Christmas Tree Hunt

This Saturday we did our annual Christmas tree hunt with Grandpa and Grandma Jernstadt.  We loaded our car with snow pants, boots, hats, mittens and anything else warm and headed to Grand Haven.  The kids had fun running around in the snow (Mia had trouble actually running with her many layers) and we ended up picking out a perfect tree for Grandpa and Grandma's house.  Grandma also made a great lunch for everyone afterward. 

Once Mia discovered she could eat the snow, she wouldn't put it down.

Thanks for the fun day Grandpa and Grandma!!

We Are Thankful

We are thankful for so many things, it's hard to even begin to list them.  Wonderful kids, family, friends, good health, just to name a few.  We had a fun Thanksgiving at Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy's house this year.  We ate way too much and the kids got to play with Max all day.  We arrived home that evening to a house without power (which thankfully was short lived) so that made us extra thankful for power company employees who work on holidays.  

Here are a few shots from the day...apparently I was too busy eating to take more than a few pictures.  I wish I had more of the whole crew!

The kids were thankful for Mark's extensive video game collection!

We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and are as lucky and thankful as we are!

Halloween Fun

We kicked off our Halloween on Saturday morning with the Costume Kids Run in Alger Heights.  Some of our friends also ran in the adjoining adult 5K so we were able to see them finish before Carter started his run.  (And no, as easy as a 5K probably is, Dave and I did not feel inclined to enter it).  The kids run was one lap around a soccer field, costumes encouraged.  Our fierce boxer was up for the challenge and loved running with the other kids.  Our little strawberry, Mia, was only able to help us cheer Carter on since the race was for ages 3 and up.  I seriously think she could have outrun most of the kids though.

Here is Carter getting prepared for his run.  He was so proud to wear his #1 number on his chest.

Lining up at the start line!

He cracked up every time he saw us on the side lines.

Down the home stretch!

Holding up his awesome ribbon.

A celebratory squeeze from Mia.

Later that afternoon we headed to the Burke's house for some trick-or-treating.  The kids enjoyed hanging out with Tyler, Drew, and Kayley (aka:  Harry Potter, Mr. Magician, and Bat Girl). 

We trick-or-treated around their neighborhood until the kids got cold and tired.  Mia did a good job with her first real Halloween of walking up to houses, she even tried saying trick-or-treat a few times.

A few more pictures of the kids in costume, notice Carter's menacing black eye.

Last but not least, here are a few pictures from about a week before Halloween when Dave and Carter carved pumpkins.  Carter wanted a happy, funny face and Mia wanted Elmo.  I think they did a great job!  (Apparently carving pumpkins is a shirts-optional kind of job).

Pumpkin Picking

We took the kids out to nearby a farm today to look for pumpkins.  We're lucky because there are quite a few farms and pumpkin patches to choose from around our house.  Each year we seem to end up at a new place.  

The farm we chose this year had lots of neat animals to look at, as well as plenty of pumpkins and a quaint grocery store in their barn where we got some popcorn and apple cider. 

We got to see chickens, peacocks, turkeys, geese, sheep, goats, some huge bunnies, and a cute little pony.  Mia loved seeing the animals, we practice their barnyard sounds daily it seems.  She "baa-d" and "clucked" right along with them.  We were even able to coax Mia into feeding the pony.  Carter wasn't quite as thrilled to walk around the farm, he complained that the animals were too smelly.  I guess we can rule out farmer as his future profession.

We got some great pumpkins and the kids can't wait to carve them next weekend.  It will be a great project for them while Mommy is out of town on her girls' weekend in Washington DC!

Split House

The annual Michigan State vs. University of Michigan football game was played last weekend.  Carter is a true Spartan like me, and Dave, clutching to anyone who will share his love for the Wolverines, claimed Mia as his maize and blue sidekick.  Since she can't tell us her real feelings (she will repeat "go green" or "go blue" on command) I allowed Mia to wear some U of M gear to give her daddy some much needed support.

The blue fans were definitely blue after the game.  The Spartans kicked the Wolverines all over "the big house" (it wasn't even close).   Carter and I were loving every green minute of the game, even more so since our house was FULL of die-hard Wolverine fans.

The winning streak continues (three years in a row, but who's counting?)!

As my little green counterpart would say, GOOOOOOO GREEN!!!

Preschool

Carter started preschool on September 10th and we're ecstatic to report that he is loving it! He has classes three mornings a week, M-W-F, for 2.5 hours. On Wednesdays he will be going straight from his preschool class to the Kinder Care Program (right next to his preschool room) for an afternoon of group activities, lunch, and of course, more playing. He stays here until we pick him up after work. It’s basically a daycare service provided by the school system. This is perfect for our work schedules (Dave is home on Monday and able to shuttle him around, I’m home on Friday and able to do the same, so Wednesday is our only day we cannot pick him up after class). I think this is perfect preparation for when he starts going to school all day.

Here is a shot of his school (when did Elementary Schools become so gigantic?)

He has already made a few friends and loves his teacher, Mrs. Bailey. He tells us a lot about the stories they read and play time on the playground, these seem to be his favorite activities so far. He also loves the full day with the Kinder Care Program. The program director has them doing all sorts of neat activities and he has an opportunity to interact with kids from his age up through 5th grade.

One thing we were leery of was lunch time on Wednesdays. If you've ever shared a meal with Carter, you know he is not the quickest or most eager eater. Lots of prodding and encouraging by Mom and Dad.  We figured lunch with other kids in this new environment would be incredibly distracting and cause less eating than normal. We were right! They usually send home his entire sandwich and other items. I guess he's too busy to eat.

We’re so proud of Carter, he has adapted so well and seems to really enjoy school. And we love all the cool new art work we get every day.  Our fridge has never looked so vibrant!