November

9am games are tough -- they started this one with only 5 players -- the other team had that many subs on the sidelines!

Saturdays are busy and sometimes cause identity-crises

Annual Friendsgiving

Holy crap that's a LOT of kids.

Roller skating with the Girl Scouts was hilariously and unexpectedly fun -- and as a bonus, I didn't break an ankle.

Speed racer!

Civic duty achievement level unlocked. We are excited to see what our new mayor has planned for our new city!

T's buddy Harper is our carpool, ballet, and leaf pile friend!

Quinn was NOT a fan of the cold leaves.

Mr Chico loves these little girls -- he beeps like crazy and they wave like lunatics.

Ladies? Need I remind you there are approximately eight trillion TOYS to play with in this house?

So far I've not have tons of success with the InstantPot ...

Blackberry zombie baby!!!

Date night with my adventurous eater -- she ate almost all of that food! She has a hollow leg!

I love Talie's style. Layers seem to be her priority over comfort, matching, and utility.

We are taking Nutcracker rehearsals VERY seriously.

So much laundry. So much cleaning.

It was COLD but Elliott and her classmates earned $13K for her school at the fun run!

Waiting for the bus with Daddy

I was looking back at photos on my phone and found about 22 of this artistic photo courtesy of Talie ... and about 65 photos of me ... in the shower. ACK!  DELETE ALL!

Giant hugs before another trip to Spain.

There were another 20+ photos of Talie's buddy Cassidy -- little sisters causing harmless trouble in the ballet waiting room.

This is what Quinn does while she waits for people to answer FaceTime calls. She cracks herself (and me) up.

There has been an extension cord tied up in a tree in the side yard for like 3 years -- we finally got it down, with some help from our adventurers. 

We miss our traveling man.

Teething is no fun.

Party Time!

We have always done small, play-date-style birthday parties for Talie -- she doesn't like crowds and loud noises so we were a little surprised when she said she wanted to have a big MyGym party with ALL of her friends and frankly, I was a little nervous about how she'd react to being the center of attention. She. Had. A. BLAST.  It was an interesting mix of kids, ages, and personalities -- the teachers herded those cats ... errr ... managed those kids fantastically. She LOVED it.

Turkey Day

Brothers don't shake hands! Brothers HUG!

Quinn, age 18 mo

This baby. She is so funny. She talks ALL THE TIME. She doesn't say any real WORDS, per se ... but she babbles all day long. Some highlights:

• Calling her sisters by covering her mouth and yelling "DAH-YEAH" or "EH-YEAH" into her hands.
• Blowing kisses and calling "nigh-nigh" to say goodnight.
• No is very clearly NO with a violent head shake. Yes is NAH with an incredibly slow and deliberate nod of the head and/or entire body.
• She loves looking out the window for squirrels, trucks, and the bus ("BUH-BUH!!!!")
• She loves to climb into her little rocking chair at night and chant "rockin' rockin'"
• Her favorite song is "If You're Happy and you Know It" but she'll shake her little booty for any current pop song.
• Yoga is a big activity in our house -- if anyone gets anywhere near the ground, Quinn will drop into a downward dog pose.
• She signs a whole bunch -- more, all done, tickle (OMG the tickle fingers crack me up), actually maybe she doesn't sign very much. She answers me yes and no if I ask her about taking a shower or if her diaper is stinky. She kind of says "snack" and definitely says "milk" and "wah-wah." Her first official word if I had to pick one would be "BALL." She totally lost her cool at Barbieri one day because she spotted a basketball up on a shelf in the library.
• She makes it VERY clear if she does not want to be picked up or hugged. Her sisters aren't very good at listening to her -- which usually results in Quinn shoving them. We have been teaching her the "gentle" sign so she will pet them and say "awww" after she swats them away. Her favorite form of greeting is the high five. And blowing kisses is a favorite as well.

Talie-Tals, age 5

This fun-loving snuggle bug is FIVE. She was thrilled when she "stored FWEE DOALS!" at soccer, she loves dancing and spinning at ballet, and her favorite part about "stool" is being the line leader to recess. She simultaneously wants to be the baby of the family but also to be big enough to go on the school bus and have homework -- being the middle sister is hard. Natalie, you're a love. Happy happy birthday, Talie Cheeks.

Sister tickle session at breakfast

Birthday girl's choice for dinner? Going to see Daddy at work and getting fresh pizza!

Some recent (and a few not-so-recent) Talie-isms:

• She has made some big strides in her pronunciations recently. It makes me sad that this might be our last "Twiss-mas" -- she is already calling her sister Quinn instead of Twin. 
• Be careful of the "hot wava" in the playroom.
• Oh she goes through phases of hair twirling -- and it isn't a sly twirl -- she grabs a section of her hair right at the top of her forehead and pulls on it straight up into the sky with both hands. It is the most noticeable nervous tic I've ever seen and it is adorable.
• I had her conference with her teacher the other day and both of us were astounded by how much a kid can change in one year. She still tends toward the shy side but she loves school this year and has become the "big kid" in her class who helps out the other kids. She can swim the full length of the pool up AND back, and her butterfly stroke is actually recognizable as the butterfly and not just a flopping kid about to drown. She LIGHTS UP in her ballet class and she'd rather come be my shadow at drama club and not leave my side than be at home with a sitter. She's my snuggliest kid and I am drinking it up these days because it seems her legs are longer every morning and very soon she isn't going to want to snuggle me. I THINK she'll be ready for kindergarten? Not sure I'LL be ready though.