Pre Christmas Activities

We had several fun events for the kiddos leaving up to Christmas. Tyler especially enjoyed getting ready for Christmas this year and asked MANY questions about Santa and how he got into the house and how he carried all the presents and how he can fit into the fireplace, etc, etc, etc! My new answer to his questions turned into 'its magic'! That helped me out for the questions I didn't quite know the answers to :)

In our development, Santa comes on the firetruck to see the kids. It was super foggy that night so we didn't get to many pics. But here is one with Tyler, Santa and his 2 friends.

Tyler waiting for Santa on the firetruck:

The kids had a Christmas show at their school. Each class got up and sang one or two songs. The kids both did great!
Here's Lindsay sitting with her class:

Tyler with his class:

The Christmas card photo taking didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked it to this year! My biggest mistake was trying to take them right before bedtime. Tyler was very good and cooperative, as he is easily bribed. Lindsay on the other hand...wasn't too easy to deal with!

Here's the winning photo (which was the best I got! )

This one cracks me up! Lindsay was crying for mommy and Tyler was just annoyed with her!

This one is funny....

Tyler was a good sport!!

Our tree!!

The kids' first gingerbread house. They each decorated 1 side of the roof by themselves!

Showing off their creation:

Tyler with Santa (he looks really happy, huh?) But I will take what I can get as this is the first year he has actually agreed to sit on Santa's lap!!

He asked for 3 things this year and kept his requests consistent...a 'real' baseball bat, a 'real' baseball glove and an electric toothbrush. Seemed reasonable to me :)

Thanksgiving Part 2

A few of the neighbors decided to get together and have a little Pot Luck Thanksgiving dinner the week after Thanksgiving. We decided to have it at our house and it sure was a deliciously fun time!! We had 3 turkeys and all the sides you can imagine. The Sangria was a little too good and made for a fun long night :)

Brayden, Tyler & Sophia

Ana & Lindsay on their phones:

Shanna with her 2 turkeys:

Shanna & Roxanna:

Rebecca & Jen:

Brayden, Will & JK

JK with the turkey fryer:

Lindsay loved Rebecca's butternut squash soup!

November Catch Up

I have been slacking on the blog updating! Attempting to catch up a bit tonight! We have been very busy the last few weeks with work, birthday parties and xmas activities :)

A few weeks ago the weather was gorgeous out! Of course the kids wanted to ride bikes. Here is Lindsay on her bike:

And Tyler on his :)

This is one of my favorite pics. Tyler is learning to write words now. One day he came over to show me that he wrote Mom and Dad all by himself. He's getting so big!!

I was making their favorite one morning...pancakes! Look how cute they are watching me make them! Awe...its the simple things :)

Cute pic of my babies:

We have discovered a new popular activity...after dinner coloring! For 2 nights in a row they sat there very seriously coloring away from after dinner until bed. Its worn off a bit, but they are still coloring 1-2 times a week. So cute as long as Lindsay doesn't try to bite the crayons!

In November I went up to NJ with Lindsay for my brother Andy's surprise 30th bday party. Here is Lindsay playing with her cousin, Christopher:

Lindsay all dressed up with her xmas presents from Aunt Erin & Uncle Andy with Grandma:

End of October Catchup

Here are some randoms from the end of October.

Trev and Tyler on their laptops!

The kids got invited to a birthday party a few weeks ago. It was a ton of fun. However, I think Lindsay had the most fun as she went on a moonbounce for the first time!

Lindsay going into the moonbounce:

My babies:

Tyler with his classmates:

Lindsay was bouncing away and I was chatting with another mom. I looked over and was stunned to see her climbing this high staircase to a slide. I had to run in as it is way higher than it looks in this picture. With that being said, she climbed the entire thing herself and slide down the other side. Note Tyler behind her...

Lindsay and her buddy McKenna:

I brought the kids to the Air & Scare trick or treating event at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. They had a good time even though it was crowded.
Tyler and a Transformer:

Lindsay & Tyler together. She was Cinderella for this event:

Tyler in front of Pegasus, which I used to work on at Orbital:

Trick or Treat!

In true Lori style, once again..pics are in reverse order of how they occurred!

So we had a super fun Halloween this year. First we started the day off with a Halloween party at family's house who has a son who is in Tyler's class and a daughter who is a bit older than Lindsay. It was a ton of fun for all of us. Then we had some trick or treating in the neighborhood. This year was extra fun to watch as Lindsay LOVED trick or treating. We were out for a good hour and 45 mins. I started out pulling her in the wagon and after the 2nd house, she walked the rest of the way. And I should say she 'ran' to most of the houses, trying to keep up with Tyler and the older kids. And Tyler was so sweet as he would say to the people 'Can you please wait a minute, my little sister is coming'. AWE! It melted my heart to hear him saying that, esp since I didn't ask him to :) So Lindsay enthusiastically got her candy and said in a soft voice 'Thank You' to each house. What a treat for me to watch!!

Some of the kids at the end of trick or treating:

Lindsay getting her loot!

Trev & Aaron:

Lindsay at the beginning of trick or treating in her wagon:

Now we are at the Halloween party earlier in the day. Tyler bobbing for apples:

Lindsay was yelling that she wanted a turn, which surprised me. Sure enough..she stuck her little face in the water though!

Tyler and his buddies during the 'mummy' game:

Me with the kids during the Halloween Scav Hunt:

Lindsay posing for a picture:

Lindsay with her little buddy, McKenna:

My kiddos..Spiderman and the 50's girl:

My cute little Lolo

A neighbor was kind enough to take some pics of Lindsay a few weeks ago. Lindsay wanted nothing to do with having her picture taken unfortunately! She got a few cute ones though when Lindsay was just messing around. Here are my favorites!

In deep thought...??

This one cracks me up as Lindsay is always getting in trouble at school for taking off her shoes!!

This is her thinking pose...always putting that finger in her mouth when she is thinking!

Awe....