At a Glance...

Life with lots of kids is definitely easier as they get older--Lauren and Kate are quite good helpers with Brooke--it is much easier now to get things done, even if the baby needs something, because I've got extra hands to help.  I think Brooke most closely resembles Lauren as a baby...sorry for the alien-eye--this must have been taken with my phone...

 
 Both girls had Thanksgiving feasts at their schools...here's our little pilgrim...

 We got some rain this past week, and Charlie came out of his room ready to play--I didn't realize his swim suit was still in his dresser!

Ready for Church...

Kate LOVES Brooke--here she is playing "This little piggy" with her... Kate is a very tender child.

We took a family field trip to the Natural History Museum on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  We had a good time until this boy finally melted...

"Girls only...but Charlie and Dad can come in and all Lauren's and Kate's friends..."

Rainy day fun--it's hard to entertain kids for an entire day when it's raining outside--Kate had a blast with this bunk bed fort--she played in there all day.

Lauren is very, very artistic and creative.  She always makes the coolest things out of a handful of art supplies...on this rainy day she concocted a harness and sled for her stuffed animals.  She even had a version that had wheels...

Making cookies in our underwear...

First-time in the Bumbo...

Village Christmas Stroll

We live 1 block from our local downtown "village'' and we love it.  Several times a year there are "events" in the village that we walk to and enjoy--each year on the Friday before Thanksgiving the village does a big holiday stroll and Christmas tree lighting (each year I ask why they don't do it the Friday AFTER Thanksgiving, but I digress...) and there is always tons to see, do and eat. 

It was quite chilly, at least for CA standards, so we actually had to pull out the fuzzy gloves to wear.  Charlie is turning out to be that boy that refuses to wear anything except shorts and a t-shirt--he would die before he'd put on long pants, or even a coat--his green coat was forced on with much screaming, but quickly came off for the rest of the night.  He was freezing, but wouldn't admit it.  I finally gave in this week and bought him a whole new batch of shorts, as his summer ones don't really fit anymore.  And shoes?  Rarely.


Lauren asked for an American Girl doll and a Hello Kitty Bank that fits dollar coins (she gets gold dollars from her Hyer grandparents and can't get them in her piggy bank)

Kate asked for a Fur Real Go Go Walking Puppy and a robe...


Charlie asked for a Thomas and Percy train--he got James from Andy's parents when they were here last time..

Family shot--Brooke is stuffed against me in the carrier...

Family Pictures

This photo perfectly sums up our family photo shoot a few weeks ago---we didn't get as many good shots out of this session as we have in the past, and this boy is the reason.  This was his mood the ENTIRE time.  Sigh...not even sure what we're putting on the Christmas card.

 At least the other ones somewhat cooperated...

Cal Poly Pumpkin Patch

We braved the crowds, brought the wagon, and picked pumpkins at the Cal Poly pumpkin patch...

Fun with mom and dad...

Andy "took" the kids camping in the backyard a few weeks ago...Charlie was booted out of the tent more times than I could count...he was hurling his body through the air onto fellow campers a little too much...eventually they did all go to sleep...

Mom's not quite as fun as Dad...but that's been established many times over, and probably in other families as well!

Guess who's...?

...potty-trained???  Charlie!  He was the easiest kid to train--one day.  I waited till he was just shy of 3, and it was a breeze.  He's had very few accidents, and even naps in underwear--hip hip hooray!

Guess who else used to make this same face?

Fat Lip

Charlie has some wicked temper tantrums, and they often last for a long, long, long time (read...hours and hours).  On this particular morning he was ticked that I had to turn off his show so we could take Kate to school...he was still crying and flailing when we got to school and he threw himself into an iron railing, breaking his fall with his face.  Blood everywhere...and I mean tons and tons of blood.  The preschool director fully expected him to be missing teeth.  I keep waiting for the school director to casually try to dissuade me from enrolling him next year--she's known him for almost 3 years now and witnessed many a tantrum while Kate has been going to school there, and she's probably bracing herself for next Fall!  Love you Buddy...

Andys' parents came to town...

Andy's parents came to visit for Brooke's baby blessing--my kids always have huge withdrawals after they leave...

Grandpa brought Charlie a John Deere tractor for his birthday--bet he's the only boy in this town with a tractor!

All about Brooke

I've created several blog posts now, and barely mentioned sweet little Brooke--she's the best.  Takes a bottle, takes a pacifier, sleeps 8 hours straight at night now, and is learning to fall asleep on her own--but only at night.  Still a normal baby though--screams in the car, prefers to be held, and needs to be rocked/held to fall asleep in the day.  Love her...

People always ask me who she looks like, and we've been told that she looks like every member of our family and extended family--guess that's a good thing 'cause we're all related!  But in the very professional opinion of her mother, who knows her best and has spent more time staring at her than any other person, and has studied the baby pictures of each of her 3 siblings, I go on the record that she looks very much like Lauren, and only Lauren.  Both Charlie and Kate looked very different from Brooke as infants.  In this picture below, the hair is darker, but she looks like Lauren...

Kate got this huge flower clip for her birthday--I don't normally put things in my baby's hair, and I guess Brooke is happy about that--she doesn't seem to like it!  And this was a joke...

What breakfast time looks like in our kitchen...

I put Brooke down for a minute in Kate's bed (Kate was awake) to go do something...Brooke turned toward Kate and promptly fell asleep...

Hee Hee...I have a picture of Kate doing this exact same thing...