Jack meeting Santa

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend in Madison and Delafield. Now we're full-force in getting ready for Christmas :) I'll post pictures of the weekend when I have more time, but I just wanted to post this quick one of Jack sitting on Santa's lap :) Andy ran away from Santa when he saw him, and Emily was sleeping in the stroller. Jack was the brave one who gave Santa a hug, told him he wanted cars for Christmas, and even sat on his lap :) He looks serious in the picture, but he was excited about it before and afterwards :) Andy says he's just going to leave his list on the table for santa to pick up!

Random Pictures

I'm posting a few things from this past week... Chris had a conference in Milwaukee on Friday that he had to present at, so we went with and spent a couple of days in Delafield. The kids, my mom and I went to Chuckee Cheese's on Friday morning which was lots of fun. It was totally empty, so the boys got their pick of any of the games and rides. We had a great brisket dinner on Friday, I went for a run on the trails, and the boys had a lot of fun play time. We had a big breakfast on Saturday morning and then headed home when the kids were ready for naps.

Emily and Daddy, Emily very ready for a nap
ahhh... sound asleep :)

Here she is taking a nice nap in the carseat on Friday afternoon

Big smiles from Jack

Grandpa, Andy, and Jack playing with legos

Grandma giving Emily a bottle

And, we don't take as many pictures of Bailey anymore, but he is as cute and cuddly as ever. Such a GREAT dog with the kids and now getting to be even mellower now that he's older. This is his favorite spot to nap during the day and in the evening. he always manages to get comfy with his head on a pillow. I noticed he was getting pretty shaggy, so tonight Chris & I gave him a nice haircut. We also trimmed his toenails which were very neglected. He sat very nicely for everything and got a rawhide when we were done. A fun piece of info, in addition to cutting Bailey's 16 nails today, I cut 70 others (fingernails and toenails of Andy, Jack, Emily, and I, minus Emily's toenails, they didn't quite need it) No tears from the kids - hey, you've got to celebrate the small day-to-day accomplishments too! :)

Even with 3 kids in the house, he doesn't have it TOO rough...

Emily, sitting up on the couch, ready for our playdate.

Andy, always ready to pose with his sister.

Big smiles... she is almost laughing, but hasn't quite figured it out yet.

We have another playdate tomorrow - so fun! No school this week for the boys, so we're enjoying some relaxing days at home before driving to our Thanksgiving destinations.

Sibling Bonding

The kids have been all over each other lately, mostly in good ways... unless Jack and Andy get a little too rough with each other! Jack has been wanting to get his picture taken, especially with Emily. He actually said he wanted to go to the "cheese store" to make Emily laugh... I had no idea what he was talking about, until I remembered that I was explaining to him earlier in the day that next week we are going to get our pictures taken at the Picture People, and that his job would be to say cheese and to make Emily laugh. I'm excited that he's looking forward to it, we'll see how it goes - hopefully better than the teary experience last time when he just turned 2!

Andy was nice enough to find Emily a soft stuffed animal to lay on

Look who's sitting in a Bumbo chair!! She's very sturdy on it... this is what we'll use in a month for her to sit in when she starts eating rice cereal.

Looks like she's focusing in this picture. It does take some effort from her to stay steady... but in small doses it's great for her to sit in.

The boys were very excited to see her in her chair. Note Jack's goggles - he goes everywhere with those (either on his head or over his eyes) In the van, to pick Andy up in school, at the store... it's really cute. He gets a lot of laughs.

Jack tackling Andy...

Jack all over Andy again... (you'll see a theme here!)

Andy is a good sport about it though

Jack maybe pulling Andy's ear?

3 handsome guys!

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa Graham - Happy early birthday to Grandma!

On Saturday, my parents came up to visit for the day. Chris was out for the day, to his first "game-a-palooza" with a group of guys that get together to play board games. So the kids and I really enjoyed the company. The day was so much fun! We played with toys, went out to lunch, had birthday cake for Grandma, she opened her presents, and Emily enjoyed some early Christmas gifts. We also were ambitious and got the Christmas tree set up and lights put up outside, thanks to the help of Grandma and Grandpa. I know it's early, but the boys love the decorations, so we might as well enjoy them for as long as possible!

