First Snow (and other great signs of the season)

As I am writing this post, we are enjoying our first snow! Henry has already been outside to shovel, he did not even make it out of his pajamas - he looked so cute in his coat, boots and PJs! Bea and I watched from the door, she loves the snow! I let her touch the snow while we were watching Henry and her little face erupted in the biggest smile as she felt coldness and then watched it melt.

This week has been a busy one for us. Last Friday was our anniversary, 5 years already! What a wonderful five years it has been - we have moved a couple of times, I have completed my Doctorate degree, John has been super busy at Deere and most importantly, we have two precious children! We are so blessed.

On Thursday morning Henry's class had the opportunity to see the play "The Toad and the Frog" at St. Ambrose. My office was closed, so I was able to chaperon!! We had so much fun. Henry got to ride the school bus again and sit in a big auditorium with all of his friends (and Mom).

On Thursday we ventured back out to Boone, IA to board the "Polar Express". We were in Boone this fall to see a real "Thomas" engine and had a great time, so we decided a trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express was in order. We boarded the train at 6 PM, Henry dressed in his pajamas, like the other children, with a blanket to snuggle in (the train was not heated)and we were off to the North Pole. The weather in Boone that night was cold and snowy, which was perfect for ride to the North Pole. After singing Happy Birthday for all of the December birthdays, which are often overlooked,the volunteer elf read us Christmas stories, which included the Polar Express, of course, and we sang various Christmas carols. Finally, we arrived at the North Pole. It was decorated with tons of lights and looked magical. Santa was there to greet us and had a silver jingle bell for each child - you can guess what song we sang the entire ride home. After hot chocolate and cookies on train ride back to Boone, we headed home to Bettendorf. What a night it was, to the North Pole and back - we told Henry it was a high speed train.

On Saturday Henry had two birthday parties!! The first was for a little girl in his class. It was at a new jump house facility in Davenport called Monkey Joes. After two hours of running, jumping, and playing we headed home to prepare for Henry's party later that evening. We celebrated a little early because of John's schedule at work. We had a mixed theme this year, a little Scooby Doo, a little Transformers, and a little Star Wars - it all made for a great time. Henry asked me at the end of the night "Mommy, am I 4 now?". He is so sweet, I cannot believe he is 4 already, my how time flies. Everyone had a great time, Bea just loves Henry's new "Shake n' Go" race track, she looks so cute watching those cars race.

On Sunday we had lunch with Santa. This is the first year Henry was not afraid to sit on the big guy's lap. Bea was also very brave, as long as her big brother was near. Henry asked Santa for Transformer and also asked him to bring Bea a baby toy, which was very thoughtful. After our visit with Santa and lunch, we stayed for Christmas stories, crafts and play time with friends. The story teller also made balloon animals and toys, which led to the biggest balloon sword fight ever! Henry was exhausted when we got home - he went right to his room for a nap!

For all of our friends traveling this season, be safe! Enjoy the various photos below.