Thanksgiving Visit

Caleb and Ethan paid us a visit over Thanksgiving, along with their parents.   I love that they are old enough to remember us from visit to visit.  They arrived pretty late in the evening and Caleb's first comment went something like, "We drove all night to get here".  Then Ethan chimed in with, "Yeah, we drove a long, long time".   They were so cute and seemed excited to be here.

I notice changes in them every time I see them.  For instance, Ethan used to be the big eater, but now Caleb eats more than Ethan.  Both of the boys enjoyed readings books.  One of their favorites (and mine) was "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!"  I read it over and over and then they even asked Papa to read it.  Rachel took a photo of Papa reading to them.

The boys spent a lot of time at the nearby school with Marcus, Rachel, Papa, and even twice with Nanna.  I am still amazed at how well Caleb can ride his bike and how Marcus taught him.

I always thought that you teach a child to ride by running along side them, holding on the bike and letting go when they are going fast enough.  Not so with Caleb.  I wasn't there the first day Caleb rode but the way it was described to me was that Marcus explained how to do it and then Caleb just did it.

I got a real kick out of Ethan's expressions when Papa said, "How ya doing, partner?"   Ethan looked at him in the strangest way and told Papa, "I not partner, I Ethan".

Ethan LOVES to meet people!  One afternoon he went from person to person in the living room, saying, "Nice to meet you," as he shook each one of our hands.  He made the rounds at least 5 times before he went on to play.  It was even more adorable when he stuck out his hand at church to anyone who was willing.
 
Another of my favorites from the weekend was watching Caleb and Ethan on the computer.  Caleb had his turn and then when it was Ethan's turn, Caleb helped Ethan by moving the mouse where ever Ethan pointed on the screen.  Whether it was a letter or a number, Caleb patiently allowed Ethan to choose and then moved the curser and clicked for Ethan.  Talk about teamwork!!

Caleb will starting kindergarten next year and the one thing that he seems to be most proud of is that when he goes to school, "he will learn so much he will be smarter than mom".

One of the funniest moments to me was when Caleb had created a shooter (gun) out of tinker toys and he ran into the living room, ran straight to his dad, and took aim.  Ethan instantly shouted, DON'T SHOOT HIM!".

Caleb didn't miss a beat, he handed the shooter to Ethan, saying, "here, you shoot him".  Ethan was so enthused by the offer that he totally forgot that he didn't want Caleb to shoot daddy, and BANG, Ethan did it himself.  I laughed and laughed!

This weekend was my first experience shopping on "Black Friday".  Rachel and I went shopping for baby girl clothes at Penny's.  We bought lots of outfits at a great price and I LOVED IT!  We had so much fun!