Princess Party!

Evie & Teagie turned 4 this weekend so they had a Princess birthday party.  All the girls wore their princess dresses and they played, laughed and we all had so much fun!  The kids each got a balloon which was pretty awesome - Madelyn picked the butterfly balloon and Jack got the Elmo one.  I know I say it all the time but we just love hanging out with the McCormicks and it's always a fun time no matter what we are up to!  Feels like we have been family friends forever and really it's only been 3 years - we didn't start hanging out until the girls turned 1.  The girls are playing more and more "together" and Jack is still content doing his own thing.....which happens to change all the time.  Mr. Kalin is so good to Jack and Jack just loves Mr. Kalin!  It works out well :)  Evie was so sweet- she invited Jack upstairs to play with them and helped him up the stairs so he made it safely!  Adorable!  So thankful for good friends!

The triplets!

I bet you would never guess that Jack loved his cupcake

Tatto

Sledding!

Last weekend we went sledding!  It was pretty cold outside and the windchill was nasty but that didn't stop Madelyn from wanting to go sledding.  Last year she wasn't a fan of the cold at all so I was a little skeptical but figured it wouldn't hurt to go for a few minutes.  We all bundled up and took Colleen, our neighbor, along as well.  Madelyn LOVED it!  She could have stayed all afternoon!  It was so fun to see her & Colleen having so much fun.  Jack was a little afraid for his 1st couple runs but then he warmed up to the idea.....until he got too cold and wanted to leave.  Since we took 2 cars (to have room for Colleen), Jack and I ventured home.  Jack insisted on stopping at the park on our way home.  He trudged through the snow and played at the park for a little bit.  We loved swinging!  So fun to get outside on these cold, winter days.....esp when it's still only the middle of November so we have a long winter ahead of us!

This was Jack after his 1st run!  Poor guy!

This was Madelyn after her 1st run!  She loved it!

Madelyn & Colleen

Jack swinging at the park - having much more fun!

And just because.....

I love these 3 so much and could never, ever get enough of them!

B-I-G!!!!!

Even though there have been lots of updates about Madelyn lately, never fear Jack is around and is as lovable as ever!  He just isn't into having his picture taken as much as Madelyn is!  Jack sure keeps us on our toes but he makes us smile & laugh even more.

He has been into everything B-I-G!  Big towers, big pumpkins, big tractors, big jumps (off the stairs - and unfortunately he has jumped when we weren't there to catch him!) We love how he says BIG - he gets this look on his face, squats down and his eyes are wide open.  It's so cute!

He's been singing songs lately.....the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Wheels on the Bus.  He also loves "If you're happy and you know it" and he does all the actions.  So fun to watch his little brain process everything!  He is able to tell us what he wants which is such a relief but now the tantrums start when he doesn't get what he wants!  Welcome to the I'm-almost-2-years-old-phase! :)

Jack loves daycare and all his teachers.  He is definitely well loved and taken care of.  You can tell his teachers just love kids.  Jack has been saying his friends' names more - one night when I was putting him to bed he said "Wyatt home, Hunter home, Ziza home, Ana home".  Those are Jack's friends and teachers.  He melts my heart many times a day!

Coloring & Snow

Madelyn has been into coloring lately both at school and at home.  She loves to sit down and color by herself.  It's a great activity now that there is snow on the ground and we have been inside more.  She also loves being outside too!  She has been into shoveling and sledding since the snow fell last week.  We have only been sledding down the small hills (more like inclines!) in our yard but we will probably go sledding at the nearly by school soon!

Our big helper!

Dance - Final Performance

Madelyn has been in dance for the last 8 weeks.  I think she's really enjoyed it!  She loved wearing the leotard that my sister wore when she was in dance - that might have been one of the highlights!  The other highlight was that Evie & Teagan were in it so she always has fun with them.

Parents were only allowed to watch during the first and last session so tonight we got to see her "perform".  It was fun to see the things they worked on throughout the class.....twirling, dancing to music, stretching, 1st position and a few other dance position terminology that was over my head!

Twins

We found this cute shirt for Madelyn and after I showed it to her she said "Janelle has the same shirt".      Janelle is one of Madeyn's friends at school.  Madelyn wanted to wear her new shirt today and guess who else wore it today......Janelle!  They were virtually twins except they had different color shoes according to Madelyn.  Madelyn thought that was pretty cool! :)

Evie & Teagan

On Saturday we had Evie & Teagan over for a play date.  We played outside and inside.  The girls made a fort upstairs in Madelyn's room.  These three girls have so much fun together!  When it was time to leave all the girls were sad.  Thankfully we saw them the next morning at Sunday School and then again at school on Monday!

All smiles!!!

My birthday!

I had the best birthday celebration this year!  It started last Thursday......I had a couple days off between Nortech and Entellus so Carla & I spent the afternoon together!  We had the best time!  I love our sister time and we could spend days together - it's just never enough time.....but we treasure whatever time we get as our lives are a little crazier these days with the kids.  We went shopping, had lunch and then did some more shopping and found some super cute stuff!  We both decided it was a little dangerous to shop with each other as we both found lots of stuff we loved :)

Saturday night my family came over to celebrate.  It's always fun to be together and the kids had a blast!  We played outside for most of the night even though it was a little chilly.  We decided we needed to take advantage before it cold/snow hit!  

Nora, Auntie & Bishop - love these two!
This was the only picture we took the whole night - we were having too much fun!

Then we celebrated as our family of 4 on Tuesday.  What a fun day!  I started by opening my present in the morning.  Ryan surprised me with a new Mac computer!  I was so surprised and so excited!  Our desktop was getting really slow so blogging was taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r so blogging has been a piece of cake since getting the new computer hooked up!  

We went to Gina Maria's pizza for dinner.  We decided to eat in which was a fun treat!  I can't remember the last time we ate out at a restaurant.....it's just so much easier to eat at home so the kids can run around when they are done eating.  We all loved it though!  Then it was home for my homemade chocolate birthday cake!  YUMMY!  Ryan and the kids made it and it was delicious!!!  The only bummer part of my birthday was I didn't feel the best starting in the afternoon and I ended up getting sick later that night.  Jack had been sick on Sunday and then we learned there was a little bug going around daycare.  It was literally a 4-6 hour bug so we were both fine shortly after being sick but it's never fun to be sick.....especially on your birthday!  Overall it was a fabulous birthday and I am so lucky to have the amazing family and friends who helped make it so special!!!!

New Job!

After 8 years at Nortech Systems I decided to make a change and I started my new job at Entellus Medical today.  I was at Nortech for almost 8 years but I was ready for a change and I am very excited about Entellus!

The kids sending mommy off on my 1st day at my new job!

New bed for Madelyn!

We transitioned Madelyn to a twin bed this weekend.  She picked out her own sheets & comforter and was super excited.  She did great and looked all comfy, cozy every time we checked on her.  Our baby girl is growing up so fast!

Halloween!

This year we had a kitty cat and a pumpkin in our house for Halloween!  We had a bear costume for Jack but he was deathly afraid of it so we stuck to the pumpkin shirt :)

We went to the McCormick's for dinner and trick or treating again this year.  The kids all had a blast (and so did the adults)!  Their neighborhood is perfect for trick-or-treating as there are tons of houses and kids all over the place.  Madelyn really got into it this year.....and since Jack loves anything that Madelyn & her friends are doing he loved it too!  Both kids were exhausted by the end of the night!

Teagan the butterfly with Madelyn

Evie the ghost with Madelyn

The ghost, kitty cat & sparkly butterfly!