Well with our first holiday down and now looking forward to Christmas, this year's Thanksgiving was very special and very quiet. In the morning we took a family walk with the kids and we are definitely feeling the chilly winter weather. Later in the afternoon we headed over to my dad and step mom's to celebrate Thanksgiving at there house this year. My sister and her family went to spend the holiday with some of their friends, and Greg went to his grandmother's house in the early part of the day to be with his family, and came over later in the evening to be with us. My step mom cooked an amazing and beautiful dinner once again. She always knows how to get our bellies full and keep us nice and stuffed....

I am thankful every year that our families can be joined as one and be all together around the holidays. It truly is special and I love my family very much!

The amazing bloody Mary bar my step sister put together!

The kids love Grandpa's garden

The beautiful dinner table

Thankful for my two sweet loves

The best turkey ever!!!

We had an amazing Thanksgiving, but the rest of the weekend was dedicated to decorating for the holidays, listening to Christmas music, enjoying wine and playing with the kids. Did I forget to mention that my mom and I did brave "Black Friday" and it was so much fun, and we scored on some big sale items. I think we may have a new tradition for the books....

 

I am feeling extra grateful this season and can't wait for all the fun holiday festivities and enjoy the holiday traditions we have started with our kids!

Talking and Walking

The past few weeks have been full of milestones, celebrations and complete happiness. I love having the dynamic of two amazing children, one typical and one with special needs. The fact is that they both are so different, and watching the difference in milestones is truly heartfelt. It reminds me how different everyone is and how special we all are. We have always had a saying in our home-we don't push for our kids to do anything, we let them learn and try on their own and celebrate when those milestones are met. I love watching Haylee and Dylan play together, and watching them teach each other is just the happiness of my day!

We have been working very hard on Dylan's speech with letters, numbers and colors. It's not that we just started we have been working for quite some time now, and we work with him everyday as well as he learns in school and therapy. The other night Greg and I sat down before bed and I pulled out some new flash cards of his ABC's and out of no where he nailed every single one of them. Now they are not the clearest, but the fact of the matter is he said ALL of them! I was speechless....and I know that little boy is one smart cookie!


IMG_0732 from Michelle Lopez on Vimeo.

Now on the other hand-Haylee has been taking little steps the past few weeks, and I know this post is a few weeks late, but she is walking everywhere. She started with 1-2 steps, then got a little braver and kept taking more till one day it happened. She loves to walk all the time now, and I kind of like it so this mama's arms can get a little break!


IMG_0734 from Michelle Lopez on Vimeo.

Haylee Is One

Well what can I say, but I am a little late on this post. Our life has been pretty crazy around here with school, therapy, daily household chores, work and just trying to keep up with life, and of course the holidays coming soon. I still cannot believe Haylee is a one year old. The time seems to go by so much faster these days and I can barley keep up with how fast my kids are growing up. It makes me sad to see how fast time goes, but it also makes me appreciate the time I have, and to remind myself to slow down just a little more everyday and not worry so much about the (house cleaning, the grocery shopping, picking up toys) and what my kids are doing and not doing. It makes me appreciate life!

Haylee is so full of energy these days! She has the sweetest little heart, but she is a little spit fire, and loves to scream at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason. Yes that is a girl...She eats everything in site, and when I mean everything. I can't even go to the grocery store without her asking me for a "bite" of something in the cart. She weighs about 23 pounds and getting taller everyday. She is walking everywhere and literally just in time for her first birthday party. She sleeps about 11-12 hours a night, always has to have her stuffed dog and has lots of words, as we are learning with brother. Our sweet Haylee is truly a little bundle of joy and we love her so much! She is the best sister to her brother and I am enjoying there bond grow each and every day!

This last weekend we had a sweet and simple birthday party for miss Haylee. When Dylan turned one I did the HUGE party with everyone, and this time I wanted to just enjoy my family and ensure that it was special for Haylee. It was so much easier and much more relaxing. She loved playing with her cousins and all her aunties, uncles and grandma's and grandpa's.

Haylee Lynn- We love you so much and are truly a gift from god! Happy Birthday Sweet Girl...

Birthday Run With My Birthday Girl