Santa

I know many of you are thinking "aww, poor Jack." But what you don't know is that he started crying when he saw that he was going to be put in Santa's lap. Then his mean mom said, "We've gotta get the 'crying baby in Santa's lap' picture! So she forced him into the arms of a stranger. He was so distraught he couldn't even scream, he just buried his face in his hands and quietly cried. So yes, poor poor Jack. And I still can't help but love the picture.

Twins first haircut

This happened a while ago, but I still thought it was worth posting. After a few too many questions (usually from old people) about if my twins were a boy and a girl, I decided it was time to cut off Brandons baby curls. Jackson's hair was a disaster because his helmet made it grow in weird. They were both way over due. Since I didn't know how I could cut both their hair without any help and have it look decent, I used the clippers and buzzed it off. I put them both in their high chairs and clipped away. It took less than 10 minutes to do both and they actually enjoyed watching each other get their hair cut!

I have to admit I teared up a little when Brandon's little locks fell to the floor.

Ah, the bittersweet first haircut.

Randomness

This is how I get Hailey to behave during piano lessons :)

The twins' first duet.

Adam and the kids planted some seeds that Ian got from my dad's flowers last summer. I hope they sprout!

Halloween/Thanksgiving

Halloween was pretty mellow this year. Since it was on Sunday we only participated in the Trunk or Treat at the church the day before. That was plenty for us. Ian wasn't even able to do the school costume parade because he got sick at school that day and had to come home early. So sad.

Brandon the monkey.

Jackson the monkey.
Hailey the ladybug, Ian as Darth Vader, and two little monkeys.
Elmo

I gutted and carved all of these myself. Yeah, be impressed ;) The middle one is Hailey's "baby monster."

On Halloween we made caramel apples and drank apple cider. The kids loved handing out candy to trick or treaters. I think they liked that more than going out themselves! I actually enjoyed it a lot too. It was nice and relaxing and the twins got to bed on time. Over all a nice Halloween.

For Thanksgiving this year Adam's parents and nephew, Nick, came for the holiday. It was great to see them and Ian had a blast playing with his cousin. My sister Marianne also flew in, the kids were so happy to see their "other mom." Jill's family came too and I got to be the hostess for the first time. Jill still made the turkey though, she's just so good at it :)

YUM

Dinner was delicious, especially the turkey and rolls which Jill made. She better never go out of town for Thanksgiving!

The kiddie table. Although my nephew Chad (right) is not so much a kid anymore! He is taller than me!

The grown-ups minus Doug who is taking the picture.

It was wonderful to have everyone for Thanksgiving. Adam and I got to get some Black Friday shopping done too since his mom was willing to babysit :)

Happy #4 Hailey!

My little girl is 4 years old! Hailey had a wonderful birthday the week of Thanksgiving. On Monday (her actual birthday) she got a donut with sprinkles for breakfast. She got to wear a special birthday hat at school. And when she got off the bus after school she did a little birthday dance. "Birthday birthday birrrrthday!" What a cutie! She also got a Play-Doh cake maker and played with it for an hour before bed.

On Wednesday night we had a family party. Hailey had her first helium balloons (I know, deprived huh?) and my sister Jill and her family and Adam's parents and nephew came over. Hailey loved being the center of attention, doesn't she look soooo happy?
Hailey got some pretty jewelry and dolls for her birthday. She sure loved celebrating for 3 days.

So here are some things you might want to know about Hailey: Her favorite colors are purple and yellow. She loves cereal. Her favorite thing to do is color with markers and crayons. She loves to play Play-Doh and with her play kitchen. She is finally starting to talk in sentences, and it is getting a lot easier to understand her. She loves Cinderella and Snow White. She has recently discovered Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and is pretty addicted. She loves to play computer games (Dora, Mickey, Elmo).

Happy Birthday Hailey!