Week After Thanksgiving

With Eddy not feeling well on the actual holiday, we instead dressed up for church on Sunday and asked a friend to take a picture for us.


Also this week I put out Christmas decorations. It took me a few more hours than usual, because I really weeded through the boxes and got rid of a lot of stuff. Feels good to keep the important things and donate the rest.

Isaac and Piper loves putting the ornaments on the tree.





I played some Christmas music, and had a helper!


My sassy kiddos being reindeer!

Thanksgiving

We had a different kind of holiday. The first new thing was that no one came over and we didn't travel. It was just the four of us. Eddy and I were excited about that.

We woke up that morning, and Eddy was sick. He had been trying to use my technique of "willing yourself to not get sick", but he couldn't do it anymore. I left the house at 7:30am to volunteer at a local 5K race. I wanted to run it, but was too cheap to pay $32 to run 3 miles! At least this way I got a free shirt!

When I got home, I wanted to get a run in, so I asked Isaac to come with me. He biked while I ran. Only he wanted to put 3 trains in his backpack and bring that with. So that extra load, on top of going against the wind on the only uphill part of the run, made it a fairly miserable experience. But I'm grateful that he kept me company!


We didn't take any pictures of us with our turkey dinner. In fact, we didn't dress up. And we served the food from the pans it was cooked in. And we didn't get out the fancy dishes or silverware.

And it was great.

Bentleyville 2012

We decided to take the kids to Bentleyville tonight. I thought that because it was BEFORE Thanksgiving, the crowds would be smaller. But I forgot that since it was the night before the holiday, most adults didn't have to work to next day and kids didn't have school. But we had fun!

Isaac was excited about the new Thomas the Train lights.


The kids were so patient, waiting for Santa.


We thought we had Piper prepped to sit with Santa, but when it came down to it, she wasn't letting go of me.


Now that we've seen Santa, we are looking forward to going back and just enjoying all the scenery!

My New Favorite Time

I've never been a mother who could sleep with her kids. The idea always sounded so nice, especially when they were little--snuggle in with this perfect little being. But I just couldn't. I don't know why. Maybe fear that something would happen if I fell asleep? But really, I'm not one who falls asleep quickly anyway, especially if I'm not laying down in my own bed.

But that's changed. I've been napping with my daughter. Maybe it's because she's been taking naps in my bed. Maybe because she's old enough where I'm not afraid I'm going to roll on top of her, or she'll fall out of bed. Maybe it's because she is my baby and pretty soon she won't want me to lay with her. Maybe because she is SO freakin' adorable when she asks me to lay with her and then before she falls asleep says, "I love you to the moon and back". Whatever the reason, I'm loving every minute.

Rest of the Weekend

The day after the City of the North parade was a pretty relaxed one. Usually when my parents visit, we have a million things to do, so it was nice just to hang out for a change.

Piper showed off her piano-playing skills while Grandma snapped a picture...


...and Isaac and Grandpa played trains.


My Dad helped us put some lights up later that afternoon. Eddy's not a fan of putting up lights, so we were grateful for the help.


Overall, it was a great weekend. I love not working Mondays, and last Monday was a beautiful day for a walk. So I picked up my friend and her daughter and we headed down to the Lakewalk for walk. The girls got so much fresh air that they fell asleep for awhile!

Christmas City of the North Parade

Friday night my parents came to town. We got our winter gear on and headed down to Superior Street to watch the Christmas City of the North parade.

Piper and Isaac watched with Novak, whose two older brothers were on a float and baby sister was in a pack on their mom's back.


Piper getting a better view.


My parents recently went to Norway. They brought back hats for all of us, so it seemed like a good opportunity for a photo!


Michaela, Piper and I


My parents



And with Isaac


Our family


It was a great parade!

Catching Up

Last weekend Isaac and Eddy went to a UWS hockey game, so it was a good time for some girl time! We had fun painting our toes.




The kids have been good about participating in household chores. Isaac volunteered to vacuum and Piper decided that she would vacuum too!




Other than a couple of art projects, Isaac hasn't had any homework...until a few nights ago. He said it was "super easy".




Piper has been having fun making towers with blocks. She does a great job stacking!




We got a dusting of snow that was still on the ground when Isaac was done with school. So the kids got their gear on and headed out. From the front window, I asked the kids to smile for a picture. Piper didn't want to, so Isaac tried to make her...




And then he let go and she fell. This is the only other picture I got.




I watched my niece and nephew earlier this week for a few hours. Piper was SUPER exited to have them over! The girls had a good time.

Fun With Friends

Over the course of a couple of days, we were able to spend some time with good friends. It was opening hunting this weekend, so the kids and i were on our own. Saturday morning Isaac's friend Ben got to go to Home Depot with Ben's dad to do their Saturday morning project. It was a Thanksgiving napkin holder. While they were gone, Piper and I went for a walk with the other half of Ben's family--sister Carly and his mom Courtney. Walking with a friend is always more fun!


Later in the day, I packed up the kids and we headed to the Cities to see some friends that used to live in Duluth. Myla is Isaac's age and Van is four. They had a sleepover in Myla's room! They watched a movie...


...and after some reminders that it was bedtime, they finally fell asleep.


The next day Myla had a project she had to do for school, so the other kids is one of their own, too. Jodi is an awesome mom--so many things to make a good craft project! They traced their feet to make the body of a turkey and used lots of different things to make feathers.





I left a little before noon to go to baby shower for my sister and her best friend, who is also pregnant. I'm so grateful to Jodi for watching the kids so I could attend the shower. It was fun to see my sister and her friend. While I was gone, Jodi emailed me this picture...


We are so blessed to have such great friends!