A Thankful Heart is A Happy Heart

This month the kids and I have been talking about Thanksgiving, naturally. I had seen many mommy blogs that shared their idea of a "Thanksgiving tree" as a way to encourage their children to notice the blessings in their lives and teach them to be thankful for them. Seeing as we had made a fall tree a few weeks ago, I decided to use the trunk to make our own version of the Thanksgiving tree.

Each day the kids and I would sit down and they would each tell me something they where thankful for, and I would write them down on a leaf I had precut from construction paper. Most of the time it was one of their toys, but i tried to encourage to them to think beyond just their toys and they came up with some really sweet thoughts. John was thankful for fresh baked cookies one day, and for his daddy playing games with him on another. Audrey was thankful for Grandma's hugs, and her brother John. Tristan was thankful that his daddy reads to him, and his sister Olyvia shares with him. Those are just a few examples of the adorable thoughts they shared. After writing what they where thankful for on their leaves, we would stick the leaves to our tree. Then each day I encourage the children to look at the tree to see that they have so much to be thankful for, because a thankful heart is a happy heart.

She Made Cookies

Today we made cookies! It was the first time I let Audrey help me in the kitchen, and I regret not doing it sooner. We had so much fun! The night before I had put Audrey to bed in underwear for the 1st time. She has been wearing undies during the day since late August, but this was a first for over night. I told her if she woke up dry the next morning she and mommy would make cookies together because she was becoming such a big girl. Of course I had no doubt she would, I'm not one for setting my kids up for failure in case you where concerned.She was very serious about the task I gave her, all while trying to hide her excitement. She was very careful and attentive. Pour and mixing ever so carefully, never making a mess.

She is still a little nerves around appliances that make a lot of noise, so she got nerves when I set up my Kitchen Aid, but once i turned it on and she realized it wasn't that loud she was mesmerized. What girl doesn't love her Kitchen Aid? Then came her favorite part. She had been waiting to get her hands on the sprinkles from the moment I set all the ingredients on the counter. You know the saying " chocolate makes everything better."? I'm pretty sure when it comes to children it's sprinkles. I remember baking when I was a kid and I swear the cookies took forever to bake. I was shocked when I got older and realized it really was on average only ten to twelve minutes, it felt like an eternity back then. Which I'm pretty sure she was feeling at this point.

There's that shy smile again. My thoughts where "don't be shy, you have a right to be proud. This was your first time in the kitchen and you rocked it!" However, I'm pretty sure she would have had no clue what I was saying, so I kept it to myself and told my humble girl what a great job she did and how so very proud I was of her. And her critics, well they where impressed too!