Full of Thanks and all that good stuff

We had an amazing Thanksgiving here in the Kincaid house, and by amazing, I mean we were on our feet all day, in and out of the kitchen, there were 4 kids aged 3 and under, 8 adults and Mike and I (mostly Mike since I was taking kids to the doctors) cleaned the whole day before (and after, again Mike takes the cake). And when I say all that, I truly do mean it was AMAZING! It was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had, and that's not giving credit to myself. This was a community Thanksgiving in the Kincaid family and Mike, Debbie, Katie, and I all took part in it. Every single piece of the day and the meal was seamless and blessed and it was an accumulation to me of this whole Thanksgiving season to have a day that went so splendidly. My kids behaved wonderfully. Brayden did pretty great with his cousins all day and only had to be reminded to share or play more gently a couple of times. Paytin was an angel, sleeping when I was busiest in the kitchen, eating like a champ, and being super content in her exersaucer and in the many hands that held her. Living on the wild side, every recipe I cooked this Thanksgiving, I had never tried before. Crazy right? But that's how the Kincaid clan runs and I decided to go with it. From the recipe we injected the turkey with, to the green beans and bacon, yes even the sacred mashed potatoes and the scrumptious mini apple pies, none of it had I tried before. Can I just say, every single thing turned out better than I expected? For someone who is NOT confident in the kitchen at all and is by far an amateur, this blessed me also. I thanked God that evening for allowing me that small victory in my culinary skills because it made me excited and more willing to want to step out in my cooking again. But, I have to say, what have I been nibbling on from our fridge days later? My mother in law's butternut squash soup. She's made it the last several years, and it's always my favorite. This year, it was even better than the best! And she left a whole tub of it for me, what a gem :). We had desserts that weren't enough for one table and I am sure I have gained at least 3 lbs eating pie for breakfast the past two days :). With no cable and everything, we not only survived but had a great time. Even Mike had to work, but was able to be home throughout the day. And did I mention our deep fried turkey? I am not usually even a huge turkey fan and this year I was dissapointed there wasn't more leftovers. This had to be the most MOIST turkey ever and Mike injected it with this amazing homemade marinade we had made the night before and cooked it perfectly. It was a beautiful bird and we enjoyed it's sacrifice ;) (whether voluntary or not). At the end of the night, I broke out in some weird hives, that while they havent gotten worse, they havent gone away either. I'm just thankful I'm not allergic to any of the pies or the butternut squash soup ;). Hope you all had a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving too!!

Paytin Lily at 5 months

She started out happy (which she really usually is)

and very ready for pie! is it Thanksgiving yet?

"I only tolerate you big brother, just barely tolerate ;)"

My cuties!

Always has her hands in/on/around something!

The idea popped into my head and came out pretty cute for an on the fly pic!

All tuckered out! Turning another month old is HARD work@

And the days keep rolling by

Out pet Red Tail Boa, Rozy. Her tank is in the garage, but every once in awhile we bring her in and let her cruise around the downstairs (when Paytin is upstairs sleeping) Brayden LOVES the snake (as long as Daddy is around) and we were really proud of him for wanting to hold it and pet it all on his own!

Our old man Bear, starting to get gray in his face!

The snake gets the whole downstairs to roam, and look where she goes!

Morning cuddles

Arts and Crafts with Brayden. We had a lot of fun making this turkey together. I helped VERY minimally and only put the glue on the smaller pieces that Brayden couldn't quite manage. He put ALL the pieces on the turkey himself, with no guidance from me (while looking at the picture of the turkey). He is so cute about things having to be perfectly in place, and ended up moving a lot of the pieces time and time again!

Proudly showing his artwork off to Paytin

And helping Daddy build something; boys!

