Christmas Day 2011

We had a fun and relaxing day! The kids enjoyed themselves. Rush was so excited to see what Santa brought for him. He was the first to wake up. SF took a little more coaxing because she didn't appreciate being awakened before the time of her choosing. Rush spent a few minutes looking at gifts on his own (probably enjoyed that), and sleeping beauty came in shortly after that. I have to admit... it wasn't a "running... excited...can't wait to see what is out there" kind of thing. Rush did take off running when he saw Woody, but SF was definitely more slow to respond. Ha! I guess I imagined it all happening a little differently in my head. We had fun, though! The kids got so many presents. Between Gigi and Papa's house last night and Santa, gifts from us, and then Gram and Granddaddy... SPOILED would be an accurate description. :-) In the last picture, SF is wearing one of the necklaces that Gram and Granddaddy brought back for her from Hawaii. We all got some neat things from their recent trip to the Aloha State. Please take note of my cutie pie of a niece sporting her new raincoat, as well. We gave her the raincoat yesterday, and it rained today, so she got to put it to good use today.








Merry Christmas!

The Night Before Christmas 2011

First of all, let me start this post by saying two things... first, Merry Christmas! Second, you try to get three kids ages three and under to all look at the camera and smile at the same time. See? It's not easy, and it didn't happen, so you will just have to enjoy the pictures we did get.



Tonight we headed over to my parents' house to celebrate Christmas with my parents and my sister and her family. We had lots of fun, and the twins were so excited to get to open the first of many presents.





Frannie was explaining the finer things in life to Kate...like Barbie sunglasses, cell phone, and credit cards... all stored in a pink Barbie purse. Every girl must have one.


After we got home, we quickly got into our PJs. Dad said he was pretty sure he spotted Santa's sleigh, so we had to get to sleep quickly. We put out our cookies and carrots (cookies for Santa... carrots for reindeer). Then, we said goodbye to our good buddy, Duncan the Elf. His last night with us is Christmas Eve. We'll see him again next year. :-)




We are hoping for a visit from Santa tonight!! Merry Christmas!

Visit with Santa

Last Friday, we went to the mall to visit Santa and see who would be willing to sit in his lap to talk with him about Christmas. Last year, Frannie talked a big game, but when the time came, she was clinging to Phil in a distant corner of the mall... far... FAR.. away from Santa. She told us, "Maybe next year." This year, she was saying, "It's Santa Time!" on the drive to the mall. Phil and I just laughed knowing fully that she would not be a participant this year either. Well, guess what? She decided to prove us wrong. She was slightly petrified with huge round eyes, but she got up there with Rush and told Santa what she wants for Christmas (a Barbie and a Barbie chair). I could see her face, and she seemed a little scared, but she actually looks pretty happy in the picture below. Rush was as happy as a clam. He told Santa what he wanted (Woody from Toy Story). Santa gave them a small coloring book and half a candy cane. Seriously, the candy cane was so small, I thought it was broken or something. It barely had enough cane to call it a candy cane. Think the kids noticed? No way! They just wanted to know when they could eat it. To which I replied, "Right after your super healthy dinner from the mall Chick-fil-a." Rush was however somewhat distressed by Santa's lack of speed with the gift giving. Last year Rush asked Santa for a black car and was confused that it wasn't immediately in his hands. I thought we had discussed Santa/Christmas Eve enough that he understood that the gifts wouldn't be immediate. Ummmm... he didn't understand. As I was getting swindled out of the $21 dollars for two pictures (same as last year... but with an additional child in this photo), Rush looked up at me with huge tears in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong. He held up the coloring book and said, "I thought I was getting Woody. I asked for it." Poor little guy. He has only ever known a world of pretty much instant gratification. He hasn't had to wait around for much. I felt bad for him. Of course, that didn't keep me from laughing. I had to re-explain the process again. He recovered after a minute or two. We had dinner and all was well. They had the half canes in the car on the way home. :-)


Another funny from Rush: We have a Nativity scene set up on one of our tables. We have talked about who all of the people are and their roles in the scene. Rush was staring at it one day, and he pointed to Jesus (who is lying in a manger). He looked at me and said, "Mom, do he have a Tee-ta?" Sweet little guy can't even imagine being by himself. His world has only ever exsisted with Frannie in it. He just can't imagine there not being a Tee-ta. Even Jesus should have a Tee-ta as far as he is concerned. :-) Love him!

