Appropriate Cold Weather Gear...

Here is the outfit they came up with to go and play outside in today...

When Donnie and Sydni Go Shopping...

If you've followed this blog for awhile or know Donnie personally, you are well aware of the fact that he morphs into Clark Griswold around the holiday season. He LOVES Christmas and it is certainly rubbing off on his offspring.  Our first night off for Thanksgiving break he put up his Christmas lights, but discovered that our old lawn decor, Mr. Frosty, wasn't going to make it to see another Christmas with the Hart Family.  Since Makenzi was already napping at 6pm (see picture below), he decided that he would take Sydni with him to buy a new lawn decor.

It was 6:00pm whenever I took this photo.
School was out at 1:00 and she had been playing with the neighborhood kiddos all afternoon.

 He figured that Sydni should pick out the decor, being that the decorations are for the kids, not the adults. I applaud his logic, but here is what they came home with....I couldn't stop laughing!

Santa in an outhouse...what else says "Christmas" like Santa taking a dump on your front lawn? CLASSY!

The Game Nut!

This video doesn't do her justice, but Sydni was actually pretty good at playing the game Guesstures during our Thanksgiving gathering yesterday. She and Donnie made a great team...too bad I didn't capture his skills on video!

Thanksgiving 2011

Another great year of food, family and fun at Granny Deb and Pop's house for Thanksgiving. I'm still FULL, and I'm sure Brinkli even put on a few ounces yesterday!  Here are a few pics of our food & fun-filled day!

Helping Granny baste the turkey. That baster fascinated Makki!

I totally used to do this with the relish tray when I was a kid....I allow them one go at the "Olive Hand".

Silly chicks!

Pop, Poppa Donnie, Don and Syd

Aunt Donna and Sydni...the LOVE Aunt Donna!

Boots wouldn't pose with Sydni, but Pop and Granny bought Boots for Sydni when she was only 18 months old.  She adores her Bootsie!

Playing with her cousin, Rylan.

During the third trimester, my face always resembles a pumpkin. Appropriate for the holiday, don't ya think?!

Keaton and Whitney...siblings that love each other.

Poppa Donnie and Whit....that man can make me laugh so hard my side hurts. He's such a sweet, funny guy!

A dirty-faced elf.

Sydni is just like Granny Deb in that she LOVES to play games. Here she is playing "Catchphrase". Her expressions and hand gestures crack me up!

Ha!

Makenzi's Thanksgiving Play

We are so lucky to have Mrs. Rich as Makenzi's kindergarten teacher. She did such a wonderful job with Sydni, and is passing on her excellent teaching to Makenzi. Sydni was able to participate in Mrs. Rich's Thanksgiving play, and this year it was Makki's turn. She played the part of Chief Massasoit (sp?), and said, "Let the Thanksgiving feast BEGIN!" Seeing our little Indian play her part was so much fun...I can't believe she's nearly halfway through her kindergarten year!

Our sweet CHIEF!

Vest designed by Makki...I can't believe I didn't get a picture of the back of this thing. She drew a turkey and a "bloody turkey knife" on the back. Don't worry. I'm scheduling her appointment with the counselor this week. :)

How cute are these kiddos?

Deb said she looked JUST like Donnie up there singing. Do you see any resemblance?

Makki and her friend, Laney.

Thanksgiving Cakes

The girls love to cook, while I merely tolerate it. So when they want to help contribute to the Thanksgiving feast, I oblige and let them pick out a recipe for a dessert for us to cook together. Syd chose my Aunt Annie's Gooey Chocolate Cake recipe, while Mak wanted Coconut Cream Cake. I should have stuck with the easy recipe for Coconut Cake that I've used before, but no...I have to make things difficult, so naturally, I decided to give Paula Deen's recipe for the cake a try. It was a very long and messy process, and in my opinion not nearly as good as the recipe I already had, but Makenzi had a ball making it. Both she and Sydni love being in the kitchen!

Gooey Chocolate Cake is delicious served WARM and with a glass of milk. Yummy!

She ate nearly an entire bag of coconut flakes throughout the duration of making this cake!

Our Sweet Little Boys...

Even though they enjoy having their nails painted, putting on make-up, and looking "fancy", these two knuckle heads have a tomboy side. Case in point - Granny Deb went with us to run some errands in Bed, Bath & Beyond. Of course they convince their Granny to buy them a toy (I didn't even know they HAD toys in BB&B, but leave it to Syd and Mak to sniff them out).  What do they pick out? Remote control cars!  They've played with them all weekend, and I'm beginning to wonder if their Christmas list needs some revamping....Barbie doesn't get this much attention from them, that's for sure. :)

Brinkli - 25 Weeks

It's starting to get REAL, ya'll! :) I'm fairly close to transitioning from "cute and pregnant" to "Oh my LANDS, get this thing outta me!". However, I'm not to the latter just yet, but I bet after Christmas I'm singing a different tune.  I know I can't complain (and shouldn't complain...just yet), because this pregnancy has been a smooth ride, thus far.  Brinkli is moving around A LOT and kicking up a storm.  She has a rough time settling down for the night, and tends to freak me out a little with her fierce kicks and punches. The girls LOVE feeling her now that there's no mistaking her jabs. They giggle and squeal each time she give them a kick...I can't wait to see how they interact with her in person.

