lovin' the white stuff.

Early February brought the first significant snowfall of the season to Grayslake (no white Christmas here). The kids couldn't wait to get out to play in it.

Big brother pulling little sis on the sled. 

 

Snow fort for the kids to hide in when mom throws snowballs at them!

I believe Cassie may also be holding her "snow diamond" in this picture. She found this apparently very special chunk of snow which she kept in the fort for safety.  I, of course, accidentally stepped on it at one point. Tears ensued. The snow diamond melted a few days later. More tears. Do you sense a pattern?  Always the waterworks with little sis. 

This snowman came and went, but we got nearly 10 inches of new snow just yesterday (late Feb.). I'm sure we'll get out to build Frosty #2. 

Lincoln's 100th day of school.

Lincoln's class celebrated the 100th day of school on Feb. 12th with lots of fun activities, the most hilarious of which was having the kids dress up like they were 100 years old. See "Grampa Lincoln" below.

He has silver spray in his hair, but with his strawberry locks it didn't show up much. Perhaps he'll be one of the lucky ones who isn't as affected by gray hair as some of us are.

the Lego room.

After Christmas each year, our dining room becomes "The Lego Room."  Here, Lincoln is proudly displaying a number of his Christmas gifts. He got lots of Lego Batman sets this year.

The Batcave.

The Batwing.

The entire city with various bad guys included. 

deeetroit sports.

Lincoln has been to a couple of Detroit sporting events recently. He and his dad went to a Lions game while we were in Michigan for the holidays. Below are a couple of pics of Lincoln tailgating. Brrrr...

And Matt received a gift of two tickets to see the Chicago Bulls play the Detroit Pistons here in Chicago. Of course Linc had his Deeetroit Basketball shirt on.

christmas 2012.

There's nothing like the warmth we feel inside like that that comes from preparing for Christmas.

Decorating cookies! 

A sprinkle here, an M&M there.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Dear Santa,
Please, please, please bring me a Nintendo DS and some games to go with it.
Love,
Lincoln

Dear Santa,
I'd love a Barbie that comes with a guitar. Oh, and I'd also like the Lego Tree House.
Love,
Cassidy 

Lincoln's version of Rudolph.

Cassidy's version of Rudolph.

It took a lot to get Cassidy to sit alone with Santa, but Santa is such a nice man and is just SO good with kids that she did it! They had a very important discussion about cookies this year and they talked some about toys as well. 

Lincoln loved spending time with Santa. They had a nice conversation that was kept between the two of them. 

This family photo was actually the first one taken. Santa encouraged us to show Cassidy that he's a nice man so the grown-ups got to talk with him, too. 

four.

Our little girl turned four last week. Unbelievable.

We celebrated with extended family and friends while we were in Michigan for Thanksgiving and then had a nice, quiet celebration with the nuclear family on her actual birthday. Which do you think Cassidy preferred?

Why do all of these people have to sing to me each year? This is scary and torturous. 

Gotta love the "cheese" smile. 

Boys in blue; girls in pink. We did not plan this.

Chocolate chip cookie cake. Yum.

Our little fairy princess. What a doll! 

This is Cassidy wearing her special birthday hat from preschool! 

Cassidy received a special gift from her big brother: a Knuffle Bunny of her own!
(For those of you who don't know Knuffle Bunny, it's a series of books that are simply adorable)

This is little sister hugging her brother after opening Knuffle Bunny. Awww...

 Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

A family of Supers.

Beer Man made his debut in 2010. Superwoman has finally followed with her 2012 debut. We were officially a family of Supers this year.

Superwoman, Beer Man, Superman, and Supergirl. 

Lincoln is pretty big on Superheros this year thanks to his Wii Batman game. He's gotten to know the characters well and when it came time to choose a Halloween costume, Superman was it for him. He tried the costume on in the store and when the cape was attached, he had the biggest smile on his face and he wondered if he could really fly. So cute. 

On the trick-or-treat path.

When we first started talking about Halloween this year, Cassidy insisted on being Elmo, which I think she's a bit old for. She had recently seen an adult dressed like Elmo at our local Farmers Market and the costume apparently made an impression on her!  Then she toyed around with the idea of being a Lego guy. Ultimately  she decided on the Supergirl costume, especially when she learned that she and I would be dressed like twins. 

Supergirl to the rescue!

Mine...all mine!

Mmmm...candy.

Hope you had a Super Halloween!