Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!!!!

it if was up to evan, our house would have been decorated for christmas weeks ago.  i managed to hold him off until after thanksgiving, but this weekend, we went christmas crazy!

watching daddy cut down the tree.  and, yes, that is gracie sporting one of e's old coats.  i realized today that we really don't have a winter appropriate coat for her...opps.

solid attempt at a group picture...this is typical.  somewhat posed and gracie running away

a decorated tree!  while bret and i strung the lights on the tree, evan and gracie sorted through and looked at every single ornament.  and, grace turned around right when we plugged everything in...loudest squeal  of delight ever followed my a dead sprint to the tree saying "OOOOOOHHHHHH".  evan and grace then hand selected each and every ornament that was placed on the tree.

wreaths on the windows!

and i finally have my christmas staircase!!!!!!!!!  i have been anxiously waiting to decorate this staircase for christmas, and my very nice husband allowed me to take a trip to purchase the garland and all the fun stuff to decorate it with.  i am obsessed.  it reminded me of all the years that i helped my mom decorate our christmas staircase.

absolutely obsessed with my christmas staircase.  i held myself back from putting the 10 other pictures i took of it.  

and, for the first time ever, we also have a fireplace to hang our stockings with care.  evan has pointed out 6,254 times that santa will be coming down the chimney and through these very glass doors.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family at the lake.  I am extremely grateful for my family.  BUT, unfortunately I took zero pictures of my whole family.  I am thankful for my high energy, hysterical son that says things like "i slept the old day away, and now it is a big new day", and I am extremely thankful that I took a picture of him wearing a princess hat.  I'm sure this will come in handy down the road.  I also managed to snag two side by side playing pictures of Gracie and her family buddy, Claire.  And, one picture of Gracie playing with a book.  Next year, I will remember to take pictures so that I can be thankful I have pictures of my family : )!

Dirt = Tons of Fun

Not long ago some of the utility lines needed to be re-routed from behind my parent's house.  The kids missed the giant machines that dug the holes and did the moving, but they weren't sad about the huge patch of dirt that they left behind.

this is her "are you going to yell at me if i eat the dirt again" face

and this is her "i'm focused and trying not to think about how yummy this dirt might taste...should i maybe just try a little bit" face

SUPER excited about the nice weather (because he could wear a tshirt) and the dirt 

samantha was also not sad that we were spending quality time outside.  on the other hand, tillie who doesn't know how to stay in the yard, was sad.

after just a few minutes of play, evan realized he had the PERFECT toy for this dirt. he immediately sprinted to the house to retrieve it.

E's Preschool Program and Feast

Evan's preschool held a Thanksgiving program and feast the Monday before Thanksgiving.  Each class sang a couple of songs, and then, they did a group song.  Evan is used to only seeing me drop him off and pick him up at school, so in the morning when I told him Grammy, Daddy and Gracie were coming to his school, he could not believe it.  He was still in shock when he saw us sitting in the audience!  After the songs, Grammy and Gracie headed home while Bret and I enjoyed a yummy vegetable soup and delicious pumpkin muffins made by the kids at the preschool.  Evan was very proud of his hard work...especially the butter that he helped churn!

Kate and Emma Visit

Kate and Emma came to visit last weekend, and Bret, the kids and I were able to meet up with them at my parents' house.  This was the first time for the kids and Bret to meet teeny weeny Emma.  Evan immediately wanted to hold her.  Grace was ok with Emma until I tried to hold her, then she was NOT A FAN.  Grace would immediately either try to climb my leg, or if I was sitting holding Emma, Grace would come up and actually try to get in between us or straight up sit on Emma.  Grace is a bit territorial.

I think the look on Emma's face is priceless.  She appears to be thinking, "are you guys serious?  he is only 3 and you are going to just leave me here with him holding me by himself???!!!!"

now she appears to not be super sure about the photographer.

Daily Activities

We haven't had a ton of activities in our house lately.  Evan goes to preschool twice a week, but that has been our only scheduled activity in quite some time!

grace has used her extra time to catch up on her reading

caught in the act!  no idea why she is reading on the tile floor in our foyer.  probably because evan and i were in the middle of a serious game of tag, and she decided to join in.  but, then, she realized she was carrying a book, and decided to sit down and read it...right where she was standing.

taking a break from our very intense game of tag.  we play tag daily...throughout the entire day because it is his favorite game.  i am also quite fond of the game because it helps make nap time and bed time a little smoother after hours of running (at full speed...no turtles play tag in this house!)

we take jumping seriously too.  grace tries SOOOO hard  but has yet to actually jump.  she gets an a+ for effort and enthusiasm though!

Cincinnati Long Weekend

For the first weekend of November, the kids, Bret and I took a mini fall vacation to Great Wolf Lodge and to visit some family and friends in Cincinnati.  The kids LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Great Wolf Lodge.  We will definitely make this at least an annual vacation because loved it so much this year and as they get bigger they will be able to do more and more!  Evan asks me almost daily if we can go to Wolf Lodge on the weekend : ).

on saturday, evan and i met up with my good friend and her two kids to go bowling.  he has never been before, but took to the game like a fish to water!  he also had a blast playing outside with the kids

i think he might have a thing for older women.  he loves playing with the girl next door that is 5, and he had a blast with olivia who is also 5!

grace had some quality time with the singing and dancing grinch.  this  girl LOVES to dance (i have to get her on video busting a move in the car because it is hysterical)

getting philbin packed up and ready to go home!  both kids fell asleep almost immediately once the car started moving and slept until we were nearly to northern indiana!

Halloween

clifford (for the 2nd year)

emily elizabeth (also for the 2nd year).  not that you can really see it, but i made this year's emily elizabeth's skirt too...out of the left over fabric from last year's emily elizabeth costume!

neither kids was all the interested in pictures...who would be when you are 3 and under and you have a giant bucket of candy in the room and there are all kinds of people milling around outside

but no matter what. clifford loves his emily elizabeth!  he would tell everyone that he was going to be clifford and grace was emily elizabeth.  then, he would follow up with, "i'm her dog!".

because the weather was TERRIBLE, grace stayed inside with me to hand out candy (if you came to our house with your only child that was and infant to get candy...yes, i was judging you as i gave it to you...i mean your child their candy).  she LOVED IT!  she had a lot of fun standing at the door and watching what the kids took from our candy bucket.  but even more than that, she loved trick or treating from the comfort of her own home.  she would sit right beside the bucket and put piece after piece in her tote.  or she put her tote on the fireplace and ran back and forth with pieces of candy.

then she got a little too excited...and climbed right in the bucket of candy.  sorry kids if you got a slightly smashed piece of candy from this house!

evan did brave the outdoors with daddy!  he went up and down a couple of streets to get a few pieces of candy

clifford on a mission!

2011's emily elizabeth

2011's clifford