Family of G's: Turkey, Family and Fun!!!

This Thanksgiving weekend was packed with many places to go, a lot of good food to eat and two exhausted kids! (whose parents are even more exhausted!) The holiday started off with Jeff, Kelly and Hailey stopping by Wednesday night for a visit. My brother had gotten out of the hospital on Monday, so it was really good to see him. Maria always loves when they come by because she loves to play with Hailey.

They hung out with us for a little while and left before we ate dinner. Later that evening, Maria and I were coloring and playing with stickers. She thought it would be a great idea to put the stickers all over her face, then all over mine. I love Maria's sense of humor...she has a blast acting so silly! Here are a few pics of us with our stickers.

Thursday we headed over to Gerry's mom and dad's house for the day. This was our only stop for the day. It was nice to be able to go somewhere knowing we wouldn't have to pack everything up in a few hours and lug it all over to someone else's house. Gerry's mom has so many toys and games for the girls to play with so Maria and Olivia had a blast. Naomi did a good job. She was pretty tired from not sleeping well at night, but she hung in there. She took a few naps on my lap, but Maria went the whole day without one.

Along with Bobb, Laura and Olivia, Karen and john were there too. I am excited to announce that Karen and John are officially engaged! Congratulations to you both! Gerry and I have been waiting for this for a long time! Karen's ring is absolutely gorgeous! The big day will take place sometime in Spring 2011! We can't wait!!!

Dinner was a delicious, traditional T-Giving spread! Gerry's parents fixed the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, bread and pies for dessert. Karen and John brought the mashed potatoes, Bobb and Laura brought the corn and Gerry and I brought Green Bean Casserole. Everything was delicious!

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and having fun!

Thursday night, after the kids were in bed, Gerry and I decided to do some online Christmas shopping. We got a lot of people done, including the girls. This was one of the easiest shopping experiences I've ever had. No lines, no screaming kids and they had everything we needed!

Between the hours of 8 and 11 pm Naomi decided to wake up 5 times. This has been going on for quite a while and Gerry and I just don't know what to do. Sometimes we worry that she is hungry, because she doesn't always eat well during the day. Other times we try to let her cry it out a little, but then she wakes Maria up. It's been very frustrating. To top it off, Naomi will roll over onto her stomach, then get stuck and she either forgets how to roll back over or she is too tired. Many times we have found her laying face down with her legs kicking. Sometimes she even spits up and has her face in it. That's scary b/c it get in her nose and we are afraid she will have an even harder time breathing. Needless to say, we are exhausted, as well. I told Gerry the only way I would feel comfortable letting her cry, so that we can break the habit of her waking up, is if we get a video monitor so I know she is not suffocating. I know she knows how to roll back over onto her back...I've seen her do it. But I'm not going to take any chances. So, Friday night, I headed out to Babies R Us to find the cheapest video monitor they had. Plus, I bought her a swaddler, hoping that might actually help her stay asleep.

I know video monitors are excessive. I never thought I would use one, but I am at my wits end. Gerry and I have got to get some sleep or we are going to go insane! So...Friday night, I came home, fed Naomi at 8:30 while Gerry was setting up the monitor, I swaddled her nice and tight (which she hated at first, but then seemed content) and I said "See ya later, Alligator!"

Wouldn't you know it? She slept from 8:45 pm until 5:15 am. We were so excited we didn't even know what to do!

Later, on Saturday morning, we met Bobb, Laura, Olivia, Karen and John to get our annual family pictures taken. We got a good shot of our immediate family and the whole group family shot turned out pretty good. We tried to get some cute ones of the 3 girls...but getting 3 kids 2 and under to hold still for a pic is not easy. I think some turned out really cute, though.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, we celebrated the holiday with my side of the family at Uncle Marc and John's house. Jeff, Kelly, Hailey and mom were there, too. Galen wasn't able to make it because he was spending the weekend with his mom. But we were so excited that Shelly was able to join us. It is always a party when Shelly is there!

They had so much food...it was unbelievable! Instead of turkey, they cooked 2 delicious beef roasts, they has mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, asparagus, rolls,green bean casserole, salad and we made slaw (thanks, Karen!)They also made a turkey pot pie that didn't even get touched. They made sugar free chocolate pudding pie, banana cream pie, apple and apple raisin. Jeff and Kelly brought appetizers - crab dip and crackers and cheese, and my mom brought shrimp cocktail. Wow! What a spread!

SHELLY!!!