Paytin Lily at 5 months, on 11/11/11

First off, let me just say. I dont believe in making a wish because of the date today, and yeah, it's neat that its 11/11/11 but every day only happens once in a lifetime, so it's just neat about the numbers and thinking about that got me thinking about how fast all the "elevens" of each month are flying by and how much I wish they would stop flying by! I've seen FIVE of them come and go now and Paytin is just growing like a weed :). I took her pictures today but wont post them until next week sometime.

Here's some facts about my gal:

• wears size 2 diapers, and size 6 month clothes, still fits into some of her 3-6 month clothes. 
• loves to be NAKED! She would prefer me to not put her in the long sleeve shirts, onesies and pants that she wears everyday and is happiest in just her diaper. 
• sleeps most nights in her crib but usually ends up in our bed at the wee hours of the morning.
• is the worst baby sleeper ever. true story. Paytin thankfully doesnt want to wake up and play in the middle of the night, but she does wake up OFTEN. And she doesnt seem to love her naps either. I'm trying to eat/play/sleep train her right now and she seems so be taking well to it, but at the same time, she doesnt nap but 30-45 minutes but takes anywhere from 4-5 naps a day! I am pretty sure she is dealing with an ear infection of earache of some sort right now and for sure is still teething, so I am sure none of this makes sleep easy on her either.
• Paytin still does not love her swing. She can hang in it for a little while but much prefers her playmat, crib, swing exersaucer or just the plain ol' carpet (her personal favorite).
• She still has her torticollis and will have that checked out probably some time in the next couple weeks, but for sure at her 6 month check up. Despite it, she's doing a great job strengthening her neck muscles during tummy time, which she really enjoys. 
• Paytin despises her Bumbo chair. I was so excited to get a pink one for her, because Brayden enjoyed his and didn't get to use it enough, and Paytin bucks and kicks and all but throws herself out of it almost everytime we put her in it. She again, like the swing, can handle it in small spurts.
• Paytin also, despises, her carseat.  This is one of Daddy and I's biggest "conundrums" with our little Princess. Living where we live, everything is a good distance away and we are in the car for long periods on time. Brayden has always been very very good about car trips minus a couple car sicknesses around 2 years old. Paytin hates it. From the minute you strap her in it, she's screaming at you. 
• Have you seen the pattern yet? Yup, we've figured her out. Paytin does not like to sit, and doesn't like to be forced to sit. Anything that makes her sit makes Paytin mad, haha. She's not high maintenance at all, right? I am bummed by this a little bit, because I will be excited when she can sit and play with her toys and such, but I also am not rushing her because she will be so big before I know it!
• Paytin has rolled over maybe 3 or 4 times total, but is taking her time on that aspect too. She gets to her side, or like 90% of the way there almost everyday but hasn't mastered the skill yet. What makes me laugh is she is trying to roll over from her tummy and her back at the same time! If she focused on one I bet she'd have it by now.
• Paytin is a PEOPLE person. She loves people. Specifically Daddy, Brayden, and I, but she does tend to love all people. She wants to be talked too, cuddled with, played with, and tickled. She has learned to love my need to costantly munch on, kiss, and squeeze all her chubbiness and goes crazy when I do it. 
• Paytin is still swaddled at night and at naptime and isn't quite ready to not be swaddled anymore. She also has to have her pacifier to go to sleep now and only uses the Gumdrop style pacifiers.
• She loves to kick, and actually kicks her socks off in her swaddle and will scratch her other leg with her toenails! I have to keep them pretty short or else she actually gets scratch marks and everything!
• She still loves to watch Brayden and will stay happily entertained on the floor just watching him play. He is starting to see her get big and play more and has to be reminded to play gently with her, but never tries to hurt her or gets mad at her or anything which we are super thankful for. He loves to brag that he has a sister, and can constantly be heard telling people she is his best friend. 
• Paytin loves to hold things, specifically soft things, and rub them on her face and eat them (same as at 4 months). She loves having a blankey near her and on her whenever possible!
• She still nurses and has had small samples of rice cereal and baby food but would rather just eat from Mommy! It's still such a blessing to me to be able to nurse her and I'm grateful to still be doing it!
• Paytin's on this nice streak of only pooping once every other day or so, another thing to be thankful for! It doesnt seem to be upsetting her tummy at all, so I'm all for less messy diapers!
• She still only has peach fuzz and I love it. I had someone tell me to cherish having a "short haired" baby girl because her hair will probably never be this short again in her life; cute way to think about it! 
• We are constantly getting sweet comments on two things about Paytin, her big blue eyes and her chubby wubby cheeks. I love both compliments :)

Ok, my little girl woke up from her nap so off I go! pictures to come soon!!

