Thanksgiving

It was a really hard decision, but we decided to stay in Wheaton for Thanksgiving this year. We're going to be doing a lot of traveling around Christmas and into the new year, and the thought of having several days with all of us home and off in a row was too tempting to pass up. As hard as it was to be away from my family, I think that we made the right decision. I think we're all feeling (relatively) well rested and productive after last week.

We started Thanksgiving by having lunch over at Matt's parents'. We were the first to arrive, so I decided to get a nice picture of the kids. Ha!

I'm starting to feel like I could turn this blog into an "awkward smiles/poses my kids do" blog.

I guess this one of the girls isn't too bad.

The kids got some sweet new head gear from Grammie Deb and Grandpa Brian.

Paige got in some cuddles with Aunt Jamie.

And we got in a family pic...right as Paige was losing it. Five minutes too late.

Miles' new game is running away pretty much any time we call him, so Jamie taught him a lesson.

We headed home for abbreviated naps, then stopped by Grandma Audie's. I changed a VERY dirty diaper after taking this photo of her and Uncle Dave.

Feeling better.

After Grandma's, we went to Brian and Debbie's friends', the Tildens, for dinner. It was so kind of them to open their home to all five of us and we all had a great time.

Miles especially enjoyed the turkey cake.

We have so, so much to be thankful for and my wish is that I can help make my kids aware of that every day, not just at the holidays. Happy Thanksgiving!

Field Trip

When we picked my Aunt Nancy up from the train a couple of weeks ago, Miles was very sad that we weren't the ones going on the "choo-choo", so we decided that it was time to take another family train ride.

We had originally just planned to take another trip to a town a few stops over, but Kali told Brooke how cool the Willis Tower was and Brooke had mentioned it a few times, so we got crazy and decided to take the kids all the way in to the city.

We went on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so thankfully (get it?) we were going against traffic. After a quick lunch in the Willis Tower, we barely had to wait and practically walked up to the elevator to the sky deck. The weather, while not necessarily pleasant, could have been much worse for late November. The kids like the mirrors on the ceiling of the elevator.

The kids seemed to enjoy looking out the windows and the partial visibility didn't bother them.

We had a short wait to go out on the Ledge. It was far more scary than I'd expected. If you can't tell from this picture, I was hesitant to even put my whole body on it.

The kids, on the other hand, LOVED it.

Just, why?!?

We checked out the telescopes (not sure what it's called when there are actually two lenses?) - each kid looked in it for about 5.4 seconds.

This little girl earned the Star of the Day. She missed both naps and was only a little fussy on the ride home before falling asleep. I wish I'd gotten a picture of her in her cute snowsuit.

The trip was a fun little adventure and I think that Brooke and Miles both had fun. It's great that we live so close to such a great city, but I'm always happy to pull back into my suburban driveway.

Baby Bri!

We were all thrilled when Mike and Jane had their baby on November 19. Brianna Marie arrived very early in the morning. Mike was sending the family text updates throughout the night and evening, so when things started progressing for Jane, I was too excited to sleep.

She weighed 5 lb, 5 oz, and was 20 inches long. Isn't she pretty!?! Matt and I met at the hospital the day she was born and took turns watching our kids in the waiting room while we went in to meet her.

Here's Paige already being a bad influence on her by crying and trying to wake her up.

Our kids had to wait a week to meet her due to coughs and runny noses.

I think we're all smitten.

Welcome to the family, Baby Bri!

Paige is 7 Months!

Somehow, as of tomorrow, seven months will have passed since my sweet Paige was born. Not a week goes by that I don't get the question, "Is she always this good/happy?" My response is "Yes, during the day."

We're working through some things at night, and I largely blame myself. I give in to her much more quickly than I did the other two. She usually goes to sleep for the night around 7, then wakes up crying around 11. We're crying that one out (one of us goes in every 10-15 minutes). She then usually gets up around 2:30-3 and I feed her, and lately, she's also been getting up around 5 and we're making her cry that one out, too. To her defense, I think she's teething so I'm trying to be more consistent about motrin before bed.

Speaking of teething, she is ALWAYS chewing on something, and it's usually her hand. She can now fit her whole fist in her mouth. It makes feeding her solid foods difficult because she crams her hand in right after the spoon. So far, she's had banana, sweet potato and pear and liked them all. She typically eats solid food twice a day, but those times vary based on what we're doing. She's still nursing once in the morning, once before nap, once after nap and once before bed.

She's in the Bumbo when we're at the counter, but just lately has started to practice sitting in the Boppy and playing in the exersaucer. It's exciting that she's getting to these stages, but I'm also dragging my heels and really wanting to press "pause"!

She LOVES her brother, sister and daddy. She's also pretty fond of Ozzie. She loves to giggle and seems pretty ticklish so far. She likes her morning nap when she can get one and will usually sleep for at least a couple of hours in the afternoon, too.

Her mohawk kills me. And also makes her much more likely to be called a "he" by the sweet old lady at the store. We try headbands but she likes to yank on them.

Tummy time is pretty much non-existent because she just rolls as soon as I lay her down. She's gotten really good at scooting on her back.

Still no teeth, and I love it that way. Toothless baby grins are the best.

Happy Seven Months, Paigey-poo! We couldn't love you more!