Beating Up Daddy is Fun!

Watch "Swordfighting Giggles" on YouTube
This is probably my favorite video of all time!

Such a Trooper!

Gabriella came down with what was clearly a Uti so I made N appointment for her to go to the doctor.  She was awesome!  She told the doctor what was wrong all on her own, described her level of pain and went through all the measuring and checking like a champ.  "Doctor my bum hurts when I pee.". When did she get so big?!

Crazy Kasey Giggles

Watch "Kasey Giggle Fest" on YouTube
Nobody can make him laugh quite like Tomas!

Dancing Threes

Watch "Dance" on YouTube
Gabriella is doing a new dance class and she absolutely loves it.  This is from a makeup class but gives an idea.  This dance is going to be performed Dec. 11 with the girls wrapped as presents.  Who's coming?

Margot Visits

We haven't seen Margot in a long time.  She was in Chicago this weekend and spent Sunday hanging out with us here in Round Lake.  The kids were super excited to hang out with her.  After naps were over we went on a walk at the Nippersink Preserve.  It was a beautiful fall day with lots to see and explore.  Margot and Tomas were the track erasers, with their erasers frequently serving a double purpose as Quidditch brooms.  Everyone's favorite discovery was the marshy seed pods that had fluffy floating seeds inside.  We had a grand time making them float through the air!  It was fun to enjoy some time outside.  We also enjoyed dinner and dessert together, rounding the night out with singing and snuggles before bed.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we see her again!

And.....

He's up!

Diapering Challenges...

Watch "Every time I change him he tries to escape....diaperless" on YouTube
Kasey likes to make diaper changing a challenging as possible.  He crawls away with a naked butt the second I let go of his feet.

Kasey Saying "Hi"

I realize this is really dark, but it was the first time Kasey was saying "Hi." He did this on Oct. 6 and it was too cute not to share.

Silly Sweet Boy

This is a video from back in September. Kasey just loves to be silly.

Tomas and Gabi Performing

Just after Gabi's third birthday, Tomas and Gabi used GAbi's piano stool as a performance stage. This may be the reason the stool did not last long at all....

Blackbird (from March)

Gabriella singing a Beatles classic to Kasey

Kindergarten Halloween

Monday, just so it actually felt like Halloween, Tomas; class had a Halloween party. The teacher was gracious enough to allow me to bring Gabi and Kasey so that I could attend. The kids had fund doing centers that were Halloween-themed and parents helped run the festivities. At the end of the party they had a race involving the whole chlass. Gabriella, of course, jumped right in and joined the five year olds in her Hermione costume. It was fun to see all of the kids in Tomas class at work. Everyone really seemed to work well together, and definitely had fun.

Halloween Fun

Trick or Treating in Round Lake was in the middle of the day on Sunday. I'm still pretty unsure how I feel about that whole idea, but we had a blast anyway! If fact, Halloween was multiple days of fun around here. On Friday evening, we joined Emily, a high school friend of mine, at the Church of Latter Day Saints for Halloween festivities. It was a blast. They had a ton of fun games set up and then had a parade and a quick round of trick-or-treating. The kids loved the chance to really try out there costumes for the first time. Tomas was in love with the Harry Potter Quidditch game they had set up, but Gabriella was not interested in trying it because Professor Snape made her much too nervous.
Saturday, we went trick-or-treating in downtown Grayslake. I'm so glad we checked this out, despite the insane throng of people that were there, making it a bit difficult to manage all three kids by myself (one scary moment of missing Tomas was all my nerves could handle). Grayslake is a very cute little town and I even picked up some delicious-looking mushrooms and pasta sauce at the farmer's market!
Sunday was trick or treating. As you can see, Marcie, Edie, and Oma and Bada joined us for the fun. As usual, the kids lasted pretty much once around the block and were done for the day. They had a blast handing out candy though, and got in lots of fun before the crazy rain hit. Everywhere we went, people loved our Harry Potter theme

Trick-or-Treating in Grayslake

Trick-or-Treating in Round Lake