Thanksgiving to Christmas...

Thanksgiving to me signals the end of my favorite season and the beginning of a cold, nasty, snowy winter. I like to hang on to my favorite season as long as possible, so decorating, or thinking about Christmas a moment before Thanksgiving is illegal in this household! This year it took an early morning trip to JoAnn Fabrics for a few doorbuster items to get me into the Christmas spirit. I drove the short ride home with the Christmas tunes on, and am ready to decorate the house and the tree next weekend!

We finished off our Thanksgiving weekend with a trip to the Parade of Lights in downtown! It was a little chilly, but we bundled up the kids and met up with Nanny, Pa, Uncle Ricard and Aunt Cheeny! Elsie had a great time watching all the floats go by, seeing "the nowman" and dancing to the Christmas tunes. The fire trucks weren't a favorite, but they were at the end so overall it was a happy experience for all! Ander took a quick cat nap before the parade and was quite alert to watch all the lights and people passing by. Although Elsie doesn't understand the idea of Santa we are very excited for this Christmas with her and Ander.

I typically spend Sunday afternoons up to my eyeballs in laundry and getting ready for the week ahead. This Sunday includes a little baking. Elsie loves to sit on the counter with me while I'm baking. Today was a very special day for both of us. Elsie realized that cookie batter tastes delicious! I then proceeded to teach her how to lick a beater. I remember when I was a kid and mom would make cookies. It was crucial to claim a beater before she put them in the sink or a sibling took them! She had a blast, making a nice little mess and I'm sure the next time I have the mixer going I'll have a little girl at my ankles begging of the beater! If you have ever been around Elsie for any length of time there is no doubt you have heard her "motor". We refer to it as her concentration noise, and pray that she outgrows it before she goes to school. In the picture you will notice her upper lip is up, as if she is doing an Elvis impersonation. That is not the case, she is just concentrating really hard, trying to get all the batter off the beater, and her motor is running!

So I am now officially in the Christmas spirit! Bring on the snowmen, Santas, peanut butter balls...but hold off on the snow until about Dec. 23rd please!!

Just when you think life is boring...Elsie happens!

Life these last few days has been unremarkable. The kids have been sleeping, eating and playing as usual, nothing out of the ordinary...and then last night it all started.

Every mom (I'm assuming) dreads the day when their daughter doesn't want them in their room. The battle for privacy begins...stay out of my room, leave me alone! I figured I had at least eight years before I might possibly experience this with Elsie. There is no doubt she will be an independent young lady some day, but now...not even two years old yet, give me a break.

 Let me explain...We were puttering around upstairs, Elsie was on the loose, hoarding and playing as usual, when she decided to steal Ryan's cup from the bed stand with ice and a little bit of water. As we called to her "Elsie, give Daddy back his water!" She turned to us, smiled and kept walking away. I followed her, only to find her proudly sitting in her mini armchair. My next request..."Elsie, take a sip and then bring the cup to mommy!" The answer..."Buh bye" As she stood up from the chair (with cup of water in hand) and walked toward me, stretched out her arm, nudged me until I was out of the door frame, and returned to shut her door! I continued to watch her through the glass as she returned to her arm chair, rather proud of herself, and sipped her water like a big girl! This whole independence thing isn't going over well wit Mommy!

And then it continued this evening...

I must admit that towards the end of the day the "Mommy, Mommy" count has gotten quite high, so on occassion I will ignore the continuous "Mommy, Mommy" on account that she just wants to hear herself talk and make noise. Tonight I learned to never ever do that again! I also learned always empty the tub water when Elsie is on the loose!

Elsie took the first bath of the evening. Daddy got her dressed while Ander took his turn...after being wrapped up in his towel, I dumped his tub and ventured back to his room to get him dried, diapered and dressed before heading downstairs to wind down for the evening. As I got Ander dressed I heard "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" coming from the distant bathroom. I ran to the bathroom to find Elsie leaning over the tub like a beached whale, feet flailling in the air, unable to push or pull herself down to the ground! 1) Thank goodness she hadn't fallen into the tub square on her head and 2) the tub was empty so if she did fall in she wasn't going to drown. So my lesson has been learned, always empty the tub of water and don't ignore "mommy's" no matter what time of day!

Along with causing trouble Elsie has had some major breakthroughs with the potty. For the last month she has been going on her potty inconsistently. Sometimes she sits for 30-40 minutes before going, and sometimes just a few seconds. This morning she said "I poopy", when she got on the potty she very quickly went pee and got her "Abby's" (M&M's from her Abby Cadaby pail). This afternoon she started crying and said "I poopy" but wouldn't let me get her on the potty. Once I told her she would get Abby's for going on the potty she let me take her diaper off and set her on the potty. She then proceeded to do her business! I was so excited, we're making progress!

Ander hasn't even begun to think about causing trouble like Elsie, but just the same he's growing into quite the little boy. He is full of smiles and coos, and enjoys playing with his sister, swinging and hitting at his toys. This morning as Elsie put her head in Anders lap and he hit at her head, he smiled and cooed at her. It is too cute! And since Elsie gets all the stories, Ander gets all the pictures for today!

To finish off the evening Elsie played with her "spoons" until it was time to go get her blankie and dolly. And as I sit here typing, I am listening to Elsie chatting to herself in her bed... "cow..daddy ...mommy ............ernie, ernie, ernie"

Hobbies

My dearest Hobbies...

