A whirlwind of fun

We let Carter have the honors of throwing the switch to light

up our big ol' tree! He was tickled

Mistletoe boy! Kisses anyone

Who would have thought that I could possibly say that packing up a family of five and hopping on a plane to jet to Minnesota would seem a bit less busy than the break we have had. Don't get me wrong, it has been a whirlwind of fun activities. But heading back to the routine and structure of the work week looks a little less busy. SHeez! I think this week's menu will be consisting of left overs and "made ahead meals" from the freezer. Thursday we hosted my parents here for Thanksgiving which was nice. Friday I had my two best friends and their kids over for a play date (8 kids five and under) whee! See the pictures. Then Friday afternoon we assembled our Christmas tree which was so much fun. I just love all the traditions and excitement of the decorating. Saturday we headed to Lakeview to celebrate Christmas with the Blackmer family. And today we had brunch with our small group (that's really not all together that small anymore) at our home. Now I am taking a little time to enjoy a cup of coffee and post while the kids relax and enjoy Mary Poppins. It appears as if we are inside a snow globe with the beautiful snow falling outside. I assume once the movie is done we will be headed out to the "slope" aka our driveway for some family fun. Then we'll bathe the kiddos pop them into bed, and prepare for the first week of December. How is it already the holiday season? I have so many fun and wonderful things I want to do with the kids this season. They are at such great ages. Well here are a few pictures. The pictures tell better stories than I can at this point. If not, I've included a few captions.

Decorating the tree:

Christian is drolly and a bit cranky due to the 2 teeth he is getting.

Who knew the Christmas Tree BOX would bring so much joy to the kids???

One of the favorite activities to do when we have

guests is to play dress up. Here Elle & Luke are
dressed and ready for their trip to Hawaii

My dear friend Shannon holding baby Colton. Kaylie
is loving his tiny head

Serving lunch to the crowd. I have a new respect

for the mom of 8 kids. How does she serve all those

kids three meals a day??

Dominic, Kaylie (cat), Elle (Hawiian princess)

Our little Turkey

While I've been busy preparing for Thanksgiving these past few days, Christian's been such a little turkey. He is busy learning all sorts of new tricks. I tried to catch a few of them to share. He is a very proficient and FAST crawler these days. He also pulls himself up to everything. Notice all the playing he is doing at the little table. Ella and Scott cleaned the attic in the garage out this week and Elle was determined to clean up this little toy that she and Carter loved when they were learning to walk. It is official. He loves it too! You will catch him pestering napping Gus, walking around with Scott, and hanging upside down. Oh, yes, he absolutely loves the Little People Farm. His favorite thing today was to open and shut the silo..... repeatedly and laugh hysterically. He is working on another bottom tooth so that's the cause of the runny nose and drooolly, droll! Can you believe he turned 8 months today! I can't! Where is the time going?? I should have stuck a candle in his sweet potatoes.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Our blessings

We have been busy as usual this Thanksgiving week. Scott didn't work yesterday so we had a family day, starting with swimming at the pool, then running errands around town, and finally ending up working around the house. We ended the evening by letting the kids stay up 'late' to watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving. They thought that was pretty great! They couldn't believe that Scott and I used to watch the same cartoon when we were little. It was one of those picturesque scenes in our living room, the family snuggled in under blankets, enjoying a show together and just enjoying being together.
This morning we again gathered in the living room for another tradition of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Carter and Ella both slept in (in only Ella and Carter terms) but upon waking they decided to jump into bed with Scott and I! Our bed seemed pretty cozy with the 4 of us. By the end, it was a festival of squirmmy-ness and nagging of "is it time for the parade yet??" We ate some breakfast, took our showers and before we knew it Grandma and Grandpa Blackmer were at the door! Hooray! The kids were parked in front of the TV ohhh-ing and ahhh-ing over the floats. This was a huge step up from the Greenville Danish Festival Parade and Boat parade on 4th of July (Townline Lake style). Now they want to go to NYC to watch the 'best parade'. Maybe some year. We need to first be able to tackle Chicago next weekend. I will keep you posted on how that goes with three little ones.
My Thanksgiving feast for 6 1/2 went off without a hitch. I did my turkey ahead of time so everything (other than the fussy gravy) were just little details. I was like a 5 year old playing tea party. I used the good china, place mats, and fancy table cloth. Ella thought it was special that she got a water goblet. Carter even did well with the responsibility of "being gentle" with the pretty plates. All in all it was a good meal. We missed having Evan here. I told him on the phone today that we set out a bottle of his A1 sauce in honor of him. He was tickled. We can't wait to see him next weekend.

