Passing

Kyle's Uncle Kevin passed away a few weeks before Thanksgiving. He was a wonderful family man and person who will be dearly missed by many.

http://www.edmondsun.com/obituaries/x1937514035/Kevin-Mark-Scott

All Things Pinterest

There are an abundance of great blogs out there for just about anything. I have used/use Pinterest (if you do not have an account...get it quick!)to search for ones that suite my interests. I love cooking and finding toddler activities for Max and have discovered some real "gems" that are now my go-to. A few of my friends/family with toddlers used some of these sites to do a craft/learning activity swap. I am so very thankful for all the materials that I received...our evenings are now less scattered since I have a cabinet full of things to keep Max occupied. Below are some of the links.

http://themealplanner.blogspot.com/
LOVE HER! I have made about 10-20 recipes from here and have not been let down yet. My favorites our her Butter Chicken, Greek Style Meatballs, Sweet and Tangy Beef Stew, Sweet and Smokey Chili, and Enchiladas.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
This lady cooked in her crockpot every day for a year. She has hundreds of recipes with tips and feedback.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes
Jaime Oliver...enough said.

http://www.skinnycrockpot.com/
Low fat and organic crockpot recipes.

http://lapbooksbycarisa.homestead.com/ToolsforTots.html
Tools for Tots, free printables

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/workbox.php
Great learning activities for all ages

http://www.oopseydaisyblog.com/2011/03/mommy-school-is-back.html
This mom was a teacher and now makes great learning activities for her toddler. Free printables.

Cousins

Thanksgiving was filled with family, food, and fun of course. The Scott's thoroughly enjoyed some amazing goodies prepared by my mom and Kyle's mom. I could not have asked for a better time. We did miss seeing my sister, brother-in-law, dad, and some family from Kyle's side. Luckily we will get to catch up during Christmas!

One thing that I enjoyed the most was spending time with my niece (Caroline), nephews (Hudson and Grayson), brother (Andy), sister-in-law (Ainslee), Betsey, and Randy from Oklahoma. Kyle and I were lucky to have the kids on Saturday for three or four hours. We went to the Christmas festival in downtown McKinney with Will, Jenny, Liam, mom, and Kevin and had a blast sliding down the snow hill, eating fried foods, listening to carolers, riding the train with Frosty, and playing some carnival games. Thanks to mom and Kevin for snapping some great pictures!

Fall Pictures at the Arboretum

My mom and I snapped some pictures of Max at the Arboretum in September. I am a little late on sharing these but better late than never:). I really loved how these turned out. My favorite is the one of Kyle holding Max. You will notice that Max is holding a container of cheese in a few of the shots. The kid would not put it down...he loves his cheese! Enjoy.

Quick Update

We have had a great fall so far. There is really nothing "big" going on in the Scott household. I enjoy times like these...mostly calm and peaceful. I am proud to report that Kyle completed his first Tough Mudder with my brother-in-law (Spivey) and his friend Travis. Essentially this particular Tough Mudder included 12 miles of obstacle courses ending with some crazy electrical shock apparatus. He had a blast and is already signed up for two others! I am so impressed by Kyle's discipline and strength (Cool pictures above of the event). It is making me think about training for a half marathon in January with my sister. I have not decided...we we will see.

Max is loving life, talking up a storm, and really coming into his own. He reminds me so much of Kyle...very precise, kind, and humorous. I truly hope he grows up to be just like his dad. What a blessing to wish that for your child. I am eternally thankful that my little man has a Godly-present-earthly father in addition to amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Kyle will be OFFICIALLY finished with his Masters degree in Petroleum Engineering this Thursday! Yes, I am one proud wife. His masters degree was definitely more difficult to obtain than mine, so I am relieved for him that he is done.

I am still blessed to work two days a week as a school counselor at my home campus. I am lucky to work with wonderful people who love kids. I have been cooking more and have even started baking a little (WHOA!). I have had some bombs come out of my kitchen but some yummy stuff as well due to some great food blogs I use. Some of these blogger women are CRAZY multitaskers who must never sleep...but I am not complaining as I benefit from their posting, crafting, cooking, homeschooling, etc.

