The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The most wonderful, the most stressful, the busiest, the priciest and the most most enjoyable time of the year.   Yes, all wrapped up in one.   Not much can be said about the holidays that aren't shown in this over abundance of pictures I took, so I will let them do the talking. 

Christmas at Beebah's.

Just hanging out with her Great Grandma!

Lyla hasn't exactly learned where stickers go yet.

Reading about Thomas, the Elf on the Shelf.

Yellow family photo.

Cousies.

QB's first Christmas.

Me and my boys.

Gram and her two oldest girls.

Hanging with B and Shan.

Telling secrets with Dave.

Opening gifts from Santa!

She insisted on opening her gifts in her new sled.

Reading about potties.

Trying out her new NON electronic puzzle.

Pushing her Latina baby.

Look at this kid!

Playing with her princess castle.

Cheers.  Her first time at the big kids Christmas Dinner table!

Trying out chopsticks.

Uncle Mike giving us the rules on our new family tradition.

Ending the night with a song!

Zoo Lights

In a post not so long ago, I mentioned the chaos that was our trip to the zoo.  And yet, here we are, not even two months later, attempting it again.   This time, however, we brought just a small crowd.  Eric had to work so Mimi and Pop came along with us to check out the lights at the zoo.   This is something Mimi tried to get us to do for years and yet, as soon as Lyla came along, we all jumped on board!   It was a pretty cold night so we all bundled up and headed out.  I guess the lights distract you from the fact that you see ZERO animals this time of year, but it was still fun to check out.  Lyla decided she wanted no part of her wagon which meant a lot of taking turns holding her in her giant coat.   It wasn't long before I was done and decided we had enough.   Of course we'll do it again, but maybe we'll plan on a shorter trip!

All bundled up and ready to roll!

Tour Guide Lyla

Lyla took off.  Mimi ran after her.  This is how they came back a few minutes later.

And then it was Pop's turn!

She was not cooperating.

Mimi and Mama.

Pop and Mama.

Pooooooopp!

Little Miss wouldn't keep her gloves on so Mimi spent the night walking around holding her hands to keep them warm. 

Thanksgiving Day

This year we headed over to Eric's Grandma's (Beebah's) for Thanksgiving.  Surprisingly it ended up being a pretty small crowd and Lyla was the only kid.   This, of course, wasn't a bad thing since Lyla just soaked up all the attention she was getting.  She even got some one on one time with Aunt Becky and Aunt Jennie playing with Potato Head.  I didn't get many pictures because I was busy eating all day but did manage a few cute ones of the "girls".

Peek a boo Grampa!

My Darling Diva

I knew we would have fights over clothes at some point, but I always thought I had a few more years before that started.  I was wrong.  Luckily we were staying home on the day she first decided she was going to dress herself. 

Fleece monkey PJ's, underwear from a dress and a jean jacket (with the tag).   Awesome.

Hey There Little Red Riding Hood

The day after Halloween last year, I already decided what Lyla would be this year!   In case you didn't know, I am a planner.  Luckily, I have a Grandma who is a wizard with a sewing machine and she helped me create the cutest Little Red Riding Hood, ever.   At least in my humble opinion.   We started the day visiting our friends at Homewood Disposal and went over to Mimi and Pop's for a quick nap before all the fun began.   It was a pretty chilly day so we only made it trick or treating to three houses (and only ONE answered the door).   But the best fun was had watching Lyla pass out candy to all the little kids that knocked on our door.   She was so stinkin' cute!   Of course, she gave candy to the other kids, and then candy to herself!  I never was able to get a really good picture of the costume, but here is the best I could do.

Checking out the older kids.

This lasted about ten minutes.
 

Waiting for more kids to come knocking!

Candy break.

Watching more kids!

Best pic I could get of the outfit.

Come on, this kid is cute!

She had a little taste of each flavor!

Chaos at the Zoo

Because we just didn't do enough fall festivities, we decided to check out Boo at the Zoo for the first time ever.   We had a big group that including seven adults and nine children!  The day was completely chaotic and exhausting,  most of it being spent on potty breaks, diaper changes and snack time.   Most of us spent the car ride home questioning why we attempted this in the first place.   When we got home and I looked at the pictures.  I realized why we did it; the kids had SO much fun.   I already know we'll be going back again soon!   Here are some of the fun pics we got from the day!

Quinn's first time at the zoo.

While things are still calm.

Love this one.  First of many, I am sure!

This girl loves her Daddy.

Two weeks old and already Penelope has her first trip to the zoo!

Our group trying to figure out where to go next!

Fifteen minutes after arrival, Jen gets peed on by Quinn.

Pointing out one of the first animals she could say, "duck".

How many people does it take to work a baby carrier?

Little Beauties.

Running in the leaves at snack time.

Halloween Party with the Cousies

Just in time for Halloween, cousin Jennie hosted a party for all the little cousies to get together to play.   The day started at the Orchard so we could get some pumpkins and of course, those famous donuts.  Jen went all out and decorated her house, had little goodie bags for each of the kids and even set up a carving station to carve pumpkins.   We later decided to skip the carving because the day was chaotic enough without five children weilding carving knives.  The kids had a ton of fun playing together and even threw their own dance party which was hysterical to watch!

Me and my girl.

Quinny giving Ly dirty looks. 

It was a good idea....maybe next year.

Pin the tail on the cat.  Look how close she is!

Goofy Mama.

Checking out all of her loot!