Visiting Santa

Still no pics of screaming kids forced to sit on Santa's lap. Lauren loves him, and Ella was so excited to see him, but a bit bashful once she had the opportunity to climb on his lap. Luca didn't even know who was holding him, he was too busy looking at all of the crazy kids standing in line! I am sure Luca will pull through next year and give me a crying Santa picture:)

Disney on Ice

Lauren with her sticky fingers and face courtesy of mini donuts!

A couple weeks ago we took the girls to Disney on Ice at the Xcel Center. We had a great time, and even saw Leyton and Grace and Lucy there! Lauren and Ella really enjoyed the show and even Dan said it wasn't bad!

Pat-a-cake

Luca sure loves when his sisters show him some attention. He laughs every time Lauren plays

pat-a-cake with him.

Halloween (Part 2)

On Halloween we headed to New Richmond and started out in the afternoon by visiting the businesses on Main Street. Here is the picture NP Designs took of Leyton, Ella, and Lauren.

Then it was time to visit aunts and uncles and grandmas! Lauren was a beautiful butterfly and Ella a darling flower!

Overly sugared butterfly...

Tired flower...

Cal (the turtle) checking out Luca's costume

Aunt Kelly was in the spirit and dressed up for the kids. Luca appreciated it:)

Never wait til the end of the night for the group cousin pic! When will we learn?!

Halloween (Part 1)

We trick-or-treated early for Dan's family so we could head to New Richmond on Monday. The girls had enough costumes where they were able to choose different ones for each day. So I now introduce you to... the frog, the monkey, and the cow (or calf according to Dan:)

I think the calf was tired in this pic...

Because this is what he looked like at our first stop.

Preschool Fall Program

Pumpkins!

We picked out pumpkins from a field by our house, and the kids had some fun playing on the big ones before they picked out their "perfect" pumpkins. Luca slept through some of it, and then woke up when he realized he was being propped up by pumpkins!

Caramel Apples

On Saturday we were at grandma and grandpa's with Grace and Lucy. Aunt Kelly sent a bag of caramels so we could make caramel apples again, and they were a big hit! Just wish they weren't so messy to make:) We had sprinkles everywhere!

Ella loves!

Fire Safety Month

A couple of weeks back, the firetruck visited Lauren's preschool. The kids were able to climb on the truck, hold the hose, and try on the gear. Lauren definitely wasn't as excited as the little boys in her class, but she still thought it was pretty neat.

Pumpkin Patch

Last Thursday while Dan was out of town working, I headed to the pumpkin patch with all three kids. I pretty much planned on the day being a disaster, so I was pleasantly surprised by the experience! I suppose God knows he needs to let me have some success stories, or I would never head out with 3 children! When we arrived at the Pumpkin Patch, there were bus loads full of children on field trips. With my shy children I knew they wouldn't be participating in any activities if there were other children remotely close. Luckily we had perfect timing because just as we bought our passes for the petting farm, the school children grabbed their lunches and sat down for a picnic. We had 2 hours in the petting zoo with not a single other person! It was so nice. Lauren and Ella fed the goats, pet and held the animals, and made several trips to the bounce house (which they had all to themselves!). With Luca in the Baby Bjorn, I wasn't much help so Lauren was a great big sister helping Ella into the bounce house and showing her how to feed the goats. We had such a fun time and I told the girls that if they behave so well all of the time we can venture out a lot more!

Ella liked the bunnies.

Lauren loved Dottie the pot-bellied pig!

I told Lauren that I felt bad for this goat because it wasn't getting any corn- the rest of the clan was much more aggressive, so she ran all the way to the other side of the pen and fed him some before the rest made it over there to attack!

The giant tractor bounce-house

Driving tractor

ON WISCONSIN

Last weekend Dan's great aunt and uncle were up from Nebraska. It just so happens that it was the weekend the Badgers played Nebraska, so we had a little fun when we got together with them. We bought them Badger shirts, which Uncle Bud quickly changed to a Nebraska shirt- it worked out nice since they both wear red!

Luca looked so old in his Badger gear!

And an attempt at a family photo...

We tried again, and again...

Mr. Smiley

This ones for you Leyton: I know how much you loved these fishy jammies when Cal wore them!

Luca says "Thanks!"

Preschool Praise Time

Each month Lauren's preschool has Praise Time, where family and friends are invited into the church to see what the kids have been learning and mostly to listen to the songs they have practiced during music class. Tuesday was the first program, and I was so proud! Lauren did great standing in front of the church with her classmates and I was really impressed with how well she knew the songs and actions to go with them.

2 Years & 2 Months

Ella turned 2 a couple weeks ago and she has started to act like a 2-year-old (you know, wanting to do EVERYTHING by herself- and if you try to help her she can throw a pretty convincing tantrum). Turning 2 also means she is old enough to understand the games her big sister wants to play. Lauren loves playing "house" and the stories she creates are pretty elaborate, but Ella sits and listens contently and acts like she knows exactly what is going on! We had dr. visits on Friday, and Ella is now a whopping 21.5 lbs (still not on the growth charts but definitely getting closer!). I'm not sure how tall she was, but I believe it dropped down to 15th percentile, and head circumference was 10th percentile- no surprise there, the kids definitely got my small head!

Luca is now 2 months old, and getting so big! He follows you with his eyes, and will look around the room to find momma when he hears me talking. He loves to be talked to and will coo back at you. His smile still melts my heart, and he will do it pretty willingly as long as you are looking into his eyes and talking to him. He also went to the doctor Friday and is perfectly proportioned at 25th percentile for weight, height, and head circumference. He weighed 11lb. 7oz. and was 22.5 inches long. I included a picture of him at 2 weeks and then 2 months for comparison!

Captured!

Luca is smiling!

First Day

Today was Lauren's first day of preschool! She was pretty excited, and didn't even cry when I left. It sure felt weird leaving with only 2 kids- I obviously don't get out enough without the kids when I felt like it was a big break to only have Ella and Luca while running errands! I am anxious to pick her up and see what my big girl did today! She will be going to First Lutheran preschool 2 days a week.

All ready!

Ella wanted to get in on this too. She carried a backpack and was pretty sad to leave. Now she keeps asking where "sista" is:)

Found her coat hook and name tag!

With her teacher