Sillies, smooches and teacher workdays

Cole disappeared for 10 seconds in Target and reappeared as this. Oh Target Halloween costumes, you never fail us.


Lilah found this Olaf bucket, shrieked, "SUMMER!!", and took off like a bat out of hell around the store. It's true love.


Fin had a teacher workday Thursday and I looooved pal-ing around town with my three amigos for the day. We played at a playground, met Nanny for lunch, and enjoyed being lazy in our Jammie's.





Wagon rides are her love language.


True loves kiss


Nothing makes me feel like a good mom more then letting them do art projects. THe mess never equals the amount of time spent.


I found Lilah laying on my bathroom floor, rolling around with my open shampoo bottle, singing, "everybody dance now". She's special that one...

Coleys birthday

Pat and I got to sneak away for a little date night at a wedding in September. Beautiful wedding and such a sweet time together.


Whyyyyy do they love morning so. Whyyyyy.





Then this bear decided to turn 4.


Cole has as much personality as you can pack into a 4 year old.


He has high highs and low lows. He expresses everything he is feeling. He will tackle anyone before they go out the door for a "kiss and hug" regardless of how well he knows them. He believes he's a bear and talks fondly of his bear family at the zoo and how he wants to visit them soon. He asks to wear his "bear feet" when he's outside which means he wants to take off his shoes. He's allowed to have one roar every morning when he wakes up and then no more roars for the rest of the day. He is still totally attached to his "blank blank" and can't go to sleep without it. He loves with his whole heart. His Sunday school teacher Ms. Lauren told me that he rubbed her cheek during Sunday School one more morning and looked up to tell her, "But, I wuv you Ms. Lauren". Whenever we leave Nanny's house, he immediately tears up and says how much he will miss Nanny and usually cries the first five minutes of our carride home. I hope he always has a tender heart like this. He's our little lover.


The day before his birthday we dressed up like pirates to get our free doughnuts from Krispy Kreme for pirate day.





It was Coley's year for party and he chose to have a birthday party with my family at Mellow Mushroom. He loves his aunts and Nanny and Pops so much that it was all his favorite people on one room.











Uncle Will with his posse.











Aunt Sarah tracked down a bear bow tie per his request. SO funny. He was thrilled to death.








Pops and Nanny with their grandkids. Only a few more weeks until Charlie is added to the mix...

What our days look like now...

It felt SO weird in the beginning to rewind time and have just a three year old and 1 year old at home. It feels very sweet and slow paced now. I can focus more on Cole and his little likes and dislikes now that there isn't competition between him and Fin for talking time with me. Because boy do they both like to talk...


Carpool lines with Sonic drinks are a pretty regular thing. So is watching Frozen to kill time.


They moved Lilah up to the toddler room the same day Fin went to kindergarten. Because clearly they were trying to kill me.














Legos are his life.

Firsts

Fin went to Kindergarten. And I lived to tell about it. And he is thriving and so happy so all of those sleepless nights and tears (from me) were for naught.

First we got a babysitter and took him school shopping.


All ready for meet the teacher day.


Big boys.





I mean, they did this naturally walking into school. Stab me in the heart!!!


Everyone insisted on being in the first day of school picture. Come as a team, leave as a team.


SO grateful his best bud is in his class. Made it so much easier on my mama heart.





To throw a little more firsts into the mix...Cole had his first Dentist appt and Fin had his first cavity found :o) dang it...

Fin turns 6

It wasn't Fin's year for a party this year, but I'd say he had a pretty fabulous day anyways. We hit up the Lego store for the first time which pretty much made his and Cole's life.






We spent a good 40 min in the store trying to decide what to buy with this birthday money. 40 minutes....of chasing Lilah.


Nicole and baby Kate came to meet us and Kate was totally smitten with Fin and Cole, as per usual.








You know it's your birthday if Mama will play Candyland with you. Because Mama hates the board games, this I know.


Frosting sneaker.


Birthday candle fail.


We did a Stephenson birthday celebration the following week where we celebrated a bunch of family birthdays. Better known as Christmas in September.
Please note Lilah sneaking away with Cole's new ninja turtle pillow.


What Mom? I was just holding it.


Crazy fun Grandma cake.


Waiting to blow out candles.


Token adorbs Lilah pic.