Christmas in Texas

This year we took another road trip down to Texas. We drove straight!!!! We were surprised to find that though we were on the road for a total of 14 hours, it was actually much easier (and less expensive). With the exception of two meltdowns (one of which was mine), the kids did great and were in good spirits by the time we arrived.

Some of you who are my friends on Facebook have seen this already, but I've posted a link to the photo album here.Snyder Christmas 2010

Family Portraits 2010

Every year we try to take a good family photo. Rather than going with a photographer, we went with our local Portrait Innovations to take them along with a two year photo of Kate. I think next year we'll go with a real photographer, ha ha ha! Ethan's solo shots were done by his school, which I think turned out really well.

Ethan, 4 and a half years

Doesn't he look like a little man?

Kate, 2 years

The season's first snow...

It came so fast I didn't have snow pants for the kids yet! We're lucky Kate had some boots and one of Ethan's old hats. 

Look at the pretty snowflakes! I was the only one who stayed inside. They threw snowballs at the window to tease me.

The next morning brought sledding down the driveway

Add a new, homemade fleece hat for Kate.

I finally got my snow gear on and built a snow man! David helped with the finishing touches :)

My Muse

Kate has ONE dress. And since she spends her days keeping up with her older, rambunctious brother she doesn't need anymore.  However, this weekend, I was determined to have Kate wear something pretty to her Daddy's Christmas concert at church. I had an old pattern for a jumper that I made for her last year. Though I wasn't crazy about it, I thought I'd give it another shot with some new fabric. With my 50% off coupon, the fabric came out to under $5, and I already had thread and buttons to match. Here it is...

I'm glad Kate liked it!

The rear view. 

It's a simple a-line jumper, with button closures behind the shoulders, pocket in front.

Now onto something I could make for Ethan...Hmmm...pj pants, maybe?

Five Seconds of Fame

Last June, Ethan, Kate and I starred in our first commercial together! Okay, so we got 2 seconds in a 30- second public service announcement, but that counts, right?

It took a while for me to catch wind of where and when it was being aired. And luckily, one of my contacts from the shoot emailed me the youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgKBbFF3Zw4. Enjoy the video and pics from the shoot below...

Happy Halloween! (Part 2)

Spiderman and my little elephant getting ready to hit the neighborhood!

Our pastor lives a block away...they greeted trick or treaters with a warm fire pit out front! Perfect for warming my hands :)

Later, we joined a princess and a star trooper...

...an upset Knight...

a curious dalmation...

...and his firefighter ...

...for an evening of roasted marshmallows and running around our friend's back yard!

The adults gathering around the fire pit.

What a great Halloween!

Happy Halloween! (Part 1)

The kids carving their first pumpkins this weekend...

A blurry photo of the kids, but you can see the jack-o-lanterns really well!

Everybody Needs an Uncle Jimmy

I have a lot of cousins. A LOT. And since they're all over the world I love it when they are passing through Chicago and have time to stop for a visit.

I was feeling rather brave one weekend...oddly enough, the weekend after my girlfriends voluntarily took on one of my own kids to add to their two. I thought to myself, "If they can take care of three small kids, I can certainly drive up to Chicago for the day with the ones I already have!" I normally don't travel far with them by myself. But with the news of one of my cousins passing through town, I thought it was worth trying!

I was blessed with no traffic, no tantrums, and plenty of beautiful weather for a stroll through Lincoln Park Zoo where I met up with my cousin Jimmy. So great to catch up with him and meet his girlfriend, Ari. I introduced him to Ethan as "Uncle Jimmy" since in Filipino culture, age plays a big part in how we address one another. At least I didn't make him call him "Tito Jimmy!" 

Weekend Getaway

The day after the wedding brought us gallivanting around Dinosaur Valley State Park...Where are the kids, you ask? ha ha....not with us :) We enjoyed a day of hiking in some beautiful woods, hunting dinosaur tracks, and wading in streams. I had forgotten what it was like to play!

AAARGH!

Our little car rental! It was fun tooling around in this red VW bug!

We are forever indebted to our good friends, the Zimmermans and the Reedys for taking on an extra kid for the weekend and giving us the chance to "getaway". From what I can tell, Ethan and Kate had a great time doing sleep overs at their friends' houses!

Congratulations Nathan and Amy!

The beginning of October brought us not only birthdays, but a wedding, too! David and I flew to Dallas to attend his nephew's wedding in Fort Worth, TX. Some pics below...

The Bridal Party

Cutting the groom's cake

In case you're wondering, yes, the groom's cake is in the shape of Nathan's favorite chewing tobacco.

The wedding cake!

Nathan's grandparents

Nathan's parents

Me, David and Nathan's youngest sister 

No wedding is complete without line dancing!

Nathan's younger brother with his girlfriend

Nathan and Amy finishing up their first dance

Thank you to Dana Copp, David's uncle, for taking this pics and sharing them with us!