December Fun

Sam helping bring in our Christmas Tree.

We have had a beautiful, snowy December here in Minneapolis.  The fun news is the 5th largest snow fall in Minneapolis history.  The boys played outside for 3 hours while the snow fell and fell until we had over 17 inches of snow!  We shoveled, well mostly Chris and Charlie, 3 times and the neighbor used his snow blower 2 times to clear the snow from our corner lot.  

It looked like this for hours outside!  (Including Chris shoveling for hours!)

It's been a little difficult to get outside with Ben.  With 17++ inches of snow in the back yard he can't even walk.  We've filled the time with lots of indoor fun....Christmas cookie making, ornament making, and lots of play dough fun!  Ben decided to play "birtday" with the play dough.  He makes cupcakes with the dough and then adds as many candles as possible.  Last, he sings happy birthday.  We've now moved on to making play dough cookies.

The boys rolling out sugar cookies.  Notice the Halloween cookie cutters for Sam's cookies.

Ben painting cinnamon Christmas ornaments.

Ben painting frosting on the cutouts.

The finished products.  

Charlie telling Santa what he wanted...GeoTrains or Playmobil.

Merry Christmas!  

I Heart Faces :: Scenic B & W

I decided to squeak in and enter this weeks scenic b & w challenge.  I love this image of Ben at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.  It's taken in the yellow room.  I wasn't at all happy with the color image but thought the black and white conversion captured the moment perfectly.

  Click the link below to see more scenic b & w images at I Heart Faces!

I Heart Faces :: Silhouette

I haven't been entering very many I Heart Faces contests in the past few months. I still enjoy reading interviews of photographers and following them on facebook, but haven't entered weekly contests.

I just love this photo of my youngest because of how his face is silhouetted in both dark and light.   I also love his reflection on the glass.  He is growing up too quickly so I am trying to capture as many special moments as possible these past few months.  It may not be a traditional silhouette, but I still thought I'd share.

I am excited to see the other silhouette photos at I Heart Faces. Click below to check them out.

A Boy and His Stick....

We all went to Minnehaha Falls on Sunday for a hike.  What a perfect fall day!  Ben had fun with all the sticks and rocks....but mostly the sticks.

A few more from our hike....

We all were in awe of the beautiful fall colors....hope you've been out to enjoy them too!

Fun at the Park

Give my boys a few donuts and a swing and we're ready to play for hours!  I love that Charlie loves pushing Ben and Sam.

I Heart Faces - "I had enough" Smirk

I've wanted to get some cute pictures of my 3 little boys next to an old truck this summer.  Well, this guy wasn't in the mood.  This was the look he gave me on about the 3 shot.  "Are you done yet?"  "Is this smile good enough?"  Luckily, kiddo #2 was in the mood!

See other fun smirk photos at I Heart Faces this week.  Click on the icon below to see them!

One Last Look Before you Go-Go

We spent some time at the park today.  I knew I had to try and get a few pictures of Charlie before he lost his other front tooth.  Lucky I did, it fell out this afternoon with a little help from Sam.  The boys were having a "disagreement" over who could drink out of the water bottle.  Sam yanked the bottle from Charlie's mouth.  I heard a little gurgle and saw lots of blood.  Chris brought Charlie into the bathroom to see how everything looked and the tooth fell out during a mouth rinse.  Chris put the bloody tooth into a glass of water.  

I, of course, threw the tooth and water down the drain while doing dishes a couple hours later.   I was able to fish through the noodles that had slipped down into the disposal from dinner and found the tooth.  We even remembered to have the Tooth Fairy come.  (Last tooth, the fairy took 3 nights!  Oops. Sorry Charlie.)

A New Favorite Park

We love Kenwood Park across the street from Kenwood Elementary school.  It has a train for Ben and a zip line that Sam and Charlie love.  We met some of Charlie's school friends there the week before school started.  I can't wait to play there more this fall.  We are so lucky to have so many beautiful parks in Minneapolis!

Big Kid On Campus

  

Sam will be the biggest brother every day while Charlie is in school.  I can't wait to see Ben and Sam's relationship grow this year.  I also look forward to seeing what Sam decides to do with his independent time.  He usually follows Charlie and watches him build Legos or the two of them play.  He loves his big brother and plays with him all day long.  It will be interesting to see what new joys of his own Sam will find this year!

Ben enters the age of tantrum....hope it's not an era

We are drawing near to the twos.  Every now and then we get to see the tantroms....but mostly it's big smiles.  What a fun summer Ben has had watching his brothers play, copying every last work in our sentences, and saying "hi" to everyone that passes by.

                 

Just In Time for 1st Grade!

Charlie came running into our room this afternoon with a tooth in his hand!  His wiggly tooth had finely fallen out.  Now he even looks like a first grader!


Charlie's first day of 1st grade is tomorrow.  He is excited to start school.  I can't wait to hear about all he learns this year.

My sis on the beach with Kate....

I played around with a photo of my sister and her daughter Kate....love beach photos!  Can't wait to see everyone again at the cabin next week.

Ben's visit to the ER

We like to keep the local economy going with visits to the ER every few months.  Ben fell on our basement steps and had a cut that needed stitches a couple of weeks ago.  The nurse had to bundle him in a cocoon while they did the stitches which he didn't love.  I had brought along a lollipop which he stopped to suck between tears.  The stitches haven't bothered him since. 

Charlie on the beach....

I haven't taken the time to post very many pictures from San Diego yet.  I just had to share this one I love of Charlie and his beautiful baby toothed smile.  He told me today his front tooth was "really loose mom".  Hopefully he'll make until we can buy some corn on the cob, one of his favorites.

Charlie Sees the Ocean for the 1st Time

Charlie's first moments playing in the ocean.  I think he liked it!

Charlie told me tonight before bedtime his favorite part of the ocean was building sand castles and digging in the sand.  He also loved playing in the waves.  It was a beautiful day to see the ocean for the first time in your life.  I wonder what Charlie will remember about today....but I'm sure he will remember something.  I will always remember his beautiful smiles of pure joy as he splashed and played in the waves with his cousin Kate.  I love to see him so happy.  Hopefully his memory will bring a smile to his face.