Abigail's birthday, fun with cousins, etc.

All wrapped up & cosy - just what you need with near freezing temperatures like we have right now. Of course, it's nearly December, so you'd expect it to be cold!

Early in November we had a day trip to Aberdeen to see Leah and her family. We did it in one day, though got back home at midnight. It was worth it, as they're only here until the end of February, so want to spend as much time with them as possible. My children are very pleased to have cousins to play with!

Speaking of cousins, here's Preston and Elijah! Preston is *exactly* 4 months older than Elijah.

Then the week after we went to Aberdeen, it was Abigail's 7th birthday! It's hard to believe I've already got a 7 year old - though at the same time, seems like more years have passed, since I'm already the mother of 5! :-) It seems like before I know it', she'll be a teenager!   Her birthday was on a Monday, so on Saturday she had a pre-birthday tea party with her best friend, Rebekah.

I think they really enjoyed the tea party!

They dressed up for it too! :-)

Excited about her presents!

Deborah got a doll - she *loved* the pretty dress (I do too!). I got a barbie doll from a charity shop for 75p, then bought a lovely dress from an eBay seller in China for £1.50! A bargain present, which made the girls very happy - and the dresses were a lot nicer/more decent than what you often find dolls in.

She loves Hello Kitty!

Benjamin and his Octonauts cushion!

Abigail and her cake. I was soooo relieved that she was happy with it, as it turned out to be one of the worst cake I've done. But she seemed genuinely happy and told me it was lovely.

Playing with toys - and smiling, as always.

A very tired looking Deborah. :-( She's not having naps anymore and some days finds it rather hard to get through the day, even when she gets to go to bed at 7:30pm!

Yep, smiling again!

Trying to crawl, but....

The harder he tries to get the toys, the further he slides away. Yeah, laminate floors aren't very easy for learning to crawl.

Last week we had Leah and her 3 children come for Thanksgiving. We had a really nice time with them, even though it was only 2 nights they were here. They slept over in Edderton in our holiday house, so had plenty of space/beds for sleeping, and then spent the days with us. It was very handy having extra space like that! lol

Abigail and Shona

Elijah is very pleased with his new high chair! It's great for sitting in the kitchen and watching his mama cook dinner.

And finally he was given a piece of his own food - banana! Yum-yum! He was very excited about it and seemed to like the taste too (he is *not* keen on carrots & peas, shudders and nearly gags - hope he's not going to boycot veggies like Benjamin & Deborah, tho both like them as babies, just not when older).

See! I can hold my own food! :-)

and it's lovely - esp to squeeze in my hands! lol

Our extension is coming along nicely! This was taken last Saturday, when the roof was put on. The windows & door were delivered yesterday and 2 of the windows installed today (there are 4). It's quite fun watching it progress.