Santa, Santa, Santa!

On Saturday, Eli and I had such a special date. We got to go the Breakfast with Santa put on as part of my non-profit's annual Festival of Tree's extravaganza (I am on the board... so cliche housewife). They had a delicious breakfast, a lego table to build on, candy on the tables (Eli got to eat his first ever lollipop... yes, I know he is four and that we are freaks), and best of all he got hugged by Santa. When Santa and Mrs. Claus came into the room he chatted with Eli, scooped him up and hugged him and chatted some more. Eli was in heaven. Eli's most favorite part were the adult-size penguin, reindeer, and snowman (grown women wearing giant fuzzy costumes). Eli was especially enamored of the snowman because she danced around the room. At one point he went up to hug her again while she was dancing and he said "bust a move" and then proceeded to do the penguin dance with her for 5 minutes. At the end there were more than 10 people circling around him cheering him on. He is nuts!

Where was Nate during this breakfast? My poor little bubby had to miss this because of his stomach bug. Nate and I went to the festival of trees today to see all the trees and meet with Santa so he got to go too! He loved it all, but really liked visiting with Santa! He was such a sweetie!

Craft shopping at Michael's: The "Oh No You didn't" Addition

There will not be any photos to accompany this post, and you will thank me for that later. On friday afternoon the boys and I made our monthly trek to Michael's craft store to pick out some new fabulous artistic endeavors. Just when we decided on a gingerbread village kit (5 little houses for my boys to butcher in the name of art) I noticed that Nate was 1) quiet, which is weird, and 2) sweaty, which isn't that weird as the kid carries some extra weight. I asked him if he was ok and he told me no and that he wanted me to hug him so of course I did. As I started to push the stroller again, he let out this strange sounding cough which prompted me to put my hand under his mouth to catch the first of 12 vomits. (several of which are no part of Michael's). He puked in michaels, i the parking lot, cried but didnt puke in the car, puked in the bathroom and finished up in his bedroom. It wasn't awesome at all. Poor little bear. He has such a puny stomach. You blink funny and the kid pukes. He inherited this foul trait from his daddy. Thanks!

Lake of the Woods: Oh God its almost winter edition

We have had such gorgeous and unseasonably warm weather that we had to get out to one of our favorite spots, Lake of the Woods. We ran up and down trails, splashed in mud, hunted insects and watched the sun set! What a fun day!

Miller Park Zoo: The Mommy Edition

The boys and I are old hands at going on adventures all around town together. Libraries, playgrounds, bookstores, shopping, eating out... we are a terrific trio. Until last week we had never gone on an adventure out of town, just the 3 of us. Eli and Nate had a day off last week so we headed to the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington Normal! We had the best time! It was such a gorgeous day, and all of the animals were out and about. We saw the singing dogs of New Zealand actually singing, we got to watch the river otters get fed, and the sun bear was playing with his toys, and my boys were ecstatic! The best part for me is that they were as well behaved as they were happy! I love those little maniacs, and they slept on the way home! Awesome.

We ended our day on an even better note, by heading over to have lunch and spend time with Aunt Valmere and Uncle Wyn. The boys absolutely love visiting and I love have family so near! Many more adventures to come...

Pre-Hockey

Skating back at the end of class!
Working on gliding with his arms out for balance!

Eli has been trying out a new sport this fall... ice skating (or as Sam calls it, Pre-hockey). He LOVES it!!! The first few classes were comical. Picture eight, 3-5 year olds, in various stages of crash all over the ice! They are so good now. Eli can skate forward, wiggle backward, jump, turn in a circle. He is cautious about how fast he goes, but the boy has some serious coordination and balance! In January he actually does start pre-hockey, stick and all!