A Visit to Lily's Preschool

Yesterday Lily's class at preschool had a little Christmas event and us parents were invited to watch.  The kids sang songs, had a birthday cookie for Jesus, and showed the parents part of the daily routine. Lily did such a good job singing with her teacher and class.  She surprised us with knowing most of the words and gestures of each song.  We can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Lily's Preschool Class

Yummy birthday cookie!

 

 

Denver Zoo Lights

This year we really wanted to take the kids to Zoo lights at the Denver Zoo. They all love animals and Lily has been pretty fascinated with Christmas and lights and decor so we thought they would enjoy it. We were lucky to have such warm weather here lately so we met up with some friends and took the kids last Sunday night.  They loved it and it was such a beautiful night!  We saw lions, hippos, giraffes, penguins, elephants, and of course Christmas lights. 

 

 

Halloween 2012

The kids had a great Halloween this year!  Our neighborhood has a tradition where the weeks leading up to Halloween other neighbors "boo" each other by leaving a bucket filled with goodies on the doorsteps of houses.  This year we were out and about running errands one night and came home to not one, but two Halloween buckets next to our front door.  We must have been "booed" by two neighbors.  Finding these buckets on our front porch excited Lily so much that for the next two weeks all she talked about was candy, trick or treating, and pumpkins!  The twins didn't really know what was going on, but Lily would tell everyone she saw for weeks that she was going to be Snow White and the twins were going to be a pumpkin and monkey. 

On Halloween, the kids got to go trick or treating twice.  In the morning we went trick or treating with friends in Old Town Fort Collins and then to lunch afterwards.  The kids were so excited to eat lunch dressed up.  In the evening we went trick or treating around the neighborhood.  The twins just went to two homes and were ready for bed, but Lily went to four different streets.  She would have gone all night if we let her!

Happy Birthday Jacob and Julia!

The twins are a year old! Wow, we can't believe it! We celebrated their first birthday by going out to eat at an Indian restaurant with some of our good friends. We brought in cupcakes and balloons and dressed the twins up in coordinating Thing 1 Thing 2 outfits to make the dinner a little more festive. They had a great time eating and playing and were so well behaved during dinner. They had so much fun that they passed out and did not get to open their presents until the next morning.

I was so good about getting monthly photos and updates on here about Lily during her first year, but I have done an awful job with the twins!  Here is what Jacob and Julia are up to at one year!

Jacob:
*  He is walking and walking!  He loves to walk and I don't know how long it'll be before he is running up and down the hallway with Lily.  He gets faster and faster every day!
*  Jacob loves to eat!  He is not to crazy about veggies but he loves to eat just about everything else.  He is also a huge milk drinker and mastered the sippy cup in no time.
*  No words yet, but he likes to talk and grunt!
*  His favorite toys are the train set and little people.

Julia
*  No steps yet for little Jules, however she loves to crawl and climb.  The other day she was on top of Lily's little picnic table!
*  She is the best eater out of the three kids.  Julia will eat just about anything you put in front of her, except milk!  She is not the biggest milk fan but will drink it if she is hungry enough.  She would much rather have water.
*  Julia only decodable word is mama.  She is also quite the little talker, but we just don't understand her yet.
*  He favorites toys are balls and little people. 

The twins have their 12 month appointment in just a few weeks so we'll see how much they have grown soon!

Fall Fun

The kids have been loving the front yard lately since its no longer 100 degrees here! Jacob really seems to enjoy playing with the small amount of leaves our little front yard tree has dropped this year.

Be a Farmer for a Day

Instead of going to a traditional pumpkin patch this year, we decided to check out a farm that we had purchased from at the farmers market earlier in the summer.  The farm was called Miller Farm and they have a special fall harvest event called Be a Farmer for a Day.  We decided to check it out. Included in the admission was a hayride that took you all around the farm and kids attractions like bouncy pillow, slides, and things to climb and play on.  The tractor ride was about an hour long and it would stop at different areas on the farm so you could get out and pick your produce from the fields.  We were able to pick our own corn, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, pumpkins, and onions.  Each person was allowed to pick up to five grocery bags of veggies with their admission.  We picked a ton of food!  We ended up bringing homer 13 bags of produce and now we have to figure out what to do with it all before it goes bad!

Vacation Part 2: San Diego

After spending 3 busy days at Disneyland, we drove a little farther south to spend the rest of our vacation in San Diego. We spent 4 days in there and it was definitely the more relaxing part to our California vacation. We also had a suite in San Diego instead of a standard hotel room and that made an amazing difference with the kids (naps and bedtime were so much better with a separate bedroom). In San Diego we took advantage of another military deal and spent a day at Sea World for free! This deal is good once a year for any of the Anheuser Busch parks and this is the first time we had ever used it. Sea World was fun and much more relaxing than Disneyland. All three kids enjoyed it and since we didn't have to pay anything to get in, we decided to buy Dine with Shamu tickets. We had an awesome buffet lunch and got to eat within feet of Shamu the Whale while he swam around us and did flips. Lily loved this! The rest of our days in San Diego were visiting different beaches and trying out restaurants. We got to see Coronado Beach, La Jolla, and Mission Beach. The ocean water was pretty cold, but we did swim for a bit in Coronado Bay and Mission Bay where it was a little warmer. San Diego was such a since city, and there was so much more to see and do. It will also be added to our list of places we would like to visit again.