Creative use of space

I'm not sure how he got in this position, but getting him out required a wrench and screwdriver. Seriously. His body wouldn't come up and his head wouldn't fit down. Amazing!

Friends

Kristen had her first sleepover at our house, which ended up being a mini-sleepover (without the whole "all night" thing), but the girls had a great time together that evening. We had a foot spa going here:

And Ashton hosted his first playdate the same night. It turned out to be easier to do two than just one because Ashton stayed busy and out of the girls' business.

And a quick snapshot of Caitlyn with her best friend:

Update

Ashton loves to finger paint - and make a mess

Our newest family member "Apple" - the cutest hamster you've ever seen. Even Abby agrees.

Ashton and Caitlyn entertaining themselves.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, MLK Day........

Yeah, just a little behind. Took a little blog vacation, but now I'm back. Holidays were so busy, and went by too quickly. Ashton and Caitlyn came down with a stomach flu during the wee early hours of Christmas morning. Three changes of sheets, two showers, and one sink bath later we all got a few hours of sleep in before Christmas came. Don't worry, it didn't ruin their Christmas. They still managed to get up at dawn to open stockings. Opening of gifts went on with only one vomiting episode. The kids got spoiled rotten with way to many gifts, but loved it, of course. They love the Wii, and are completely addicted to their DS's. I have a photo of Kristen sitting on the floor with her ipod headphones in her ears, playing her DS. While I snapped the shot, I had a panicky thought, "what have we done?"

Back to school was a little rough for everyone....... looking forward to spring break!

Caitlyn sped ahead with potty training... skipped the pullups... straight to the undies, doing great. A couple of accidents the first few days, but haven't had an accident since.

Oh yeah, and Kristen cut her hair at her chin. It looks awesome, and our goal, to eliminate the morning hair-brushing drama, was accomplished!

We're spending the weekend in KC (a mini vacation). It's so strange to head out of town without diapers and wipes (ok, one for bedtime, but that's it). Caitlyn had no trouble, even when she had to wait a good 20 minutes for the next exit, after Chris flew by the first one:) We headed to Cabella's and Nebraska furniture mart. Talked Chris out of a new t.v. (for now). Four hours and 12 trips to the restroom later (and no, it wasn't all caitlyn - it's amazing how one more toilet trained child can multiply the number of bathroom breaks), we headed to our hotel. Got lost and took an hour to get turned around, but made it by 7pm. Just enough time to swim and get some sleep. Plan to eat at T-Rex tomorrow and get back home in time for a b-day party and a date with my laundry room.

Goodbye Autumn

Was this really just a few weeks ago? Looks.....um, slightly less wintery than our current weather situation.

Kristen singin' her songs

I know 2nd grade music programs aren't supposed to be the most exciting performances or anything...., but I thought these songs were really cute! Enjoy :)

Chris on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition!

This is amazing! Ty and the gang from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to our neck of the woods! When they called MCM for the concrete, Chris was the man for the job! The company chose Chris and one other guy to drive the trucks that would deliver the concrete for the driveway and sidewalks surrounding the new house. He wasn't supposed to take pictures, so he didn't get a picture with Ty like I wanted him to, but here's some pics he took of the house and his co-worker's cement truck delivering the cement for the driveway. We can't wait to watch the show when it airs. Hope they show the driveway!

He was happy.... really!

Batman

I snapped some pictures of Ashton yesterday, as he told me a very long story about batman. He's pretty funny when he gets started on a topic - he's very animated, but in a serious sort of way :)

Daddy's girl

Caitlyn reading "Silly Sally"

Caitlyn LOVES this book. Apparently she knows it by heart....




She's reading the same page over and over. It says "Now how did Sally get to town, sleeping backwards, upside down?"

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was very much anticipated at our house this year! Kristen was Hannah Montana, Ashton was Spiderman, and Caitlyn was an adorable little white tiger. Caitlyn's costume was the only one I had any say in, unfortunately. I'm really going to miss being able to pick out cute little costumes for my kids when I no longer get to chose any of them! Ashton's poor costume barely made it to Halloween! He's worn it daily for three weeks! Kristen's costume came together ok, but she ditched the wig right after pictures. Fine with me! I certainly didn't want to cover up her beatiful natural hair!

Thanks to some very ambitious friends, we were able to attend a halloween party with 30 or so other costumed children plus parents. Kristen, Ashton, and Caitlyn had a blast running around, jumping in the bounce house, and taking turns at the pinata! By the time we headed out to trick-or-treat the poor things were worn out. We were done after about 20 minutes! Too bad for Chris and I .... the kids' stash isn't big enough for us to sneak our usual share without being noticed :)

Kiersten, Kristen, Chloe, and Meredith (who's that boy in the back?) at the party

Caitlyn and Karli at the party

Miss talkative

Just a cute clip - chatting with Caitlyn. She's getting to be so talkative!