look who came to MY HOUSE!! :)

JILL!

She came all the way up to see ME! Okay, her in-laws live here and that was her main reason for coming, but she did spend the day with us!!

And I finally got to meet sweet Audrey! ....who has been completely brainwashed by Mandy and Kristi, but that's another blog. :)

Claire and Audrey agreed that they would carry on the tradition and become roomies one day. I'm thinking Audrey's daddy will want her to become a Husker too! And Jenna and Ellie will be their suite mates! (Of course J&E probably won't be going to school up here!)

Here's Claire wondering how she can get Audrey out of her car seat.

It was good to see y'all, Jill! Thanks for coming to see us!! See ya in a year? :)

just a wee bit random...

I wanted to update and realized I hadn't taken many pics lately. Woops!

First up...Blaker's decided one evening while I was making dinner that he wanted to twirl on my bed while singing. Sounds fun...right? Nope! He twirled right over to my nightstand and whacked his face. Not really sure how he hit, but he had a nice shiner. This was probably 4 days later.

Isn't she so talented??

She is quite the little ham!

Claire got the Little People Nativity for her birthday. The boys had fun playing with it. I thought it was funny how they got ALL their little people to come and look at baby Jesus. ;)

My sister and her son came in for Thanksgiving. She was kind enough to sit for us two nights!! One night it was just Matt and I, but this night we went to the outdoor mall and watched them light up the Christmas tree.And Andrew was so excited to see The Grinch and other characters!
Well, that's it for now!! And sorry for the stinky pics I took with my phone!

best buds?

With Claire getting older it's fun to see her interact more with her brothers.

She sure does adore them.
And I can't wait to see what kind of relationship she'll have with them both.

our first snow

Last Friday night it started snowing!!

It was our first snowfall since moving to Omaha and we were all giddy! (Yes, I do realize I will come to hate snow, but for now I like it.) The boys were SOOO excited! This is what we woke up to...and it was already melting.

Blake thought it was going to be too cold so he didn't want to go out at first. Then when he saw Andrew all geared up....he was wanting in on the action. Matt had to work that morning and Claire was napping so the boys and I went out and played! All they wanted to do was throw snowballs.

I just wanted to make a snowman!

It was great snow for making a snowman. (I do know a little about snow...I do have roots in Wisconsin.) :)

The boys could have played out there all day. They were both snotty and coughing so we only stayed out for an hour. Maybe next time, boys!

I couldn't have asked for a better first snow. I've been a wee bit worried about what this winter will hold since last year they had a blizzard, but I enjoyed the snow for a day and then it was gone! I know next time we won't be so lucky!!

the birthday girl

This little cutie turned one today!!

She was all eager to open her presents....
but just for a minute...because then she was off!
She LOVES to be in the basement and wanted to go and do! No time for presents!!
With the help from A & B, the gifts got opened! Her favorite gift was this baby doll from her brothers. When she opened it she let out this big squeal!! She LOVES babies!! Afterwards, her brothers played with her dollhouse while she played with her doll. Yes, this picture will come back to haunt them. I even got Andrew saying on camera, "Mommy, hurry up with the video....I want to play with the dollhouse." ha! After dinner we sang and had cake!
When I told her to blow (to blow out the candle) she blew it a kiss. The boys got a big kick out of that!!
She wasn't sure what to think...
but then she realized her mommy made an awesome cake (with the help of a friend!)

And the girl chowed down!
I didn't want her to eat the whole thing, but by the time I got everyone a piece...she was done!

I can't wait to see how much she'll grow in this coming year!

my little kindergartener

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at Andrew's school. This day Andrew had to wear a tie to school. I think it was tie up drugs or something? Anyway, isn't he handsome? :)

I have to tell this story on him. Yesterday he got his first yellow card. The boy was DEVISTATED! He got to move it back to green (I guess it's like a warning), but it did get on yellow and he had to sit out at recess for 5 mins. Anyway, he was really upset when he came home. I asked him what happened and he said at nap they were listening to music and the song "Rock-a-bye baby" came on. He said he started laughing because it was a funny song....the craddle fell out of the tree. :) He IS right. That song is weird!

random pics from the week....

It's been nice and cool here lately and the boys have been playing outside! A LOT! (which gives me some time to clean!!)

Blake likes to play in the rocks under the patio.

Andrew likes to play football and tackle Blake. :)

And some evenings poor Claire has to stare out the window because she's already ready for bed. Can you find her brothers under the slide?

On another note, Claire has really started walking and probably walks about 90% of the time now.

She's even coordinated enough to carry stuff...unlike her mommy! :)

We've been busy with school stuff the last two weeks. I will say it was nice when we first moved here. We didn't know anyone and could just veg. Life has picked up and we are staying busy these days.

two peas in a pod...

If she's anything like her silly brother....

I'm in trouble!

pumpkin patches

Let me start off by apologizing for all the pics. It was hard to choose what to post!

Last weekend we went to a smaller pumpkin patch with our Sunday school class. The boys had a blast. It was Andrew's first pumpkin patch here.

Andrew was so excited to ride the ponies.

They had a track where you could ride tricycles. Blake waited patiently, but never got to ride because it was time for dinner. (which is why I have all pics of Andrew.)

Yesterday we went back to Vala's.

Here are some pics of what we enjoyed... ALL the boys had a blast on this 4-wheeler looking thing.
Matt was beat when he got off. ha!
Andrew thought this was so funny!
They jumped on this big pillow thing....
slid down some fast slide... jumped in a pile of hay...
stopped for one second to pose for the camera...
and slid into some hay.
And Claire just sat back and took it all in.

We went after school so we didn't have much daylight. There was a lot of stuff we didn't get to do...like ride the hayride out and to pick a pumpkin. And I didn't a pic of all three kiddos.

How sweet is this pic....
Matt waiting on the rest of us while we rode the tractor.

I LIED...I did get a pic of all 3 kids!

It's just not great.

I know people think I live in the cornfield, and there are a lot around here, but I don't live IN them. It's actually really pretty here. And I don't mind the cornfields. For some reason, it's just calming to me!

Anyway, we had a great time at the pumpkin patches. I look forward to going back next year and staying all day!!