one desperate cat

Poor Peanut is so starved for attention that she has actually been letting the kids pet her.

parenting error #....oh, I've lost count

File this under it seemed like a good idea at the time. Right after Thanksgiving we moved Soren to a big boy bed. It seemed as good of a time as any to do it, what with Isaac being off work for all of December. We figured maybe we would have a few rough nights of bringing him back to bed in the middle of the night. We figured wrong. Soren hated the bed so much that we actually set his crib back up two days later, but by then it was too late, he had decided that going to sleep alone was for suckers. So there was much screaming and whining, and Isaac and I ended up having to lay on the floor in his room for him to go to sleep. And now here we are a month later, and we're working on laying closer and closer to the door every day. Pretty awesome. Here is Soren when we set up his bed. He looks deceptively happy, no?

A few days after the move Isaac went to Chicago for an overnight trip. After two hours of trying to get Soren to sleep Greta woke up. I went in to rock with her and Soren followed. He knew I was fed up, so he lay on the floor whimpering. And then the whimpering stopped. Aparently the floor was better than his bed. What a punk.

Duluth

Wheee! Soren is finally bigger than my parents' ginormous cat Hyde!

Soren got to go on the Polar Express, which was just about the coolest thing ever in his book. Check out the look of disbelief when he saw the train coming.

Choo-chooooo!!!!

The train went from Fitgers to the Depot, and then we got out and heard the Polar Express story and got to meet santa. Well, at least stand in the general vicinity of santa. Soren wouldn't even give the poor guy five, let alone make eye contact.

We hopped back on the train and back to Fitgers, where we met the whole gang at grandma and grandpa's favorite haunt, the Brewhouse. Seriously, they're there multiple times a week, every week. Greta is starting to be interested in this whole phenomenon of eating, and stares rather lustily at people when they're eating. She was particularly enamored of grandpa's beer, and on one pass managed to grab it. How awesome are the slightly wonky eyes?

"Hey, who's that foxy lady on the post here?"

Good times had by all, as usual!!

Bentleyville

After Thanksgiving we headed up to Duluth for a weekend of fun with Grandma and Grandpa Albright. First stop- Bentleyville. Nothing puts you in a holiday mood like an insanely gaudy light display, right?

My favorite, the aerial lift bridge and ship, complete with lifting bridge!

thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we had brunch at Isaac's dad's house, and then dinner at his mom's. Nothing like a full day of gorging on delicious food!!

Pretty lady!

sweet elbow patches!

excessive drooling allowed for a second ridiculous outfit!

jammin'

Trying on grandma's glasses. Doesn't he look just like Ralphie from A Christmas Story?!?!

cookie monster

Soren and I made cookies last week and he loved every part of it, from measuring and stirring, to rolling and cutting, and of course all the decorating! But predictably his favorite part was the eating, and he didn't quite understand that not every cookie that he decorated was supposed to be for him. So we had to designate cookies for dad, grandmas, grandpas, and just about every one else we knew. He was okay with it that way! (Sorry y'all never got your cookies!)

Hmmm, Soren your cheeks are suspiciously chipmunky.

Aha! Caught in the act!

Can you enjoy your cookie even if it's just virtual? Here they are!

Getting our money's worth out of this Halloween costume.

At the zoo. I told Soren to be careful he didn't get thrown in with the gorillas. He didn't seem concerned.

Edited to add: I posted this from my phone, and now realize that the picture doesn't translate well to the big screen. Take my word for it, it's a super cute picture of Soren wearing his gorilla head and staring at the monkeys at the zoo.

a trip to the mall

Soren likes to spice things up for a trip to the MOA.

naptime

Soren is always taking weird things to bed with him at naptime. Usually this doesn't cause any problems, he falls asleep without a fuss (unlike bedtime) and I usually sneak in and take stuff out if need be when he's sleeping. Today I had to document the craziness.

Greta at 4 months

What a sweet, sweet girl we have! At four months Greta is getting stronger and stronger, can grab things and put them in her mouth, and has rolled from her tummy to her back a few times! But the most miraculous thing ever is that she's sleeping through the night! It's just about the most wonderful thing ever! Not only that, but she's a darn good napper too, falling asleep on her own in her crib for most naps! Now if only a certain two and a half year old in our house could follow her lead and sleep all night we'd really be rocking!

At four months Greta's stats are:

Height: 26 inches (95th %)

Weight: 15lbs 11oz (95%)

Head: 17.5in (off the charts) For comparison, Soren at four months was:

Height: 27in (off the charts)

Weight: 18lbs 8oz (off the charts)

Head: 18in (off the charts)

And looked like this:

Just look at these two cuties!!

fall fun days

With weather in the 60s in November who can help but be in a good mood?

miscellany

ridiculous or ridiculously cute?

new tricks

Soren is learning lots of new tricks! He loves to give people two thumbs up...

He does a wicked somersault...
He can work it like a supermodel....

And also does a mean Heismann pose...

Soren is totally spoiled by his Grandma Albright who got him fancy big-boy underpants and comfy Ugg boots. He's not really into potty training, and we're not pushing it, but sometimes he asks to go on the potty, and sometimes he asks to wear his underwear. Unfortunately the two rarely go together.

a girl and her bumbo

Halloween at ECFE

Rumspringa

We were so excited to be invited back to the Pierach family farm for their annual pumpkin party. They have a gorgeous place, and who can argue with good food and fabulous friends? Thanks again Angie, Jorg, Coco, and Elliot!!

Greta and dad

Soren and Millie

Soren and Coco

PJs and storytime with Millie's dad Tony before hitting the road