Week In Review...

So I better recap last week before this week is over!

Last Monday, we were supposed to hit a playgroup time in the morning but finally got Andrew to take a morning nap:) So I cherished the extra time around the house and instead, we took a morning trip to the park and a quick walk to the post office. The kids had a blast at the park. We definitely have not gone as much lately because of the weather turning colder and the days getting shorter so I enjoyed a fun morning with the boys! After naps, we went to a friend's house to do a little craft with the kids in hope that we would have some Christmas gifts for grandparents! Four kids under three while trying to do crafts was no easy feat, but we completed our goal and had dinner before heading home for an early bedtime!

So happy to be outside...

Something about little ones all bundled up makes me smile...

Climbing the structure...

Hi Mom!

So in the middle of the night, Andrew was up for almost three hours either due to teething or an oncoming cold! So when the morning arrived, we had a quick breakfast and I whisked both boys into the car to catch the sick hours at the doctor's office. Andrew was diagnosed with an ear infection-oh no! Neither one of my kids have ever had one, so this was a first for me:) On top of that, I caught a cold/flu so we were all three under the weather and ready to collapse so we headed home for a very low-key time around the house. After some short naps (thank you sickness!), we were looking forward to a VERY SPECIAL visitor...my mom!!!! We ended the day with MeMe-relaxing, delicious food, and lots of love:)

Some boys were very excited for their MeMe to come...

Wednesday morning, everyone started to feel a little better so we decided to take MeMe to the library story time with us. We had a wonderful time full of Christmas stories, especially with my mom joining us. My mom and I took the boys out to run errands in the afternoon and she realized that running errands with these two is NO easy feat!!! (I'm so close to doing online grocery shopping-I think it may happen once busy season arrives!) Daddy finally arrived home for some playtime with his boys before bed!

Can you tell that someone wants to be like their Daddy???

We spent Thursday morning around the house catching up on things around the house. I had set up an appointment for Picture People, but I quickly realized that once Aiden woke up at 5:30 am and Andrew woke up in a fussy, sick mood...we better cancel!!! And that was a great idea because these two were tired, cranky, and just not ready to do much of anything. Thank goodness I had extra hands to help me with these two and around the house in the morning. After some very long afternoon naps, we headed to town for a little coffee, treats, and shopping. We ordered some pizza and waited for a very awesome surprise...Santa! (Andrew was SO tired that he headed to bed early and missed the whole surprise-I guess he will have to wait until next year before he meets Santa!)

Santa arrived in the police car and someone was very scared about the police coming to our house...

But Aiden quickly turned his spirits around once he realized Santa was here...

And decided Santa was his new best friend!

On Friday, we headed to a friend's house for a Christmas party playgroup! We made these awesome Christmas shirts, decorated frames, and iced cookies. It was a FUN and WILD morning. After playgroup, all of us took LONG naps before we had a low-key evening around the house! The boys just LOVE having MeMe around and have so much fun with her:)

An attempt at a play group shot...

Off to rest, but more posts to come...

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, loving, wild, and very adorable three year old, Aiden:) We love you!

Happy Boys!

This is what you get when you try to take pictures of these two little boys...

And someone wanted to be just like Santa...

Between my mom visiting, everyone in the house being sick, and getting ready for the holidays (and a BIG birthday tomorrow)...we are swamped! But I wanted to share just a few pictures just so you know we are happy as can be;)

Cookies, Cookies...

This past Sunday, I took part in a cookie exchange with some friends! Once I got the kids to bed on Saturday, I spent my night doing this...

Yes, my kitchen was a disaster! But it was worth it because I had about 100 cookies featuring chocolate cream cheese cupcakes, meringue chocolate chip cookies, candy cane kiss cookies, and chocolate cherry cookies.
I had a wonderful swap (mom time without kids!) and we got a lot of yummy, yummy cookies!

Deck the House...

We are all ready for the holidays around here. Our shelves are decorated...

And our kids' table is decorated with a mini tree and our Santa countdown!

And our own table is festive (thanks to Pinterest for my centerpiece idea!)

And our little table holds our Advent boxes full of activities, a candle holder with House, our elf!

Our fresh cut Christmas tree (which is quickly dying!)

Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care;)

Our back doors are decorated with lovely Christmas cards!

And our side table is decorated with kid-friendly decorations as the kids are always playing with these things. Somehow, I have lost a few pieces in the past few days, I wonder where they are?

And our outside is decked with lights and Frosty!

We love the holiday season around here, can't you tell?!?!?!

A Special Visitor...

Look who showed up at our house tonight...

It was so adorable! When the police car that escorted Santa around town showed up, Aiden almost started crying because he was scared the police were at our house. Once he realized Santa was inside, he quickly became astonished and excited! He LOVED every minute of this special moment...

Week In Review...

Monday:

We started off our week with our last music class of the year. I will miss our Monday morning music, but I think we may continue for another session (especially with long winter days and a hard-working daddy in busy season)! After class, I bravely decided to run errands with the boys. I had Kohls cash to use and a couple things to pick up, so I figured why not take them? I was quickly reminded that these two are not the best shopping companions and you will not be seeing me fly solo with these two boys in tow! In the afternoon, Aiden woke up earlier than usual from nap so we decided to head outside to enjoy some nicer weather. He played soccer almost the whole time we were out there.

