Cutting Down the Tree

The season between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so short this year that I really wanted to get the tree the weekend before Thanksgiving, but with such a full house we wouldn't have had room for the tree and the table in the living room. 

We headed to Bob's Trees, our favorite cut your own farm because they have reindeer and wagon rides. Found the tree right away, in typical fashion. As MiniM.E. kindly informed us, "getting a tree is like looking at the first tree and then having to walk around a farm all day until your legs hurt finding the best tree and just picking the first one that only Mommy likes anyway." This year with four kids in tow and no snow for pulling the sled, we only did a little of the "walking around the farm all day".

Compared to how easy it was to check if all our lights were working, decide they weren't, buy new ones at the store, decided those wouldn't do, and go back to get more lights from a different store, getting the tree this year was a walk in the park!

On the agenda for tomorrow: the rest of the Christmas decorating!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a busy, full house for Thanksgiving. Gram and Grumpy, Auntie Jen and Uncle Dan and E., Uncle Billy and Aunt Donya and their new baby, and our neighbor from across the street. 

It was loud and crazy and busy and hectic and delicious. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Best of Friends

SlimJim is just coming into playing with the girls. LittleL.G. is the closest in age, and they play frequently and fiercely. It is a love, hate relationship: when they are playing they are either having the best time in the world, or someone is in tears. Adding a boy to the mix has certainly spiced things up and I'm always surprised at how differently they play than the girls. 

If found this today (pardon the crumbs visible in this photo- you wouldn't have believed what was attached to those pajamas when they got out!)

Snow Bank Play

We headed up to Wilton Wildlife this morning for their preschool nature hour. Technically only appropriate for one of my kids, but the girls learn a lot and they always make a craft afterward, which is usually more appropriate for bigger kids anyway (crafts for preschoolers can be so tricky!).

We arrived early, because you never know how long it's going to take to wrangle four kids out of the car when no one wants to get dressed in snow clothes or go for a hike in the winter.

Today went well, so the kids had plenty of time to explore the snow banks and dig in the snow with sticks.

A Hamster and Some Turkeys

We have a very sweet, very lovable, yet sadly often ignored hamster- Winslow. Not that the kids don't love him. SlimJim would play with him all day, every day. But two year olds have a tendency towards squishing, dropping and throwing, so he must be closely supervised. LittleL.G. also really loves to play with him, but until very recently she was afraid to take him out, as the memory of tiny teeth and bloody fingers doesn't fade fast. MiniM.E. is the most comfortable with him, but as the kids are always together, she likes to take charge and dictate the holding and playing, so hamster sessions can often end in tears. 

When they do play with him, it is adorable. 

Also, we got balloon animal turkeys at the Farmer's Market.

Crazy

More Snow

Stir Crazy Kid

My Boys

It was probably a week after coming home with Mr.T. that SlimJim hardly remembered a time without a baby in the house. He has always been so much more accepting of the baby than I expected. 

Now that Mr.T. is behaving more like a toddler than an infant, SlimJim isn't having any of it. Mr.T. crawls, he plays with toys, he sits on my lap, and most of all he is always being carried in "that space" that SlimJim wants, regardless of which arm I'm holding him in. 

When they are together the yells of, "No Baby!!" and "Mine!" fill the air until SlimJim gets so fed up he pushes Mr.T. away (or down, or in the face) and the yells turn to happy babbling mixed with baby crying.

When I drew the bath tonight, I wasn't surprised SlimJim wanted "No Baby!" in the tub. But everyone needed a wash, so in he went. And I enjoyed every minute of watching them tolerate each other for the whole. entire. time. Not one, "No Baby!"

Sounds like we need more baths in our lives!

A Wedding!

Yesterday Auntie Jen and Dan got married! It was a small ceremony, but so sweet. We are so happy for them!

After the wedding Dan had to officially sit on the kids to become their uncle. (Where does Daddy think up these things?)

We all went out to an early dinner with the newly weds and had some fantastic chocolate cake for dessert. 

Since we were already in NH, we stayed a couple days to play.

The timing worked out so well that we were able to stop in at Auntie Jen's official store opening event on our way back to NY.

So many congratulations to Auntie Jen! On getting married, her new job, and her successful opening event!

November Snow Day!

It was a loooong week at our house. I have always despised the time change, boycotting by referring to any hour of the day and then adding on the correct "old time" for months. Then we had kids and the time change was even more disastrous. For years I thought it was the kids that made it so hard, but I now realize that it is also me whose behavior suffers because I get cranky when I'm overtired too!

Even though we are homeschooling, the kids still feel the time change, especially with many of our activities being later in the evening, pushing bedtime back to "new time" even if they could have used to go to bed earlier when their bodies said they were tired. Then those overtired kids fall into bed and their internal clocks wake them up at the time that is now an hour earlier... but we made it through!

A fantastic treat for our Friday was waking up this morning to a little more than a dusting of snow. The kids were so excited that the minute we were done with school they bundled up and rushed out the door to play in it. It wasn't much for playing in, but there has been so much rain it was so cold last night that there were lots of frozen puddles to collect "ice burgs" from. They were soaking wet five minutes in. On a fifty degree day it might drizzle on them and they would complain of being freezing and wet, but kids never seem to care about being cold and wet when they are actually cold and wet, so they stayed out for a long time!

Welcome, Baby O!

Our friends had a baby a few weeks ago and we are all finally well enough that we were able to go to visit today. The girls were so in love. 

Doesn't Get Cuter Than This Guy

It's been a crazy fall with two kids schooling and a wild and crazy toddler terrorizing the house. Seems like we are always a little too busy and things are a little too hectic and I don't manage to take as many photos as I would like. I have to document my little guy growing though. He's usually just hanging around our feet, along for the ride, but he lights up our days. 

He is cruising and walking with furniture, clapping, eating anything he can find and is just about the best baby in the world- if only he would sleep a little bit more.