'Tis the Season!

A local outdoor shopping center had their annual Christmas tree lighting last Friday. I'd never been before, but heard it was fun. Mark met up with us after work just in time for the parade! The kids especially loved seeing the horses (with carriages) and Santa.

Next, we headed down to the square to watch the tree lighting.

After the tree lighting came fireworks - Ava was pretty excited!

And last, it started to snow!!

We all had a blast... well, if you call sleeping through the whole thing having a blast.

Ava is FOUR!

Ava turned four this week! She ended up getting to pick out her birthday present when one of Mark's managers called off sick and he had to cover her shift Monday night. I'd had it all planned out to go Monday night because I had $10 Kohl's cash plus a 30% off coupon and that was the first day they overlapped, which of course was the day before her birthday. I knew she wanted something Little Mermaid and also knew Kohl's had a few options, but instead of me picking it out, she got to! It was the first outing I've taken with all 3 kids, and other than spilling my drink all over me in the car, there were no mishaps. On Tuesday, we took the kids to Build-a-Bear for the first time. Ava picked a pink unicorn (I'd hoped for something a little more subtle, but she is a 4-year-old girl) and Carter picked a pony, which surprised me given his love of dogs.

Audrey continues to eat, sleep and poop like a champ! She's usually up once a night between 2-3 (sometimes not until 4!!) and then is back down until 6 or 7. She has started smiling a lot over the past couple weeks. Of course, I LOVE it! Even though she gives them often, they aren't always easy to catch on camera.

We've been enjoying some beautiful fall weather the past couple weeks and have been going for walks and spending some time outside. The kids ask to go outside all the time - even when it's raining and cold, so I'm thankful we've had some nice days!





For more fall pics, you can go to this Facebook album.