Christmas Tree Fun

On Sunday, we picked out our Christmas tree!  We went to Ace to support the Boy Scouts again this year and quickly picked out the perfect tree :).

She's such a ham!

Silly kids!

That's the one!  Atley's first Christmas tree!!

Ethan sitting with Atley 

Atley's 1st Christmas ornament from Grandma Karen and Grandpa

Ethan decorating the tree

Both kids loved decorating!

Throwing the poof balls (for lack of a better description).  This is their favorite part of decorating.

Nora and Daddy putting the star on top.  Ethan got to do the star last year.

Finished the decorating with these crazy kids :)!

I'll try to get a better picture of the tree (and the kids in front of the tree) before the season is over.

2 Months

Atley was 2 months old on Sunday.  She is such a good, sweet baby.  She eats every 3-4 hours, sleeps 6-7 hours at night, likes car rides and is starting to smile all the time!  We had her 2 month check up yesterday and she is growing like a weed!  She weighs 12 lbs, 3 oz- 75% and is 22.5 inches long- 50%.  Poor girl had to get 3 shots yesterday, which made her a little sleepy and fussy yesterday, but she seems better today.  She has a cute little "angel kiss" (red birth mark) on her left eye lid.  We love her to pieces, her brother and sister still adore her and want to hold her any chance they get!  Here are some pictures from our photo shoot on Sunday!  We love you Atley Jane!

Parents in Kindergarten

Today was parent visitation day for Ethan's kindergarten class.  I was so excited to get to see him at school and see a little part of his day.  We met in his classroom where they were finishing up some things on the smart board.  Then Ethan made a Thanksgiving story bracelet with beads.  Next up was a Thanksgiving play (see video below).  Ethan was a "Pilgrim Man" and did a great job!!

Pilgrim Man, Ethan

With the other Pilgrim Men

Working on a special Thanksgiving Feast shirt with Daddy

After the Thanksgiving play, we went with the class to PE.  It was fun seeing their typical PE class.

Jumping jack station

Some cup stacking fun!

1. Swing 2. Jump  ;)

Scooters!

I had such a fun time visiting Ethan at school.  He is definitely learning a lot and loving school!!

Weekend With Friends

This past weekend, our good friends the Lloyds, came to town for a visit.  They moved to Chicago at the end of the summer and we were all sad to see them go.  It was a great weekend spending time with them (and lots of other friends!)  The pictures I have aren't the greatest quality, but they do the job!
We all decided to go to Saturday night church service and stayed behind afterwards in the cafe area to let the kids run, play and have some dinner (a perk of being friends with the pastors).

Terrible picture...but this is just 5 families represented!  We have a lot of kids between us!

The 4 "Big" boys are back together!
Soren, Brennan, Camden & Ethan

This is why we have to get together at the church instead of someones house!  So.Many.Kids!

Nora and Mayleigh!

Megan, Me, Erin, Jessica and Callynn (Emily left before we got the picture :( )

Kids were obsessed with playing Ring Around the Rosie

Sunday morning, we went to the Talty's for some more play time.  It was a loud house full of kids!

The girls (minus Atley) having some snack!

Callynn was LOVING holding baby Atley!

Ethan and Brennan are pretty fierce here!

Mayleigh had to love on Atley some too!

2014 Basketball

Ethan has finished his 2nd basketball season.  He really enjoys playing and he is so fun to watch!  He has improved a lot since last year.  He made several baskets this year and has gotten good at dribbling up and down the court.  He's quite the little athlete and is always ready to move on to the next sport after one has finished. (First baseball, then basketball and now golf.)  Here are a few pictures from his last game and a short video from his season!

 

The team after getting their trophies

Ethan's #1 fan ;).

Showing off his trophy

Stay tuned for golf edition :).

Halloween

Finally getting to my Halloween post!  We had our good friend's, the Koskinens over to trick or treat with us and everyone had a great time.  It was a COLD evening, so Emily and I stayed at the house with the babies while the dads took the "big kids".  They made their way around the neighborhood and came back with buckets full of candy and goodies!  Here are some pictures from our night.

Trick or Treat Gang

A muscular Luke Skywalker, striking a pose!
(We had to put his coat under his costume)

Pink and Black Kitty

Ethan and Nora

Atley was a cozy skeleton :)

Olen and Atley in their matching costumes

Running down the sidewalk

Ethan is excited about their first stop!

Trick or Treat

These cute trick or treaters came to my door too!

Atley at One Month

Atley is 1 month old today!  The days flew by, that's for sure!!  There's some kind of weird phenomenon when a baby arrives...I feel like Atley has been with us forever, but at the same time, it feels like yesterday we were waiting in that hospital room for her to make an appearance.  At least, that's my take ;).

She is a good, content baby!  And she's staying awake quite a bit more now, but is still so cuddly and sweet.  In fact, as I type this, she is conked out on my chest and I'm smelling the sweet smell of a clean baby head (it's ok to be jealous)!
We are working on a schedule (I like schedules).  She is good about eating about every 3 hours during the day.  We put her to bed between 10 and 10:30 right now and she generally sleeps until about 3am, is ready to eat, and then sleeps again until around 6 or 7.  Not too bad!

She is gaining weight like a champ!  According to the bathroom scale, she weighs 10 lbs.  She was weighed at the hospital on Tuesday and was 9 lbs 10 oz.
She is loved by her big brother and sister.  They want to hold her and kiss her any chance they can get!  And Nora loves to help with diaper changes by getting a new diaper and the wipes for me.

Our little Atley Jane is the perfect addition to our family and we are so blessed to be her parents!  Happy 1 month sweet girl!  We love you!

Click here to see Miss Nora at 1 month.

3 Years Old

Nora turned 3 yesterday.  It doesn't seem possible that 3 years ago we brought home our (1st) sweet bundle of pink.  She is full of life, energy and...orneriness!!
Some things about Nora at age 3:

• She is right at 3 feet tall and weighs 32 pounds.
• She is super sweet (most of the time).
• She loves giving hugs and kisses.
• She loves playing with the big kids and trying to keep up- especially outside.
• She talks non-stop and says the funniest things (none of which I can think of right now).
• She can spell her name and write an N, O & A (still working on the R).
• She also recognizes several letters and numbers (though, not all).
• Her favorite foods are pizza, pasta (of any kind) and "snack" (I just asked her what her favorite food was and she said snack).
• She loves her baby sister and is very helpful :).
• She and Ethan can get a long and play so nicely one minute and the next be fighting like siblings do best ;).  They can also get into trouble together!
• She is very strong willed and definitely has a mind of her own (which, I'm sure, will be a strength one of these days).
• She has very nice manners and always says "thank you" and most of the time says "please".
• With the above being said...she isn't afraid to ask for whatever it is she thinks she wants/needs, and then not stop asking when she doesn't hear the answer she wants to hear.
• We love her with all our hearts and can't wait to see what God has planned for her and her big personality!

Happy 3rd Birthday Nora Diane!

Here are a few pictures from birthday morning!

Birthday donut!

Big 3!

Presents under the bed (a tradition from my childhood).

Ethan is an eager helper

All 3 kids, ready for church.

Silly Nora, wearing her "party dress" to church on her birthday!