A Beary Merry Christmas

Will's Christmas musical was last weekend. God bless his music teacher! What dedication!
Will was a polar bear :)

And the following picture just cracked me up. So indicative of their relationships - EK with Patrick in a headlock. Thankfully you can't see his bruised nose too much in this one. EK tripped over him, fell onto him, and smashed his face into the hardwood floor the day before this pic was taken. He was a bleeding mess. Not fun. He's a tough kid, though.

'Tis the season

Christmas has totally snuck up on me this year. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's 3 kids, a full-time job, and the fact that we were gone for a week in November. Ready or not - it's coming, so here are some festive photos.

Blogger and I aren't getting along. So, these are not exactly in order, but oh well.

At breakfast with Santa

Love! I came in and saw them snuggled like this.

Gingerbread houses with Aunt Casie - an annual tradition

It's one of my favorite things to see the tree right after the kids have decorated. We did a bit of rearranging after they went to bed :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related?

Patrick at 10 months

William at 14 months

I thought putting them in the same outfit might help me see the resemblance a little more. No such luck. They just look very different. I think the eye color is a big part of it.

Christmas according to Ellie Kate

Singing to herself: "And a partridge in the pantry"

Telling me about what Santa will do after he leaves presents: "He will gather up all his things and then zoom up the chimney and go outside and get in his sleigh or in his mom's car."

Will brought home "reindeer food" - fruit loops, marshmallows, sprinkles, rice - to throw on the lawn on Christmas Eve. Ellie was eating it (except the rice, of course). I didn't know if she had asked her brother's permission before doing this, so I asked, "Ellie, are you eating William's reindeer food?"
EK: "Yes, mom, but don't worry - it doesn't turn me into Rudolph."

Love seeing holidays through the eyes of children!

Hello, stranger

And here I am back to blogging. I'm making no promises with my frequency of posts, though. Lately, I've been more into a phase of living rather than documenting. Does that make sense? I'll probably regret that at some point. But, for the last several weeks I've just been taking things in, spending time with family, and trying to keep my head above water. This means fewer pictures and even less blogging. But, I know I'll want to remember these days, so here are some highlights of what we've been up to since I last posted.

• Will's first parent-teacher conferences. His teacher said he was quiet. J & I both said, "he is?!"
• Will's 6th birthday
• Halloween - Will was a KU football player, Ellie Kate was Cinderella, Patrick was a monkey. We are still eating the candy.
• Justin made partner at work.
• J & I enjoyed an amazing 10 year anniversary trip to Hawaii. 
• Patrick turned 9 months old (nearly 24 lbs - 87% in height, weight and head circumference). He's mobile and into EVERYTHING! He has 6 teeth and is a very good eater.
• Thanksgiving with family

And I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting, but this is a start. Perhaps at some point I'll get around to posting pictures of these things. I'm just getting my pics from July - November up on Shutterfly. And that is really only because I need them for Christmas presents! I swear I'm not lazy, though my ridiculously messy house would beg otherwise. I just have been working on other things, I guess. Cuddles with Patrick, coloring with Ellie Kate, shooting hoops with Will, daydreaming about going "back to the island" with Justin. I'm sure at some point I'll have more free time, right? I know...18 years... :)

W & EK have both written Santa letters. Will's was for school and it was like pulling teeth to get him to sit down and write it. Handwriting is not his strong suit and I think it frustrates him. Here is his letter:
Dear Santa,
I would like
1. table football
2. DS
3. Xbox
What kind of cookies do you like? See you soon.
Your friend, Will N.
(For the uninformed, 2 of those 3 items are video games. ugh.)

Ellie Kate's letter (which I transcribed so she was much less frustrated by writing and, therefore, a bit wordier).
Dear Santa,
I am going to have breakfast with you soon! I would like baby food for Patrick, a car for my dollies, a Barbie dolly, Barbie bubbles, and I would like a bike for my birthday. Love, Ellie Kate.
(She drew snowmen, hearts, and flowers for Santa, too. Breakfast with Santa is an event coming up at our church. I have no idea why Patrick needs more baby food. Santa has currently not purchased any of the items she has requested, and Santa is nearly done shopping. And I love that she is throwing in birthday requests. I'm sure Santa will be all over that!)

Happy holiday season! Who knows when I'll be back...

A few of my favorite things

This new iPad I'm typing on
Pencil skirts
Cardigans - particularly the J. Crew variety
Zappos.com
A glass of wine on a weeknight
Pumpkin ice cream
Coupons in your birthday month
Good friends
Chipotle
Jason Mraz songs

Just random musings on a Thursday night :)

Late September evening

We enjoyed a relaxing late September weekend with great weather and not much on the schedule - just what we needed!

Ignore the mismatched outfits and overgrown grass. Aren't these 3 awesome? Really loving our little family right now.

Patrick LOVED the swing!

You can almost see all 4 teeth in this one.

Doesn't everyone wear PJ's and a tutu to play outside?

What a big kid!

And these are purely from fancy-pants Ellie Kate. Someday she'll love me for posting these :) This ensemble was all her own: Cinderella gown, multiple bracelets, pink sequin headband and plastic cell phone.

This princess means business!

"No, Mommy, I will not smile."