A Very Merry Christmas

Click on the above page to get a quick glance at the Thompson festivities...and some belly progress on the other baby Thompson.

You never know...

...what toys they'll love or how they'll play with them.

Aubrey really loved running up and down the hall while her farmer rode his quad along the wall. So CUTE!

Someone's gotta win!!

Thanks Christie for the info!!

Check it out for yourselves!

A Holiday Montage

I can't help but think of a song that applies to almost every situation. I often reference different worship songs during Bible study because there is ALWAYS one that applies. Of course, I listen to the Christmas music station while in the car. I can't help myself; I love holiday songs. It comes as no surprise, that pretty much everything that has to do with the holidays reminds me of a Christmas song. I figured it would be appropriate to do a photo/song montage.

Jolly Old St. Nicholas lean your ear this way...

Last Friday, Christy decided to take the kids to the mall to take pictures with Santa. Papa CC came to help corral the kiddos. Surprisingly, Aubrey smiled with Santa. Her hair was in a ponytail, so Justin and I were joking that she looks like a preppy little boy ;) SO CUTE! We plan on going again next Monday or Tuesday while Justin is home.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Deck The Halls...

I LOVE getting Christmas cards! It's so fun to look forward to something in your mailbox! Mine were shipped today. :)

Baby It's Cold Outside

I joined Talia's scarf exchange last month, and I was so excited to get my scarf in the mail! Andi, over at Misadventures with Andi, was my scarf buddy, and she spoiled me. I got a lovely box in the mail last week that had this BEAUTIFUL, charcoal JCrew scarf AND bracelet in it WITH a chocoate bar from Starbucks! WOW! I love it all. Thank you, Andi! - Oh, and I don't normally wear a bracelet on a scarf, but I was trying to display them both...I didn't have much success, so I had to do a close up.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas

P.S. I really need to update my header/page, but haven't had a chance...oh well.

SOUP'S ON!~Minestrone (crockpot style)

Don't expect anything as gourmet as Tasty Tuesdays or Gourmet Lisa. I am no chef, but I am a fan of easy meals. I also love soups and seeing as it is so chilly outside, I thought I'd share this yummy CROCKPOT minestrone soup.

I made it on Monday, but didn't take any pictures, so I borrowed one from Google.

Usually Justin helps me get everything cut up and in the crockpot the night before (then it goes into the fridge till the morning). We usually do it after Aubrey goes to bed and it takes about 15 minutes.

In Crockpot: (cook for about 8 hours on low-add extra veggies after 7 hours)

1 pound lean stew beef (1/2 in cubes)
6 cups of water

1 large (28 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice

2 beef bouillon cubes

1 medium onion

2 tablespoons dried parsley

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons thyme

1/2 teaspoon pepper

I also added 1/2 bag of baby carrots chopped up

2 celery stalks chopped up

In a freezer baggie to add an hour before the soup will be done: (after 7 hours add)

1 med. zucchini thinly sliced

2 cups cabbage finely chopped (you can cook this ahead of time, but I didn't and it was great)

1 can garbanzo beans drained

COOK 1/2 cup small pasta and add before serving

grate some paremesan cheese and VIOLA!

It really is EASY (and healthy- check out all those veggies) if you prep it the night before.

I have a couple of other yummy soup recipes that I'll try to share. My butternut squash soup is NOT one of them ;) I wasn't a fan.

Ragamuffin

I took this picture today shortly after lunch. I was cleaning up dishes, and Brogan and Aubrey headed to the living room and dumped out EACH and EVERY toy! Aubrey is missing one shoe, has lunch all over her shirt, has on two different necklaces and top off the look with a trucker hat that Papa Steve gave to Brogan.

Scenery that makes me smile :) (at least until I have to coerce the kids into helping me clean the mess up)

To peak your visual interest...

Since I've been doing a lot of rambling lately, I thought I'd put a couple videos up for your viewing pleasure.

1st is Reagan on the move. That little lady keeps me BUSY on the days that I have her. She doesn't want to stay still for one minute! She's at that stage where she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, which makes meal prep and cleaning virtually impossible unless she's sleeping or in the highchair eating. She's pretty darn cute though!

2nd is Aubrey playing with her foam Mikey Mouse Clubhouse puzzles. She kept wanting me to go in the tunnel, and I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. She got really frustrated until finally she figured out that what she wanted to say was middle instead of tunnel. After that she was all about using the word and showing me how she was standing in the middle of different characters. She kept arranging and rearranging them accordingly. I had to get a little video of the fun. In case you need translating, she's standing in the middle of Pluto and Donald Duck. Oh and notice Poppy in the background staring at the camera just waiting for crack (the flash).

Aubrey also used the marker as "make-up" the other day. These are the lovely results. I'm just happy it stayed on the face and avoided the furniture.

A potty training update: My girl still wants to hold it (on Tues. she went at 8:30am and didn't go again until 24hrs. later at 8:30am Wed.). When her body can no longer hold it, she wants to go in the potty (it's usually a mad dash, leaking all the way), but the doc doesn't want this to become a habit. He thinks we should just do diapers when we're not home, so that she'll be comfy going. At home, he said to let her try if she wants, mainly we let her run around naked. We've had a couple more successes and a couple more accidents and I'm pretty sure my kid is totally confused, but her health is most important to me. Next kid, I'm waiting till 3!!! :)

Forget my mom's diary, here's my side of the story!

My mom is a confusing woman. She got me all excited about going pee-pee in the potty, but she forgot to tell me how to let it go. In my diaper it is easy, I just stand up, find some privacy and do my business. In the potty though, it's just different.

I'm a really determined kid though. I mean, come on, I held my pee for 20 hours...that's determination. I didn't hold it because I didn't want to go in the potty, I was just trying to figure it all out. Then my mom goes and confuses me more. She puts a diaper back on me and is in tears begging me to go in my diaper. I don't know what she's up to. One minute she is giving me candy to go in the potty and the next she's crying for me to go in my diaper. She even took me to the doctor TWICE, where they pushed on my tummy and stuff. Anyways, I told her, "NO DIAPER, I want toilet." And she listened....well kind of. She just let me run around naked before my second doctor's appointment (yesterday), and guess what I did? I WENT PEE-PEE IN THE POTTY!...and no one even noticed. I mean they checked, but I kept trying and couldn't get it to happen. I snuck in there when my mom went to grab my clothes and then I faked her out by hurrying back to the table to eat my breakfast. Sneaky, huh?

Anyways, I went to another doctors appointment where they talked about putting a tube in me if I didn't pee by 4pm. Silly mom, she didn't realize I had already peed. We came home where she put me down for a nap and then she FINALLY saw my pee. She made a big deal about it when I woke up.

Last night I ran around naked again, and guess what? I went pee in the potty AGAIN! I got a bunch of candy AND we went to Target to get a new Mickey movie (and a new puzzle...I guess mom felt guilty for being so confusing). Well this morning, I went again. I got a Minnie coloring book that came with stickers. I'm SOOOO OVER the diaper thing. It still takes me about 20 mad dashes to the potty to finally get the job done, but I'm a big girl now!

Maybe my mom will grow up one day and stop being such a worry wart!