Sunday, December 11, 2011

Family Christmas Party





Abby refused to go near Santa this year at the family Christmas party with Brad's office. We have a cute shot of Alex and Santa, but Abby is nowhere to be found! Abby did get into the face painting and enjoyed having a snowman on her cheek for the remainder of the day. I am pretty sure she is the first of our kids to want her face painted! The dessert table may have been the biggest hit of all :)

Friday, December 9, 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Gingerbread Houses



Now that the local bakery has raised their rate to $24.50 per gingerbread house (yikes!), and I needed two this year, we opted to decorate Wilton pre-baked houses with friends. The houses went together well and while we had a little trouble with our second batch of decorating icing, it didn't slow the kids down any. Yes, we have already consumed all of the candy and are working on the gingerbread. These things don't last long in our house.

Christmas Shopping





On Saturday we did a little Christmas shopping with our two favorite little helpers! Yes, she dressed herself. Abby's a big fan of shopping and running errands in general. Wherever we are going, she wants to tag along. Alex would much rather stay home in his PJs all day on the weekends, playing games and relaxing. Abby, however, overheard Brad say he needed a haircut and she had her rain boots on before he could tell her she should probably stay home. Needless to say, she sat patiently in a chair at Great Clips, eating a lollipop, while Brad got his trim.

Deck the Halls...



In her defense, she was on her way to swim class!

Friends Forever?



Cassie and Scooter fight like cats and, well, cats. For some reason we found them both huddled up on the guest bed one night. This is famously the coldest room in the house so I'm not even sure why they'd want to sleep in there, but it was cute.

Portillo's

In between appointments last week, I took Abby to Portillos for lunch. The man working there thought she needed a paper hat, and she agreed!

Thanksgiving




We spent Thanksgiving in Cincinnati again this year visiting family, shopping, going to see the Muppets movie, exploring both the Children's Museum, and Totters Otterville. We celebrated Aunt Nicci's birthday, played outside, set up TVs and Christmas trees, ate lots of great food, bought presents and washed lots of clothes. We had a great time and were exhausted when we got home. Good thing we are still "young"! Can't wait to go back at Christmas!

Photo Shoot



Once the tree was up, it was time to get a good sibling shot for the family Christmas card. Plenty of outtakes, like this one and only a few where they were both looking at the camera at once.

Swim Lessons



Abby and Jaydon (our neighbor) have been taking swim lessons together on Friday mornings with a college student instructor at our gym. They enjoy spending the time together and playing in the pool. I think they may even be learning a few things too!

Bobcat Badge





At the last Pack Night for Cub Scouts, Alex was presented with his Bobcat badge. He earned this badge by learning the Cub Scout Promise, the Law of the Pack, what Webelos means, the Cub Scout sign, the handshake, the motto, and the salute. We are very proud of him. He wears the badge upside down until he completes a good deed and we flip it around. They also had each scout throw whipped cream pies at the leaders for every $100 in popcorn sales they made. This was quite a sight, and quite a mess! I have a bit of a badge backlog going on over here and need to make affixing these to his uniform a priority.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Happy Birthday!


Last Saturday was Suzanne's 31st birthday. We had a fun day of parties and a grown-up date night dinner. Life is good!

Everyone's Happy!



Brad is done traveling for a while and everyone is happy about that!

Cincinnati Bound


We are spending Thanksgiving in Cincinnati. Here are the kiddos enjoying the 5-6 hr ride down from Chicago. Alex was playing a little "Cat Paint" app on the phone while Abby napped.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Potty Trained!



Much to the delight of her parents and doctors, Abby is potty trained. Hallelujah!! She's been wearing underwear, telling her teachers when she has to go, and last night slept in underwear! Training her was MUCH easier than training Alex, I think because she didn't like being dirty and was so prone to diaper rash. This will make it a lot easier to monitor her urine for infection as she was born with VUR. Hopefully she continues to make positive progress and does not regress! What's funny is she went from wanting to use a potty chair (we had 2), to wanting to use a potty seat that fit over the toilet (we had just bought 2), to wanting to just climb on the toilet herself in a matter of weeks. So, if anyone needs a barely used froggy potty chair, princess potty chair, or Diego/Elmo potty seats, let me know!

