Abe and The Feet Game

"The Feet Game" is still a favorite with the kids and now Abe has mastered sitting on Daddy's feet in the air! He is so proud of himself and claps as soon as he dismounts, it's adorable! I'm not sure what's going on here, but from the laughter I could hear I know they were having a good time!

Snow days

We got snow here and lots of it!! I think we have about 8-9 inches, which is huge for us! It fell Friday afternoon and on into the night. We woke up Saturday morning to a beautiful white covering. Chad took Piper and Cohen over to his sister's house to sled because they have the best hills ever behind their house. He brought home the kids' cousins, Isaiah and Elijah to stay for a couple of nights. Here are Chad and Cohen getting the day started: Cohen seems to feel no cold! He runs in and out with just a tee shirt on. Here, he and Elijah are doing some important work with their dump truck:

Here are Isaiah and Piper working on a snowman:

Chad, Cohen and Elijah digging the four-wheeler out of the snow:

The finished snowman, complete with a blue mohawk!

And last but not least, one of the big kids left the front door open and I looked out to see this sight:

Maybe he's going to be like his brother and feel no cold! Anyway, we are enjoying having the cousins over for a few days and enjoying the gorgeous snow!

Cake Pics

I mentioned in Cohen's birthday post that we celebrated with Poppy at home after the day's events. Here were a few cute pics from the cake eating madness.

Here is Cohen with his Hot Wheels cake. He picked it out at Harris Teeter and refused to even entertain getting the cake anywhere else (I really like Sam's cakes beacuse they will do cream cheese icing, but the birthday boy had made his mind up!) And most *good* moms make their kid's cakes, but whatever!

It appeared that one person enjoyed the cake more than anyone else! Abe was covered with icing before it was over!

Skating

One cold, rainy Saturday afternoon, we loaded up the kids and headed to the skating rink. I could not believe the improvements Piper and Cohen have made. Cohen used to cry and refuse to even try after a few minutes and he made it all the way around the rink without falling several times! And Piper was flying all over the place, and even made some new friends to skate with. It was so cute seeing her interact with the group of girls, but also scary because I realize she is growing up :(

The boys taking a break and watching the skating games:

Chad did sneak a lap around the rink holding Abe but the manager asked him not to do it again for safety reasons! So Abe mostly stuck to the arcade games and rides:

Because a tree like this deserves it own post!

Another lovely tree this year :) Picked with love by Piper from the woods surrounding our house!

Half of a Decade

I cannot believe five years have passed since we welcomed Cohen into this world! Five is such a big number, halfway to 10. Cohen is such a loving, tender-hearted soul. Don't get me wrong, he is "all boy", but he has so much love in his heart. He loves going to the nusing home with his granddad and hugging and loving on the residents; he is notorious for loving on his grandparents and he is alwasy right on time when it come to snuggles and love around the house.

Today we had a wonderful day celebrating as a family. Cohen started off the day with a trip to the meat market with his dad. Next, we were all off to Toys R Us to pick out his special gift. He chose a pack of realistic-looking dirt bikes with 2 drivers, little helmets and kickstands. So totally Cohen!

Next was Funigans where we played and ate junk food for lunch! Here is the birthday boy gearing up for a pinball game: A spirited game of air hockey with Daddy:

Abe looking closley for more Skee Balls! He was throwing them all over the place, no where near the intended target.

The brothers teaming up for more pinball:

Bowling with Piper (who is striking quite a pose in the first pic):

And climbing the rock wall:

Both kids were climbing experts! They flew right up the rock walls and rang the bells at the top about four times in a row. This was Cohen's first successful climb!

Lastly, we had pizza and cake with Poppy. Poppy always calls Cohen "Poppy's little, big man." Cohen seems to love the nickname and always showers Poppy with hugs and kisses. What a special day to celebrate an awesome kid!

Picture Day

Today I tackled the seemingly impossible task having professional pictures made. I had wanted only to have one decent picture of all three kids together where everyone was looking at the camera and no one was crying! Well, I was pleasantly surprised with the results! The group pics are not perfect, but I cannot expect perfect at my kids' ages. And their pictures alone are awesome! All and all, it was stressful but worth it!

Keepers Meeting

Piper and I are getting our girl time lately at her Keepers at Home meetings. Yesterday the girls made picture frames with popsicle sticks, paint and simple decorations. As basic as that sounds, they enjoyed it so much and got so creative. We also took the left-over birthday cake and shared it with all the girls.

Party Pics

Piper and her much loved Nana!

Piper with her dog-themed birthday cake.

Good picture of my Dad and youngest sister, fondly referred to as Aunt T, by my kids.

Abe and Daddy. Abe woke up about an hour in to the party and was thoroughly stressed-out by the crowd. He was happiest in Daddy's arms.

The birthday girl with so many presents!

Piper and her pinata. I put all the kids Halloween candy in the pinata and threw away what wouldn't fit. My kids do not function well with candy in the house. They constantly ask, "What (healthy) do I have to eat to get a piece of candy?" It drives me bananas!

The candy gathering mayhem.

This picture struck me as funny for some reason! Poor dog!

Happy Birthday Piper-Girl!

Tuesday was Piper's 7th birthday! We are having a celebration at our house this weekend mostly for family, but I wanted her actual birthday to be special too! We took the day off from school work and started out to Toy R Us, where she picked out her birthday present.

Then we were off to Chuck E. Cheese for playtime and lunch. There was hardly anyone there, so it was super-nice!

Abe didn't like the rides that moved. It kinda surprised me because the older two always loved them!