Snow Bunny

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a great Thanksgiving at Dave's brother's new home. The cousins had so much fun together!

Alyse and Olivia

The big kids playing iPad games.

Aunt Maria with Olivia, Alyse & Tessa

Zaidy and Alyse

The only turkey that Alyse ate that day!

Baby blue eyes

Alyse loved Riley...until he got too close. :)  She still talks about him!

Bedtime smiles!

ICE!

Back in November, I found discount tickets to ICE through Living Social, so we decided to check it out.  We figured it was the best time to go since our tickets were half off and Alyse and Tessa would both be free.  Well, folks, there's a reason that it's free for ages 3 and under.  (Although, I would argue that they should actually charge double for the 3 and under crowd!)  Between the long lines and the freezing temps, it was just too much for the little ones.  To top it off, they did not have a coat that fit Tessa -- the best-fitting one had sleeves that were 5 inches too long, and she FREAKED out about it.  So, we decided to just take her in with her own winter coat, which just wasn't warm enough for her.  Calder really really enjoyed it though!  This year's theme was Shrek, and despite the drama, it was really cute. 

Fun slides!

Getting cold...

Ready to slide!

The nativity scene at the end was Calder's favorite!

Baby loves necklaces

She was not satisfied until she had every single one around her neck. Then she wore them all afternoon. :)

Goodbye, Fall

The chilly weather has set in, and we are already missing the wonderful, warm fall days of October and all of the fun outside playtime that came with it!  We still have many a leaf in our yard (does it ever end?), but the kids are not as wild about playing in them when it is cold outside.  But we definitely took advantage of the fall fun while it lasted!

So much fun with neighbors!

 

 Tessa poses with her leaf "3" and Alyse walks right on by her "1".

This little one is just not a fan of playing in the leaves.

  She'd rather try to escape and take off through the neighborhood. 

Good thing she has a big brother and big sister who made a fun game of corralling her back in (and it gave Mommy a break too!)

Alyse thought it was pretty funny too. 

 She was finally convinced to play for a few minutes. :)

 And oh how we love to swing!  We are so lucky to have a little playground right behind our house. 

So insanely in love with those ringlets.

 

Yes, yes...I have a smart baby girl. 

Halloween 2012

Alas, Halloween was here! We carved our pumpkins during our hurrication. Well, I should say, the kids picked their designs, and I carved them. It was really fun to do something other than the usual goofy jack-o-lantern face.

Alyse could pick up her pumpkin!  (Side note:  Didn't I JUST wash the front of the dishwasher?  Ewww...)

Baby girl was very interested in this pumpkin business.  In fact, "pumpkin" is one of her recent new words!

The finished products!  An angry bird, a bat and a Dora!

On Halloween, Calder's school had "Dress like a book character day".  He decided to be the Cat in the Hat (from the book "Inside Your Outside")

I teleworked on Halloween, so I could go to the daycare Halloween parade.  Alyse wore her ghost costume, but you couldn't really see it because she was cruising in the buggy with her classmates.  She stared at me forever, before she finally realized it was me!  :)

Tessa, marching with her classmates in the parade.

Tessa just moved up to the 4-year old classroom, and she absolutely LOVES her new teacher Ms. Erycka.  She talks about her all the time and makes frequent remarks about her "beautiful hair". 

Ready to trick or treat! 

Excited little police officer!

Mr. Jailbird

Our last baby owl.  All three kids have worn this costume.  I still love it!  It did not take Alyse long to get the hang of trick or treating!  She loved reaching in and grabbing her own candy, and after a while she wouldn't even let us carry her bag for her.  It got very heavy, so she would stop and set it down for a break, but then pick it back up on keep on going!

 

Even though I knew I would put her in the owl costume on Halloween, I couldn't resist making this adorable ghost costume that I saw on Pinterest.  We already had a white tutu, so I just had to sew a face on a onesie.  Isn't she the most adorable little ghost!?