Thanksgiving 2009

We have so much to be thankful for, but this Thanksgiving we celebrated the fact that MY parents finally made the decision to have a home in Indy. My dad plans to continue working in Pennsylvania and there are exciting business opportunities on the horizon for them locally (more on that in the future), but for now, they needed a place here to call home, as this is where they plan to retire (eventually) and spend time with the two ladies that bring such joy to their lives (yes, I've realized I am no longer one of those people)...They closed on a condo a week ago and my mom quickly set out to create a space for Addy & Lilly, complete with big-girl-beds and safari print sheets! They had their first sleepover and Addy was WONDERFUL while Lilly wanted Daddy to come pick her up, but they made it through the night and did well considering it was their first attempt out of cribs and pack n plays...(DON'T THEY LOOK LIKE BIG KIDS?).

Growing up with relatives who were an ocean away, I am ecstatic that my girls get to see their grandparents so frequently. We are spoiled with Jeremy's parents and grandparents right down the road, not to mention extended family all within driving distance and now my parents so close. I would regret later if I forgot to mention that my kids LOVED the beds and bedding and toys, but the icing on the cake is Ga-Ga Linda and Ga-Ga Ian's neighbors:

Because at age 2 it is so much more about wildlife than interior design!

To celebrate, we gathered 4 generations for a Thanksgiving meal at the new place and christened with good food & drinks. We were missing some pieces of our family puzzles as they spent time with significant others and my sister traveled the world to catch-up with my relatives in England. We gave thanks to be right here in the heartland!

R-L in relation to Addy & Lilly: Lilly, Grandma Jody, Addy, Grandma Linda, Great-Grandpa Bill, Uncle Jon, Grandpa Dave, Daddy, Great-Grandma Mickey & Grandpa Ian

So, to summarize, when asked today, Addy & Lilly are MOST thankful for: moo-cows, play-dough, new toys, cookies, Teague's tiny Tina dog, books, blankies and french fries.

We are off for round 2 tomorrow up at the lakes with Jeremy's extended family and can't be more excited. On a different note, we began to decorate the house for the holidays today and already have a broken ornament, stocking hanger, Santa figurine and wooden reindeer. This will be an ongoing tally through the month of December--so, stay tuned.

Duck, Duck....Goose?

With all this turkey talk, Jeremy and I decided we'd teach the girls this silly little game the other night. When I stepped away to get the camera, it looked a little like this:

Interview with Lilly (27 months)

"Hey Lilly, what's your favorite color?" "Purple"

"What's your favorite song?" "Tickle-song" (I'm not sure if this is a song she sings at school or a song she sings in her head, this is not a song either of her parents sing to her!)

"What's your favorite book?" "Corduroy book"

"What's your favorite food?" "Cookies"

"What do you like to do at school" "Paint with colors"

"What else?" "Read books"

"What do you want for dinner?" "Mac n' cheese"

"What else?" "Chicken nuggets"

"Wanna sit on the potty?" "Nope"

"What do you want to do?" "Play with Addy"

"Well, Addy is still napping, what else do you want to do?" "Walk the dog"

"Well, we don't have a dog, so what else do you want to do?" "Wake up Addy"

"Sounds like a plan..."

Another interview, done completely separate of her sister and it's fun to compare their answers! They are so funny. Lilly has an amazing way of going from a spoiled brat to a total charmer in no time flat, a trait that has her spending her fair share of time in the time-out chair recently, but when that charm comes out, there's nothing stopping her!

Interview with Addy (27 months)

"Hey Addy, what's your favorite color?"

"Pink"

"What's your favorite song?"

"ABC's"

"What's your favorite book?"

"Noah" (Noah's Ark, and she more specifically likes the animals pictured in the book, than the actual story)

"What's your favorite food?"

"Tomatoes"

"What do you like to do at school"

"Color with crayons"

"What else"

"Play with big kids"

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Chicken Nuggets"

"What else?"

"Cheese and crackers"

"Are you ready to take a nap?"

"No way, mom"

"Wanna sit on the potty?"

"No way, mom"

"What do you want to do?"

