and now he is seven

 Waking before the sun rises means using flash photography.  :\

 But it also means we get to start the birthday celebrations early!  Finley turned 7 years old today!

 Fun cereal for breakfast!

 We let Finn open some of his presents before he went to school.

 A lamp that clips to his top bunk, so he can read at night.

 A Minecraft hoodie.

 Seven?!  Such a big kid.

 Kenton & I went to eat lunch with Finn at school.  He likes to sit at the peanut butter table with his cousins.  They're all in different classes, but if they bring peanut butter, then they can sit together.

 Lunch was super quick & we barely had time to chat with the birthday boy.

 But we enjoyed seeing how things go at lunch & helping him get hot lunch for the first time.  :)

When we left, Kenton & I laughed about how it seemed like we weren't as exciting to Finley as we thought we would be.  :P  But later that night, he asked why we didn't stay longer & told us that he liked having us there SO much!  Warmed our hearts.  :)

 After school!  Handsome boy.

 The cousins love visiting together at Memaw & Papa's house after school.

 Dinner time!  Elsa is reclining in the high chair.  :P

 Seven years old & he lost his 6th tooth at school today!

 Dinner request: sloppy joes & carrots "the way Mummi makes them".  I think that means cooked with basil.  He said they were delicious, so I must've gotten close.

 After dinner, we let Finn open some more gifts & Mummi & Pappa brought a gift for him to open.

 Seven dollar coins!

 And a new jacket from Mummi & Pappa!

 Mohawk helmet from us!

 What a dude!

 Cedar taking a turn with Elsa.

 We finished off the night with a surprise trip to play mini-golf!

 It was a first for our boys.

 I actually got two "hole-in-ones" even though I was wearing Elsa the whole time.

 Cuddled up to Mama.

 All done!  What an awesome day!

We sure love you Finley!  What a joy it is to be your parents!

four and a half

 We gave Cedar a few gifts yesterday morning in honor of his half birthday!

 The traditional half birthday gift: socks!  He also got a new lego!

I knew Cedar would like these fake mustaches!

 I didn't anticipate his idea to put one on Elsa.  This was too funny.  She even wrinkled up her face & twitched her mustache a bit.  She looks like a baby Ron Swanson!  :P

Some photos from my phone:

 Smiles for her big brothers!

Smiles for Dad after sleeping all night!  Way to go, Elsa!

Finley & Cedar were out of school, so I took all three on a walk/ride to Grocery Outlet to buy ice cream (to go with the apple crisp I'd made!).

happy halloween

 I love this photo.  It just feels like an instant classic!  

 It was drizzly last night but not too cold.  Elsa stayed warm, cuddled up to Mama in the Ergo carrier.

We walked from our house to Mummi & Pappa's house, trick or treating along the way.  It worked out really well; it's so fun to live so close to Kenton's parents.

 Our vampire, Finley (almost 7!)

 Our knight, Cedar (almost 4 1/2)

We've been driving by this house all month & enjoying it's spooky decorations!

 Finley watched this spider fall down on the group of trick or treaters in front of us, so he was ready for it!

 He still jumped pretty high when it finally dropped on him!  ;)

 Great decorations!  So fun!

 More fun decorations!

 It was pretty dark by the time we made it to Mummi & Pappa's house.

 They gave the boys special flashlights that were super helpful for the dark walk back home.

 After walking our neighborhood, we drove to my parents' house to meet up with the aunts, uncles & cousins.

 Cedar, Griffin (special forces soldier), Sadie (nerd), Ronan (soccer player), Finley, Tyler (his own Minecraft character), Elsa (not really in costumer...maybe glamour girl??) :P, Cohen (soccer player), & Tate (alligator)

 Elsa & Sadie

Elsa was a little grumpy, but after nursing for a bit, she cheered up before falling asleep in Aunt Gretchen's arms.

 Getting some special treatment from Papa.  Elsa got her first cold & I wanted him to listen to her lungs to make sure she was doing okay.  She's lost her voice & can't really cry out right now, but she's doing just fine according to Papa.  :)

We had a great night, ate too much candy, got some exercise, & enjoyed ourselves overall.  

Happy Halloween!

6 days old photo shoot

 When Elsa was 6 days old, our friend Amy came over to capture her sweet "newbornness" in photos.  We are so thankful for these photos.  I love taking pictures, but it's difficult to make the time to do a whole photo shoot.  Aren't these great?

 Kenton & I think her expression is so funny!  We're still getting used to all the pink & flowery headbands & ruffles that go along with baby girl clothes & accessories.  :P