Snow Day & More Taekwando

Our first big snow of the year is always fun for the kids and they get excited to go out and play in it. This year it was mid-November. It snowed a day or so before it even stopped long enough to go out. They sled, threw snowballs & built a snowman. Jacob, while he didn't really mind the snow itself, really didn't like that I wouldn't let him wear his usual mud boots (that aren't really warm enough) and familiar coat with no lining. By the time I got everything on him he wanted nothing to do with the outside.

This is our Flat Snowman we made before the real one.

The day after the snow, Andrew tested for his next highest belt color in taekwando. He's now been going strong for 3 years. I still wouldn't say its a passion for him, but he is starting to put more effort into practicing and starting to enjoy the sport. 

He now has a high blue belt. The next color is red, and then comes black! It will still probably be a good two years at least before black, and lots more hard work & dedication, but I think he does want to continue on.

Abigail's 6th Birthday

My next-to-the-last baby is not a baby anymore! Abigail breaks the mold in our family. She's unique in her very own way but fits in perfectly. She loves fashion & clothes, she loves princesses, baby dolls, and Barbies. She is determined and sometimes stubborn in getting what she wants. She prefers to play with me or her siblings, as opposed to playing on her own, but if she does have to be on her own, she loves to craft-- cut & glue things together or add glitter or stickers.

She has a really hard time with reading-- we're working hard on blending letter sounds together to make words, but she excels at math and can already add most numbers up to 10. She gets frustrated with herself easily if she thinks she can't do something perfectly. She loves to play outside and do gymnastics. She loves dancing and music and Barbie movies. She's quiet and shy around new people but certainly knows how to tell a story.

She loved this doll when she saw it weeks ago in the store and was so happy when she got it even though I thought for sure she really wasn't serious about how much she wanted it. It goes in the bath with her and sings songs. 

She had three friends over for her first ever sleepover on the weekend after her birthday. It was certainly interesting having 3 six-year-olds over. A few of them had a hard time falling asleep downstairs together and were up till pretty late, but after I sat with them and read them a story, they seemed fine and finally fell asleep. They got along really well together and Abi loved having her own friends over, rather than Leah's for a change.

One friend got her this 14" doll, adding to her obsession-- I mean, collection!

Her only request for her cake was for it to have colorful sprinkles around the side and candy on it. Easy enough.

Pumpkins & Halloween

And now presenting, the annual Cody Family Pumpkin Carving!


Leah and Andrew spent the night with some friends (brothers & a sister that are the same ages as them) a few weeks ago. They have their own pumpkin patch so they took Leah & Andrew with them to pick some to sell, and they gave us a few to take home and keep. They sent me this picture of all of them together picking the pumpkins. They look like they had a lot of fun!

Jacob is planning out what his will look like. (Really I just told him to make a silly face and I drew what he did.)

Leah did a lot of hers' by herself this year, even attempting to carve the face some.

So I really took most of the guts out of Jacob's, but we made him touch it just for fun. He thought it was funny.

And the finished products:

I usually dread coming up with costume ideas for these guys for Halloween, but this year they all came up with their own. (With the exception of Jacob, and I borrowed his costume from a friend at church who had a few laying around from when hers' were 3.) I didn't have to put much together.

Isn't this the cutest firefighter you ever saw? I didn't think he'd want to wear it, but the working whistle sold him on it. And he did amazing at trick or treating! It was cold and rainy but he got out of his stroller at each house, walked to the door with the rest of the kids and held his bucket out for candy. He didn't whine or throw tantrums, he was a pro! It made trick-or-treating much more fun this year!

I had to do a little convincing to get Andrew to wear a costume he already had, but I think the idea of painting his face sold him on it! 

We just finished reading Alice in Wonderland so Leah wanted to try to be Alice-- pretty convincing, I think. Thanks to another friend at church for making her the apron.

And Miss Abi always makes a stunning princess.

Aren't they a good-looking crew?