Baby Talk






Alex was smitten by Baby Michael this past weekend when we went to visit Karen and Chris. He played toys with him, sang to him, and entertained him as we all visited and ate lunch. Abby was interested in Michael and certainly gave him some love too, but Alex was definitely his buddy during this visit. Michael is the best little baby and I really don't think we heard him make one peep the whole time we were there!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Police Station Tour







Last Thursday, Alex's Cub Scout den took a tour of our local police station. One of the dads is an officer and gave the kids a very thorough tour that was informative for the parents as well! I will say, I always wondered who answers the phones when you dial 911 and who sets off the tornado sirens when the need arises.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Painting Fool



This morning my friend Missy and I took Abby and her friend Kaitlyn to paint pottery at the Joliet Pottery Lounge. There was plenty to choose from and both girls enjoyed making their creations and eating snacks. I can't wait to see how it turns out next week. Abby definitely did not understand why we couldn't take her piece home with us today.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Umbrellas!

Kids really wanted to use their new umbrellas and while I really wanted to drive to the bus stop, I humored them just this once :)

Monday, November 7, 2011

Towing Service

She set this up on her own...

Fall Back

Adding an extra hour of play to their day has them wiped out!

Dress Up!

Abby has embraced "dressing up" in costumes and fancy dresses. She has a pair of dressy heels too so when she puts the whole outfit together with her purse, it is completely adorable!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Hot Chocolate 5K



Early Saturday morning, before sunrise, Brooke and I boarded a train from her house to downtown Chicago to run the Hot Chocolate 5K. It was chilly, but we just layered up and hit the pavement. The route was beautifully scenic so there was lots to distract us from the whole running aspect. After the race we enjoyed chocolate fondue inside heated tents, however hot chocolate was noticeably absent. I think we must have missed that tent. What a great time!

Funny Little Sleepers





I took these pictures on the same night. Funny kids.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Happy Halloween!




Trick or Treat here starts as soon as the kids get off the bus and change into their costumes, so 3:30-6:30ish. It is one of the most requested days off for parents when it falls on a weekday and most houses have someone there to hand out candy, even at 4pm. A lot of us just leave a bowl on the front doorstep and refill it when we get back. Alex and Abby went strong for about an hour and then wanted to come home to pass out candy. We have lots of leftover candy, per usual.




We trick or treat with all the kids on our street which is about 13 or so. Alex and the other older kids were about 3-4 houses ahead of us the whole time but that was OK. Abby told everyone, at every house, "I a tiger", in case there was any confusion about her costume. Eventually her treat bag got "too hebby" so I helped her out between homes. They were both adorable and I'm so glad it was their choice to come home and not me having to drag them home.

Children's Museum Day

Abby was in charge of the train tickets.

Abby on the teeter totter as Alex stacked blocks on the other side to try and balance it out.

Alex was really proud of his triangle train.
Ready for the wind tunnel!



Sunday morning Brad left early for a business trip to Virginia so the kids and I drove up to Naperville to see a new train exhibit at the Children's Museum. It was Naperville's Halloween Festival in their downtown area that day so we had the whole museum to ourselves! Both kids enjoyed acting as train passengers and working the ticket booth. The employees were eager to show the kids how things worked and sat right down to play with them. Usually it is so crowded that I never even notice the college-aged workers but the kids enjoyed all of the attention! One gentleman knew how to make more shadow animals with his fingers than I even knew existed. It was impressive! After a few hours of playing we were all ready to get home and warm up as it turned out to be a very chilly, rainy day.

