Christmas morning, eating candy from their stockings.

Translation: I love marshmallows ;)

How have you been? It's been ages. I feel like I don't even know you anymore!

Overall it was a great day. We went to church on Christmas Eve, and we weren't expecting guests until the late afternoon, so we stayed in our pjs for half the day! I loved that the kids were able to play with their toys and relax without having to rush off to someone else's house.

Last Friday when Anna climbed into the car at carpool, her teacher slid a large orange bag with an owl on it into the back seat too. When we pulled away I asked Anna what was in the bag and her entire body shook with excitement as she yelled out, "IT'S SPOT!".

Spot is the class owl, and every student gets to have him for a weekend. In the bag was Spot, and a stuffed 3 ring binder where every family before us has documented their adventures with Spot. It was fun to look at. Some families just had the child draw a picture of Spot, while other families did full on scrapbook layouts. I admit I was closer to that end of the spectrum. ;)

As soon as we got home Anna wanted me to take a picture of her feeding yogurt to Spot. Careful!



Then of course Spot flew into the Christmas tree. Noah's giraffe felt left out so he jumped in there too.





The next morning Ruby had a vet appointment, so we took Spot along for his own check-up. Our vet was a really good sport and spent a long time examining Spot and showing Anna how to use all of his tools.





For dinner Spot helped us make a chicken pot pie. You can see here that he was amazed by the whole process. Just look at that focus.

Today Anna had preschool, like she does every Friday. The library had called to tell me a book I requested was ready, so instead of going home or running other errands, Noah and I went to the library across the street from Anna's school. When we got to the children's department it was unusually crowded, and I soon figured out that a preschool class from another school was there. Noah wanted to play blocks so we sat down in the middle of the group and started to play, and a group of 3 or 4 little girls watched him with great interest. Especially when he would knock down the towers he had built! As I watched these little girls talk and play, I started seeing Anna in their features. One had sort of wavy, sort of straight hair that was Anna's color. One had straight little stick legs and tights like Anna's, and as they got up to leave a teacher called one of them by name, Anna.


Preschool days are short, less than 3 hours between drop off and pick up, and normally I don't even have time to miss her before she's back. But today when I looked at those girls, I missed Anna terribly. I found myself thinking that if something ever happened to her I know I would spend the rest of my life looking for glimpses of her in every child I see. It was so overwhelming it was all I could do not to drive across the street and take her out of school early! But of course I knew she was fine and she was having fun, and pickup was less than an hour away. And Noah wanted to go see the hamsters at the library, and to walk in the leaves outside, to have a snack. So off we went.


After school we all played lots of pretend games, including the Anna Express Train (chairs lined up in the kitchen) which was taking us to "Chinese Africa". Anna told me that when we arrived my job would be warning all African animals to stay off of the tracks. I love her little mind and the things she comes up with. I love her creativity, her drive to know more and more and more. But most of all I love her sweet spirit and how she just dives into everything she does. I can NOT wait to see what this girl does as she grows, although tonight I think I'd like her to stay 4 forever.

We're still alive, just busy! We've been doing preschool events, going to and planning lots of fun birthday and holiday parties, doing fun everyday stuff like grocery shopping and cleaning, and Nathan and I have been touring and talking to what feels like a million Kindergartens trying to decide on one for Anna. Sorry the blog is so empty lately!



Self portrait by Anna :)

Anna is right in the middle, in the stripey tights. :)

So, you already know what Anna wants you to get her for Christmas, but she wanted to make sure there was no doubt.

p.s. To any crazy person who thinks they will make all of Anna's dreams come true and buy her a cat for Christmas, you can't. Nathan and I are both allergic.....plus cats are evil. ;)

p.p.s. Anna does not sleep in that crib! She was playing in Noah's bed.

I thought of a few more things Anna has been saying lately. I have to write them down or I know I will forget!

Trees make sack. Not sap!

Candles are made of whack.

A group of birds is called a flocket.

Oh how I love this age!

Well, it's happening again. We're so busy that I keep making mental notes of cute things the kids have said and then I forget all about them before I can write them down. Here are the few that I can remember.

My friend Julie just sent me these pictures from our October get together with our small group from church. We let all of the kids wear their costumes and they were so excited. These crack me up!

L to R: Anna (funny face) Jack, Emma, Leigh, Noah, twins Kate and Claire in the bumbo seats, and baby Olivia on the blanket. The kids in the back row are all 2-4 years old, the twins are 6 months old, and little Olivia is only 8 weeks old.



Poor little bumblebee!



After standing still for pictures they needed to let out a little energy on Jack's bed. That bed will look familiar in a few weeks. It's the same one we just bought for Noah's big boy room.



Just last week Leigh's parents welcomed their new baby Kara. When we first started our group had 5 kids and in just one year we're up to 9! I love how they all play and have so much fun together, even if Jack and Noah are getting a bit outnumbered!

Sometimes Nathan likes to sneak in and take a few pictures of the kids after they fall asleep. They look so peaceful and so sweet when they're sleeping. Plus it's the only time you can get them to stand still! Ashley, Anna has adopted one of the dogs as her own!

So what if Halloween was last week? We can still carve our pumpkin, right?! Nathan and I like them better uncarved, but the kids were so excited to do it so we went ahead.

Ewww, not so excited about this part.



We let Anna draw on the face.

Today Anna was allowed to wear her Halloween costume to ballet school. She was super excited and when we got there all of the little girls stood on the sidewalk comparing costumes before we walked inside. Here she is with her friends Macey and Anna.

Last weekend we went to the big information fair for our local public schools. Anna was excited to be downtown, but she did not like the cold wind!