Pre-Thanksgiving

I don't even know where to begin with this post. We had such an amazing Thanksgiving with our family. Auntie Jen was a great host as always and the cousins had so much fun together. Chase was crying when we left... he was sobbing "va va, va va..." over and over. That is what he calls Ava and it has become one of her many nicknames. Here are some of my favorite snapshots from the week we spent together. More to come later, I have hundreds of photos to sift through...


Poor Chase had a tummy ache and could not join in the fun at Open Gym but Paige, Luke and Ava had so much fun, especially on the inflatible slide. They loved going down together.

Working on crafts. The kids colored and decorated fall leaves which were decorated with words of things they were thankful for. We placed the leaves on our table.

It snowed... a little bit. Nothing like the snow we missed in Seattle.

5 months!

Happy 5 Months, my little angel! She weighs exactly 15lbs.

My helper...

Luke and Ava love to help me in the kitchen... I love it!!

Christmas decoration of the day...

Since Luke and Ava are so into Christmas this year, I thought it would be fun if we take out a decoration a day... plus it gives them something new to play with everyday :) Today's decoration is Luke's favorite from last year. In fact, at least once a week for the past year, he asked me if he can take out the nutcrackers. So here they are playing away with the box of nutcrackers my parents gave us years ago :)

Binky Binky Boo

I think the Lass family has single-handedly kept Playtex in business for the amount of binky's we have gone through. There must be a binky thief who comes to our house and takes all of our binky's because I have no idea where they all go!!! It is the same thief who takes all of our socks!

We even have a Binky song that I will write down so I never forget... "Binky Binky Boo and a Binky Binky Bee, we love our Binky's as much as can be... Binky Binky Boo Binky Binky Bee." Ava loves this song as much as her Binky.

Mommy and Daddy Rewind

Doug has been emailing Steve these great photos of when they were little, so I thought I would add those and some more of our favorites. These make me feel old.

Best Buddies

The older they get, the closer they become. Luke hates it when Ava naps... he misses her so much, despite all of the physical fighting they do. I really think they enjoy fighting though and it is pretty funny to watch as long as Ava doesn't dig her teeth into Luke. It amazes me that they both know how to push each others buttons.

Poor Baby

Poor Sydney had her first fever this past Saturday... 101.8. Not too bad and it only lasted the day but now she is left with no voice :(

Christmas is coming

I have been playing Christmas music 24-7 for the past week and a half. It is rubbing off on the kiddos. Luke does not want any movies on in the van, he wants the TV closed and the Christmas music on. Today, when I had the radio going, he said he didn't like the song and it was because it wasn't a christmas song. Thank you Pandora and thank you Dean Martin for singing the best Christmas carols! We are blessed to see our family this year, under happy circumstances for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone is healthy and I can't ask for more than that. Celebrating life with family and friends is the best present there is. Thank you Jesus for the season!

Bubby and his catalogs

Luke loves toy catalogs! He brings them to bed at night with him, looks at them when he is on the potty and turns off the TV to look at them. Of course he points to just about everything in there and says "Luke wants that."

Museum of Flight

Today was Dillon's Birthday Party at the Boeing Museum of Flight. The kids had fun but poor Dillon got a bad boo boo :( Steve and I have always wanted to take the kids to this Museum but we had never got around to it. I can only imagine what a dream the place would be to a plane lover. I thought the place was awesome! It was a photographer's dream with the architecture and surface material of the planes and the lighting. If I didn't have Baby strapped to the front of me, I really could of got some cool shots. I think Uncle Doug really would like this Museum. I hate the flash so I did not use it and of course the kiddos are blurred in the most of the photos because they can not stand still, but they turned out pretty neat and definitely captured the day. Luke's favorite plane was the shark plane and Ava liked pretty much everything her brother did, of course. We got to go inside an old Air force one plane and the Concord... the fastest plane ever made but is now retired because of how expensive it was.

Stuck in a box!!!

and not happy about it!

Wine thirty for Ava...

Ava was so into drinking her glass of wine with us tonight, like she was an adult. Why is it that water tastes so much better when it comes from a wine glass?

oops, a spill

Baby Legs

I never want to forget how cute and chubby baby's legs are. I think it is the only time of life that fatter means better :)

Ava and Daddy

Before we had children, Steve and I would always talk about what gender we wanted. Of course, a healthy child, girl or boy, was at the top of our list. Being a huge sports and Illini fanatic, Steve always wanted some boys to pass down the tradition with and of course, watch games with. He never knew what he was in for with a girl until he had Ava. She loves her Daddy so much and has him wrapped around her little finger... they have such a special bond. Steve always says that "she melts him." And she does that to both of us. I love that she looks so much like Steve on top of all of that, and her sense of humor seems to be similar as well.

Doug recently scanned this picture in. Steve and I immediately saw Ava in Steve. This is not the first time, it is apparent in many photos. But this is cute so I thought I would share.

The Falls

We went to the Falls today and it was beautiful! We have been there about 5 or 6 times in the past 3 years and today was when of the best times because there was so much water. Luke was really disappointed we couldn't actually go down to the waterfall. Maybe someday when the kids are older we can hike down at the base. This was Ava and Sydney's first time to the falls. It was really misty from the observation deck so Ava was pulling up her hood.

Flirting ;)

She has been flirting with Steve and I all weekend. Tonight after her bath, she was laying in her bouncy seat while I washing the other kiddos and Stevo cleaned the house for the 50th time this weekend. I swear, it is impossible to keep a clean house. I could go on and on about that but I won't. So anyway, I snapped 10 pictures of her posing for me and I love them all but this is my favorite... she shrugged her shoulder at me. What 4 month old does that?

Ava and her buddies...

I love how many animals she sleeps with and loves. It is almost like she has it memorized who is in her crib with her because if one is hiding beneath the blanket, she asks for it. I didn't really think she kept track till I put her in bed tonight and she asked for "lovey." I didn't even know she called her lovey, lovey like I did.

Playing Outside

I am sad that Ava is not in any of these pictures. When she naps we usually head outside and then she wakes up and joins us. I don't bring my camera outside with me often because it prevents me from playing with them and watching them outside. I love how bright,colorful, and playful kid's are... their clothing, their expressions, their movements... full of tons of energy. I love Evelyn's tutu!!