Downtown Plainfield Trick or Treat




On the Saturday before Halloween, the kids are invited to trick or treat at the shops in Downtown Plainfield. What a mob! I had not idea this was so wickedly popular! We met up with friends and let the kids loose on Lockport St. It was a chilly morning and eventually the crowds were too much to bear. We decided to head home once they'd each digested their weight in candy and popcorn.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Halloween Party Day

So excited to dress up for school!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Willis Tower Expedition

Waiting patiently for the train to Chicago.
A bird's eye view

The glass ledge on the Skydeck of Willis Tower.


Alex and Brooke, no doubt playing "I Spy"as they take in the beautiful views!




Saturday was a beautiful, sunny, fall day here in Chicago. We took the kids to lunch at Brooke's place in Oak Park then ventured out for a fun field trip. Brooke lives right off the blue line train so we rode the train to Chicago then walked a few blocks over to the Willis Tower. Ever since Alex saw pictures of the glass ledge that juts out from the Skydeck on the 103rd floor, he has been asking us to take him there. We wanted to wait for a perfectly clear day (there is actually a sign at the ticket counter that says something to the affect of no refunds for changes in visibility) and apparently so did the rest of Chicago! The wait was one hour and a half from the building's entrance but we shrugged that off as a probable over-estimate.




One line for the elevator to security. One line for security check. One line for tickets. One line for movie screening prior to elevator ride up to 103rd floor. One line for elevator ride. One line once on 103rd floor to stand on glass ledge. One line to take elevator downstairs. One line for snacks. One line for elevator ride up to street level exit. Phew! We were exhausted. The kids did remarkably well as the suspense held Alex's attention and Abby was just along for the ride.




What a view! The time commitment convinced me to bite the bullet and set foot on the ledge. I didn't last long. Alex, Abby, Brooke, and Brad on the other hand, ran right out there. The kids even laid out on the floor to look at the view down the side of the building. No fear.




We asked the kids what they liked the most and Alex said the glass floor, while Abby insisted it was the ICEE at the bottom. I think the train ride ranked up there as well. What a great Chicago day!

First Grade Photo



Alex's school pictures are back and cute as can be. He is taking first grade in stride and has adjusted quickly to the routine of things. Cub Scouts continues to entertain Alex and he enjoys those outings. They have a Halloween pack meeting coming up on Thursday night and he is particularly excited about that. Abby continues to greet Alex with a big hug every day when he gets off the school bus. She is so happy to see him after school, it is a sweet thing.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Abby's Favorite Apron

My friend Sarah Mikkelsen made this adorable apron for me a few years back...but in order to use it now, I'd have to wrestle it off the cutest 2 year old ever :)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Outdoor Explorers

The kids found lots of goodies to play with outside at Grandma Kathy's! Most of these items were Brad or Jackie's growing up :)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Fall Break In Cincinnati





The kids had a four day weekend so we took a road trip to Cincinnati. Friday the kids enjoyed visiting with Grandpa and playing outside at his house. Brad played in an annual golf tournament with his buddies on Saturday while we hit up Burger Farm for some pumpkin fun with Grandma Eileen, Aunt Nicci and Uncle Andrew and visited with Great Grandma.


Sunday we had lunch with college friends the Zimmerly's and their children Andrew, Anna and Baby Leah. Our kids all play so well together, must be that all their names start with an A! Dinner was spent with Gigi and Grandma Kathy. The unseasonably warm temperatures allowed the kids one more round of shorts-wearing, but we know cooler temps are right around the corner. The kids are eager for snow! We all love that first snowfall, but by the twentieth we'll be ready for Spring again!




We left Cincinnati Monday morning as Brad hopped in a rental car and headed to Columbus, OH for a week of recruiting for work at Ohio State. After several hours of excellent car behavior, I pulled off at Fair Oaks Farms for some jumpy fun on their giant air pillow. Once the kids got all their wiggles out, it was awfully quiet in the car for the remainder of the drive!