December

Here are some pictures of the kids decorating the Christmas tree. Elizabeth hung the ornaments up and helped set out the nativity scene-she wanted to know the names of everyone in the nativity scene and will now bring us different figures and say "Here's the wise men" or "Here's Baby Jesus". Ryan loves the lights on the tree but isn't quite old enough to understand everything.





Tom's mom and sister came in town. We went to the Oasis for lunch and there was a big Santa figure that Elizabeth thought was pretty cool-it was gorgeous outside-I can't believe we were eating outside in December!

Ryan and Elizabeth's 1st Haircut

We finally broke down and took Ryan to get a haircut because he was having trouble seeing through his bangs. While we were there, we decided to go ahead and get Elizabeth a little trim too. They each got to pick their own "car" to sit in and their own movie to watch on their personal TV in front of them while they got it cut. Elizabeth also got a lollipop. They were both so cooperative and came out looking less shaggy than they went in.

Ryan's 1st Birthday Party

Ryan turned 1 on November 11 but we had his birthday party on the 23rd so his Grandma Boofie and Aunt Shannon would be there. His Aunt Casey, Uncle Dan, and some friends came for the party. He definitely has a sweet tooth and I think he would have eaten the whole cake if we let him. I also forgot how exhausting birthday parties are!

Ryan turns 1!

We celebrated Ryan's birthday on November 11 with some cupcakes. His birthday party isn't for another week but we decided to give him a preview. He was so excited when he saw the cupcake that he didn't know what to do-he just started clapping and bouncing up and down. Elizabeth sang the Happy Birthday song-she loved singing it so much that she spent the rest of the night repeating it. Even now, she'll sing it randomly to Ryan.

Out to Lunch

We went out to Hula Hut with the kids. It was right on the water so Elizabeth kept looking for fish. The weather was gorgeous so we tried to enjoy it before it starts getting colder.

Halloween

We went trick-or-treating around our
neighborhood on Halloween. Aunt Casey joined us.
Elizabeth figured out pretty quickly that when she
rang the doorbell and said trick-or-treat she would
get candy. She was a cat and Ryan was a mouse.
Ryan just liked riding in the wagon and trying
to steal the candy out of Elizabeth's bucket.
When we got home to hand out candy,
Elizabeth would get mad. "I want chocolate too,"
she would say.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Casey. We went on a hayride which was a little bumpy but the kids loved it. We met up with Ms. Kristen, Ms. Erin, Nolan, Lyla and Emily for lunch and then we went to pick out pumpkins. Elizabeth really wanted to pick up the big ones and tried her best...maybe next year.