End of November

It's almost December and we are warming up over here. This past weekend's weather was amazing and we got a lot done. We put the tree up, which was the big chore, and the kids have been playing under/around it ever since. In fact, the photo below of Talor laying under the tree sucking his thumb was taken about 20 minutes after the tree was up. We have an identical looking photo taken 4 years ago at my mom's house with him doing the exact same thing. Some things never change I guess. The other photo shows the kids doing with Paul and I used to do when we were kids - playing G.I. Joe's inside the tree. It's been fun to watch.

Maddy and Lola don't always get along - they were both laying by me the other night and Maddy just couldn't face the fact that Lola was near her. She did everything she could to not look at that cat! It was pretty funny, so we of course took a photo of it.

As I said before, the weather has been amazing. We put the gazebo up by the trampoline and then filled the kiddy pool. The kids LOVED being able to try out their new goggles.

Talor's Birthday and Other Stuff

On Thursday we celebrated Talor's birthday and Thanksgiving at the same time. Nana provided the Ben 10 ice cream cake and we ate that (with pumpkin pie) after going through all of the Thanksgiving staples. Talor was spoiled by everyone and had a VERY good time. Thanks everyone!

Earlier in the day I was able to sneak away from school to celebrate Talor's "graduation" from kindy. Talor and Layla didn't realize I was coming, so it was pretty neat to see their surprised reaction. I had all the kids mezmerized when I moved my car forward a few inches and even got a hand held usher as I looked for Talor. I played hide and seek with the kids and had a ball!

In order to prepare for "graduation," Talor had some work to do. He made his crown, decorated the cover of his birthday card from the kindy, and made a playdough cake. When the big time finally arrived he sat in the birthday chair, after being able to ring the bell for mat time, and was spoiled. They went through his time at kindy, looked at his portfolio and artwork and told some stories. There were lots of songs and then Talor handed out fruit to all the other kids. He had a blast, and I was so happy that Shell, Layla and I were able to be there to celebrate it with him. Now off to "big boy" school at the start of next year.

The day before Talor's birthday Shell took the kids, with lots of their friends, to the zoo for the day. Miss Julie painted all the kids faces (they looked AMAZING, I think) and everyone had a ball. They always love the zoo, but even more when they get to hang out with their friends at the same time.

Layla's Birthday Party

Here are some photos from Layla's birthday party at Nana and Grumpy's house tonight. She was very spoiled by everyone and even Talor got a present that he wanted badly! Thanks to everyone for your generosity - she had a GREAT day! Check back in on Thursday for another update.

The Big 3 Year Old

Well, our big girl is 3 today and she got some pretty cool clothes from her Godmother this morning. She was so excited about it that she stripped down and put them all on straight away. She is spending the morning with Nana today while Talor goes on a visit to his new school (next year) and then we will all congregate at Nana and Grumpy's house for a celebratory dinner tonight. No doubt she will get VERY spoiled with presents! Another update will come in a few days when the boy turns 5!