The best new thing at our house – spirograph!
(Wade and I both fondly remember them from childhood too.)
Kaitlyn has discovered stickers – which her brothers love to leave out all over the house. (She will also steal them off of papers and boxes.) One of her favorite place to put them is on Madison – who patiently sits and waits for the decorating to end. The funny part is I don’t always realize this is happening and will go to pet Madison after everyone is in bed and find the random sticker in her fur…
For this particular picture, I watched Kaitlyn peel every single sticker Alex had used to decorate an Amazon box (about twenty) and put them on Madison while I finished the last few pages in my book. Thankfully stickers that have been previously used fall off of Madison in due time.
Notice anything? Look closely (at her hands).
Kaitlyn is wearing mittens and not screaming!!
I’ll admit there were tears initially, but when she realized she couldn’t get them off she quickly forgot about them and then didn’t get unhappy because her hands were cold.
Major thanks to these awesome mittens – not only do they keep snow out but prove impossible for Kaitlyn to get off herself.
This year Granny altered one of Emily’s old Christmas dresses for Kailtyn and then made Kaitlyn’s doll a dress to match. How did we get so lucky?!?
We had a little theme going today.
Someone tried really hard to tickle our toes and make taking the next picture almost impossible.
Big cousin movie.
Teague always wants a hug before Kaitlyn takes her nap.
Tree decorator (and hopefully not a destroyer).
We did a lot of lounging, playing, tree decorating, and even snuck in a movie. What a wonderful holiday it’s been.
Thanksgiving is all about family and turkey and why not having an extra helping of both? We just moved the party to my Dad’s house for the day and had a big meal there. The cousins enjoyed the extra time together and the chance to run wild in a different house!
Harper thought it was pretty cool that Alex could read. Alex grew tired of showing off pretty quick.
General chaos.
Waiting patiently for her dinner – scrambled eggs.
It’s always a little crazy at Gram’s house on Thanksgiving morning. There’s a parade on TV, cooking in the kitchen, and this year there were new toys for the kids (some of Gram’s friends were cleaning out before Christmas). Kaitlyn was convinced the huge space rover was a ride-on toy for her. The boys were willing to let her ride for awhile and just played around her.
Then Melissa and her crew showed up and the real fun began.
Then we had the Upshaws come by for a visit. If Melissa’s kids hadn’t been so near bedtime it would have been the first time all the toad frogs and elephtans (and their kids) and been together in years and years. Maybe next time.
Cousins on Thanksgiving.
When I brought the kids to Paducah over the summer, Gram surprised the boys with gift cards Toys R Us. Sometime between going to bed and coming out of their room the next morning, Teague managed to loose his (in the bedroom/playroom). The boys, Gram, and I spent quite a bit of time searching for the card, but we never found it. Alex went ahead and spent his card. Teague wasn’t too upset and never mentioned it again. We’ve since made three trips to Gram’s house and never found the card. We got in to Gram’s tonight and Gram was putting the boys to bed. Suddenly Teague comes running down the stairs so excited. He had found the missing gift card – in a toy that obviously doesn’t get played with very often.
Gram is always ready to read a book.
It turns out glasses wearers have their own unique issues when napping in the car.
This probably would have happened much more smoothly and sooner if we had realized she emptied her entire bottle of water into her carseat instead of drinking it.
Several times I have caught Kaitlyn walking around with my purse. I was cleaning up the house and had two purses on the stairs to go up to my room. I caught her trying to carry both of them around the house.
It suddenly occurred to me we were going out of town tomorrow and nobody had had a shower in days…
Teamwork.
The boys (and our neighbors) couldn’t wait to do some sledding after school. We sledded till it was too dark to see and then came inside for some hot chocolate. (On a side note, some day I vow I will have a mud room.)
Morning bus stop.
So far I have Kaitlyn wearing a hat and a scarf. Occasionally boots go on without an issue. Mittens are still a huge fight.
Kaitlyn and I were up quite early and the backyard was gorgeous!
Sledding down the front yard might even be better than yesterday down the driveway.
Snow days are perfect for neighbor play dates.
Loving her baby.
My first thought when we knew we were moving back north was – SNOW. I love snow. Last night’s snowfall didn’t disappoint. We got almost a foot and perfect snow for sledding! Thankfully it was a weekend so Wade was home to enjoy the day with us.
Before anyone was allowed to play in the snow I demanded showers and a family picture – hopefully for Christmas cards. (Funny story – Alex’s glasses were super glued together just for this picture. We put them on for the twenty seconds we took pictures and they fell apart as he was taking them off.)
We have once again picked a house with a wonderful driveway for sledding. Wade essentially built a luge and the kids loved it! (Mom and Dad did too!)
Teague was much more interested in shoveling than sledding.
The happiest picture of Kaitlyn in the snow – taken in the first 20 seconds.
Amber and I arranged a playdate for Grant and Teague halfway between Milwaukee and Barrington – in Kenosha. From searching the internet, Kenosha has lots of wonderful outdoor activities, but limited indoor entertainment. We finally decided to see how everyone did with bowling.
Some days you just don’t feel like a picture.
(Or that’s how 2/3 feel.)
Alex and I have started reading the chapter book “How To Train Your Dragon.” He tries to squeeze in reading whenever possible – even the few minutes between breakfast and getting dressed.
(Teague loves to listen too!)
Sometimes that bow just doesn’t do it’s job.
The boys had a rough morning (although this picture was taken before bedtime).
Alex broke his glasses – two days before new lenses were due to be installed. The worst news is these frames have been discontinued.
Teague woke up with a coldsore and his upper lip extremely swollen.
She wanted to wear Alex’s coat, and why not?
Kaitlyn and Teague have the sweetest relationship. He has been requesting a hug every time she takes a nap or goes to bed for months and months. We have noticed lately that if he doesn’t ask for one she will turn and run back to make sure he gets his goodnight hug.
These two have a hard time focusing on getting dressed in the mornings. I hear a lot of giggles and yelling of “Goochy Wear” (No idea…)
Today I found them in the hallway sliding under each other’s legs instead of putting on clothes.
Girl on a mission.
Obviously the “in” new craft this year was Disguising The Turkey. Both my kids had to do this at different schools. It was a great activity and fun to see where there imagination led them. Teague was a little stuck but finally landed on Ninja Turtles. We worked with what we had (and a traveling Dad who is normally our creative family member). Thankfully this was sent home as a family project. I did the cloth strips, Alex colored the shell, and Teague did the coloring and main cutting.
Chaos – the good kind.
We updated Teague’s market sign for the first time in almost a year.
Post nap.
Kaitlyn still has problems with sitting in her high chair. When we aren’t all sitting at the table or everyone else is done, I often find myself putting her food on the footrest and letting her eat from there. It gets it enough off the floor for Madison to know it’s not hers and let’s Kaitlyn be independent. Problem solved.
We had an awesome warm fall day and our neighbors ended it with s’mores.
Today’s outside adventures included “Power Rangers.”