Marshmallow

In Reagan's preschool class every child gets to bring Marshmallow, the class stuffed bear, home for a weekend. We signed up the first day and I didn't realize the date I signed up for was the weekend before Thanksgiving. And since they don't have school that week we were lucky (?!?) to have Marshmallow for 11 days!
He comes with a suitcase and the first few days we took Marshmallow and the suitcase with us wherever we went. And that was no small feat since the bear was almost as big as Nola.
After a few days Reagan even moved her car seat to the back seat and put Reagan in our extra booster so he could be buckled.
Marshmallow went to Grandma Loretta and Papa's, gymnastics, Grandma Jane and Grandpa John's, Thanksgiving, church, Leo's birthday party and many stores!
Reagan was sad to bring him back to school, but maybe we'll get lucky again and get to bring him home again?!?

Weekend with Friends

In November we headed to Bloomington and Peoria to visit Jodi and Shadia.
We spent Friday night and Saturday with Jodi's family. Reagan & Nola had a great time playing with Anthony and Nina. Reagan and Nina had a 'sleepover' in Nina's room and Anthony was a huge help with Nola.
We even went to the Children's Museum in Normal. It was a great place - and we could tell we weren't in the Chicago area any more - there was a large tractor and cow-milking area! The kids made crafts, climbed on their climber, tried out crutches and much more.
Shadia, Ray & Sophia joined us for dinner. As long as Jason stayed away from Sophia she was a happy baby!
Saturday night we headed to Peoria and stayed with Shadia's family until Sunday afternoon. We even got to spend time with her mom and dad. Once again, Pat loved the cooking and the girls loved playing with Sophia and Charlie - the dog.
I wish these good friends lived closer, but we enjoyed our time with them so much.
(There would have been more pictures but the battery died while we were at the Children's museum)
And Jodi even convinced me to become a Scentsy consultant - and so far, so good!

Happy Halloween!!

It was great that Halloween fell on a Saturday this year. This was Pat's first time trick-or-treating with the girls. The weather was pretty nice so the girls were able to trick or treat without freezing. Nola was still napping when our neighborhood group was ready to start the candy frenzy, so Pat headed out with Reagan and friends from the neighborhood.
Reagan quickly remembered how it worked and was in the front of the pack getting as much candy as possible. Nola woke up quickly after they left and was soon ready to go herself.
Reagan was a gorgeous Ariel from the Little Mermaid and Nola was an adorable duck - quack, quack!
The girls pumpkins quickly filled up - so much so that Reagan couldn't carry her any longer. And that was just 2 blocks!
We emptied the pumpkins and headed over to Aunt MariPat and Uncle Bill's house for our annual visit there. Talk about the best Halloween house!
After getting some dinner, the girls headed out for a few more houses before the trick-or-treating was done. They had a great time and (no surprise) were not ready to go home!
The funny thing is, after Halloween they didn't ask for any candy?!? And they love candy, so not sure what happened. Maybe they think that they only get to eat it on Halloween - I'm sure that won't happen again!

Pumpkin Carving

Even though we bought our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch a couple weeks before Halloween we waited until the night before to carve them. Pat's dad had surgery that day and we wanted to go visit him at home, so we had to take our pumpkins with us and carve them there.
It turned out to be a pumpkin carving party! We carved our 3 and Grandma Loretta's pumpkin as well. I carved mine and the kids pretty quickly, but Pat, being the engineer that he is, took time and precision to carve his.
Loretta toasted the pumpkin seeds, but they weren't done before we had to leave.
The girls, especially Reagan, loved carving and was excited to see the finished product. After we got them home we found candles and lit them - very cool!
I don't remember ever being able to put a candle in a pumpkin when I was younger - oh that's right, my dad was a fireman!

Dino Nites!

For the past few years my whole family has come up for Boo at the Zoo. Due to busy schedules we couldn't find a day to make that work so we decided to try out Dino Nites. And we were lucky enough to have Aly and Cassidy join us.
It turned out to be a great decision - the older kids really enjoyed it and the little kids were still able to do what they wanted - play at the Hammill Play Zoo.
I didn't go on the Tram of Terror but all of the kids did - except for Nola. I heard that Uncle Mike & Uncle Sean were silly and helped with the scariness factor.
The corn maze was fun - and actually really hard. Good thing I had Nola with me, she was able to figure it out.
We ended the night dancing to the dj and warming up in the pavilions. The girls loved the music and Cassidy & Reagan were really trying to learn the Macarena but I think they need to attend a few weddings to get the hang of it.
The kids were exhausted by the time we left but it was a fun night.

