Happy Thanksgiving

Wow, so time has really flown by... it's already the holiday season! This is definitely my favorite time of year... Thankgiving.... excitement over Black Friday... eating... Christmas music... Christmas season... first SNOW... I love the music and people being in such good moods. I did brave the stores yesterday, just to walk around and see if there were any great deals- and I really noticed most people were pretty cheerful! No one rammed me with a cart or wrestled me for "Finding Nemo" lol...

So, Thanksgiving this year was nice. Similar to last year, except Tatum was able to eat our traditional food, and it was a bit cooler this year than it was in AZ last year! We enjoyed turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (which I made for the first time and they rocked!- not Aunt Sandy's though), green bean casserole, rolls, and deviled eggs, oh, and Pumpkin PIe for dessert... mmmm.... Still munching on leftovers- my favorite part! It was our little family with Aunt Liz and a couple of Matt's friends came by later to hang out.

Tatum is hilarious... she loves to kick/roll a ball, takes my hand and pulls me to where she wants to go, climbs on the dogs, hugs & kisses the dogs and her 'Biscuit' book, tells stories to me all day long(even if I don't understand them), loves her Mickey Mouse that she got from Uncle Dan & Aunt Kim, loves to read.... hmm... repeats almost EVERYTHING- alligator, puppy, happy Thanksgiving, button.... really, whatever we say, she tries to mimic... that's one of the neatest things right now. It's really amazing watching her grow and learn!

Today, we woke up and our first playable snow had covered our city! So beautiful! The dogs, of course, absolutely LOVE the snow! They haven't played in snow in about 2 years, and Tatum, well she's never really seen snow before... she is a whole other story! lol... I bundled her up in her pj's, two pairs of sweats, socks (over her pj's), shoes, and her coat... she refused to keep the mittens on- they made her cry ??? So, we ventured outside to the front yard, where I tried to introduce Tatum to the cold wet snow... lol... No explanation needed...

WHAT DID I JUST TOUCH???

Whatever it is, I do NOT like it!

As Matt stated... she was trying to remind me that she was born in Scottsdale, AZ... NOT in cold wintery Colorado!!!

LIFETIME IS FINALLY OPEN!!!

Tatum went with me to vote... then, naturally, she wanted to watch the election results. :)

WOOOHOOOO! LIFETIME FINALLY OPENED!!! So, after a LONG 6 1/2 months... Lifetime Fitness had their Grand Opening last night, and opened for workouts today! Liz went with Tatum and I to the G.O. last night, and we took Tatum to the Child Center to check it out, and hope that she would get familiar with it before today... she loved all of the toys, was a little hesitant to explore, but she did, and today when I dropped her off, she didn't cry! She was checked on a couple of times by her dad and some of her adopted big brothers/more dads (she's NEVER going to be allowed to date).... and she was doing well. Matt said one of the employees was reading a story and she was sitting there listening- she LOVES books. This is GREAT because that means it should be easier for me to leave her in there now! Today, she was actually in there for the full two hours- I had a quick workout, then I had my hair chopped off! :)

I like it, but it's weird to get used to no hair in the back....

Anyway, more interesing information... So, one of Tatum's new things is to carry a blanket around in the evening when she's about ready for bed, lay it out perfectly, and lay down. We often times join her...one evening, Matt and I were cuddling with her on the blanket, and Matt had an idea of laying his head on my stomach to see what she would do... lol... she was NOT having any of that! I am hers... so, she kept pushing Matt's head away from me... he layed his head on my shoulder, and so she climbed on me and layed down to be closer to me than he was... lol.. it was hilarious.

Here are some pictures of one night she was cuddling with the dogs- she put the blanket in these positions, not me!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Tatum's second Halloween was a blast! We first 'carved' a pumpkin... Tatum was not a fan at first, but then enjoyed playing with the 'guts'... then we dressed up and went Trick-or-Treating...

