We got our first snow last night and the kids were itching to get out in it first thing this morning. Sam was back in before I could even get the camera out and the girls lasted ten minutes tops. The wind is so bitter cold and it hasn't let up all day. Sam and Lu are hoping for a late arrival tomorrow! 
We celebrated a fun thanksgiving at mom and dad's this year. The crowd was a bit smaller than years past but as the Dacey grand kids keep coming the house still feels loud and bustling. Just with our side there is 7 grandkiddos. This is Jo sitting on her great auntie Frankie's lap.
The baby cousins meeting each other for the first time. Jo wasn't sure what to think of this tiny little one. She looks sooo big next to Lua. Makes me a little sad.
The big kids had a blast playing in the front room. Navid brought a great star wars game and Liv brought some beads for the girls to make jewelry with. Grandma had a stack of movies to watch but even with all the entertainment they somehow always seem to end up wrestling. P.S. check out those lashes on Navid!
Trying to get a photo of all seven posed to be an impossible mission. We should have waited until the pros got there (R & K). The kids just couldn't wait any longer to get out of their nice clothes. Of course the food was delish and I was thankful mom shared some leftover turkey and cranberries with us...turkey/cream cheese/cranberry sandwiches are the best!
As one of our advent activities this past week we celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas. Not being raised Catholic I knew nothing of this tradition until the kids attended a Catholic preschool. Part of the feast of St. Nicholas is setting your shoes out at night (like a stocking) and in the morning there's a little surprise. In true tradition (well as far as I know) St. Nicholas would leave gold coins in the shoes. When the kids woke in the morning in their shoes they found a few coins (not gold but quarters) and a little bag of gummy bears. They loved it! Here's a pic of their little surprise...I forgot to set a booties out for Jo!
This past Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the tree farm. This a tradition we started back before kids and we've just kept it going over the years. With a new little one in tow we thought this might be the year we break tradition and grab one at the cute little produce stand down the road. Well you can't mess with tradition with our kids and after the tears and pleas from Maggie we pulled on the boots and went in search of the perfect tree. We found it quite quickly but in the spirit of the hunt we trudged through the mud and moss a bit longer only to return to our first tree. Grandma and Papa went with us and Papa let Sam have a go at the sawing of their tree. Of course the highlight of the trip for him! Grandma treated the kiddos to some hot cocoa and of course a quick visit with Santa. Lu, thanks for keeping the tradition alive girl! It was a fun time for all!
Saturday evening was our little Christmas parade right through the heart of town. It's a pretty big deal around here and there is quite a large attendance. Sam was riding on the swim team float and had to be there a bit early so Rocky decided to make a date out of it with Lu and the two of them dropped Sam off and headed out to dinner. This was definitely the highlight of Maggie's day. She savors one-on-one time with both of us but especially loves spending special time with her dad. I dropped Josie off with Grandma and Millie and I met Rock and Lu and took in all the sights and loud sounds of the parade. After Millie warmed up a little she really got into it and loved collecting all the goodies that were passed out.
Another tradition we enjoy as part of our advent is assembling and decorating a gingerbread house. This is one of the kids' favorites. Not only do they enjoy the decorating but they love eating all the extra goodies for the house. Maggie's friend Lauren came home with us after church so she joined in on the decorating fun. For some reason Millie was being camera shy all weekend so I couldn't get a shot of her with the house or at the tree farm. Josie was such a good sport just sitting in her Bumbo through all the fun.
I leave you with a photo of our decorated tree! Ahhh I love Christmas!
I(we) have so much to be thankful for. I'd like to think I count my blessings all the year through but if I'm completely honest then that's not true. While I am always thankful for the many blessings I have I also always seem to want a little bit more. So this month we really tried to have conversations with the kids each day about all the things in their(our) lives we have to be thankful for. There are of course the most obvious of things that kids think of...our home, family, food, friends but we wanted them to dig deeper and really think about ALL that we are blessed with. We had some great conversations over dinner, in the car and in the grocery store and it really made me take inventory also. So here's a little list of things I'm thanking God for this year. 
Wishing you all a Happy day of Giving Thanks!
Oh how I wish we could conquer this next milestone with Millie. I'd like to think the time was near that we could do away with pull-ups but the reality is we're not even close! Yes, occasionally she starts her day with a pair of panties and she has managed to tinkle on the potty a few times but mostly I end up cleaning up accidents all over the house. When asked if she needs to sit on the potty she replies "no, it makes me sad." Hmmm...how do I reason with that? Don't we teach them to share their feelings and shouldn't I honor her feelings? Or is she already a master at manipulation? I've been down this road twice before and I should know by now they're all different and when they're ready it will happen. Sam was the same way. No interest at all and then he turned 3 and voila he was potty-trained. It was almost like it happened overnight. And after all Amelia seems to be cut from the same mold as her brother. Both a little slow to talk, both require very little sleep and yet seem to have endless amounts of energy and they are both such great little snuggle bugs. So maybe I should hold out until 3 before I get too worked up and then again she's her own little person maybe it will be closer to 4.....oh Lord please help me! 
two peas in a pod
Yesterday we were all outside working in the yard (okay Rocky was really the only one working)and I walked into the garden to check out the damage and take a few pictures when I was struck by a very strong smell of alcohol. It didn't take long to find the culprit...our fermenting grapes. Every year we have this beautiful crop of grapes that I never get around to doing anything with. They grow so easily and just keep coming back year after year and every year I say I'm going to make grape jelly. Well as you can imagine this year was no different and so the grapes are left to be eaten by the blue jays...who by the way seem to catch quite a buzz after a small feast of grapes. So no grape jelly this year....maybe I'll get around to it next summer!
