For Christmas my in laws gave Ander and Bella a drum set and mic. They love music. Bella breaks out in song at any given moment and Ander is obsessed with drums.

Here are some pics from christmas.

Ander teaching Uncle Gavin how to keep a beat.

Hahaha, I had to put this one in....

The Nutcraker

For Christmas Zach's mom and dad bought us tickets to the Nutcraker! Alannah is 9 so we thought she would really enjoy it. She was enthralled in the beginning but it is a long ballet and soon she was bored. I think some of the dances are a little long myself, but it was still very nice.

We thought the 3rd tier would be fun for Alannah, and also the tickets were much cheaper. But she was too short and couldn't see over the wall. So she sat on Zach's lap for a lot of the ballet.

The best part of going to a children's matinee is that you get to go backstage and meet the ballet dancers! Alannah thought that was the best part.

Alannah with The Nutcracker doll.

In the sleigh used in the Land of Snow



Meeting the Sugar Plum Fairy and the guy she dances with (I can't remember what he's called).

Sunglasses

Ander and Bella have been asking for their sunglasses when we're in the car. They take them off and put them back on a couple times while I'm driving. I looked back the other day and this is what I saw...they are sooooo cute.

Cookies

A couple of nights ago Bella couldn't sleep so we got up and made cookies! She was very helpful and loved patting the cookie dough into little balls.

Bella's first haircut

I took Bella with me to my favorite salon for her first haircut. First mommy got her hair washed and cut and then Bella did. She sat still for almost 45 minutes, waiting on mommy, reading books and enjoying sitting in the big salon chair all by herself. Than she sat still during her hair cut, eating her lollypop. Her hair is getting so long and more blonde everyday!

Thanksgiving crafts

We didn't have Alannah this year for Thanksgiving but the weekend she was here we made some Thanksgiving crafts. I got this idea from Family Fun Magazine. It's like the crackers you get at christmas time but instead it's a corncob filled with goodies (we filled ours with mini erasers, stickers and a piece of candy). They were really fun and easy to make. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the finished product! They were really cute!

Zach made blue corn

Ander and Bella's Birthday

Here are some birthday pictures of Ander and Bella, finally! They had a great day with mommy and daddy. We had pizza for dinner and homemade muffin cakes :) We got them vacuums for their birthday since they are obsessed with the vacuum. They love them and use them everyday!! If only they were real then I'd never have to vacuum again! :)

Peeking under the "wrapping paper"

It took Bella a little while to get used to the vacuum but now she loves it

Ander is still unsure about the "Big vacuum" but he loves his! Here he is enjoying his and Bella's.

Alannah's 9th Birthday

I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up! Alannah turned 9 on the 18th of November. We celebrated by having a combined birthday for her and Ander and Bella. I am just amazed by what a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent young lady Alannah is. We couldn't ask for a better role model for Ander and Bella to look up to.

Looking at her new Fairy book

With her bear Strawberry

Doing the old Cuthbertson tradition of licking the frosting off the candles...

Decorating her piece of cake with more candles

What a beautiful young lady

Trick-or-Treat!

Happy Halloween! We dressed up in our Kitty and Pirate outfits and went to Grandma's and Nana's. We loved saying Trick-Or-Treat and loved the candy even more!

Here we are sitting on Nana's porch.

As you can see, we are way more interested in the big bucket of candy than mommy's camera.

Meow!!

Arg!!

Reading with Mommy

Ander and Bella love books so much! At any point in the day you can find them sitting quietly reading a book by themselves, with Mommy or with anyone who's near! Thanks to my family who has generously given us so many books!



Reading with Aunt Dorothy! (Sue, this is one of the books you gave us when they were just 6wks old! They still love them!)

Reading with Nana (This is a picture from a couple of months ago)

Reading with Grandma! (This is an old picture too...I need to update my grandma pictures!)

Reading with Mommy!

Potty Training!

I started potty training last Monday, and, phew, I'm exhausted! We had a little bit of a struggle with Ander who has rebelled and is back in diapers. But are excited to say that Bella is now using the potty everyday on her own! She still has accidents now and then, and wears a pull-up while she sleeps, but she's doing sooo well! Hoooray for Bella!! And now that Bella is using the potty, Ander seems a little more interested but we're not pushing the issue.

Here is a picture of Bella using the Potty!! Mommy and Daddy are sooo proud!

Alannah!

Alannah is growing into a beautiful young lady. It seems the years have flown by, she was only 3 when we got married, soon she'll be 9!! Here are some pictures of our little beauty:

Alannah is such a good big sister, she loves to play with Ander and Bella! She even likes to get them dressed and, has changed many diapers on her own!

Alannah with her bear Strawberry

Nana made them matching PJ's!

She loves to climb trees

Sitting on the back porch with me on a lazy Saturday afternoon

More pictures from our Picnic with Daddy

Bella wanted to hang from the tree branch...

then Ander did too...

then mommy had to do it too!

They loved picking the weedy flowers :)

Fell asleep almost immediately!

A picnic with Daddy

With the beautiful weather lately we have been meeting Daddy for picnics at Harbison State Forest. It's been wonderful! We lay a blanket down and enjoy a carefree lunch (not having to worry about being too loud or messy!). And we very much enjoy watching the kids run around us, being very curious about the plants and bugs! It is such a joy to watch them grow!

Enjoying a relaxing lunch with Daddy

Cutie Pie

Peekaboo!

I thought this was a cute picture of them kissing, but Ander is actually biting her. Haha.

Look Mom, a berry!