So sleepy

Little Cade has been so tired the last few days. He must be going through a growth spurt. Hopefully it's that and he's not coming down with something. He laid his little head on my shoulder this morning and was back to sleep only 45 minutes after he woke up. Poor baby!

13 already?

Cade: Ella! Ella! Ella! Ella!
Ella: Wow, you are totally burning up my ears, Little Dude. Let me tell you, you are just too much. Like, I can't even hardly take it right now.

Who is this child and where did this attitude come from? Did she just turn 13 and I completely missed it?!

Day out with Daddy

Ella and Cade had a day out with Daddy over the weekend. Don't they look adorable all dressed up for their date?
How special for them to have their Daddy all to themselves for an entire day! He took them to church, out to lunch, to the toy store, and then brought them back home to play all afternoon. There was so much excitement in their voices as they told me all about it, and I loved watching them smother Chris with hugs and kisses as thanks for a great day. They are such lucky kiddos to have such a fun and caring daddy.

Fall preschool report

Ella brought home her mid-year report from preschool yesterday. Chris and I were very proud as we read it last night. The report graded Ella in many different categories with M- mastered skill, G- good progress of skill, or E- emerging skill. She received M in several areas, including
-constructive and purposeful play
-classroom exploration
-communication with adults and children
-recitation of simple poems, ryhmes, and songs
-recognition of letter, color, shape, and number sequences
-manipulation of materials
-self-expression through art
She received G and G+ in all other areas, except for one G- in 'plays with a variety of children'. Out to the side, Miss Kelli wrote, "She has her favorites". Umm, you got that right! Not hard to figure out who she means when Ella hardly talks about preschool these days without mentioning Dillon's name. Miss Kelli even told me yesterday (jokingly) that the two of them would probably be lost without each other. ha!
Anyways, Miss Kelli also said Ella is "a very self-confident little girl" who "absorbs information very quickly" and they must always "seek out learning opportunities to challenge her". She also said she "always has a smile on her face" and "seems to really love to come to school everyday." Way to go, Ella Grace!! We are very proud of you!

Christmas shopping!

In case I haven't said it recently, I LOVE this time of year!! I love planning for the holidays and bundling up the family to head to the mall. I love sharing a peppermint mocha with my husband as we shop for the perfect gifts. I love seeing the excitement in my babies' eyes when they see twinkling lights and trees in all the stores. I honestly hardly notice the crowds, because spending the time with my husband and family as we shop for our loved ones is just so much fun for me.
This past weekend we got a huge jumpstart on our Christmas shopping. We looked ahead at the calendar and discovered that with our busy work schedules, we have very few days between now and Christmas to do any shopping together. And having the time together is what makes it all worth it. Papaw and Mamaw came up on Saturday, cooked us dinner, and then even volunteered to watch the kiddos (awesome, right??) so Chris and I could make a last minute shopping trip sans Ella and Cade. We headed to Toys R Us and were so excited to find out they were open until 11pm that night. We had so much fun shopping for all the little tikes in our family and actually got so much accomplished. Thanks again, Papaw and Mamaw!! You all are the best!
On Sunday evening, we headed to a different mall that was having a special night of extended shopping hours. More fun for us!! And yay for getting even more shopping done early! Our handsome, little man was all smiles...
Ella even saw Santa and, for the first time in her 4 1/2 years, was excited to sit on his lap and tell him what she wants for Christmas! We were so proud of her! As she was waiting in line, she was very curious about where Santa parked his sleigh at the mall, but afterwards, she said she forgot to ask him. I did overhear her tell him that she would like a trampoline for Christmas and Santa said he would work on it. Cade, on the other hand, wouldn't even dare to look in Santa's direction, much less have anything to do with sitting on his lap! ha! Call us frugal, but we didn't really think a tiny picture on Santa's lap was worth the $20 they were asking (plus we'll get to take free ones later on in the season), but here's a pic of the excited girl while waiting in line...

Ella and Cade lucked out again when we saw a balloon sculptor passing out free balloons. Ella chose a purple poodle for herself and then took the liberty of choosing a monkey for Cade, "because he acts like a monkey sometimes." =) Between the visit with Santa, balloons, a cookie, and a new Christmas ornament, Ella has decided she, too, really likes Christmas shopping!

