November

The month began with some quality time with Lucy as our day care was closed for a week for some renovations and transitions of management.  BJ and I split the time with her and I think that she would testify that going to Panera for a chocolate muffie while wearing your "ballerina" dress and snow boots (not shown) on a Wednesday morning beats day care any day!

Charlie's obsession with Star Wars continues, certainly helped by all of the commercials and merchandise hitting the stores.  He usually heads to bed with one of his Star Wars dudes, which will be the topic of conversation until he finally shuts his eyes.  Exhibits A and B.

A not so fun turn of events?  Allergy testing for Charlie.

We assumed that he had seasonal allergies but suspected that he might be allergic to some animals. The bad news is that he is allergic to horses and dogs, which is a bummer because we consider ourselves to be dog people and started to toy with the idea of getting a dog in the foreseeable future. The good news?  He isn't allergic to dust or mold so no need to feel guilty about my lack of dusting lately.  So armed with this knowledge we're still toying with the idea of getting a dog in the near future but we'll have to do some serious research before bringing any furry friend home.

A fun part about the month?  Charlie started basketball and he loves it.  We're still working on the concept of passing as he has no problem shooting the ball - every single time that he touches it.

Patiently waiting to take the court.

Trying to keep Lucy busy in the stands during practice and a game.  The stickers were a great idea until Lucy tried to share with another little girl who took "the sticker that I love the most."  Oh, the drama.

We bundled up and headed outside to enjoy our first snowfall of the year!

It was cold so the snow angel making festivities were pretty short lived.

And we finished with some time in Cascade to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Lately Lucy and I've been engaged in a power struggle over almost every thing, including her poses (or lack thereof) when I try to take a picture.  First, she's pretending to read a receipt that she found in my purse.

 Second, she's trying to rally Charlie for a rebellion.  I don't know exactly what she was yelling but it was something along the lines of "Tonight, we ride!".  In addition to Lucy's shenanigans, Charlie was sporting a band-aid on his chin to cover a fun little contagious infection - just in time for fun with the cousins.  He was very disappointed to learn that I left his Star Wars band-aids at home so I tried my best to write Star Wars phrases on the plain band-aids.

After I gave up on trying to get a picture of the two of them, Lucy proudly stood up and asked me to take her picture.  At least she's determined...

A quick family photo - you can tell that Charlie was thrilled to be asked to sit for another picture.  It's like abuse.

I failed to snap any pictures during our actual Thanksgiving festivities but trust me when I say that there was lot of food, cousin time and fun!

Charlie's birthday is on December 3rd so Thanksgiving is a great time to have some mini-celebration with family members.  He was thrilled to open his gift from Aunt Molly - a light saber that lights up and makes noises.  Game over!

On Friday morning we tried to snap a picture of Nana, Papa and the Supple grandchildren.  Five in number since Delilah Rose's arrival a few weeks ago - she is one sweet and beautiful baby!

Then we tried to get a cousins-only picture.  Milo wanted to escape, Charlie was obsessed with Delilah's hair and Lucy was pouting that she wasn't holding Delilah.  Thankfully Max and Delilah were cmopliant.

Mini-birthday celebration two with the Supple side!

An awesome U.S. map/puzzle and dominoes.  Mama might need to brush up on some geography lessons when Charlie isn't looking!

Mini-birthday celebration #3 with Grandma and Grandpa Gehl on Friday night.

Happy boy with a Star Wars toy!

The soon-to-be birthday boy with Grandma and Grandpa.

 As we look forward to the Christmas season we are grateful for our health and happiness!

Here's to December - Charlie's actual birthday, more basketball, BJ's birthday and Christmas.  I have a sugar high just typing those words!

October

The month began with my siblings and I surprising our parents with an anniversary dinner at the beginning of the month - 45 years is cause to celebrate!

The happy couple.

Charlie was proud to receive the Good Sportmanship medal one day following flag football.  Don't get me wrong, there were some highs and lows throughout the season (especially when he really wanted to tackle) but he ultimately enjoyed it and he and his coach (BJ) are still on speaking terms so we are a happy family.

Lucy is always happy with cupcake-themed clothing so she was thrilled when she finally grew into some cupcake pajamas from her cousins.