A quick list

Let's see what kind of update I can do in about two minutes....GO!

• Mike is on a normal schedule right now and it's awesome! Seems like forever since weekends have actually felt like weekends!
• Paytin is in 6 month clothes now. That shouldn't surprise me, because she's right on track and will be 5 months old in 2 days but seriously? Wowsa.
• Brayden is going through his"....Threes" I refuse to call them terrible because he still has the sweetest heart and sincere personality, but my days are also fighting arguments, discipling, teaching about sharing, talking about why we don't hit, and way too many conversations about the fact that Jesus made Daddy and I the bosses :).
• Paytin rolled over a few times two days in a row, and hasn't done it since. It makes me laugh and frustrates me at the same time. What can I say? My kids like to take their time learning new skills and even though Paytin is always moving and talking, she seems content to not roll over and not sit up right now, I say thats ok for now :).
• Oh yeah, Paytin found her voice. I'm sure Brayden had a time like this too, but seriously, Paytin FOUND her voice sometime yesterday afternoon. So now my days are also full of shrieking louder than I've ever heard it before, huge, over the top laughs, and non stop chatter. It's adorable...and makes it even harder to have any sort of cell phone conversation ;).
• The Toy Drive is just around the corner, so any projects I had lied to myself and told myself I would start doing like scrapping again, continuing to start ever learning my camera, having coffee dates weekly, etc are thrown out the window as I begin to see my garage fill with boxes, wrapping paper and toys, and man am I ever excited about it :)!
• It snowed here. Oh wait, what's new 9 months out of the year ;)
• Oh yeah, Brayden started asking some cute questions about Jesus the other night as we were getting ready for Youth Group. The conversation went something like this. Me: Brayden we are going to youth group tonight and you get to play with Ms. Judy while Daddy and I "play" with our friends, ok?" Brayden:"You're going to talk about Jesus." Me:"Yes, we're going to talk about Jesus with our friends :)." Brayden: "I want to talk to Jesus." Me: "You can talk to Jesus whenever you want too, remember, like when we pray." Brayden: "No, I want to see Jesus." Me (thinking, probably not giving the best answer): "We can't see Jesus like you can see Mommy and Daddy because Jesus lives in our hearts and in Heaven. Heaven's a place that's better than Disneyland (which Brayden has been asking to go to for forever now, haha) and is better than Christmas and Halloween. That's where Jesus lives and one day we can go there and meet him." Brayden (thinking): "Jesus loves Kevin?" (Insert holding back laughter here). Me: "Jesus does love Kevin, but Jesus LIVES in Heaven." Brayden: "Ok, Jesus loves Kevin, like in the Movie." Me (racking my brain): "Ohhh, yes, Brayden, Kevin is in the Movie (the movie UP), but no, Jesus lives in Heaven, not Kevin." The conversation ended there, but has come up the past two days about Jesus loving Kevin....I suppose one day Brayden will get it, but in the meantime, it's pretty darn cute and hilarious!

Ok....that was longer than 2 minutes! My laundry awaits me :)!

Scenery

I love living literally right next to this lake and love that on any given day this fall there are hundreds of ducks and ducklings right here. I just wish that I had a zoom lens or time to get closer to get pics of them!

I cant get enough of all this COLOR!

And lastly, a tree that will grow beautiful in time! Our thankful tree!

The last of Halloween