Little buddies

If their time together this week is any indicator, Cade and Laila are going to be the best little buddies! They are so sweet to watch together. He's not used to being around anyone smaller than him, so even though he's only a mere six months older than her, he's already playing the part of the older, wiser cousin. haha! He showed her all around the house and kept such a close eye on "Baby". =)

He even showed her how the big kids climb the stairs and she caught on pretty quickly! Look at that proud face! haha!

He showed her all of Sissy's most prized possessions, too. That's what little brothers do, right? haha!

And he had such a hard time keeping his hands off her sweet, little cheeks!

He put on quite the show!

Hey, Baby, did you see that? =)

I hope these two grow to become the best of friends. I just know they are going to have so much fun together!

Who Dey!

All of my brothers are big Steelers fans and a couple of my cousins are Bengals fans, so when we found out the Steelers were playing the Bengals here, all we could think was it was a perfect excuse to get everyone together for some FUN!! It was such a great night. Chris has been to a couple Bengals games, but it was my first one. I was so excited! Plus, I just love it when lots of family gets together. Chad and April came up Sunday night, as well as my parents (who quickly volunteered to watch all the kids- love them!), so while I was working, Chris and the kiddos got in some good family time. On Monday, Jared and Katie traveled up and we headed out early to tailgate. What a blast! My cheeks were hurting from all the laughing!

I was cracking up here- sacrificing the Steelers jersey. And surprisingly enough, it was not my husband's idea. ha!

We met Jeff, Gary, and April at the stadium. It was so good to see them!

Our seats were pretty good, too!

Jared found this Bengals claw on the ground. It quickly became a good source of entertainment for all of us! Doesn't take much!

All the guys...

Jared proudly waving the terrible towel. It was a nail-biter there for a minutes when the Bengals started rallying back. I have to say I'm kind of glad the Steelers pulled it off though. Otherwise, Jared wouldn't have talked to anyone for the rest of the trip! ha!

Thanks for coming up, Everyone!! It was so much fun! I can't wait to do it again!

Big shoes to fill

Cade wants to be just like his big sister, right down to her shoes!! He was so proud to put them on all by himself and kept saying, "See? I did it!" Such a little cutie!

"Nowa-tember"

"Hey, Mom, did you know it's not even Sept-ober anymore? Miss Kelly said it's already Nowa-tember! It's almost Thanksgiving! I just can't believe it! Do you hear that, Cade? It's Nowa-tember!"

It's not so awful, is it, that I absolutely cannot bring myself to correct her? =)

Trick or Treat!!

Happy Halloween! Last night was trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. We had a ball and these kiddos sure raked in the candy! Have you ever seen a prettier Supergirl?!
Or cuter Superboy, for that matter??

Ella's friend, Kylie, came over to trick-or-treat with us. Little did we know she was going to be Supergirl, too!! How fun!

After some chili, mac 'n cheese, caramel apple dip, and Halloween cupcakes (!), our tummies were warm and full and we were ready to head out! We left the men at home with the important job of passing out candy. They were close to the TV and football games, so they didn't mind a bit! Here's the ladies and kiddos all ready to go...

Trick or treat!

It didn't take very long for this little man to figure out the program.

He would walk right up to a door, yell out a little something, give a big smile, and rake in the candy! I couldn't resist him either! =) He made me so proud, too, because he told every single person thank you without me telling him once. Just precious. And I loved his little cape! Every time he took a tumble, his cape would fly out behind him, like he was a real superhero flying through the air. We were cracking up! Ella was such a good big sister, too, making sure Cade was taken care of at every stop...

We couldn't wait to stop by home to show Daddy our candy!

Then we headed right back out on the candy trail. Having fun, Supergirl?

These little girls are crazy for CANDY!

Me and my handsome little boy. By this point, we were slowing down and his bucket was getting heavy. It was hitting the ground with every step! Every time I asked him if he wanted me to carry it, he adamantly said, "NO!" haha!

We made it home and dug in right away! We couldn't wait to check out the loot!

It was such a great night! I hope all of you had a fun and safe Halloween, too!! Much love to you all!