Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 #39.5

Up:

• Mike has officially been home a whole year! He returned from Afghanistan on Sept. 27, 2011 and while he has been gone most of the time since returning from deployment, we are sure happy to have him with us.

• While Mike's schedule is always hectic, we did actually get to have dinner with him a couple of nights this past week which is always nice. Wish it could happen more often.
• Kennedy is already 11 months old. The time is seriously passing way to quickly. She has 5 teeth and loves to eat. She is happy all the time unless you she thinks you are depriving her of food. She adores her big brother and misses him terribly on the days he goes to school. We are so blessed to have our sweet baby girl!

My Fashionista!

Adorable!

• Love that Autumn is here! This is my favorite season! It means we can start making heartier food, wear jeans again, and have pumpkin everything! I love the changing of the leaves, which we don't really have here, and the crispness of the air! I've also gotten quite carried away stocking Kennedy's closet with her new fall wardrobe! The funny thing is though Mike acts slightly upset when he looks at the credit card expenditures, he loves that little girl to pieces and how cute she looks in all her outfits! I also found some absolutely adorable jack-o-lantern underwear for Jackson at Gymboree on sale that I couldn't resist!

Can't wait to see Kennedy in this!

and Jackson in these!

• Speaking of heartier food, I made my Nana's famous Acorn Squash recipe this week. Mike is not a big fan of vegetables in general especially squash, but Mom used to make Acorn Squash for us in the fall and it brings back memories. My sister actually created the recipe from my Nana's chicken scratch of a little bit of this and a heap of that. I've posted the recipe in a separate blog entry for anyone interested! I also made biscotti for the first time ever and it turned out very well - much easier than I anticipated!

Down:

• In case you didn't know September has the most birthdays of any other month of the year! This past week(ish) we've missed 4 family member's birthday: my sis-in-law, niece, mom, and bro-in-law. Every year I get more and more distraught when I think of all the life events and happy times we miss out on with our family. I so wish we could move Mike's work to Texas and reunite with everyone.

Jackson with his friends at school getting their guns up! My friend Kara also graduated from ttu and has begun brainwashing her twins too!

Getting in some playtime before bed.

Very rare that Daddy can read bedtime stories.

Kennedy is not at all interested in story time.

Kennedy taking over the neighbor's car! 

The kids playing with our neighbor Abby!

Favorite Thing:

Unfortunately this item is only available in West Texas. Anytime we made anything growing up that called for chili powder, my family would use Morton's Chili Blend. It is a much more intense flavor and makes any recipe better! I stock up when I'm at home and store it in the freezer so it will last longer. If you are ever in the area it is a must have item!