Cutting Down the Tree

This weekend began my favorite time of year, the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  To start our Christmas season we went to Bob's Christmas Trees to cut our tree.  It is definitely a drive to get there and both girls were a bit cranky since having company and lots of activity really tired them out.  The weather was less than ideal, cold and drizzly, but I can't give up the tradition of cutting down our tree to get one from a tree lot or get a fake one, so we pushed through. 

It was also a bit difficult because MiniM.E. now has a preference for trees and was insistent we find one that she thought was "the best one at the whole tree farm!"  It took almost an hour, but we did it- we found the best tree at the whole farm!

Once we cut down the tree, we went to see the reindeer.  MiniM.E. was disappointed that the wagon ride we'd been on last year wasn't open because of the weather, but this year the reindeer were a lot more interested in us than they were last year, so that sort of made up for it.

I had LittleL.G. in the Ergo so I don't have photos of her by the reindeer but for some reason deer are her favorite animal and she was SO EXCITED by the reindeer that she was almost JUMPING out of the carrier.

Happy Thanksgiving

So thankful.  And so full!

It was great to have everyone together at our house for Thanksgiving.  Thanks for coming Gram and Grumpy, Meamaw and Grandpa and Uncle Billy.  We missed you Auntie Jen and Uncle Dave!

The Week Before Thanksgiving

Bob is lucky to be able to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off this year.  Monday we went about our usual Monday activities, MiniM.E. had school and ballet and I had a lot of cleaning to finish up and dinner prep to do.

Yesterday Meamaw and Grandpa arrived yesterday evening and we had dinner together before they went back to the hotel for the evening.  

Today we met Meamaw and Grandpa downtown for a walk and lunch.

Then we just hung around the house until Uncle Billy and Gram and Grumpy arrived.

Its nice to have everyone here and the girls are so excited for Thanksgiving (especially MiniM.E.)!

A Chilly Afternoon

It is definitely turning colder and after being spoiled with the warm weather lately, the colder air definitely feels like a shock. Yesterday we went downtown in the late afternoon and because it gets dark so early, the shadows were already long and it was chilly in the shade!  But that didn't keep these girls from having a great time together.  

The moms started with coffee while the girls patiently snacked... 

And then the fun began.  First with insisting that everyone ride the horse outside Starbucks:

The best part of the afternoon were the unexpected blankets of leaves all over Congress Park.  MiniM.E. was thrilled to play in the leaves since our yard is (almost) treeless.

It was so cute, we had to stage an impromptu photo shoot:

If all that jumping and playing wasn't enough, the girls decided a jumping contest was in order:

The fun didn't stop there, after all the jumping, they wanted to climb trees-- the same one, at the same time:

These girls have become such good friends the past four years and it was hard to pull them apart when we all had to go home for dinner.  Great afternoon!!

Cuddles

Enough said.

Launch

The weather wasn't very good yesterday (read chilly and rainy) so we headed south to a trampoline park in Nashua, Launch.

They have a toddler-only time, which was amazing because there were maybe 15 other kids there.  So it was like having the whole place to ourselves.  It was a blast.  I wish I lived closer because we would be there every day!  Wore the girls out and they had SO MUCH FUN!

A Midweek NH Trip

Since Veteran's Day is tomorrow and MiniM.E. doesn't have school, we decided to come to NH for a few days.  MiniM.E. is always beyond excited to visit Gram and Grumpy's house.  This trip we have done some Target shopping:

trampolining:

and outside playing:

complete with leaves, which we do not have piles of to play in at our house:

Downtown

We haven't been downtown just to walk around for a while, so after school yesterday we decided to have lunch downtown, take a walk through the park to see the ducks and stop at the library.

Firsts: Two Adorable Videos

LittleL.G. has been "walking" for a couple weeks now, but still prefers the safety of a hand to hold and is not really excited about walking on anything except our floors.

But today at the playground she decided she was excited to walk on her own and even pushed my hand away!

And a first for MiniM.E. (who sadly, doesn't get a lot of firsts at the age of four): monkey bars.

A Warm Spell

After last winter lasted longer than I thought 4 months (are you sure it was just four and not twenty four?) ever could... I mean there were days when I would look at the clock and think hours must have gone by and realize nope, just three minutes.  Not because I don't love my kids and want to spend time with them, but it was SO COLD and SO SNOWY (like up to a three-year-old's shoulders- you can't go out and play in that!) that we spent more time indoors together than is healthy for anyone.

Of course there are rumors that this winter will be colder and snowier and longer, if that's even possible.

So when the first week in November brings temperatures in the 60s, you spend every possible moment outside.