Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas to everyone! It has been a wild day here as you can imagine! Jack first woke up at 3:00 am- I met him on the basement stairs and turned him right around! Then they were both up at 4:55 am- I could here them on the monitor! Tim intercepted them a few times and told them to go back to bed. They finally did go back to sleep around 6:00 and woke up at 7:15- a much better time! Excited doesn't even begin to descibe things. Andrew wasn't so sure about coming downstairs at first but followed Jack and Will's lead. Santa was very good to the boys! They got one big together gift- a new basketball hoop! It has been a day of playing by all and napping -at least by Andrew and I! We are going to grill some steaks soon and the boys should be exhausted! All in all it was a perfect day!

Santa came!

The boys are waiting anxiously to come down! (Jack and Will went to wake up Andrew!)

Andrew got a new camera- maybe he will leave his brother's alone now!

Cool Legos!

The boys both got new lightsabers which are a big hit!

A new hat!

Lots and lots of Star Wars....

Jack and the skateboard that he has wanted "for soooo long"!

Working together to open "the big one"!

Jack and Will were excited- Andrew walked away to find something more exciting!

I will put lots more pictures up on Snapfish by tomorrow. Hope that everyone had a great day!

The basement is done!!!

Our other exciting news from yesterday (it didn't seem right to post this on Will's b-day) is that the basement is done and right on schedule! It looks great and we couldn't be happier. Tim got the boys beds together for them last night and today we moved their clothes, toys, etc down. They love their new Tar Heel blue (yes it is the official blue) room! The other great news is that the rest of our house is finally back to normal now too. For those who saw it at any time during construction it was basically a disaster. Over the two months we basically consolidated the mess into the dining room and now that is back to normal too. We will be able to eat dinner there tonight- good thing because Matt, Beth, the kids, and Nate are coming over to celebrate Nate's birthday tonight! Here are some pics:

This is what we started with!

The boys in their new room!

A whole wall of closets!!!

A new bathroom.

With a shower!

The family room/play room (the chair and ottoman are already down there)

The nook where we are going to put the computer desk.

The stairs and utility closet.

I will post some new pictures once we get all of the furniture down!

Look who's Five!!!

Will turned five today!!! He is now a whole hand and could not be more excited about it! He had a great day and Tim was able to come home early which made it even better. He chose to go to Red Robin for dinner- his favorite! Just after we sat down they came to sing Happy Birthday to someone at a nearby table. When our waiter came back he proudly told him that today was his birthday too. As we finished our meal, Will asked why they weren't singing to him. Never fear.....about two minutes later here come about six servers singing and clapping their way to Will. He loved it but was embarrassed and slouched way down in this seat. It was great. I wish I had my camera! We came home for cake and presents. Will helped to decorate his cake and was very specific about what he wanted! The excitement doesn't end here though- tomorrow is Christmas Eve! One of these days things will settle down around here!

A rhino Webkinz from Jack. He has been named Rowdy!

A real science kit so he can maybe stop performing his own various experiments around the house!

He got two Star Wars vehicles....fun stuff!

Mario Kart for the Wii! With an extra steering wheel so the boys can play together!

A new game from Nana and PopPop!

Will's cake designed by him! There were soooo many candles!!

One happy guy!

It took about three blows to get all of those candles out!

A visit with Santa...

A few weeks ago we went to our friends Andrea and Eric's house for a visit with Santa. Andrea was our realtor and has become a great friend. Our boys love to play with her son Henry and she is expecting a little girl in February! The boys thought it was great to visit with Santa in a relaxed atmosphere. Andrew wasn't at all hesitant either! When Santa asked the boys if they had been good they all looked at me and smiled and then ran away! How convenient!

Thanksgiving...

Okay, so once again it has been pointed out to me that I haven't updated the blog in quite some time. It's not that we don't have anything going on! In fact, we have too much I guess!

We went to St. Louis for Thanksgiving to see everyone and meet little Johnny! The boys had lots of fun and it was good practice to see them with an infant! Thankfully, Johnny tolerated being passed around and having little boys all over him.

Thanksgiving morning we went to the zoo with Gmom and Gpop. Aunt Nicki, Uncle John, and Johnny met us there too. The boys of course had fun there! We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner that night with some extended family. All in all it was a great day!

Friday we went to the City Museum. It was such a cool place. Not your typical "museum". It had all of these artsy like tunnels and caves that the kids could climb in the slides that went every which way. There was an outside part as well with more climbing and slides. The boys absolutely loved it. Even Andrew did great climbing! Friday night Gmom and Gpop watched all four boys and Tim and I went out to dinner with Nicki, John and Nate. We went to Rigazzi's which is a super yummy Italian place. It was nice to get out for awhile without the kids!!

