More from Cincinnati

We took the opportunity while we were in Cincinnati to get some Suttmann family portraits. I think we got some great pics!

We also got some great pictures of Lucas, Megan and Kayla ... some with Grandma Krollmann.

Christmas in Cincinnati

We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Barb's. Kayla started the gathering with some awesome news ... she's going to be a big sister! After a delicious dinner, it was present time. In addition to all the presents the kids loved, they enjoyed stomping on some bubble wrap. :)


Christmas Day! We started the day with the Suttmann side. It's amazing how fast 6 kids can tear through so many presents. There were several comments (all from the boys) about "more clothes", apparently not a hit. But all seemed happy with lots of new toys as well. The kids had a great time playing, but after brunch it was time to head off to the Krollmann Christmas. More playing, more presents and more fun! The kids (and their parents) were definitely worn out by the end of the day!

Christmas at Home

Santa is such a considerate person ... he was kind enough to visit our house early since he knew we wouldn't be here on Christmas Day. Lucas and Megan were very excited to wake up to a bunch of presents under the tree! After opening their stocking stuffers, they headed upstairs and tore through all the stuff under the tree. Megan's favorite present is likely the baby potty she got for her dolls (not to mention the changing pad, wipes and lotion). Lucas was excited to get a new bike for Christmas and is looking forward to warmer temperatures outside so he can try it out.

Santa & Snow Angels

Yesterday, we met the Kluesners and Fords and went on a train ride with Santa! I think all the kids had fun singing and talking to Santa. Lucas is still a little scared of Santa and wouldn't let me get up so Santa could (more easily) sit by us, but he was happy to talk to him and offer up what he wants for Christmas. Megan was a little less scared of Santa, but still didn't want to sit by him. Fortunately, Alicia was sitting with us and was happy to sit by Santa. Unfortunately, since I wasn't allowed to get up, I didn't get a Santa picture. :P


Update: Thanks to Drew & Heather for sharing their pictures. You can see more on Alicia's Blog.


Today we enjoyed some of the new snow outside. Much to Lucas's dismay, it was not good packing snow, but we did have some fun making snow angels. Megan was amused when Mommy "fell" into the snow and was happy to try it herself ... and made her first snow angel!

New Familiy Photos

Well, it's getting to be more of a challenge to get a family photo thanks to Megan's 1000 expressions, but we did get some good ones.

Lest you not believe, maybe this will explain the challenge (note, these are low-res pics because that is all we are legally allowed to share ... and it's all we have for the following faces as we didn't actually buy any of them).

Thanksgiving

Aunt Barb came to visit us for Thanksgiving again this year. We love having her visit! We even got the Christmas Tree put up before she left.

Hanging Out

Random cute picture of the kids hanging out ... Megan, Everett, Alicia, Carl and Lucas were mesmerized by some adults playing video games.

Happy Halloween!

Megan and Lucas got lots of chances to show off their costumes this year ... the Costume Parade during the Fall Festival at school, a Halloween Birthday party, and Halloween (of course!). I think they make a fantastic pirate and scarecrow.






While Lucas was doing his homework for school today (which I still can't believe he has, but he loves it), Megan was coloring across from him. Somehow the spelling of Megan's name came up and Lucas was helping her with it. The next thing I hear is "Here, I'll write it for you.". I walked out and saw Lucas writing Megan's name for her ... upside down. He informed me "that's so it's right for her". So cute! And I was very impressed with how well he wrote upside down!

A New Way to Sleep

You know they must be tired when they can't get all the way back into bed.

Happy 4th Birthday Kaylee!

Today we celebrated Kaylee's 4th Birthday. Lots of playing, some tape the mouth on the Jack-O-Lantern and lots of fun!

Wrestling Around

Lucas and Megan were having some fun wrestling around and I was fortunate enough to catch them. Daddy even joined in for a moment so we could get a group picture.

