Hittin' the Slopes

We hope you all had a great week. Ours was busy but in an uneventful kind of way. The boys are loving all of the special deliveries that are arriving at our door. They love to play in the boxes and with all of the packing material--it's been a great activity for them! They came to visit me at work one day last week and walked around to all of the offices to say hello to everyone. I think they brightened the day for a few people. (: Justin is already busy preparing for his next exam. It will be an exegetical exam on Clement of Alexandria (who I often fondly refer to as Alexandria of Clement when I'm trying to talk intelligently to others about this).

Jacoby has been very busy with his imaginative play, and as you'll see, has added a new character to his repertoire (he wants to wear his ski gear all the time!). Morgan finally decided to break free from the crib last Sunday. I don't think it went quite the way he was expecting as he crash landed to the floor with a big thud. He hasn't tried it out again, so we're hoping the crash will keep him in the crib a few more months. The boys have been having so much fun together after we say good night and turn out the lights. I don't know exactly what they're doing but there is a ton of giggling and laughing involved. Jacoby has decided he needs to sleep right by Morgan's crib, so we find him camped out on the floor most mornings now.

It's taken us almost a year of going to sales and ski swaps, scouring the internet for deals, saving pennies, and hoarding gift certificates to gather the necessary equipment, but after 6 years we're finally joining the ski community in Colorado. And our activity this weekend was making our first trip up to Winter Park for a day of skiing. It was a chilly day, but both boys had a great time. Jacoby spent 45 minutes on the bunny slope with Justin, and then they made a few runs down the big hill with Jacoby in the backpack. He seems to enjoy skiing, and always asks to go again and says he wants to go fast. Morgan had fun hanging out with me and playing in the snow as long as he wasn't too far from the action. It was a fun day to be outside in the mountains.

Happy Birthday wishes to Uncle Jared and Cousin Jax today!

Playing in the packing peanuts

Very busy...

Playing in the Christmas sensory bin. I collected lots of spare Christmas things and put them together. The boys love exploring this bin, and I add something new for them to find every time we get it out.

Playing in the big box

Jacoby the skier. Lucky for us, he loves all of the ski gear!

Morgan in his helmet and goggles.

Trying out his skis and boots

Ready to hit the slopes!

On the magic carpet up to the bunny slope

Finishing up his first run for the day with Daddy

Mommy forgot Morgan's coat at home. Sigh.
So he got to wear part of Mommy's. He didn't seem to mind.

Jacoby and Daddy. Note the helmet on Justin O.'s head for the very first time.

Coming down the big hill.
There's no one else on earth that I would ever trust to take my child down a mountain like this.

Hanging out in a Winter Park wagon

The Winter Park cabriolet--we ride this to/from the slopes

Back Together Again

We are so happy to report that Justin's first comprehensive exam is over, he feels fairly good about how it went, and we have enjoyed some much-needed time together as a family this weekend. The boys have been very glad to have Daddy back in our routine, and Morgan in particular of course, doesn't leave his side for long. We went to the Parade of Lights in downtown Louisville on Friday. The weather was perfect for a wonderful parade and the boys had a great time. Justin and I went out on a long-awaited date last night and enjoyed dinner and a movie. Besides that, we are just enjoying the simple pleasures found in being a family of four again, and we're breathing easier now that Daddy is under less pressure.

We hope you all have a great week!

Don't ask me how a T-Rex fits into the Parade of Lights theme, but he was a huge hit during the pre-parade festivities.

Enjoying our curb-side seats before the parade began

About 6 fire trucks started off the parade...the boys were completely mesmerized

One of two marching bands...and Mommy did impress upon her boys how cool marching band is and how cool it would be if they were in marching band someday. (:

Santa ended the parade, riding down Main Street in one of the big ladder trucks

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

We celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this week, and we enjoyed Aunt Kenzie's company so much. We spent time playing, going to the zoo, park, and library, and having long conversations over coffee and yummy leftovers. Morgan was Aunt Kenzie's special buddy over the weekend, taking her books to read, holding her hand outside, and making sure she was involved in all of his activities. It was a very peaceful holiday, and we were glad to share it together as family. We have much to be thankful for and hope that your holiday was special as well.

Modeling his cowboy hat for Aunt Kenzie

Doing a good job sharing

Jacoby enjoying his Thanksgiving feast

Morgan polishing off his second or third plate

Our lovely Aunt Kenzie

Daddy taking time off from studying to enjoy his meal

Jacoby and Kenzie toasting their sparkling cider

Sisters

On the train at the zoo

Reading together

Taking a stroll through the park

Decorating the Christmas tree

Morgan taking care of the garland

Helping Daddy with the star

Fixing a topsy-turvy star

What's Going On

Here's a bit on what we've been up to:

1. Justin is spending 12+ hours at the library now that they're open with extended hours for finals. His exam is on Dec 1 so he's cramming as much as possible.

2. Raking leaves is one of our favorite activities. We were out in the yard yesterday being quite productive until the sillies set in, and soon Morgan was demolishing our piles, Jacoby was piling leaves on Mommy, and two children were then "tossed" into piles of leaves and laughing up a storm. After the sillies wore off, we sat under the tree and looked at the beautiful full moon. Jacoby said, "I like you Mommy". Mommy said, "I love you Jacoby".

3. Flashlights are our new favorite activity in the evenings. The boys love having all the lights turned off so they can run around (and occasionally into one another or some stationary item in the house--tonight it was the bedroom door for Jacoby) with their flashlights.

4. I only have to work two days this week--hooray!

5. Aunt Kenzie comes on Wednesday, and we're so excited. Truth be told, Jacoby is very excited to get to Thanksgiving so we can then put up our Christmas tree.

6. I had conferences with the boys' teachers this week, and it was encouraging to hear that they're doing well in their classes, progressing along developmentally as they should be, and their teachers genuinely love and care for them.

Finger Food

Morgan's silly face

Playing in the rice bin...this kept them happy, busy, and quiet for almost an hour today!

First Snow and More

It's been a very busy week here in the Barber house. Mommy had a big meeting at work (which went extremely well, by the way), Daddy is studying hard for his exam and wrapping up a paper for his seminar, and the boys were super excited about the first snowfall. They happily started campaigning to go outside and play despite their runny noses, which led to the lovely task of sorting through all of the winter gear to see whose boots still fit and whose don't, which mittens have matches and which don't, and which hat would actually fit on Morgan's ginormous (but very cute) noggin. It was fun to see Morgan's reaction to the snow since I'm not sure he remembered much from last winter.

We then got to enjoy a great weekend with Grandpa Michael and Grandmanette. Jacoby and I took a trip in to Denver with Grandpa Michael and enjoyed a little one-on-one time with each other. We took Granmanette to the library and park for some activity. The boys have been cooped up this week with colds, so they were a bit wild and unruly over the weekend. This made for an interesting informal family picture session we had planned with Grandpa Michael. The words "circus" and " total mayhem" aptly described this experiment in trying to get the boys to cooperate.

I am looking forward to much quieter days, getting ready for the holidays, and enjoying time with my boys. I've got some reading to do on Jacoby's latest diagnosis (Eosinophilic Esophagitis or EE) so that we're ready for what lies ahead, and Justin's found some interesting articles on children who have chronic illnesses. But most of all, we're really looking forward to getting Daddy finished with his first exam so he can enjoy some of the holidays as well. Have a great week everyone!

Watching the snow fall outside

Morgan watching the snowflakes on his mittens

Enjoying the snow

Venturing out into the snow for the first time this season

Racing cars with Grandpa Michael

Reading with Grandmanette

Grandma hugs are the best!