Family Photo Time!

We had family pictures taken today. The kids looked adorable in their new outfits in front of our Christmas tree before we left for the studio.The portrait studio was VERY busy with all the families getting their Christmas photos taken, so we had to wait a bit longer than expected. Fortunately, the kids were very patient, especially after we promised a stop at Dunkin Donuts afterwards if they kept up the good behavior. Alex read his truck book while Elena played with stickers.
This silly photo from the session is my favorite right now. Elena could not figure out quite what to do with her hands (or her tongue for that matter).

More photos later...

The First Snow of the Season

The kids were very excited to wake up this morning to find it had snowed last night. Alex was eager to bundle up in the snow suit and ski jacket given to him by cousins Nicky, Andy and Matthew.

Elena brought her baby outside to play in the snow, before deciding she must be too cold without any clothes on.

Alex and Elena played outside together until it was time to come in for lunch.

Alex could have stayed outside all day!

Black Friday Shopping

It has been a long-standing family tradition to hit the day after Thanksgiving sales for bargains. However, having two kids and an out-of-town husband makes that a little tough, so I have stuck mostly with on-line shopping in recent years. But this year, I decided a bargain at Target was too good to pass up- a $200 digital camera on sale for $89. I desperately needed to replace my point and shoot camera, which has been trying to die for 2 months and finally quit working this week. And thus, Elena was introduced to the crazy madness of shoppers on a mission. We went with our Target ad in hand, made a bee-line for the electronics section past the shoppers waiting to checkout in lines 20+ deep, and grabbed one of the last Kodak 10.3 mega pixel cameras they had in stock. The nice man in electronics took pity on us (having an adorable toddler in a tutu is a trick I must remember in the future) and let us pay at his register. We were in and out of the store in under 7 minutes, in plenty of time to make my favorite 8:30AM yoga class at the gym across the street. What a successful introduction for my daughter to bargain shopping!When we got home, I gave Elena the old camera that hasn't worked in a week to play with and would you know it? It magically works again. She looked up at me and said "Look Mommy. I fix it!" She was very proud of herself. Perhaps she will become technician? Regardless, I am keeping my new camera.

A Special Fort

While Jeff was away with the Walker boys Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to build a special fort under the dining room table. Sleeping bags, Christmas lights, stuffed animals, books and 2 DVD players helped to make this the perfect place to play.

The kids spent a good part of the holiday weekend playing together in their fort.

Friday night they tried to camp out there, but weren't able to fall asleep. We will try again another time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The kids made some terrific artwork in honor of the occasion:

A Laminated Turkey Table RunnerTurkey Placemat and HeaddressA Watercolor Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

Putting up the Tree

Let the Christmas Season Begin!

Alex has asked every single morning since Halloween if we could decorate for Christmas today. We finally relented Sunday morning, and brought out the boxes of decorations. Jeff got to work putting the tree up, while I put up the Santa display in the picture window and decorated the kids rooms. Of course, the kids favorite part of the endeavor was playing in the big Christmas tree box.

Santa Elena Hiding with Alex

Alex Helping to Hide His Sister

Maybe we should just ask Santa a big box instead of toys this year?

Alex Celebrates 4 Years of Being a Walker

It is hard to believe four years have already passed since Alex joined the Walker family. And yet it is impossible to imagine life without him. We celebrated the happy occasion on Saturday with some special Colts football cupcakes (with extra frosting, of course) that Alex picked out. And we talked about what happened on this special day four years ago in Russia
.

We are so glad he is part of our family!

Humpty Dumpty Had A Great Fall

Elena has been learning the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" at school this week. Mrs. Zawadski believes in teaching to the kids in multiple formats. So, in addition to reading the story, they enacted it with the felt board, did art projects, and broke eggs on the ground. Elena was particularly interested in this exercise, and leaned in close to get a good look. She continued to watch over the egg until it was time to clean it up, even after most of the other children had moved on to other activities.
Later that day, the class decorated their own Humpty Dumpty eggs with construction paper pieces using glue sticks.

Autumn is Here!

Elena is fascinated by the changing colors of leaves this year. We have gone on nature walks to look at leaves, collected leaves, made art projects with leaves, and comment daily on the different color leaves we see on our drive. At school this week she was lifted up high in the branches while Mrs. Zawadski snapped this beautiful photo. It took a moment for her to trust being up that high, but once she gained confidence, she had a great time and even made some silly faces!

Jeff Reading to Elena's Class

Jeff was one of the first dads invited to read to Elena's preschool class. Jeff and Elena picked out a few favorite books together at home that morning, including "Click Clack Moo."Jeff made himself at home with the two year olds, and they responded to well to his reading style.
What a fun morning!

Michigan Girls

Grandma Liz and Her Bumble Bee

Cousins Isabelle and Sarah like to pretend that Elena is their doll to dress-up and carry around. They put her in about 20 costumes before deciding she should be a bumble bee for the rest of the day. All the pampering rubbed off- Elena put on lip gloss in this photo while Grandma Liz is giving her a quick hug.

The Girls In Grandma's Kitchen

Ellie, Molly, Isabelle and Elena lined up in Grandma Liz's kitchen for a photo before we left town on Sunday. Isabelle acts like a little mother towards her younger cousins. The girls all love spending time with her.

Dinner Time with the Girls

Dinner at Aunt Terry's house is always a bit crazy with 20+ family members in the kitchen eating at the same time. For this meal, Elena sat in between cousins Molly and Ellie. The girls encouraged her to "take a one more bite" and "eat just like Ellie" so they could get back to playing. The girls were much more successful in getting Elena to eat than we usually are!