Thanksgiving 2012 Part 2

I decided to post Thanksgiving into two separate posts. It was such a long weekend with so much going on that I thought breaking it down was best! We ended our weekend getting into the Christmas spirit! I am a stickler for NOT decorating for Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving is over. So, on Saturday afternoon, the Fall decor came down and the Christmas decor came up from the basement!

 

















Once I got everything organized and the tree mostly decorated minus the ornaments, I let the boys finish up. I have to be honest, it was a bit nerve racking because giving the boys' the ornaments was more like a 'bull in a china shop' effect! But, I happy to report that no little boy or ornament was harmed in the making of the Davis 2012 Christmas tree!

And...the finished product! Can I EVER get a good picture of both of them at the same time?!? Geez!

Ty was so tuckered out from the fun that he had to take a nap afterwards!

We also have a very special visitor to the Davis Homestead this year! Everyone meet 'Aiden' The Elf!
(Yes, I know I have some very creative children!)
We are doing the Elf On The Shelf this year and it has been alot of fun thus far! If you aren't familiar with this somewhat new trend, check this out.

The idea behind this genius concept created by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell is that Santa sends an elf to live in your home during the holiday season. Your child gets to name the elf upon his initial arrival making each home's elf unique, and each night the elf flies back to the North Pole-using Christmas magic to get there and back in time-to report to Santa on all the good or bad things the children of the house have done that day. The elf moves around the house each day so that the children know that he left his post to report to Santa. And the one very important rule is that the children under no circumstances are allowed to touch the elf which makes him seem even more important and magical. If they touch the elf he is supposed to not come back the next day and that means that he won't be able to report to Santa and Santa won't know if they've been good or bad.

So, we are definately getting into the Christmas spirit at our house! I am sure I will have several posts throughout the month about our 2012 Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2012 Part 1

We had a great Thanksgiving 2012 at the Davis Homestead! Aside from it being my 29th Birthday...again, we had a great day eating, spending time with family, eating, playing games, eating, watching football, and eating! The weather was so awesome that this little turkey got to go to the park with Uncle Adam and Aunt Katherine.

Jeff and I got an added bonus to the weekend! We left the boys' in Denver Friday morning and headed home ALONE to brave the elements at the Iowa vs Nebraska FB game. It was a bit chilly, but we had a good time!

After the game Jeff and I went out for dinner and then we bought ourselves an early Christmas present. We were researching and talking about getting either a new laptop or a tablet to replace our very old and nearly broken laptop for quite some time now.  So, we both agreed upon an I pad 4. I was very excited as I LOVE my I phone!

'Want Me To Take Your Picture?'

I have a budding photographer at my house. His camera of choice is the Iphone 5.

When I turn my head for a moment and that phone is within reach of those little hands, he seizes the opportunity!

He says, "Mommy, want me to take your picture? Say 'cheese'!"

And when he turns the self-portrait option on the phone, he can see himself in the camera. Then it's, "Hi Tyson! Say cheese!"

I'm just happy that my phone has a virtual keyboard because this is what our laptop looks like! Not sure where the left shift key or the h key is!  

Little Free Library

The boys' and I took an adventure this afternoon to something called a 'Little Free Library' They are popping up all over the country and I actually became aware of them reading another fellow Blogger's post earlier this month.

There are three of them in the Iowa City area. Basically it is a wooden 'house' for books in the front of someone's house and the concept is to 'pay it forward.' So, you give a book to get a book.

Aiden had his heart set on getting a truck book and was disappointed when there was none, but we exchanged our books for some 'new to us' books and we were on our way! Ty wanted to pick one of the books that we actually brought with us! Pick your battles...right? I let him take that one home as his pick! 

The boys' were less than thrilled to get their pictures taken. Once again, pick your battles...right?!?

PARTY!!

I meant to post this last night, but once we got home from all of the excitement yesterday, I was one tired Mam! So, I am finally getting around to it today! We had Aiden's Bday party on Sunday afternoon. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous about the first official 'drop off' party, but it went so great! Aiden has such a great group of friends' from Kinderfarm and outside of school. I also had some amazing help too from hubby, friends, and family! Aiden had a blast!

The official 5 year picture by the birthday cake!

Cake and ice cream time!





