Happy Thanksgiving!

I know Thanksgiving was "late" this year... but seriously - I'm convinced that time just plain didn't exist in between Thanksgiving and Christmas! We spent Thanksgiving week in Indiana with my family and then came home to get ready for Christmas at home in Colorado. Those preparations, combined with finishing our basement and moving Kate to a big-girl room, Christmas was here before we knew it! But it was such a fun-filled month... so many great memories have been stored up =)   Here's some moments from Thanksgiving, and Christmas will be following soon.

For some reason, I have virtually no pictures from actual Thanksgiving day - I guess I was just busy having too much fun! But here's a couple of Kate playing with her cousins, who she was SOOO excited be with:

But there was plenty of time the rest of week for getting pictures of fun moments... 

Dancing with Grandma


Calling PaPaw on the phone

We took some family pictures over the weekend and the kids did so great! Emily and Sydney helped Kate know exactly where to go =)

The girls are all BFFs which I absolutely love... 

Dancing to Frozen music!


Our little huggers


Watching Josh open his birthday presents


Time for cake! And silly faces of course


We love Annie!


We open Christmas gifts together during our trip... which inevitably means some toy assembly time


Josh helping Kate get her tricky high heels on (she got a complete Frozen Elsa costume from Aunt Missy!)


Cardboard box fabulously transformed into a fort (complete with inscribed names of each cousin by Emily)... Note that "Cat" is Kate =)


And to wind down the day... a Frozen movie night

Visiting Great Grandma

The Shaida family all took a trip to New Jersey to visit Grandma - who is "Gigi" to her great grandkids  =)   Kate loved talking with Gigi and playing in her room each day... it was such a special time to have with her.  I am so very thankful for the relationship we have with our families!  

On our way!  Watching the Frozen movie and reading a Frozen book - oh and having some snacks too

Visiting with Gigi

Reading a book to Baby Grant

Kate frequently says about Baby Grant - Isn't he soooo cuuuute?  

Cuddling with Uncle Robert and Uncle Grant

On a walk with Gigi

The growing Shaida family!

Minnie Mouse

Kate was Minnie for Halloween, partially because she loves her, and partially because we already had all the items for a costume except the ears (thanks Grandma Shaida!) 

Kate was super excited about it and before Halloween, kept trying on the various pieces to practice being Minnie.  Well, the night comes and she gets dressed just fine - but then. Mommy had the audacity to paint a nose & eyelashes on her face!!  I kept trying to convince her it's just makeup like Mommy wears, but that didn't help.  There were lots and lots of tears...

Me trying to explain the trick or treating process - that since she's dressed up as Minnie (with her nose & eyelashes) we can go get candy!  (can you tell it didn't work?)

Daddy steps in. He gets some actual candy and explains the whole process again...

That did it!  The tears immediately stopped and Minnie was ready for trick-or-treating  =)

Oh what a little candy can do!  

Big Girl

Well there's definitely no "baby" left in Baby Kate - she's all big-girl now!  Which is kinda sad, but honestly in other ways makes me happy. She's gonna be a great big sister, and it's so fun watching her grow up into a little girl...

Showing off her new top and fancy purse, made by Aunt Vicki

Using Great Grandpa's croquet mallets as crutches

Amazed at what "those guys" have done to our basement! (We're currently having it finished and she refers to the contractors as "those guys")

Bedtime stories so are much more fun under the covers 

Someone found a fun hat!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, we went to our first Pumpkin Patch with some great friends. It was such a fun trip! The weather was perfect - a beautiful Fall day, and Kate loved the whole idea of the "punkin patch". By the end of it, we had 2 very tired little girls, but I'm sure they would've stayed 3 more hours if we let them  =)

Here we come!

John was a great sport and went down the slide with Kate - it was a bit too tall for her to brave it on her own

Mabry and Kate = BFFs 

Riding (being pushed by Daddy on) a John Deere

Feeding the animals!  But keeping a safe distance  =)

Got him!

Burying "Anna" in the corn box (Mabry's Frozen socks) 

The Maze - which John had a significant advantage in

The pipe swing was Kate's fav

Hi mommy!

Getting just the right one

Saying goodbye... how cute are they!

Our wonderful friends!  (Danielle is pregnant with her 2nd girl, just a month after me... so more BFF's to come)

Vaca at the Lake

We spent a week at the lake again this summer with my family, and made lots more wonderful memories.  We had perfect weather all week and loved just being together!

These times always make my heart so full.  Watching Kate play all day and night with her cousins until she can barely keep her eyes open - only to wake up early the next morning because she doesn't want to miss anything  =)  It's the stuff vacations are made of...

Playing catch with Padrick

Joining the girls attacking Uncle John

Playing cards with Emily and Daddy

Em is quite the card shark

Hosting tea parties for Josh 

Front row seats to our very own Movie Night (Kate's aunties do it up right! This movie night was complete with movie tickets, play money & a concessions table)

Getting daring this year.. riding the see saw with Emily

Catching up on a little baseball 

  

Aunt Missy made a obstacle course for the kids  =)  

Kate loved it and didn't miss a beat

She didn't seem to love Smores however

Too. cute.

Fishing off PaPaw's boat is always a highlight...

... although Kate's content just going along for the rides

And maybe helping PaPaw drive a bit 

Hi Mom!

"I jus relaxin... like Mommy"