leavenworth

We managed to get our annual Leavenworth trip in this year! Once again it was a pleasant day sledding, window shopping and enjoying all the pretty Christmas lights.

Mr managed to conk out once the hat was over his eyes.

Mr won't keep gloves on, so we've discovered socks work really well.

bug's 9th

Bug turned 9! She was so excited to celebrate her big day. The Saturday before her birthday she invited a few close friends to go roller skating with her and have some pizza and do some cupcake decorating afterwards. Everyone had a great time! Her actual birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year, She was so thrilled to have so many family members around to sing her happy birthday! And Andrew and I made all her dreams come true by getting her a little cotton candy machine. We're not too sure we've seen her more excited. 

We all love that Bug is apart of our family and can't imagine life without her. She is such pleasant company to be around and we have quite enjoyable little chats together. She is smart, kind, can be pretty silly and is helpful to all of her siblings. Bug's most favorite past time is reading. She love love loves to read. Every night before bed she's always looking for another good book to settle down with. When she grows up she says she wants to be an author and illustrator. Currently she's working on her own book entitled, 'A Light in the Attic' and is on chapter 11. She also loves soccer and wishes that it was a year round thing. She plays the piano and although she would probably not call it a love, she willingly practices and is good at it. This year in particular, I've noticed her piano songs sound like actual music and its so pleasant to listen to as she practices. Her favorite colors are teal and mint. Take note of the pictures below. We also can't get this hat off her...she sports it all day and night! Happy birthday my beautiful girl. We sure do love you! 

bitsy meets thanksgiving

The animal lover in Bitsy came out and she was horrified to find out Thanksgiving involved a real dead turkey. 

dear santa

Dear Santa,
I've been really good this year and very helpful. Mom says I'll never get a second date with my table manners, but I'm not old enough to care yet. Forks are overrated. Please bring me something awesome and I promise I won't poke my younger siblings as much in the car.

A messy but great girl

Dear Santa,
I'm making great strides this year. My parents think I save all my good behavior for school, but I'm good at home too. It is just plan bad luck that they always catch me teasing. I'd like something cool, but maybe something I can take apart would be best.

A destructive but creative boy

Dear Santa,
I'd fit in great at the North Pole. I eat a very balanced diet of candy, candy canes, and syrup. I'm also just one bundle of fun. I'm all set to be super excited on Christmas morning. I'd really like my own dog, but Dad says they don't clean up after themselves. So please bring me more baby stuff and I'll promise to take my daily cry/tantrums down a notch.

A fierce and excited girl

Dear Santa,
I finally learned to walk and I have a few words down this year. I know mom and dad don't like it when I give them my chewed up food, but I think mom is trying to keep me as a chubby baby. I'd like to play with the big kids without being mauled and maybe a ball.

A dirty and patient boy

happy halloween

This year we had a unicorn, fire fighter, princess and puppy. Happy Halloween!

pumpkin patch

We all loved our annual family visit to the pumpkin patch!

our littles

 With two kids in school and a bit more energy and time, I've been feeling the need to snap some more pictures of my kids. I sure do love this clan of mine.

I love my two bookends.

A friend and I recently did a family photo swap and got some much needed family pictures. I'm pretty sure its about self preservation, but I've created an arbitrary rule that only once the youngest in the family is one do we need a new family picture. Thanks for capturing these Lindsey!

hi

Mr has been working on learning some words but none of us saw him mastering 'hi' as is second best one (right after 'num num' aka food). He says it to all of us over and over again. Everyone around here thinks its super adorable and he's pretty pleased with the reaction he's getting from everyone. I couldn't resist plunking him in this shirt and snapping a photo as documentation.

bitsy starts ballet

Bitsy is so excited to be doing a little ballet class this year. In the car, after her first class, she said she wanted it to go longer and that she wanted to come again the next day. We love our little ballerina! 

peter turns 1

Mr turned 1! This past year flew by and has caused me to reflect back a bit. Not that any of my pregnancies weren't particularly normal, but my body was so tired by the end of Mr's pregnancy and I was so excited to meet him that I felt such joy and relief at his arrival. His labor was much like his personality has been so far; very calm, steady and sweet. He was just the personality I needed to have around this past year with all the ups and downs that came along with having most of my kids still  home during the day. All my kids were so excited to meet him and although there is always an adjustment for everyone when you bring a new little one into your family, everyone adored Mr and has continued to do so. 

Along with all his sweetness he is a great sleeper and obviously a good eater! He's got tight little curls on the back of his head that I love, 8 teeth, a few words; 'num num' (food), 'more' and 'mama.' And is working on 'dada' and 'all done.' He crawls all over, has just mastered coming down the stairs, if missing is usually found in Tank's room or the playroom, and he is just starting to balance on his feet but has yet to start cruising around with the help of furniture.  

He also happens to be my snuggliest baby. One thing I really want to remember from his baby phase is his before nap/nighttime ritual. Before going to sleep he always gets a bottle and gives a great big smile after he's done with it, almost as if saying thank you. He then sits up, gives a little snuggle on your shoulder and dishes out 2-4 very slobbery kisses. This whole thing is making my motivation to ween him from the bottle pretty low. 

His birthday happened to fall on Labor day this year, so we deferred from our traditional birthday dinner celebration and did a breakfast one instead! And, probably because Mr's our 4th, he had already tried cake, he had it at my sister's wedding and loved it! The love of 'bear claws' has been passed down to my children from Andrew. So we had a bear claw 'breakfast cake' instead. Tank's pretty tempted to request the same thing for his birthday. We then went out on the boat and had a nice afternoon enjoying the river and beach (and where Mr got a little more cake to celebrate). Oh little one, we all sure do adore you and are so glad you're apart of our family!

The kids spent the entire morning (no joke, it was hours) pushing Mr around in his sweet new ride! 

Happy birthday sweet little one!