Happy Thanksgiving

Austin bound

On our way to Austin for Thanksgiving with Uhaul in tow.  I was a little stressed about having the Uhaul and being Thanksgiving weekend but Mr. bus driver of a husband did a great job.  Helped that traffic wasn't an issue.  The choice to leave on Tuesday was well worth it. 

Shiner sleeping so hard from the Dramamine he didn't even take time to eat the apple that had accidentally fallen in front of him.  It had been there for awhile before I saw it. 

A Kaylie picture of Shiner and I.  I was quite impressed.

Two passed out puppies enjoying grandma's gift to them...two soft and fluffy blankets. 

Crazy dog

We were having a thunderstorm.  Apparently he thought standing on the table would keep him safe.

Nativity scene

Kaylie was given this nativity scene from Mrs. Kristin to paint.  She had a great time doing it.  I think it is safe to say their isn't another nativity scene out there as colorful as ours.  

Out of my way

When I first saw Bailey sitting her I thought she was upset because Kaylie was in "her spot" under the desk.  I quickly realized she was trying to get the food Kaylie had with her.  Once I realized that it all made sense.

Picnic time

Kaylie decided to have a picnic with some of her closest "friends."  As you can see by the second picture one of her "friends" was not too happy about her placement at the table. 

Kaylie pics

Another round of Kaylie pics.  Pretty impressed with my budding photographer.

 

She actually positioned these two against her pillow to take the picture.

Bonding time

They have grown so much.  I love these three kids.

Roses in November

I was shocked to find these two beautiful roses in my garden.  Pretty sure this has never happened before in November.  I guess it shows we are not having a typical winter.  Either way it made me happy to have them on my counter brightening up my kitchen.  

walk

Our first walk with just Kaylie, the dogs and I.  I have waited for the day she could ride her bike well enough to do this. The only thing we had to watch for was making sure Kaylie was in front of the dogs so they didn't accidentally take her out.  Once she understood that we were good to go.  Thankfully, the experience was good enough for me to try this again.

Finally friends

Jason and I were not really sure if this day would come.  We were so excited when it did.  In previous years their was no way Bailey would have allowed Kaylie to lay all over her...tear!

Operation Christmas Child

The past few years I have volunteered for the Operation Christmas Child relay center at my church.  The past two Kaylie has been able to come and help.  Last year it was more of an introduction to helping.  This year she was an active participant in packing the boxes.  I was impressed with her desire to help.  I pray this desire to serve continues through out her life. 

OCC

This year we started collecting stuff for Operation Christmas Child at the beginning of the year so you can imagine how much stuff we had collected.  Once it was time to make fill our boxes we only had to buy about $10 worth of stuff.  She really enjoyed deciding what went were for each box.  I think we ended up with 6 or 7 boxes both for boys and girls.

Camera practice

Today I took a class on using my camera.  I decided practice some of the things she told us.  All of these were taken in manual mode where I attempted to adjust the settings to increase the quality.  I am glad my subject was willing to cooperate.  The first two need more light and third picture has too much light.  You never realize how much of a science it is until you take the chance and move your settings out of automatic.  So far I am excited to see what I can do with all of the new information I have been given.

You don't see me

She thought she could keep her bone while in her crate if she didn't make eye contact with me.  It didn't work.  I had to use the jaws of life to get this away from her.  

A new way to read

At bed time she decided she wanted to "read" before going to sleep.  It was already way past her bedtime but I went ahead and gave in.  The pictures below are how we found her an hour later.  I think she was tired. 

Halloween 2011

This year we decided on being a Barbie butterfly.  She would have made Barbie proud.  At first we were going to go trick or treating alone but got a last minute call from our neighbors to go with them.  We finished up eating, got dressed and ran out the door.  When last call was made Kaylie got super upset asking when she would get to trick or treat again.  By the looks of it she could have gone for another hour or two. 

Pumpkin Patch

 Every year we try to visit the same pumpkin patch.  I have fond memories of this place being that it was one of the first things we took Kaylie too once she was no longer in preemie quarantine.  I have pictures from every year but one.  I love being able to compare them to see how much she has grown and how much she has changed.  She now has no fear when it comes to feeding the animals.  I love it!  This year we got to go with the Pee family and had a blast.  The girls love each other and Gavin is little but holds his own.  Glad we got to go before the end of the season.