Tis the Season

Once again too much time has past with too much going on so here is our mass update.

We went to the town tree lighting. Here is Quinnie and Mommy bundled up ready to go.

We aren't so impressed with our "tree" but B loves lights so he get excited every time we drive by. 

 Branson's new hat. Do you think he likes it?!

Branson loves helping out around the house. Josh was cleaning the bathroom and B was more than willing to help. 

Quinn turned 3 months old on the 2nd. Maybe one of these times I will put her picture up on the actual day. Quinnie continues to fit right into our family. Her sweet, mellow personality is the complete opposite of her brother. We love how they balance each other out and Josh likes to comment how all types of personalities will make us a great "team" (see what I mean about being thankful basketball is over, he was eating, sleeping and living basketball last month).

We have a very special lady in our lives and she has been spoiling us lately. Grandma Leslie has outfitted us for Christmas and she even came over to help us decorate. I will take a picture of our finished tree and put it up soon.

B loved playing in the boxes.

My poor daughter. She loves to watch Brother play and Branson loves to play on the bed. He carries all his trucks in to our room and can play for hours. I love that I can prop up Quinnie on the bed and she is entertained. However, far to often when I check on them I find something like this:

 He really does love his hat.

 I really wanted to take B to Leavenworth to see the lights, but I didn't want to face the crowds with a 2 year old an and infant. So, we decided to go on a Tuesday night after work. It worked out perfectly. We ate dinner at "South" and by the time we were finished most of the shops were closed which means the streets were almost empty. We wandered around main street looking at lights and popped in a few shops to warm up. We think we started a new Christmas tradition. Leavenworth without the crowd worked for us.

We went into Starbucks to get a coffee and B picked out a treat for himself. A few days later we went to Starbucks with Dave and Kathy and B walked right in and said "Pink Pop." Good thing we don't go there often since he picked up on the treat idea right away.

Last weekend Sean (one of the guys that Josh did his senior project with in college) got married. We made a whirlwind trip to The Dalles to help them celebrate. 

We are eagerly preparing for our upcoming trip to Nashville. I can't wait to see my sister and her "huge" belly and the cutest 1 year old around. We haven't all been together since Ben, Bethany and Charlie came out when Charlie was a few weeks old, so I guess I am a little excited to see the rest of my family too. I don't think Baby Girl is going to arrive to make my Christmas complete (but a girl can hope right?!), and it is already killing me that I am leaving my sister a week before my niece is born, so I am already checking out airfare so we can return to meet the little bundle soon.

Everyday Activities

Our lack of posts lately have not been because we have nothing to blog about. Maybe too much has been going on. Josh just finished his whirlwind basketball season.  Twenty games between his two teams in the past three weeks. That includes Thanksgiving break. Josh loves it and I am glad that he gets to make a difference in these kids lives, but I am so thankful it is wrapping up now. It is nice to have my husband back and for the kids to see their daddy.

With the cold weather and daddy gone, it has been my job to come up with indoor activities to keep the kids busy. Well...mostly my active 2 year old. So far we are doing pretty good.

Branson and I made applesauce with apples we got at the cider press. Note: I did make him put his clothes back on after he decided clothes were optional when cooking.

Remember my previous post where Uncle Bruce put B in the apple bins?! Well, this is what I turned around  to find!

Another surprise from my little helper. Can't help but smile.

Branson found a new place to play. The other day I took the clothes out of the dryer and he followed me in the laundry room. After a few minutes I realized he hadn't come out and I walked back in to find this.

As you can tell by the pajamas in the picture below we are on the go from the minute we wake up. One morning I gave him a bowl of beans to count and organize for me

Pretty soon we had every truck he owned and every pan out. And of course his pants off and beans everywhere!

Love the concentration in this picture

We made pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I have such a good helper.

He was a disaster. I was a mess. The kitchen was a  nightmare. We had so much fun.

We play lots of Play Doh

As you can see, we make quite the mess. I spend the majority of my time cleaning up messes from the activities that I have given my son to do. The days we have the most fun are the days that it looks like a tornado hit our home. I think my New Years resolution is going to be to enjoy the time with my kids, mess and all!

