Silly Me!!!

I thought it would be simple. Dress the kids up and set them by the tree. Take some pictures and get a Christmas card going! What was I thinking? I definitely now know why we have PROFESSIONALS that do this! It was awful! As soon as I'd get them situated, one was looking at me and the other was leaving! So, here's a few examples! Keep in mind that I probably took 30 pictures in a short time...then my memory card filled up b/c I didn't empty it before I started this project!

Thanksgiving

We all had a lot to be thankful for this year. As many of you know, my Grandma fell and broke her hip weeks ago. She has had some other health issues that went along with this as well. She has been in a hospital and is now being moved to another facility close to my parents. We went home for Thanksgiving and we were able to celebrate it with her. It was great to see everyone and eat great food! The kids had a great time! My Grandma now has to use a walker and Bear really liked it b/c of the tennis balls on the end...then Kate liked it as well! Poor Grandma! She was a good sport about it!

The Tree Went Up...

Our tradition has been to put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving. Kate went down for her nap and Matt, Zach, and I put it up! It was a lot of fun...when Kate woke up, she was soooo surprised to see the tree! She was very excited and wanted to re-arrange all the ornaments for us!

Fun at the Park

We had a beautiful day and we knew they wouldn't last. So, Matt and I took the kids (and the dogs) to the park to play! Everyone had a great time! The kids especially had fun on the sliding bar with Matt!

Festival of Trees

Erin and I took the kids to the Festival of Trees this year. It's always nice to look at all the pretty trees, but it was REALLY packed on the day we went. It was very tough to get through the crowds. Zach was disappointed that he didn't get to play in the playland, but the lines were incredibly long and Kate was definitely done with the whole deal! The kids went to see Santa...Zach loved it and Kate was definitely afraid. Zach also had a conversation with the "talking tree." Hopefully, next year will be better with Santa!

Just Playing

After the Barnes and Noble night, we tried to go to Steak n' Shake, but it was too long of a wait. So Erin and I got the food to go and came back to our house to let the kids play! It is hilarious to listen to Kate and Julia "talk" to each other! They love Zach and he's so good with them!

On November 19th, my school had a fundraiser at Barnes and Noble. The kids and I went and the Zoo Lady was there! She is a very talented face painter. Zach has never been interested in this, but Kate went right up to her and started "talking" with her. She then climbed up into the chair and sat ever so still and let the Zoo Lady paint her face. The Zoo Lady only painted 2 flowers on her face, because she didn't think she'd stay still, but Kate came back for more! Since Kate did the face painting, Zach decided to try it! You'll notice we went to Steak n' Shake after the event!

Buddy...

My parent's dog, Buddy, had to be put to sleep a few weeks ago. He had a large tumor on the side of his body and he was not doing very well. It was a very tough decision for my parents. Buddy will be very missed. When I told Zach about Buddy, he wanted to get Buddy a red balloon to send up to him in doggy heaven. We did this when our dog, Sam, passed away. Zach was only 3 at the time, but he remembers us letting off a balloon for Sam! So, Zach wrote Buddy a message and even drew a picture of himself on it so that Buddy would know that it was from him. Zach is so sweet! RIP Buddy! Lots of love!

A tender moment...

Kate loves to wake up Zach in the morning! She is always happy to see him and he's happy to see her...usually! Zach is such a great big brother! Zach loves to read to Kate and have her chase him everywhere! It's a lot of fun!!! We are very blessed with two great kids!

Crazy Hair Kate!

These pics were taken the day after Kate turned 17 months! She has the craziest hair in the morning! It's hilarious!

Kate's 17 months!

It's amazing how much she is growing and changing! I've heard a lot of people say how she is not really favoring Matt anymore but that she's beginning to look like me! Poor kid!

Fall Fun

It was a gorgeous weekend for a change! No rain...just sun and fun! The kids and I had a great time playing outside while Daddy spent A LOT of time raking leaves!!! We went over to Ewing Park to play and found this to be a great place to take pictures! Hopefully we can make it back over there while there is still nice weather to take some more pictures!

Halloween

So this Halloween was pretty laid back. Zach had been sick all week before and had missed an entire week of school. Poor guy! Matt and I decided not to let him go outside to trick-and-treat with his friends...and Zach was pretty bummed! So, we trick-or-treated in our house! Zach still reminds me that we didn't get to go with our friends this year...someday he'll forget about this!!! Zach was a Clone Wars Trooper and Kate was a witch! They had fun getting candy and going room to room.

Zach lost his first tooth!!!

Back on Oct. 19th, Zach discovered that one of his teeth was loose! He was very excited! 2 days later, the tooth was out!!! It went way faster than I remember! He was very excited to see what the tooth fairy was going to bring him. That next morning, he came running out to show us that he had $2.00!!! (I know...big spenders) I had gone and checked on him during the night and he must have found his money earlier b/c it was clenched in his hands while he slept! :) Somehow, the tooth fairy left him $5.00 at Grandma and Grandpa's (I don't remember this part as a kid) so Grandma and Grandpa mailed it in a card for Zach! He loves receiving money...he now has the same rule his father does: If there's money in the card, he'll read it. If there's no money in the card...let's just say it may not get read! :)

Random Pics

Kate thinks it's a lot of fun to chase Zach now! She stole his mask for Halloween and was chasing him one night! Zach wasn't too excited about the fact that she had his mask...he was more afraid of her drooling on it than anything! They love dancing and playing together!