Polar Express!

Today, was the big day we have been waiting for, we got to go on the Polar Express Train ride!

We loaded up on the train and got ready to go to the North Pole...

We were served cookies and hot cocoa...

And got a visit from Santa.  Logan said he wanted a "red truck," how random, I have never heard him say that.  The older boys wouldn't say what they wanted, they were shy.

And just in case you were wondering if I was there...seems like Mommy's are always the ones taking the pictures and are never in the pictures themselves.

Also, on the ride, they had someone read a story and Santa handed out stuffed polar bears.  It was a fun ride, but I would say it was best for Logan's age and maybe Evan's.  Colin was a little old for it and was definitely questioning "Santa" and the "North Pole".

Sunday, we made Christmas cookies and packed up to head to Virginia tomorrow!

Evan Needs Glasses!

This past weekend was pretty full.  It has snowed a ton, but we were still able to get Evan to a birthday party on the 14th and then Colin had one on the 15th.  Saturday night, Dennis and I went to a neighbors holiday party.  They did a silly chinese exchange and we had a blast.  It was fun to get a sitter and have an evening out.  Just to show how often we get a babysitter, I called the girl we had used in the past and she tells me she had moved to Florida...4 Months ago!!   I had no idea it had been that long since we had had an evening out!  I scrambled and was able to find another sitter (a teacher at Logan's school).  I wish we could have date nights more often, but it is hard to find a sitter, at least one that is capable of watching 4 kids!  We usually try to go out on our birthdays and anniversary and that's pretty much it.  We jump on the rare opportunity's that someone offers to watch them for us so we can go out (like my parents when they visit)!

Anyway, pics from this week...Tuesday there was a craft going on at the library.  So, I took Logan and Leah.  Leah had so much fun dancing to the music.

This was from last week, but I forgot to post it.

Tuesday, I also took the kids to the eye doctor.  Even though Evan passed his school eye test, we have noticed him squinting a lot.  Sure enough, he has an astigmatism in both eyes, that are not equal and it is messing up his depth perception and causing him to have a strong and weak eye.  Hopefully, if he wears glasses at all times, in a few years it will correct itself and he may not need them.  Colin did not pass his school exam, but did pass at the eye doctor, so for now he doesn't need any glasses.

Thursday, I took Logan and Leah to our usual story and craft at the book store.  Leah no longer wants to just sit in the stroller, so she is always crawling all over the place.  The lady who runs it decided to give Leah one of the bags they were coloring and Leah amazed us all when she started to color!  She was so proud of herself and did a pretty good job holding the crayon!

Friday, Leah and I went to Logan's school for Grandparent gingerbread house making.  Since, there were no Grandparents in town, they let me come again this year.  Logan had a lot of fun, but I think he ate more than he put on the house!  Leah, by the way, is wearing her Christmas dress from last year as a shirt!  It is so sad how much she has grown!  Last year her hands didn't even poke through and her feet barely did!

Leah Claps and More Happenings...

On December 6th it snowed.  The boys were so excited to get out in the snow and play.

That night, Dennis had his monthly poker night at our house.  I am really starting to enjoy these poker nights as much as the men do.  I love the quiet, alone time.

The weekend was fairly uneventful.  On Sunday I watched Evan's CCD class at church because his teacher was out of town.  It was fun to see what they do during the class.  During prayer circle each child says something they want everyone to pray for and Evan said, "I pray for my Aunt who is going through a divorce."  It definitely made me tear up.  Sad that at 6 years old he had to be talked to about divorce and what that means.  He has such a big heart and is such an empathetic boy, that I know it has probably been on his mind a lot since we told him.

In happier news, on Tuesday, Evan had his friend Noah come home with him on the school bus for a play date.  This was a first for him and he really enjoyed it.  They did their homework and then played in the basement.  They were both very silly, I guess it is the age.

Wednesday, Leah and I visited the boys' school and had lunch with Evan.  I have to admit, he barely paid me any attention.  Him and his buddies talked football the entire time!  It was actually really funny to hear how much they new and how animated they were about it all.  It was good to see that he has so many friends.

On Thursday, Leah clapped for the first time!  I was so excited to get it on camera too!  She was so proud of herself, and Logan was so happy for her too!

On Friday, we did a movie night.  I told the boys we had a surprise for them.  The movie was their first clue and then they could open a present under the tree, which is their second clue.  We watched the Polar Express and then they opened up gifts which were Christmas PJ's.  They couldn't figure out the clue, so I said it was somewhere we were going to go.  We then told them, we had tickets to go on a Polar Express train ride and see Santa!  They didn't believe me, I had to show them the confirmation email with the tickets!  The ride is on the 21st and we can't wait!

Update on All Four and Thoughts on Being a Parent.

Leah is getting very chatty.  She says Daddy all the time now, especially to Dennis, so I am pretty sure she knows what she is saying.  She is getting in some more teeth.  Last month she got her 4th top tooth and this month it looks like she is getting her 3rd bottom one, if not the 4th too.

Leah is cruising around furniture and I have seen her let go and stand for just a second without holding on.  She is sleeping longer than ever at night.  She goes to bed around 7:30 or 7:45 and sleeps until about 8 in the morning!  This is pretty awesome for my kids.  Usually she just wakes up and plays or sucks her thumb in her bed, so I don't even know exactly when she wakes up.  I just eventually open her door to see if she is up and she will give me a huge smile and stand up.

