The past week has been a lot of fun- we've all been so busy, I just haven't had much time to sit down and post about it. My mom and dad and their dogs came up on Wednesday before Thanksgiving with the stuffing (or dressing? I still haven't figured out with the difference is) all made up and ready to be stuffed into a Turkey. They dropped it by my in-laws house that evening on the way to our house. When they got here, we had dinner together and talked about the holiday plans. Thanksgiving morning, Wes smoked our 13 lb turkey at our house while my parents and I took the 3 kids for a walk/run. Kylee is becoming quite the little runner- she ditched me, my dad, and Owen, who were a bit slower with the baby, the chihuahua, and Owen's shorter/"really tired" legs. Kylee sprinted to keep up with my mom and her crazy german shepard, and she did great! We got home to help make side dishes then got ready and headed to Wes' parents house for the feast. My mom's sister, Aunt Jeannette, and her husband and two teenage kids met us there- they have never visited us up in Trinity county, and it was such a treat! Uncle Fred's kids, Alex and Maria were AMAZING with Kylee and Owen- they played all weekend with the kids, who just adored their own personal playmates! Wes' mom, Linda, had her house set up beautifully- dinner ( with 2 more 13 lb turkeys!)was delicious, and we all had a nice relaxing time visiting. We took a group walk to the Salt Flat Bridge next to their house, to digest dinner a bit before diving into ALL the different desserts. Yum! Madison slept through almost everything, but opened her eyes every now and then to check out everything. She continued to win the prize for "Best Baby" throughout the weekend as she enjoyed snuggling with all her admirers, and barely fussed. Friday we drove down river with my extended family, to have coffee and breakfast at the Strawhouse. We got back home and went for a hike from our property and into the trail system with some gorgeous views of the Alps. Madi has been doing great hiking in her front carrier, when she needed to nurse about an hour and a half into the hike, I just found a nice log and sat while the family checked out the scenery. We got home and started snacking and enjoying leftovers, then Wes' brother's family and parents joined our big group and we all walked from our house to Main Street for Mountain Magic. This is where Santa comes to ring in the season, and all the cute little shops stay open late giving out hot cider, cocoa, wine, snacks, and freebies to all the people strolling the street. It was so much fun! Saturday my family headed home, and Wes and I hung out with the kids and worked on the house. We have been enjoying the fall weather, and though it is chilly, are still playing outside a lot. We need to start seeing soome rain and snow soon, though, the lakes and rivers around here are lower than I've ever seen them, and we need a wet winter to avoid another summer of wildfires like last year.
In other news, I took all the kids to Madison's 1 month check up yesterday. We are quite a "show" when we go anywhere now! But I just love my Dr's office, they have been treating the kids since Kylee was 2 days old, and they just love them, and the kids love everyone who works there. So, taking the whole crew was not a big deal- we're loud, we've got all sorts of bags and toys and snacks everywhere, but no one seems to mind. In fact, while I was taking Owen to the restroom- our FNP chatted with Kylee and watched Madi, and ended up loading Kylee down with more stuff than we came in with... some old soccer ball and basketball that she brought in to give to a good home. At the end of the appointment, which was a bit more fun than informative (I have a hard time remembering all my baby questions with all the managing of the kids during the exam...) we learned Madi still has a slight heart murmur, but nothing we are too concerned about. She is already 10 lbs 1 oz- where Kylee was 10 lbs 2oz at her 2 month check up! So all was well, we left after visiting the treasure box and getting loaded down with holiday rice crispy treats for the whole family! All in all, a great visit to doctor as a firstime mom-of-three!
