lots of naps.

lots of antibiotics.

lots of snuggles.

better, soon.

i promise.

my cold-weather girls.

sad baby

we're heading back to the doctor this afternoon......

i have to say, it hasn't been a healthy stretch for this family.

tess is now the worst.....terrible sounding cough and terrible looking nose.

i see a vague diagnosis of "sinusitis" and

the pink bottle of antibiotics in her future.

check out annie in the background.

completely oblivious,

and possibly sticking something up her nose.

she cracks me up.

erin, running around outside while dan put up the christmas lights.

not christmas card pictures, i swear.

just thanksgiving pictures.

thankful

for them,

every day.

more than they will ever know.

happy thanksgiving, friends.

xoxo

brooke

take two

so i decided to move the party inside and try for a few more shots.

just a little background: this was last wednesday.

we were getting ready to take kate to the doctor.

so they were all dressed and clean.

kate had a fever of 103.6.

yep, that's right. and i'm taking the christmas card picture....

alone. with no help, because i have an obsessive personality.

well, we all know that.

the third picture makes me laugh out loud every time.

kate said her cheeks hurt from all the smiling,

so i told them all to stop smiling.

pictures 4 and 5 are the lovely results of me twirling around,

falling to the floor, and leaping up to take the shot.

that was the ONLY thing the baby thought was funny.

but i can't use those......

for the love of god.

they are inside.

christmas card pictures take one.

(didn't take)

max

we traveled to madison yesterday to see max in all of his 6 year glory.

he was pretty much radiating birthday charm.

6 years since we welcomed that big baby boy?

hard to believe.

he greeted us at the door and gave us all hugs and when it was time to open presents,

very patiently explained to me that they were actually all for him.

(i provoked that response. you can imagine.)

happy birthday, buddy.

we loved celebrating with you.

tess, almost 11 months.

she is changing so much, every day. you'd think i would get used to it but it never seems to happen. she does this funny super-fast crawling now, pulls herself up onto everything, is resisting baby food with frantic hand clapping (god help you if your spoonful of mush gets in the way of that.....it goes flying.) i swear she says "good girl". she loves swimming and her sisters and her bunnies and still falls to pieces if her daddy walks into the room and doesn't pick her up. her hair gets curly when it's wet and when i yell, she yells. (like, if i'm in her room and belt out a PUTONYOURSHOESRIGHTNOWIT'STIMETOGO! to the conveniently deaf girlies in the other room, she throws her head back and belts out a similar tune.)

she's all sorts of lovely.

tess's new room

we re-painted and re-decorated the nursery.

i am in love.....saying good-bye to those old blue walls and clutter was heavenly.

now it's full of light and warmth and seems perfect for our little girl.

it's my new happy place.

healing

kate, enjoying an afternoon of beauty after a week of high fevers and misery.

she has been fever-free since last night, so i think we are back to school tomorrow.

she is going to be over the moon.

i am going to be over the moon.

kate's mermaid

kate

enjoying a quiet(er) after school moment with my biggest girl.