As for other pregnancy-related items (that won't gross you out) to report, cravings for random foods are running rampant around here. I have been eating a ton of Caesar salad. It's been a very odd craving, and yes, I know that Caesar salad is probably the fattiest, most calorie-packed salad, but MAN...it's so dang good.  I've been trying to use the low-calorie dressing, minimal Parmesan cheese and the low fat croutons, but I bet it's still not the BEST dinner for someone who needs to be careful of weight gain! I also want to eat ANYTHING with cinnamon in it/on it. It's ridiculous. Cinnamon apple sauce, Extra Apple Pie gum, cinnamon toast, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Land O'Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter...all staples in my current diet. Craziness.

Back to Brink- we had a 25 week sonogram on Thursday, and our little loaf's estimated weight is 1lb, 12oz., and she's ranking in the 49% of her size, which the doctor said "is perfect". (I'm on pace for a healthy 7lb, 6oz. baby, so let's hope the good 'ole doctor is right. Brink would be the tiniest of my three if that weight is an accurate prediction.)  She slept most of the time and didn't really want to turn her head for a good shot of her little face.  We have another sono on December 12th, so maybe by then she will overcome her camera shyness. The "girl stuff" is still there, so it's a safe bet that her name will remain "Brinkli".  We are still holding off on the middle name. I vote she be named after her Daddy, and I think he's coming around to agreeing with me, but only time will tell. Here's a few pics from our sonogram AND nice shot of my belly. I'm smuggling basketballs to school each day....

Hello, belly!

Profile shot...she's developing some chub on those cheekies!

Her tiny legs, curled up and nearly crossed. She likes forming a hard, weird ball in my belly for most of the day. It really helps to make the heart burn enjoyable.

Profile...Sydni is really worried that she will come out looking like this - gray and lumpy. ;)

Makki's Smurf Turkey!

If you haven't noticed, we get into classroom projects around here! Sydni did this "Undercover Turkey" assignment for Mrs. Rich, and now it is Makki's turn to follow suit. She had her heart set on a "Detective/Spy Turkey", and was DETERMINED to find a tiny magnifying glass for her turkey to hold. That was the only requirement - the tiny magnifying glass.  I asked if I could draw the magnifying glass, and of course, that wouldn't be good enough. She wanted to "hot glue it" onto the turkey. (We have a new affinity for hot glue after Daddy used the glue gun on her car for the Transportation Parade.)

I searched Hobby Lobby high and low for said magnifying glass, and...NADA. She made the next logical choice and decided on a SMURF Turkey...again, I can't follow her thought process on this one, so we went with it. How one decides on a Smurf Turkey after having her heart set on a Spy Turkey baffles me, but like I always do, I just went with the flow.  For those of you who know Makki, you are well aware of her BIG, CREATIVE imagination. It's a thing of beauty, and I'm not just saying that because she's my kid.  The things she thinks of and says floor me. I so wish I could catch her on video playing Barbies or with her little toys she loves to collect.  She will be back in her room for HOURS creating her own little "Makki World" of sights and sounds. 

I'm told her Daddy used to do A LOT of make believe involving sports. Being an only child, Donnie did a lot of playing by himself. I love hearing his grandpa tell the story of the baseball games that would go on in Poppa Donnie's backyard that only involved one player. He will say, "It sounded like their was a bunch of other kids out there playing with him, but it'd just be Donnie Ray!" He would do the color, the other players voices, the WORKS, all the while pitching, batting and running the bases! Apparently, the apple didn't fall far from the tree with Miss Mak.

It should say "Smurfette Turkey", but we didn't have enough room.
Pretty cute, Makki Jo!

Makki's Kinder Transportation Parade

Donnie is the hero of this post. I knew we had a project for Makenzi looming in the near future, but with the madness that is Halloween at our house, I let the due date sneak up on us.  Makki had to have her "favorite mode of transportation" recreated in the form of a wearable costume for the Kindergarten Transportation Parade this week.  Donnie and Deb made Makenzi's cute VW Beetle in one afternoon, and I was just the consultant due to work and other miscellaneous stuff that keeps me from being a bona fide super mom...I'm just mediocre....maybe a side-kick worthy mom.  They kicked some butt and took some names with this adorable project! I was so proud of it, and I know Makenzi was THRILLED to wear it!

So proud of her sweet ride!

Sydni, sitting with her class in the hallway and waiting for the parade to start.

 

For being so dang ornery, she's such a shy little thing when everyone is looking at her.

He put a license plate on it that says "Daddy's Girl" at the bottom. Too cute!