Lauren and Logann

Craig's sister Kathy and her family stayed with us during the Thanksgiving holiday and I took a short video of Lauren and her cousin Logann who is 2 months older. The other video is of Lauren making baby noises that I thought I'd share.

Once there was a snowman...

It snowed yesterday and today the snow was perfect for making a snowman. I had to add a couple accessories to it so it didn't look like just a big blob.

Random Pictures

Here are some random pictures from the last couple days.

Family Pictures

We got family pictures taken today for Christmas cards and just to have an updated family photo as well. I got the kids dressed and took some pictures of them from my camera and then my friend Kathy came over with her much better and way more expensive camera and took pictures for us in our family room. I bought black sheets from Walmart to hang on the wall for our background and the pictures turned out great.

Lauren Pictures

Lauren is now 12 weeks old and is doing great. She is sleeping through the night (hooray!!) and I feel like a new woman getting some decent sleep again. She is such a joy to have in our home and can't believe that it's been 3 months already!!

Halloween Festivities

The kids had a great Halloween this year having a neighborhood party, a preschool party, and then Halloween itself all in the same week. Craig and I showed up at the end of preschool on Thursday to watch the kids play games and sing Halloween songs that they had been practicing all month. They sang a song called The 5 Little Pumpkins sitting on the Gate and I wish I knew all the words because it was the cutest song and I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the song Brandon knew. Of course, Briana knew all the words but Brandon is really picking up stuff quick. The wonders that preschool is doing for this kid!! Halloween night Craig took the kids out while I stayed at home with Lauren and passed out candy. Once they got home, Craig told me about the kids trick-or-treating adventures. Craig stayed on the sidewalk and let the kids go up to the doors and get candy. Three of our neighbors had Brandon walking into their home once they put candy in his bucket. One neighbor had to come back to the door and have Craig come inside because he couldn't get Brandon out of his own house. He happened to find the playroom and didn't want to leave. Another home had a motion-sensor skeleton at the door which had Briana screaming back to daddy and she refused to go to the door for the next three houses. After telling me the stories, Craig took the kids upstairs to get their pajamas on while I continued to answer the door to trick-or-treaters. I happened to hear both kids behind me when I opened the door to a group of about 5-6 kids with the mom standing at the bottom of the porch steps. I handed out candy, waved hi to the mom, closed the door, and turned around to see a naked Brandon standing there. I was so embarrassed!! Then yesterday for preschool, we visited a pumpkin patch. We did a hayride which was a nightmare with a fussy baby and Brandon taking off every time the tractor pulling us made a stop. The great thing about the pumpkin patch was the huge hay slides they had which kept the kids entertained so I could feed Lauren. We spent about 3 hours there and with them running all over the place, I knew that I'd get some peace and quiet once they went to bed since they were exhausted when bedtime came.

Brandon's Star Wars Birthday Card

My mom sent this HUGE Star Wars card to Brandon for his birthday. When you open it, it plays the theme music from the beginning of the movie that Brandon hums all the time when he plays with his Star Wars action figures. I took a video of him opening it because just a photo doesn't do it justice.

Brandon's Birthday and Crazy Happenings

Now it is Brandon's turn to celebrate his birthday. He actually got his birthday cake on Thursday even though he didn't get to open presents until today. The reason is because I was planning on making a football field cake for the first game of the NFL season and we were having some friends over to watch the game. I baked a cake that morning and when my neighbor dropped the kids off from being at preschool, she and chatted at the door for a couple minutes. When I got back inside and walked into the kitchen, there was a huge chunk of cake missing with crumbs all over the counter and floor. I look over to see Brandon with a mouthful trying to hurry and gulp down the evidence. I will skip over what I did next and let's just pretend that I acted like it was no big deal. Luckily I had another cake mix in the pantry so I got to work on another one. As soon as I put the second cake in the oven, some ladies from church came over to visit...30 minutes early than I had expected. I was a mess, the kitchen was a mess, and the kids were acting up more than usual. It was the worst visit anyone has ever had at my house because at every turn, Brandon was getting into everything I had left out from baking. First he grabbed the flour container, then the shortening container, then he plugged in the hand mixer (thankfully the beaters where in the sink) and dropped it on the floor because the noise they made scared him. Basically, he got into everything I had left on the counter while I was trying to have a conversation with these ladies. I was so embarrassed when they left and I know there were thinking that I was way in over my head with three children now. The cake turned out great and right before I served it up that evening, I told Brandon that this was his birthday cake and we needed to get some pictures of him next to it. This afternoon he opened presents and daddy took he and Briana to the Hill Field Flight Museum where there are a ton of planes and helicopters for him to look at. Then tonight we had ice cream to finish off his special day. I don't think he cared at all that we didn't have any cake today and I'm glad that I didn't have to bake another one.

More Pictures of baby Lauren

I realized I haven't posted any new pictures of Lauren since announcing her birth so here are some pictures from this last month since she is now 5 weeks old.