Happy New Year!   Each snowman is almost exactly as tall as Aurora, Max and Josie.  We ran out of snow before we could make one that is Chris's size (notice the bare patches of grass).

More soon!

Happy Birthdays!

Today was Max's 5th birthday party! It was a pirate party and we had SOOOO much FUN!
There was rock climbing and a bouncy castle.

And scooter races.

Josie's birthday was a bit quieter, but she loved it, too!
We went to one of our favorite places, the Children's Museum where they have so much great stuff to play with, explore and climb on.

The past 3 months

Although the kids are in roughly the same position as the first photo we took of them together when Josie was born (on the far left) you can see how the time has flown by.

The months of September and October was pretty stressful. On Labor Day, Aurora had a leg cramp that was so severe it tore her Achilles tendon, ripped a calf muscle, and caused some microfractures of her ankle. Many weeks in a walking cast caused her to slow down the pace of everything, even while trying to help the kids adjust to their new school. Only this week is she able to run to chase Josie or Max while playing outside. They rarely stay still long enough to get photos like these:
While Aurora was hobbling along, Chris was rather stressed out about unveiling his latest invention. Happily, it was well received (click here for the press release)

We continue to enjoy incredibly warm weather, though Josie is anxious to make a snowman in the front yard. Viewing the winter through the eyes of a child does make it more sparkly.

We look forward to another year of adventure, giggles, challenges and fun. We hope yours is similarly delightful.

There's a pumpkin shortage ?!?

We've heard there is a shortage of pumpkins because the hurricane hit just as they needed to be harvested, and many pumpkins rotted in the field. So, we decided to get ours early while the selection was still good. In fact, there were many fewer pumpkins!

We have a super farm nearby that has a variety of different pumpkins, and Max was very excited to choose a white one this year!

These were also very cool, but a bit too big to carry!

Trying new things

Josie tried her first bouncy castle this weekend. She was content to sit and let the bigger kids bounce the floor for her, but she did NOT want to come out when her turn was done!

She has also been a real fiend for puzzles.

New Schools!

Max has started Pre-K and Josie has transferred to his new school to attend one of their Toddler classes. Starting at a new school has been rough, but they are making friends and enjoying the new challenges. The new school has a drinking fountain, which has been lots of fun to master, for example.
They still love to be together (most of the time) so the fact that they can see each other during the day is pretty nice.

Josie has a huge vocabulary, especially when it comes to getting what she wants. "I want the purple pom-pom!" There is some balance with her demands and she will usually then say please and thank you, too.

Making a splash

We have not escaped t heat, but we've made the best of it!

Yes, we are too cool.