It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Thanksgiving has already come and gone and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving break. We didn't have to fight any traffic and we didn't brave any black Friday crowds, we just had a relaxing weekend and watched a lot of football. Our house is all ready for Christmas, the trees are decorated, the lights are up and the presents are wrapped. I love the weekend after Thanksgiving!
On Saturday I took the kids to the children's museum and it was a holiday celebration there as well. The kids got to see Santa and make Christmas ornaments with Mrs. Claus. We've broken out the Christmas music and we are ready for the holidays. The kids are very excited, except Addy who is very disappointed that we just have "boring white lights" everywhere instead of fun colorful lights. Doesn't she know her mom dreams of a White Christmas?

Stylin' & Smilin'

Here is a picture of Cameron after getting his new hair cut for what we thought would be picture day at school. Too bad they were canceled, he was all ready and looking fancy.

School Pics

I wanted to post school pictures of both Addy and Cameron, but Cameron's have now been canceled twice so I'm not sure if he'll ever have his school pics. We got Adelyn's and they look awesome! (I realize the quality doesn't come through on the computer, but I swear they are pretty good for school pics). I can't believe how grown up she looks now. We are so proud of her and it is such a privilege watching her grow up.

Busy Weekend

It was another fun and busy weekend for us. Chuck and Robin came over Friday night to watch the kids so Brian and I could go out. The kids were terrible right up until we left and then were angels while we were gone (I told them it was a sign of how comfortable the kids are around them that they showed their "other" side).  Brian and I had a date night which was dinner followed by some much needed errands (buying food and wine is so much better without kids around). On Saturday Cameron and I went to a pirate birthday party and Addy and Brian did some swimming. Addy is really getting good. Then we had some friends over for dinner and we let the (5) kids run around like crazy! It was a good thing it wasn't bath night because right before they showed up our hot water heater stopped working and started leaking. Luckily Brian was able to handle it and today got someone to come put in a new one! Today we watched the Seahawks win and we (Brian) started to put together Cameron's new bedroom furniture. 

The best line of the weekend was when Brian had a football game on the TV and it kept cutting out and stopping. Cameron said "this game must be from the library because it doesn't work." He said that because the last few movies that we've rented from the library didn't work and kept stopping. I also started getting prepped for Cam's superhero-themed birthday party that is coming up. Turns out a bunch of boxes from IKEA make for great super hero shields!

8 is enough!

Over the weekend Adelyn lost her 8th tooth! This was just a couple weeks after losing #7. It was during dinner and the tooth was literally just barely hanging on and I told her to just pull it. She did it and was very brave, even with all of the blood. The best line was after she started eating again she said, "I wish I didn't have to lose that tooth, that was a good one for eating!"

Last of the Birthday Pics

Here are the last of the birthday pics from Addy's celebration at my brother's house. She got to pick out her own cake and loved opening all of the presents in front of everyone. She also got to have her nails done by her cousin Sydney. What could be better?

I think I'm not the only one who thinks this might be a good idea for an annual trip:)

92 years and 1 day

Here are the last of the catch up posts from our trip. As I said one of the many highlights was getting to see my grandma so close to her 98th birthday Addy's birthday is only a day later so it was fun to see the birthday girls together. 

My grandma never ceases to amaze me and is still as sharp and sweet as ever. She and Addy have a lot in common, they both loves books and sweets! It was such a special treat to get to see her on this trip. 

A is for Amazing

Last week it was parent-teacher conference week so we got to meet with Adelyn's teacher. The teacher had so many nice things to say about Adelyn. She said that Addy knows all of the numbers, letters and words that she is supposed to learn by the end of the year and that she always is helping others learn and sets a good example of how to listen. She said that she was very impressed with Adelyn's reading ability so she tried having Addy read more advanced books. Turns out Adelyn is reading at a 2nd great level already. The teacher suggested that we have Addy take an assessment that is offered from the school district to see if she should go to a special school next year for capable kids. We have no idea what to expect, but are certainly very proud of her.

Cameron also had his teacher conferences and his teacher had great things to say about Cameron. She said he is a very good listener and sets a good example for the class. She said that he is very engaging with his classmates and is always getting others to participate in whatever activity the teacher is trying to do. She said his strengths include being potty trained, tracing, knowing his shapes and throwing and catching things. She has been working on getting him to color within the lines (he is only 2!) and says she's seen a lot of improvement recently. We are really impressed with how many letters he already knows and he never misses a beat by telling us "C is for Cameron and J is for Jensen."

We could not be more proud of our two wonderful kids and are constantly so amazed by everything they are able to do.

Wedding Fun

One of the other highlights of our trip was going to my cousin Jeremy's wedding. Addy was very excited about going to it and it was such a surprise that her and Isabelle had almost the exact same dress and it wasn't even planned. Apparently my sister and I both have good taste because we picked out adorable matching outfits for the girls without even trying.
It was a beautiful day for a wedding and actually reminded me a lot of the day Brian and I got married. The girls had a wonderful time together and enjoyed dancing the night away. And I felt officially old, I was ready to head home well before the night was over and my 15 year old niece Sydney drove us home!! What?!?!

Cousin Etta

Its finally time to catch up from our trip! One of the many highlights is that we got to meet cousin Etta. Addy was very excited to see her, but didn't want to hold her. I, on the other hand, couldn't get enough. I really have forgotten just how sweet and tiny newborns are. She was so precious and slept in my arms for quite awhile. It was wonderful!

Addy had a great time and was spoiled for her birthday. It was great to see everyone and meet the newest member of the family. 

Senorita Sofia

A couple weeks ago Adelyn started a spanish class at school. She started out pretty shy, especially since she is the only kindergartner in the class, but I think she is finally starting to warm up. Everyone got to pick out Spanish names and her name is Sophia. She has learned a lot in just a few weeks and it's fun for all of us to practice it at home.

The other day we caught Cameron holding the Spanish booklet and speaking "Spanish" which is really just made up, but it was super cute. 

Happy Halloween

The kids had a SUPER halloween as the SUPER SIBLING HEROS! Cameron was Superman and Addy was Supergirl. We headed downtown and it was very crowded but we actually ran into one of Addy's classmates and one of Cameron's friends. The kids were not shy about trick or treating and as usual they got a haul of candy. 

My favorite was watching Cameron dance one of the ghouls downtown, his reaction to the minion and him saying hi to every other super hero he saw. Adelyn was very good about making sure Cameron remembered the task at hand (getting candy) as sometimes he got distracted while waiting in line and just wanted to look at the other trick or treaters. 

Another great Halloween, we'll see if our candy lasts as long this year as it did last year!

Super Sleepover

For Addy's birthday this year, instead of a party she got to have a sleepover. She picked her friend Sabrina and it just happened to be Sabrina's first-ever sleepover so it was very special. The girls ha fun coloring, decorating dresses & jewelry boxes, carving pumpkins and playing with Addy's new lego set. Even though these two don't see each other often, they are so great with each other and never fight about anything. If only the same could be said of little brothers:)