Happy New Year!

We had our final Christmas celebration on New Year's weekend. The kids enjoyed themselves at the New Year's Eve celebration at Grandpa & Grammy's. (We did a countdown around 8:00 - they don't know the difference yet!)

Ellie Kate loved the "kid wine". I think this might have been her first taste of juice. The bubbles didn't seem to bother her at all.

We did Christmas morning on New Year's morning and the kids opened their gifts. Ellie Kate was more interested in opening than she had been before, so that was fun. All the kids got great things that kept them entertained the rest of the weekend! (Of course, EK woke up with pink eye that day...which has since turned into another ear infection and icky cough. Have I mentioned I love the winter?)

Will got a Leapster Explorer, which he LOVES! We just had to replace the batteries -- after 1 week! Hello, rechargables!

Ellie Kate liked her new clothes so much, she thought she'd go ahead and put them on :)

 And I just love these. Aunt Jenny was such a good sport about letting the kids "duet" with her.

The end of a fabulous weekend - I'd say we wore them out, don't you think?

Merry Christmas!

We're 3/4 of the way through our holiday festivities and here are a few of my favorite photos so far. The kids have been great and we've all enjoyed our holiday time with family and friends. We're looking forward to more in the week ahead!

This pic wasn't actually during Christmas, but I just love it and hadn't had a chance to post it yet. What a sweet boy!

Ellie Kate all dolled up after Christmas Eve mass.

"Please can we open presents, Mom?" What a handsome boy!

 We asked Will to take a picture of us - here's what we got. :)

 Excited about presents from Mommy & Daddy.

 Snacks and notes for Santa.

Gifts from Santa. Poor Elle threw up about 2:30 a.m. Christmas morning so we let her sleep in that morning. Will got to come down and see his presents and play until she got up.

"Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 - just what I always wanted!"

 Christmas time at Grandma & Grandpa's.

 I love this picture of Will and Grandma!

"Hey, Aunt Casie, what are ya doin'?

Christmas with cousins at GoGo and Grampy's.

Is this foreshadowing the teenage years?

Will got a new yoga DVD, so he's showing off his moves.

Indulgences

There are few things I have indulged in lately.
1. New stockings. I've been eyeying these for over a year and finally just splurged. I love them! I've since cleaned up and rearranged the mantel decor, but you get the idea.

2. Craftiness. Ok, so I'm really not crafty. But, I did do this project all by myself. (Because it really just involved some cutting, gluing, and buying. I can do that!) This is hanging in EK's room to help organize her multitude of hair bows.

3. Clothes for Eleanor. This really peaked a few weeks ago...the week I bought her 4 dresses and 2 pairs of boots. Those who know me know I'm not really so much of a girly-girl. But, I am a sucker for a bargain. And, really, this stuff was just too cute to pass up. I came to the realization that I may not get the opportunity to choose her clothes for very much longer so I really should take advantage. Though I couldn't get a great photo of this outfit, it's one of my faves! Cream cowl neck, cable knit sweater dress, striped tights, furry boots - oh, Baby Gap, how I love thee!

Hello again

It's been so long since I posted. But really, there aren't a lot of updates. I feel like we've been sick since Halloween. From a stomach virus to coughs, head cold, bronchitis -- it's be a fun few weeks around here. I guess this is winter with toddlers, but man do I hate it. Of course, no one is sleeping much either, which is probably why we can't seem to get well. Hopefully we'll all be feeling better by Christmas.

I have tons of pictures since I last posted, but I think I'll just post a few. We had wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations with family. The kids love playing with their cousins! Here are some pics of the kids decorating for Christmas.

You'll notice the collection of homemade ornaments at abouts Will's height. We had to redistribue later, but I appreciated his help! :)
And this is Charlie our elf. The kids LOVE him. It's a favorite activity every morning to find Charlie's new perch. Eleanor doesn't quite understand what Charlie does, but she loves finding him and points and squeals when she spots him.
 
The weekend after Thanksgiving, Will was invited to a birthday party at Zonkers. We had never been before - he loved it!

 The little girl with her arm around Will is the birthday girl. She used to be at his school, but is in kindergarten now. The 2 of them got to be good friends, and I think it was so sweet that she wanted to invite him to her birthday party! Will was there with a bunch of kindergarteners, but he did great and fit in just fine!

 That night we went to Jeff & Meg's for dinner since Jenny was in town. Ellie Kate LOVED the bounce house! I had a hard time getting her to slow down enough for a picture.

 This is about the best we could do of all the cousins!

Will's version of song lyrics

We've all been sick the last couple weeks, so there is not a lot to update you on. But, here are a couple of amusing songs Will has been singing.

Real version: (From Toy Story) "You've got a friend in me..."
Will's version: "You gotta pretty me..."

Real version: "Eeenie meenie miney moe, catch a tiger by its toe"
Will's version: "Eeenie meenie miney moe, kitchen table by his toe"

He makes me smile every day!

Trick-or-treat

 Will had a great time trick-or-treating on Halloween. You'll notice the costume change from previous pictures. Apparently 3 times being a pirate is enough. He wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for trick-or-treating. And, thankfully, he got a fun dress up outfit for his birthday. Unfortunately, Ellie Kate was sick so she didn't get to go trick-or-treating. I'm glad it was this year and not next, she wasn't really aware of what she missed.

 Upon arriving home, Will told me he got "millions of candies"! Great! He had at least as much fun handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at our door as he did going out. I think he would have liked to have had a conversation with each one.

Poor baby, Elle. This was her 3rd outfit of the day (my second) and this was about where she stayed for most of the afternoon and evening - in my arms. I sure am glad I didn't spend a lot of money on a costume for her!

Put him in the choir

Saturday evening Will and I went to mass. He enjoys going without Ellie Kate because we get to be in "the big church" instead of the cry room. We were nearly done with mass and he had done a good job. The choir started singing the second communion hymn. This was not included on our song sheet, they were singing a capella, think full church of quietly kneeling parishioners listening to the song. Instantly, Will lights up. He recognizes the song. It is one Justin sings him at bed time. Naturally, he knows all the words to the refrain, so he starts singing along...growing louder and louder. I try to quiet him down a bit to no avail. I'm now giggling quite uncontrollably, tears running down my face at my adorable 4-year-old belting out "Lord, pre-paaare me to be a sanct-uuuu-aaaaryyyyy, pure and hooooooly, tried and true-ew-ew-ew..." I peek up to see 2 women all the way across the pew about 5 rows up turned around watching us and smiling. I had thought it was only the couple of pews around that could hear. No such luck. After mass, no fewer than 4 people came up to us to comment on his wonderful singing. Will couldn't quite figure out why everyone was talking to him. He was just excited to tell Daddy he heard "Sanctuary". As we're in the parking lot walking to the car, I hear an elderly gentleman a ways behind us, "Did you hear that little boy just singing his heart out in there? That was great!" Truly a parenting moment I won't forget. So proud and so mortified all at the same time.

On the way home, I was grinning as I replayed the scenario in my head. I told Will he made my heart smile. To which he replied, "thanks, Mom, you make my tummy smile."