The adoption process is at a time of waiting. We are waiting for a birth family to choose us. This could happen today (yes!!!) or up to four months from now (if all goes according to plan). We continue to pray for our precious child and his or her family and caretakers. I am also praying that God continue to mold and refine us as parents. I pray that He expands our parenting abilities, patience, and hearts to care of this baby exactly the way he or she needs. I know that all of this is still far off but I know that God will use this time to do His work within our hearts and minds.

I would love for my next blog entry to be "We have been chosen!" but I am learning patience or at least trying :). For now, I am going to enjoy the wonderful weather, my boys, family, job, and friends. On a side note, Christmas music will begin playing in the Scott household in less than two weeks! I LOVE this time of year!

Max's Year Two Video

Kyle and I worked on a video chronicling Max's second year to show at his birthday party. I am not crafty so Windows Movie Maker and Shutterfly have been my favorite things this month. Enjoy!

Birthdays Galore

August is a big birthday month for my family. We love to celebrate so it was a fun time filled with cake and presents just about every weekend. No complaints here. Will (my brother), Katie (one of my best friends), and I celebrated our 30th birthday together. It was an 80's themed party at Thunderbird Roller Rink. This place has not changed a bit since I was six years old. Same skates, same carpet, same smell. It was a blast skating around dressed up in 80's gear listening to my favorite 80's music. I felt like a kid again! Speaking of kids, Max and his cousins dominated the place. They loved running around while holding hands...precious! Thanks to Kyle and Angie for planning this memorable blast from the past and to everyone that dressed up!

In addition, Max, Liam, and Henry celebrated their birthdays as well (I will post those pictures later). I cannot believe how fast time flies! I feel like I just met Henry for the first time at the hospital and he is now one. His party theme was Elmo, Liam's was Super Heroes, and Max's was Curious George. I am sure the grandparents are a little partied out:). Love these boys!

Max...Our Two Year Old

TWO YEARS OLD! What!?!? I cannot believe my sweet baby boy is two now. The time has flown by. It seems like yesterday he just started to walk. Now I have a talking, running, busy little boy who could not be more fun. So I will always remember and for your "updating" purposes, here are some fun facts about Max:

Food

Loves pasta, hummus, cheese, chicken nuggets, mac cheese/vegetable bites, all kinds of fruit, balsamic dressing with raw vegetables, yogurt, milk (especially chocolate), pbjs, sonic ice, smoothies made by Kyle, Chick Filet, mustard, pickles, cottage cheese, dried fruit

I would not call him a picky eater...but he does not eat just anything either.

Activities

Loves Little Gym and his teacher Ms. Leah, animals (especially dogs), cooking, his toy kitchen, playing outside in the toddler pool with the hose, Jump Street, swimming, playing with his cousins, going up and down stairs, mimicking sports like soccer, baseball, and hockey, reading books, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, singing songs, his grandparents

Milestones

Max can run, jump, and climb. He is talking in toddler sentences using up to 5-7 words at a time occasionally. He loves to talk for sure! He weighs 29.2 lbs and is almost 35 inches tall. He sleeps well at night and for nap time as long as he has his lovies and a dark room. He is starting to use imaginary play more and more. He is very obedient but definitely has an opinion about things.

Unique Things

He is attached to his four lovies FooFoo, Other FooFoo, Fake FooFoo, and Toodles the Turtle

He loves the Merry-Go-Round at Stonbriar Mall but will not ride the horses...only "pat pat".

He loves the petite vanilla scones from Starbucks.

He really likes small toys that he can hold like bouncy balls and small cups.

Things like puppets and talking dolls scare him.

He loves to sing "Baby Baby" by Justin Bieber and a Christian song called "Come Awake".

Most of all, Max is a sweet boy who loves to make his mom and dad smile. He has a very empathetic personality yet a great sense of humor too. I am proud to be his mother and am truly humbled that God allowed Kyle and I to be his parents.