Thanksgiving 2011

not many pictures this year. norah became sick with croup tuesday and i spent wednesday night in the ER with her so they could give her some breathing treatments and some meds. she's already doing much better tonight but we had to cancel our plans to have dinner with friends and i found myself trying to plan a meal at 11pm the night before thanksgiving . . i did my best :)

ohhh, the cutest!!


there's always room for cool whip :)


never, ever, EVER buy this turkey - even if they offer it to your for free! really!

thankfully, our friends who we were supposed to have dinner with, brought us over a beautiful homecooked meal consisting of all the leftovers we missed!

Thanksgiving Day service

Ella's choir sang in our Thanksgiving church service today. Danny stayed home with miss norah so I could hear Ella and she wouldn't have to miss it. while we were on our way to church (it was just ella & maren & myself), ella said, "mommy, i love all my sisters, but i really do like this time i get to have you all to myself!" :) that's one of the biggest things i struggle with - finding the alone time and giving all the girls the attention they need and deserve! it gets hard and overwhelming most days, but i feel like today i made up for it with ella :) sorry for the crazy video - it's hard shooting while holding maren and dodging all the folks in front of me! hope you can see/hear her :)

"oh come with body and mind. oh come with spirit and voice. bring the whole person, bring the whole person, come, let's sing and rejoice!"

"come let us sing to the lord our god, come let us worship and pray. come let us dance and to the lord our god, let us give thanks on this day!"

"come give yourself to the lord, come with your anthems and praise. come, give your best to the lord our god, let us serve him all our days!"

Norah's playgroup

Even though Norah has been officially released from therapy, we still go once a week to her therapy playgroup. it's one of our favorite places to go :) norah is now able to jump and she loves the trampoline! we're working on trying to get her to ride a tricycle. the great thing is, siblings are welcome so it's a great place for maren as well! they've got tons of toys she plays with which helps her to walk :) one of the therapists commented today how great maren was doing and she would definitely not need their services :)

maren at 9 months

maren is changing literally overnight now! she crawls like speed racer and pulls up on everything and cruises along anything that will stay still! she has recently begun letting go and just standing on her own for a moment -- i definitely feel like walking is in sight :) she babbles all the time - "dadada", "nanana" and "mamamam" - tonight she actually looked at me and said "mama" -- i know i know, it's usually just coincidence at this point but i still like it :) she's no longer sleeping in our bed most nights and she hates baby food - she's gone to eating "human food" as ella & layla calls it - meaning she eats what we eat now. she has 6 teeth :)

who can read?!?

THIS GIRL!!! :)

that's right! she is now reading to me, on her own! we have the first read books gor kindergartners and she LOVES LOVES LOVES to read! i could not be more proud of my baby!

out to lunch with daddy.

weekend pix

everyday is halloween with the brindisi babes :)


getting ready for church

getting ready to eat :)

she can sleep anywhere and in any position!

oh, the simple joy a basket can bring a child :)

playing with daddy

Daddy's birthday lunch

the girls and i ventured to downtown yesterday to have a birthday lunch with daddy! danny turned 32 :)

showing off her style. she dressed herself today - hat and all :)

showing off her independance by riding by herself in another seat!

fun times on the escalator in daddy's building

having lunch on the rooftop garden. a rare sunny november day in seattle!




definitely not a cheap date :)

Halloween Festivities

Creating the blueprint . .

trying to avoid getting their hands dirty

we finally convinced ella to go for it!

this was the first year she's ever helped to clean out the pumpkin :)

layla tried, but surprisingly, she was the one who still hated it!




We had a hard time getting pictures this year. Danny ended up holding Norah most of the night (she wasn't too into festivities) and I held sleeping Maren - so it left little time for the camera :)
wonder woman, a witch, and minnie mouse

mickey mouse snug in her seat - she HATED the hat/ears we had for her so everyone thought she was a ladybug all night


i threw together a last minute costume b/c the girls kept asking what I was going to be :)

We went to a trunk or treat at a local church where i attend MOPS and than onto the nieghborhoods! ella and layla had a blast! we stayed out about 2 1/2 hours and they were exhausted by the time we finally got home!