Catching Up

In what seems to be a common theme in my life right now, I am playing catch up with the blog. I've had numerous things to post but no time to sit down and actually do it. So here is the past few weeks in a nutshell.

Ellie had a music concert on Nov. 10. It was entitled "Mighty Musical Minds" and consisted of songs about doing well in school. It was very cute!
We took the younger three to Brunswick to burn off some energy. The twins love the arcade area there. They play games and have no clue what they are doing. Carter tried his hand at Deal or No Deal,

while Ava slapped away at a trivia game.

Even Hannah got into the fun at the skeeball area.

Can I help you?

That same evening, we went for a triple bath. Good in theory, not always the best idea in practice. There's just not enough room for all three and the twins hog the tub and don't let Hannah play.

We also had a birthday party for Papa Rich. Carter didn't want Hannah to provide the entertainment so he took her spoon away. She didn't like that very much.

Luckily, Grandma gave her a new one so she could get back to banging on her pot. Who needs toys?!

Jake's cousin Jill has been helping us out when in a bind with the childcare situation this fall. She took a year long leave of absence from her job as she just had a baby in September, along with a 4.5 year old and an 18 month old. To return the favor, Jake and I watched her three children so she and her husband could go out on a date night. It was quite the night, even with their baby sleeping the whole time and Ellie at a friend's house! Three 4 year olds, an 18 month old, a 9 month old, and a sleeping baby! Phew! Carter loves having a boy to play with though.

The night after babysitting, we awoke to the joy of white covered ground! Actually, the only ones overjoyed were these two.

Carter cried when I made him come in. I told him once Ellie came home from her sleepover that she would go back out with him. Of course, she came home and had no desire to go outside. The girls will go out and play for a bit but it is our little buddy who loves his snow time!

Other tidbits:

*Ellie got to go to a rollerderby with a friend. She enjoyed it a lot and followed up the rollerderby with a sleepover. It still seems surreal to me that she is old enough for sleepovers but I remember spending the night at friends' houses in 3rd grade. How did my little girl get so grown up?

*Carter will remain the only male Wendorff grandchild for at least several more years. Elizabeth Grace Zimmermann was born yesterday, November 20th. Poor buddy needs all the male interaction he can get! We now have: Ellie, Ava, Carter, Olivia, Hannah, Isabella, and Elizabeth. Phew! What a mouthful! He also remains the only male grandchild on the Ramaker side and we hope it stays that way for quite some time!

(Although note to Alex: the flower girl dress that keeps on giving is a 2T. Hannah may be able to squeeze into it up until age 3. That dress has been worn for three weddings now. It will be worn for your wedding as well so get crackin'!)

*I have this whole week off for Thanksgiving break. It couldn't have come at a better time. My list of things-to-do is a mile long and needs to get some items checked off before more jump on. Hoping for a productive week at home finished off with a successful Black Friday shopping in which almost all my Christmas shopping is done. Theme of this year: wrap it up as fast as possible!

More to come in the following days since I may actually have time to post!