Halloween became a week's worth of celebrations between hayrides near our house (complete with face-painting and balloon animals for the kiddos), Night Eyes at the Zoo, pumpkin patch trips and costume parties.  With any luck, we'll be out of Halloween candy by the time the Easter Bunny hops into town.

Charlie had fall break for a few days so I took some time off and we had an awesome morning at Barnes and Noble.  Bookstores are my happy place (next to Target) so it was great to see that they too can happily "waste" a morning with their mom.

A photo with our friends from the Night Eyes at the Zoo event.  We decided to head to the zoo in the afternoon so we didn't really enjoy the "night" at the zoo but we had a great time nonetheless.  We both had Star Wars themes going so you'll see Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lucy as R2D2 (minus the adorable hat because she's Lucy and she has a mind of her own) and Charlie as Darth Vader (minus the mask because it's hard to eat candy with that darn mask).

And our family photo with me as Princess Leia and BJ as Obi-Wan Kenobi.  If my kids ever doubt my love for them, please show them this picture.  Much to Charlie's dismay, my Star Wars knowledge is extremely limited but the "kids" gave me this costume for my birthday in July.  Two can play that game so I promptly ordered BJ a costume.  I was extremely close to ordering a Chewbacca or Jabba the Hut costume but my frugal side got the best of me.  The wig was hot but the kids were thrilled with our themed costumes.

We're always thrilled to find references to Charlie Brown, which are really prevalent now with the new Peanuts movie.

The zoo had a host of activities - including many characters available for meet and greets.  If I were the animals I would be relieved that there were finally other "attractions" to get the attention of the screaming kids.

Princesses?!

The Justice League?!

The night of actual trick-or-treating and Lucy decided that she was done with R2D2 and instead went as a cowgirl.  She had pink glitter cowgirl boots from her 2nd birthday that fit perfectly, who could blame her?  Her only complaint?  How could I have failed as a mother to get her a lasso.  Even now, days later she shakes her head in disgust at my oversight.  The teen years should be a breeze.

 Here's to hoping that October treated you all very well!

September

Well, I don't know what happened but I had a newborn baby yesterday, I blinked and he started kindergarten in early September.

The obligatory First Day of School pictures.  A lot of them!

Standing outside his classroom - he seemed a little nervous but didn't hesitate at all going in and finding his seat.

 Seeing the two of them tell each other goodbye was when I became teary.  They were so used to be under the same roof and crossing paths today.  Even now, a month later, Charlie will report that he likes kindergarten but that he misses seeing Lucy.  And almost every morning Lucy asks if it's her turn to go to kindergarten.  I plan to remind them of how much they liked each other when they are older and frustrated with one another.

We had a fun Gehl family day back in Cascade over Labor Day, which was a great opportunity to wish Claire an early birthday.

 Showing some Hawkeye pride on the day before the Iowa-Iowa State game.  Yes, our kids have Iowa and Iowa State gear and if I get my act together they will also have some UNI gear this year.  We have a lot of love for the in-state schools here!

A traveling LegoLand came through Des Moines and it did not disappoint.  Seeing as how our kids love to have their pictures taken next to statues and are crazy about Legos, there were many requests for me to snap their pictures.

Charlie just wanted to lay in the sea of Legos and soak them all in.

 Meanwhile, Lucy was distraught that she didn't find any pink ones in the pile.  Toddler girl problems.

 Lucy was pleased to discover that her cowboy boots matched her jammies and was only slightly crazed when I explained that she couldn't wear that outfit to school the next day.

The month wouldn't have been complete without a trip to the science center.  Our annual membership has been a great thing - it's easy to head there for an hour or two on the weekends and burn off some extra energy.

 On this particular day, Charlie managed to catch a "fish"...something that has eluded him for far too long.

If you thought that she was proud of her cowboy boots, check out this get-up.  With Lucy, more is more.  In fact, she'll often suggest that I add more accessories when I'm getting dressed for work.  I can only imagine the suggestions she'll offer as she gets older.

We ended the month with our first family trip to an actual Iowa football game when the Hawkeyes played North Texas.  The weather was warm but between dancing to the band and enjoying some snacks, I would say that it was a success.  I-O-W-A!

 Finally, some days it's too hard to stay awake for books, particularly if you're snuggling in our bed.