Happy Thanksgiving!

There are so many things to be thankful for this year. At the top of our list, are our amazing family, fabulous friends, good health and happiness. We are overjoyed to be adding another addition to the Buzzard Bunch in less than 2 months! Hard to believe next year there will be the pitter-patter of two sets of feet running around the house! Until then, we are enjoying every last moment with our sweet Kenzie.

This Thanksgiving, we headed to my parents house. Mom and Dad had some light appetizers waiting upon our arrival. We enjoyed each others company, laughed, cooked, and stuffed ourselves with all our holiday favorites! Somehow at the end of the night, we all managed to save room for a piece of yummy pumpkin pie! Mackenzie had a blast running around with Aunt Emily's dog Liam, playing chase with Grandpa and hanging out in the toy room with Nana. She was definitely NOT thankful when it was time to pack up and head home. But, Daddy has a BIG night ahead of him as he gears up for the Black Friday Sales! One of my favorite pictures from the night is the one of Jeremy sifting through the ads, and making his game plan! He is such a kid at heart and loves a good bargain...I myself love my comfy bed! :)

We are looking forward to a Buzzard family get-together on Saturday (where I will get to meet and hold my new nephew, Owen, for the very first time!:)

Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving celebration!



Our last Thanksgiving as a family of 3!


YUMMY. . .

YUMMY. . .

IN MY TUMMY!

Jeremy and Emily had a bit of a food fight at the table this year...can't take my man anywhere! :)

Mmmmm....turkey!

Me and my little sis, Emily

Me and Dad

Mom and 2 of her girls

Kenzie and her prisoner, Grandpa (notice she tied his hands with a scarf Nana knitted her:)


My professional shopper...so very serious!

The Newest Member of the Buzzard Family

Owen Robert Buzzard

Owen's first pair of Shoes from Buzzard Family Shoes!


I am excited to announce the arrival of my new nephew, Owen Robert Buzzard!! He was born Monday, November 23 at 7:50 a.m. He was 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches long. He is absolutely perfect in every way. Kate is recovering nicely and excited to return home today. We could not be more thankful for his good health and for the Doctor's and Nurse's who took such wonderful care of two of our favorite people! This is the first grandson on the Buzzard side and we are all over the moon! Sweet Owen, I cannot wait to get my hands on YOU! Sending you lots of love, hugs, and kisses! Welcome to the family buddy!

Crawford Thanksgiving

Three years ago a fun, family tradition began. The Crawford's (my MIL's side of the family) started an early Thanksgiving tradition. Since holidays are typically crazy and everyone splits their time each year with one side of the family or the other. . . a tradition began to celebrate a few weeks before so that EVERYONE could attend. The best part is that it's at a restaurant so no one has to clean, cook or host! It is always good to see family that we rarely get a chance to see. This year, there were more new family members in attendance and our biggest gathering yet! Somehow we always pick up right where we left off and leave looking forward to next year's reunion. We are so thankful and blessed for our immediate and extended family, and hope this tradition continues for years to come!

Our Journey to find the H1N1 vaccine

Years from now, I am sure I will forget all about the pandemic that is now occurring with H1N1 (aka Swine Flu). I will forget how controversial it was to vaccinate your child and the difficult decision it was to outweigh the possible risks with the reality of the flu hospitalizing those whose immune systems couldn't fight it off. Since I myself am high risk because I'm pregnant, I was strongly urged to get the vaccine. Since I am having a Winter baby, I decided that in an effort to shield him or her from this possibly deadly flu, that Mackenzie would also need to be vaccinated to lower our chances of passing it around the family. (At this time, the vaccine is not available to the public at large, but rather to target groups including pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.) I just hope I made the right decision. In the end, sometimes you have to trust the advice of medical professionals and leave it in God's hands. Below is our journey.


Taking our place in line. . .



All bundled up and trying to stay warm. . .



Me and Laura feeling brave and a little nervous with our rambunctious 3 year olds. . .



Goofin' off in line with Joshua, they have NO idea what's coming. . .



Smiling in line with Mommy (this is where I start preparing her for the "pinch" she will feel in her arm). . .



Next in line. . .



I DID NOT photograph Mackenzie getting her vaccine (although I thought about it:). She did however do GREAT! She yelped in pain and cried for maybe 5 seconds and then said "I was really brave, huh?" After the promise of vanilla ice cream, she was as good as new!

Passed out from a long day. . .



Now let's just hope that she doesn't get the flu b/f the 2 weeks it takes for her antibody levels to reach protective levels. Next up. . . the booster shot (21-28 days from now). Let's hope it becomes available at our Pediatrician's office and we are not standing outside in the cold yet again! Although, I have to say, it was nice to have a good friend beside me during this scary process. Thanks Laura for inviting us to attend this clinic with you and providing us with good company!

A Special Day with Daddy

Daddy took the day off work today, to share a special day with us. The weather was unseasonably warm again today, so we decided to head to the zoo. We enjoyed a fun day observing animals and spending quality time together. We loved having Daddy with us on a day that he is normally working. Daddy made Mackenzie's day extra special with countless piggy back rides, hide and seek throughout the zoo, a memorable ride on the merry-go-round, her own kiddie hot cocoa and her pick of any stuffed animal at the gift shop. Zoo days with Mommy will never quite measure up! Thanks Daddy for sharing your day with us and always making things so much fun! We love you!

Little Miss Independent

Today, my 3 year old reached new levels of independence. While her "nesting" mother decided to pull out every item out of our pantry to organize, she decided I was making entirely too much noise and retired to the basement for some quiet play. She was down there for over an HOUR! Normally, she would come up and down the steps to make sure I was still there, but not today. She was just fine playing down there all by herself. . .in the peace and quiet!

Then, tonight, as we were eating dinner together as a family she said "can I eat downstairs, please?" I said, "No, we need to eat at the table so we don't make a mess downstairs." And her reply "Maybe I can eat at my letters table downstairs and eat my food all gone."

I mean, how can you argue with that logic??? So, little did I know this morning when I barely got ready for the day that I would be having a nice, romantic dinner date night with my hubby! Here is a picture of her, eating her meatloaf, potatoes and salad all by herself, in the basement.

And yes, that's right, she is not wearing any pants. Oh, and just so you know, as I was trying to capture the moment with my camera, she put her hand up in annoyance and said "enough, Mom." Are we 3 or 13, I mean really!?