"Go shopping"

"Really, what do you want to go shopping for?"

"Milk and toys"

How did this little person come to live at my house? Where did my baby go? This is all exactly what she said to me. I need to start getting some of this on video, we've been terrible about it. She's so smart and funny, you just want to squeeze her. And that smile, don't get me started on that smile--the girl is going to get anything she wants in life with that smile...well, atleast all the milk & toys she can handle!

I'll post my interview questions with Lilly later this week!

Mom: Off duty....

Nope, we don't get together much without our combined 3, two-year olds, but this weekend that's changing! See, my friend Michelle over there at Rhyme & Reason had a birthday this week and we are packed and ready to hit the highway! Where are we going you ask? Vegas? The beach? Nope, just an outlet mall in Ohio.....BUT THAT IS SOOOOOO NOT THE POINT! What is the point? Christmas shopping, selfish shopping, sleeping in, girl talk, drinks, food...did I mention adult conversation without yelling over our kids? Yea! So, take note Daddy Jeremy & Daddy Paul....don't call unless you see blood!







(We'll check in after bedtime :-)

Toddlers and falling leaves....

It's true my toddlers have spent much of the last couple weeks, testing my patience. We've been stripping off clothes during naps, taking off diapers at night, crawling out of cribs, figuring out how to unzip crib tents, going on hunger strikes and refusing to eat anything healthy, ripping pages out of books, throwing tantrums, making unruly demands and generally being misbehaving 2-year olds. But amidst the total pandemonium that is my house, I'm previewing glimmers of well-respecting young girls. Here are a few things that have made my heart hurt with pride recently.

• When one of the girls sneezes, the other one says "God bless you, sissy."
• I was told a long time ago, that consistent language is key when raising kiddos and I've come up with some mantras that come out of my mouth several times a day. Addy & Lilly have adopted some of these mantras and repeat whenever necessary. Addy reminds her sister "Don't forget peas and tank-ews" and Ms. Lilly has been caught telling the boy in her class, crying after drop-off, "Mommy's always come back."
• When at the grocery the other day, the clerk coughed and Lilly told him to "cover his cough".
• Addy asks for a lot of "one-mores". When daddy leaves in the morning for work, she'll get her hug and kiss and then follow him to the door for "one-more hug, peas, daddy" "one more kiss, peas, daddy".
• They sing entire songs now, knowing most of the words to "Five Little Monkeys", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and more.
• We know our alphabet and can easily count to 10, they correctly count objects out and have surprised us recently memorizing the days of the week song and knowing that we have school Tuesday and school Thursday, they are learning shapes AND they know most colors but default frequently to "pink"...when all else fails, it's pink.

Thankfully we don't have a lot of leaves to rake, but I was loving some of the leaf pictures popping up on the blogosphere, so we headed out to a park close enough to us that we biked and took some festive fall pictures. Indiana is beautiful this time of year and I'm reminded why I LOVE living somewhere with four seasons. I'll look back to these pictures come February. Enjoy them!

Addy...."One, two, three....up"
Climbing the rock to get a view of ALL the leaves
Lilly....a bit scared at first, but diving in and playing peek-a-boo within minutes
Addy...charming the camera

Halloween Rules....

We got our wear out of the costumes this year (check out the original occasion here) and between my Northside Twins & Multiples party, in-home playgroup playdate, a birthday party and trick-or-treating, we picked up some tips we thought we'd share. My "Angels" were adorable and we had fun, now it's time to put this holiday behind us and head into November! Enjoy the pictures.

1. Keep your friends close and enemies closer...
(Our monthly playgroup celebrating a bit early) 2. Refuel regularly

(hot dogs were the food of choice:

portable, no mess and avoid the bun all together...can't afford the carbs.)

3. Build up endurance early in the day

(exercising while attending a halloween birthday party for a friend!)

4. Pick your vehicle for streghth & durability

5. Keep that sweet smile on your face so no one questions how many times you've been to the cookie table

6. Stay hydrated

7. Motivate each other ("High-5 Sis")

8. Practice on home field before going to unknown territory

9. Stay warm

10. Reap your reward