December 26, Thinking Outside The Box

Notice she had to first chuck all the princess dolls to the floor before climbing in the buggy!

December 25, Merry Christmas!

Despite having the stomach flu, Alex enjoyed Christmas morning immensely...and then took a nap :)

December 24, It Is So Hard To Wait!

So on Christmas Eve we let the kids open gifts from us and some family members. With Brad and Alex feeling under the weather, this is sure to cheer them up!

December 23, Photo Cards

We love looking at all the beautiful photo cards that make their way to our house at Christmas!

December 22, Visiting Aunt Karen...

...involves Abby redecorating Karen's lovely candle displays around the house. I kind of like the candles-on-the-coasters look myself.

December 21, Sledding

Bundling everyone up to go sledding takes as long as the time we spend actually playing in the snow :)

December 20, Wii Time

Abby's been trying to play Wii with us during these winter months.

Sometimes we actually let her play Mario Kart, or Wii Fit, other times she just holds a remote and pretends to play. She actually can play the game on Wii Fit where you try to catch the fish on a floating iceberg. True story.

December 19, Creative Lunch

Dad made lunch. Enough said.

December 18, Nutcracker

Alex and I had a special date to see The Nutcracker this afternoon in downtown Chicago. It was a great show!

December 17, Last Day Of School

Playing a game with no instructions. Guess we'll make them up as we go!

December 16, Twas The Night Before The Last Day Of School...

Why did I save this all for the night before??

December 15, Warm And Cozy

Abby warming up after a nice day of shopping and lunching at Oakbrook. She was a trooper!

December 14, Mr. Potato Head

Abby is having the best time playing with Alex's Mr. Potato Head toys. Kind of goes hand in hand with her Toy Story obsession.

December 13, Best Buds

So sweet watching Monster's Inc. together. Or "Ra-Ra-Rink" as Abby calls it.

December 12, Gingerbread House Decorating

For the third year in a row, Alex (and Vanessa) decorated gingerbread houses at the local bakery. The difference was that this year we started eating it as soon as we got home :)

December 11, The Polar Express

Thanks Grandma Kathy! It even has a CD version he can listen to at bedtime. Perfect!

December 10, Snow At Night

We love watching the snow fall at night, especially on the weekends when we don't "have to" go anywhere. It is so bright outside when it snows at night. Love it.

December 9, Dinnertime Puzzles

"Here kids, why don't you do puzzles while I make dinner?"

December 8, Ballpit Fun

Last day of having the ball pit in the playroom. We'll surely break it back out again in a month or so...

December 7, After Dinner Snowball Fight

This was before the next snow storm rolled through...

December 6, Our Little Candy Cane

This sort of outfit is only acceptable once a year. OK, maybe at Valentine's Day too, but really that's all.

December 5, Photo With Santa

No caption really necessary here...

December 4, Let It Snow

The kids, all 3 of them, got bundled up to play in the snow Saturday morning. The bundling process takes quite some time, as you can imagine. Alex built a snowman with Brad while Abby ate the snow.

December 3, The Diapers Are Here!

Everyone gets excited about diaper delivery day, especially Abby.

December 2, Advent Calendar

Alex was eager to dig into the Lego Advent calendar once December arrived. Each day there is a little figure for him to put together at the breakfast table.

December 1, My Kind Of Guy...

...will carry a Vera Bradley bag through the airport without complaint.

November 30, Houston

A little Christmas shopping, in Houston, with my best bud Becca. Here she is spreading Christmas cheer.

November 29, Sibling Love

Abby loves to roughhouse with Alex and he's learning how to wrestle gently with her in return.

November 28, Our "Soft Only" Tree

Given our tree troubles this year, we opted for a "soft-only" tree. Can you see our new yo-yo Christmas garland that Gigi has been constructing for us? It is the perfect colors, soft, and virtually indestructible!

November 27, Headed Home

By Saturday we decided to head home with the sick kiddos and try to get everyone healthy for the week ahead. We visited with Aunt Nicci (for her birthday) and Uncle Andrew and got to see their new apartment in Hyde Park too!

November 26, Fun With Cousins

Alex, teaching Aiden lots of tricks, good and bad I'm sure!

November 25, Thanksgiving Day 2

Alex loves to take photos!

November 24, Thanksgiving Day 1

Abby got up a little too early from her nap, but made up for it snoozing with Daddy on the couch :)

November 23, Off To Gigi's House

Alex asked to stop by Gigi's house on this last visit to Cincinnati, and that's just what we did!

November 22, Ear Infection

Poor girl had a yucky cold complete with an ear infection right before we left for Cincinnati at Thanksgiving.

November 21, "Hangman"

At some point, Alex learned how to play "hangman" and Winnie the Pooh, Brad, and I played with Alex this afternoon while Abby napped.

November 20, Michigan Winery Tour

One of the best birthday presents ever!

November 19, Out To Dinner

Aunt Nicci and Uncle Andrew came in to visit this weekend and we went out to dinner. Abby did not eat anything until we were about ready to leave, when she started eating brown rice off this large spoon!

November 18, The Tree, Part 3

The new and improved tree features only soft, completely unbreakable ornaments and is only decorated above the 3'. Everything is out of reach from Abby and the cats and should the new, sturdy tree fall over, at least nothing will break.

November 17, Who Needs Toys?

"Look Mom, it's a rocketship!"

November 16, Trying Something Smaller

Alex thought he'd try to decorate something a little smaller, like this tree from Gigi.

November 15, The Tree, Part 2

Scooter the cat tried to climb the tree, the base cracked and Brad had to prop up the tree with these plastic tubs til I got home. At which point, we went out and replaced the 9 year old tree with a lovely, new pre-lit tree.

In Scooter's defense, the tree was a little wobbly when we first put it up and it was probably only a matter of time before it toppled. Half the ornaments fell off and a few broke :(

November 14, The Tree, Part 1

Alex is the official tree decorator in the house. He decorated the whole thing and did a great job. Stay tuned...

November 13, It's Hard To Ride 2 Horses At Once

Pretending she's "Jessie" from Toy Story, riding on "Bullseye".

November 12, Happy 30th Birthday Mom!

It was a great day :)

November 11, First Haircut

Abby had her first haircut, which was really just a trim around the edges. She hated every minute of it and couldn't wait to get down!

November 10, Early Risers

The kids still haven't adjusted to the extra hour of sleep and they are up anywhere from 5-6:30 in the morning. Some days that means they get to eat breakfast with Brad, which is a special treat during the week!

November 9, Trash Helper

She pushed both recycle bins up the driveway and wheeled the two big trash cans up as well. What a big helper!

November 8, The Park!

Temps in the 60s meant it was off to the park for us!

November 7, Posing

Posing by her bed...