Gobble til ya wobble

I learned early on in my

relationship with Vic

just how special Thanksgiving 

is to him.

Over the years,

my love for the holiday has grown 

to match his.

The girls love it too,

especially when we have 

family fly in to celebrate with us. 

We packed a lot in while 

the NJ Hamiltons were here - 

movies, art camp, picnic at the park,

parents' night out, a horse and carriage 

ride in Town Square, a day spent 

at the Gaylord Hotel tubing and skating

and holiday decoration viewing. 

There were cousin sleepovers and

backyard football games.

There was a neighborhood turkey trot

and all the baking and cooking we could

possibly squeeze into the week.

Mostly, there were sweet memories 

being made with family...

and that's what the holiday is really

all about, after all! 

Double Digits

10
Double Digits
A Decade

Lexi, today you are ten.
And while I have no idea
how this happened so fast,
what I do know is that you have
grand plans and dreams for yourself,
the confidence and determination
to make them come true,
and the good sense to have fun
and enjoy yourself along the way.

We are endlessly blessed by you
and so very proud of you.
We've sure come a long way
since 2:11 am on November 16, 2008
when a beautiful 6 pound, 6 ounce
baby girl surprised us all.
We worked through the whole first
baby thing - learning how to care
for you, keep you alive and help you thrive.
It feels like yesterday that we stared
at you in wonder as you yawned,
or held your head up on your own,
or rolled over for the first time,
or took your first wobbly steps.

Now, here we are staring at you in wonder
as you whiz through your schoolwork,
or finish yet another chapter book
in one day's time,
or nail your overhand serve at your
first volleyball tournament,
or hit your first 10U home run at softball.

Looking back on it all though,
it's very clear that not much has changed.
You have always been self sufficient.
You have always done things in your
own good time.
You have always approached a challenge
with confidence and courage.
You have always been a leader,
sought out fun, enjoyed the outdoors,
made new friends easily
and been curious
about the world that surrounds you.

It's just that the interests have changed
from the toddler passions of
stick collecting, dog petting,
slide climbing and block stacking
into the big kid interests of
watercolor painting, chapter book
reading, sports playing, rollerblading,
math problem solving,
sleepover hosting and baking,
to name a few.

At ten, you are mature yet silly,
responsible yet unpredictable,
a perfectionist yet empathetic,
creative yet organized,
hard working yet playful,
athletic yet a book worm,
smart yet social,
stubborn yet helpful.
You are so very perfectly you,
at ten.

We are you biggest cheerleaders,
your biggest supporters,
your biggest fans,
the shoulders you can
always rest on,
and the hands you can always hold.
We cannot wait to see what
this next year holds in store for you,
our double digit girl!

Happy Halloween

Halloween is a favorite
around here,
and like most years,
the girls had very definite
ideas about their costumes.

Lexi's became a bit of a family affair
with her, mom, dad and Bailey
inspired by the movie
"A League of their own".
We can't say that our hot dog was thrilled
with his costume, but we sure thought
he looked adorable.
Ryleigh went off on her own,
dressing up like Hermione from Harry Potter.

The girls had a lot of fun
with all the festivities
leading up to the big day.
They enjoyed the school book parade,
1st Grade Pumpkin Spin day,
a 4th grade Halloween playdate with limbo,
bobbing for apples and pumpkin painting,
and, of course, the grand finale...trick or treating.

It rained and rained and rained some more
on the 31st, with no end in sight.
One brave neighbor invited the whole crew
over for dinner and games,
and just as the kids finished eating,
the skies parted and the rain stopped.
It was perfectly dry for trick or treating,
and the girls had a ball.

Lexi was unable to sprint from house
to house this year thanks to her friend's
highway blimp costume,
and this made it much easier to keep track
of her whereabouts.
And in typical Ryleigh fashion,
after about an hour she called it quits
to go home, eat her candy and open the
door for the older kiddos.