
Quinn: Awwww! She’s so sad. She needs her big brother.
Mommy: {in awe of his cuteness} Oh really!? What would her big brother do to fix it?
Quinn: He’d play with her and make it all better. She needs her big brother.
***
As I was laying down on the playroom floor and was feeling not so great…
Quinn: Mommy, you just take a little rest.
Mommy: It’s hard work growing a baby.
Quinn: Well, I’m growing to be a big brother.

***
He melts my heart! I truly don’t know how I could love him more.

November Fun Day{s}: Fall!

October was the busiest month EVERY…so, we lumped some of our October plans with the November ones to make one giant Fall Theme. We did these activities over the course of a few days. And, even though it was fun and easier on me, Quinn would wonder why we didn’t have more games! So, I think he likes the packed day-o-fun! …But, with a baby in my belly, I’m sure he’ll be THANKFUL for what I give him! :) … Anyway, the Fall Fun started with the token first grade Big Book! He always loves it! … Then, it was on to a little Mr. Potato Pumpkin Game! Quinn thought it was so funny to add the parts to his pumpkin! And, he loved changing it out when he’d spin an object again. We played for this for MUCH longer than I had anticipated…which made me happy! …  Then, we did a Montessori like activity with spiky balls, a bug catcher, a pumpkin ice tray and a paint circle. He would move the balls from one place to the other…trying not to cheat with his hands. He got a little frustrated but got so much better by the end. … And that was all before breakfast. It was fun for Q to eat little servings of cereal bar, cheerios, yogurt and a cookie in his Pumpkin ice tray…

We had some special stories and a fun movie throughout the day…including these…I just loved Garfield’s Thanksgiving (and Halloween and Christmas) as a kid!!! Q loves it too…

That evening, I pulled out the paints and had Quinn paint fruits and veggies for the cornucopia.

While we were waiting for them to try, we read this book……then, I had Quinn tell me what he was thankful for. His answers were so cute…so I wrote them on the food for the cornucopia! Isn’t it pretty!??!… After that, Q and colored some turkey pieces and I had him hand them to me in order. Then, he helped me tape them on the turkey for his feathers. He loves going up to the turkey on the fridge and tries to count it by himself. The one-to-one correspondence is still tough. And, every number is assigned to a Thomas train in his mind. I don’t know if #1 will ever have any meaning except for the fact that it’s Thomas’ number! :) …

And, to completely RUIN our dinner, we made pumpkin fluff (recipe    on Wearing Gackey’s Apron) and ate it with graham crackers! YUMMMY!!!

On another afternoon, we made “Squishy Bags!” The recipe is super easy and Quinn loved watching the red and yellow change to orange.

We had fun with our Thanksgiving muffin tin lunch one day… And, painted a turkey hand that same afternoon!!!… To finish our Fall fun, we read another fun story and did a little folder game to go with it. Q thought it was funny! …

And, he’s still begging for more." Do you have more punkin games, momma!?” is what I hear EVERYDAY! Glad my effort pays off! :) …

I do have one leaf activity left, but with the Christmas decor starting to come out of the attic, I just can’t be motivated to do it!

But, we still have these stories to enjoy on the way to Thanksgiving…

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!