The Christmas Tree

Ellie and I put the tree up on the weekend following Thanksgiving.  Matt had to work at Target, so it was up to Ellie, Tate, and I to get the job done.  Ellie was an excellent helper, pulling everything out of the tub and then making sure it was all over the first level of our house.  :)  We eventually got all the pieces on the tree.  She loves to plug it in and check out the lights (and shake all the presents under it). 

 Putting on the first ornament.

 Very excited to show off our pretty tree.  She was literally jumping with joy. 

Ta-Da!  

Ellie!

 Showing off her two towers of blocks.  She was so excited about these!

 Ellie has been a very busy girl; becoming a new big sister, going to preschool at Michelle's along with music class, going to gymnastics, and going outside to play in all the snow.  She's hit a pretty rebelious stage and just when Matt and I think we might have to ship her off, she goes and does the sweetest things.  We catch her giving Tate kisses on the forehead, or laying on the floor with Stevie cat, talking to him about her day.  She's growing up so quickly and we're trying to enjoy every minute of it, even the trying ones.  :)

 Smooshin' on Steve

 Have you seen a prouder big sister?

Love. Them. To. Pieces. :)

A Thanksgiving Guest :)

Our niece Krista came to spend a couple of days with us after Thanksgiving at my dad's.  Ellie was so excited to have someone to play with for a couple of days.  Krista was an awesome helper with Tate.  She really liked to hold him.  I snapped this picture right before she left us.  We were pretty sad to see her go and hope she can come play with us again soon!  

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a great Thanksgiving Day.  We got to spend it with lots of loved ones at Pete and Diane's house and at my Dad and Bonnie's house.  It's always such a nice time to get to visit with everyone; especially since we don't see many of Matt's cousins unless it's a Holiday. 

 Tate taking a snooze with Great Grandma McColley.

 Tate snuggling with Matt's Aunt Marcia.  The Haglund family were very excited to see both Tate and Ellie girl dressed in their Gopher gear.  :)

 Ellie and Grandma doing a puzzle together.  What actually was happening here was Ellie telling Grandma what to do.  It was hilarious!

 Ellie supervising Grandma Diane doing the Dora puzzle.  Ellie would point to a piece and then tell Diane where to put it. 

Denise and McKenna

 We also spent dinner with my Dad, Bonnie, Chad and his family, Denise and her family, and my step brother Scott.  Always a good time! 

My dad helping Ellie pick out some candy while Ellie's cousin Jordan braids her hair! 

Tate and the chair....

 I tried taking Ellie's pictures in the same chair each month, if possible.  If you look on the right hand side of the blog, you'll see her monthly pictures, some in the chair.  I'm going to *try* this with Tate as well.  Life with two kids is much more hectic and remember to take pictures on the exact day has already become a challenge and it's only been 2 months!  Hopefully we'll get our act together.  :)

 Not loving the chair AT. ALL.



Giant baby?!

This picture cracks me up.  Ellie looks so small under Tate!  She still loves holding him and asks everyday before going off to daycare.  Tate doesn't mind being held by Ellie either and usually doesn't start squirming until she lets him slip down. 

2 months old!

 Tate turned 2 months on the 17th of November.  Time is going by so quickly!  He is sleeping around 6-7 hours per night, usually waking up around 4-4:30 for a bottle, then going back down until 9ish.  This boy loves his sleep!  He went in for his 2 month check up, which I was dreading since I knew he would get some shots.  He weighed in at 13 lbs 6 oz, so he's up 4 lbs since birth!  He's also grown to 23 inches, up from his 21 at birth.  Our doctor said she had no concerns about his eating habits! 

 Tate is a very happy, smiley little guy.  He loves to "talk" and watch his big sister run around.  He still loves to snuggle, but hates to have a dirty diaper and insists on having it changed immediately.

 "Could I look any more like my daddy?!"



Tate's new friends

 Tate absolutely LOVES his mobiles.  We have one over his crib, one over the changing table (who's song I can hum in my sleep), and one over the pack-n-play downstairs.  He will lay and coo and smile at these for quite some time.  It's so cute to watch.  Here he is watching his bees very closely. 

I spy a fat cat trying to get in a picture :)

The amazing Ellie

 I took Tate upstairs to change yet another blowout, and when we came back downstairs, we only found half of the Ellie girl!  :)

Ellie and Daddy

 Ellie and I go to the library once a week for her to pick out new books.  Here she is reading a story with Daddy and Tate.  When we first started going to the library, she was only excited to play with their toys...she's now excited to look for new books and movies. 

 Ellie likes to climb all over her daddy.  It's a good thing he's such a good sport, especially on a rare Saturday morning that he didn't have to work!  :)  Don't mind Matt's super fluffy hair...not sure what happened there.  He kinda looks like Pauly D from Jersey Shore...he just needs a tan! 

JungleDaddy :)

Ellie's new bed and GYMNASTICS!

 Ellie traded for a smaller "princess" bed so that her and Tate's room wasn't so squishy.  Here she is showing off her bear and her new bed.

 Ellie sleeps in her own bed *almost* every night; occasionally Matt and I will find a certain snuggle bunny in the middle of our bed in the morning. 

 Ellie and Mommy.  Check out the purple beads, they go EVERWHERE with us. 

 Ellie girl has been going to a gymnastics class once a week.  She LOVES going, and we love how tired she is when she gets done.  Matt and I were looking for an outlet for all of this girl's energy...thank you Community Ed! 

All that tumbling makes a girl's lips a little dry :) 

Happy Halloween!

 Tate went as a super cute banana.  Here is he snoozing at the Halloween walk we attended with our neighbors. 

 So cute and so warm!  Both kids stayed nice and warm while Ellie was getting her candy. 

 Hanging out in the stroller.  We got so many compliments on both costumes. 

 Our little monkey and her giant banana. 

 She picked this costume out of a magazine a few months ago.  I would ask her what she wanted to dress up as, and she always replied "A monkey!" 

 I thought for sure when we were done trick or treating she would want to eat candy, but instead she wanted to go play in her room.  In her costume, of course.  I had to peeeeeeeeel it off of a very disgruntled Ellie girl.