Orange Belt

Zev took his test and got his orange belt!  He was so excited.

He may have had the best behavior of his life for the twenty minutes that the test took.  I wish I had a picture of him trying to sit still and be quiet during the other kids turns. 

The yellow belt is in front of him, but he is wearing the orange one.  The master was telling me how much better he is behaving than when he started a year and a half ago. 

Here he is in action breaking a board.

He is so proud, and we could not be happier for him. 

Ps. On a funny note, Isaac calls the master, "Master Basil."  His name is "Master Asl."  This makes Tahl and I laugh a whole lot.

Yesterland Farm

Ari and I took the boys Yesterland Farm this weekend to play. They had a fantastic time.

Isaac and Tahl rode the swings together. 

Isaac thought they were the best thing ever.

We actually got a picture of all three boys looking in this giant rocking chair! 

The big guys rode this roller coaster at least five times in a row. 

This was a very SLOW train ride. 

Isaac just had to go on this hay ride and be pulled by the tractor.

I wanted a picture of Tahl in this picture spot, and he insisted that he would look cooler if he leaned on the wheel.

Here are three of the guys. Zev was busy on a fast spinning ride that no one else wanted to go on.

The boys must have also done this slide at least five times.  They let me go up and ride with Isaac next to me. 

Isaac said it was scary, but then he wanted to go again. 

Ari took Isaac on one last ride on the littler roller coaster.  Here is his face.

The day before we went to Yesterland Farm, we went to visit Santa at the mall!  Each boy got to tell him what was on his Christmas list.  

Sadly this was the best picture we got.  We couldn't get Isaac to take his hands away from his face. 

Today we went to a Hanukkah party at a friend's house too, though I didn't get any pictures.  The boys are excited that there is only one more week of school left before Christmas break! 

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!

The big guys and I went to see the Charlie Brown Christmas play at the Dallas Children's Theater. Here they are at Snoopy's house.

There was a woman who could put you in a giant bubble in the lobby. 

Tahl just could not resist popping it. 

Z and T blew a few bubbles of their own too. 

And he popped it again... 

Here we are waiting for the play to start. 

The boys really liked the show, and after we had to stay like usual to get the characters autographs. 

 Snoopy was both of their favorite. 

Here they are in their matching Christmas pajamas. 

I tried really hard to get one of them all looking, and this was the best one I got.

This is what most of them looked like. 

Then instead of Isaac sitting in one of the bigger guys' laps, they decided they should sit in his lap. 

Funny guys. 

Today we wrote our letters to Santa.  I helped Isaac with his. 

Tahl did his all on his own.  It is supposed to say, "Santa. 1. Hatchimal. 2. Slow loris 3. Lion Guard Figures."  Then the line on the bottom says, "I have be good."  He was so proud of his letter. 

Zev insisted on doing his own in pen.  It says, "Dear Santa Claus, This year I would like a 1) a 2 in 1 checkers set, 2) $100 (then crossed out to say $50 or more) gift card to a book store. 3) mastermind expert. Sincerely, Zev M. L.

After dinner tonight, I let the boys put on their Christmas pj's and we went to see Christmas lights. I made the mistake of letting them take the cocoa in the car.  I'm not sure their new pajamas will ever recover from the amount of cocoa spilled on them, but hopefully I can clean them up. We can't wait to do even more fun Christmas things! 

December begins...

Isaac made his first picture of an actual thing! He told me each thing as he was drawing it what it was.  He drew Emily's family, but instead of Matt, Emily got separate hair.

This guy has been sleeping much worse during naps since he realized he could get out of bed by himself.  This day I was able to rock him back to sleep. 

Dixie gave herself a hot spot on her back, and now she has to wear this for a week or two while it gets better.  She sure does look pretty silly. 

She also happens to be in heat at the same time, making her look even sillier. 

Speaking of messy things going on around here, I randomly decided that we would give potty training a try.  Isaac is really not doing too badly.  I do love see him run around in undies (or pantless as in this picture...)

We got Isaac's school pictures back, and they are each amazing. 

I really don't think he could possibly be any cuter. 

I love this little face beyond words. 

This fuzzy picture of a really surprised guy, I did not purchase... 

Today Isaac and I babysat my friend Melissa's baby. His name is Beau, just like Emily's youngest, and also the name of Isaac's favorite doll that he carries around everywhere we go. 

He had to get baby Beau to lay next to the real baby Beau. You will also notice an extremely need dog that was right up next to the baby the whole time. She kept sniffing him, and she seemed to like him.

Family Photos

We got our pictures made like we do each year for our Christmas cards. Here is the one family shot that we got.

Sweet Zevi

Happy Tahli

My littlest love

This is the first year we've ever gotten one of all three boys looking! 

And I love BOTH of these! 

This one makes me happy, though when she took it I was just worrying that she would never get their attention or behavior back on track after yelling about "toots." 

For the record, I was correct.

She did get a sweet one of Ari and I.  I love this guy.