It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

We got to go to the Pullen Park Holiday train on Thursday, December 3, and had a great time in the train, carousel, and all the holiday activities!

Out next holiday activity was Saturday with Santa in our neighborhood! It was fun, even though the kids didn't actually talk to Santa! The junk food was a big draw!

Our elf is back, and Nicholas has been moving him and delighting the kids when they wake!

Our house is looking Christmasy, even though our tree is totally Jason safe!!

And we did Disney on Ice this week!! It was a huge production and Olivia LOVED it! Leo was ready to go home after he got his snow cone!

Olivia is tracked out as of December 4th! So, the Tuesday before, the boys and I did lunch bunch, which is where we eat lunch in the cafeteria with her and a friend. We had fun!

And now we are trying to do fun activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is when Leo are not in school! We've already been to a birthday party at a bounce place, and we have been to the natural sciences museum. And we go to the park every day after the school on Monday Wednesday Friday! It's looking to be a good track out!

Natural sciences museum discovery room is awesome!

Jason on the move

I'm exhausted. Jason started really crawling fast on my birthday, November 9. I feel like Nicholas and I haven't had a chance to breathe since. Yes, mobility, as I predicted, is a game changer! Here are some photos of Jason in the act:

The gate we had to add!

Thanksgiving 2015

We spent Thanksgiving here this year, and were excited to have Mutti and Uncle Chuck stay with us for the holiday! The kids love them both and were so happy to play and play and play with them!

As usual, I took few photos, but you get the gist...lots of food and fun! Nicholas's student from Alabama who now works with him at ABB also joined us!

We have SO much to be thankful for! My top blessings are three healthy kids, a husband who works hard for us and loves us, family who cares about us even from afar, friends near and far, plenty of food, shelter, and education for us and our kids. I take for granted all those blessings, so Thanksgiving is a special reminder to me, and my favorite holiday!

Leo's surgery

Leo's surgery went well yesterday and the doctor thinks they got all the lipoma. He also said he would be shocked if pathology came back with it being anything other than the lipoma. No drain was needed, thankfully. We brought Leo home soon after he woke up, and he rested most of the day yesterday. He has some tape over the incision site, and our biggest challenge will be to keep him from ripping it off. It could be a lot worse. He's pain has been managed with ibuprofen, so I know it's not too bad.

The day went smoothly yesterday. Nicholas took Leo to the hospital at 5:30 am while I stayed home with Jason and Olivia. I got Olivia off to school with a neighbor at 7:10, and I nursed Jason for the last time around 7:30. Then the babysitter came at 7:30 for Jason, and my friend Lisa came to drive me to the hospital so that I could ride home with Leo in case he needed care while Nicholas drove. She waited with Nicholas and me until Leo was out of surgery in case we needed her to do any running for us. It's great to have good babysitters and good friends!!

Too busy to smile in pre-op!

I couldn't take a picture of Leo sleeping after surgery because he looked just too vulnerable, but here are his recovering photos:

Everyday fun!

This week was kind of gross with rain, but we still managed to have lots of outside time! We followed the street drains around our neighborhood and learned where they all lead--to a bog beside our neighborhood! We also hit a few playgrounds and the zoo on Sunday!

Random photo of Leo eating broccoli:

The boys playing at Marbles when it was too rainy for outside:

And then a playground picture:

And my birthday trip to the zoo! The NC zoo is huge--like 420 acres, so the habitats are big! We walked a lot and timed out Jason's naps for the car rides. There were four lion cubs who look almost grown now! Plus black bears and grizzly bears and polar bears! And Olivia had to go see the otters twice! Good times!

Halloween!! And fall fun!

The Leo had his preschool Songfest on Friday, and the kids couldn't have been cuter! Here are some pictures and videos! (Jason sat so sweetly through it!! He was mesmerized by the kids!)

Olivia and Nicholas went to the high school football game on Friday night and had a blast!

On Halloween, we had a packed afternoon. First, pictures on the porch:

Then a costume contest and parade through our neighborhood:

Then back to our house for a quick bite and potty breaks:

Then a party at our friends:

Then trick or treating!!

He had lots of fun and the kids got SO MUCH CANDY!!

And Jason is playing so neatly with his toys that I just had to record it the other day!

Leo's MRI

Leo had his MRI on Thursday. I was worried bout him not being able to eat after midnight, but we stuffed him full until he went to bed, warned him that he would not be able to eat in the morning, and then kept him occupied upstairs until it was time to go at 9:30.

This was Leo in the waiting area, not amused with any attention.

In the room, Leo did not want the marker--tape with a vitamin E capsule on it--on him. I ended up taking it off and asking the anasteciologist to put it on after he went to sleep.

They took him back while he was awake, and he was very brave. I couldn't go, too. After an hour and a half, they called me back and Leo was up and upset. Of course he was! He went to sleep without anything attached to his body, and woke up with three nodes on his chest, a blood pressure cuff on his ankle, and an IV in his wrist! It took a while to get him calmed down, but after he used the bathroom we were released. Leo was a little wobbly, but otherwise OK. He wanted a milkshake, but no other food.

The surgeon called after reviewing the images and said that it is just a lipoma as he expected. It doesn't go into Leo's chest cavity which is great news! But is does come close to his veins and arteries in his neck. Dr. Hoover still wants to do surgery, but Nicholas and I are going to ask him some questions before we schedule it. We still haven't been able to reach each other for long enough to get our questions answered. More on that later.