Kaelyn's new trick

Kaelyn was not too sure what to make of it when she rolled over from her back to stomach today! She just looked at all of us clapping for her and smiled and then decided that was enough of that. But when we rolled her over to her back, she rolled right back over again. After the third time, I guess she decided that it was okay to be on her belly because she played for awhile. Missed it with the camera, but here's the adorable smile we got!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we went up to mom and dad's on Wednesday after work. Matthew looked forward to the trip for two weeks and was so excited to go that he wouldn't sleep in the car on the way there! It was great to have everone there, and Doug and Courtney were able to meet Kaelyn. Of course, Matthew had the most energy of everyone and just wanted to play and play! And who knows what possessed us, but all of the kids went shopping at 4 am Friday. Grandma thankfully took care of Matthew and Kaelyn during the mornig hours!

Late morning Friday put us back on the road home, as we needed to visit with Chris' family Friday and Saturday evenings. We had a fun night of catching up with Brian and Amy's wedding plans and Michelle's trip to Africa. Saturday wew celebrated an early Christmas with the Carlisle's, as they won't be here for Christmas. And after four years, we finally took another family picture. (I'll have to upload it later as I am still trying to figure out my new camera)

Now it is Sunday evening at 8 pm and all is quiet in our house after a very busy week and a day of putting up Christmas decorations, and off to bed I go!

Update

So, I haven't really had much of a chance to update the blog since Matthew's costume party for school. Unfortunately, the last week of October found Kaelyn with the stomach bug that ended with a two night stay in the hosptial for dehydration. She was released in time to run home and see Matthew for trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Since then, it has been slow to get back into a routine, but I think we are finally there now, as Kaelyn is doing fine. That happened right around her 3 month mark and she was 11 lbs 6 oz and 23 inches long. Matthew has been enjoying pre-school and has quite the imagination now. He loves to pretend to play Star wars (which he calls Star boards) and spiderman. It seems we have entered the unchartered waters of the super hero phase! Sally has been busy with school, which is going well, and Chris has been busy at work.

Costume Party

Last night, Matthew's school had a costume party for all their students. So, we dressed him up as a Cubbies ball player and Kaelyn as a little black cat. They looked so cute, we had to take pictures.

Kaelyn wasn't too sure about Matthew holding her, but he assured me "I won't drop her mom", so I just snapped the picutre really quick!

Then Matthew wanted a picture with his pumpkin and a silly face.

Finally, we made it to school. There were so many games and kids there that the gym was packed! Matthew played several games, but liked the sports ones the best (bean bag toss, football throw, and putt putt) and he actually did very well in them! Fortunately for us, most of the games had little trinket prizes as opposed to candy! Of course they also had snacks for the kids when they were finished with the games, which he enjoyed too!

Back to Work

I officially ended my maternity leave last Monday, Oct 13th. I had mixed emotions about going back, but taking Kaelyn to our wonderful sitter the week before helped me be at ease the first day back. She is such a good baby and usually very happy and does very well at the sitters. I was able to jump right into teaching and enjoy my classes and students, at least so far, this year. It has been an adjustment to getting everyone ready in the mornings and evenings, with trying to coordinate feeding schedules with baths and bedtimes, but we seem to be managing fairly well. It also helps that we are all getting sleep as Kaelyn had continued to lengthen her nights. The last two days she has slept for 8 - 9 hours straight!

Photo Shoot

I wanted to have some good pictures of the kids for when I go back to work tomorrow. So, we had a photo shoot at home this morning. Here are some of the better pictures.

Preschool Field Trip

Matthew had his first field trip Thursday to a local farm. He was excited to have his very first ride on the school bus!

Once they got to the farm, they were able to hold the bunnies, watch as farmer Tony released a homing pigeon, feed the goats and chickens, and gather the eggs from the chicken coop. He had lots of fun!