a-happenins'

Tim and I brewed our first batch of beer, a brown ale, with the help of a brewing friend. Quite tasty.

 Playing at the park. Emily usually loves the slide- not sure why she's so unhappy here (actually, i just can't remember)

 Walking in his daddy's shoes...

 Lil Miss Conductor

 Nice smiles

 Squeeze hugs

 Emily's new smiley face

 JJ took this picture- pretty good, eh?

 JJ also took these shots of Moose

We found out some friends of ours are expecting twins (identical boys!), and I of course got all excited, being a twin myself and all. The exciting news prompted me to dig out my baby bracelet. Not sure if Katie has hers or not, but I was "Twin B".

 Tim playing with the kids. I love how JJ is still in his pajamas at 4:00 pm and Emily is sporting some sunglasses on her head.

 Emily and her Baby. Out of nowhere, she starts carrying Baby everywhere. She loves her Baby (and her Meow). Its so cute to hear her saying their names. Where did she learn to love her baby doll and stuffed cat so much?

 JJ the colander head boy

 Emily the cheesing munchkin

 Breakfast- notice all the varying depths of smiles

 More scrunchy smiling by Emily

 Emily wearing the conductor get-up and her new girly duds

 Life from a three-year old's (soon to be four-year old) photography perspective

 Emily all ready to play in the snow

 Three snowy munchkins

 Family photog

 JJ holding new Baby Bri, our neighbors' new daughter. JJ loves babies, especially when they're not his sister.

 JJ and Baby Bri and Big Sister Lilly

 Emily intent on her book

 "Hi Emily!"

 Emily loves to relax on the stairs in this pose with her toy du jour. Reminds me of my brother Thom and his old sleeping habits (sleeping on the stairs on the way to bed, sleeping in the hallway just outside his room, sleeping on the floor of his room...)

Canasta

Tim's cousin's husband, Matt, is the lead singer for Chicago-based band Canasta. They are going on a tour to Mongolia and have a great write-up about them at National Geographic Music. So exciting!
http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/article/content.article/canasta_mongolia/en_US

And if you want more info on Canasta, here's their website http://www.canastamusic.com/

Hiatus

We're still here, enjoying life with two kiddos and a mutt.
Our home computer crashed and hasn't been fixed yet. I haven't been able to upload my hundreds of photos to post here, hence the lack of photos lately.
We had a great holiday season, getting to visit with lots of family and friends, and have enjoyed being home as well.
Emily is now full-on walking (as of Dec 16, 2011) and is talking up a storm now. Every day she says a new word or two. Every day she grows as a person, which is amazing to watch. Literally, her personality is blooming on a daily basis.
JJ is doing great with not being in preschool for now. (He starts back up next week). His latest loves are all things Toy Story, dinosaurs, and puzzles. He is such a big help and such a great kid. He and Emily love to play together and make each other laugh (and take each other's toys).
It's a wonderful life!

Christmas cute

Emily Stands!!

Emily can stand! Without any support! For brief moments! Yay!!
We got some photographic evidence of her standing on her own, before Halloween.

She can keep her balance for a few seconds before falling on her bottom. She still says "Ow", which cracks me up. Lately, she's been going from a sit to a stand on her own, without pulling herself up. She gets all fours on the ground then kind of squats, then rises into a stand. I'm not in any rush to have her walking on her own, yet its exciting to see her hitting these milestones.

Dressing up

 Emily was a bee for Halloween, a good choice for this busy little one.

 We tried to dress her up as a purple dragon, but she did not like the costume. She was much happier being a bee.

 JJ got to go trick or treating three different times this year, including around our neighborhood. He scored a ton of candy, which mommy and daddy are still enjoying to this day.
Our little bee and our Mater. JJ wanted to go as Mater again, and since his costume is pretty nifty and comfortable, I was ok with it. I'll make them wear homemade costumes when they are older and can help make them.

 JJ filling up on grilled cheese with Owen before starting the neighborhood session.

 JJ and friends: Lilly the bunny, JJ as Mater, Owen the green dragon, and Lydia the princess. They all had a great time ringing doorbells together and saying "Trick or Treat!"

 Emily didn't ring bells or collect candy this year, but she'll definitely be ready next year.

 One of JJ's treats was a pair of vampire teeth,(he called them "bonfire" teeth") which he loved wearing, until they broke. 

 Even though Halloween is over, dressing up is still fun to do. Emily the firefighter

October Snows

We had a few big snows before Halloween. The kids loved watching it fall out the window. Yay for snow!