Tatum dressed up as a bumble bee- the winning outfit of the vote... :) (she could have been a TURKEY... my choice won of course!) We had a great time 'trick-or-treating' around the neighborhood with our neighbors Miss Sara, Tatum's friend Addie, and her big brother, Dawson. Addie was dressed up as a White Tiger... but, she was too scared of the head, so she was a headless White Tiger.

Bunnies

So, our backyard always has critters running around- especially bunnies! These bunnies love to drive Hunter nuts, and Tatum LOVES to see them! She gets sooo excited! Here's a video- it was after a nap and I had just taken her costume off... hence the diaper only outfit! :)

Pumpkin Patch Fun

HAPPY FALL!!!

Fall is my favorite time of year, and doing things outdoors is the best! So, instead of heading to the grocery store or local driveway to find some pumpkins, we headed to a Rock Creek Farm Pumpkin Patch to pick our own pumpkins. This farm sits on over 100 acres! We have never seen so many pumpkins in our lives! WOW! We bypassed a couple of other fields where they had pumpkins, and chose one that seemed less busy. This farm was very busy, but so large that we still had that feeling of being out there on our own. A beautiful evening, in the upper 60's/70's, little breezy with the Rocky Mountains in the distance. We had a great time finding pumpkins, although Tatum was mainly interested in the dirt! :) Carrying the pumpkins back to the car, well, that was another story! Matt took the larger two, and I had Tatum and a 'smaller' pumpkin... I don't know what took longer, finding the pumpkins, or our way back to the car! :)

Fall in Colorado

Today was a beautiful fall day, and it reminded me (after our 40 degree weekend) why we moved to Colorado! Tatum and I rollerbladed home from LTF's Preview Center and it was just too beautiful to go back inside, so, we played in the leaves... One of life's enjoyments that, as we get older, we tend to forget how simple it is, and truly, how relaxing. Our front yard has an Ash tree that has already lost many leaves, and the good neighbors that we are- have not raked it yet! :)- so Tatum and I headed to the front yard and played. Took me back to my Bilinski grandparents' house, where we would pile up the leaves, and jump into them. Later, Grandpa B would burn them and the smell.... mmm... memories. How easy it was to be a kid! I'm so glad I have the blessed opportunity to relive those days with my daughter! :) Enjoy the pics, I know we had fun taking them! :)

I seem to have lost a leaf... can you help me find it? I don't think this one is it...
Can you find Tatum in this picture? ...

Family visit to CO

Carl and Samantha rode with Tatum and I back to Colorado for the short 17 hour drive. The Great Plains are SO exciting! (THANK YOU BOTH for riding/driving with us... I think I drove for a total of 4 hours- Carl drove the rest) We left Indiana Thursday morning and arrived in Denver around 2:30 a.m... just in time to go to sleep! Friday morning I headed to Denver International Airport and picked up my friend, Kristy, and her daughter, Kay.

Friday, we rented a mini-van and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park, we watched Elk fight and listed to them bugle- it's mating season. That was definitely awesome. The fall colors in Colorado are beautiful right now- not so many oranges and reds, but the yellows are so bright! Later, we stopped and had a picnic. Saturday, Kristy worked, so Carl, Sam, Liz, Kay, Tatum, and I hung out most of the day, then I took Kay and Tatum to the park. When Kristy got back, we headed to downtown Denver and checked out 16th Street Mall where we enjoyed a little chocolate at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory...mmmmm.... Kristy, Sam, and I hung out in the kitchen and made some Grandma's chicken and chili dip... mmm...

Kristy and Kay headed back to Indy Sunday morning, and Carl, Sam, and I headed to Boulder to relax at Boulder Falls, and do a little driving in the mountains. While up in the mountains, a car was pulled over, so we slowed down to see what it was, and we saw a BEAR!!! I was driving, so I didn't get to look too much, but we still got to see it. :) We headed back to the house, grilled out some Brats, and relaxed.

It was a very busy weekend, but it was so nice to see everyone and let them see where we live. I wish they all could have stayed longer, but perhaps another time!