Trip West

After looking back at 2010 we realized we didn't do much traveling due to the fact that I had a baby around this time last year and was not in any mood to be traveling.  Even though our recent adventure to California was at the end of 2010 (and recently, a trip to Orlando) I think I'm ready to stay home for a little bit!  Boy, was I dreading a trip in an airplane across the country with 5 little ones.  Who knew what to expect.  I am happy to report my children did wonderfully.  It was still a challenge nonetheless, but nothing any other parent doesn't have to deal with.  I wish I did a better job at taking photos during this trip, but with the amount of  luggage to carry, children to direct and rain to avoid, I only got a handful of shots.

What brought to us to California was my husband's first cousin's wedding.  Most of the Pattersons made it to California making this trip a very special event. 

We spent time together at the Calico Ghost Town in the San Bernardino county area.  What a fun place to be!

While we were there we were able to go on a train ride to see all the parts of this historical silver mining town.

This is pure delight written all over E's face!

There were a lot of friendly people there to tell us about the place.

He had some neat boots.

They had a unique way of decorating for Christmas - pretty good use of ice skates.

I thought this was cute. I want to buy a pair of boots now.

Before we left Calico Ghost Town, I had to grab my boys out of jail.

To be continued...

Catch Up

It's been a while.  I thought I would post a few things to catch up.

Guess what?   A has something to show you.

A's other top tooth came out.  Now she can ask Santa for her two buck teeth for Christmas.  This tooth came out on her own with no help from others.

It's been getting so cold outside.  I'd rather it be snowing than just plain cold.  E always darts out the door as soon as someone opens it.  He never complains about how cold it is, but I think this particular day was too cold for him.  You could see it in his face.

There were actually some flurries, but none of it stuck.  Colder weather means warm yummy drinks.  We received these cool mugs from my cousin and her husband  last Christmas.  I was so excited to pull them out of storage. 

Micky Mouse is a favorite in this house so these were a perfect gift!  Thanks Cuz!

I took the kids, by myself, to go get our Christmas tree.  We don't go anywhere special to get our tree.  We drive to our local Home Depot, we walk around the 6-8 ft. section, pick a tree from the pile, have the nice man saw off the trunk a bit, get the car and watch as the nice man ties it to our roof.  All done, it only took all of 15 minutes.  I look at the kids and tell them, "And that is how it's done!"  We drive home and Coach puts up the tree for the kids to decorate.

Growing up, I remember buying ornaments.  They were pretty and we used them every year till they fell apart.  Then I remember my mother having some homemade ornaments made which gave the tree a more fashioned look.  As an adult, receiving ornaments every year on St. Nick's day and then as gifts from family and friends for Christmas, I'm realizing the big deal about ornaments.  Some are homemade, some are bought, some are personalized, some are classy, some are funny.  I absolutely love taking out the ornaments and remembering when we got them, who gave them and the memories attached.  I still like the fashioned ornaments, but it is a must to have these family ornaments up.  My kids are appreciating it now at a young age, too.  If you see the Daisy Duck ornament in the picture, it was made by my husband as a child.  Cool!

Lastly, B has been moving all around the house these days.  I mentioned before her unique way of crawling.  She does not put her weight on her two knees.  She rather put one leg up and drag the other behind her.  It's so odd when you see her moving about, but so funny.

That's it for now.

Lost Tooth

A finally lost one of her top buck teeth.  It's been loose for a long time.  She started being excited about it, but then as it got in the way of her eating she started to freak out.  She didn't want me or her dad to touch it, however she didn't mind if one of the Kindergarten teachers at her school pulled it out because she heard she was a professional at pulling teeth.  It got to a point where her tooth was just dangling in the wind.  I decided to just leave her alone. 

One day, picking her up at school, I saw A with the Kindergarten teacher.  I looked at A and saw she lost her tooth.  The Kindergarten teacher looked at me and handed me over a small tooth.  I said thank you and grabbed Anne to congratulate her on another tooth gone!  However, I was getting kind of bothered at the thought that she would let someone else, other than her parents, pull her tooth out!  Geesh...

Just to let you know that her first two bottom teeth came out but never retrieved.  She might have eaten one while eating a bagel and the other was just lost at school somewhere so the good thing about this tooth is we actually have one to give the tooth fairy.  I thought the tooth fairy was very generous with the $2 she left under her pillow, however once A heard about her neighbor/classmate receiving $10 per tooth, she felt a little short changed.  Hmph.  I reminded her about the quarter I got for each tooth when I was her age and now she is saying that was how it was done in the "olden days". Got to laugh at that!

So watch out, the other upper tooth is loose and will be coming out soon. 

Killing Time

As the school year progresses, so do the play dates.  T, as I suspected, is making some great friends at school and is often invited to play dates.  After we dropped him off, the other four kids and I decided to enjoy some playtime outside while we waited for T's play date to be over.  A suggested we rake some leaves and jump into the piles we make.  Great idea!

She did most of the raking.

And the jumping.  Meanwhile...

...B found A's helmet and played with it instead of the leaves.

She got it on her head.

B was very pleased with herself.

P decided that biking through the leaf piles were a lot more fun.

E was discovering how much fun leaves could be.  Before we knew it, it was time to pick up T from his play date.

The Big Three

Happy Birthday, Eddie!

His birthday was really yesterday, November 21st.  He started the day with Mass, a trip to the park with Dad, a Redskin win, a party with both sets of grandparents and lots of cake and ice cream!  This is the most recent picture of him playing in the leaves outside.

Personality

B is still a tiny baby for an almost 10 month old, but she's got so much personality.  She is always so happy and she is an explorer!  She is now scooting around in the most odd way.  I'll have to post a pic of her scooting.  We now have to make sure all doors and gates are closed.  She is the one baby of mine that does put almost anything in her mouth to try.  Forces me to sweep and vacuum more often!

B was quietly playing with something she found on the ground outside and she took time to take a peek at me while I was shooting my camera.  Love this expression!

Coach

The 2010 SJC HS football season is now over.  Congratulations to my husband on a great season.