Tomorrow should be fun. Two of my best friends are coming over with their little ones. We will have 2 five year olds, a 4 year old, 2 2 1/2 year olds, an 18 month old, an 8 month old, and a three week old. Ha! and we think we are going to get a chance to catch up. What kind of miracle are we expecting??? No matter, I am looking forward to connecting with my girls. I will try to capture some of the madness in pictures. 8 kids, 3 ladies and oh yea Scott is outta here. He thinks he is going to go catch a deal or two. All this from the man who hates crowds. I guess staying home wasn't going to get him and peace and quiet either. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

So cute my camera can't keep up

Seven months is such a fantastic age...especially since it is marking a HUGE milestone for Christian of sleeping through the night! HOORAY! I am sure Grandma Moorlag can hear my cheers of delight all the way in Minnesota! I am just really soaking up all his silliness, personality, and sweetness these days.I just adore him (not that I love him more than the other kids, it is just a fun stage we are in) and I am reminded often that this is my last babe so I better SOAK it up.

New Stuff with the cute little guy:
~first tooth popped through on the bottom last week
~crawls around like a crazy kid
~ if he is in the living room playing and I am in the kitchen he will come find me
~eats food like nobody's business (actually reminds me of Carter--yet not so aggressive)
~thinks he is big stuff to hold crackers
~loves throwing toys over the edge of exersaucer and high chair
~is a fish in the bathtub (better be in order to keep up with siblings)
~loves to crawl all over people laying on the floor
~ pulls Gus' tail and squeals with delight
~so smiley--like usual
~beginning to get a few baby signs (bangs hands on table for more instead of clapping them together but one can totally tell what he REALLy wants...more food)
~thinks opening the drawers in the kitchen is pretty fantastic

This is another fun thing he enjoys, maybe he learned this from his friend Marta last Friday. Oh, Lis~ I will be the one suffering from that aching back now.

Chicago

Custom Countdowns & MySpace Layouts

Cutie Putie

Birthday Celebration for Grandpa!

Christian has evolved into such a little personality lately. He is proficiently crawling and will now come to find me if I am in another room. He can also go from crawling tow sitting with no problem. He thinks he is pretty cool and loves to stand at the ottoman. We had the kid's Pottery Barn chairs out this weekend and he was tickled to sit in Carter's, laying back, kicking up his feet and rolling around. Last week at home with Grandma and Grandpa he began crawling and malling adults when they are on the floor. He was evening climbing up into the Carter chair and figured out how to stand up. YIKES! He must not of understood the conversation I had with him a while ago about how he was NOT supposed to grow up so fast. He is loving all the new foods he is trying and thinks he is hot stuff to handle a strip of toast all on his own. I was glad to have today with him to enjoy his sweet personality and new found tricks.

Here are a few shots of him playing in the newspaper. I remember both Elle and Carter in this stage of excitment with all the crackling papers. Chrisitan makes this adorable face that I just can't seem to catch on camera. He shuts his eyes and crinkles up his nose then sticks his tongue out just a bit! Too cute! Ahhh, he is changing so much! On one happy note, he is FINALLY learning to sleep through the night. However, not without a bit of a fight. Each night he is making a little progress, crying for less, or not as loudly. Before I know it I might just sleep through the night....uhhh probably not but here is to wishful thinking.

It's Monday already?

Last week was a bit of a blur, thankfully Mom and Dad were able to come stay with us and watch the kids while Scott and I went to work. Our daycare provider was on vacation in Florida for her daughter's wedding. The kids just loved their time with Grandma and Grandpa. We were even able to celebrate Grandpa's birthday while they were here. Ella had fun decorating and making his cards. I was buried between IEPs, conferences, and attending a conference that I unfortunately didn't even have time to make a cake.
Friday I had the chance to visit with a friend from college and her two adorable girls. It was so fun to see Ella play with their almost 3 year old and have a chance to catch up with Lisa. We both are so blessed to have healthy, happy families!