The Pumpkin Patch

Today we headed to the the pumpkin patch. I'm not sure what was the kids' favorite part was, but they had a blast! We started in the corn maze and explored many of the paths and one of the bridges. We also checked out the chickens, goats and go carts. Lucas and Megan got excited about the tube slide and went down that several times on burlap sacks. Since getting into the slide required Mommy lifting them up 3 ft. off the ground, we convinced them to head on over to the pumpkin patch. The wagon ride over was interesting ... a bunch of school bus seats bolted around the edge of a wagon and another section crammed down the middle. Once at the pumpkin patch, we each picked our pumpkins and headed back. One last stop for some fresh kettle corn, and and we took some exhausted kids back home.

Happy 4th Birthday Carl!

Today was a busy day celebrating Carl's birthday. The morning started at Monkey Joe's where the kids ran around and had a blast on the climbers and slides. The fun morning was topped off with pizza and cupcakes for lunch. After a trip home for nap to recharge, we headed back to the Bormet house for round 2. More playing, some tape the head on the dinosaur, musical fun and more cake. I hope Carl had as much fun as we did!

No Longer a Toddler

Megan transitions from her Toddler room to her new Twos room this week. Megan will miss her teachers Ms. Katrina and Ms. Grace. Megan loved to sit on Ms. Katrina's lap during story time and always started looking for her once we got to school. I'm sure there will be lots of visits to see Ms. Katrina!

Apple Picking

We decided to get in the spirit of fall before the weather turned really cold and headed out to go apple picking. We met Heather and Alicia and the Bormets there. Unfortunately, there were no apples left at kid level, but we did manage to fill our bags using the apple picker ... and we got a couple of apples while lifting up the kids. We probably could have filled our bags a little faster if everyone wouldn't have kept sampling the apples. :)

Lucas's 4-Year Pics

Such a handsome little man!

Moving on to Pre-K

Two weeks ago, Lucas moved up to Pre-K! This is Lucas with his preschool teachers, Ms. Tiffany and Ms. Eula. Lucas loved being in their class for the last year and learned so many things ... among them are the planets, carnivores vs. herbivores, and gardening.

Happy 4th Birthday Lucas!

Our Super Dude turns 4 today! We celebrated yesterday lots of friends ... and Grandma and Grandpa Suttmann even made the trip to celebrate with us!


We celebrated some more today with more presents from Mommy and Daddy ... and, of course, some more cake.

Little Chefs

Our little chefs were busy at work today. And thanks to their aprons from Tomi, they stayed neat (and cute) doing it!

Some random pictures from hanging out at the Bormet house ...

Abby's Birthday at the Zoo

We headed to the zoo today to have some fun for Abby's birthday. Abby and Megan's friends Morgan and Kate also joined the group. I think the favorite part was watching the dolphin show ... especially when the dolphins were "dancing" to some music, Lucas and Megan danced right along with them.

Our Big Girl is Growing Up Fast

Yesterday started with Lucas and Megan's swimming classes. While getting the kids dressed after class, Mommy realized she forgot Megan's diaper. We had a spare swim diaper, but those are pretty useless, especially since Megan usually fills her diaper during the drive home. Well, it was bound to happen at some point ... so it was time to test Megan's potty training skills. Since Megan hasn't liked the little (kiddie) potty and goes right for the real thing, Mommy was hoping the first time going in a public restroom would go well. Megan actually managed to go on the big potty and then wore the swim diaper home ... and it was dry! She even went potty (on the big potty) again when we got home!

Yesterday was also the first day Megan slept in her new big girl bed. We couldn't get it made fast enough for her ... she kept trying to put her blanket (which happens to be attached to her tag) into the bed to mark it as hers. After lunch, she got right into her new bed and went right to sleep! She took a little longer to convince to stay in bed that night, but did eventually go to sleep and stayed in bed all night (without falling out). Nap and bedtime both went great today!

Reading Together

Getting in some reading before heading to school ...

Megan's 2-Year Pics

How could you not think this little girl is so cute?