Thanksgiving, Decorations & the Polar Express

Thanksgiving was lovely. We went up to Gigi & Papa's house on Wednesday afternoon and the babes just totally skipped their naps that day. Now, had they not been under the weather, it would have been better, but they really were in good spirits despite those facts. We had a great dinner, a great breakfast and a great time together.

Thursday it was up and off to Mimi & Diddy's pretty early so there would be time to have Matthew's nap there. 

The rest of the family arrived throughout the morning and early afternoon, and Mimi kicked off festivities with some yummy beverages! (Thanks to Aunt Toni for all the good photos. The ones that aren't were... camera phone photos.)

...and our menu! It was QUITE a feast, and we enjoyed it for many days and meals afterward, too.

Libby had fun with everyone! Kaitlyn, our cousin from Savannah, even came to have Thanksgiving with us this year and we all enjoyed having her - and playing Spoons and Kemps with her in the evening!

And Matthew had fun, too!

I did get to hold him from time-to-time when he got nervous about all the people. But he's been pretty close most of the time lately. Kind of like a little appendage constantly on my left hip.

He wasn't 100 percent, but he did like dinner!

And look at these beautiful cousins of mine. 

By Friday, the Bouckie boy was pretty tired, but Libby still found energy to help us decorate Mimi & Diddy's tree after Diddy and Kaitlyn took her to the downtown Labyrinth. Oh, and on Thursday night, we introduced Kaitlyn to "White Christmas" which was great as always!

We tried to get some decorating/Christmas photos before we left on Friday, but it may have been one of the worst photo shoots ever. Libby & Matthew looked precious in their matching Christmas pj's, though! 

This was probably the best one.

By the time we got home, we had only the energy and patience to unpack our stuff, eat leftovers and chill. Saturday was decorating day and we actually did manage to get almost all of it done on Saturday. 

Libby was a big help again, and Matthew has done well with his limits on which stuff he is allowed to mess with and what he's not. The gifts are even under the tree and he's been good about them just like Libby was (and is)!

We even managed to watch the UGA v. Ga. Tech game in the same (and different) rooms while we did all this! And we ate popcorn. And played. And then I tried to get another perfect photo of the babes in their pjs.

They're really all perfect! Definitely capture the moment. 

On Monday, Bouckie was really messing with his ear a ton and had a sad tummy, so Mimi took him over to the doctor with Libby's help in the afternoon. Clear ears! Yay! Also, we found out that he now weighs 25.4 lbs.! They even had him stand on the scale for the first time. 

Today he is really on the mend! He had two good naps, and tonight we had a date while Libby and Daddy went to dinner and the Polar Express event at school. 

And Libby enjoyed water with her meal at Chick-fil-A so that she could better enjoy her hot chocolate and cookie during the big event at school!

Father Jim read the book, the kids make a pocket to put their bell in, and had their tickets punched with a special snowflake shape. And even Kira was there with her Daddy! 

Libby's been sharing lots of thoughts on her birthday party plans now. She does want to invite Kira in addition to her regular group, and Anna, of "Frozen" sister fame. 

And for Christmas, she has asked for some new playing cards. I bet those will be taken care of! And have I mentioned that she is a total whiz at Uno?! She really IS good at it. 

If there's anything else, she has to decide quickly. The big visit to Santa is Saturday morning!