Christmas in MN

On our way out of town we stopped for an early "breakfast with santa" at a great local restaurant!

Ian is still sort of scared by this guy. He came & joined us at our table for a while so that helped...
Kind of a skinny santa don't you think? Ian cracked a cautious smile & asked for a "flexin' car" - none of us have any idea what he means?!?

Here's Audrey laying claim to 2 toys... big surprise only 1 belongs to her (her new twin, Bitty Baby!)

Ian with the drop-jaw, "Oh... my... gosh! A remote control Lightning McQueen!!!"

Thanks for the fun time Jody, Scott, Hannah, Andrew, Carol & Arlene! We had a great trip & enjoyed the yummy food, game night, watching Hannah score the winning shot at her basketball game, playing with Gizmo and generally just hanging out. See you soon!

First Snow

Ian, our summer baby, loves the snow.

Audrey, our winter baby, hates it!

Here's our house at 4:30pm tonight ~ dark already with a very snowy forecast for tomorrow! Ian can't wait!! Since my parents never put lights on our house when I was growing up - despite my begging - I vowed to put lights on our house every year. Thankfully Brian agrees!

First order of business: snow angels
Second: making tracks in the snow, "This is cool mom!"

As you can see, Audrey had a blast...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hosted Brian's family this year & it was a lot of fun, a lot of good food... and a lot of sleep deprivation. Our little Audrey got quite sick right over Thankgiving & landed in the ER after our feast. (She's okay now - just a high fever from infection)

That didn't stop her from looking pretty for some photos...

The cousins ~ growing up fast!

We hardly saw Ian the entire weekend - Hannah & Andrew did such an awesome job entertaining him!

Audrey discovering dogs aren't so bad...

"the Grandma's" stayed with us - the last time we have house guests before our basement is finished!

How cute is this!? Matching cousins

Scott taking over the turkey duties (thank you!)

Well, like I said, I had very little sleep & couldn't really put Audrey down while we had company. However, I can't thank all of you enough for helping to make this a great Thanksgiving! We had such amazing help with all the food, cleaning, kids and staying sane. We have so much to be thankful for and especially being able to share the holiday with loved ones. Thank you all for coming & preparing food... and to the REST OF YOU... we missed your presence at the table but send hugs across the miles.

Mommy-Son date

What could make 2 little boys smile ear to ear...

and warrant the consumption of blue & red sugar flavored ice??
Sesame Street Live!Ian & I joined our friends Jack & Alicia for some mommy-son bonding time. It was a great time but - as our first live theater experience - it was exhausting! The first 15 min. brought a tear to my eye watching Ian glow in disbelief that he was seeing his favorite Sesame Street characters in person... he sat so well, sang along & even busted a few dance moves. However, the following 45 min. were a bit brutal as a very floppy Ian couldn't sit in his seat anymore. He hit me with endless questions, "Why is that light on? Why is big bird doing that? Why won't Elmo give me a hug? I want a hug!!! I want another snack! I have to go potty (for the 10th time!)" It was priceless :)

Couldn't Resist...

Once again we dragged the kids to a portrait studio... and once again we were disappointed. I have more fun setting up a curtain at home (below) & capturing those sweet faces in natural light. We picked some cute ones for our Christmas card but this one didn't make the cut.Audrey's signature "serious" look with those blue eyes that melt our hearts :)

Audrey almost 10 mos!

Imitating a sneeze!

I just love this photo of our girl. She was happily watching her brother play outside on a chilly day and I couldn't resist...

Boo!

When Ian decided on his "Woody" costume 3 mos. ago none of us had any idea that Toy Story 3 was coming soon. He was simply inspired from a Woody birthday gift from Uncle Ryan & Aunt Karen... who had to buy it in CA because (at the time) you couldn't find Toy Story toys to save your life. The timing was great because now everywhere we go he sees Buzz & Woody!

So, technically we had Woody & "Buzz"...

His favorite trick-or-treat spot: his own house (?)

AND Guess who can pull up to stand & is starting to cruise furniture?!

Of course she learned to do this on a day mommy put her in super long jeans :)

Kitchen Facelift

I finally tackled the painting & tiling in our kitchen

BEFORE

AFTER

(more ideas for future, but for now it's a bit warmer!)

Halloween Road Trip to KC

We just got back from our 22 hour road trip! We went to visit Aunt Colleen, Uncle Greg & cousin Greyson. The kids did so great in the car ~ completely entertained and happy 95% of the time. They even gave us a bonus by sleeping like champs during the whole trip.

Here we are at a train themed restaurant. Ian is still requesting to go back (like every 5 minutes).

Greyson is 1 year younger and is generally obsessed with the same stuff Ian likes: trains, cars & Disney movies...
Buzz & Woody!

monkey see, monkey do

This was the best shot I could get & you can tell how FAST they were driving this thing!!

Ahhh... bathtime after a long day of play

Thanks guys! We all had a blast!

Pumpkin Patch - Door County

It was so cold in Door County (high 30's) and we actually had to stop on our way out of town to get Ian a winter coat & Audrey's boots & mittens.

Ian got to jump around in one of these inflatables for the 1st time in his life! He felt bad his little sister couldn't join him so he kept coming over to touch her...

...freezing but having fun!

Pretending to "take" candy out of the witch's bag.

(note the devious facial expression)

A nice woman offered to take a picture so we could prove we were ALL here together... I guess when you have little ones just getting everyone in the photo is what's important. Coordiated "poses" will have to come later in our family!

Yay - What a great day in Egg Harbor - Pumpkins, kettle corn, games and food!

On the Move - Crawling!

As of noon today Audrey has stopped "army" crawling & started the real deal! She is FAST! She also loves to wave a lot - if she so much as hears the word "hi" she starts waving. It's ardorable but I couldn't capture it on film before the memory ran out. Oh well - here she is in action.

Babysitting

Our wonderful neighbors asked if I'd consider

babysitting their little ones.

We decided to try it out... it's only been 2 days, with some very definite up's & down's.

Audrey's been very interested in this new house guest

(4 mos. younger but just as tall as her)!

...although she's resorted to a daily Diet Coke due to an added sense of fatigue - oh wait - that's me...

ha ha ha
"Hands off my pop kid!"
Ian insisted on wearing his Packer attire as well so they could match.
So far these two do not get along well... hopefully that will change.