November... we're getting there!

My husband is a good cook. Really good cook. And his chili? Well, it's award winning you know. Some of our friends host Monday night football gatherings each year, and once a year, will also add in a chili cook off! Last year, Jamie won first place with his chili (which he had never made before that night). I would just like to add that I found the recipe, but then he tweaked it to make it his own. Just sayin'. Anyway, this year, Jamie came in third out of twenty entries (please don't ask him about it - he was NOOOOOT happy, LOL!), which was still pretty awesome! Here is my award winner proudly displaying his trophy. :-)



November also brought the start of basketball for Sean, which he has been wanting to do for over one year. I must say, he really surprised me with how good he was at it, but much like soccer, he's not the kid that likes to "get in there and steal the ball". I'm beginning to think he might be more of an individual sport kind of kiddo (swimming, gymnastics), for now anyway. He did enjoy basketball, but was glad when the four week course was over. Here he is practing some drills. Please excuse the blurry images... it was hard to get a good shot!





One of my best friend's from college (and sorority sister, Jodi), asked if we would like to get tickets to the Polar Express with them, which was in Monticello. Although we've never watched the movie or read the book (I know, I know...), I thought this would be SO much fun! They encouraged everyone to wear their jammies, and join the fun on the hour long ride. They read the story to us, served hot chocolate and cookies, and had singing, dancing, and games. It was really fun, and a neat memory to share with the Jones.



Our attempt at a family picture. That didn't happen.





Getting sleepy...



Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year, as my extended family got to celebrate with us. My Aunt and Uncle, Cousin Sherri (and Tom), their kids Justin (minus his beautiful wife Emily) and Melissa (and Dwayne), and of course my sister and her family. It was a typical Thanksgiving of entirely too much food, a good nap, and lots of good football. But the best - well, see for yourself.




My sister and her beautiful family

Party Time!

I was fortunate enough to be able to bring some birthday treats and celebrate with Sean and his class today... what fun! I love how excited he was when I walked into the room. That will just never get old to me. :-)






For Sean's friend birthday party, he asked if he could do a swim party at the new YMCA (he is quite the little fish). The price was reasonable, and the venue was fantastic, so we invited 10 of his friends to come celebrate with us! Everyone had a wonderful time, including Aunt Wendy and Grandma Becky who came to town just for the big day! I was so thankful for my sister, who I must admit did most of the work, as I was battling a nasty case of the flu. I felt miserable, so she really stepped up and did so much. Thanks e!





I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Michelle (Frosted - Gourmet cupcakes by Michelle). She is amazing. She has done the cupcakes for a few of our events, and she never ceases to amaze me at her talent. I swear she outdoes herself each time! All I told her is that is was a Mario theme, and this masterpiece is what she came up with. HOLY WOW right???



And one more shout out to my incredibly talented friend, Janay, for designing yet another brilliant birthday shirt! This was a tough one, but she picked a red shirt (per Sean's request), which is Mario's shirt color, and did his "6" to look like Luigi's overalls! Seriously, just too cute!!

Guess who's SIX?

Mario is really excited to wish Sean a Happy Birthday... in fact, check out what he did so that he could be the first to wish him HB in the morning?? Sneaky little fella.

I cannot BELIEVE that my baby is six. SIX. Ugh, how is that possible? I so vividly remember his birth and that sweet, sweet face. I remember thinking, "I'm a mom. A mom! Me." I sometimes still am in awe of this blessing God has given us. The pure joy, love, and heartache that comes with being a parent. Watching this beautiful child grow, develop, learn... it's just amazing to me.

And he's six.

Six.

I cannot believe six years have gone by. When they tell you to cherish it, because it goes by so quickly, I really didn't get it until this moment. Oh how I love you my sweet Sean, and I am so excited to celebrate your birthday today!

XOXO,
Mommy

October happenings

October was a craaaaazy busy month for us, but in a fun way! We started the month enjoying the beautifully warm weather on the kids new playset. Jamie designed and built this just for himself the boys, and boy do they love it! He used a lot of the wood from our old deck, and I just think it is amazing.






Sean had a fun start to the month, as his Kindergarten class got to take a trip to Curtis Orchard. Sean loved being able to pick out his own little pumpkin and decorate it. I wasn't able to attend this outing (silly work), but a friend sent me this picture. Are they not the cutest kids ever?



In the middle of the month, we headed over to Indy to see the Imagination Movers in Concert at Butler University. I took some pictures, but they didn't turn out well at all. The venue was amazing, and the boys had a good time, but I have to say it was actually a better concert here in Champaign. Still, it was a fun trip! We spent the night in Indy and had fun swimming and goofing off (I am forever indebted to the inventor of glow sticks), and spent the next day at the Children’s Museum. It was fun, but we managed to pick a day when schools were closed, so it was B-U-S-Y. Almost too much. But we managed to get a few fun pictures from the day. :-)



Later in October, Judah had it's Family Fun Day at Curtis Orchard, and I thought it might be fun to take Sean and my nephews. It was cold, but we had a great time! They had an inflatable obstacle course, inflatable slide, corn maze, and more!

Sean enjoying his apple donut



Nick is holding Sean in this picture, so he doesn't have to put his shoes back on. He's waiting his turn to go through the inflatable obstacle course. I just love this one. :-)




All that playing made us pretty hungry, so we had to make a stop a Steak-n-Shake to refuel. :-)



Sean also started working VERY hard on his writing in October. Every week, they get a phonics book sent home, and they are to write five words that begin with the sound they have been working on. Parents are to assist, but not help spell. They really want to get the kids to sound it out. I love this one in particular, because it was "E", and he thought of my sister. It kind of made me laugh though, because even though her name is Elaine, he calls her Laine. :-) Can you tell what all five words are?



Here's another one of my favorites of his, because he chose the word "snuggle". I heart him.



We of course ended the month with Halloween, of which Sean chose to be Mario, and Nathan wanted to me Mickey. I didn't get many pictures of them, as neither of them would sit still long enough! Can we say sugar?



Jamie and I were invited to our good friends, Cara and Luke, Halloween party. And well, you can see for yourself. :-)



(And you thought we didn't have a sense of humor.)

My office did a 101 Dalmation theme for our branch this year, so Melissa and I got in the spirit and joined in. Here we are all dogged out.



Whew. I think that wraps up October... now, on to November!

September happenings

Well, here I ago again... needing to catch up on what all has been happening with us! Setpember was a pretty busy month. Sean started soccer which met on Tuesday nights, with games on Saturday mornings. It was kind of crazy as one day it was 95 degrees, and then Saturday, it was 40 and SUPER windy on the open field! Sean has a great time and still talks about wanting to play again, but he has a hard time understanding it's OKAY to try to take the ball away from someone. Kind of a different concept than what a child is usually taught. :-) Regardless, how cute is he?



We also celebrated Jamie's birthday in September, and had A LOT of fun doing so. Sometimes it's fun to see Jamie just get to act like a kid. Since Jamie started working and supporting himself at such a young age, I think that he sometimes just needs to let loose and be a kid. :-) And of course, having two young boys to help with that doesn't hurt. Here is Jamie enjoying his new birthday present...




We also received the kiddos school pictures back, which turned out FANTASTIC! I forgot that they were having picture day at Nathan's daycare (that was new for me), but thankfully we didn't send him in a typical daycare outfit that day! WHEW!





I'll have to find my big boy's KINDERGARTEN picture. Still hard to believe he's that old. (sniff, sniff).