Thanksgiving

We did two houses on Thanksgiving this year!  First we ate with the Sudlows in Catlin, and then we headed to the Gurtlers in White Heath for dinner.

Cousin Hazel:

The kids got matching jammies for Thanksgiving / Christmas:

I made pumpkin shaped cookies for Thanksgiving, and look what I found in the kitchen after I was done:  

Yummy icing!

Festival of Trees

We always love The Festival of Trees!  I made it there three times this year!  

They have a fancy gala on Friday night that is corporately sponsored.  I have always wanted to go, but tickets aren't available to the general public.  My brother Phil was picking up Hadley on a Friday afternoon and mentioned that they had two extra tickets for that night if we wanted them.  Well I have four kids, no babysitter, I look terrible, I have nothing to wear, Josh is in Champaign, and it's in less than two hours, so I said there was no way I could pull that off... well long story short, we did pull it off!  I don't think we could have planned that if we tried!

Men were required to wear a suit and tie, which Josh was not excited about, but he humored me, and even though I had a great time, I think he had even more fun than I did!  

Olivia Chew came to babysit at the last second and even brought shoes for me to borrow; how is that for a babysitter?  

I squeezed into this old dress that I have had for 10 years.  I think I need a new one! 

I always like to get Jacob's picture with Mrs. Claus because she held him at this event when he was just days old!

Lucas had a blast with Rudolph, showing him how to put his nose through the hole for a picture:

Aunt Sherry was there selling fudge, so Hannah got to dance with her:

Mom and I took the little ones during the day after Tuesday school:

Madelyn and Aleah next to Aunt Erika's tree that she decorated:

Jacob's 7th Birthday

Jacob had a great 7th birthday.  We had a few of the Downings over for dinner on his actual birthday; we had a party at Grandma Jody's for Jacob, Liam, and me; we took birthday treats to school; he had a friends party at the Illini game; and Grandma Teresa brought him an ice cream dessert.  

Josh and I majorly splurged on his gift this year.  We usually do small gifts, but Josh was too excited to get Jacob a Nintentdo Switch.  We thought if he got it for his birthday, he could get games, controllers, etc. for Christmas.  He was so excited!!!

Papa Steve, Aunt Sherry, and cousin Landon came over for dinner on his birthday after Cross Training.  Papa Steve got him his first game for his Switch.  

Aunt Alisa picked out some cool Mario gifts for him:

He asked me to make Cubs cookies for school like I did for Lucas' birthday, but he wanted plain baseballs for the Cardinals fans.  

With Mason being born that week, we couldn't find a time to celebrate with the Sudlow side, but Grandma brought a special dessert by when she dropped Emily's kids off while they were all at the hospital.

I think Jacob felt well celebrated!

Mason James

My newest nephew was born on November 11th to Emily and Keith.  His name is Mason James, and he was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20.75" long.

We got to go to the hospital to meet him, and then Madelyn and Owen came home with me.  We had 4 convertible carseats in my van!

Cousins lunch:

Jacob's Illini Birthday

Jacob asked if he could have a friends birthday party this year for the first time.  There was a home Illini game the weekend of his birthday, and Papa Bob and Grandma Jody had 8 extra tickets, so it worked out perfectly.  He took his dad, Uncle Jordan, cousin Landon and friends Dalton, Tucker, Weston, and Colby.  We borrowed an 8 passenger minivan so they could all ride together.  They got to have breakfast at the iHotel before the game:

And after the game, Josh took them to Jupiters for pizza and arcade games.  What a fun day! 

He got lots of Illini gifts:

and daddy did a good job taking pictures for me since I was at home with the little ones!

Birthdays at the Gurtlers

We had a big birthday celebration for me, Liam, and Jacob at the Gurtlers' house in November.

The kids always get new jammies, but the big kids got "real clothes" this time:

Jacob got a couple of DS games he has been wanting:

And I got an Instant Pot which I have already used A TON:

The cakes were beautiful: