Jonathan, Laura, Riley and Brayden: Thanksgiving

So we had a great time with friends and family for Thanksgiving. Although Jonathan's time was mostly occupied with sorting through mounds of stuff, I think it was a good "cleanse" for everyone, physically and mentally. It's so tough to lose someone you love so much and then have to pick through all of the belongings but looking back on it, it was a great thing for the family. Riley, Brayden and I had a great time playing with all of the cousins. I love how kids can just start playing with each other, no matter what age. Even though they haven't seen each other for almost a year, they can pick up where they left off and have a great time playing. We were able to get together with our friends Quinton and Andrea, who we haven't seen in almost 2 years. The boys had a marvelous time, running around and playing with trucks and trailers.... Seems to be the theme in their house too!! After a weekend with all these kids that Riley loves playing with, it makes me sad that we moved away.

So we have discovered that driving with a 6 month old and a potty trained (yes he is!) almost 3 year old, is quite challenging. On the way down to the coast it seemed like Brayden would fall asleep just in time for Riley to have to go potty... And while we were visiting we managed to get sick, that time of year. Hopefully we didn't infect everyone!! Then on the drive home, Brayden decided he didn't like the truck anymore and cried almost the whole way home. I said to Jonathan that we may be staying home for a while, until our tiniest traveller is a bit bigger!

Brayden is almost crawling. He can get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. Not that he needs to, he motors around on his tummy and is never in one spot for more than a second. He also loves to eat and is not very patient about it. We have discovered that rice cereal just before bed, makes for a great night sleep all around! He has slept for almost 9 hours straight for a few nights now. It's great to get some sleep, especially when we are all sick!

Our next adventure is Riley's Birthday. We are still going to keep it low key this year but are going to have more of a party than we have in the past for him. He is understanding what birthday's mean this year and we hope to make it a special day for him. Hopefully next year he will have a few more friends his age to have a fun party with. Next post will probably be party pics!