Oliver lately (3 1/4 years)

The 3's have been a bit of a roller coaster so far. Lots of laughing, dancing, learning... and also lots of yelling and crying. He's full of energy. One of his favorite things is to put music on and dance, preferably with all of us. He has broad taste in music. On current rotation are They Might Be Giants, Okee Dokee Brothers, XX, Arcade Fire, M.I.A., and The Old 97's. He's also always making us laugh by saying or doing something funny. Just last night in the car on the way home from ice cream he said, "Mom has to put the ice cream in the re-freeze-erator." I really love watching him learn new things. He's been working on writing letters and can even read simple words! We have letters we use in the bath and he likes sounding out words and gets excited when he can figure them out. He's also really great with Josie most of the time. He really likes to do whatever she is doing and regularly is affectionate with her (or tries to be since she's not always so into it). On the flip side he's really growing up and exerting his independence and vocalizing his opinions. This has resulted in lots of arguments, tears, and frustration. We're continuing to work on letting him voice his views while also being respectful and nice to others. Keep growing little man. We love you!

Lots more photos below!

Matching jammies at the holidays

Chris took some photos of the kids for our holiday card a month or so ago and I love them all. These two have their conflicts, but they really do love each other. Also dressing them in matching jammies is so cheesy and I totally love it (and luckily, for now, so do they).

A few photos from the holiday season

With the holidays and the end of the semester I am always super busy, but I wanted to post a few recent photos. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!

making grandma's fruit "salad"

sampling the marshmallows

group shot from Thanksgiving
thanks for coming Ayres-Wilhelms!

and one of the 4 of us

picking out a tree

trying to stay warm at the tree lot

candy canes are yummy

Oli requested red ribbons for the tree

Oli's face and pose kills me in this one

the above photo reminds me of this one
from last year!

on board the North Pole Express with friends

Oliver and his friend Julia
after our trip to the North Pole

Josie 14 months

Josie just turned 14 months old on Wednesday. She had a cold for awhile this month and is getting two new teeth, but has been a trooper. She doesn't mind getting bundled up and loves exploring outside even if it's cold. She has been working on her use of utensils and is getting pretty good. She has been talking a lot more this month and it's so fun to hear her say new words. She started nodding yes and shaking her head no this month which has proved very helpful. With the exception of some early mornings, she is sleeping well and still taking two naps most days. She is sweet and silly and is always making us laugh. She has been having fun wearing mittens, boots, and slippers around the house and still loves reading books and dancing to music.

And adorable little Oli at 14 months.

Josie 13 months

Little JoJo, you are such a bright spot in our lives. This month has been fun - lots of walking, exploring, and giggles. You love to bring us books and sit in our lap while we read them. Watching you back yourself onto one of our laps is so cute. You are a great eater (peas are a current fav). You have been talking a lot more this month. Just recently you said and signed "please" and knocked and said "knock knock". You are still waking up pretty early in the morning (although sleeping great until then and still taking two naps). You (and Oli) had a cold this month so that made you a bit irritable and disrupted your sleep a little, but you were a trooper. Also disrupting your sleep was lots of teeth (I have lost count you have so many now). Minnesota has gone from fall to winter in the last month and you have had fun playing in leaves and walking in the snow for the first time. We love you lots! Happy 13 months baby girl!

Halloween 2014

We had such a fun Halloween. We got the kids ready and Chris and I threw on some last minute outfits (painter and nerd). We all went out trick-or-treating for about 30 minutes before Josie got tired and cold. I brought her back and Oliver and Chris continued for another hour or so. Once it got dark it was a little too spooky for Oli so they came back and Chris, Oli, and I handed out candy from the front porch for awhile (and ate some candy too of course). Oli has been slowly eating his candy - we let him have 1-2 pieces after a "good" meal - so it lasted a little over 2 weeks. Now on to Thanksgiving!

Siblings version 2

As Josie gets older, she and Oli have been interacting and playing together more. One of their favorite things to do is to copy each other. Usually this involves lots of squealing or sweet dance moves. Love watching their relationship grow!

And Siblings (version 1) from almost a year ago.