3 years old

This cute little chunk turned 3!

I can't believe that our baby is now 3. Of course, we still have diapers, one bottle and the crib is still in use, but he is 3. We're hoping by kindergarten -

He LOVED his fish cake. Maren watches Cake Boss and the Next Great Baker, so obvioulsly she was in charge. A double layer semi-homemade vanilla cake with buttercream frosting in the middle and decorated like a pro.

And oh, the presents. His truck books,

this garbage truck was the HIT of the day (seriously, he tried to sleep with it),

and a big boy bike to keep up with the girls! We went to the store last week and I was just curious to see if he could do it. Up and down the aisles... so yes, he's a very talented 3 year old!

We love you little man! We are so happy that you are a part of our family! He definitely keeps life busy (more on that in a later post), but couldn't imagine our home without him. Happy Birthday Eli! We love you!

winter fun

Our Christmas break turned into 3 weeks due to an unexpected flood in our school. It was long. So with Christmas come and gone, all the neighborhood kids gone back to school and the temperatures were a bit cold, we definitely had cabin fever! But the kids decided to brave the frigid weather and try out some sledding. It looks quite lovely though... I believe it was in the teens this day!

Davis was a great big brother (as always) and escorted Eli down the hill several times.

Natalie is a pro -

And Millie thought it was funny to try it backwards -

And when you're done outside because sometimes it's just too cold, we do puzzles. And it always puts a smile on my face to see this -

just helping each other nicely and even some laughing. I love all their smiles and giggling faces. That makes me happy.

Now that she's 6 years old and after trying so hard all summer to get her to ride her bike with her training wheels, Millie decides in the dead of winter that she wants to ride her bike without training wheels! It took her all about 3 minutes to get the hang of it. Now we can't get her off!

And Eli just scoots around trying to keep up with her. He does a good job.

I love that our kids can have just as much fun outside in the winter as they do in the summer. A little less time, but they're not afraid of bundling up and enjoying the sunshine. Outside play is so good for kids. We even had to pull Millie in the other day to put her shoes on! Silly girl.