Selfies

While Aunt Julie was visiting, she and Dillon set up a little photo studio. Dillon worked the camera remote to snap some cute pix.

Quinn is disgusted.

Tongues out!

Much less disgusted here.

Under the table and dreaming.

Christmas with Aunt Julie

We were lucky to have Dillon's favorite Bostonian, Aunt Julie, spend the holidays with us. Julie got to meet Quinn for the first time and Dillon and Julie got to listen to more music. Chinese food for dinner and jigsaw puzzles for dessert!

The gifts come out.

Quinn's first Christmas.

Santa butt.

Puzzle time.

Craig loves puzzles. And mushrooms.

Dillon's favorite gift was her Frozen fever dress.

Dillon Gingerbread

To further celebrate Christmas, Dillon and her buddy Layla decorated a gingerbread house together while sipping on lukewarm cocoa. We were smart this year and bought the house pre-assembled so all the girls had to do was decorate-slash-eat-the-decorations.

Applying the roof tar.

Adding the shingles.

Energy efficient windows.

What ginger man or woman wouldn't want to live here?

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies

Now that she is four, I thought it was time to take Dillon to a local production of The Nutcracker. It was performed by the youth ballet, so I thought it might inspire Dillon (who actually needs no inspiration when it comes to dance). She got to wear her fancy dress and sat through most of the ballet very well (I strategically fed her Raisinets and M&Ms the whole night).

Pre-ballet photos with her fans.

Zeus is definitely not allowed at the ballet.

Smooosh.

Proof we were really there.

She looked so lovely.

He could crack some large nuts!

During intermission she treated me to her own rendition of the "ribbon dance" otherwise known as "The Dance of the Mirlitons."

And of course once we went home, she wanted to continue her performance, this time in a pas de deux with her clip dolls.

Release Your Inner Woodsman

Next up in our holiday adventures: tree procurement. Usually we just go to Home Depot and buy one of the trees they've shipped down from the Pacific Northwest, but this year we heard about a place where you could chop down your very own tree! True, they weren't firs or spruces, they were pines. But it was still fun to cut it down and nice to "buy local." However, the tree seemed not to like our house and died rather quickly. It was nice while it lasted!

Fueling up before the real work begins.

It's okay to let kids play with saws, right?

And also letting them goof off on tractors.

Dillon hasn't taken a serious photo since 2012.

Still pretty!

Santaland

We always look forward to Tom and Curt's annual Christmas party. Everyone donates toys to Toys For Tots and there is always great food and merry-making. This year there was even a Santa. Dillon immediately made friends with a girl named Haylie. They were quite adorable together.

Matching dresses from Aunt Ellen.

Waiting for the big guy.

At least Santa is smiling.

At least Santa is looking at the camera.

Taking photos is exhausting.

World's Strongest 3 Year Old

We recently went to the science museum during their circus exhibit. There were funny mirrors, costumes and impossibly heavy barbells. No problem for our girl!

Testing her circus trivia knowledge.

Building.

Craig too.

She can dead lift 300 lbs!

That Was Then / This Is Now (21)

Once upon a time Zeus was so tiny we had to put him in a box in the backseat of the car.

This was the day we brought him home. Only 8 lbs!

Then we had a baby and things got a little cramped.

Life with one car seat.

Then we had another baby and things got really uncomfortable. Somehow we still make it work!

Umm, guys, a little room, please!

4 Months Old!

As of November 22: