Thankful November

We know we should be thankful all the time, and we are, but in November it is nice to focus on it each day. Before we put the kids to bed each night, we've been writing on slips of paper what we are each thankful for and then putting them in a glass vase. We'll pull them all out on Thanksgiving evening and read them all. It's been great for Erick and I to think of something each day and for the kids. I asked them what they are thankful for that day or what made them happy. It's interesting to hear what they have to say.  So far it's ranged from "our pet" to "the Earth because it's a good place to live". :) Anyways, hopefully we will continue this tradition because I love it!
You may have seen these pictures on Facebook, but not too long ago Brecken decided not to go to bed and instead thought it would keep him entertained to get into my make-up and nail polish. It was lovely, just lovely. He called me upstairs, saying he needed his back scratched. When I got up there, he was on the floor of his bedroom with a blanket covering his legs. He looked up, uncovered himself and said, "Uh oh." Uh oh, indeed. I just looked at him, then told him not to move. I ran downstairs, got my camera and told Erick to follow me. Here is what we found:

The kids and I spent some time at the park the other day. It was a beautiful day...a must to be outside.
This is also the day the Brecken proceeded to tell me everything Daddy knows or does that I do not. Apparently I make grilled cheese sandwiches full of cheese (gasp!) and Erick does not. Brecken does not like them full of cheese. B also told me that Daddy knows where all of the parks are. I said, "Yes, Daddy just knows everything, doesn't he?" "Ya, he knows how to go to parks," said Brecken. Okay, then.

A couple of funnies:
The other day, Ava brought home a little book she had made at school about Germany. After looking through it together, I said, "Well you know, you're last name is German."
"It is???"
"Yes, Daddy's ancestors are from Germany."
"And you just didn't tell me???" She was shocked. I was confused. I didn't even think she would really care. "Well, I'm telling you know," I told her."Your last name is German."
"So I'm Ava Dawn von Merveldt German???"
What? Oh my. I had to explain to her that her last name was not literally "German"...even though that's pretty much what I had just said to her in the first place. It was a little hard to explain to a six year old that, no, I wasn't keeping her last name a secret from her for all these years, it wasn't actually German. Then I just quit and told her to eat her pizza.

Brecken came into the kitchen and said, "Mommy, can I have some water? My penis is getting bigger."
Huh? Erick and I just looked at each other and laughed. Were these two separate thoughts or did he think he penis was getting bigger from drinking water? Or did he think it was too big so he needed to drink some water to make it smaller. No idea. Still funny.

The leaves are now falling like crazy around here! Love it!