A little bit of life lately...

November!

Woohoo!

It's always one of my favorite months of the year, as it contains so many fun things...including my birthday, Thanksgiving, and the beginning of the Christmas season. We found out we were expecting the first time in November, 11-28-09, which has only made this month even more near and dear to my heart. 

November!

We kicked the month off with a special little get together to celebrate Lucia's arrival. My friends organized a little "Sip and See"/Girls night, which was a lot of fun. We ate good food, sipped good wine, and enjoyed some nice kid-free time + conversation. 

Here are some fun pictures my Mom took with her new camera (thanks Mom)!

There ended up being soooo much more food than this, I am lucky to have some friends who are amazing cooks!

Another November/done being pregnant perk- I can highlight my hair again!! Yay!

Banana cupcakes with hazelnut frosting...yum.

new couch! Love these three <3 

the current artwork in the Greene Gallery

I believe this was shortly after Max spilled a drink on our brand new couch...at least we didn't get a white one this time!

she looks like a baby pirate in this picture :) 

I am so grateful for all of these ladies (and some other dear friends who couldn't make it), who really helped me through some tough months with meals, calls, texts, visits, and lots of encouragement. 

We are definitely spoiled with such great friends and family. 

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This past weekend we had a visit from Uncle Chris and Aunt Jenny. 

We're so glad they were able to break away from their crazy busy schedules for some time in CO.

They finally got to meet their new niece!

Jenny and I share the same birthday, so we got some b-day celebrating in as well.  We took a tour of a  local candy factory, made the annual birthday visit to my favorite bookstore, ate breakfast at Snooze (the best), and had a good time just hanging out and relaxing. 

It was interesting to learn about the process of hand making candy, and to see the precision of these candy makers. It takes about 3 years to be fully trained on all of the techniques. 

After seeing the process and the beautiful results, we've decided it's only Hammond's candy canes in their stockings from now on.

They show a little video at the beginning of the tour...as soon as Eli saw these ribbon candies he said, "me want that" and his Uncle got him one :)  

Goodbye candy factory. 

 We continued my favorite birthday tradition with a trip to my favorite bookstore, I love taking pictures here each year and seeing how much the boys have grown up. 

This was Lucy's first visit, I think she's a fan too. 

In true Eli fashion, he looked at a few shelves, picked his favorite book and then sat and read it the rest of the time. 

Interrupting this post with a couple of pictures from two years ago...

Max: 2 Eli: 7 months 

Darn you time, it's so cruel how you just keep marching on. 

Max: 4 Eli:2.5 

In true Max fashion, he took a lot of books on and off the shelves to check out, before finally settling on a book about going to the dentist, an experience he'd had earlier in the week. 

He said he wants to take it with him to his next visit to be "extra brave". 

Notice how Eli almost took his left eye out earlier this week. Raising little boys is not for the faint of heart I suppose. 

If there is a rocket in a book, he will always find it. 

This is the first day we heard Lucy laugh! It happened while Daddy was getting her dressed as we were trying to rush out the door to get to Snooze. Daddy has gotten the first laugh with all three kids, he must be funnier that I am :)
 She has been giggling here and there ever since.  

These two have such a special bond.

True story: I love to see Eli in buffalo check. Whenever I see a shirt like this I pick one up in his current size.  Poor kid is going to think he spent his childhood in one shirt!

Big helper. 

Chris and Jenny got me a Tattered Cover gift card so I got to pick some new books, including The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays. 

Yes!

Can't wait to put it to good use next week. 

November!