We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

From The Thompson Family

Alaina's Visit With Santa

We saw Santa today at Birkdale Village. Alaina did a great job and sat on his lap alone for the first year since she was an infant! She told him she wanted a scooter and princess stuff. They ended their visit with a hug, it was precious. Merry Christmas!!

Christmassy Weekend

On Saturday, Harry, Alaina, and I went to the North Meck Christmas Parade and Christmas in Davidson. We had a wonderful time and really got into the Christmas spirit. 

Waiting for the parade to start. 

Being silly with daddy during the parade. 

Yay parades!

We had a blast waving at all the "community helpers" and kids in the parade. 

After the parade we headed over to Birkdale to do a little shopping. Alaina loved the reindeer. 

Alaina said her favorite part of the night was the "activity" - aka a Nativity. 

She loved the dancing angel and feeding the camel. 

This was the baby camel at just 8 months old. The older camel (2 humps) was 8 years old and kept further inside the pen. 

Giving Thanks

This past week we have had a full house full of family and wonderful food. My parents came to town to celebrate Thanksgiving on Monday evening. Clay, Karen, Weston, and Violet joined our crowd on Wednesday night. Finally, Harry's mom, dad, and sister (Laura) came over on Thanksgiving to celebrate the day and spend some time with everyone. It was a great week and we all had a great time. Here are some pictures from this weekend. 

Alaina, Mom, and Violet

The three cousins playing together. 

More playing... this time with Lucy!

Silly Girls

The kid table (minus me)

The grown-up table

 

Cousin Time

We traveled to Philadelphia and Washington, DC this past weekend so Harry could run the Philadelphia Half Marathon. We spent Friday and Sunday night with my brother and his family and Saturday night with my sister-in-law, Karen's, sister and family.

Weston, Violet, and Alaina before heading to Philly.

Alaina playing at Mike, Megan, and Mikey's house.

Alaina, Weston, and Mikey having a blast in Philly.

The fun continues, at least for Mikey and Alaina. Weston may not be having that much fun in this picture.

Alaina is in love with her cousin, Violet. The highlight of her weekend was holding Violet.

Harry's Half Marathon

  This past weekend Harry ran the Philadelphia Half Marathon with the Insulindependence team. We went to a diabetes conference (hosted by Insulindependence) on Saturday and Harry ran his half marathon on Sunday.

Alaina and I drove downtown to Philly to see Harry run. Here he is about mile 6.5 about to give Alaina a hug.  

 Harry finished the race in 2 hours and 3 minutes... a new personal best!

 Harry and Alaina in front of the museum of art (featured in the Rocky movies).

 Harry, Alaina, and some friends from Insulindependene (Amrie and Scott).

 

The long walk back to the car.

Weekend Make-Over

This weekend Harry and I decided to finally paint our bathroom and give it a slight make-over. I have had paint samples rolled on the walls for months, so it was long overdue. 

We painted the bathroom a grayish green. It is very calming. 

We also replaced the builder grade giant mirror over our sinks with 2 gray mirrors. I think it looks SO much better. 

Finally we hung a much needed medicine cabinet. We will have that filled in no time! 

So, for about $130 we have a bathroom make-over!! We still need to replace the lights above the mirrors, so we will keep our eyes peeled for some good deals at Lowes. On Thursday we will have a new washer and dryer delivered. Stay tuned for all that excitement! 

Halloween 2013

This year our little Alaina chose to be a butterfly for Halloween... a blue butterfly to be exact. She had a great time trick-or-treating on our street. She was even brave enough to stay out in the dark (she has recently become very afraid of the dark; she thinks a fox will get her). 

Before trick-or-treating Alaina wore her cool Minnie Mouse sunglasses and princess high-heal shoes. She didn't wear them when we were out for the night. 

Family Photo

Harry and our little butterfly.

Me and my little girl.

Bubbles and Pumpkins

Yesterday was a beautiful October day. Alaina and I spent some time outside playing with bubbles. 

Action Shot!!! She was popping bubbles.

A couple of great poses. 

Today, after school, Harry and Alaina carved her pumpkin. She was thrilled that she got to sit on the kitchen table for awhile.

Hard at work carving away.

This was a first for us... Harry used a drill to "carve" the eyes.

Alaina's Pumpkin! We all love the finished product!

Halloween Preview

Alaina wanted to be a blue butterfly for Halloween this year. Her costume came last week and needed some alterations. I whipped out my sewing machine last night and customized it for our little bug. 

She looks awesome and can't wait for Halloween and trick or treating. 

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Today, Alaina, Harry, and I met Beth, Zack (Alaina's best friend), and Pete at the pumpkin patch at Patterson Farm. This is by far the best pumpkin patch we have been to. There was so much to see and do. We had a great time and ended up with 2 pumpkins for our front porch. 

(Warning... there are A LOT of pictures coming up.)

Alaina and Zack ready for the day!

The horse bouncers!

Alaina LOVED the pony ride!

 Zack had a great time, too!

We can't believe how much these two look alike! 

The family shot.

Alaina: "Hi, goat!"

There was a hay maze for the kids. Zack made his way through the maze in no time at all. Alaina had to work a little harder to get through. Then, it just became a game of chase. (Zack is in the left corner chasing Alaina out of the maze.)

Alaina really enjoyed the trike/bike path.

 She also enjoyed the horse swings.

She was a little unsure of the spider web. She had trouble moving around in it. 

She and Zack also enjoyed the ducky races at the water pumps. 

 

Zack and Alaina rode the cow train alone. Zack had a blast. Alaina was unsure of the ride and started crying once she realized that Harry and I weren't going. I was able to run along side it for awhile (until it got to the pumpkin patch) and she stopped crying. I'm not sure she really ever enjoyed the ride. It's nice that she had her buddy, Zack, to hold her hand. 

We finished the day with a hay ride and a visit to the pumpkin patch. We left with a 12 pound pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.