Bella 7 months old

Miss Bella had a busy month. She got spayed and trained on her new electric fence. She now has an acre and a half to run, fetch and play in the snow. This is her kind of weather, snow of the ground and sub-zero windchills. She doesn't mind in the least.

I actually had to go pick up Mike in a snowstorm the other night with two kids fresh out of the bathtub and in pjamas, winter coats and boots and I kept thinking to myself, if we run into a ditch we are going to die. So quick thinker that I am, I loaded Bella into the car to keep us warm if something happened to us. How terrible is that? But it is another good use for her.. She really is our sweet girl and I am so glad we got her. Now tell me, would you break into a garage or house with this girl sitting on the porch? Yeah, I didn't think so...

Making Gingerbread Houses at the Library

My darling sweet husband actually forfeited watching the Bears game to come with me and the kids to make gingerbread houses at the library. It was very fun even if the kids needed a bath as soon as we got home to get all of the icing out of their hair and I had to brush their teeth about twenty times..

Ty and Santa

Storytime with Watson

I was the only to show up for storytime at the library this week so the kids got a private libary storytime with Watson the library mascot. Then they took the kids picture for the library newspaper and Mia was less than thrilled to have to stand with the giant dog but she did it. It is classic Mia. She is very stoic when she is anxious or scared and puts on her, "I just need to do this and get it over with" face.

Singalong with Santa

After hockey and gymnastics, we took the kids out to lunch and then to a local children's theater for a sing-along with Santa. The kids had so much fun and it was a great wake to kick off the Christmas holiday. Tyler and Mia both sat on Santa's lap and both got on stage to sing Christmas carols with the actors.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nails

For the first time today (Thanksgiving), Mia asked me to paint her nails. I was very worried there was going to be nail polish everywhere but she was excited by her pretty nails that after she showed Daddy and Tyler, she sat absolutely still waiting for them to dry..

Ice Skating - November

One day, out of the blue, Tyler let me know he liked to play ice hockey. Ok, I said, well let's go try it out. He went to the rink, got all the equipment on, fell like 500 times, got off the ice and told me it was the most fun he had ever had. So he is now taking Tot Pucks twice a week and is doing really well. The great thing about being four is you don't get embarassed when you fall and you are so close to the ground it doesn't hurt. It's so fun to watch him and he gets such a good workout. Now the only issue is that Mia is ready to learn. When Mike puts Tyler's skates on, she sits down on the bench and says, "my turn." We are going to let her try it during open skate and see if she is ready. Our friends in Canada start their kids at 2 so she may be able to do it. Mike and I are going to have to go practice to keep up with them...

Here Comes Christmas

Tyler and Tasha

Grammy Posch's Birthday

We went to this rustic restaurant near our house for Grammy's birthday dinner. You can make smores for dessert!

Halloween

Fall Fun

October Arizona Trip

One of the reasons why I am so behind on blogging is that in the 6 weeks, we have been in Arizona for 3 weeks, jammed in a trip to Mexico, celebrated Halloween, worked a ton, packed, unpacked and done mountains and mountains of laundry. Our first trip to Arizona was for Matt and Lisa's wedding. Tyler relished his important role as ringbearer, Mia wanted nothing to do with being the flowergirl. Oh well, she has a beautiful dress to remember it by - unfortunately we only have one picture of her in it because her face was permanently attached to my dress. Once the photographer sends the pics I will post some wedding pics.

The kids loved swimming and being outside. Tyler loves Arizona because, "it isn't windy and isn't cold." When we flew back into Chicago, he said, "I know we are back in Chicago because of those terrible clouds."

Bella - October - 5 months old

Being Silly in the Bath Tub

Mike and I have a ridiculously large bath tub that I have yet to use in our 2.5 years in the house but the kids love it. I put the bubble bath in and turn the jets on and they are good for at least an hour. This is how I get the time to clean my bathroom - smart - huh?

Disney on Ice

This morning we surprised the kids and told them we were taking them to Disney on Ice. It was actually a strategic move on our part because if we had told thme ahead of time they (Tyler) would have been up at 5 am asking when we were leaving. Mia was actually terrified in the beginning and I thought I was going to spend the afternoon in the lobby of the United Center but she pulled it together once she got a little cotton candy in her system. However, she has an intense dislike for Donald Duck. Every time, he came onto the ice, she hid her head against my chest and said, "no duck!" Went to Kona Grill with the kids for dinner. Definitely the highlight for the parents and the kids loved the aquarium - win, win!

First Day of Preschool - September 9

First day of preschool in the 4 year old class. Is he a cutie or what?!