November

nature scavenger hunt! we looked for a long time for the items on our walk. the kids ended up grabbing whatever they thought was neat so they could make a nature collage. (we never ended up making the collage we were so excited about)

too tired after the nature walk

rex wakes up early and hangs out with me in my bed to stay quiet. when did he get so long?!

bubble in his hair at gymnastics. he wanted me to take a picture

 we went to roro's and had dinner, then the kids stayed while grandma val and i went to aquafit. they took a bath and, of course, roro powdered their tushies! it's their favorite part.

trying out a new hairstyle

making brownies for grandma tappy and grandpa gary

malloy's minion

early morning exercising

 i never thought these two looked much alike until i saw these!!

roro's birthday card from malloy

daddy's birthday card from malloy

malloy decided she wanted to be my running partner one morning

 happy birthday, Roro!!! we love you to the moon and back and are so happy we're home to be able to celebrate with you!

 the kids LOVE when aunt amy and uncle tim come over to babysit while grandma val and i go to aqua fit! this particular night, they were being sneaky and were working on books for me for my birthday!!!! malloy was trying to be sneaky and she said "mommy, if i have marker on my hands, it's from the other night when we made daddy's hand." a few minutes later, rex said the exact same thing. then i knew something was up!!! they tried!!

silly faces

goofballs

 we went to an 80th birthday party for great grandma jean. malloy and rex got to meet my cousin danielle's kids, alex and emma. it didn't take very long for them to be running all around together!!! they had a great time and were sad to leave!!

malloy and alex passing out cake

watching aunt sue's peter and paul trick

watching aunt rose ann's herbie the worm

 rex has been having trouble with rules and lack of consistency lately. we made a chart one afternoon and it has really helped (when we stick to it). he'll repeat what he needs to do on the way home from school. "mom, when i get home i need to wash my hands and then eat lunch"

 happy birthday to bella!!! we celebrated with her at kampai. it was the kids' first hibachi experience and it was great to watch them. they loved eating all the yummy food with chopsticks and watching the hibachi show! such a fun night!

rex ate some frankenberry with chopsticks the next day

celebrating bella's birthday again with family

 love my happy boy. rex had a thanksgiving feast at school. he was so excited to have me there to celebrate with him.

Grandma Tappy passed away on November 21, 2014. It's been a very sad time but we are so so grateful that we made the decision to move back home when we did and could be here through everything. Being with family is what matters. The kids are trying to wrap their little minds around everything. They call Grandma their angel and they are absolutely right!! May she always be smiling down and watching over us.

Holding the roses representing each grandkid. (The white one is for bella's baby sister who we'll meet in february!) 

rex's curious george and man in the yellow hat

 we got snow!!! the kids were so excited to go outside and play!

 thanksgiving was very bittersweet this year. i only took one or two pictures and this is one! we had so many pies!!! yum!!! we had a few mishaps but pulled it off!!! i'm sure grandma tappy was giggling watching everything. she was definitely with us in spirit today.

 bella stayed overnight at grandpa gary's on thanksgiving. we went sledding at grandma val and grandpa don's the next day. first sledding of the year!

 daddy had to go back to buffalo for a few days. we decorated grandma val's tree and helped her decorate. then we went back to grandpa gary's for dinner, a bath, and a game, then back to grandma's to sleep! some day we'll have a house of our own!! it's nice to be with family, though.