November!

My favorite month was fun and busy!  We started out on the first with a rainy but still fun park playdate for the kindergarten classes.  We had snacks, coloring, bubbles, and hopscotch under the park pavilion since it was rainy.  We went to play with neighbor friend Caitlin that evening too.  Daddy went to Boston from the 2nd-4th and we ladies held down the fort.  Bella had her annual checkup on the 3rd and got a clean bill of health, which is pretty good for a 12-13 year-old dog!  The vet tried to sell me some x-rays and bloodwork, but I opted out.  Poor Bella, always neglected.  She said that her exam looked good though, and everything seems ok for her age.  She's definitely slowed down, but still manages to hound us for what she wants.  I got to help out in Erin's class on the 5th with recess and lunch since her teacher was out of town, and I must say that first graders are wild!  Usually when I see them, they are under the watchful eyes of their teachers, but as soon as they got out with me and the other mom, they let loose!  There are some very "strong personalities" (as her teacher called it) in Erin's class.  There are only 6 girls in the class including Erin, but apparently there is still some serious girl drama.  They will see another strong personality next year...

The school had their walk-a-thon on Friday the 6th and I was able to help set up and run that event.  It was lots of fun and they raised a lot of money for school improvements.  Anna was petrified of the physical activity, but managed to form a strong bond with one of her classmate's mothers.  We left that evening for Concord for Cooper's big first birthday party!  He had a lumberjack theme, so we all flanneled-up and had a super fun time at his party, despite the rain.  Happy birthday, buddy!  We came back on Sunday in time for Little Flowers and for Bob to leave for a quick jaunt to England.

I put on my brave face and went back to help Erin's class on Monday the 9th, but thankfully everyone was more cooperative that time.  Their school had a very nice Veteran's Day program on the 11th, and we had a fun playdate with Jimmy and Danny on the 12th, as well as neighborhood Bunco that night.  I also got to meet Bob for lunch on the 12th at an empanadas place in Raleigh.  Yum yum!  We had a fun weekend with gymnastics, lunch at Bellamy and Dalton's house, and moms' night out at a comedy club on the 14th, and taking it easy on the 15th.

The week of the 16th wasn't too eventful, just school, work, watching Sawyer, and dog-sitting for neighbors and grandma-checking for Ms. Mona while the rest of their family was at Disney World.  Erin had lots of fun (once she got over seeing her classmates outside of school) at Defy Gravity on Saturday the 21st for Olivia's birthday party!

Grandma A. came up on Sunday the 22nd to help out as backup while Daddy was in California, and she was a big help.  The first grade had a big feast on the 24th where they sang a few songs and we had some yummy food!  After Daddy got back on Wednesday, we left for Concord and had a really fun Thanksgiving there!  Wednesday was cousin playtime, pie prep, and Mexican pre-feast.  Thursday was the big Thanksgiving meal and lots of playing outside on such a pretty day.  Friday we visited with Grandma and Grandpa awhile and then headed back.  We spent the rest of the weekend doing cleaning, projects, and Christmas decorating!

Monday the 30th, Daddy headed out to Boston with a side trip to Las Vegas, and the girls were off school and we had Sawyer so we made the most of the rainy day by meeting some kindergarten friends at Bounce U and then having Erin's friend Juliette over to play in the afternoon.  All in all, it was a great month, and we are looking forward to Advent and Christmas ahead!  I am behind on getting pictures downloaded/uploaded, so I just have a couple.  Here's proof that we still find some time to work out.  Happy December!