Tuesday:

We started off our morning with our last ever Friends class. We really enjoyed this class, although it got a little chaotic at time with 20 two and three year olds running around! The kids play at different stations and it ends with a craft-today's craft was making a very adorable paper plate snowman. We headed over to the library after leaving the community center (the two buildings are attached which makes it very convenient) where we picked up some Christmas books and DVDs. When we arrived home, we completed our Advent activity of the day-picnic by the Christmas tree. We enjoyed sandwiches, apples and dip, and some broccoli and dip:)

After another short nap time (thanks to a teething boy!), we had some snack and made some snowball cookies:) This one enjoyed his snack today and it looks like someone needs to make sure to snap him in...

And this one really enjoyed washing some dishes while the cookies were baking (and I don't know why but he is insistent on wearing shorts EVERY afternoon?!?)...

Wednesday:

We had our usual library story time on Wednesday morning! We read some books about Christmas. Do you see Aiden standing up there? This is a BIG step for him because for about the first year that we have been going, he would not leave his Mama's side. But he really loves Ms. Duffy, the librarian, and she does a great job!

Now it's bubble time. Can you spot Aiden following Ms. Duffy around? And look at little Andrew running around!

We headed home and had a surprise visit from my sister, Jill! She was working in NJ for the day so she picked up some lunch and brought it over to our house where we enjoyed a special visit from her! Thanks for coming Jill, we hope you can come again for work (and bring Jack for us to take care of!).

Thursday:

Thanks Aunt Jill for my small, but mighty t-shirt;)

We start off our mornings after breakfast with a little playtime while I catch up on the Today show news! This is what happened when I try to eat breakfast around these two...

We had playgroup in the morning at our house and then took some early naps so we could head over to decorate cookies at the community center with the Newcomer's group I am involved in. This boy was very serious about his cookie decorating...

After cookies and playtime, we headed to a friend's house for some more playtime and early dinner! Thank goodness we had plans because Aiden and Andrew have not been napping well at all this week and I was getting a little stir crazy with two cranky babes and some yucky rainy weather:) Despite taking a very short nap today, this guy was mesmerized by all the toys that weren't his and was content as can be!

We arrived home, put on our pajamas, and waited for Daddy to get home a little earlier than usual:) I had the bouncy seat out for a friend's baby earlier in the day and someone thought it looked mighty relaxing!

Friday:

For a special morning outing, I took the boys over to Barnes and Noble for a little treat and play time at the train table. I had a coupon for a free cookie, which the boys shared, while I got a little pick-me-up coffee drink. I love this store as the boys LOVE to play at the train table and it makes them share with all the other little boys and girls around. It's always fun to meet new people while the kids play and browse through the endless amount of kids' books! After nap, these two had a snack and isn't it cute how they both are at the table????? It's little things like this that show me that Andrew is growing up so quickly:)

After some free play time around the house, we picked Chris up at the train, took a quick grocery store run, had dinner and baths and I said good-bye to head off to a cooking girl's night while Chris put both of the boys to bed!!!!!!

What a busy, but wonderful week:) We are looking forward to another fun week, especially with my mom coming in early this week!

They are still here...

And just so you know, we still own two dogs;) Two kids and two puppies makes this house one FULL household! They may not get as many walks as they used to or as many treats as they used to or as much cuddles as they used to, but we still love them!

A Very Furry Christmas, Sesame Place

We had a very special Sunday in this house because we took another trip to Sesame Place for their Christmas shows and sights! It was a wonderful trip and brought big smiles to our little boys...

We headed down after lunch, hoping that these two would catch a nap before the big day that was ahead. Aiden slept for about a 1/2 hour, while Andrew stayed awake for the whole ride and demanded a little bit of Mama entertainment towards the end of the short trip. (Although he did take a big morning nap so he was ready to go!) The place opened at 1:00 and we arrived at about 1:45 ready to go! The first thing we saw when we walked in was the BIG Christmas tree.

And then we took a walk on a miniature Sesame Street...

Our first ride (and Aiden's favorite): the carousel. Andrew wasn't sure what to think of it, but thankfully there were no tears involved today!

Someone else was in Sesame bliss...

After the carousel, we headed to Big Bird's balloon and to do a little jumping on Ernie's bed (Can you see Andrew and I behind the net? Someone loved watching his brother while trying to climb the net)!

After a couple rides, we decided to one of the shows, Sesame Christmas!

This one was amazed by all the characters on one stage...

After grabbing a snack of popcorn and hot chocolate, we got ready for the big street parade! It was full of Christmas music, dancing, and Aiden even got a high five from the Count!

We decided to do some more rides, including the Blast Off!

Here's a video of this ride with Chris and Aiden on it. Listen carefully to hear all of Aiden's screams!

Someone loves all the rides (I'm just not sure which one of these two loves them more?!?!)

Missing his afternoon nap was catching up to Andrew so our main goals were to keep him warm and content. He was either taking some short walks or staying bundled up in the stroller!

After a VERY QUICK dinner (with two tired kids who were approaching their bedtimes), we caught the Sesame Street Christmas tree lighting and headed home. What a wonderful day!