Thanksgiving

Sorry this is a little late. I had forgotten about these pictures. The whole Butler/Thomas/Volker clan was able to gather at our home the weekend of Thanksgiving. We cooked a huge meal, watched our favorite holiday movie (Planes, Trains, & Automobiles), and worked on some Christmas crafts once the kids were in bed.  Gage, Braylon, Wyatt, and Greyson had such a fun time playing outside together. We couldn't have asked for better weather or a better weekend....well except maybe for the photo shoot we attempted with grouchy toddlers, eeek! Sorry, mom. Maybe next time.

Even Grandma Dar got to stop in and see the boys on her way home from Dallas. It was so nice that she was able to join us for dinner too.

Snapshots from the Week

Bouncing on the trampoline

Hanging out by the bonfire at Grandpa Rollie's

The cows were surprisingly close to the fire, especially for only being 60 degrees outside.

Wyatt has officially moved into Braylon's room. He is still getting used to it, because he will sometimes get up in the middle of the night. But each night has gotten better. This picture shows them in separate beds, but they usually sleep on the bottom together. 

Fruit Picking

This is the first season we've had substantial growth since having our fruit trees out back. We have gotten several lemons, mandarins, and oranges. We picked one grapefruit, too, and so far all of our citrus fruits have been very juicy and delicious. Wyatt screams for the mandarins and oranges as soon as we pick them. The kid loves them! We even bought a cheapo juicer so our lemons wouldn't go to waste. It's pretty neat to walk out back with the boys and see their excitement when there's something new to pick! It's also a good feeling knowing where some of our boys' snacks and juice come from, our very own backyard.

Wyatt at 18 Months Old

Wyatt hit the year and a half mark last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving! He had his check up the following Tuesday. The pediatrician gave him a thumbs up, and the nurse gave him four shots in his poor little thighs! Wyatt is becoming such a big boy. He has started sleeping in the bunk beds with Braylon as of today. He uses a fork and spoon decent, is learning new words, and copies everything his brother does. He sleeps from about 1-3:30 for nap and 7:30p.m.-6:30a.m. each night. He seems to have outgrown his eczema and peanut allergy. The dogs will still sometimes irritate his eyes, but not too bad. Overall, Wyatt is a super happy kid and will wear you out reading books every day :)

Here's some of his stats:

Weight: 26 lbs, 75th percentile

Height: 35 1/4", 98th percentile

Favorite Food: meat

Favorite snack: clementines, cheese & crackers

Favorite toys: books, trucks, football

Words he speaks: uh-oh, bye-bye, ow, Bubba, Momma, Dadda, dog, star, moon, tree, car, ball, boot, football, circle, bar, whoa, mine

He can identify the following body parts: toes, ears, eyes, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, belly, fingers, hands, weewee, belly button.

He can make animals sounds for cow, horse, duck, monkey, sheep, owl, bird, tiger, and bear.

Before shots

After shots :'(

On the way home, still with tears in his eyes but smiling now that he has his puppy and pacifier. He was ready for a nap!

Other Pics

I had to take Braylon to the dentist last week for a six month check up (no cavities, yay!). They have a cool fish tank, toys, books, and even The Polar Express movie playing, but Wyatt was more interested in reading books with strangers in the waiting room.  He would just walk right up to the ladies, hand them his book, and climb up in their lap.

He's ready for Sunday school!

Brad had the leaf blower out cleaning up the yard, so Wyatt grabbed his rake and followed him around. 

This kid is a major book worm!

Thanksgiving Parties at School

The boys had their Thanksgiving parties at school on Friday, and it was the first year I had to  bounce between classes and prepare goodies for both. To my surprise, it actually went very smoothly. I loved getting to see Wyatt in his class and have lunch with his friends. I can't wait to see how the upcoming Christmas pageant goes!!

Wyatt usually sits here for lunch, since there's normally only five kids.

Wyatt made himself comfortable in Braylon's class, and grabbed the empty seat next to Maddie.

Braylon and Crosby are always playing trucks together at school.

S' mores and Hot Chocolate Playdate

Braylon is such a social kid that he really misses his friends when he doesn't see them for a while. He NEEDS interaction with other kids his age. So since we hadn't had a playdate in a while, I invited some friends over to play outside, make s' mores, and sip hot chocolate. Braylon was so excited to see his friends Liam, Jackson and Maddie. Wyatt liked seeing baby Gabriella too, and they were all sad when it was time to go.

Maddie's baby sister, Gabriella.

Liam, Jackson, Braylon and Maddie....it's sweet to think about how close these guys are and they've been friends since they were one year old :)

Baby It's Coooold Ouuutsiiiiide!

It has been the coldest week of the year so far, so here's how we stayed busy...

We bundled up and went outside!

We built forts.

We painted!

We delivered food for our local Meals on Wheels.

And we read lots and lots of books.