November 2017

Don't we make the cutest kids?!

And don't we live in the most beautiful place?!

This is the most snow we've gotten so far this winter. The kids had to stomp around on the artificial grass and pull the build-up of snow off the bottom of their boots to make this snow tower. We are craving a real snow fall!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Clara! It was filled with presents, a fun trip to the zoo with Daddy and Lexi (Cole had a stomach bug), and an Elsa cake. She was in Heaven!

Lexi spent a very long time at the store with me picking out just the right gift for Clara on her birthday. She finally settled on giving her a bright pink and purple sparkly walking unicorn on a leash, which Clara promptly named "Uni". It was instantly a favorite. 

Another favorite was her Princess Sophia dress and amulet necklace (from one of her favorite cartoons). I don't think a day has gone by since her birthday where she has not worn this outfit.

The "My Little Ponies" figures were icing on the cake.

Speaking of cakes, I attempted to make her an Elsa cake from the movie Frozen. Let's just say that my cake decorating skills are lacking a little bit...I was horrified at how it turned out. Fortunately, it was perfect in Clara's little three-year-old eyes.

Clara fell asleep after going potty in her bathroom in the basement and this is how we found her. Apparently playing dress-up was so exhausting that she couldn't even pull up her pants.

Cole hit a big milestone for himself in November by earning his orange belt in karate. He's been working hard and getting stronger, and we are proud of how he's progressing.

Our sweet little Lexi was diagnosed with a misaligned eye this month and will be having eye surgery in January to reconcile it. Hopefully not a major surgery with a high chance of success, but in the mean time she gets to wear these cool eye patches for a bit everyday to try and strengthen the weak eye. Crossing our fingers that her eyes won't be crossing as much!

Thanksgiving dinner this year was a simple affair at home for us. I wasn't up for traveling and my poor parents were too sick to come for a visit, so we had a small family dinner with just us five.

We had an early meal and spent the afternoon at a park that just opened nearby. It was so warm and beautiful outside that we had to!

This is one of my new favorite pictures. I love my sweet husband.

Dave took several days off of work to be home with us during Thanksgiving break, and he knew that one of my goals was to sandwich this quilt for Clara's big-girl room so I can finish it before the baby comes (Clara has officially moved out of the nursery to make room for baby sister). I am getting so far along that I can't bend down and work on the floor anymore, so he helped me roll it out, pin it, and trim it. I love this picture because he's in the process of trimming the last of it while simultaneously watching the football game on his phone. No, he doesn't enjoy quilting. Yes, he loves me enough to help me with it anyway and didn't complain at all. Isn't he the best?!

October 2017

Baby Beutler #4

Baby Beutler is now over half-way here, coming the end of February. Around 10 weeks we did a gender blood test which told us we were having a boy. Cole was beyond excited to have a brother, and we had a name and nursery decor chosen and everything. However, at our anatomy ultrasound around 19 weeks we learned that we are actually having a girl (3D ultrasounds are pretty hard to dispute). There were lots of tears in the office from Cole because he wasn't getting a brother and big smiles from Lexi and Clara that they were getting a new sister. We're not sure how the blood test was mixed up, but we are happy to be having another little girl join our family. Even Cole has come around and is excited for her to get here.

Great Wolf Lodge

I'm still not feeling very well so traveling is not an option at the moment. For a fun fall break we took the kids down the street and spent a night at Great Wolf Lodge. They explored all of the animals and fun things to do in the hotel and spent lots of time swimming and going down water slides. I spent most of the time sitting and watching, but Dave had a blast with his water buddies. Cole is finally tall enough to go on the big slides with him, and they had so much fun together. The wave pool was a favorite as well.

Halloween

To kick off Halloween festivities Dave took the kids to a pumpkin patch. They rode the hay ride, played in the corn and climbed on the hay, and picked their own pumpkins.

Daddy helped everyone carve their pumpkins. Clara was particularly fond of her sweet owl.

Both girls decided to be Aurora (sleeping beauty) - there was no way we were getting only one fancy princess dress. They loved getting all dressed up and their hair done.

Cole chose to be a ninja this year. Dave told him to strike a ninja pose and he pulled out quite the looks. Who knew he was such a model at heart?! ;-)

Actual trick-or-treating on Halloween was pretty cold this year, but luckily we had a church trunk-or-treat and carnival to go to indoors. The kids loved the games, and somehow they ended up winning 4 live fish to bring home (only 1 of which is still with us).

Other October Happenings

This is still how I spend most of my time...

Semi-annual mowing with Daddy.

Lexi's preschool class has been learning about community helpers this month, and a doctor visited and gave all of the kids medical gowns.

Soccer season is over and Lexi could not have been more excited to get her medal at the end of the last game.

Our sweet Clara has her own sense of style ALL of the time.

Cole went to a friend's birthday party where they had a real pony to ride.

The kids love to play in the backyard but often leave the back door open. Unfortunately, they a mouse into the house. We quarantined it to the pantry, but it took a couple days to catch it in traps because it kept hiding behind the freezer. All taken care of now. Yuck!!!