Saturday we visited with Johnny again and went to see some Christmas lights that night. Andrew is completely excited about everything Christmas. He doesn't remember anything from last year so each new thing is so exciting.

Sunday we drove back home. It was good to be home. Traveling while pregnant, especially 12 hours in a car, is hard. I'm glad that we were able to see everyone though and meet little Johnny!

Some baby girl pics!

I went for my 28 week check up yesterday and we had another ultrasound to check on the size of the baby. She was measuring big at my 24 week check up so they wanted to keep an eye on her size. She is measuring in the 58%ile so pretty average. They calculated her weight to be about 2 lbs 13 oz. Besides my iron being low (it happens every time...) everything looked great (passed the glucose test too!). It was confirmed for sure that it is a girl too! After seeing it twice I think that we really believe it now! We have a few new pictures to share below:

Looking at her face- can see her eyes,nose and mouth



Another picture of her face

A side profile with her arm up parallel to her face. The black on the upper right is her brain!

Besides baby news, the basement refinishing is coming along great. They started last Monday and have made great progress I think. It is all framed and the plumber, electrician, and hvac guys have all done their thing. Our contractor said that we should be ready for the first inspection tomorrow or Friday and then they can start the drywall. Hopefully it will be done ahead of schedule. I will send some pictures soon.

We just had a visit from my mom, aka Nana. She came for a few days to visit with the boys. Everyone had a great time and Tim and I actually got to go on a date night! The boys miss her but she will be back in January around baby time!

Happy Halloween!!!

We had a great Halloween here. Tim was able to take the day off which was wonderful. We went to the zoo in the morning which the boys loved. Tim doesn't get to go with us very often so the boys thought it was great. Will was so excited to show Daddy the mountain lion exhibit. Usually they are asleep on a rock but one was awake in the corner. It was really watching the boys, especially Andrew, and then it got into a pouncing position. When Andrew moved a little, it came pouncing right in front of us- right by Andrew. I have a tremendous fear of mountain lions. In Colorado, they are one of the big things that you always have to be aware of when hiking- especially with little kids. Now I know why....lovely! Just reinforcing what I already fear!!



Will with the mountain lion right behind him!

Andrew talking to the gorilla!

The boys carved pumpkins with Daddy in the afternoon and then got ready for some trick-or-treating. Jack was Annakin Skywalker, Will a Blue Power Ranger, Andrew a monkey, and Tim was Jack Sparrow. The big boys were of course excited and Andrew just followed their lead. He didn't want to eat dinner- just go trick-or-treating. They were out for almost two hours and got through most of the neighborhood. Tim brought the wagon for Andrew to try help him keep up with Jack and Will. They had a great time and ate too much candy when they got home!

Our little monkey.

Will, the blue power ranger!

Jack as Skywalker with the ever important lightsaber!

Last but not least our own Jack Sparrow!

The trick-or-treaters!

The whole gang!

The big boy bed....

Okay so it's been awhile. My wonderful brother just pointed out to me that it has been over a month- unheard of I know! We have just been in school/soccer/ cub scouts/re mode and busy, busy, busy. The weeks are flying by. Hard to believe that I am almost 26 weeks already- this baby will be here before I know it.

Will had his back to school night last Thursday. Very cute. They sing some of their songs and get to introduce their friends. Tim had not seen his classroom yet, so Will was very excited. I only have one picture because somehow the camera battery died right then (it never has to be charged!!!). Oh well.... one is better than none! He is sitting between his two Jack friends!



The other big news of the week is that Andrew now has a big boy bed!! We decided to get him a full instead of a twin so that when we have company they can sleep in his room! He slept in it for the first time on Monday night. He was very excited when everyone was in his room but as soon as we turned out the light he got very serious. He laid on his back and didn't move. I went to check on him after about 1/2 hr of no noise and he was still lying there still as could be wide awake! Poor little guy was nervous I guess. I just had him roll over on his tummy like he did in his crib and he was out in five minutes. He does a lot of talking about it but gets really serious when it is time to get in. He has done fine though for two nights and two naps!! He hasn't tried to escape his room either so that is good! We still have to rearrange his room and take the crib out. Because of where the heating vents are we are going to have to move dressers and what not. Maybe this weekend....

Helping Daddy get the railing ready!

Everyone is so excited.....
Ready for bed!

Other than that we are just very busy around here. We are starting the remodel on the basement in 12 days!!! Yeah!! I am very anxious to just get it started and get it done. We'll send some pictures once there is progress!


One other bit of happy news! Tim's sister Nicki and her husband John had their first baby- John Timothy Cooper- last Friday! We are so excited and can't wait to meet him. The boys are very excited to have a new cousin!