Christmas Eve

 It was fun being in York for Christmas Eve. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our old church. That place has such good memories for me. It's where I met Nate. We still have a lot of great friends there and got to spend time with them.

 Asher refused to smile and insisted on making his fish face.

Dexter spent the trip working on his first two teeth and then getting an ear infection. The plus side was he was always up for cuddling. He loved hanging out with Grandpa.

We are back now and working on unpacking and cleaning up the house. Our New Years Eve involves pizza, a kids movie, and going to bed early!

Merry Christmas

We are having a great time spending Christmas in Pennsylvania. More pictures and stories to come soon!

Christmas Part 1

We always travel up to Pennsylvania for Christmas. Part of me really wishes we could wake up in our house for Christmas. This year we decided to pretend Christmas was a week early so the kids could experience the holiday at home. We did it last Saturday and it was so much fun. We spent the entire day in our pajamas playing with toys. 

 The kids waiting patiently to open presents.

 Asher really wanted Santa to bring him a new sword since his last one broke.

 When I ask him if he is spider man he always responds "No mom, I'm just pretending".

Dexter took advantage of having everything to himself while the big kids ate waffles.

Nights with Daddy

 One.

 Two.

Three.

That's how many crazy kiddos we currently have. Last week I had a night out with some friends for dinner up in Virginia. Nate stayed at home with as we like to call them Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3. I am so grateful that he is such a good dad and gives me night out. I'd like to write more, but Thing 3 has crawled into a corner and can't figure a way out.

Conversations

The conversations I have with Asher and Piper constantly amuse me. Here are a few examples.

This morning while I was getting Piper dressed:

Me: Piper you are sassy.
Piper: Not sossy, cute
Me: You are right Piper, you are cute
Piper: Not cute, Poper es pretty

Yesterday I was giving Dexter some puffs and Asher took some. I told him not to eat them, they are baby food.

Asher: Mommy will the puffs make me big or little (he is always asking him what foods will make him big and strong)
Me: They will make you little
Asher: (getting a little concerned) Am I still four, or did they make me little?
Me: They made you turn three again
Asher: I DON'T WANT TO BE THREEEEEE (now he is crying)
Me: Asher don't worry, you are still four. Food can't make you little again.
Asher: Ok, (pauses for 30 seconds) can I be 28?

Sweet babies

 Piper got her hair cut this week, and it look so cute on her. It curled up a lot of she just looks so sweet. I remember how overwhelmed I felt with just Asher and Piper. It seemed so hard having two kids. Now when I just have two it seems so easy. Dex stayed at home with Nate while I took them out for dinner, a haircut, and frozen yogurt.

Dexter loves playing in his crib. He usually wakes up very happy from his naps.

Imagination

Having a four year old around is hilarious. I especially love how Asher's imagination has been growing lately. Earlier this week he started pretending Jada and Bennett were around all the time. I'd catch him talking to them in his room and getting snacks out for them to eat. A few days ago he woke up and was acting a bit grouchy. I told him to sit at the table and I'd get him breakfast. He immediately started crying and whining. I asked him what was wrong and he replied "Jada is sitting in my seat".

On the same day I dropped him off at school. When I opened the door to get him out of the car he looked really sad. I asked him if he was ok and he said "My superpowers are gone".

Yesterday I went in their room to get some things and Asher shushed me and told me to be quiet. When I asked him why, he responded "Spiderman is sleeping in my bed".

Wobble Gobble

 On Saturday we went downtown for the Wobble Gobble. It's an annual family one mile run that benefits kids who suffered child abuse.

 Piper warming up before the big race.

 Asher ran the entire thing and really loved it. He wants to do more races. Dex slept the entire time, and Piper ran about ten feet before she insisted on being carried the rest of the way. The kids all got medals when they crossed the finish line.

Decorating the Tree

 We had a great Thanksgiving. My brother is in town and the kids love having him around to play with. Asher says that Uncle Matty is his best friend. Yesterday Matt, Asher, and I went out to get a tree. It was really fun decorating the house with them.

 Matt is the decorating expert, so his services were quite valuable.

Thanksgiving School Party

 Yesterday Asher and Piper had Thanksgiving parties at school. I love going in to their classes. Piper ignored most of the food and chose to eat a lunch of fruit and Cheetos.

 The little cutie next to her is Oliver. He is a day older than Piper and they have a lot of fun together. Piper often comes home talking about Obiber.

 Asher is no slacker when it comes to eating at these parties. I made fruit kabobs and he polished off about five of them along with three sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and a cupcake.

He's such a cute little pilgrim.

Morning Mayhem

 Most mornings tend to be a bit crazy in our house. The kids are all up before 7, but I still have a lot to do in order to be out of the house by 8:40. Asher usually gets up and dresses himself. Unfortunately, he usually picks things that either don't match or are not appropriate for school so there is usually a round 2 of getting dressed for him. I also have to nurse Dex and then an hour later feed him cereal. Getting Piper to eat a yogurt takes at least 20 minutes, and forget getting her to eat anything else. I have to get her dressed and do her hair. Dexter also has to be dressed. I have to pack up snacks for school, find sippy cups, shoes, and my keys. The kids don't share my enthusiasm for always being on time, so they usually come up with other things to do in the morning. Asher loves to build block towers.

 Dexter was not happy about the delay on breakfast that morning.

 Piper likes to sit on the couch, with a sippy cup of milk and a stuffed animal on her lap.

She believes she is the one who keeps this house running.

All by myself

 As many of you know Nate and I are trying to get the house ready to rent out and buy a new one. I hope that all of this can take place in the spring. We have a lot to do in order for this to happen. It's very hard to get the big projects done with the kids around. On Sunday Nate wanted to work on some things, so I took all the kids up to Virginia. We went to the zoo and the mall. I was surprised by how much fun I had and how I wasn't completely stressed the entire time.

The nice thing about having a zoo membership is I don't feel like only spending an hour at the zoo is a waste. The kids told me the animals they wanted to see, so we went to those first. The giant lizards are always a big hit. Piper's favorite is the elephant. Asher was super excited that once again we caught the elephant pooping. 

 There is a train ride that takes you around the zoo. We stopped to have snacks and then rode on it.

I love these kids to pieces.

Halloween

 Last night Asher and Piper went trick-or-treating. We went over to Dave and Leah's neighborhood with some of our friends. These are the cutest pirates and indians I have ever seen.

 Asher was so excited that he got to go with Jada, Bennett, AND, Brody and Sage.

Dex chose not to dress up and spent the evening taking a long nap. Now I get to spend the next month trying not to eat all this candy.

Hollywood Studios

 We spent our last day at Disney in Hollywood Studios. Overall it's geared for older kids, but I'm glad we went. They have an area that's themed after Honey I Shrunk the Kids. It was so much fun, and the kids loved being able to run around and climb on things.

 There was a huge rope area that was supposed to mimic a spider web. Asher spent a good forty minutes climbing in it.

 Dexter and I just hung around.

 These little tree stumps made noise when you stepped on them.

 For lunch we went to a sci-fi cafe. The tables were in the shape of cars, which the kids loved.

 We got to meet Lightening McQueen and Mater. I'll let you guess Asher's excitement level.

One of the coolest parts of the day was a car stunt show. They had some pretty spectacular sequences. Asher was very impressed by it all.

We are in Charleston today, and tomorrow we head home. We took a carriage ride this morning. I loved it. If we ever had to move I'd love to live down here.