It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Friday we spent the whole day pulling out Christmas decorations and getting the house all decorated for Christmas. Maddie was a big help this year. She loved helping me inside... ...but I think she liked helping her dad hang the lights outside even better!

Mike worked literally ALL day hanging lights outside. He did a great job and the kids absolutely LOVE the finished product. It was all so worth it! They get so excited when we drive up at night and the house is all lit up.

This is Shorty (the penguin) and Osito (the polar bear). I guess this is the sort of thing we have to get into here in California where we don't get snow. Instead, we decorate our yards with light up animals. The kids both really love these little friends of ours.

While Mike was working outside in the yard, William played in the car. He loves doing this and it helps to keep him confined for a short time so we can actually get something done. Don't worry. The windows were cracked and the emergency brake was on.

Even Jackson enjoyed the Friday decorating festivities. We're getting excited for Christmas! Next weekend, we're getting the tree...

Turkey Day!

We love Thanksgiving in this house. We spent the day over at Grandma and Grandpa's as usual and enjoyed Grandpa's delicious cooking! We decided to eat Thanksgiving dinner while William took his nap. I felt a little bad about him missing the meal but in reality, he's not that into eating lately and mealtime has become a bit of a nightmare. It all worked out great and he nibbled on a few bites when he woke up. William absolutely LOVES his Uncle Russel. Can you tell?

Grandma and Grandpa got Maddie and Wil their very own little table just like we have at our house. Grandma had it all set so cute with new little silverware and turkey plates. Maddie loved that.

Cheers!

I just love this shirt.

This is William's faaaaavorite car at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandpa bought it especially for him after Wil broke the little porsche car that was similar. Wil loves to stuff little people into this car and lately, crayons too. It's so funny. The little person barely fits in there and he whines for help til someone can jam the little toy man through the door.

The Princess Shoes

William recently discovered a box of Princess dress up shoes Maddie has in her room and he loves them! He looks hilarious shuffling around the house in them...

...until they fall off. He totally melts down until I help him put them back on. One day I put those shoes on him about 7 times and finally just had to tell him that enough was enough and to go play with his cars! I'm sure he's not going to appreciate these pictures one day but I think they are too cute to resist.

Maddie's Thanksgiving Program

Maddie had her first little Thanksgiving "program" at her Preschool on Friday November 21. The children sang about 4 different songs and the program lasted about 10 minutes. It was adorable. All of the kids were so darn cute and you should have seen the crowd of giddy parents all taking photos and videos of their little ones. You will have to forgive my video taking skills. I'm obviously not usually in charge of this at our house but Mikos was not able to make the program.

Park Pics

Today was my day off and we spent some time at the park before lunchtime. It was a gorgeous day...85 degrees and Maddie and Wil had a great time running off some energy. Maddie told me tonight that it was the best part of her day! I love Thursdays...

Backpack

Earlier this week, Maddie and William were playing and Wil came to me requesting that I help him put on this backpack. This is thee "Backpack" from Dora and he looked so cute cruising around with it all evening on his back. He didn't want to take it off!

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween was SUCH FUN this year! Here is my little Monkey and Poodle. Aren't they the cutest things ever? I felt a little bad though because as adorable as these costumes were, the kids were sweltering in them! They both run hot anyway so these did not help at all. Something I'll keep in mind next year. Maddie could hardly wait to get her costume on and go trick-or-treating. As soon as the sun started to go down, she was asking if it was time yet. The whole family was there to enjoy the night. Mike's parents and sister and my mom and sister were all there.

When people asked Maddie what she was going to be for Halloween she would tell them she was going to be a "ploodle".

I wasn't sure how William was going to do with the trick-or-treating but I don't know why I worried. He learned the hang of it from his big sister Maddie and before long, he was running up the front walkways and boldly knocking on the door with his little fist. It was too cute.

Oh and of course, he loved the treats! At first, he instantly wanted to eat the candy when it was tossed into his pumpkin but eventually he got into the running and knocking.

When we got home, they dumped their pumpkins out on the floor and dug in! It really was a great Halloween. I can't wait for next year! William should be saying trick-or-treat by than and I'm sure he'll have an opinion on his costume too. Maddie is already on to the next holiday. She told me tonight as a I tucked her in, "After Halloween is Thanksgiving." Ahhh...I think the holidays are officially here!

The Jack-o-lantern

Maddie loved carving the pumpkin this year which was fun. We decided to carve the pumpkin Friday afternoon while William took his nap. Auntie Amy said she'd never carved a pumpkin in 85 degree weather before.

Maddie was in charge of scooping out the pumpkin "guts". This was a job she loved and took quite seriously. She didn't want any help from me but she was nice enough to let Grandma Jeanne help her out a bit.

We used a pumpkin carving kit and traced the face. Maddie picked out a smiley faced pumpkin and Auntie Amy said we were going to have the "smiliest pumpkin on the block". Maddie thought that was cute. Even Jackson hung out in the backyard and enjoyed the project.

Maddie was very careful to get all of the pumpkin seeds which Grandma Jeanne roasted when we were done.

Maddie and the finished product! The smiliest pumpkin on the block. Not bad, huh?

The Pumpkin Patch

We are coming off a very fun, long weekend. Auntie Amy and Grandma Jeanne came for a visit. We picked them up at the airport on Wednesday evening and they left this afternoon (Sunday). We were so excited for them to come! It was like Christmas at our house. They came bearing all kinds of presents...cars for William, Leo and Annie dolls from the Little Einsteins, a Sleeping Beauty barbie for Maddie, Dora Saves the Snow Princess dvd, a Dora Halloween coloring book... and the list goes on! It was great fun. Thursday afternoon we went to the Pumpkin Patch at Irvine Park. We took pony rides, went on a hayride, and trompsed about in the pumpkin patch area. Maddie and Auntie Amy went through the hay maze and William just ran around like a madman picking up all the pumpkins.

We picked out the perfect pumpkin for Halloween, stopped by the Snack Shack for an Icee and headed home for Wil's nap. We can't wait for the pumpkin patch next year!