I remember when we picked you up from the ghetto and made you a part of our family. I remember you hiding under the couch for the first few days you were with us, and then refusing to be quarantined to the downstairs of our house. Scaling the curatins until they were ripped to shreds, and batting at Ryan's head with your huge double paw and almost taking out his eye with your claw! The constant meowing at the door until we let you in to sleep on the bed. We were such a cute little kitten, and you're still a cute cat even though you are crazy ( I think still withdrawing from the ghetto) and can't keep your food down (grrrr).

I take these few moments to remember the great memories we've had with you, but more importantly to apologize for being a gentle cat to Elsie. Your tail has been pulled too many times to count, you have been chased around the table and up the stairs so many times you shouldn't be as fat as your are. You have been "petted gently" numerous times, and still have not shown your teeth. And most recently you have been closed into drawers and cupboards by Elsie. My sincerest apologies Hobbies, if only you understood that I try daily to keep her from harassing you, but she just loves you so. Some day she will be nice to you, I promise, but for now interpret her aggressive behavior as love....lots and lots of love!

Sibling Love!

Ryan and I often worried about our son before he was born and how he would deal with his older crazy sister. The first few weeks after he arrived the mere sound or view of her from the other side of the room made his little lip quiver with fear.  Elsie loves Ander so much, and so desperately wants him to play with her toys, she just doesn't understand yet that he can't. She is constantly bringing him toys and stacking them up around him until they are up to his ears, or stacking his tray on his swing full of blocks. We are constantly redirecting her to stay away from his head, or put toys on his tray to avoid bumps and bruises. She just gets so excited, toys fly and we've had a few bumps.

In the last couple weeks Ander has actually enjoyed his sister. He smiles when she comes near, and "plays" with her the best he can. Today he was swinging his life away while Elsie wandered around, when I turned around she had grabbed his bottle and was trying to feed him. I immediately grabbed my camera to capture the image of what a good big sister is like, and managed to capture what I thought was a priceless image. The picture is a bit blurry because Elsie wasn't still, but to see Ander smile at Elsie, the crazy, loud, energetic little girl he has to claim as his sister, was awesome! For now, they love each other and aren't yelling at each other, or causing trouble. So this moment I will cherish...

"BUH BYE"

I wish that I kept a diary, not for the purpose of pouring out my heart and soul, but simply to chronicle the events in the kids lives. At this point I mean Elsie, Ander isn't crazy..yet. And I'm not sure there were any crazy genes left after we had Elsie! I attempt to keep a fairly detailed photo album of all the major events, but life gets busy and I forget to update their books. With Elsie quickly developing her vocabulary and learning to put words together she is quite a ham. Yesterday we were in her play room and she was playing music and dancing. I approached the table because the music had stopped and I was going to play another song. Elsie quickly brushed my hand away and said "BYE". I got the hint, and left her alone. She often wants to "Sit, sit" on the counter while I'm working in the kitchen, and when I suggest that she come downstairs with Ander and I, instead of playing in her room she says "BUH BYE, BUH BYE".

A few facts about Elsie: 1- Elsie loves her peas! She has always loved them, and it doesn't seem like she can get them in fast enough! 2- Elsie knows her anatomy! Since Ander was born Elsie has pointed to Anders various facial features and named them...ears, eyes, mouth,nose, and most recently "cheekies". 3- Elsie frequently sticks her fingers in her ears and runs around the house, as well as up her nose! Nothing we encourage, but hey, she's curious! This evening at the dinner table Elsie combine two of her favorite things...peas and her nose! Fortunately the pea didn't get very far before I knocked it out of her nose. From that point on, and from this day forward, I will be extra careful with peas. I proceeded to provide stern education on where our food does and does not go! My camera wasn't ready, nor did I want to run and fetch it, to capture the pea in her nose, but I was able to get a nice photo of Elsie and her dessert!

Ander is growing like a weed. He is quite a little chunk weighing in at a little over 14 pounds. He is starting to become more vocal, cooing and smiling. He even enjoys his sister on occassion. He use to cry whenever she came near, but now he enjoys "playing" with her, and Elsie with him. She doesn't quite know what toys are appropriate for him to play with, but she's trying! I took this picture today because he was in his swing (rare occurance), happy in his swing (rare rare occurance) and I love his outfit (everyday occurance)!

"Colors"

My search for Halloween costumes for the kids started with Sesame Street, but when cuteness and price compromised my ideas I turned to crayons. A yellow and blue crayon...definately the cutest crayons in Maine (Texas produced a few adorable crayons as well). Elsie loved being a "colors" and thought her hat was pretty cool too. If it weren't so windy it probably would have stayed on her head.

We ventured to a few houses around our neighborhood, but because it was insanely cold, we made it a quick trip and were back home to pass out buckets and buckets of candy. Our neighbor across the street is obsessed with Halloween. Not only does he have an overly decorated yard, but his front porch is a haunted house full of skulls, blood and guts! People drive from all over to see his decorations and as a result we get tons of trick or treaters. I was rather bummed with the costume selection I saw this year, nothing cute at all. Elsie didn't get a whole lot of candy because our outing was short, but she knew where her candy came from. "Apple, apple" she kept saying, as she pointed to her cloth pumpkin bag she put her candy in! "Candy, Candy" she says. I'm afraid she has a sweet tooth like her mom!

Its hard to believe it is already November, we have had a brief snowfall and it is getting really cold. I hate the winter, or at least driving in the winter, but I love the feeling of the wood stove burning nice and hot! Looking forward to winter only because it means warmer weather will be here soon!