At the Circus

The circus came to town this week, and we were able to take the kids yesterday. The twins were SO EXCITED for it! Will wanted to see the clowns, and Anna was hoping to see "a girl, who, you know, spins a baton."

Here we are, waiting for the show to start.

At intermission, Larkin walked the twins around the different areas. There was a spot to ride on a real elephant, pony rides, pet and feed the llamas, have your picture taken with different circus performers, etc. Larkin kept asking them if they wanted to do any of those things, and they kept saying, "No thanks!" Because they were so good about not needing or wanting anything, Larkin really wanted to do something special for them. So they came back to our seats with cotton candy!

We weren't supposed to take pictures during the performance, but I had to sneak some shots of the elephants. They were so cool!


In the end, we all had our favorite parts of the show.
Larkin - the motorcycle guys

Allyson - the elephants
Will - the motorcycle guys ("but not when the girl was in there")
Anna - the part when the clown's car was on fire

Josh - the nap he took on Larkin's lap during the second half

We had such a fun time at the circus!

Joshua Kisses!

Josh LOVES to give kisses. It is very sweet and loving, but you usually need a towel when he is finished. His kisses get a little slobbery.

He was especially fond of Mom tonight.

Anyone else want some "Joshua kisses"?

Remedy for Post-Immunization Fever

Josh had his four-month checkup yesterday, and he got some shots. The poor little guy has been fevered and a bit fussy today. Besides lots of kisses and cuddling, there is one new thing that made him feel better -

Bathtime.

Who knew taking a bath could be so funny?

Kinect for Christmas

Santa brought our family a Kinect for XBox this year. He also brought some dance games and sports games that we've had lots of fun playing together.

As was expected, Anna LOVES the dance games. We got Nickelodeon Dance, and Anna has a blast dancing with Dora the Explorer, the Backyardigans, and other characters from her shows.

Will doesn't get into the dancing games much (at all), but he loves playing sports. He has learned how to navigate through the menus already and has gotten really good at skiing and football.

Josh isn't playing with the Kinect quite yet, but he is growing FAST to ensure that he can play with it soon. We had his 4-month check up yesterday and found out his latest stats.

Height: 26 3/4" (95th percentile)
Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz (97th percentile)

So, yeah, Josh will be joining Will in his football games in about two weeks at this rate.

A Merry Christmas to All!

We love Christmas! Here is how we celebrated today:
Opening stockings

Enjoying our "fire in the fireplace"

Cinnamon rolls for breakfast

Thanking one another for gifts

Then we went to church, came home, and Skyped with all of our grandparents. That tired Josh right out.

Eating Christmas dinner

Decorating our rocketship and castle while watching The Forgotten Carols


Getting ready for bed with our new pajamas

And then Larkin played with Josh.


We had a wonderful, quiet Christmas! How was yours?

Using a Pacifier . . . Without the Pacifier

We know other babies do this too, but we think it is incredibly adorable/entertaining to watch Josh self-soothe using his imaginary pacifier. He is SUCH a cute kid!

Why Our Kids Are the Greatest

This is not a post to brag about how great we are as parents. If there is one thing parenthood has taught me and Larkin, it is that these kids came to us with their own personalities. We simply recognize that we have been entrusted with the three most amazing kids ever.

Recent examples of the kids' awesomeness:
1. Will and Larkin were breaking the wishbone from a chicken on Saturday. William grabbed his side, said "I wish our family can be together forever!", and YANKED that bone before Larkin could react. When he saw that he had won, sweet William started jumping up and down saying, "I won! We can be together forever!"

2. Anna was writing/coloring her letter to Santa last night. We heard Will say, "Your dollhouse is pink." I said, "Anna, you got a dollhouse last year. You don't need one this year." Anna replied, "I'm telling Santa thank you for my dollhouse!" All on her own, this thoughtful girl was using her letter to Santa as a thank you card.

3. Will couldn't decide what to ask Santa for this year. He came to me and Larkin and said, "He can just give me whatever he wants to give me, and I'll be happy with it." What other four-year-old is so easy-going when it comes to getting gifts from Santa?!

4. Joshua set his own sleep schedule at two months old that includes sleeping 8+ hours at night. He loves us so much! He also regales us with songs and giggles and smiles all the time.


Again, we have the three best kids ever. Ever.