Getting ready for Christmas & kids being adorable

In the second week of December, we decorated our tree.

Oliver helped.

So did Madeline.

When the tree was ready ...

... we read Christmas books.

That night, I cleaned off the shells we'd gathered that weekend.

Beginning the second weekend in December, when the holiday season began in earnest, the kiddos have been very high energy.

Sometimes, though, they take a break from being little blurs of activity and calmly and gently play together:

The holiday season brings with it special perks, too.  One night, Madeline got to stay up very late to watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Perhaps it's the impending new year that causes reflections like these, but sometimes lately Oliver has looked an awful lot like a big kid.

And maybe it's the extra energy surging through the house, but sometimes the kids are adorably weird together.

The Friday of the second week in December was a shanty sing night.  It was great fun as always.

Then on Saturday, while Summer tended to Petey at another vet appointment, Madeline helped me start making our annual mega-batch of Christmas cookies.

Oliver had not slept well Friday night, and therefore neither did the rest of us. Then he was sick on Saturday.  Between lack of sleep, a sick kid, and a rather dire cat-health-related situation, Saturday sapped a lot of energy from everyone (except Madeline, who's turbo-charged with holiday spirit).

To inject a bit of fun into the weekend, we visited the zoo on Sunday morning.

Oliver was very engaged, pointing out the different animals and naming the ones he could.  In particular, he loved repeating "giraffe"; ones he couldn't name were "animal."

Both kiddos loved petting the very friendly goats.

I believe this was the first visit where Oliver was able to join Madeline in riding on the zoo's well-worn dog statue.

Back at home, a now-very skinny Petey was seeming to recover fairly well from his issues and vet visit.

So we spent the rest of Sunday making lots more cookies.

Oliver's not the only one looking a lot like a big kid these days. Sometimes Madeline seems to be practically a teenager.

Now we're caught up through December 14.  Eventually I'll catch all the way up.

Thankful, vaccinations, letter & Christmas tree

Once again I am very late in posting.  Work has been busy, and evenings and weekends have been taken over by Christmas prep.

This post takes us all the way back to just after the last holiday; on Madeline's first day of school after Thanksgiving, she brought this home:

Awww.  We're thankful for Oliver too.

And for Maddie.

In the first week of December, Oliver had a belated 15-month checkup.  We dropped off Madeline then had a bit of time to kill before the appointment.  We spent it at a kid-friendly coffee shop near her school.  Oliver was impressed.

At the appointment, he proved to be big (no surprise) and healthy, and later he proudly displayed one of the three band-aids that covered his shots.

Madeline received some excitement in the form of a letter from Ilan.

She immediately prepared a response, and brought the letter in to school for show and tell.

That weekend, we got all bundled up ...

... and headed to Newport ...

... to gather seashells.

Then we crossed over to Tiverton to pick out a Christmas tree!

The kids enjoyed spotting stumps.

It didn't take too long to pick out our tree this year -- it was so cold and windy that none of the farm animals we usually visit were out in their pens.

We were happy to get ourselves and our tree back to the warmth of home.

End of November, part two (and back)

The festivities commenced.

The kiddos enjoyed Sparky, a dog visiting from Indiana.

Oliver socialized.

As did Madeline.

Thanksgiving dinner was great fun for the kids.

After dinner and some truly enjoyable professional football, Madeline and Oliver said their goodbye-and-goodnights.

The next day, they were raring to go again.

We had a Lockart celebration, where Madeline and cousin Hailey got to play together.

They got along splendidly.

Oliver enjoyed playing, eating, and giving high fives.

Later, at home, after naps and a visit from some of my old friends, Oliver relaxed with a book.

We set out Saturday morning for home, and after another surprisingly easy drive that's where we found ourselves.

Then on Sunday, Madeline had a birthday party to attend at the Roger Williams Park carousel.

The kids enjoyed themselves.

And back at home that night, Madeline slept with her beloved Petey curled up at her feet (a position he's been favoring lately).