Saturday we woke up and were on a mission. We had to get the yard cleaned up and knew that the snow was coming so we went out and worked like mad man and woman to get all the leaves up. Hooray we did it! Thankfully, just in time since it began to snow mid afternoon. After we put the kids down Scott and I had an exciting evening of work! There we sat in the living room, him working on his computer and me prepping lessons and materials for the week....YIPEE! Tis the fate of working parents I suppose. I took the day off today to watch the kids since we still don't have daycare. We also had the pleasure of watching our friend's from small group kids. So it was me plus 5 kids 5 and under. WHew! Both of those boys are adorable. I hope that Christian and Carter get along as well as they do. It's 3:00 and I think I could go to bed by 5. I hope dinner somehow miraculously gets on the table. Not sure how Mrs. Brady did it with the Brady Bunch...oh yea, she had Alice the house keeper/cook right??? All in all it's been a fun stretch we've had lately. Can't believe tomorrow is Tuesday. Only 4 days of school this week and two next week. Then I will have to prep for Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It'll only be us plus Mom and Dad. Another fun packed week ahead! Hope all is well with you and your family.

Carter and Ella and loving the fact that it snowed here almost all day yesterday. They think it is now "Christmas". Carter and his whole issue of not transitioning well between seasons proves problematic at times. Today he just ran out the slider door in socks, left the door open and came running back in with the biggest smile on his face and two handfuls of snow. It didn't take long for the smile to turn upside down and for him to start hollering about how cold his hands are! Still has lots to learn about the change of seasons. He is so precious how he keeps walking around the house looking out the windows saying, "can you believe it mom?? Look at the snow" :) The simple joys of 2 year olds.

A quick weekend in Indy

Time flies these days. Last weekend we traveled to Indy to celebrate Josie's Dedication at church. The kids had fun playing with Josie and loving her up. Thankfully the kids traveled well. Here Christian is riding along happily in his carseat! Carter was actually the best traveler, in part due to his obsession with the Cars movie and the fact that we watched it a LOT on the way there and back.

Here the kids are enjoying a book with grandma before heading off to church.

Christian in his happiest outfit...nothing but a diaper. He does this hilarious thing now where he pats his belly and laughs!

This past week we had the privilege of attending Ella's conference. She is doing very well in kindergarten both socially and academically. Which is a relief and completely exciting to Scott and I. She is thrilled with herself that she is reading "real books" now. In this picture she is sharing one of the stories she has been reading at school. We are so proud of her!

Ella tickled to get the chance to hold Josie. Isn't she a sweetie? We had so much fun and look forward to spending Christmas with everyone...including a much loved and VERY missed Uncle Ryan and Aunt Carrie.

fall fun

We absolutely love fall at our house just because of all the fun we have in the leaves! As you can see from these shots, Christian just loves the sight and sound of these crunchy things! Carter and Ella are into making big piles and jumping or sliding through them. They also got a kick out of burying each other. Christian loves peek a boo these days so he found it highly entertaining when they would cover each other up and then "pop" out! This afternoon, Carter was feeling exceptionally lovely dovey to Christian, and for the most part tolerated all the hugs!

This past week has been so gorgeous. I keep telling the kids, this is the last stretch of warm weather. We went for a nice walk yesterday. It was one of those magical walks. We typically find something interesting on our walks, however yesterday was magical. We are always exploring nature and yesterday we came upon a small field of milkweed plants. Now on the surface, that doesn't sound to thrilling. To the 5 and two year old it was fascinating. The wind was blowing just right and the kids were in a snow storm of milk week seeds (for those of you unfamiliar with your weeds..think really big dandelion fluff). I felt blessed to be able to watch my kids enjoying the beautiful outdoors, their time together, the simple joy of life in general. It was a miraculous day!

I also got to meet one of the most beautiful babies in the world. My best friend Kelly had baby number three this week, a beautiful, tiny baby boy-Colton Lawrence! At just 6 pounds and a few ounces, I have a hard time believing Ella was ever that small. I could have just sat, stared, and smelled that precious babe! What a gift from God! How miraculous. I just loved him up so much I had to get a hold of him again today. So we went for a quick visit. Ella was just as smitten! Of course, she asked when we could have another baby. Ha Ha! I said I was in awe...not CRAZY! Colton made Christian just seem so BIG. How fast time flies. I hope you are had a good week. We are in the process of packing and heading to Indy for the weekend to celebrate Josie's dedication. I can't wait to get my hands on her either! Christian is moving all over. Crawling like a crazy kid. I won't be too good about posting next week. I have an insanely busy week at work with conferences and some training. Mom and Dad are coming to stay with us since our daycare is going to FL for her daughter's wedding for a little over a week. I am so grateful for retired parents and their willingness to come, roll up their sleeves, and pitch in. The kids are ecstatic! Gotta go, Carter just came out of the bathroom wearing nothing but an interesting mustache design of my newest shade of dark lipstick! Whew, this kid keeps me on my toes! :)

