Date Night!

I honestly cannot remember the last time Kyle and I went on a date sans Kathryn and/or friends.  Really, I would say it has been at least a year and maybe even two.  Kyle and I go out ALL THE TIME, but we never go out just the two of us.  So a rare moment happened this past Sunday...we went on a date.  We had such a nice, relaxing, and fun evening.  We went to dinner at Maggiano's (which by the way, this time of year, the restaurant looks super festive), and then we went to the Daniel Tosh Show at the Ryman.  Dinner was amazingly good, and the show was even better.  On occasion, I watch Tosh.O, but I never knew how funny he was until this past Sunday night.  He is freaking hilarious!  If he ever comes back to Nashville, Kyle and I are there.  

Blueberry Pickin'

During Saturday's "Photo Shoot," Kathryn discovered Momma Pam's holly tree.  Kathryn and Garrett spent lots of time picking berries (Kathryn called them blueberries...too cute).  Above are some pics that captured the "blueberry" picking.

Thanksgiving 2011

My Little Turkey

Mom's Dinner Table

The "Kids" Table

Mom's Festive Centerpiece

Momma Hope and Momma Pam

Cousins

My Sweet Girl

Another pic attempt...I took over 100 pics and not a single one has all the kids looking at the same time

 

Sweet Cousins

Another try

The kids playing...the photographer gave up at this point : )

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I love being with family and eating lots of yummy food.  Every year, we go to the Luthers for lunch and then to my mom's for dinner.  This year, the food was exceptionally delicious.  My mother in law Phyllis makes the BEST dressing, rolls, and fudge pies.  I have to learn her secrets!  Kathryn enjoyed eating ham and mashed potatoes, and she also loved dessert.  After lunch we were stuffed, luckily, we had several hours to "recoup" before eating dinner at my mom's.  A few of my favorite dishes at my mom's is her broccoli and cauliflower salad, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus casserole.  Kathryn enjoyed a little bit of everything, but she especially liked the mac and cheese, rolls, and coca cola cake (she called it pumpkin pie).  Everything at both my mom's and in law's was simply delish!

Friday was the annual Black Friday event for me and my sister, and this year our mom (aka the "line stander") tagged along.  We actually started Thursday night since Toys R Us opened at 9:00 and many other stores were opening at midnight.  We got to Toys R Us around 10:00 and shopped til we dropped...literally.  After Toys R Us, we hit up Target, Best Buy, Bath and Body, and then went to Cool Springs and ended up at Greenhills.  We didn't finish until shopping until 2:00 on Friday afternoon.  That totals 16 hours of shopping with no sleep.  Yes, we are insane, but it is a tradition, and we love it!

Saturday was spent all day at my mom's eating leftovers (my favorite) and visiting with family.  One task for the day was taking a pic of all the grandchildren.  My mom asked for me to get ONE good picture.  Seeing as to how we had a 8 month old, 2 year, 3 year old, 5 year old, and 15 year old...the task was a little tricky.  I took over 100 shots and not a single one has all of them looking at the camera and smiling.  I guess I need to start working on my photoshop skills so I can swap out heads.  None the less, I got a few cute ones...some of my favs are posted above.   

The Luther family has so much to be thankful for this year and always.  Topping the list is our love for God and for one another, our sweet girl Kathryn, our families, and our friends.  We are fortunate to have our health.  God continues to bless us beyond what we deserve.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Trimming the tree

Picking another ornament to hang

Kathryn enjoyed hanging lots of ornaments on one branch

Bailey LOVES to sleep under the tree

The final product...after I rearranged some ornaments hung by my sweet girl

 I love Christmas!  Every year I get so excited about decorating.  This year, Kathryn loved helping decorate the tree.  She actually did a pretty good job.  She would pick an ornament out of the box and ask, "Is this one breakable?"  If I said yes, she would put it back in the box, if I said no, she would hang it on the tree.  She is such a good girl.  She didn't want to take a chance on breaking any, so she only wanted to hang the non-breakables.  Kyle assisted Kathryn in hanging ornaments, and Bailey did a great job laying under the tree.  It simply warms my heart that Kathryn enjoyed decorating!  Let the festivities begin!

A Visit With Santa

Last Tuesday, Rachel and I met up with the girls to visit Santa at our mall.  Kathryn loves playing with Emerie, so anytime we are together, she has a great time.  We let the girls play for a bit in the riding cars section and then we went to see Santa.  I didn't tell Kathryn in advance what we were doing because I didn't want her to freak out.  Generally, she is timid around men, and for the last two years, she has been terrified of Santa.  Much to my surprise, Kathryn ran right along with Emerie and sat in Santa's lap.  I honestly think had it not been for Emerie that Kathryn would not have had anything to do with seeing Santa.  None the less, I had to capitalize on the moment and take pictures.

