Bon Voyage!

We are off early tomorrow morning. Internet connectivity and the well being of my old laptop will determine how many posts I make from the road... so already it is not looking too hopeful.

Happy birthday, Lukas

Lukas turned 3 today.

I know this photo is a little blurry, but I accidently left the camera on manual and the flash didn't go off. Realizing my mistake, I started to pull the camera away during what had to have been a 5 second exposure. The photo should have been a blurry smudge of orange and red- but just like Lukas, it offered up an unexpected surprise right when I was least expecting it. We love our little guy.

Lukas:

- loves to play with cars, Batman, and dinosaurs
- loves sharks and crocodiles (or “croc-o-dagles”)
- loves to talk about his friend Aiden
- loves working on puzzles
- doesn’t like to share with Lennon
- sings Abba songs
- is left handed
- resides in what Katharine calls “Lukas Land”
- Describes ET as “just a little guy…”
- loves to follow Katharine around
- talks really well for his age
- shows absolutely no interest in the potty…
- yet will need to change his shirt whenever water drips on it
- drinks a glass of chocolate milk every night before bed

- loves eating edamame, broccoli and spaghetti

- loves reading Todd Parr and 'Cars' books

- sleeps sideways

- likes to catch the cats with Katharine and then she put them in her closet (she just told me about this one...)

Night and day

We went from 75 degrees to 25 degrees within 12 hours, so the kids ditched their swim suits and t-shirts and broke out their winter gear that we will be taking along with us on our upcoming trip. Keira loved her bunting (who wouldn't?) and Lennon hated his new shoes and coat (he had to waddle around rather than walk).

The last shot has nothing to do with this post, but it's cute so I added it.

Lukas's 3rd Birthday Party

Lukas had his birthday party today, and officially turns 3 on Tuesday (December 16). Just like his first birthday party, the weather was in the 70's and we were able to leave the door open and allow the kids to play outside. Normally I would feel bad about missing out on winter, but if the dozen or so kids had all been stuck inside the house I would have still been cleaning at this hour rather than blogging. Go Texas!



We started out with a leaf pile, but it didn't stand a chance with so many kids.

But leaves aren't necessary when there are imaginary monsters to chase you.

We ordered a few pizzas...

Keira stayed in her swing for most of the party. Next year she will be running around with the other kids. Wow.

Charlotte and Katharine after raiding Iria's closet.

Between the afternoon light and wind, Lukas was sporting a fiery mane.

The inside of the house was still popular- that is where the Batman and Star Wars action figures were. I let the kids pick out some old Star Wars figures from Episode 1 to take home with them, and none of those 5-7 year olds wanted Jar Jar. Take that, George Lucas!

The outside of the house had a playhouse, and was a little more popular.

Kaylee on the roof of the playhouse, about to get in trouble. Nice photo-op, however.

Trinity found a lady bug and became quite popular.

Trinity's sister- Gwen the plumber... looking for more lady bugs.

Liam took this nice shot of Lukas, and about 25 more of me holding a rake.

Speaking of Liam...

Liam's brother- Lukas's buddy Aiden.

I'm not sure what Lennon is up to here, but it looks funny.

Yes, it actually felt that warm out today. Katharine put on her swimming suit and the Jamaica pretending began.

Steve and Shane fell asleep on the couch, and the football game was even an exciting one.

The race car cake (now Lukas can stop asking us about it).

Pretty much all of the kids ate their cake except for Lukas. Three year olds....

Charlotte joined in for some Jamaice fun. As for Katharine- I have no idea where she comes up with these poses.

Gwen and Kaylee. Thanks to whoever called me over to take the shot.

Nolan was giving Lennon big hugs, and he also tried to crack our oven lock and mess with my AV equipment. Maybe it is a third child thing.

Lukas and Aiden snuck upstairs and had some fun playtime just to themselves. They proceeded to fill up Lennon's crib with toys until it overflowed. Pretty impressive.

Big goodbye hugs...

and presents!

All in all, a very fun time. Thanks for coming!

New Boots

The kids got new boots and the boots a test run. Katharine and Lukas didn't take their boots off all day, while Lennon's wouldn't even go on his feet...the three big kids also got to paint one of the upstairs windows with window paint. They had a blast! As you can see, everybody is hard at work. Can't wait to take a picture of all 4 kids painting windows next Christmas.

Meghan's Birthday - Later

We had chocolate chip brownie cake for Meghan's birthday. The anticipation grew all afternoon until, finally, after dinner the kids were allowed to have cake. Liam and Katharine helped put "snow" on the cake. Getting every tiny little grain of powdered sugar out of the sifter was more than just half the fun!

The Nutcracker

Katharine, Iria and I took our annual trip to the Texas Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker”. They always put on an amazing production, and last night was no different. Katharine’s favorite part is the “Russian Dance”- and she was the lone person in the theatre who actually broke out into applause before the dance was even started. I’m sure that the performer appreciated it :)

Thanks to Meagan, Brian, Julie and Chris for watching the other kids.

Katharine was bouncing off the walls (and chairs) before the show.

I caught Iria playing with her iphone. Just a few days ago she was joking that I was always messing around with mine :)

Off to the show!

Picking out ornaments for the kids that didn't get to go.

Okay, here comes the posed pictures...