FYI

Hi All,
We're still alive! I've been sucked into Facebook and the Twilight series. I haven't been a very good blogger. We're all doing well. Kate was sick after Christmas, but has finished her antibiotics and is back to her talkative, opinionated self. Luke keeps growing and maturing...so far, I'm liking age 4 much better than 3! Kate's birthday is the end of this month so I will definitely post some new pics then!

A Bouchard Christmas

This weekend we went to Bonne Terre for Christmas with the Bouchard family.

It's not easy to get all seven cousins in a picture...here is our best attempt. Luke, Camryn, Lauren, Caleb, Makenna, Sam and Kate...quite a crew!

Luke's big gift was a Leapster!

Kate got lots of kitchen stuff to keep her busy.

Makenna and Camryn both received their own Nintendo DS!

Caleb's big gift was a guitar.

Sam's big gift was a car.

Everyone liked the car...and Sam was kind and shared it (with some coaxing)!

Then we went to the Peterson's where each child got to open a gift and the adults play

The Game.






Mom was very proud to have #1 (the most coveted number of the game).


Then Dad performed in the church choir's Christmas program. We didn't get to stay to see the program, but I got a picture of Papa looking quite handsome!

Christmas Cookies!!!

Since we didn't quite get our fill of Christmas activities yesterday, we decided today was the day to make Christmas cookies! It actually went pretty smoothly, we had quite an assembly line going. Kate, Luke, and our good friend Sandy worked making the cookies and I kept the cookie sheets in rotation from the oven to the plates. I'm not sure if the kids had more fun making them or eating them!

A Day Full of Christmas!

How much Christmas can one have in a day?? I feel like I've had a ton. We started out the day at Breakfast with Santa at Bass Pro which was also Amelia's birthday party. Kate didn't last long and was soon requesting her bed, and daddy was more than happy to take her home for some quality napping time. Luke and I wandered around Bass Pro for a while looking at all of the animals. Then we came home and quickly got ready for the Christmas Parade. (Daddy and Kate also napped through this!) Sandy came over and Luke, Sandy and I headed downtown for the parade. It was lots of fun. The weather wasn't too cold but very windy. Luke modeled his new superman gloves in one of the pictures. He was quite excited to see Louie the Cardinals mascot and Captain Jack Sparrow even waved at him. He seemed to be mesmerized through the whole parade and at one point asked me to identify what part of a float was. I told him that it appeared to be a punching bag because the float also had a boxing ring on it. He followed with the question, "Well, will it shoot out suckers?" Needless to say, we came home with a large bag full of candy that he collected from all of the paraders. When the parade was over, we were talking about what our favorite part was. Sandy said she liked the horses the best, I said I liked the marching bands. Then I said, "Luke, what was your favorite part of the parade?" Without hesitation, he replied, "the Tootsie Rolls!"




We failed to get Kate in any of the pictures because she was too grouchy or at home in bed. Bummer!

Luke showing off his new Superman gloves and hat for the windy parade day.

Luke was very excited to see Louie-the Springfield Cardinals mascot.

This is actually a picture of the back of Captain Jack Sparrow...We (Luke) were so excited that he waved to us that I forgot to take his picture!



Luke also thought the big tires on these army trucks were awesome.

The horses were Sandy's favorites and then of course Santa was the big finale!
Then in the evening we drove around Springfield and looked at the Christmas lights. What a fun-filled Christmasy day!

Kate the Great Communicator

Kate is one big talker, that's for sure. When she thinks Luke has wronged her in some way, she comes running to me and says, "Wuke be nice me!" Tonight after I put Kate to bed I realized that I needed some clothes out of her room. I sneaked into her room and she sat straight up in her crib,looked at me and said "Go away, Mommy." Goodness, she is one independent girl...what will she be like at sixteen???

Luke is 4!!!!

On Sunday we had Luke's 4th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. Lots of friends and family were there for the big event. Luke had a Darth Vader cake and got lots of awesome presents. Luke and Kate kept a safe distance from Chuck...they preferred admiring him from afar. When Luke was ready to open his presents, he looked up at his Daddy and said, "Daddy, don't sell my toys, okay?" Luke knows that Daddy sells toys and things on ebay every week and wanted to make sure his new toys were safe. He was assured that his gifts were safe and he tore right into them. He did a great job using his manners and saying thank you to his friends. I was quite proud and can't believe I have a big 4-year-old boy!

Thanksgiving with the Bouchards

We had our traditional Thanksgiving with Mimi and Papa this year in Springfield. We all got "sick full" at Cara's new house. I made Kate eat her turkey topless so as not to mess up her dress...poor thing...how humiliating!! Soon after dinner, people began disappearing for naps. Too much turkey, I guess.