The party crew! (minus William Shey, Maddox & Ross Smith, and Kate Rosevear)



The Birthday Boy

Well, we officially have a 5 year old at the Davis Homestead! He had a GREAT day! His morning started off with a phone call from Grandma Cindy and Grandma Kelly. He also got a Voxer message from Uncle Adam and Aunt Katherine (Voxer is a Smartphone App that works like a Walkie Talkie..pretty fun to use!)

He took treats to school for his classmates and teachers. Then, once everyone was home from school/work, he got his Birthday dinner request to go to the 'Peanut Restaurant'...aka Texas Roadhouse. After dinner, we headed home to open up gifts and have his Gurties Fro Yo Pie. Here are a few pictures..enjoy!!!

Our 10 pound baby boy. November 12, 2007

 

I don't have a 5 year picture by his cake yet because his party isn't until this weekend, but here is a picture of his professional shots that I recently got taken.

You Win Some You Lose Some...

Well, our Hawkeye Football season is nearly over. Thank goodness for Iowa Basketball looking so promising this year so that we can all look forward to that! I had alot of pre-Birthday errands to run on Saturday for Aiden's Birthday (I am going to devote a special post to him in the next few days) so, Jeff took Aiden to the game. They had fun and Robin Kellbach sent me some great pictures!

 He had fun and Jeff bought every kid-friendly snack/food that Kinnick Stadium had to offer!

The look on Aiden's face is a dead give away on the outcome of the game! 

Aiden did say something very cute this morning when he was getting up for the day. He said, "Mom, on the train ride (Hawkeye Express) home after the game, I think I saw Iron Man. He wan't in his uniform, but I am just sure it was him!" Oh to be five years' old again!

I can honestly say that I didn't watch one second of the game, but I did get a ton of errands run for A's Bday! Ty and I went shopping for Aiden's Bday gifts and made a HUGE Costco run!

I have never been to Costco on a Saturday and I was in for a treat! Despite the very large weekend crowd (yes, I get the joy of going in the middle of the week) there was so much food to sample! A little tidbit about Ty...this kid is the complete opposite in regards to food to Aiden. Every booth we came to, he would get asked if he would like a sample and his reply..."Why, sure!" (Salmon, Talipia, Green Bean Caserole...you name it!) At one particular station, they were giving out very good blue cheese and crackers which I didn't think he would like due to the strong taste of the cheese, but Ty's response was, "Oh, Mom, this cheese is delicious!" Needless to say, Ty may share my love for food! Of course we had to hit up the Costco Food Court to complete our 10 course meal!

Whereas the Hawks lost (you lose some), Jeff and I got to spend some quality time alone with each of our amazing boys' (you win some)!

Halloween 2012

We had a spooktacular Halloween at the Davis Homestead! Here is our Halloween in pictures.

We started the Halloween week at 'Trick Or Treat With The Greeks' at the IMU on Sunday afternoon. It was really fun and the students did a really great job offering a variety of activities.



Doing the Cake Walk

 



We also did some Trick or Treating at the Syacmore Mall Monday evening, but I didn't get any pictures.

Then the big day arrived and it was filled with lots of fun! Jeff and I went out to Kinderfarm in the afternoon for Aiden's Halloween Parade and Program.

He did such a great job during the parade and then we went inside for the program.

He sang about four songs with his fellow Kinderfarmers'. This is his friend Jack who also dressed up as Iron Man. Right behind him is his friend Charlotte who I later found out was dressed up as Word Girl from PBS Kids.

Here is a video clip of Aiden's fav song, 'The Monster Mash'.

Afterward, we picked Ty up from daycare and headed home for a quick dinner. We starting our Trick or Treat adventure around 6. The boys' did so great and we were out until nearly 8!

Aiden was scared and didn't want to go up to any house that had any bones, masks, smoke machines, etc because it was too 'scary'! But, he did 'man up' all in the name of candy and was brave though!

Tyson was such a trooper. I had planned on going back with Ty once he got tired so that Jeff and Aiden could finish up, but he kept right up with his big brother. Ty did get tripped up with the houses that had alot of stairs, but he did great!

We finished off our night at the Kellbachs'. Make sure you ask Aiden about the huge Gorilla (Jeff Kellbach) at their house that nearly made him soil himself when he went to their front door! It was priceless!

Once we got home, the boys' had to sort all of their loot, but were quickly in bed after such a great afternoon/evening. We are just hanging at home today trying to come down from our sugar high!