Enter the Holidays!

Auntie was still here at the beginning of the month, but both kids were sick with what I think was croup, so between that and the weather we didn't really do much. We headed to an indoor bouncy house, and discovered that Blair is just as good at climbing as her brother!

We went on a hike around a huge lake, which, true to my history, was way longer than I thought it was going to be. But Colin and Auntie both persevered and we made it back to the car. Colin was rewarded with hot chocolate and donuts.

We always manage to play shoot the zombies in the backyard when Auntie is here - this time, we also got to smash the pumpkins!

All three kids were sad to see her go.

As I was searching for weekend events, I saw there was a lantern walk at our Nature Center. No doubt in my mind I was going, and I even managed to convince Chris to let me take Colin. It was super cool! We started off with a bonfire and s'mores, then followed the paper lantern trail and it was awesome. There weren't many people (it was pretty chilly) and pitch black except for the lanterns. Colin loved it, and it was a really cool memory for us to share. On our way home, Colin said "I'm proud of you mom." and I replied "For what?" and he said "For taking me to that hike, it was really fun." then fell asleep as my heart exploded with love.

On a rainy weekend, we took the kids to a little dance party at a local library. The instructor was interactive and creative which made it really fun, and the kids enjoyed going with the flow.

Kalamazoo has their holiday party in mid-November, because it would be too cold in December, so I took the kids to watch the parade and get a jump start on our holiday cheer. It was pretty cold, but you would have never known with these two! They danced and waved and laughed. Colin has learned the more you wave the more candy you get, and Blair kept saying "Hi! Smile!" to everyone going by.

Later that day we headed over to Miss Sarah's house to have a Friendsgiving celebration. It was a blast for the adults and kids alike. The food was excellent and the kids played amazingly; what else could a parent ask for?! And check out this "kids table" - maybe one day they will have their own Friendsgiving!

And, the biggest event of the month! We headed to Oklahoma to celebrate Chris' Dad's retirement and Thanksgiving. It was 17hrs of drive time there, 4 hrs to Oklahoma City and 13.5hrs of drive time back to Portage - needless to say this mama knew I needed to be creative and prepared with activities for the kids to do in the car! I planned stops for lunch that included some sort of activity, and ordered and made (and hid) all kinds of fun stuff to keep them entertained and I am so thankful I did because the kids did absolutely fantastic. I couldn't have hoped for anything better. Here we are at our last stop before we arrived in Oklahoma at the Peter Pan Park in Emporia, KS!

Grandpa Curt's Retirement Party was a big success! Lots of people came by to congratulate him, and we got to see some family members we don't get to see very often, which was a great surprise. The kids all had fun together, and managed to stay out of too much trouble.

We then headed over to Oklahoma City to celebrate Thanksgiving. We went to an awesome indoor playground and the kids had an absolute blast.

Wednesday we had family pictures and I cannot wait to see them! All the kiddos were super cooperative despite it being pretty chilly, and after I saw this preview I cannot wait to see the rest!

We don't get to celebrate birthdays together often, so we were happy to celebrate Baby Violet's birthday after dinner. Everyone got cupcakes frosting too!

That night the siblings wanted to have a night out, so Grandma and Grandpa were in charge of getting all the goobers to bed! Grandma Yvette has an incredible knack for taking care of a lot of kids at once, and it is impressive. Toy Story 4 was on the TV and the kids were cuddled up relaxing. The babies went their respective ways and the older kids crashed on the couch. How frickin cute is this?!

Grandma promised popcorn the next morning, and you better believe they didn't let her forget!

Later that day we had a white elephant for the older kids which didn't exactly pan out as we had hoped, but some swaps took place and the right presents ended up with the right kid!

It was a great trip that seemed to go by too quickly. The beauty of these trips is that the kids are all so close in age they play and entertain themselves so the adults can catch-up and have a "break." We know how important these trips are and are looking forward to the next one!

Between the kids being sick and preparing for the long road trip, we didn't really do much else this month. We voted, made some turkeys, built lots of forts inside, had our first snowfall and the kids still love each other. Hopefully the rest of the cold & flu season is kind to us so we can continue to maintain our usual level of activity!

Colin has been giving me heart flutters this entire month. I think back to August when I was ready to sell him to the gypsies and am so thankful he has made such a positive turn. He truly is someone who needs structure and mental stimulation or he gets restless and ornery. And really, who could possibly be mad at this perfect little male human?!

He is so funny and I love how his mind works. Here he is with claw hand, and one day he came home from school with a coconut (?)

 

He has really started making visual connections and translating that to paper, which makes my heart jump for joy. The picture below is his "broken heart" because I wouldn't let him watch the iPad. I was too nervous to ask what the letters said...

At school they have been practicing their letters & sounds, and writing. When I saw this in Colin's backpack I thought for sure it was someone else's (I had a conversation with my friend Sarah before school started worrying about Colin and his letters) but I saw his classic "n's" and was so proud. I love how creative his letters are, and how he puts them together. On our long road trip he copied all sorts of words, and asked how to spell certain things as well. I'm so impressed!

Also, this kid has his Dad's scowl down to a science:

Oh my Blair. Winner for the Hot & Cold award. How can such a beautiful child be so evil and hot tempered? As she discovers more independence, and grows smarter, I think she has a firmer understanding of what she wants and when she doesn't get it, watch out. She is also at that classically tough age where we are learning to share, so she has required a bit more policing than in months past. Chris has much more patience with her than I do, and is very ready and willing to spoil her any chance he gets. Blair (and Colin) is lucky to have such a willing and hands on Dad.

Blair is learning every day - we are working on colors, letters and counting and she is starting to sing songs (ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider). She very much prefers to play by herself quietly but also doesn't hesitate to copy whatever he brother is doing if they are playing together. I love that she is so confident to play on her own, but also hope she finds joy in playing with other kids as well.

Time goes by so quickly (unless I am doing this blog 😂) and I already feel like I've forgotten some moments. Even though this blog is so time consuming, I am thankful I have stuck with it for so long because I know it will be such an amazing resource to remember and reminisce.