Thanksgiving Day

Due to the weather forecast of high winds, snow and sub-zero temperatures for much of Thanksgiving break, we decided to stay in Casper instead of travel to Laramie. The Szymcaks said, "Come on over! What's seven more people? Just BYOT." That's bring your own turkey :).



We arrived to find the most hilarious place cards compliments of Aly and Blake.




I know he needs a haircut, but his hair hasn't been that long for awhile now!



Self-explanatory.

I made fun of Brenda's when I saw hers. She sweetly smiled and encouraged me to continue around the table until I came to mine.

Ahhhh, now I get it.

Aly, Sarah and Allie are VERY ready for turkey!

Tim was inspired by Phil's name tag.

Lovely.

Not sure what Pete is doing but hopefully he didn't touch Savannah's finger that was in her nose.

It's just sparkling cider, Blake.....Is that a knife in Tim's hand?

The gravy master.

Lindsay is much happier after her belly was full.

Another picture with Savannah's eyes closed.

This time she really was asleep. She curled up in Brenda's lap as we were watching football and as they say, the rest was history.

TImothy's new bed

Timothy retired his race car bed for a big boy version. This bed actually belonged to his Great Grandpa Helbert briefly while he was in assisted living. Timothy loves having a bookshelf and a place for his alarm clock on the headboard.

Nailing Jello to a Wall....

...is as hard as trying to get Savannah to hold still and open her eyes for pictures!

Two different photo shoots, same results.

Finally! Eyes open and a smile.

Hmm...maybe Lindsay posing with her is the key!

Bye, Bye Pacifier.....

I wish I could say we took Savannah's pacifier away at age 1 or even age 2, but I cannot tell a lie. That little piece of plastic made nap time enjoyable and very easy. But...all good things must come to an end at some point. So on her 3rd birthday (how cruel!), after talking it up for weeks, we took away her pacifier. Cognitively she was all for it, but emotionally, well suffice it to say it was a rather long week.

I would not and could not give in. Because if I did I knew the battle would be twice as hard the next time.

Bless her little heart for being very resourceful on her own. One day, I think day 2 withdrawals, she found a pacifier that was for her baby doll. We have never used this kind and I hadn't seen it for weeks in her room.

This is how I found her, curled up on the floor, asleep with her doll's pacifier turned upside down and as content as could be.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Precious!!

NO. NO. NO. It is not possible. My tiny new baby that I just had yesterday CANNOT be 3. I refuse to believe it.

I agree with my sis-in-law lamenting her baby turning 2. Time seriously feels like it goes faster the older I get.

Since I am not helping with AWANA this year, Phil and I take advantage of the 2 hours and sometimes have a dinner date. Phil used his gift card from the Piers for his recent birthday to take Savannah and I to Outback. Savannah had already eaten at home so we ordered her an early birthday sundae. This was the one off of the kid's menu!

Savannah celebrated her birthday on Sunday, Nov. 14 with a few friends from church. Grammy had left her presents hidden in the basement. Savannah couldn't wait to open them!

Savannah knew immediately that she wanted a Dora cake.

"Can we please eat it now?"

Daddy's girl.

And Mommy's cutie-pie!!

Timothy's favorite buddy Uncle Jim came so that Savannah wouldn't get all the attention. They were still celebrating the Bears victory over the Vikings earlier that day. And yes, Uncle Jim even rooted for the Bears!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Adorable. Simply adorable!

This was the fastest present-opening ever.

She immediately took her dress off and put on her new princess outfit from Grammy and Grandpa.

Savannah couldn't wait for the singing to be done so she could blow out the candles.

Art and Football

Timothy explained this picture as, "Daddy, Mommy and Timothy watching the Bears on TV beating the Vikings!"

Making Music Together

We finally have a piano -- thanks to our super friends, the Szymczaks!! When they received her grandmother's piano from Pinedale, we had her piano moved to our house. The kids have loved it!



Although we haven't started lessons yet, they are using the books Brenda gave us and teaching themselves. Here is Timothy teaching Savannah chords.

...and showing her the correct way to read music!

Listen to them together...first it's music, then it's a slight argument that leads to laughing.

An expensive day at the park!

UPDATE: I added xray pictures below.

On November 5 we headed to a local park to picnic and play. Shortly after we got there Timothy fell off of the balance beam and hurt his leg. He was dramatic about it for 10 minutes, recovered, and then resumed playing with his friends. About an hour later, he fell off a railing he was climbing on and started crying about his arm. I figured it was the same minor fall as earlier and I loaded the kids up for head home to take naps.

Timothy continued complaining about his arm so I put some ice on it and gave him some Tylenol. He fell asleep quickly and said later that it felt a little better. During small group he began complaining again, and although we couldn't see any swelling, it was clear that he was not using it at all.



The next morning brought more tears and we decided that it would be best to have it checked out. We went to Urgent Care as opposed to the ER and were blessed to have an orthopedic PA as the primary provider that day. Before they even took an xray of his arm, she told me she was fairly sure it was broken.



Timothy was very brave as he waited for the xray on his right arm. His left arm was still as strong as ever!

Sure enough, the xray confirmed he had a buckle fracture in BOTH the radius and ulna!! This is a side view looking at the radius. Just a little below his wrist the buckle can be seen.

This is a little harder to see but on the outside of each bone there is a bump where it should be totally smooth.

The PA put a temporary cast on his arm, made an appointment for us to get a full arm cast, and sent us home with our first ever broken bone.


Timothy came running into the backyard very excited to show off his blue cast.

As we waited to get the full cast on, Timothy looked through the options for colors. These two colors, yellow and purple, were definitely not an option (Vikings colors).

"Oh Yeah -- Bears colors!!" declared Tim.

How handsome is this little guy, even with a cast that weighs close to a 1/4 of his own weight.

Timothy's girlfriend Avry -- ahem--brought over a homemade get-well-cake.

Listen to Timothy share his story.

Temperature Changes

We have had an ABSOLUTELY beautiful Fall this year! October was gorgeous and November started off still warm enough to rake leaves in a t-shirts.



This was a mid-day recess break for us one day.

While the big kids raked, Savannah played.

Hail balls.

and hail castles.

And a few days later.....it felt like summer again.