Choo-choo!

Since we've only had one Black Friday shopping experience and it didn't end well (dead car battery), we're not big day-after-Thanksgiving shoppers here at the Alley house. But we also knew we'd get stir-crazy sitting around all day, so we decided to take the train into Elmhurst. We've done this once before, but not since Miles was aware of/obsessed with trains and all things transportation.

This doesn't quite capture his excitement, but trust me, he enjoyed it.

Brooke was actually more excited than Miles, which I was surprised about.

Get one last look at Miles' cool winter hat. We left it on the train. :(

We walked around downtown Elmhurst for a bit, including a Starbucks and toy shop stop, and finished with pizza across from the tracks. Brooke was pretty worried about us missing our train.

It was a fun time and something that we'll have to do again - when the weather's a little more bearable.

 

Thanksgiving, Aussie Style

We decided to stay up here this Thanksgiving - partially for a change in pace and partially because Jamie's Australian friends were going to be in town and we wanted to be sure we got to see them. We hosted. Thankfully, my parents came up and my dad made the turkeys, with a little help from Matt.

The kids had fun playing/cuddling with all the grown-ups before and after dinner.

The whole crew. We actually served dinner right on time, which I was happy about. We had 16 people, including Grandma Audie, Uncle Dave and Kevin.

Brooke bullied everyone into "performances" after dinner, despite our best attempts to have her entertain us. She made the girls go first, then the guys. We all had to do a dance move. She's definitely an oldest child/Matt's daughter.

Hanging out after dinner. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a special day! (And thanks to Jamie who gave me almost ALL of these pictures!)

Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Randoms

Here are some random shots from last month. The kids had fun playing in the box for Brooke's new booster car seat. They're supposed to be easier to use, but Matt hates it so far (I haven't had to install/use it, yet).

The colder weather means lots more craft projects inside. Brooke wanted me to take a picture of this sticker girl she decorated.

Miles has learned the fun of playing with phones, which means a lot more shots like this wind up in my album. Side note: I was able to upgrade my phone so I'm looking forward to many more candid shots. The memory on my old phone was horrible so I'd have to delete a bunch of stuff to take a 5 second video.

The kids got to ride the train at Yorktown Matt. Brooke was very cute and protective in helping Miles get on and off.

Fun with chopsticks. How could that possibly end badly?

Let's be honest, the cold weather also means more television. Thank goodness for all the new Disney Junior holiday-themed shows. And for Bubble Guppies, of course!

Fun at Grandma Audie's. I can't imagine how long they'd have played here if the organ was working!

I think this was our last time dressing up in the Halloween costumes. Obligatory play date shot with Grace, Tye and now Baby Ryan (and yes, he is in a doll stroller; we trusted that more than any of the kids).

After a play date with Kali. As we were about to leave, Kali asked, "Ms. Jaimie, aren't you going to take a picture of us?" I guess she has my number.

Lunch date with Aunt Jamie and Will. The plan was to go to the Rainforest Cafe. I guess the place was a little intimidating for her, so they called an audible and went to A&W at the mall, instead.

She still had a blast. And yes, that's her karaoke machine "purse" that she insisted on taking with her. That must've been a fun car ride.

The T's Were Here!

My brother and his family came up for a few days the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was pretty chilly and there was a lot of football on, so we stayed close to home. Krissi, Jane and I were able to get out for dinner and "Catching Fire." And of course we made a stop at Chick-fil-a.

The kids were excited about the first "snow."

Playing the crib. It kept them entertained for awhile, actually.

These girls. Best friends for about 30 minutes, then blow-up fight, then back to best friends. That's what cousins are for, right? They always have fun playing dress-up.

These guys have fun together, too. Their playtime is a little more giggle and wrestle for 10 minutes, one pushed the other and cries, then back to giggling.

We let them play in the backyard while we watched from the kitchen.

Hot chocolate! Thanks for coming up, guys. See you next week!

Sweet and Sassy

Early last month, Brooke's BFF, Kali, had her birthday party at Sweet and Sassy. They assured my friend Christy that the girls wouldn't leave looking, how shall we say, "older" than they were. They kind of delivered, although they got a little heavy on the blue eyeshadow for my liking.

Two of Kali's cousins and another of Brooke's besties, Kate, were there. Brooke had been looking forward to this party for awhile. I wasn't quite sure what they were going to do with my baby's fine, curly-ish, static-y hair and as they started doing everyone's hair, I realized they weren't either. They did all the other girls first, and I kind of think each of the workers were subconsciously trying to not be the one who was left to figure out how to do Brooke's  hair.

The girl who finally ended up with Brooke spent a good ten minutes trying to do the cute french-braid-from the-front-thing to no avail. For the record, I've tried this style on her countless times and it was kind of gratifying to see someone who "does hair" all the time not be able to do anything with it. She finally ended up giving her two little buns at the top of her head. Again, a little too Miley Cyrus-esque for me, but Brooke felt beautiful so that's all that mattered.

The party ended with a little fashion show and dance party. The girls loved it and Brooke rocked the runway. I'll post a video of it later.

Happy birthday, Kali!

We're Still Here!

It's recently been brought to my attention that this blog has been left in neglect for the past month. So, thanks for caring and sorry for my slacking. This happens every year - I think that once I get past the birthday and Halloween craziness of October, things will slow down. Ha! This stupid cute little bear was one of my first stressors in November.

Each student in Brooke's class gets to take "Preschool Bear" home with them for a couple of nights. They're supposed to take the bear with them everywhere they go, then bring pictures and present to the class what they did. It sounds like a cute idea, but at this age, it's basically homework for the parents.

To begin with, we were the FIRST family on the list and were going to be out of town until the day before. And it's up to the parents to switch dates. Using the phone list that they gave us with no emails and virtually no cell phone numbers. Since I know 2 moms in the class, I got to cold call a few people, "Hi, you don't know me, but could you take the Preschool Bear home NEXT WEEK instead of us? I'm sure it's going to be tons of fun and no pressure." Then I got smart and looked for the numbers without DuPage County area codes, figuring they had to be cell numbers. I lucked out and one of the girls had the cell numbers of three other girls, one of whom miraculously needed to switch also.

So do you see why I was ready to burn the bear the minute I pulled it out of her school bag? Then, I read the instructions that say to print "A picture or two if you'd like." And of course the mom before me (the one who, bless her soul and in her defense, had switched with me) printed out FOUR pictures. Of really cool stuff that they did.

Luckily for us, Wednesdays are busy. We got pictures of Brooke on her first day of speech class (for articulation - we're not grooming her to be a world leader quite yet), at Target (naturally), at soccer, and at lunch with Matt. We also had a play date with Aurelia, another friend from school and Zach and Wes in that time. But we went to McDonald's with Zach and Wes, so I didn't dare put that photo in the book to be judged for years to come.

Brooke did have a lot of fun with bringing the bear everywhere and was really sad when she had to give it back. (I did a happy dance.) The highlight of the experience was that Matt and I got to spend the morning with Brooke in her classroom. She also got to bring in one of her favorite books ("Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad"). I had to talk her down from bringing the "Disney Princess Fairytale Library" - we only had 10 minutes. And the class is half boys.

It was really fun to see her in her element and to be reassured that she's at a wonderful preschool with great teachers. (Special thanks to Kristina for watching Miles while I was there.)

And as Matt reminded me, it was a good lesson for me that if I got this stressed over what is her first of what will be thousands of school projects, I'm really going to have to let go a little ton or risk becoming the Worst Helicopter Parent Ever. And let's be honest, I have it in me. Thank God for his grace!