Thanksgiving on Balsam

For the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled up to Balsam, North Carolina to John's aunt and uncle's mountain house. We had a fantastic time spending time with John's family. Rebecca loved playing with her cousins, especially Greer who is not quite a year older than her. Here are some of the highlights of Rebecca's trip:

playing with cousin Ann's old toys,

watching the big girls draw (Gardnier, Lucy, and Caroline),

drawing by herself,

hula hooping with Caroline,

hula hooping with Greer,

playing games with her Aunt Amy and the cousins,

(Actually, Rebecca was more interested in sticking her finger up her nose during the game and of course John had to get a picture of it.)

and celebrating Aunt Karen's birthday.

Then Rebecca realized that the birthday cake was not for her and we were not singing Happy Birthday to her, so she started to cry and poke out her bottom lip like only she can. So, we relit the candle and sang Happy Birthday to Rebecca.

This is what Greer thought of that, until we lit the candle for her, too.

The kids then exchanged presents.

Rebecca got a baby doll that she loves.

It was a great trip and a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family.

You Want Me to Eat What?

Rebecca's school had a Thanksgiving Feast. Each class was in charge of a dish. It was all very exciting and a very big deal. For a whole month the class has been practicing going up and down the stairs because there are 3 sets of stairs between the classroom and the fellowship hall. The class did a great job climbing down the stairs. It helped that there were only 7 children and 4 adults to help them along the way.

Once we made it to the fellowship hall the students sat down a their table. Rebecca's class had their small table set up for them since they are small. The rest of the school sat a big tables.

The class waited very patiently for everyone to come in a be seated. Then we said the blessing. I am sure that Rebecca wondered why everyone did not hold hands and squeeze after amen was said. (If anyone has had the chance to eat a meal with us, you know what I mean.)

Finally, the plates were brought to the table. They were filled with sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, turkey, cranberry sauce, green beans, and a muffin. 6 out of 7 kids at the table looked like this:

Luckily, Rebecca's class was in charge of bringing fruit salad to the luncheon. Ms. Annissa and Ms. Maria were prepared for such reactions from their class, so they brought over plates full of fruit.

And so for the Thanksgiving Luncheon, Rebecca ate fruit, as did 5 of her friends. Kudos to Ian for eating everything on his plate.

Best Big Sister

First I would like to apologize for being a bad blogger lately. We have been under the weather in our house and I am taking an online course, so blogging has been put on the back burner. I should have posted this blog back on Nov. 7, but here we are on Nov. 18.

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This girl is going to be the best big sister!

I recently bought a sling for Baby Sister, and Rebecca had to try it out first to make sure it was good enough for her sister.

I think it past the test.

On November 2nd, in dramatic fashion, my sister Denise had a baby girl. They named her Ambrose Denton Collins. Rebecca and I got to go up and see her on November 6. I was very anxious to see how Rebecca would react to the baby. She has really gotten into baby dolls lately and she seemed excited to see Baby Rose, but until they were face to face, I wasn't sure.

Needless to say, I should not have been worried that Rebecca would not take to the baby, but that she would love her a little too much. As soon as she saw Rose, she asked to hold her.

Then when it was my turn to hold her, Rebecca got upset. Not because I was holding a baby, but because she wanted to hold the baby some more.

Luckily Aunt Deesa came to the rescue and gave Rebecca some cuddles.

And I got to snuggle with my namesake. (I like to think that at least.)

After that, Rebecca was all up in Rose's face. When Denise was changing Rose's diaper, Rebecca would bend down to kiss her or she would bring Rose a toy to play with. Rebecca even had to get up close and personal when Denise was nursing. She was very curious about what was going on.

It was great to see that Rebecca loved her baby cousin so much.

Lately she has been praying for Baby Sister in Mommy's belly. Maybe she is starting to understand a little more. We will see in about 12 weeks.

Tantrums and Humor

The past several weeks have been rough. Rebecca has been teething, not feeling well, and being a two year old. She has brought out the big guns on the tantrums and fits. Luckily she has also had us in stitches over the things she says. So, at the end of the day we seem to forget the melt downs and remember her humor.

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The other morning after eating blueberry pancakes, I told her we needed to go wash her hands. She said to me, "I do it myself!" She then walks past the bathroom to her playroom. I am following her about to grab her when I see that she is at her play kitchen. She "turns on the water", scrubs her hands together, "turns off the water", and dries her hands on a dish towel. She then looked at me and said, "I do it myself." So she did.

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One day Rebecca and I were watching TV. There was a dog on the show. The dog jumped up on a person and licked him on the face. Rebecca thought this was hilarious. Since then, every once in a while she will jump up and lick me on the face. I tell her that it is gross and to stop, but she thinks it is really funny. Yesterday morning she jumped up and licked me on the face. My response was, "Do you think you are a dog?" She replied, "Ruff, ruff!"

After her nap yesterday afternoon, we were snuggling in her chair. She reached up and licked me on the face. Before I could say anything, she looked at me and said, "Ruff!"

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Rebecca has become very bossy and sassy lately. She likes to say things like...

I NOT!

For example,

Me: Rebecca lets change your diaper.

Rebecca: I NOT change my diaper.

Or, I do it myself!

Example,

Me: Rebecca lets change your diaper.

Rebecca: I do it myself.

But my favorite, No! That my __________!

Example,

Me: Rebecca lets change your diaper.

Rebecca: No! That my booty!

Halloween

This year for Halloween, Rebecca and I headed to Chattanooga to spend the night with Denise, Rob, and Mae. (John was in Knoxville for a football game.) Nannie and Pop Pop were also in Chattanooga since Denise was probably going to give birth at any moment.

Here we are comparing our bellies. She is 38 weeks, I am 26.

Mae and Rebecca had a great time playing together, until Mae locked Rebecca in the dog kennel. She wasn't happy at first, but then kept getting in there herself and trying to lock the door. It is so fun to see Rebecca get so excited to see her cousins or friends. She is starting to play more with others, rather than just play beside them.

That night we got the girls all dressed up to go trick-or-treating. Mae was a dog, and Rebecca was a very cute ladybug.

She wasn't quite sure about going up to strangers and begging for candy, but she soon got the hang of it.

Denise lives on a great street for trick-or-treating. Lots of people were out, and several houses went all out decorating. Rebecca did not want to leave this house. Cupcake wanted to attack the bodies in the front yard.

After all the trick-or-treating was done, Rebecca just wanted a lollipop. She is not a candy eater, which is fine by me. More chocolate for Mommy!

The next morning she woke up at 4:45 asking to go trick-or-treating. I think she liked it.