Long Weekend

I love long weekends. It sort of feels like the days are extended, because you can get everything done and still have time to be lazy and just do whatever you want. It's a vacation at home which, when you think about it, is the best place to be.

Friday was a sort of recovery day from the busy holiday. I stayed home with the kids while Craig worked a half day in the morning. Then in the afternoon, Sophie and I went over to babysit Mya & Stella for a few hours while their mommy & daddy went househunting. I forgot to mention that Sophie's first tooth broke through on Thursday morning! This has been her signature face since then. (Sorry for the blurriness - she was in motion and I wasn't quick enough.)



Playing with cousin Mya (Stella was sleeping).

Sophie's climbing on everything. She climbed right into their bouncer seat by herself!


Saturday morning, we took the kids to Bass Pro Shop in hopes to enjoy some free Christmas activities and a picture with Santa. Well they had a nice set-up for the kids but when we got up to the picture line, the lady handed us a card and very kindly told us that we could come back at 3:00, sort of like a reservation. Um, no thank you. So we observed Santa from a distance and spent the rest of the time browsing the store and looking at all the animals. The lady also recommended we come back during the week when it's not so busy. Good tip - maybe we'll do that.


Some poor, random spectator probably didn't want to be in my picture - LOL.




We were trying to get him to make a scared face in front of the big bear but Craig was still in this one.


This one's cute.


Back at home:

"Over the pillows and through the furniture... to grandmother's house she goes!"
Sophie LOVES crawling through the coffee table... ALL THE TIME.



In the early evening, my mom and I took the kids to see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo. It was a perfect night for it. Not too cold and we got right in - no lines! I also purchased a membership this time as I hope to visit a lot more next year when Sophie's 1. It's a pretty good deal!










I really think Sophie liked it! She was pretty entranced with all the colors.

They even had the traditional lights show where the trees flash to the beat of Transiberian Orchestra music. Very cool. Will's favorite part, however, was not the lights. It was the aquarium. That's almost ALWAYS his favorite part. And I keep telling Craig we need to make plans next summer to visit an actual aquarium. Maybe a long weekend trip somewhere with friends.










Then when the kids were tucked in bed that night, Craig and I put up our Christmas tree. I was anxious to get it done, but then as we were working, I started to panic that this would be a magnet for our littlest explorer, Sophia. Surprisingly, however, she hasn't really touched it at all. She likes to look but has kept her distance thankfully.

Our tree is ancient... and sparse... but it looks pretty cute I think.

The stocking were hung by the... um... shelves with care...

And then Sunday morning, the kids woke up and I got the tree lit before I went to get them so they could see our new decor! Once when we went to sit on the couch to read a book, I said "And what are we not supposed to touch when we sit on the couch?" He said "don't touch the snack-ings". LOL

Sunday was a totally relaxed day. I literally stayed in my pj's ALL DAY. I showered at night and put my pj's right back on. LOL We hung out and rested up and ate good food.

Who's that baby climbing in the bookshelf... AGAIN?

Ha! It's Sophia! She's pulling up on everything these days. The couch, the bookshelf, toys, us...


Oh, and Will added a bunch more stickers to his potty training chart too! Good job Will!