Rapunzel, a lion, and SUPER Carter

Halloween this year was not coordinated on my part. Ella had wanted to be Rapunzel for about 5 months. Wouldn't you know it took me until Oct. 30th to actually purchase the wig for this day. I think Carter was the most impressed with it. For those of you who know how obsessed Carter can be with my hair, you can imagine what he was like with 'the wig'. Ella had fun at school. She managed to keep the high heels on the whole morning. She was determined, since she was in love with the plastic pink things.

How did we come up with Carter's outfit one might ask:

One evening about a week before Halloween, I asked Carter if he wanted to dress up for the day. I listed off a variety of things he could be. His reply was, "no cause I am just your Carter boy." His answer was so sweet, so honest, and SO Carter! He went in the other room to play and then he flew past me saying, "Super Tarter to the rescue!" I thought that's it! He can dress up as himself for the night. I got a cape (which has gotten much use already) and slapped a C shield on him and called him dressed for the night. He sure was SUPER: Super excited, Super loud, Super fast, Super Hungry (for candy), Super thankful (that people were just throwing candy in his pumpkin)and SUPER adorable!

Ella had a fun morning at school. All the kindergarten kids wore their costumes to school. They had a parade (which Ella survived a tour of the WHOLE school in these chintzy plastic high heels she had to have) then the rest of the morning was spent partying with crafts, games, and then a quick nap on the way home. Here she is with a few of her friends.

Isn't this just the craziest wig??? I think it was more for the Goldilocks costume but it tickled her! Sweet Christian slept in the van while they made the rounds between a few houses. He was fine with me putting the lion costume from Carter on him for a bit.... I think it was 9:00 so it was simply for the photo op! What a trooper.

a few more pictures

This week Grandma Moorlag sent her"ever famous Halloween package". She is so wonderful. Every year, the week of Halloween, she send this package of homemade cookies all decorated and tasty for the kids...and adults. This year she really outdid herself with the fancy pumpkins and cats. As you can see the kids LOVED it. We ration out the cookies for dessert after dinner. ( I hope they don't catch on that I usually have one with my afternoon cup of coffee.. but that's our little secret!)

After Ella's soccer game, Dad and Scott headed to Battle Creek to finalized the purchase of Scott's new car. Mom stayed with the kids and I. Here is a picture of the adorable scarecrow they made together to decorate for fall. It greets us everytime we enter the backdoor.

Here are a few more shots of the soccer players. Elle with her medal! What fun!

Last week...finally posted

Happy Birthday to Scott! The kids helped with the decorations: lots of balloons, streamers, and a huge poster greeting him on the door. Scott being the great dad he is, spent the morning home with Christian since he wasn't feeling well. When I got home I took him into the pediatrician and found that he only had a cold and an infection around his eye. Nothing serious, just needed lots of snuggles and snooze time. Scott got lots of love, some new clothes and a new car! Yep, we are selling the old Honda cause a newer, bluer, and sportier one is sitting in the garage! He is pretty pumped. He deserves it; he has driven the old Honda since Ella was sitting in the same car seat Christian is in. Elle and I got to drive it to work on Friday. It is nice but it's tight to get three car seats in the back, but that's true of pretty much any vehicle. Luckily, we use the van as the primary when traveling as a crowd. But now we have a nice new date car.......does that mean we will actually go on dates now???

As usual, it's been a bit crazy around here. By the end of the day, I couldn't bring myself to the computer to work after the days we've been having....planning for Scott's bday, sick Christian, and the preparation for Halloween, plus all the other duties that go along with taking care of the munchkins and prepping for work. However, I am determined to catch up tonight. You will see a conglomeration of pictures from the last soccer game, Scott's bday, our big 7 month old guy (who is now proficient in crawling--not just army crawl anymore). I will post pictures of Halloween a bit later.

On Saturday morning, Ella had her last soccer game. It was supposed to be kids vs. the parents. Scott and my dad went. Dad took pictures and Scott got out there and helped the parents...loose. Elle scored a goal but was most hyped about her very cool soccer medal. She is dying to have the show and tell bag for school again so she can show her classmates. Here are a few shots, what you can't tell is that it is COLD and rainy...not a good combo for Ella.