Remember us?

Oh, you're still here! It's admittedly been a little while. We've been busy the past three months! We now sport a 1 year old and a 6 year old. Allie and I have made it through the entire Harry Potter series (including the Cursed Child, or Harry Potter #8, as she calls it). We have a two-wheel-bike-rider, a cruiser, and one happy (but exhausted) family.

Here's a little recap of some highlights since February...


Within the span of 4 days, we gained 3 years in the Eicholtz family.

Birthday cakes for the birthday kids.

The birthday crew (plus Daddy :o).

The last sticker in the pack..sniff.

Allie celebrated her big 0-6 with a big-girl movie date with a few friends. She spread out the celebration and we waited until the new Beauty and the Beast (starring Hermione Granger, of course) came out in March. I may have tested the waters to see if she would still want to dress that part, and Chris and I were secretly doing a happy dance when she said she did want to. Thankfully there's still a little little-girl left in there.

The neighborhood Belles...

Getting ready...

  

...to switch into Beast Mode.

 Meanwhile, Wes decided he was fine with our own beast.

It's a toss-up as to who is more slobbery.

 And he decided to stick with his job as a bathing Beauty.

:o)

And a random, sippin' sibs shot.

For Spring Break, Allie, Wes and I headed to North Carolina for some rest and relaxation (for us, not necessarily for Grandmom and Grandpa).

We (bought and) flew kites.

And did some back porch rocking.

  We made it back in time for an Eicholtz Easter.

I mean, if Wes' face doesn't shout 'Hallelujah!' I don't know what does.

 As Spring arrived, we made it out for a few field trips.

We hit up a Touch a Truck event...

And immediately saw smiles from our truck-lovin' tot.

Keep on truckin', people.

 Al and I stayed up late to finish the last chapters of Book #7 of the Harry Potter series.

That bookmark's been put through its paces.

 We misjudged the timing of the trains, but we still made the most of our trip to Paradise, PA.

Fortunately, Platform 9 3/4 was still there waiting for us.

We decided to hit up the train museum instead. Even though the words are still under cover for now, Wes is pretty animated about his likes and dislikes. Trains, are definitely on the 'likes' list.

This one's a fuzzy favorite.

I mean look at that smile (and Wes is pretty happy too).

Three train-loving Eicholtz boys.

Al was my prom date again this year for Heritage's prom. This year, she spent most of her time hanging out with the 'older' younger kids, I still got a few hugs, though, so I'll take what I can get.

One of my two favorite prom dates.

We grabbed 'the belly' to join us.

Aw, man.

And, aw, man again.

 And there you have it! Here's hoping to have the next installment before they're in college!

Eicholtz Epiphany (and change)

Christmas seems like it was just yesterday, but here we are, officially in 'the birthday month.' So, in an effort to clear our pictures and blog space to prepare for our almost 1 and 6 year olds, here are some long overdue photos of our merriment. It was declared by Allie, and the motion passed unanimously, that this was the best...Christmas...yet.

Reindeer's first Christmas.

He was a fan...

and we heard about it.

Allie took on the role of official wrapper this year. If it wasn't tied down...it was wrapped.

Pizzelle-party!

This is the genetic response to cookies.

Mmmmm.

...and to Christmas.

Thaaat's about right.

Shaiko smiles!

Auntie Erin, ftw!

Not sure who had the contents of this glass, but someone thought Grandpas jokes were preeety funny.

I mean seriously...

Christ...

mas...

Blessings.

Teeth, Turkey, and Such

Hang on to your hats! When you don't post for almost three months, the camera card backs up and the result is a picture-packed-bounty. We'll have to go back to August to get caught up - grab a snack...

In August we were gifted with a professional photography session from Preemie Prints, a non-for-profit organization through which local photographers donate their time and talents to NICU grads and families. Our little NICU stud earned us our own session with Blaire Ring's Second Ave Photography.' Blaire also donates her talent to 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,' to help families remember their littlest loved ones who reached angel status too soon. She's a fierce mother, photographer, and person. The photography session was a nice break from the hectic pace of being back to work and running around and we were thrilled with the smiles she captured.

In September, we made some long awaited in-person introductions with a trip to Pennsylvania to have Wes meet Pop and Mums. He was a fan immediately.

100 years total in this shot!

Cheesing and cheese-fries.

In October, with 8 months under his belt, Wes started coming into his own. Fortunately for us, that 'own' typically involves a lot of smiles and belly-laughs.

I may not always like tummy-time...but when I do...I smile like this.

Its a wee Wes.

Exersauce-class.

This month, we actually got the picture on the right day. He seemed pretty thrilled about our exactitude,

Aaand, never one to miss a photo-bomb is big sis.

She's the official Eicholtz picture-tickler to try to generate smiles.

Results may vary.

But some things remain the same. This girl's still a dress-up diva, chip-clips and all. 

We think those baby-blues might be turning into happy-hazels.

But those cheeks...we think they may be here to stay.

She gets this look a lot.

Allie helped Wes through his first Halloween. She graciously allowed him to be the beast to her Belle. Grammy found a clearance Beast costume, we put Al's well-loved Belle dress to good use (made even better with a pair of fringed suede heeled boots) and called it a day. We went to a Monster Mash, a 'Harvest' parade at school, and then finally trick-or-treating. It's a good thing it came when it did, or the Beast would have busted out of his snug-digs.

With the chill in the air, the Beast somewhat resembled Rocky training in Philly with his sweatpants under his gear, but at least he was warm!

Beastly indeed.

The weekend before Halloween, we went camping with our friends, the Buehlers, in Rampadan, Virginia. We stayed in an old no-frills cabin way up in the mountains with five little ones under the age of 6 and it was awesome. Camp-fires, melt-downs, s'mores, and fall leaves - we loved it.

Breakfast in the woods!

The camping crew.

 On Halloween night, we paired up with Allie's buddy, Riley, who was the cutest Mary Poppins this side of the sidewalk drawings.

The candy crew,

Not long after Halloween, we hit a milestone in the big-girl department. We started reading Harry Potter together. We finished before Thanksgiving and she loved it!

HP for free, courtesy of the Heritage library.

Meanwhile, others continued to chew and drool.

Chew and drool and beg...

...for more food.

Chew, and drool, and beg for more food, and crack himself up.

Remember when I said we were right on time for 8 months? Here's 9 months - Two weeks late and on a sticker-strike.

Allie was especially exited about Thanksgiving since she gets '5 days off' of school. She admitted that really what she wished for was to be able to go to school each day, but for just an hour and then stay home with us. We'll take it.

Thanksgiving Eve.

It's been fun over the holiday to let Allie stay up after Wes goes to bed and get to do 'big girl' activities with her.
On Thanksgiving Eve, we opted for hot cocoa, the Polar Express, and wrapping Christmas gifts for her brother.
My kind of night.

Macy's Day Parade snuggles with these turkeys.

Thanksgiving 'cheer.'

Did someone say 'Cheer?'

I'm all in.

We give thanks!

Wes was pretty pleased with his first Thanksgiving menu options.

Turkey, ham, stuffing....yeeeaaaahhhh.

And, of course, not to be out-done, Big Sis brings it on home with a plate of whipped-cream and a smidgen of pie...or three pies.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!