Merry Christmas!

Well, I've finally determined that I am not going to get the card out in the mail, so hopefully you'll enjoy it here.

Some things we loved about this year...

G: school, soccer, reading books about dinosaurs and dragons, getting a new baby sister

C: a new big girl bed with ballerina sheets, Hello Kitty, play dishes, a new love of puzzles and reading

M: siblings who can't get enough of me, smiling at my family

Guy: reading to the kids before bed, holding my baby girl, talking with G and C about things like how electricity works (I usually end up saying something like, "I don't know, let's look it up" or more often, "go ask your mom").

Gal: finding out that three kids will not kill me (yet), revisiting some old hobbies, enjoying time playing with kids and cooing at my sweet baby

Goodbye 2010 - we had more ups than downs, we laughed more than we cried - here's to 2011!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with two of the Guy's brothers. (The same two that were at M's blessing. We love having family close again!) The cousins had a great time together, and we spent a great Thanksgiving day on the beach. It was so much fun!

C and cuzS play in a fountain.











G and cuzA balance on the shadow of the railing.












C has had a little too much fun today.












G and C share a towel at the beach Thanksgiving Day.

















Sunset













Roasting marshmallows after a great Christmas light show and a fun train ride. It was a great night!

Trunk or Treat

It was not our best year for Halloween. The kids wore costumes that we already owned, but luckily they are young enough not to care. They had lots of fun, and thanks to a sweet friend who brought food, we didn't even have to eat candy for dinner!

Baby M Blessing Day

Baby M was blessed almost 2 weeks after she was born. We were so lucky to have so much family at baby M's blessing. Two of the Guy's brothers came up with their families, and both his parents and my parents were there. It was wonderful!

The "News"

There have been lots of new things around our house lately.

The New Wheels
We finally outgrew the old CRV. But apparently not the color blue. :) We love our new car.














The New School
Our little G is growing up. He loves his preschool class and his teacher. C still misses him, but we have fun together while he's gone.




















The New Team
They called themselves the Green Machine. It was fun to be a soccer mom, and he loved the games. C loved that the team had a sibling inclusion policy on the after-game treats.




















The New Hobby
The Guy has been trying his hand at cake decorating. I thought he did a fabulous job for a first time cake!



















And the best for last...
A New Family Member
Baby M was born on Sept. 27 at 1:15 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs and 3.4 oz and was 20 inches long. G and C had been waiting and anticipating for so long. They were so excited! We love our little M!

Puddles

It rains so much here, and is often so warm when it does rain that jumping in puddles is one of our favorite activities. In fact, one particular puddle on our front drive has been aptly named Charlotte's Puddle.
Lest you feel worried that my kids were jumping in puddles this week, these pictures were taken in July. No worry necessary. :)

Past Due

I realized the other day that even with a half-yearly schedule, I'm still way overdue for a post. I should probably just admit defeat, but I'm not quite ready yet. Maybe I'll even post again before sometime next year!
We went to Jefferson's Poplar Forest a couple months ago and those pics are still on my desktop, so I thought I would start there. :)












Here are the kids doing a puzzle of the house at Poplar Forest. I thought it was pretty cool. The base was the floor plan and the pieces were the shapes of the rooms in the house. Then there were pillars and stairs to add in the appropriate places...or where ever you want.















Sitting on an oven in the kitchen. Good thing it wasn't hot! (hehehehe)















We were all getting really tired. G was the only one brave enough to lie down on the roof to rest. We were all jealous.















I don't know why I love pics of C's hair, but here it is.















I love my family!