Coloring takes up lots of time. Here is the first family portrait that B drew of us. I love it how all kids draw people with just a head and legs. I also love that Quinnie actually got a face. Maybe he loves her after all!

Like I said it is mostly the 2 year old that I have to come up with ideas for. The baby is still pretty easy. She likes to sleep in her chair and is often not too far from all the commotion, but sound asleep. So, thankful that this sweet little one is a sleeper!

She is getting cheeks just like big brother. I love them!

She definitely does not sleep all the time. She is alert and we are loving her sweet personality. Here are a couple things that you would find Quinn doing if you stopped by our place.

Hanging out in the bumbo

Keeping entertained on her play mat

Last weekend was the Apple Cup. Huskies won. We enjoy the rivalry and like watching the game, but we might be the only people in the state with out loyalty to either school.  However, we do enjoy the apparel that rivalry between our families brings to our children. Here is Quinnie in a WSU onsie that Uncle Joel gave to Branson when he was her age.

A not so everyday event, but days I love, are days when Josh takes B to work with him. If Josh has to go on a parts run or make a quick trip to a job sight in a truck he tries to bring B along. Branson loves it, I love the break. Definitely a win/win.

As soon as Daddy pulls up in the truck, B is out the door. Of course he always has a truck in hand.

 Everytime daddy leaves the house B gets his sad face and says "Daddy. Back to work." He also likes telling random people that daddy is at work. The other day the UPS driver delivered a package and informed Branson that his son went to school with B's daddy. Branson informed him "Daddy. Back to work!"

Daddy and B "Back to work."

They sent me a text of a picture of them eating lunch on the job site. The job is at a house on Lake Chelan, they were sitting on the dock. It was beautiful. The water, the blue sky for a minute I was almost jealous. Then I decided to go back to the nap I was taking. Guess I wasn't that jealous!

Definitely not an everyday event, but one I am most excited about it the upcoming arrival of my cousins baby. Holly, Quinn and I made a trip to Woodinville to help shower the mama to be. We ended up going over the night before and got some fun time in a Uncle Steve and Auntie Lori's before the shower.

Meredith, Auntie Lori and Quinnie

Okay! There it is, a quick glimpse into the past few weeks. I hope you are happy people (and by people I mean Mom)! I am going to bed, it is way past my bedtime. Josh is gone playing guitar and the kids are sleeping. I better go to bed before someone decides to put me to work.

Cider Press

Last weekend we crashed Mom and Dad's party and joined them at Grandma's house and the cider press. We had a great time and have been enjoying all the apples and cider that we brought home.

Quinn and Great Grandma T

My kiddos with my grandma

B and his other papa. 

Uncle Bruce put Branson in the apple bin for some pictures, he wasn't sure at first, but soon warmed up to the idea and thought it was pretty fun.

I walked in to get some pictures of the cider pressing process and all I see is Josh standing there drinking a glass!

Quinnie and my mama

My favorite thing was getting to see lots of relatives.
Here with cousin Sera, Holly and Grandma.

Branson has an awesome pouty face. This face was seen frequently around the house a few months ago and he has pulled it out again. I can't help but smile every time he does it.

Lastly, a visit from Papa T would not be complete without teaching Branson something that he thinks is so cool, but gives his mama anxiety. My dad taught B to push Quinn around in the back of one of his truck!

Giving sister a ride. At least he is concentrating so he doesn't dump her.

Week in Review

In our last post I informed you all that B would not let me take  a picture of his shirt. This week I decided I needed to get a picture of him in his Big Brother shirt before he outgrows it. When I asked him if I could take a picture of him he ran and hopped in his stroller and posed for me. I LOVE HIM!

In attempt to get every bit out of our decent weather I decided to take the kids to the park one afternoon.

Quinn all bundled up watching brother play. I LOVE HER TOO!

 In attempt to keep warm and stay awake (I think we are officially done with naps) Brother was on the move even more than usual and these are the best pictures that I could get.

I keep hearing that snow is in the forecast and am not looking forward to coming up with indoor activities to keep the kids entertained through the winter. Any suggestions are welcome...

Also this week our little girl hit the two month mark.