Christmas is Coming!

I finally talked Matt into putting up our Christmas decorations the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

It didn't go quite as planned (does it ever?). Brooke had the attention span of a four-year-old. She did do a great job of putting on the ornaments that were "hers". It was fun to tell her stories about where the ornaments came from. And let's be honest, a few of those stories *might* have been made up.

This is pretty much how Miles looked that day. Not impressed. Although now he goes up to the tree first thing in the morning and wants it lit.

Brooke was also inspired to make a Christmas card that night that she wanted to mail to Grammie Deb and Grandpa Brian. Matt made the mistake of telling her that the post office is closed on Saturday night and Sunday. We still put it in the mail and she was excited to hear that they received it a few days later.

We decorated some Christmas cookies.

Miles with rosy cheeks after playing in the snow.

He loves the dancing Christmas tree in the background of this picture. My grandparents gave it to us last year and he plays it multiple times a day. Just today, when I started singing along, he'd say, "Mama, no". I tried not to be offended.

I decided to try to have the kids make some plaster hand molds for the grandparents this year. Spoiler alert to grandparents: you won't be getting them. It was a disaster. The portions they gave on the instructions were off, the timing they gave on the instructions were off, Miles hated the feeling on his hand, and after we thought we finally had it figured out, I came down the next morning to find they'd all cracked. Two hours of our lives we'll never get back. THAT is why I don't do crafty things. Oh, well.

 

We've got Santa and a couple of Christmas parties on the schedule for this weekend. I'll try to update the blog with those pics before mid-January. Happy holidays!

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!