Santa Claire

Santa Claire came to visit our house today. She was all dolled up in red and ready to take requests for Christmas presents. Gabe didn't want to tell her what he wanted though since he was too busy trying to steal her hat. She kept motioning him to come sit on her lap but he would just grab her hat and run away.

Finishing the tree

We finally had time to finish decorating the Christmas tree tonight. Claire sat on the couch patiently waiting for us to finish.

While Gabe hung ornaments like a pro.

And here's the finished product!

Snow!

Gabriel went out in the snow today for the first time this year. We tried taking him out in the snow last year and he didn't like it but this time he was mad we had to go inside for lunch.

His favorite activity was making snowballs to throw at Mom. (Thanks for teaching him that Daddy!)

He wasn't so sure about making snow angels but once he saw Mom do one he wanted to join in the fun.

We built a snowman but it didn't really turn out too well. The snow was melting so we did the best we could.

Bouncing

4 months

Claire is now four months old. It is hard to believe how much change she has brought to our lives. At her doctor's appointment, she was 12 pounds 11 ounces (such a little peanut compared to her brother who was 15 pounds 3 ounces at 4 months) and 25 inches long. Gabe is still a little jealous of her, asking frequently to put "Claire down" or "Claire bed" but she just adores her big brother. They play games together like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" (Gabe's version is actually more like "Head, Dooders, Mees, Toes") and Gabe likes to make her kick her legs so she laughs. Life with Claire is getting to be so much fun.

Christmas tree

Putting up the Christmas tree has turned into quite a long project. It has been hard this past week to find a time when all of us are home to decorate the tree as a family. We started on Friday by building the tree. Perhaps we will put ornaments on this weekend. We will keep you updated on our progress.

Gabe was Daddy's little helper. He sorted the branches (with Mom's help) into piles for each tier of the tree.

Gabriel loves to read

This picture was taken 3-4 months ago. We thought it was so funny that Gabe was sitting in the laundry basket reading his books.

These pictures were taken today when Gabriel was in the basement reading. I guess he likes to sit inside of something to read his books. It's funny that he was wearing the same pajamas and reading the same set of alphabet books.

Three months old

Claire is 3 months old today. She is getting pretty good at sitting with just a little support and she is doing well with sleeping through the night.

The above two pictures show Claire watching Dora and Diego on Nickelodeon today. She will lie in her Boppy and watch TV for 10 minutes at a time so Mom can do housework.

More fun with Grandma and Matt

Grandma Anderson and Uncle Matt came to visit for the weekend and had lots of fun with the kids.

Claire is not sure what to think of Uncle Matt but it sure was nice to have an extra pair of hands to hold her over the weekend.

Grandma missed the memo that Mom was TRYING to stay out of the picture and kept getting shots of Mom shying away from the kids. I guess she was just trying to catch her daughter in the photos as well.

We worked really hard to catch Claire's smile on camera but it finally worked.

Mom's last day off work

Since Mom went back to work on Tuesday, we tried to have as much fun as possible the last day she was home.

Claire hung out on the couch while Gabe watched an Elmo movie.

Claire spent a little time in her swing while Mom was fixing lunch.

Enjoying the nice weather


Claire has officially found her thumb and thinks it's great!

Gabe was trying to write his alphabet but sidewalk chalk isn't the best choice for forming letters.

Gabe mowed the lawn one last time before it gets cold.

Underwater Adventures

While Grandma and Uncle Matt were visiting, we decided to use up some tickets we had for Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America. Gabriel was so excited to see the fish.

That shark swam right over us.

Sometimes when an aquatic animal would get too close to the glass Gabe would cringe like this.

Look what we got in our treasure chest!

Halloween

We all dressed up for Halloween and went trick or treating. Claire only made it as far as the house across the street before I left her at home with Grandma.

Daddy had the idea that we should all be superheroes so Batman, Batgirl, Superman, and Supergirl were patrolling the streets this Halloween.

What a handsome superhero!


Uncle Matt came along dressed as Sylvester the Cat but he felt a little out of place amongst the rest of the superheroes.

Pumpkin carving

We carved our pumpkins last night. Gabriel had a lot of fun taking the seeds and putting them in the bowl while Mom and Daddy cleaned out the pumpkins and carved them.

Look at the seed stuck to his chest!