Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came early for the boys this year. They got to have an old babysitter who is now in college come visit for a whole week. They could not have been happier. Every time they woke up from nap or bed and saw her there, they just beamed. It was also nice for Rob and I to have someone else who loves the kids around.

For her visit, we hit Chick-Fil-A, the Dinosaur Restaurant, and cooked a ton of food.

Gabe on the way to the Dinosaur Restaurant...ready to slay the T-Rex

Watching the Fish

Slaying T-Rex

Making Turkey Cookies

Gabe and Stephanie

They boys with Stephanie

Pillow Fight

Christmas for the Boys

So, I have been shopping for Christmas. It is hard to get them anything because, well, they have SOOOO MUCH!!! This year they are getting the Geotrax CARS set. The cars are remote controlled on a track and Gabe should be able to work it too. Gabe is getting an RC car for the street (so he will stop trying to take his brothers) and some cool sound making drum sticks. Anthony is getting a digital camera (yes, a real one, not the little kid ones that take crummy pictures). He shows a real interest in taking photos, so I want them to come out ok when he tries. Other than that, it will just be what comes from Grandparents, which hopefully won't be too much.

I'll try to get Thanksgiving pics posted tomorrow.

Snow

Now I remember part of what I love and hate about the middle of the country. Last week it was sunny and 70 and beautiful. We were in shorts! Yesterday and today it snowed. Yep, enough to actually dust the lawns. The boys were ecstatic; I was not quite as thrilled. Anthony has decided that he wants to go skiing...we'll see. He is totally my little Alaska baby. He loves the cold and snow...he played for hours outside in WA when it snowed. Gabe is more like his mommy, snow is pretty to watch from inside the house with hot chocolate and a fire.

Great Wolf Lodge

Was a great deal of fun! The boys had a blast...all of them. I thought it was great too. Anthony was super impressive. He swam with the life jacket and did not want me anywhere near him. He went down the big slides...and loved it. He was so confident. He has never been this way in the pool...ever. I couldn't have been prouder of the way he was.

Gabe is about to become a fish...If he doesn't drown in the process. Unlike Anthony he had only a mild interest in the slides. I think he is still just a little small for them anyways. However, he is putting his head under water and opening his eyes. I am going to look for kids goggles for him...maybe even a snorkel.

Rob and I both really like water slides and parks, so I am glad the kids had a great time.

We went because it was a friend of Anthony's Birthday. Anthony and Zachary were in the same preschool class when we lived in Washington. Now we are all here together and it couldn't have worked out better. They have 3 boys: 5, 3.5, and 1. It just works really well. For Zachary's B-Day we went to eat at Styx restaurant, a Japanese steak house where they cook the food in front of you. Gabe was in awe, Anthony thinks we need a stove like that. Anthony even tried to catch the shrimp in his mouth.

The boys all watching cartoons together

We sprung for the kid's camp room, but I was unimpressed and probably won't next time

Anthony trying to catch a shrimp

Gabe Watching Fire

Gabe on the giant snake in the "big" pool...yes, he wore his sunglasses the whole time and called them his underwater glasses

Gabe on the small slide

The boys together

Gabe and Dad in the warm pool (hot tub)

The glasses just crack me up

Zachary and Anthony on the slides together

Me and Anthony

Me and my boys

Rob and Anthony in the hot tub

Lazing in the lazy river

It's a...

BOY!


Yep, we will be having another bouncing, baby boy. We took the kids with us to the ultrasound. They thought it was neat, but still had trouble understanding that just because it has arms and legs and a heart it wasn't ready to come out. They liked hearing the heartbeat the best.

Foot print

You can see the feet, knees, and head

Baby's legs and feet crossed

Top of head with hands folded in front

Friend's Birthday

We had a yummy breakfast today for a friend's birthday party. It is funny because here we only know little girls. I got to make a tutu for her and a little apron, which her older sister promptly asked me to make for her birthday too. It was nice to sit and chat with friends over coffee (and yes, the guys were drinking beer) while the kids ran around.

It was also a simply amazing day, near 75. The boys helped me finish up trimming for winter and Rob mowed the grass for what we hope is the last time till spring. Now we all have homework and the kids desperately need to head to bed.

Happy Halloween!

We took the boys trick or treating in the neighborhood tonight. The boys loved wandering around. We met a few more neighbors too. Now the kids are on a sugar high from their 3 piece allotment of candy. Can't wait to raid it tonight :-)

Pumpkin Carving

So the boys wanted to carve the pumpkin. They begged and begged. But before it was even cleaned out they abandoned poor Dad.

Trick or Treating Round 1

The boys went trick or treating at the county courthouse today.  Anthony was excited from the start, but Gabe was indifferent...until he saw the candy.  Once it clicked what this was all about he was very excited.  My mom got to join us before leaving town.  They are both 'daddy lions with manes.'

We also took the kids to the T-Rex restaurant in KC.  It is run by the same people that do Rainforest Cafe, but this one is obviously dinosaur themed.  When we first walked in, Anthony saw the giant mechanical T-Rex and was ready to run.  But I was proud, he took a deep breath and realized it was all pretend and not scary.  We sat under a jellyfish light and got to watch the fish swim in a nearby tank.  The kids just loved it.  I think we will definitely be back.

The Pumpkin Patch

I took the boys to the pumpkin patch about a week ago. We had the place to our selves, but it was cloudy and super windy. Nevertheless, the boys had a great time playing in the fields and looking at the animals there. I got us a treat at the end, hot apple cider and honey sticks.

I think a couple of the pictures will be awesome once I clean them up a bit. Hopefully that will be in a post later today.

We went again on Sat with Rob to get our pumpkins. It was beautiful and sunny and warm...so of course everyone in the area was out to find a pumkin. Anthony has asked everyday for a week when we were going to make our Jack-o-Lantern. Tonight they carve it. Anyways, i am still trying to get a picture of the two of them together and looking pleasant if not smiling.