Happy Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a fun long weekend with our families. It's always so much fun to watch our kids play together. :)

Uncle Aaron is teaching Tyler how to arm wrestle. Tyler is obviously giving him a pretty good fight. :)

Tyler, Connor, and Baby Ava

The kids (Connor, Tyler, Taylor, and Brenna) enjoying a ride. Poor Uncle Dave's back will never be the same!

Turkey Day 2008

Tyler holding Missy, Mama Carol & Papa Dave's new puppy.

Me and my sis-in-law, Debbie. No, it's not Twinkie Day--we just finished our family photo session. :)

Visits with Santa

When we took the boys to see Santa, we weren't prepared for Connor's reaction. He wanted absolutely no part of it! He was okay with waving to Santa and blowing him kisses from afar while I held him, but the minute we got within four feet of him, Connor stiffened up and tried to jump out of my arms. It was quite the opposite of the way that Tyler reacted at that age--he's always loved every fictional character under the sun. Anyway, like any sentimental mom who cares more about posterity than her child's fears, I plopped him down on Santa's lap and he was forced to endure twenty seconds of misery, all so that I could have that keepsake photo to look at and reflect on in twenty years. :)

Tyler couldn't wait to run down his list of "wishes" to Santa.

The little man is NOT happy about this--and I put him through it not only once.....

.......but twice!

Tyler and Cousin Taylor

Thankfully, our family photo earlier in the day went much better. :)

Christmas Tree Project

I bought a gingerbread Christmas tree kit for Tyler and Taylor and it turned out to be a really fun project! They enjoyed spreading icing on each of the stars that made up the tree and attaching the "ornaments" once we had the tree assembled (although I think they ate just as many ornaments as they put on the tree). :)

This MAY have actually been the highlight of the project!

Voila!

Back to school!

It's time for Ziggy to become part of someone else's family for a few days. We had a great time with him and hope that he can come back and stay with us soon!

Scooby-Doo and a Note

Tyler was missing his Aunt Kay-Kay this morning, so we sat down and wrote her a short note to let her know that we were thinking about her.

Reading my new Scooby-Doo book from Mama Jeanie (while wearing my Scooby PJ's, of course!).

I wanna be in a picture, too, Momma!

Fun Saturday

Today, I took Tyler to his best buddy, John's, birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. They had a great time with the other kids! Afterward, we rushed downtown to the SLU game just in time for the second half--the Bills played Boston College and actually won! :)

John and I are inseparable at school.

Shooting buckets at Chuck E. "Cheez-its." :)

Standing next to Dad while he plays during a time-out.

Silly Ziggy!

It's a Tyler-ken!

Ziggy is taking a rest in Mr. Jon's tuba.

Dad, Mom. Tyler, and Ziggy

The Class Pet

Tyler's class pet at daycare is a zebra named Ziggy. He gets to spend a few days with each child in the class, and today was our turn to bring him home. Tonight, he tagged along with us to the "Y" for swimming lessons.

Time for a story

Good night!

Pikes Peak

My Uncle Raymond and cousin, Blake, took a trip with us to Pikes Peak today. It was Tyler's first time and, again, his face was pressed against the window of the tram almost the whole way up the mountain. He apparently hasn't inherited his father's extreme fear of heights! Once we made it to the top, we had lunch at the cafe, did some browsing in the souvenir shop, and spent all of five minutes outside (it was only 8 degrees and VERY blustery!). The wind was so harsh that after 2 or 3 minutes, we all had tears streaming down our faces; and the boys were NOT thrilled about the cold. :)

Day One

We're staying with my aunt and uncle in Aurora and woke up to snow flurries today (at 4:45 a.m., I might add--why can't kids' internal clocks change with the time??), and Tyler was ecstatic--I mean "ready to put on a snowsuit and boots" ecstatic. The only problem is, the accumulation was only two inches and it was almost completely melted by lunchtime. We were able to snap a couple of family pics outside while most everything was "snowy white."

The four of us spent the morning at a nearby outlet mall, then had lunch together, followed by a trip to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (best fudge in the world, hands-down!). We headed back to my aunt's house in the afternoon, stopping at the local grocery store first to purchase ingredients for the delicious dinner that Dave and I made for everyone that evening. If you like to cook, and need ideas for easy-to-prepare meals that taste great, you really need to subscribe to "Simple and Delicious." ;)



Tyler and my cousin, Blair, sharing a snack.

One of the coolest families that we know: my Aunt Kim, Uncle Raymond, and cousins, Blair & Blake.

Off we go to CO!

We left the house and were Lambert-bound at around 8:00 a.m. today. After a trip to Target (had to make an emergency stop to buy Tyler a booster seat after we realized that both boys' carseats wouldn't fit in our carseat carrier) and a 90-minute Metrolink ride, we arrived at the airport with what seemed like everything we owned. Got checked in and found a kid-friendly spot to sit down; Tyler and Dave bought bagels and juice for all of us to share and the boys enjoyed watching TV and playing cars at a table that was just their size. Our plane ended up departing about 45 minutes late, but it worked out okay; luckily, our kids are pretty easy to occupy. :) As soon as we boarded the plane, a flight attendant greeted us with crackers and juice and we made our way to the back; the flight was only half full, so we were able to spread out. Tyler nabbed a window seat right away and I honestly didn't see much of his face the entire flight (take-offs and landings are very exciting for him!). Connor was another story; he was satisfied being held and eating snacks for awhile, but started to get antsy about 30 minutes into the flight. He would have been happy standing on the floor and rolling his cars/planes on the seat, but the flight attendants were afraid that he'd lose his balance and told us that we either had to hold him or belt him into a seat, neither of which went over well with him. After fussing and struggling for about an hour, he finally fell asleep--and we landed five minutes later.

Election Day

We were on our way home from work/school today, and as I turned toward the backseat to ask Tyler how his day was, I noticed a little "I VOTED" sticker on his shirt. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Mom: Did you vote today, honey?
Tyler: Yes, Mom. I voted for the donkey--Barack Obama.
Mom: Why is that?
Tyler: Because I like donkeys better than elephants.
Mom: And who was your other choice?
Tyler: The elephant, Mom. You know, John McCain.

I nearly ran off the road during this exchange; I never would have thought to ask him who the candidates were. Guess he pays close attention in class. :)

Later tonight, I paused briefly on a TV station that was giving constant updates on the election, and as Tyler walked into the room, he said, "Is the donkey winning, Mom?" I had to laugh at the pure innocence of it. :)

Everyone's ballot was posted on the wall outside of Tyler's classroom.

The kids were told to mark their choice with an "X."

Greetings from The Lunning's

I've decided to try something new! Tyler and Connor have their own websites through Our Baby News, but it's been difficult lately to keep both of them updated, especially considering how often I snap pictures. :) So, I thought I'd try the "blog" approach; I'm hoping that it will be an easier (not to mention cheaper!)way to keep everyone updated on the Lunning Fam.