Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas at the Thomas house. Both of the kiddos really enjoyed the presents they received. Natalie had a very girlie morning with a kitchen set, new baby doll and a pink princess coupe car. Ian got a few Star Wars items and the whole family is enjoying a Wii video game system. Its really nice to have this holiday back in Louisville in our new home.

Gingerbread Project

Ian and I tackled a gingerbread house project this Sunday evening. He was a really into getting all the pieces ready and anxiously awaiting any 'leftover' candy pieces. He helped me pipe on the icing 'glue' and had a big hand in picking out which color candies go where. What you see here is not a finished product but it was all we could get done before bedtime.

Natalie was hanging out with Dad during construction....roaming around us while we were busy building. We particularly enjoyed her cowgirl superhero costume combination.

Lazy Morning

On a normal Thursday morning, we'd be up early and boots on the ground. First a quick breakfast, throw on clothes at out at a certain time to avoid traffic at Ian's school. This morning Ian stayed close to home because of a little asthma problem and we all lounged in our PJs. Let me set the scene - beautiful snow falling outside, fireplace going and two snuggly kids. It was awesome.

One of our morning activites was working on puzzles, which we've done a lot lately. They have both gotten quite good at them and Ian sometimes helps sister with her pieces. Natalie's puzzle has fish on it and you have to match up colors to complete. She knows the color, will intentionally put it in the wrong spot while smiling at you saying 'noooo'. After a couple no's she puts it in the proper spot. A litte game within the puzzle that she likes to play.

Visiting St Louis

We visited our friends in St Louis this weekend. It was good to see everybody, including a new baby in the bunch. Saturday started off with a bang at The Magic House. Its a huge childrens fun house where the kids (Ian, Natalie, Justin & Jocelyn Jim) had a great time. There were lots of hands on activities like the water and sand play centers and slides of all kinds. The girls really enjoyed playing with the dollhouse. We got to enjoy a visiting Curious George exhibit, meeting George himself! Ian was all about holding hands and chatting up the monkey. Natalie stayed away from the big guy and decided to check out a smaller statue instead. Thanks to all our friends for a fun weekend!!!!

Halloween 2009

We had a blast on Halloween this year. We had a new neighborhood full of friends and the weather turned out cold, but clear. Despite Ian's love of Star Wars, he was pretty firm about being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (Raphael). Natalie was our resident ladybug. The biggest surprise of the night....Natalie actually got into it. She would see the light on at a house and get excited, walk up with her bag and mumble a trick or treat and thank you. Her little fat fingers would pick out some candy and put it in the bag....on to the next house. It was pretty funny.

We made the rounds with our neighbors (Pablo & Eric, standing) and our old friends the Weilages (Marshall & Jacob, Dragon & little storm trooper respectively). You'll notice the big storm trooper in the middle. That would be my father-in-law who surprised Ian by dressing up and coming to the front door. Grandpa was a huge hit in the neighborhood...everyone wanted to get a picture made with him!!

Sunday Fun

We had quite a full day on Sunday. We hosted a family soup cook-off at our house. The kids and I went out for fresh bread that morning. Natalie showed interest for the first time ever in sitting in the car shopping cart. So we squeezed Ian and Natalie in the cart with cookies from the bakery. Luckily, everyone kept their hands on their own cookies.

Ian has showed a much bigger interest in coloring lately. He was never that interested, but recently will sit and finish a whole page and take pride in it. Natalie wanted to do what he was doing and sat in the chair with him for a long time....not coloring in the lines or even on the same page...but with him none the less.

Winners of the soup cook-off. Amy Meredith (right) won first place with her tomato basil tortellini masterpiece, followed closely by by Chiara Fletcher (left) with her potato soup. So yummy.

Natalie was loving Chiara's dog Zues...reading books with him, dressing him up as the Easter bunny. Then she got hold of Ian's head light and her toothbrush. Apparently, it was an entertaining combination. Mom will remember that!

Fall Fun

We visited a farm in Shelbyville today with Aunt Caba and our friends the Hamiltons (Todd, Kara & Chase). It was a gorgeous day and the activities were abundant. The kids enjoyed playing the hay, pony rides, petting zoo, riding a tractor out to the field to hand pick our pumpkins. The boys were wild (in a good way) and Natalie was excited to take in all these new sights. She was particularly fun at the pumpkin patch, petting and hugging pumpkins. Kids are priceless. We love our family and friends!

