Thoughtful.

There's a lot of reasons I love my sister.

I won't bore you with the details, because just imagine to yourself the best-ever-most-thoughtful-and-amazing sister in the world, and it's a smidge of what she is like.

Even my husband, who very rarely hands out compliments, said to me last night... "Kallie really is a great sister. Not just a sister, but a great friend to you." Yes indeed she is.

While she was here, apparently she got a hold of some post-it notes and thought to herself, "what can I do to make my sister's day?" So she did what every thoughtful person does, and hid notes all over my house. Not just notes, but encouraging notes. A couple that have made me smile, and a couple that made tears well up in my eyes.

{found in the Oatmeal box}

{found in the wipes container}

{found in a coffee cup}

{found under the kitchen sink}

{found in the boys' closet}

{found in a drawer}

{found in the washing machine! haha}

{and apparently my mom got in on the action! found in-between pots & pans}

For some reason I don't think I've seen the end of these notes either. The best part about it is they always pop up at the perfect time.

Thanks so so so much Sister. You made my day week. You are the best!

It's hard to be responsible, adult and sensible all the time. How good it is to have a sister whose heart is as young as your own. ~Pam Brown

Bragging rights.

This is my blog, so I am allowed to brag about my child, right?

Okay, just making sure.

This is a video of the little guy rolling over. Yes, rolling over, last week at 3 weeks old.

{For those that do not understand the significance of this, most kids roll over between 4-6 months. Jaxon was one of those kids... he was 5 1/2 months before he made the move.}

*clears throat*

And then there was Cohen...

I'm not necessarily insinuating he'll grow up to be a super genius or even an Olympian someday {although that would be nice}... I'm just merely showing my child off.

'Atta boy, Cohen... Momma is proud.

Tomorrow we'll work on walking.

I did it.

My sister totally called my bluff.

She said there was no way I would go through a Christmas season without putting up my tree.

I told her, yes I would. We aren't going to be home for Christmas anyways, and I don't want to come home in the New Year with a Christmas tree sitting in my living room waiting to be taken down.

"But how else are you going to get in the Christmas spirit?" she asked. Then proceeded to tell me she would help me set it up and decorate it, even if Scrooge my husband wouldn't help me.

Yeah yeah yeah, she twisted my arm.

But I'm so glad she did.

Now I have a place for little guy's 1st Christmas ornament, and Mr. Man's fire truck ornament, that he picked out himself.

It's true what they say ... this really is the most wonderful time of the year.

The menu.

I am beyond excited to be hosting Thanksgiving this year. When my parents first asked if they could come {silly them, don't they know they don't have to ask?}, I was a little scared only because I knew I'd only be 3 weeks out after having a baby. But my mom reassured me she'd do all the cooking... they were just going to be bringing Thanksgiving to Texas.

Well, I am not letting that happen! I feel great, and feel like I can totally do this. Day by day the task of taking care of both of the boys is less daunting, and my body feels healed. Today I got all the grocery shopping done and table decor bought. So why not ... here we go ... I can do this.

Here's what we'll be eating ...

Breakfast

~ Breakfast casserole

Hors D'oeuvres {served from 10am and beyond}

~ Deviled eggs

~ Homemade cheese ball & crackers

~ Pinwheels

Dinner {shooting for a 3pm eating time}

~ Ham

~ Stuffing

~ Cheesy Potatoes

~ Creamy Green Bean Casserole

~ Sweet Potato Souffle

~ Snicker salad

~ Rolls

Dessert

~ Peanut Butter & Chocolate Pie

~ Bishops Ice Cream Pie

I absolutely love hosting things like this ... now I just need to figure out my schedule so that I can get as much done ahead of time as possible, and sit back and enjoy as much time with my family as I can.

So so so excited!

What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

Gift giving.

I love giving gifts more than I like receiving them. I know, a lot of people say that, but I really mean it. I think it's a while different ballgame when you become a parent ... Christmas gifts no longer have anything to do with you, it's just about your kids.

I get giddy when I'm wrapping gifts, in anticipation of what the persons reaction will be when they open the gift. My heart starts skipping a beat thinking about Jaxon opening his gifts this year. I think he'll really enjoy it this Christmas, compared to last year when he was only 10 months and didn't even really open the majority of the gifts himself. I can just hear him now... "Woooaahhhhhhh!"

Here's what's on his list this year...

Power Wheels 'Lil Quad

I actually bought this for him already, as Target had it half off this past weekend. Can't wait to see him riding it!

Color Me A Song - Crayola

Outdoor toys

Since Jaxon loves being outdoors so much, I'd like to get him a slide of some sort, and maybe some ride on toys.

LeapFrog Tag Junior Book Pal & books

The new Thomas the Train set - or a similar "small" train set

Someday I'd like him to have a big train table and train set... but we just don't have the space for it right now.

Puzzles

Any kind of "big boy" car/truck/tractor/vehicle

He's all-boy and loves any kind of vehicle that makes noise... I think his favorites right now are tractors and fire trucks.

Cohen's list ...

Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout

Lamaze toys

Wagon for two

{Now, before you accuse me of going crazy buying gifts for my boys, I am not buying everything on their lists. These are just ideas that I've given their grandparents to choose from, or if they have something better in mind, that's great too! We are thankful for anything.}

Here's a question for Mom's of 2 or more... I'm completely torn when it comes to buying gifts for Cohen. I know he's only going to be 2 months old, so he'll have no idea what's going on. But the "fair" momma in me feels torn that Jax is going to get toys and then the little guy will be sleeping. So how do you keep it fair? Do you buy the same amount of gifts, and just try and keep it around the same dollar amount spent? Or do you set a dollar amount for each child and buy for them until you've spent the same on each child? Any ideas or suggestions you have for me are much appreciated!! :)

And what about you -- what's on your/your kids' Christmas lists this year?

{P.S... Kaela and Mom... I know you both read this... I am still waiting for your lists... :)}