Happy birthday Tim!

Tim's request for his birthday was that we eat breakfast with him before he left for school. Unfortunately, the kids were sick so we weren't able to be up with him that morning. But we made him a brownie, with thick homemade frosting, and a map (Grace's request) and Superman (Cooper's request) on it.

Museum Trip #2

We headed back to the museum with our good friends Lori and Aiden. It is so fun to watch our kids playing together! And, Cooper was ready to talk to Santa this time!

In search of the Christmas card picture

Happy Birthday Jesus and

Merry Christmas from the Drakes!

The end of nap time is coming...

Cooper is on the verge of giving up his nap time. On his first day in the play room for "quiet time" (which will never end, right?!?!) I found him fast asleep with Moot in the reading corner. Maybe he's not quite ready. :)

Christmas Pageant

Grace was an angel again this year. She stood in the nativity and belted out Silent Night with the rest of them! Allyson, who was helping send in the angels, encouraged them to smile, so the first minute of Grace on stage was a very cute, pasted on smile! Good job Grace!

Preschool Picture

I don't pay for pictures unless I'm in them. (Meaning, I can take pictures of my family, but not of all of us together) It might make for long school careers for my children on picture day, but I refuse to pay $20 for pictures I probably won't display around my home. It will be nice to have for her baby book and to document growth. But, no. I won't pay $20 for this: (which must come as an 8x10, a 5x7, and 4 wallets) I love this little lady and think she is the cutest thing EVER, but she smiles on camera like her dad. Purchasing a picture sight unseen is not going to happen in the Drake household.

All that said, I think we did pretty good for her first school picture! And, I think it will be cool to have a picture of her in her classroom each year as well - she picked the spot! :)

Children's Museum - First trip

We made our first holiday trip to the Children's Museum just after Thanksgiving to meet up with my childhood friend Melanie and her 2.5 boys. (#3 is due in January!). It was so fun to reconnect with her after all these years. Thank you Facebook!

Grace was all ready to go in the morning - Sunglasses and all!

The Museum is AWESOME at Christmas time. We've already been twice and are going again with Tim this week! They have ice fishing, reindeer to groom, games to play, Christmas treats to bake, and Santa to meet (Grace's fist one this year - "He's not the real Santa, right?", and she requested a large cheeseburger and a doll who makes cheeseburgers. ?!?!?! And Cooper only gave him a high five.), and an ice castle to play in. So fun!!!

And Nicholas makes three...

Three grand kids for Grandma and Grandpa!

Grandma and Grandpa have cable TV.

Pottery with the cousins

Make it Your Own studio has a Christmas open house the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We again met our cousins there for some fun. I love how focused they get when they work!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grace wanted Pilgrim hats for Thanksgiving and Cooper wanted his to be orange. Fitting attire for our Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims, I think!

Cooper the Arteeest

Cooper is starting to get in on the art production around here. He's not nearly as dedicated as his sister (thank goodness - the amount of artwork that girl creates in one day is staggering!!) but we love seeing his creations! He is also getting very good at recognizing his letters and can even draw an H. Here is his fish that I finally got around to photographing.

Take us with you Aunt Monica!!!

Daddy - Daughter Day

For Daddy - Daughter Day Tim and Grace went to a wedding. They're so cute all dressed up!

Pizza Parties with Aunt Monica!

Monica came home the week before Thanksgiving. It was a hard lesson for my Gracie to learn to share Aunt Monica with baby Nicholas! But we made it through and had great time with her here. Grace did cry herself to sleep the night that she left, saying, "I miss Monica. She wasn't here as much as she usually is." We and the Coopers may have to have a big sleepover next time she is home in order for us all to get as much time with her as possible!

While she was here she taught us all how to throw pizza dough! Lots of fun! And Grace got to take Aunt Monica to school for sharing time. She was so proud!