Family, Food and Football

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful holiday weekend full of family, food and football. On Thanksgiving Day, we spent time with the Hardys in Manhattan and the Manginos in Lawrence. 

On Friday, we relaxed most of the day. Samantha did some light Black Friday shopping. Friday night, we went on Massachusetts Street (Mass Street as its known to those of us in Lawrence), where we watched Santa Claus appear on Weaver's Department Store rooftop and climb down the fire truck latter to the crowd of people waiting for him. He then posed for pictures with children and families. Interesting note: Gabriella calls Santa "Bobby." We aren't sure how this "nickname" came about, but she's pretty consistent with it. Whenever she sees anything Santa Claus-like she calls out, "Bobby!" 

Saturday KU played MU in the annual Border Showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Jayhawks beat the Tigers, 40-37. It was a thrilling game and an instant classic. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Here are some snapshots of our long holiday weekend. Enjoy!

Gabriella, David and Samantha with Santa (aka "Bobby") after his grand entrance on Mass Street.

Nonna pointing out Santa on Weaver's rooftop.

Snug as a bug in a rug. It was a chilly night!

Gabriella helping David put up the Christmas lights. (above)

Gabriella getting cozy on the couch Thanksgiving morning. (below)

Christmas Photos

This week Gabriella will turn 21 months. She is talking more and more each day. She will try to repeat anything you say to her, and she sometimes talks in phrases and sentences. It's really fun to have a conversation with her. 

This weekend we had our Christmas pictures taken. Gabriella did fairly well - it's hard for her to sit still for more than 15 seconds. Below are a few photos from our session. I guess this means that the holiday season is upon us!

Happy Thanksgiving! As Gabriella would say, "dobble, dobble!" ("gobble, gobble!")

Halloween weekend

What a fun weekend! On Friday (Halloween), Gabriella loved trick-or-treating! We started at Nonna and G-Pa's house with dinner then Gabriella dressed in her costume - a flower fairy.  Here are some photos of Gabriella getting ready for the big night.

We started the evening visiting G-Pa at the KU Football Offices. G-Pa had a special gift for Gabriella - a My Little Pony toy. She loves horses so it was a hit!

Running down the hallways at the KU Football Office.

Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. After a few stops, Gabriella caught onto the whole trick-or-treating thing. She loved waiting for people to open their door and then selecting a piece of candy.

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Her bucket at the end of the night. She wouldn't let us carry it for her even though it was pretty heavy. She wanted to be a "big girl" and carry it back to our house.

Enjoying her candy once we got home. (Notice she is still carrying her bucket.)

On Saturday, after KU beat KSU, Gabriella found a ladybug in our house. A sign of good luck!

Gabriella at her swim lesson on Sunday. She is becoming our little fish - she absolutely loves the water.