Tender Heart

Tonight, my mom and I took Kate to her first movie at the theater--Tangled. We went all out--got popcorn and snacks (which is rare for us).

Highlights:

-Kate spilling 3/4 of the popcorn within 5 minutes of the movie starting

-Watching Kate eat the rest of the popcorn bucket, she really put it down!

And the top highlight is...
-Kate crying for half of the movie--because it was sad. Every time even slightly sad music came on, Kate was crying LOUDLY. I had to take her out at the end because she was crying so loud. She cries on pretty much every kids movie--Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Pooh's Heffalump Adventure, if it has anything slightly sad, she is gone. And it isn't just a few tears, it is loud sobs. It's pretty darn sweet and I love getting a little cuddle from Kate when she needs comforting!

I had a great time! I hope this is the first of many "Girl Dates" to come.

Great Expectations and more

I've been trying to branch out and really challenge myself. It took me a couple of weeks to start Great Expectations. I just finished reading the Twilight series again and the contrast between the margins and font size is HILARIOUS! I was really intimidated, but I LOVED it! Now I know why it is a classic. I felt like I learned and benefited from the book. It was a little bit hard to get into at first, but the story is so good and has lots of twists and turns, I'm not going to give anything away, but I would highly suggest this book. It's one I want on my shelf.



I had a good friend tell me about this book when I was on bed rest with the boys, but I had them before I got around to reading it. I finally read it and LOVED it. I am really into Jane Austen, but one thing I always have wondered about is what they did--especially the guys. I'm starting to think that the "gentlemen" in the country really didn't do much. In the north, they were busy manufacturing towns. This book kind of brought the two together. It was such an enjoyable story, sad, but really good. Definitely want this one too!



This movie was so true to the book. The two leads were really good and knew their characters well. This movie is also one I want to add to my collection. (I put this so you know how much I really like it).

If you have any book suggestions (or movie suggestions), I would LOVE them!

Here comes Santa Claus...

The day we put up stockings, Kate decided to write everybody's name for their stocking.

In case you didn't know, we LOVE Santa Claus at the Lewis house--see for yourself! We're 3 for 3.

3 Little Munchkins

These little ones are getting more and more fun. I look forward every day to when they wake up (and every day when they go to sleep!)

Kate loves "reading" in bed. We always read her a story (actually, Jeff), then she likes to look at the books for a few minutes, I love it.
Austin left, Scott right. Austin is turning into a cheeser. Their little personalities are getting so funny!
I made the kiddos pajamas this year, (first and last time), but they are kind of fun, Scott in the blue, Austin in green. Every single day for breakfast, all the kids have a banana, then toast or cereal and I guess they never get sick of it. Kate doesn't know what to do without a banana at breakfast.

Scott and Austin now sit full time at the counter, it's so nice. They are also starting to talk quite a bit. They both say please and thank you, mom and dad, Kate. They say each other's names, hi and bye, then just random words here and there. We may be the only ones who understand them though. They're to that stage where I think they are saying a ton but we aren't understanding everything. It's fun. The boys love when we are going anywhere, they go get everyone's shoes for them. They are also potty trained. Actually, that last one is just wishful thinking.

Kate has started writing all the time. She LOVES it! She writes her name, Mom, and Dad, and whatever else she wants to write. She has also started drawing more pictures, pictures of people, or others. It's precious!

Kate's First Dance Recital

And save the best for last--live video. See if you can tell where Kate got her moves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_CODZ4ytVA

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVHU7In16-s

Enjoy.

Halloween...Finally!

We had a lot of fun getting ready for Halloween. At the beginning of October, we went to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. I loved it (even though Jeff accused me of just using it as a photo op--maybe a little truth in that)

Scott searching for his pumpkin

Kate picked this one out.

Scott's favorite thing was to pull the wagon.

We also had a little Halloween party for preschool one day

We got a long piece of yarn and the kids walked around our circle in their costumes. It was so funny!

Scott, Austin, Amelia, Kate, Sadie, Lily, Haylia, Allison

Then, finally Halloween came. I was just going to take Kate trick or treating, but the boys wanted to come. They just stayed in the stroller, but loved the walk around the neighborhood.

Austin (brown shoes)

Scott (white shoes)

And no, Kate was not Alice in Wonderland even though it looks that way. She was Dorothy, I was the Wicked Witch of the West, and Scott and Austin were my flying monkeys. Jeff was going to be the scarecrow, but we never pulled any costume together. Next year.
Not pictured was the Milne's Halloween party (Jeff did dress up--as Nate) which is always fun! I always love Halloween, it was so much fun and the kids kind of got into it. Can't wait til next Halloween!

Thanksgiving in California!

For Thanksgiving this year, we went down to California to visit my sister and mom. My sister and brother and his family also came. Oh, I loved the trip. It was a lot of fun and the cousins had so much fun together. Get ready for picture overload, I couldn't leave any out!

Thanksgiving Day

Melissa made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner--yummy yummy. Too bad I didn't get any pictures. Kate absolutely loved her little cousin Lily. I think she's ready for a new baby in the family--for now she'll have to get her fix from cousins!I love that on Thanksgiving, we had a pleasant day at the park. All the kids wanted to get out while dinner was cooking, so we headed over. Kate, Sasha and Grant loved holding hands, so cute! Jeff is holding Scott.

Kate pushing Austin

Scott

The Beach

Friday, we did some Black Friday shopping, my mom even slept over night! Go mom! Saturday, we came to the beach. It was about 64, so not hot, but just about right. The kids got a little chilly in the end though...

We tried to get some family pictures and I think they turned out alright. I have to consider with kids these ages, a great picture will be VERY rare! Austin left Scott right.

Scott and Sasha playing in the sand, they were totally captivated.

Austin shortly joined them.

Brian, Whit, Ethan, and Grant

Whitney about got thrown in!

Mom holding sweet Lily

Kate loved doing this--she'd get a scoop of sand, then take it and dump it in the ocean.

Disneyland

The whole trip was so fun, but Disneyland was definitely the highlight. We went and stayed overnight in Anaheim. Jeff on the way to the park. Scott front, Austin back. (Scott is wearing white tennis shoes)

In the park with Brian

Disneyland was all decorated for Christmas, it was so pretty and fun!

This picture didn't go as planned...

We waited in line for about 45 minutes so Kate could see the princesses. Her favorite is Cinderella and she was there! Of course, when we got there, Kate got very shy.




Snow White was so sweet. She was my favorite. We had to drag Kate through the princesses, but when we left she said, "I want to see more princesses" so I guess it was worth it!

Pirates of the Caribbean--I thought Kate would be too freaked out, but she loved it. She kept saying "R Mateys" to all the pirates, it was fun.
The parade was probably the highlight because Kate got to see all of the characters. She was in HEAVEN! This is Austin with Daddy.

Kate's reaction when she sees Mickey Mouse.

Tigger and Winnie the Pooh

It got kind of chilly when the sun went down, but we had hats, gloves, blankets so the kids were good.

Austin was wired--he stayed up until 10.

Scott fell asleep on the way out of the park.

If you made it clear through, I am impressed! We just had so much fun. The kids all loved the rides, I have pictures of the Dumbo ride I want to add later because the kids got such a kick out of it. I can't wait to go back!