Since Thanksgiving she has started sucking her thumb a lot.  I'm not sure if it is just because of the teeth coming in or if this is a new habit.  But, it keeps her content and she soothes herself with it, so I am fine with it.  Evan and Logan both sucked their thumb at some point, but both stopped on their own by the time they were two, so hopefully she will be similar.  She is now no longer nursing, so it could be related to stopping that.  She is taking whole milk in a sippy cup and is doing great!

Colin is doing well in school.  The Challenge class is for sure more challenging.  He is even putting together power point presentations.  It is very impressive.  It is fun to see him grow up and become more independent and slowly more responsible too.

Evan is doing wonderful in school as well.  I have been so lucky that school comes pretty easy to both of them.  Evan is still at the age that he wants to rush through his work to go do screen time or play, but overall, he is doing great.  We continue to be amazed at his memory, especially with football.  He was telling us the other day that in 1988 the Redskins played the Broncos in the Super Bowl and the score was 42-10.  Dennis had to look it up to see if he was right and he was!  Evan says he "saw it on TV once when they were talking about Shanahan coaching the Bronco's".  Maybe he will be a football announcer one day?

Logan is doing well too.  He is a pretty easy kid a lot of the time.  But, is incredibly independent and wants to do everything himself.  Unless he wants attention, and then suddenly he says he needs help.  He has fussy times, but can also entertain himself pretty well.  He is usually the first one awake in the mornings, but will wait until he sees Colin or Evan come out of their room as a signal it is time to wake up.  All 3 wake up sometime between 6:40 and 7 am usually.  And take turns being the first up.  Occasionally, I will have to wake one of them up at 7:10 to get ready for school, but most days they are walking out of their room at 6:45am (which is the time we make them stay in their rooms until).  Logan is becoming so loving toward Leah.  He gives her snacks and kisses and cuddles with her.  He is starting to really embrace the big brother role.

They are all growing so quickly.  They are a lot of fun, very affectionate and kind.  They are typical boys and are active and have their hands on each other more than I would like.  Raising multiple sons is not an easy task, especially for someone like me who likes a quiet, clean home.  But, there are lots of rewards that go along with it too.  They can all be very nice to one another when they want to be.  I think they all have big hearts and they are growing everyday to be thoughtful young men.

I never knew parenting would involve so much self doubt.  Every time they do something bad I automatically think what am I doing wrong.  And then they will do something so sweet or thoughtful and loving and suddenly all is right in the world, and it feels like maybe we will make it through this ok afterall.  I never really understood what a roller coaster ride parenting would be and what a humbling experience it is.  Despite the craziness, the tears, the tantrums, the yelling, the physical activity, the exhaustion, I am truly enjoying being a Mom and there is nothing I would rather be doing or want to be more.

When we returned from Virginia, we pulled out our Christmas decor and put up the tree.  Once again we chose to put up our small artificial tree, since we will be traveling for Christmas.

Thanksgiving in Virginia.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.  The day before we kept the boys out of school so we could fly to VA.  We saved about $750 by flying out of Columbus instead, so we drove the three hours there and then took the flight to DC.  Logan was excited for the plane, since he didn't remember flying before. When we had a bumpy landing he yelled out, "Ya Hoooooo", I heard a couple chuckles from other passengers.  Leah did pretty well on the flight, though I am glad it wasn't any longer.  Toward the end, the lack of a nap caught up with her and she got a bit fussy.  On the way home she was even fussier.  Most the time though, I was able to entertain her with snacks, water, books and small toys.  She also liked to look at the passengers around us.

Wednesday, after we arrived we went to see Dennis' friend Charis and her family.  She made us dinner and it was great to catch up.  That evening Dennis drove over to my sister Julie's house to play Catan with them.

Thursday we had Thanksgiving lunch at Grandma and Robert's house.  The boys had fun with Miranda and even got to see a goat that had showed up at the house!  Then we went to Julie and Phil's house for Thanksgiving dinner.  Leah (and I), were surprised to see that they had a cupcake cake for her birthday and she got to open up presents from all her aunt and uncles.  That evening, after we took the kids back to Grammy and Grandpa Pritchards and put them to bed, Dennis and I went back over to Julie's to play Catan with them (and David and Fanchon, who were staying there).

Friday, I went to a good friend of mine, Nikki's, parent's house and caught up with her and another friend, Kim.  It was cute to see 9 kids all playing nicely together.  One baby girl was only 2 months younger than Leah and they were very cute together.  While I was doing that, Dennis got picked up by his friend Jeremy and met his cousin Shane for lunch.

Nik with Tatum (Kim's daughter) and Leah

Then Friday night my parents babysat so Dennis and I could go out to dinner (Rio Grande) and then David, Fanchon and Phil came over to play Catan with us and my parents.

Saturday, we met up with Dennis' friends, Tasha and Keith, and their kids for lunch and then went to Holly and Pete's new house in Elkridge, MD.  All my family was there to hang out, watch football and eat dinner.  It was a fun day.  The kids and Dennis also went with Pete to get a tour of his fire house.  That evening Dennis went to Julie's again for Catan, I was exhausted so went to bed just a little after the kids did.

Sunday morning we flew back home.  Dennis and I both said multiple times that it was a great, successful trip in that we were able to see lots of different people and yet none of it was rushed or too crazy.  We also got in lots of Catan playing which is always fun too!