Thanksgiving 2012 - Wilmes family

Good Time - We had a nice traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Aaron's parents house.  Boys had fun playing with their cousin Hunter and seeing everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2012 - Gens/Wilmes family

Holiday Weekend - what a great time we had over the five days we spent together.  Family, Shopping, Turkey Trot, Good Food, Reading, Football, Euchre, Clemson and the list goes on.  We had a great time together!

Zachary's 1st Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Zachary - We celebrated Zachary's 1st birthday the day before Thanksgiving. It worked best for family traveling since it is so close to Thanksgiving. The party was a nice start to the holiday weekend.

Zachary loved opening presents but was not too fond of the cake tasting. Unfortunately he was fighting an ear infection so was a little down and out. Still a wonderful eveing with family!!

Happy 1st Birthday Zachary!!

Apple Strudel

Best one yet - my Grampa Gens taught me how to make his delicious apple strudel. I've made it quite a few times but I think it has been several years since my last attempt. Well, with Thanksgiving around the corner, I decided to make another one. It was a lot of fun especially with my helper Reece. He was great help! It might be the best one yet....we'll see!

Zachary is ONE

Look Whose ONE - Zachary was all smiles when I took him to get his ONE year photos taken.  He's adorable with his blonde hair and blue eyes...and three teeth.  Still waiting for those top two to arrive.  We love our little Zach!

Countdown



Thanksgiving Countdown - The boys are counting down the days until GG, Grampa, Uncle Robert and Uncle Brian come to visit.  They are so excited!!

 

First tooth

Teeth - Zachary is cutting some teeth and we think it is so cute that he has his bottom two but not the top two.  Instead he has an incisor and has a little 'fang' on top.  It must feel really wierd as he is grinding it down constantly!  We love his smile!

 

Zachary is ONE

Look Whose ONE - We had a low key birthday for Zach on the official day.  The family went out for pizza and his Grandma and Papa joined us.  It was fun.  We'll have a party on the 21st to celebrate with a cake when all of our family can be in town and join us! 

Picking up Leaves

Helpers - the boys were excellent helpers!  They helped their daddy pick up leaves in the backyard.  It was so nice to see them working together.  I could not believe my eyes.  Of course, the 'clean' backyard only lasted a day or two....looks like we'll have to pick up leaves one more time this fall.

Zach's toy drawer

Toys - Zachary loves to crawl to his drawer to get his special toys.  It's the perfect height now that he loves to stand and pull himself up on everything.

Favorite toy

Gorilla - Zach is going after one of his favorite toys.  He loves to make the Gorilla talk and throw it around on the floor.  It's in HIS special drawer which he knows has all of his toys inside.

Fall Foliage

We love the fall - Zachary and I posing after church.  I pulled out my fall hat in the spirit of the beautiful weather and colorful leaves.

Carpenters

 
Turkey Napkin Holder - We love to go to the Home Depot Kids Workshop every month.  In November the boys made napkin holders.  It was fun and they will be used this Thanksgiving. 

Rescue Bots and a Puppy Dog

Happy Halloween - the boys had a super time Trick or Treating with Aaron.  It was a gorgeous night and they received a ton of candy.  Zachary was a 3rd generation puppy dog (last time for this costume) and Braden was Optimus Prime and Reece was Bumble Bee.  The boys love Transformer Rescue Bots and knew exactly what they wanted to be. 

Carving Pumpkins

Traditional ~ Spooky ~ Silly - We always have fun carving pumpkins.  The boys were super helpers and helped scoop out the seeds and insides.  They loved that they each got a pumpkin and could help this year.  I think they turned out pretty fun!

High School Football

City Rivalry - We took the boys to a HS football game.  Lawrence HS played Free State HS. It was cold but fun to bundle up the boys and get out.  Each team had one loss for the season and it was a good game. 

Pumpkin Patch

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch - We took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch to get the perfect pumpkins.  It was a beautiful fall day...little windy...but still great.  The boys enjoyed a hayride, searching for the perfect pumpkin and going through the hay bale maze.  As always, fun to be out together!

Train Track destruction

Train Table - One of Zachary's favorite things to do is destroy the train track on the train table. It is the perfect height and in perfect reach of his little fingers and hands.
 

 

Halloween Cookies

Decorators - We invited some friends over to decorate Halloween Cookies.  There was a lot of decorating and taste testing going on.  The kids had fun.  After some decorating, the kids played for a bit.  It was a nice afternoon.

Halloween Cookies

Bakers - The boys helped me make some cut out Halloween cookies.  It is a family tradition that my mom did with us.  We made a bunch in preparation for friends coming over to decorate them.  The boys had fun baking (or should I say getting messy).  More flour on Braden or in the cookies?