Pushing Mannequins

For some crazy reason I thought it was a good idea to take the girls to the mall with me. We were doing well in the first 2 stores and then went into Gap Kids. I was pretty quick about picking out the gift we needed and skirt for Reagan and hurried to the register.
While I was paying I saw that my girls were in the front window - not a big deal. Until...I looked over and saw Nola take both hands out in front of her and push the mannequin over. Before I could get over there Reagan thought her sister had a great idea and proceeded to push the other mannequin over as well.
I ran over and started yelling (in a quiet, store voice) and told them to get by the stroller. (why I didn't have Nola buckled in I will never know). I got the mannequins back up and then told the girls they had to apologize to the lady at the store.
They both said they were sorry and she said it was ok (with a half smile). I told her they were standing up and she said, 'really, do you want a job'. I declined since all I wanted to do was get my kids out of the store before they broke something I had to pay for.
So I have learned my lesson, as have they. When I was at the mall over the weekend I noticed they had taken the mannequins down and put up a tree, coincidence?!?

Pumpkin Patch

Last year we never made it to the pumpkin patch but this year Reagan kept asking and I was excited to take them so we headed to Bengston's Pumpkin Farm on what turned out to be a beautiful fall day. We picked up Melissa, Landon and Anna Grace on our way and the kids couldn't wait.
The kids ran around and loved seeing the pumpkins, the dancing skeleton band (a big favorite of Reagan's) and the dancing chickens (Nola's top choice). They pumped water and got measured before watching the bunnies for quite a while.
We stopped to eat our picnic lunch while we watched the pig races - fun for the kids and adults.
Then it was time for the hay ride - minus the hay! It was fun to see the kids excitement of riding on the back of a tractor - oh the little things in life.
Before we could leave we had to explore the pumpkin patch for our pumpkins. For reference, the pumpkin patch is nowhere near the exit, so whichever pumpkins we picked would have to be carried quite a distance. I tried to convince Reagan that we could get one closer to the exit, but she wasn't giving in. So we picked a pumpkin and put it in the stroller - good thing Nola likes to walk!
We picked up smaller pumpkins for Reagan and Nola, along with some small pumpkins and gourds and then checked out.
What a great day we had - looking forward to it again next year!

Nola's Balloon Party

Since Nola doesn't have much control over the TV, her exposure to shows is based on Reagan's taste so it was hard to figure out what theme to have for her birthday. But then one day we were at Costco and she saw a cake with balloons (yes, the same cake she had for her first birthday) and said she wanted a balloon birthday - so excited for the easy theme!!
So Nola had balloons and more balloons at her party. She had fun playing with all of her cousins and friends and really enjoyed opening her gifts. She was happy to give hugs to those who gave her gifts (we are trying to teach gratitude).
We had cake right about the time she should have been napping. She loved to hear everyone singing to her and was thrilled to have chocolate cake. But within minutes of starting to eat, exhaustion set in and the tears started falling. Grandma Jane put her to bed and the rest of us enjoyed the rest of her party.
We are so thankful for our family and friends who love Nola and made her 2nd birthday so special!

Nola turns 2!!

So hard to believe that Nola turned 2 in September - where did the year go?? It was a busy year for her - she had ear tubes put in in November, broke her leg (really I broke her leg) in March, first airplane ride in April to Florida, loves her music class, and brings us so much joy!
Nola talks non-stop - from the time she wakes up until she talks herself to sleep. She is a smart little girl - and has everyone figured out. She has become an expert at pushing her sister's buttons. She loves to imitate everything that Reagan does and believes she can do it all.
She loves dolls - carries one with her all the time. Right now her favorite is Reagan's bye bye baby. She is asking Santa to bring her one of her own - that will make them both much happier since they won't have to share!
She had a great birthday - we met Sally & Ben at the park and they brought her a donut (chocolate with sprinkles of course). Then we picked Reagan up from school and had a girls day. We had dinner with Grandma Jane, Grandpa John and Papa - Nola loved the ham I made.
And then she opened presents - a new jumper!!! She couldn't get enough of it and still plays with it almost everyday.
We are looking forward to another fun year with Nola - more music, more dolls and more fun! We love you, Nola!!!

Bonfire

Before the summer ended we were able to host one bonfire in our yard. The Erb's came to join us - and luckily they did because we don't have sticks (must invest in them before next time). The girls loved making S'mores - or really they just loved burning the marshmallows in the fire.
Their attention span wasn't too long, but they still talk about it and can't wait to have another.

Time to Dance

Reagan started dancing again this fall - and is very excited because now she gets to take ballet and tap. She is tapping away and loving every minute of it.
Hope she has more grace than her mom did.