oh christmas tree oh christmas tree...why is your star so droopy?

we did something new this year and decided to get a really big tree. 10 feet i think?  it's big and beautiful, and was a lot of work to decorate!  my dad, rowan and i decorated it last friday night while derek worked an all-nighter at the mill...fun fun :)

rowan was crazy about decorating...and especially loved climbing on the ladder.  we all even made a trip to meijer beforehand to buy extra lights...which is a rare treat for my kids.  i never take them anywhere - i'm always way too tired after work or i have so little time that i don't take them with since they make the trip so much more complicated.  so they thoroughly enjoyed walking thru the aisles and pointing at everything.  i was giggling inside as we made our way thru the store...such a simple and regular thing for most families is a big deal for us.  my dad had a good time too.  he pushed the kiddos around in the grocery cart and laughed as they pointed in awe at everything.  rowan was really good though, especially when it came to the toy aisle.  she didn't cry or scream or demand...just dreamed :)  what a sweetheart.

we ended up saving the star for daddy like we do every year.  it took almost a week but he finally got around to putting it up a few nights ago.  i'm not sure if he was trying to be funny or if he just wasn't in the mood, but he just reached up and plopped the star on top and didn't even trim the top at all.  needless to say, we have a droopy falling star...but i think we all actually like it that way.

snow!

Rowan came racing into my room this morning screaming "snow Mommy snow!"  She was super excited of course.  She asked over and over all morning if she could go out and play, and I kept saying no since we have a schedule to keep, and I had to get to work.  Well eventually I caved and let them play for awhile outstide before we left.  I've worked so much overtime this last 2 weeks that I deserved a late morning anyway!

After making a few steps in the snow, Rowan excitedly pointed at her footprints and said "look Mommy I made clues"...meaning she left footprints like in the cartoon Blues Clues.  I had to laugh out loud of course...only Rowan :)  Rigby was content to follow Rowan wherever she went and to do whatever she did.  If she ate snow, he ate snow.  If she piled snow into the planters, so did he.  I think he was a little confused, but was as excited as she was to get down and dirty.

only rig!

the babysitter sent me a text message a few minutes ago with a picture of my precious son...sleeping as usual.  she said she noticed it got a little quiet and found rigby in the dog bed AGAIN.  he's gotten to the point that he's now able to remain conscious long enough to cover himself up...lol!

pumpkin carving

rowan and i had a little time to carve our pumpkins one saturday while the boys went to the hardware store.  i knew it had to be a quick creation because the last thing i needed was rigby digging thru pumpkin seeds in the middle of my kitchen. so we did it the ol' fashioned way with knives and spoons...there's no time for fancy drills and perfection carving in my world.  but that's quite alright with us.  we had a lot of fun and i let rowan choose which face or design she wanted for her pumpkin.  i think it turned out super cute!

big rig

i've noticed lately that my baby boy is really growing up, and it breaks my heart.  he's been tucking baby dolls into bed like his big sister, laying on the floor on his belly to play and draw (see pic below), and has even started to walk in on his own to the sitter (with mommy following behind obviously).  that might not seem like a big deal, but he's always let me carry him while rowan walked.  now he kicks for me to let him down and wants to do it on his own.  i guess it's okay; he is a handful, but this momma is used to having a baby on her hip :(  and since he's insisting on walking, that means i have to start putting shoes on this child a little more often.

my adorable beefcakes

giggling

snuggling

i love this picture...
he was really strutting like he was doing something important

and at last, getting into his new serious play position

just because

this pic made me smile today

pumpkin heads

playing on the wooden trains

daddy's pumpkin heads (derek's nickname for the kids)

rigby looks like moe (larry, curly and moe) here...it might be the super small hat

rig wasn't too sure about the pony...
he sat for a second and then decided to give his ride to his sister

this one looks good :)

our kids loved the dirt more than the pumpkins!

rowan snapped this parting shop on our way out

halloween pics

i'm a little behind on my posts (as usual) but this time i have a good excuse!  somehow our usb camera cord went missing so i've had no way to upload them.  thankfully there's a guy at work who has the same camera, and i was able to use his.  things seem to grow legs and walk off in our house...i wonder how that could be???

for halloween this year, rigby was tigger (thanks to aunt janel) and rowan was tinkerbell.  i found rowan a tinkerbell mask on amazon and she totally loved it. she wore it all around the house and even to my work for trick or treat downtown.  but when it came time for halloween, she wouldn't have any part of it. 

tigger on the other hand, was happy with his costume, at least for the most part.  he was a little confused however, because rowan kept telling him he was going to be spiderman.  so all week we had a little sweet tigger walking around shooting webs out of his hand and thinking he was spiderman!  so sweet...and clueless!  he's still doing it too.  he'll walk up to someone and point his palm at them and say "psshhhh", which according to rigby is the sound a web makes as it's shot from your palm.  oh my :)

my little trick or treaters were a little timid of the accounting ladies at first

"airee" is warming them up...

trick or treating at DO

DO offspring...isn't the frog so cute?

and finally it's halloween...
and tinkerbell refuses to wear her mask

someone is on a mission!

derek and i dressed up for our youth group party...
a scream clown and rapunzel (tangled style)

tent time

It was tent time on Saturday morning last weekend...and you know what that means!  Mommy is mopping the kitchen floor :)  Whenever I can get up the courage to mop the floors with two crazy kids who love the water running around, tents must be involved.  It allows me a few scattered minutes here and there alone with my mop and bucket.  But as always, the tent loses it's appeal and Rigby is up to his elbows in dirty water...

big sis

Rowie got a few new shirts from her Auntie Angie recently (birthday presents) and she LOVES them.  They say random things like "big sis" or "mommy's little monkey" or "daddy's girl" and for some reason Rowan just thinks they're the berries.  She'd wear them every day if I let her!