Lunch With A Buddy

One of Ian's new friends from preschool is Christopher. We got to pick him up from school the other day and hang out for a while. They listened to some tunes on the head phones in the car, on the way to a oh so nutritious lunch at McDonalds :o). They were on a mission to get their hands on the toy of the week - Bakugans. They gobbled up lunch while I held the toys hostage. Then they just sat there and were engrossed with playing and figuring the new toys out. Next, we hit up the bookstore for a little while until it was time to meet up with Chris' mom. We are thankful for new friends!

Football, Family & Fun

We went to visit Aunt Nancy and her boys George & Ben this weekend. We also got to attend the UT vs Auburn football and catch up with old college friends. A little back story to some of the pictures you see - We started out the weekend with a trip to campus on Friday BEFORE game day madness. We walked around and checked out some silly items in the bookstore (such as the hat Ian is modeling). The oldest and silliest cousin George decided to try Natalie's car seat on for size, which totally cracked up his brother and Ian. Natalie, true to her girlishness, wanted to put on lip gloss with Aunt Nancy in the car on the way to dinner one night. Despite the fact that our team wasn't able to pull off a victory, it was a beautiful fall weekend and we had a wonderful time in Tennessee! Go Vols!

Ian - The Yellow Belt

Ian had another big night tonight. He went to his martial arts studio's belt testing ceremony. Grand Master Huang (pictured above) called Ian out in front of a room of about 100 or more people for some questioning. He loudly answered correctly with a 'Sir' attached to the end of all of his answers. This wasn't part of the test...just Ian's lucky day. The testing started with a bow to the judges, then he displayed some movements and broke a board to complete. He finished things off with a signature Ian move - a wink for Master Huang. Its not exactly part of the ceremony but he improvised. Good ole Ian.

Bye-Bye Baby Tooth

It's hard to believe it, but we are in tooth-loosing territory at my house. Ian lost his first baby tooth last night. We discovered it was super loose while brushing teeth at bedtime. We could see where two permanent teeth were trying to poke through, but didn't realize the baby teeth were that close to coming out. The one next to it is soon to follow. Ian was VERY proud of loosing a baby tooth. It made this newly minted 5 yr old walk a little taller!

Natalie Bejeweled

I was attempting to wrap up some paperwork after lunch today and caught a sweet moment between the kids. Ian was helping Natalie put ALL her jewelry on at once. She was enjoying having his help, which surprises me a bit. She will - no joke - spend hours playing with her precious plastic bling. Apparently, its fun to put on your feet too!

Ian's Birthday - Part 2

We went to a really fun place called Incredible Daves tonight, per Ian's request. We ate dinner, played in the arcade and wrapped things up with some inflatable slide thrills. He could have gone a million times, Natalie too. Good times for us all. Thanks to Caba, Meemers and Nicole for coming along for the fun.

Ian Turns Five - School Party

Ian turns the big 5 today!! I gave him a big hug when waking him up, asking him "Do you know anybody who is five today?". He responded with glee, "ME!". The celebrations begin with a donut party with his friends at school. Natalie and I brought in the special treats and got to hang out during snack time. Ian got to pick two special friends to sit with him and his sister for snack time. They sang a special happy birthday song to him during circle time. Everyone in the class pretends to be candles and at the end Ian blew them all out (too cute). Natalie and I really enjoyed our time with Ian and his class. Stay tuned....more birthday fun to come!!!

New Hat For Natalie

Our good friend Jill Williams made a very sweet hat for Natalie. It has a white flower at the crown and a stem popping out of the top. She LOVES to wear it. In fact, she wore it most of the day yesterday around the house. It would periodically come off and she would bring it to me and duck her head down so I could put it back on. She's showing things off for the camera in these two pictures. Hopefully she will still like to wear it when it gets colder!

All About Ian

Ian had a project for school....to make a poster that would help the class get to know him. Today was his day to present it to the class. Natalie stayed with a neighbor and Mom got to go see Ian's early presentation skills. He was very excited and went over all the pictures on his board in detail. The coolest part for him was using his teacher's pointing stick during the presentation. He did a very good job and savored some undivided attention from Mom! Way to go Ian!!!