Kathryn and Emerie were so cute together.  They gave Santa big hugs and told him what they wanted for Christmas.  Kathryn told Santa she wanted a bicycle.  Kathryn's face during this visit was priceless.  I love how magical everything is at this age!!!!!

Annual Athens Trip

Every year, Kyle and I travel down to Athens, GA to spend with weekend with my sister and brother in law and take in a Georgia football game.  This year, we went down for the Kentucky game.  We had the best time this past weekend.  I am not sure the last time I laughed so hard for such a long time.  We began tailgating around 9 AM, went to the game towards the end of the first quarter, and left the game at halftime.   It's really not about seeing a football game, it is all about the tailgate.  Before heading back to our tailgate, we stopped by another one where we met two Outback Bowl representatives.  Kyle and Sean were "pinned."  At this tailgate, we also met the Honey Badger.  After spending some time there, we went back to our tailgate and hung out some more.  Before heading home to freshen up, we stopped to let Kyle get his cell phone (way too long of a story to blog about), and then went to Hilltop for dinner.  Next we went home, changed clothes, and went out for a few hours via limo.  By midnight, we were all exhausted!  Of all the years we have been to games, I think this might have been our most fun trip yet.  I have the best sister in the world!!!!!  And, I am so lucky that Kyle gets along so well with Kristin and Sean.  The four of us together are quite comical...to say the least!      

A few funnies from the trip
1. Chanting: "Online LSU, Online LSU" followed up with "Is he a Pike or an online Pike?"
2. The Honey Badge, "That's not puke on my pants"
3. DEFENSE signs
4. The guy with the "swirly mustache"...I really wish I would have taken his pic!
5. The "Drain" at our tailgate

My Dancing Diva

Kathryn is absolutely LOVING her dance class.  She takes dance every Wednesday at The Red Barn with Mrs. Natalie of Natalie's Dance Network.  For the past few nights, we have played "Dance Class."  Kathryn pretends to be Mrs. Natalie, and Kyle and I are the students.  We do lots of "Plies." Kathryn will instruct us, "Now it is time for our plies.  Ready.  Up, down, up, down, up, down."  Then class is over, and she holds our hands to take us back to our "classroom" for nap time (at this time, she takes us to her bedroom and makes us lay down on her bed). 

Her outfit during our "Dance Class" varies each night.  She always puts on these Mary Janes (which are too big for her right now, but she loves to wear them) and her "sweater" (which is the vest pictured above).  If she has on pants, she normally takes them off.  I assume she is used to being able to see her legs during dance class since she wears tights.  None the less, the look of the night is usually what is pictured above.  Kathryn keeps us laughing, that is no doubt! 

Blog2Print Book = SUCCESS!

My book came in yesterday, and I am very pleased with the final product.  For the amount of time and money spent, it is the perfect way to take a blog to create a book.  My book has a hardcover with pictures, a dedication page (which I customized), a table of contents, and all my blog posts in order.  The back cover of the book has pictures as well, and all of this for $55 (with shipping).  This book contains over 2 years worth of posts.  I don't even want to think how much money I would spend scrapping 2 years of Kathryn's life.  I do wish the this site allowed for editing the book so I could put one blog entry per page.  However, at the end of the day, I just want things documented for Kathryn.  When she is 30, I doubt she will care that the blog posts are split up on two pages.  Again, if you are interested in creating your own book, let me know and I will send you a referral.  You don't have to have a referral, but I will get points for referring people....not sure what I do with those points yet, but none the less, I am sure I can use them for future book purchases.  And, with all of this being said, I plan to end Kathryn's scrapbooks at her 3rd birthday and from here on out will blog only.  I already have 4 scrapbooks for Kathryn.  At this rate, I will have 20 books by the time she is 12.  This Blog 2 Book will allow for a more compact way to document her life.  And, it will provide Kathryn with nice coffee table style books which are more practical to store and/or display.  YAY for Blog2Print!!!!! 

More Outdoor Fun!

Making a Rainbow

Right Handed...

Now Left Handed

The Rainbow Masterpiece is Complete!

My sweet boy enjoying the outdoors too

Last night we played outside for a long time!  Kathryn enjoyed playing with the bubbles and then moved on to the chalk.  Since it was so warm, and I knew rain was moving in, we stayed out pretty late.  I figured last night might be one of our final evenings to spend outdoors playing with bubbles and chalk until spring.  I do love these warm, windy November days, however, I am looking forward to some cooler temps.  I think Kathryn is going to love the snow this year.  I have plans for us to build our first snowman and make snow cream.  Until then, we are soaking in these last few warm, sunny days.