Happy Thanksgiving!

John and I are so thankful for the many blessings that God has given us: each other, Addison, our new baby who's due in June, family, friends, our health, our jobs, our home...and so many, many more! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! We love you all!

Addi decided she needed to wear the tree skirt.

Addi helps Daddy spread out the tree branches.

dressed in her Thanksgiving outfit

reading with Memommy- Addi's great grandmother

Gigi's turn to read to her girls!

my first cousins

the little cousins

playing dress up

A wonderful surprise! My cousin, Lauren, is having another baby, too! We are due one day apart! It is going to be so much fun having all of these babies around. Evelyn, our other cousin, is being induced tonight and should have her baby sometime tomorrow!

the doctor is in!

WAY TO GO, JOHN!

I've never blogged at school before, but I have to brag on my husband! He found out that he passed his National Boards. For those of you who don't know, the process of getting Nationally Board Certified is very difficult! There are strict requirements that have to be met. The process takes about a year. There is an extensive amount of writing, reflection, videoing of lessons, tests that have to be studied for and taken, etc....a lot of time and commitment. I am so proud of John! Not only was he working on National Boards but also on his Masters. And despite all of that, he made plenty of time for Addi and me. He also managed to help with all of the responsibilities at home (cleaning, cooking, taking care of our pets, honey-do stuff, etc.). WAY TO GO, JOHN! We love you!!!!!

Cute Cousins and Woolard Updates

Here are some of the things we've been up to lately...

1. Last Friday night, John surprised Addi and me with a backyard bonfire. We roasted marshmallows and told stories (Addi's idea). She curled up in my lap and said, "Mommy tell dory of big bad wolf." We ate steak for dinner. After we put Addison to bed, John and I reconvened by the fire where we stayed and talked until after 9:00. We drank coffee, hot tea, and roasted marshmallows. It was like a date (something we rarely get a chance to do). It was a fun night for all!

2. On Saturday, we went to Mark's and Sara's house to celebrate Thanksgiving with John's side of the family. It was lots of fun! The kids played and the adults had time to laugh and catch up. The food was delicious!

3. On Sunday, we went to church, out to eat, and then home (early) where John worked on PhD stuff and Addi and I spent the afternoon playing in the backyard.

4. We're in the process of moving Addison to her "big girl" bedroom. We get to pick up her new mattress tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll get to sleep in her new bed very soon!

5. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with Mom's side of the family on Sunday. We look forward to catching up with everyone!

6. We have 2 more days until our students are out for a week! Of course, we have professional development days but we do get Wed., Thurs., and Fri. off. On Wed., we're heading to the beach! Can't wait!

Addi really enjoys watching the baby rats grow and change.

Their eyes are still not open.

Are those not the cutest things? Doesn't it make you want pet rats??

**These pictures are of the Addison/Emerson photo shoot for Mom's Christmas card. The boys couldn't make it so we'll have to put 2 pictures on her card this year. Here are my favorite pictures. The girls had so much fun playing together!

Weren't those adorable? I love that the girls are so close in age!

Zoo, Baby Rats, and Trunk or Treat

It's been a while since I've blogged. Here is what we've been up to lately...

Today, we went to the Zoo with Dartmouth, Jett, Laura, Robert, Mary, and David.

Addi slept the whole way there so she wasn't quite awake when we entered the Zoo.

It was funny because John dressed her in a shirt with a dog on it that said something like "it's hard to wake up." Well, it was hard for Addison to wake up, but she woke up "happy" and was thrilled to be at the Zoo!

I couldn't resist taking pictures the other morning before school. She looked too cute!

Thank you, Emerson, for passing down the adorable pants!

Our rats had 4 babies a few days ago. Addison just loves holding them and petting them. She is very gentle!

For Halloween, we decided to take Addi and Annie to the church up the street for Trunk or Treat. We all had a great time!

We went trick or treating on our street, too.

I bought tons of candy- ready for all of those trick or treaters. We only had 2 the whole night. I guess it worked out well because Anders goes crazy when the doorbell rings, and Addison goes to bed early.