Brother and Sister

Trying to get a good picture of them paired up in their "I'm The Little Sister" and "World's Best Brother" shirts one day before school....this is the best I could get (this being 2 of about 25 shots)

The First Snow

The weekend before Thanksgiving brought our first snow. Conor went outside to play in it, but didn't last more than 5 or 10 minutes before he got too cold. Grandpa was doing some yardwork out there, but no one else went out to play with him so I can't blame him. Riley had just woken from a nap, but as soon as she saw him, she wanted to go out too. So as I got all her snow gear (and mine) ready to take her out, Conor came in and said he was done. Go figure. He had fun for a short while catching snowflakes on his tongue and making snow angels. The snow melted within a few days, but was pretty and got us excited for the holidays.

Wisconsin Dells

On Veterans Day Weekend, we traveled for our first weekend away since moving to MN. We met the Clark's and the Torio's, our dear friends left behind in IL, at our new halfway meeting point, the ever-exciting waterpark capital of the world--Wisconsin Dells. We arrived late in the evening on Friday and the kids stayed up late to play with Madelyn and Noah, then got up early for breakfast and a day full of waterslides and splashing fun. Owen arrived the following day and the kids were all back together again. They had a blast together. Saturday night we ordered pizza in the room and baked cookies for dessert. The time together was too short, and us girls didn't get our ice cream or much time for girl talk (we all fell asleep early...Jessica had a cold, and Kristine and I will blame it on waking up early with the kids, but honestly, maybe we're just old and boring). We headed back for more water fun Sunday morning before we left...and vowed that we just may have to make this a tradition!

As we were getting ready to leave, Conor told Madelyn, "I really miss you Madelyn" as he gave her a hug and laid his head on her chest. So sweet!

Future runner? Future model? Future goofball...

When we signed up for the Turkey Trot 5K, we got our free shirts in the mail and Conor wanted to try it on....then ran around silly with the arms flying at his sides. Not sure if he is preparing to be a runner, a fashion model, or just the class clown.

Sibling Love

Happy to have a brother-sister pair who love each other, wrestle together, play together, laugh together, smile together (and cheer for the Huskies together...can you tell it was game day?)

Playing Guitar

Since Grandpa plays bass guitar at church, the kids always want to go see him and try some of the other instruments after mass..the bongos and tambourine are usually the top requests. Often, they also want to practice on his guitar once we get home too. They both seem to really enjoy music.

Fun places to play

Grandpa was doing a little working in the crawlspace--where most of our stuff is stored--and the kids wanted to help. There are two entrances to the space, one full-size doorway under the stairs, and a second smaller (perfect kid-size) doorway from our bedroom. This is where they chose to enter and sit. And when Grandpa left the room, they took over using his tools as well!

From inside the crawlspace looking out
From outside looking in

Riley's First Swimming Lessons

In November, the kids started back up in swimming lessons. Well, actually this was Riley's first time in swimming lessons, because those parent-kid classes always fill up so quick. Adam went with her the first time, but I had to go watch and take pictures, of course. She loves the water, just like her brother.

Ready to startPracticing climbing out of the poolBlowing bubbles. Good job Riley.Good job, DaddyHaving fun

The Elephant

Not sure if I should be posting this but it is just too funny not to. We had seen a clip of LMFAO performing their song "Sexy and I Know It" on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. My dad had recorded it and showed it to us the next day. The kids loved the beat of the song and were dancing along, but I didn't realize how much they were really paying attention to the TV. If you've never seen the clip or their music video (I can't find any links to post on here because of copyrights with YouTube and stuff), one of the guys rips off his pants and has these red speedo-type underwear with a long elephant trunk coming off the front. It is so cheesy and unexpected that it's quite hilarious. I did notice Conor pause and look, but didn't say anything and just went back to dancing, so I thought nothing of it. Until...a couple days later, I had my stethoscope out to listen to Riley's lungs and Conor likes to play with it. After he got tired of listening to hearts, I saw him wrap the stethoscope between his legs from front to back and move his hips like he was dancing. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "it's an elephant!" I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

And more laughs....

For show-and-tell at school one day, Conor had to bring a stuffed animal. He chose a soft plush cheetah, so on the way there, I asked him if he had chosen a name for the cheetah. He paused only a second before deciding to name him Conor. When I asked him why he chose that name he said, "Because Conor is the greatest...name...EVER!"

Halloween

The end of October found Riley very sick. I suppose all those new germs from her new friends got to her. I got called home from work because she had a fever (luckily, my boss was extremely understanding despite it being only my third week of work and the first week I had privileges to assist in the OR and I got called out on a surgery afternoon). And luckily, my dad had the next day off work already so she was able to stay home with him. She was extremely sleepy and clingy so we just kept an eye on her that day, but when we started to notice her wheezing and working really hard to breathe and the fever wasn't going down with meds, I took her to urgent care, because of course, it was Friday night. She ended up on steroids, antibiotics and nebulizer treatments. We had to a make a second trip to urgent care on Saturday to make sure her oxygen saturation increased from the 92% it had been (it did go up). So by Monday night the 31st, she was feeling better but not great.

We managed to still have a great Halloween, the first time we were able to be with extended family for Halloween. It worked out great. After work/school, we came home for some Jack-o-Lantern pizza. Andy, Leah and Carmen came over to join us. Then we headed out to Eden Prairie Mall where they had indoor trick-or-treating. We just made a loop around the mall and most of the stores had someone at the door to pass out treats. They even had a band. Conor and Carmen had a blast, but Riley was really tired and worn out. She mostly wanted to ride in the stroller, didn't want to say trick or treat, and wouldn't let us take her pacifier. However, if you tried to take her candy bucket, she pulled back and sternly said no.
We came home and stopped by a few of the neighbors we know, then headed in for bed. Trick or treating here occurs more in the evening as opposed to the afternoon like it was in Illinois.

Captain America and PigletThe little monkey
Three cousinsShowing off their loot the next day
Still feeling a little tired, but loving the candy