My sis Ali had her sweet baby girl last Friday. She is such a beautiful baby and the kids ate up every moment of loving on her. I think Maggie would have held her all day if we let her. I can't wait to get my hands on her again! We love you little Lua!
I left Josie at home with Rocky. For one I knew it would be easier if she was at home and second because I wasn't ready to see her next to a brand new one. I remember so clearly how big Maggie seemed when the twins were born and the age difference is exactly the same. I know Josie is a chunky monkey but I want to keep her my "tiny baby" as long as possible!
Wow! Our family has sure changed in two years! I can't believe this was two pumpkin patches ago! Sam and Maggie look so little and of course Millie too! Anyways onto the current fall events. Two weeks ago we had a little birthday/pumpkin carving party for Uncle Ry. Kristen brought yummy strawberry/rhubarb pie and we enjoyed a fun afternoon of carving and in Ryan's case drilling. Josie slept through all the festivities and we had to wake Amelia up to join us. That seemed to be a big mistake at first as she was incredibly crabby but once she woke up she had a great time digging in the pumpkin guts!
Millie still trying to wake up from her short little snooze! Lu loved squishing her hands in the pumpkin guts. Auntie Kristen was quite creative as always and made an adorable Hello Kitty stencil for Maggie's pumpkin. It turned out so cute...sorry no picture.
Introducing Uncle...the 30 year old! With the beard he almost looks 30!
Sammy was anxious to get started with the carving.
Auntie Kristen doing the tedious task of fishing out the pumpkin seeds. Kristen has started a little tradition of roasting the seeds with a special blend of yummy flavors and this year she outdid herself. Best batch yet! I wasn't very good about sharing with the kiddos.
The girls dressed up as Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson. It was a great costume since they can wear it over and over again! I have a hard time getting Amelia out of her leotard and sweat outfit so it was perfect for her. She has become quite obsessed with these two gymnasts but that's another blog for another day! This picture was at Maggie's class party.
Shawn Johnson with Guitar Hero. Auntie did a fabulous job creating this emblem for Sam's shirt. It was a tough year agreeing on a costume for Sam. He was longing to dress as something out of a bad horror film but in the end he came to his senses and decided to create his own character...Guitar Hero! Surely a unique one and one that didn't break the bank or cause anyone nightmares! 
Our little cow with her eggnog mustache! She's discovered she likes eggnog and I'm happy she's getting some extra calories!
Sam having a hand at the cow milking
Millie was in heaven riding a horse..even if it was pretend
Pretty baby Jo was a trooper and just took it all in...next year she won't be far behind her brother and sisters!
Maggie posing in the outhouse
This is the corn box. It was a big rectangle made with bales of hay and then filled with dried corn. The kids loved it. They would jump of the hay bales and just sink into the corn. It was kind of like digging in the sand. Sam then of course said "what if a rat got in here?" Great visual and yes now you'll be taking a shower when we get home!
Even Josie got in this pic...she looks so funny hanging out back there!
The four monkeys
Millie in the leaves!
When Sam and Maggie were three and five we had their pictures taken and one of the poses we call the "prom picture" because they look like they're at a dance together(sorry I don't have it to post). Anyways, ever since then we've teased them about going to the prom together and that if they wanted to go they'd have to go with each other because they weren't going to be allowed to go with a date. Aren't we mean parents? Of course we will let them date...when they're 28! We also tell Sam that the only women in his life are his sisters and his mom and up until recently he's been just fine with that. Enter...Anna. Sam has been a new man this school year and I think this mother finally figured out why. He's in love:) He's talked of other girls before but just in passing and usually just about how they're good at wall ball or kickball but Anna is different. He likes to make Anna laugh, he says Anna gets shy when he talks to her and today he wanted to get to school early to leave a note on her desk. A note? What is this?!! He very eagerly showed me the note and it was so sweet. To: Anna From: Sam and it was a picture of a koala bear in a tree with bees flying around. If it wouldn't have totally humiliated him I would have asked to make a copy because it was so precious. Don't get me wrong. I'm in no way encouraging my son to seek a "girlfriend" but I do believe this is all part of growing up and it's my job to be open and understanding so he always wants to share his "love notes" with me.
Today Grandma and Papa Poulin made the trek over the mountains from Yakima to celebrate an early Christmas. We don't usually get to see them during Christmas and since Grandma is so prepared she came today with loads of gifts for the kids. They had a ball opening all their goodies and Maggie even gave us a fashion show of all her new threads. We had a great lunch and Grandma and Papa Dacey joined us for a bit too. 
Grandma giving Josie a bottle. Notice how she has her hands behind her head...she's nice and relaxed! Good job Grandma...you have the touch!
Maggie showing off her new "Groovy Girl" doll. 
Millie posing in her new p.j.'s
Just a cute one of Baby Jo!
