thanksgiving

we've had a really nice, quiet thanksgiving at home together

we started yesterday by going to breakfast then home for chores

noah is getting really good at doing the dishes

 and hazel is always more than willing to help

she cleaned the living room and vacuumed

 then we went and saw the movie frozen at the theater

and the kids loved it! 

olive and Eleanor were there, too, but less excited about pictures

 .................

today for thanksgiving Michael and I prepped all the food

and Eleanor helped by un-doing the place settings :)

 i'm not going to lie, Michael and I threw together a pretty awesome meal

it was delicious

we had a small turkey, asparagus, homemade rolls, stuffing, deviled eggs, jello,

 cranberry pear sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, egg nog

 and sparkling cider with pumpkin pie and apple pie for dessert

 here are the people i'm most grateful for

 we went around the table while we were eating and said what we are grateful for

it was really touching to hear their responses

 I really could not be more blessed

 and seriously....mmmm

shortly after we ate we walked to the park

 to launch a rocket Michael's parents gave noah for christmas

 the kids enjoyed running around

the rocket was a little smaller than we thought

once michael got it maybe 10 feet high

but that was as high as it got

we'll have to try again another day after we buy more vinegar and baking soda 

 noah thought it was hilarious and fell on the ground he loved it so much

 pretty hazel

princesses

we enjoyed the swings for a while before we headed home

 after we got home we ate some pie and played some cards

before deciding to all head to walmart for some black Friday shopping

the original plan was for just Michael to go

but it seemed a shame to be apart on thanksgiving

it was pretty crazy but we were in and out in about an hour

and got everything we needed

we hope you've all had a wonderful thanksgiving, too!!!!

noah got his white yellow belt!

noah fiiiiinally advanced in martial arts today

he has been working toward this belt for months and months

he worked so hard

 we came home for dinner

and then went to frozen yogurt to celebrate

we are so proud of noah

martial arts has been great for him

he has so much more confidence in his body

and really enjoys it

baby boy

 we are so, so excited about our baby boy

i love feeling him move all the time

we are all happy to know it is in fact a boy (no regrets not waiting)

and i am so excited to dress another baby boy

here are a few things we bought him on our babymoon

that little blue and red striped newborn number kills me

i can't wait to put it on him 

the only trouble is...we are having a super hard time thinking of a name

we've never named a boy together before

it's tricky business

if you have any suggestions, i'd love to hear them!

michael decided he wanted the baby to have a second first name as a middle name

like noah does (thomas) so we aren't using lyons

we decided instead to use the middle name christopher

after michael's identical twin that passed away as a newborn

it had been our plan for years if ever we had a baby boy, to use it as a middle name

but i guess between michael's brother using as his son's first name,

and us not having a boy for a long time we kind of put it on the back burner

but michael had kind of planned on using it most of his life so we definitely will be

 but really, if you have any ideas

of first names for this little darling

________ christopher olson

let me know!

it is taking up way too much of my thoughts lately

i love having the name settled earlier rather than later 

it's so stressful! 

olive is sick

olive woke up night before last at 11:30pm

michael hadn't even quite fallen asleep yet but since i fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, i was

she was screaming and had a pretty croup-sounding cough

but her breathing was ok so we let her watch the cartoon she was crying for

and we all fell back asleep until the next morning

when she had pink-eye

poor girl

she spent most of the day on the couch

  michael was sweet and came home to take hazel to ballet so i wouldn't have to make olive leave the house

which was extra great because eleanor was napping anyway

and noah was happy to have a break from having to go anywhere

olive ended up falling asleep sitting up in her little chair while watching tv with noah

poor girl 

 we moved her to the couch and she slept for several hours

she spent the night in our bed with us because she wasn't very tired at bedtime

and she has an easier time falling asleep next to me

she's been really good at letting me put her eyedrops in 

and i am so grateful for that

and she doesn't seem to have croup so hopefully that was just a one night fluke

i'm reallllly hoping no one else gets pink eye

it's the worst

a new shirt for eleanor

i started this shirt for eleanor a month or two ago but decided it was too ugly to finish

then yesterday i picked it back up and decided to finish it

and add a bow, too

it's pretty cute on her and i'm glad i finished it before she outgrew it

early Christmas with grandma and grandpa olson

michael's parents were so sweet to bring us Christmas presents 

i'm not sure the kids could believe their luck getting presents so early!

they even got to help with the finishing touches, putting bows on

 cute olive wearing the dress i made hazel last year and holding her present

 noah is going to love every minute of this set

 cute girls with their grandma olson

 hazel and her new ballerina barbie

 we all watched noah excavate his stones and gems

it took a bit longer than we expected but he loved every minute of it

 he especially loved finding them :) 

those goggles are killing me!

 eleanor slept through most of the festivities 

so when she woke up (with angry eyebrows) we let her open her presents

 she got lots of help...you can barely see her curly hair poking out here

thank you, thank you, thank you to michael's parents

who are so sweet and spoil us rotten when they come!