A serious Emily...she was soon all smiles

Grandma Graham and Emily

Jack chatting on his "phone"

There's a smile!

Happy birthday to Grandma! Yum... ice cream cake!

Andy was happy to help blow out the candles and eat a big piece!

Emily was just cooing away and smiling at Grandpa

Emily sporting her first little headband

Emily and I, she's got one of her new outfits on. Since she won't really open presents at Christmas, it's nice to have them early :)

She loves sitting up and looking around... I think it's almost time to get the Bumpo chair out.

The boys loved helping open up the gifts. They were asking for more to help with... they'll have to wait a month or so, and then there will be plenty!

The boys enjoyed seeing all of the ornaments and help decorate the tree. The favorites are the ones that light up and make noise of course :)

A pictures of Grandma and Grandpa with ALL 3 kids in it and pretty happy. I think that's a first!

Emily had a very busy day, with no super long nap. She slept well while at the restaurant, but woke up soon after.

The excitement had to end some time...

She had a personal best for sleeping last night.... she was asleep upstairs in her crib from 8pm to 5:30 am STRAIGHT. Then she drank a quick bottle and went back to sleep until 8:30. I don't want to jinx it, but she is the best sleeper ever right now :) We had a nice lazy day today. We stayed home all day - did some organizing and cleaning, but mostly just relaxed and played with the kids. I even took a little nap with Emily on the couch. Dentist appointments and haircuts coming up this week for the boys!

More Nice Days

The past couple of days have continued to be beautiful. We went to 2 more parks and really enjoyed them. Jack had a fantastic day at school today and was so excited to show me the art project he made (a very cute owl). I was surprised he was in such a good mood in class since he woke up at 5:45 this morning... But he was a pretty sad boy for awhile after we woke him up from a long nap at 5pm tonight. After trying lots of things, like dinner, juice, toys, talking to him, only one thing could cheer him up. The Backyardigans :) works every time. Andy got a little crabby tonight too. I think all the outside time is tiring them out! Plus, adjusting to daylight savings time factors in too. The outside time is tiring me out too - Chris has gotten home the past two days early enough for me to go for a run outside with the sun still shining, plus without any jogger strollers! Just my iPod :) It's been awesome. Much better than running on the treadmill, especially with weather like this. I took a few pictures of Emily today. She's been very smiley... pretty much if you smile and talk to her, she will do the same. (she napped for over 3 hours straight this morning, while the boys were at school. It made for a very productive trip at the mall!) Looks like our warm days are coming to an end though. That's okay, I've neglected a lot of chores that need to get done.

serious and thoughtful
A big goofy grin

Happy Resigned to tummy time...

Sitting in her carseat while I get dinner for the boys

62 and Sunny in November

I wish every Monday could be this fun! We started out the morning in a good mood and got everyone dressed easily. The boys were motivated because we had a playdate at our house this morning. The kids played so well together, it was very enjoyable. Then, I fed Emily, packed a picnic lunch and we headed to the park. We stayed there for a couple of house, walked home, and then played more out in the front yard. Seriously, it's over 60 degrees here and so beautiful outside. One of those days I'm so happy to be a stay-at-home mom :) Emily is still taking a supernap, so I'm able to work on the blog now. Jack will probably crash tonight since it's his second day in a row without a nap, but that's okay.
Jack and Emily sitting together this morning

Smile!

Jack had to sit with Elmo while he watched Sesame Street this morning. It was really cute.

Having fun bouncing together at the park. Jack loves it when Andy bounces him out of his seat.

Andy at his look-out post

Jack on the jet

Picnic time

Yum, PB & J sandwiches (well, just jelly for Andy)

Andy wanted to "roast" his cookie in the sun to warm it up

Emily was awake for the first half of the park trip

But then she fell asleep so nicely in her carseat.

Playing in the sand

We'll try to get more outside time in this week while it's still nice. You never know when the snow will come :)