Toothless Audrey

 In the beginning of December Audrey lost her first tooth!  Yep, that's even earlier than Carter.  Carter didn't lose a tooth until the beginning of kindergarten.  She was so excited to lose her first tooth!

She was thrilled to finally be able to use her tooth fairy pillow.  She wanted to put it under her pillow but we talked her into setting it on her night stand.  She woke up the next morning to find a dollar in it.  That dollar was her treasure all day. :)

UWM dance team alumni dance

 Early December I attended the first annual UWM Panther Dance Team Alumni reunion.  There was a great turn out for the first time around.  We performed at half time and it was a blast to dance with these women again.  This is a group shot of all the alumni that attended.  We learned the routine on our own time and had a 2 hour practice before the game to run formations and counts.  We are all thrilled with how the routine turned out.

 Amy is one of my besties.  We danced together, lived together and still get together every year.  So glad she came!  She's a life time friend thanks to the dance team.  We were missing Mel and hope she can make it next year.

 This was the first time Angela and I have danced together since high school!

 Nicole, Julie, Amy, Brooke and I

Just a few I danced with

 Chuck took some action shots

 The alumni and current team together

We took a group shot with the current team.  Chuck only got part of the group because he still had the zoom lens on.  I'll have to get this from one of the other girls.

St. Nick

 St. Nick came and filled the kids stockings.  Carter was thrilled to get the aquabot that was on his Christmas list!

 Evelyn didn't hesitate to dig in and see what she got

 Audrey loves lip gloss!  She got a new one and the flavor was sassyberry :)

 The Barbie movie she kept asking for

 Princess Ariel light up toy for Evelyn

That afternoon we picked Carter up from school early and hit the road to make the drive to Milwaukee for my UWM dance team reunion. 

Lemonade and Lollipops

 Audrey's class ended their L week with a lemonade and lollipop sale.  They had to use their math skills to add up our order and take the correct amount of money from us

 They did a really good job.  She was so proud she didn't spill pouring the lemonade.  It was so cute!

Then there's this little miss.  She's making less of a mess with her mac and cheese now that she's using a fork.  She's still a mess but it's not as bad.  Baby steps.

beginning to look like Christmas

 The weekend after Thanksgiving is when we go get our tree and put up decorations

 Since we weren't unpacking boxes this year we were able to take the time to add to our decorations.  We bought garland, a wreath and made bows for the banister

 We added a tree to the foyer

We also added lights outside but for whatever reason I didn't take a picture

The kids always do a great job decorating the tree.  We said we were going to go with a smaller tree this year but we ended up with another 9-10 ft tree :)  Maybe next year

Kid's Christmas party at the Club

 The Club had the kid's Christmas party the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  It's always a good time.  It starts with a wonderful brunch buffet followed by all sorts of activities.

 The kids decorated gingerbread men cookies

 Audrey always piles on the sprinkles

 The kiddos get a kick out of seeing Santa's reindeer.  They even get to pet them. 

 Even Evelyn pet one this year.  I just couldn't get a good picture of it.  I couldn't get around the elf to get a good one.

 The chefs made a giant gingerbread house for the kids to decorate

 This was right up my kid's alley

 We spent a lot of time here.  They didn't want to stop.

 Evelyn enjoyed being able to do this activity

 They didn't want to stop because they were worried it wouldn't get done :)

 We eventually got the kids to move on to the craft room

 Chuck helping Audrey trace her hands to make the antlers for the reindeer

They also made necklaces, bracelets and candy cane reindeer

 Our family picture with Santa

The kiddos with Santa

Ernie

 Ernie (our elf on the shelf) made his appearance Dec. 1st with this note from Santa.  The kids thought it was so cool that Santa sent a note for them this year! 

 Ernie also brought them Lego Advent calendars.  They were thrilled!  They really enjoyed seeing what they got to put together every morning.  I won't be surprised if they ask for them again next Christmas.

 We had a little bit more fun with Ernie this year.  In the past we would just move him around the house.  It was fun to get more creative and see the kid's reaction in the morning.  Here are a few pictures of the fun we had.

 Sasha didn't listen to the reminder.  While I was out running errands she did this.  Sassy girl!

 I think Chuck and I laughed the hardest with this one :)

 Audrey thought it was funny but Carter didn't.  I thought he would laugh at it but it kind of upset him.  He thought Ernie wrecked a nice picture and deserved a time out.  He lightened up a little when he saw it was a dry erase marker.

The kids like to slide down the steps so it was only appropriate for Ernie to sled down the banister.

Miss Independent

Naturally, Evelyn wants to do what her big brother and big sister do.  She also likes to do things for herself these days.  She managed to get the mobigo out, find a pair of headphones, plug them in and turn it on all by herself.  She's already learning to be an electronic junkie like the other two. 

 She also climbs on everything!  One of her favorite spots to climb is in the mudroom.  She has to be the one to turn the light on or off.

 So proud of herself

 We had our bottom step refinished so we couldn't step on it for 24 hours.  We had Carter and Audrey sleep on the air mattress in the great room.  Evelyn thought she could join the fun. 

 Pretending to be asleep

 Carter and Audrey like to make their own snacks.  Of course Evelyn had to be in the mix as well

Her other favorite thing to climb is her chair.  She's the first one to sit down when it time to eat :)