Thanksgiving

Each year, Tommy and I partake in two Thanksgiving feasts....and our waistlines show it! The Sunday before Thanksgiving, the Taylors host Thanksgiving at their house before everyone travels in their own direction on Thanksgiving Day. Mrs. Taylor's dishes that she is known for are her homemade macaroni and her meatballs....so yummy! Addiasn had a great time pulling out the old toys that her cousins used to play with over at the Taylors...15 years ago! This just goes to show that cars, books, and figurine dolls are classic toys that will never go out of style.

On Thanksgiving Day, we traveled to Charlottesville to have Thanksgiving with the Miller side of the family. Chuck and Kris did a wonderful job with the spread. This was our first year not hosting Thanksgiving since moving to Richmond and secretly, it was kinda nice:) My brother and his family came over from Yorktown and all of the cousins had a chance to be together. In addition, Kris's dad and step mom were there as well as my parents. Chuck smoked part of the turkey and it was delicious! He also made for his pregnant sister, his famous baked carrots in this sugary sauce that is to die for. You know they must be good because I am not one to love vegetables! We played air hockey, foosball, board games...and just had a low stress, relaxing time.

Below are pictures from our Thanksgiving Feasts.


From the Taylor House:

Billy, Susan, Neely, Chris, and Ju-Ju

Popeye, Carl, Lora, Billy, and Susan

Popeye and Addisan reading a story together.

Tommy always has a way of taking pictures when we are not ready.

Addisan had seconds before we even left the Taylors.

Addisan back at our house after a fun filled day. I think she is wondering what happened to all of the excitement.

From the Miller House:

Addisan rocking it out on Boo's (a.k.a. her cousin Forrest) Guitar Hero.

Justine just chillin'.

Samantha relaxing and reading after eating all that turkey.

Dad sporting his JMU pride.

Addisan trying to make words with the Scrabble pieces.

35 Weeks and Holding

So I am officially pregnant longer this time around than I was with Addisan...YEA! I am 30 pounds lighter due to not being sick with preeclampsia. What a difference that weightloss makes being able to move around with ease. This pregnancy has been different than the last, still with many ups and downs though. From the beginning, this pregnancy has not been the easiest for me. Between the constant throwing up and nauseousness...I thought this is honestly what death must feel like. I threw up in public restaurants to my car....just to name a few locations. By the time September rolled around, my emergency puke bag was officially out of my purse. This was a huge milestone. I look back now and think of those unfortunate moments and realize they are all going to worth it when I hold Campbell for the first time in December. The thought of having another little girl like Addisan warms my heart. I am trying my best to prepare myself not to compare the two girls and let each of them develop into the individuals they were meant to be. But honestly, I hope Campbell has Addisan's compassion and sense of humor and they grow up not only as sisters, but best friends. I cannot wait to meet Campbell and watch Addisan be the best big sister that I know she can be!

Getting ready for bed at 35 weeks.

Campbell Celebrations!

We are very fortunate to have so many friends that love us. My bridal party party had a luncheon for me at Maggiaono's at Tysons to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Campbell. It was great to visit with everyone. Once we hit the beltway, as sad as this is to admit, I felt like I was home. We ate way too much and chatted for too long....I loved every moment of it! I think what I love most about my friends, they each represent part of my life journey....childhood, college, and teaching...and all mesh so well together. They all get along so well in fact, that they sometimes get together and have fun without me since moving down to Richmond:) In addition, our neighbors through a mother-daughter shower for me and Addisan. It was so nice to see all the kids in the neighborhood and visit with our neighborhood friends. We played mother/daughter games, socialized, and again, ate too much! Tommy and I are very fortunate to have such great friends as neighbors. Campbell is one lucky girl to be welcomed into the world as she has been!

The whole table after dessert.


Ryan, Julie Anna, and my niece Samantha


Ronya, Whitney, Allyson, and Jen


Colleen, Marissa, and Sara


My mom and Mrs. Taylor



I received so many generous gifts. I was very spoiled!


Here I am 32 weeks pregnant before heading over to Pam's house for the neighborhood shower.


Parker and Addisan hanging out at our house before the shower.


Here Addisan is posing with all of the gifts we received. I used this photo and made thank you notes on Snapfish. There is nothing more I hate diong than handwriting thank you notes.

Not-so-Sweet Halloween

Halloween this year was not so sweet for Addisan. We had practiced during the week walking in the neighborhood wearing our costume with our candy bag and going door to door....only to wake up from our afternoon nap on Halloween with a 104 degree temperature. We believe that she had Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. When I rushed her to the doctor, they ruled out strep and the flu. They were able to say that her throat was swollen with a big blister in the back of it. There were not enough blisters to confirm for sure that it was indeed Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, but they could not rule it out. The reason why we think it was HFM was because a mother from our Moms' Group came with her child on Monday that had just broken out with it the day prior. What this mother was thinking...I have no idea! Needless to say, this mother's choice not only ruined our Halloween, but we missed a birthday party up home the following day. I just don't know what people are thinking some days. We did though make the best of the situation and went trick-or-treating next door the following evening. Addisan enjoyed it and probably like it even more in the day light than she would at night.

Addisan gearing up to go next door.

Isn't she just the cutest ladybug you have ever seen?