Valentine's Day...

Valentine's Day...
We celebrated with everything from heart-shaped rice krispie treats, to heart cinnamon rolls, to heart shaped quesadillas.

I even found a "sweetheart candy" that said "my boo" (which is one of the terms of endearment that we call Caroline, Clayton, and Austin. )

There were red heart balloons, a "treasure hunt" to find all of the hidden red hearts, and lots of valentines to open.

Mama and her big boos

Daddy and his big boos

C & C laughing

'Lil Boo and his big balloon

What a fun day! Papa came over to have a special valentine's steak dinner with us. Yum! There is nothing better than a perfectly cooked Ribeye.

Valentine's Party

Caroline had a Valentine's party at school. I got to be the party mom (with three others) and stayed for the party. It was really fun seeing Caroline and all her classmates in action. Clayton was thrilled because he was invited to stay too!

Superbowl game

For the superbowl, we played a game similar to "In the tail on the donkey".
You tape up a goal post and then make little footballs. You blindfold the kids, spin them around, and then see if they can "get a touchdown" by posting the football between the goalposts. It was a hit!

My baby baby...

and I just LOVE this little guy. I just want to smother him with kisses and eat up that cheesy toothy grin!

Happy 2-and-a-half year birthday Clayton!

I can't believe my baby is two and a half!

A few videos

Here is Clayton in all of his two-year-old tantrum glory. It's sometimes hard not to laugh as you see him bouncing about. Whenever he has a tantrum, he likes to jump up and down. He then mutters the opposite of what he actually wants. In this case, he wanted to play with his beloved blue vacuum (the real one), but Daddy took it away.

snowflakes

Caroline showing off her haircut and her paper snowflakes!

Play date at the TreeHouse

I took the kids to "The Treehouse" in Lake Zurich for a play date with Melissa and her daughters Elizabeth and Mia. They had an absolute BALL! They didn't want to leave! Even Clayton (who normally would stay interested for like 10 minutes) was entertained from the time we got there to the time we left! (The staff even brought out little vacuums to clean up every half hour or so, which, of course, he thought was awesome.)

I highly recommend it - especially on a weekday during the day when it's not as crowded.

Big smile from the A-man!

Happy 2 month birthday baby Kellan!

A big "happy birthday!" goes out to cousin Kellan for his 2 month birthday!

Austin walks (with a walker)!!

Playing in the snow

I have one who ADORES the snow...


and one who thinks it's just "so so".

The snow makes the third quite unhappy...

but being bundled sure makes his hair look snappy!

Austin in the nursery!

After NINE months of bunking with Mama and Daddy, Austin finally has moved into the nursery!

It's a little crowded with 2 cribs, but I think it will work for a few months. This spring, the boys will swap rooms with Caroline (since it is the bigger room).

More dance parties!

Trip to visit Kellan!

This past weekend, I traveled to San Francisco to visit my sister and meet her new baby, Kellan McKinley!

He is an absolute angel baby and Dan and Meredith are doing an incredible job as first-time parents. It was such a joy to spend time with them! I miss you already little bug!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Party

Growing with Mr. Bear - 9 months

...And I love my new chair! Thanks BB and Papa!