Trick or Treat!

Tonight we met up at my Uncle Art's house so the kiddos could trick or treat with their cousins. After we were done there, we met up with some friends from day care and had a blast trick or treating drinking with them. The kids stayed up until NINE THIRTY!!!

Clara turned TWO!

Clara had a small birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. The kids loved playing and the place was practically deserted so we had it (almost) all to ourselves!

When we sang "Happy Birthday" to Clara, Grant saw an opening - and dipped his pizza into the cake. He definitely takes after his dad.

Halloween 2012

This Halloween, we trick or treated with the Hoffmans again. The pictures tell the story better than I can.



Can you imagine this crew showing up at your door? One of Gramps and Mimi's neighbors gave away WHOLE candy bars. Grant got 5 of them.

Abby didn't last - she passed out in the car.

Going back

About a month ago, we found out that my cousin Julie was pregnant. Exciting of course, but we knew we'd have to find alternate care for the kiddos.

But the next week, Clara broke her arm. Grant may or may not have assisted. But not a traditional break, a break that required surgery and a pin. Ugh. Following doctors' advice to not let her fall on the arm (which is tough for a fearless gal like Clara), we called in backup. Julie has to watch Clara like a hawk! Kennedy was our nanny last week and will be our nanny this week again!

This sped up our search for child care. I was so sad when our old daycare said they couldn't take them until November... But that only lasted a few days! A parent in the infant room has to move, so a spot was open for both babies! They will return to daycare on the 13th!

2 moms & 4 kids

Today 2 moms and 4 kids walked to the park. It was my first time using our (craigslist find) double stroller. Abby was pretty fussy but the trip was still a success.

Abby hung out in her car seat and had some tummy time.

Grant played hard.

Julie's kiddos were well behaved. In the first shot, they are listening to Julie - probably telling Clara not to eat the chalk. I am loving the second shot of Nathaniel.

Family shot!! I love Clara in the background. Again - she's probably looking at Julie while Julie tells her fearless child to not climb the ladder.

The 4 of us also walked into pre-school together earlier this week to drop off the boys. Grant walks REALLY slow and that infant carrier weighs at least 50 pounds by the time we got to the rooms (10 minutes easily - not kidding). Oh yeah - Grant and Nathaniel are now going to pre-school at a local Catholic church 2 days per week. Derek has seen more of the school than I have and he was really impressed with what the kids knew.

Grant was home for 10 days solid over the holidays. That's the longest he's been home with us since I was on maternity leave. He behaved MUCH better (by the end of that time anyway) - probably because he got lots of attention (rather than just dinner, play, bath, teeth, bed time routine, etc.). This extra time made drop offs this week a little more difficult - he's not throwing himself down on the ground or anything. Just really clingy.

Getting out the door with a toddler and infant every morning is not easy either. It. Takes. For. Ever!!! Hopefully it will be easier once Abby has a real routine. Right now there is no telling if she'll be awake, asleep or (the ultimate challenge) nursing when I need to get Grant ready.

I'll be updating (back-dated) Christmas posts soon, so stay tuned...

SANTA!!! I know him!!!

Grant and Abby actually went to see St. Nick twice this year. The first time we went with Julie, Clara and Nathaniel, but the photos weren't great. The second time was a little bit of a fiasco (with all the cousins we had to wait longer because of a broken camera), but the photos turned out pretty good. Here are the best shots:

COUSINS!!

My babies!
And a couple photos from our first visit. Clara is so darn sweet, you could eat her!

BOO!!

Last week's craft project at Miss Julie's? Matching ghost T-shirts!!

Clara had a Halloween bow, but she didn't really want to wear it.

Once she got it off, she tried to attack me!

Listen, Clara - I wasn't the one putting that bow on you - that's your mama's fault!! Don't attack me!!

The boys said "cheese" and showed us how big they are!