November

 Carter was student of the week the first week of November.  He loved it and loved making this poster.  He could sit and look at old pictures forever.

I did my civic duty and got out to vote with Blake on my hip.  Too bad my dad is out of the country because most of the people I had never heard of.  Usually at Sunday dinner my dad talks some politics around voting time which helps :)  Yes, I do need to do more than just vote and maybe know who I'm voting for next time.  

All of the older 4 kids went to the dentist.  I only got pictures of Carter and Gavin though since I wasn't in the room when Zac and Abbi had their cleanings.  Carter and Gavin had the most eventful appointments though.  Carter had 2 cavities and an abscessed tooth that needed to be removed and Gavin had 4 cavities!  They must have inherited my teeth.

Gavin loves Blake's hair.  He won't stay away from it.

Abbi wore a necklace one day and Blake was loving it.  Blake loves his Abbi!

 Abbi made Sunday dinner one week.  Spaghetti was quick and easy and made a great easy dinner for her to make.

A box came in the mail and Gavin decided he wanted to keep it and color it.  It became a popular toy around here and was played with for days.  I'm not sure why we buy toys....

Molly the dog is a cuddler.  Gavin especially likes her hair too.

Blake did some helping in the basement.  Well maybe it was just some watching.  

Tom was the real worker in the basement.  He has spent every extra moment on our basement and has worked really hard.  I don't know anyone who works as hard as him.  The basement looks great too.  The trim looks so nice and even the guy who came to fix our internet asked about it.

Gavin made a loaf of bread at preschool.  He was so proud of it and shared a piece with everyone.  Gavin is always such a good sharer.

Gavin started a study at the research clinic on a flu vaccine. He either got a normal flu shot or a flu shot with added immune boosters in it.  The nurses at the clinic were super impressed with him as he barely flinched during the blood draw and shot.  He's so chill about those kind of things and just lets it happen.  I think it has to do with his shyness but it's great.

It finally snowed one day!  Gavin has been waiting for snow.  One day I told him it was supposed to snow and he was anticipating it all day!  He kept checking for snow and couldn't wait for it.  At one point he needed to use the bathroom so he said, "I'm going to go to the bathroom and then I'm going out to play in the snow."  There was no snow in sight but he was convinced it was going to snow.  He's very trusting of the weather reports.  So he was trhilled with snow.  Carter was too.

Molly learned that she is thrilled with the snow too.  She loves playing in the snow and will often go out and then stand at the door barking for the kids to come out and play.

Blake is learning that baths can be fun.  He's starting splashing and sitting up in the water. Look at those chubby thighs!

My kids miss Sunday dinners at Grandma's house and ask every Sunday if we are going to dinner somewhere or if someone is coming over.  We invited my older brother Chad and his family over for dinner one Sunday and it made for some happy kids.  They loved being together and playing games.

Even the older boys had fun playing a game.

Chad and Blake hung out together too.

 I procrastinated a bit and we had family pictures in November.  I was hoping for the warm spell to last but actually we hit the cold spell instead.  We've had lots of warm weather this winter and the day we had pictures scheduled was one of the coldest days we had.  We were freezing.  I took this picture of the kids at the end and you can tell Abbi looks a little cold.  The boys put on a good face for me.  Luckily the pictures turned out good and it was worth it.

Blake was a trooper and was wrapped up in a blanket in between shots.  

Gavin has taken an interest in drawing lately.  He decided one day he wanted to draw Batman and was frustrated he couldn't do it like uncle Kurt.  He spends time each day drawing and seems to really enjoy it.  He reminds me of his uncle Kurt- left handed, the third boy and a drawer.

Gavin had a Thanksgiving program for preschool the last day before Thanksgiving.  He was supposed to dress like a pilgrim or an Indian.  He had made hats the day before but I told him we could make a vest out of a paper sack. I put my trusty skills to use I learned in kindergarten making that vest. He made a cute Indian.

Blake uses the bumbo chair as a highchair since his highchair is in the storage unit.  It works but he's now into grabbing food, drinks, plates, etc.  Good thing our table opens out pretty wide so we have room enough for him and the food.  One day he picked up my whole cup full of water and threw it!

These two are my morning buddies after the other kids are off to school.

Blake turned 8 months old this month!  I can hardly believe how fast time goes!

After Gavin played with Blake's hair one day it ended up like this.  Gavin said his hair looked like a lady :)

 With the snow Molly gets a little more tender care since she comes in with wet paws.  Abbi is really good at good care of her.

Tom's sister Kathy came to visit from Tennessee for a night.  She brought her youngest James who is 3 months younger than Blake.

Thanksgiving was different for us with my parents not around.  Tom was also working so it was just the kids and me.  We ended up going to my oldest brother's house.  We ate with them and my sister-in-law's mom Glenda.  The kids just loved being with their cousins again.  We kept up our Thanksgiving tradition of going to a movie and even Blake came.  We saw Big Hero 6 and Blake was actually pretty good.  He fell asleep a few times, watched the movie, had a few snacks and didn't make too much noise.  I was pleasantly surprised.

On our way home we stopped by the fire station and the kids were thrilled to take a ride on the little green cart (I forget what they call it).  Our kids always play on this thing when we go there but it's usually strapped onto a trailer.  This time it was down for rides and the kids enjoyed their ride.  

Don't worry. Blake didn't get a ride.  He just sat in for the picture.

Blake is still super loved around here.  Zac and Abbi love to hold him and even fight over him.  It's actually nice to have older kids that can help with a baby.

Molly thinks anything that resembles a blanket or something soft is hers.  I can't keep her from taking down the kitchen towels and laying on them.

Carter officially ran out of Garfield books to read this month.  So the dominoes are back! Dominoes at breakfast time, after school time and pretty much all the time!