Annual Christmas Card Photo Session 2011

I can't believe this is my first Christmas post of the season!! I always love to post a few Christmas card photo session outtakes because although I think the cards have always turned out cute... getting there isn't always easy. This year wasn't bad at all. I barely broke a sweat. Of course, Phil did stand behind me with the phone in his hand and have a conversation with Santa about how silly they were being and how he thought it might be best if Santa gave the Barbie and Woody they have asked for to someone else. Mean? Maybe a smidge. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.









And the one that made the final cut...

The Big Game

(Excuse the blurred, action-shot vibe of the above photo. Rush is in action-mode most of the time and it was taken with my phone.)It's no secret to most that we live in "a house divided". This time of year can be interesting. Phil and I are both frantically teaching our team's fight song. The big game did not swing in the direction that Frannie and I would have chosen, but it is still a fun day in the end. Rush and Fran wore their team gear to Gigi and Papa's house, and Phil and I headed out to attend the game in person. We had fun seats and got to hang out with friends and family. A good day.... except for that whole losing the ball game thing.

Thanksgiving 2011

I could really post these pictures with only one word attached... thankful. But, as usual, I am not really that great at being quiet or wordless.



I am so thankful for this sweet baby boy. We celebrated his arrival and his Mama with a baby shower on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Sweet, good times... we have been waiting for baby Ben for a long time. He has the privilege of being raised and loved by my long-time friend and AU roommate, Leslie and her husband, Jimmy. He doesn't know how lucky he is yet, but he will.


I think it goes without saying that I am so thankful for these little wild Indians.


My sister holding our girls... need I say more?


And this one gives the best kisses...


I am thankful for my messy boy that thought the red velvet cake was finger-lickin' good. His Thanksgiving lunch consisted of rolls and cake. I guess the rest of us ate whatever we wanted, so why shouldn't he be able to do the same?


And this little beauty smiled all day, so I am thankful for that.

Thanksgiving this year was full of family, friends, and good food. It's the reason it is one my favorite holidays. It is all about spending time together and eating... what could be better?

Standing on the couch

We need a picture-taking occasion to come around really soon. They both wanted their picture taken standing on the couch. Do you think they are going through papparazzi withdrawals? The holidays are coming up, so pictures will be abundant. I am going to try to take the Christmas card picture myself this year, so that always leads to some fun outtakes. Stay tuned...

Tiny Dancer

This past Wednesday, we all went to watch Sydney Frances perform in her first Dance Class Performance. She was very proud to show us what she has been learning since September. The class is for 3-4 year olds. It was adorable and hilarious all at the same time. You can hear me giggling on a few of the videos because I just kept getting so tickled at the things they were doing. Throw about ten three and four year olds in a room and see what you get! Pure entertainment!! Sydney Frances did a great job of listening to her teacher. She would follow her directions and then smile at the paparazzi.. uh... I mean... the parents. :-) There were so many flashes going off in that room that it felt like we were interviewing a Kardashian. Rush was there with us, too, and he watched with interest for about ten minutes. Then, he needed other entertainment, so I had to start digging out cars and books for him. They gave each other five at the end of the performance (maybe one of my favorite moments), though, so I know Rush was proud, too. :-) Syd told us she wants to keep going with dancing classes, so she will start again for another session in January. I think we will keep up these classes until she is a little older and can make a decision about whether she would like to take in a school that lasts the whole school year. This is just right for us right now.







>

Unfortunately, there was a small incident that somewhat put a black cloud over our fun day. As we were walking into a restaurant for dinner, Sydney Frances "spilled" her lunch all over the sidewalk. The tummy bug that Rush had last weekend decided to make a debut on the same night as her dance debut. Poor girl! I am just so thankful she made it through the recital before she got sick. So, we a spent a day at home away from daycare and work, snuggling and getting better. The bug was a mild one, and let's be honest... I don't mind staying home with my girl to spend some time hanging out. So all in all... not a completely bad thing. :-)

Halloween!!! A.KA. Hallo-WING 2011

Rush and SF have had a great time this year for "Hallo-wing"! We went to our neighborhood Halloween Festival and trick or treating in our neighborhood. I love our neighborhood for these kinds of things!

Rush was pure entertainment as one of his favorite Disney/Pixar characters, Buzz Lightyear. The online reviews stated that the costume just "wasn't the same" without the jetpack as an addition to the costume. So, we ordered it, and it was well worth the $14.95. First, it made Rush as wide as he was tall. Second, he had no idea he was that wide, so he whacked people, landscaping, etc. with that jetpack with wild abandon. He had no clue that he was plowing people down with his pack. Hysterical!

SF was also entertaining in her self-selected pumpkin costume. At one time, she wanted to be "a pumpkin with a bow". She said she didn't want a "stick" on her head. The pumpkin costume she picked online came with a headpiece that strapped under the chin with an elastic strap. She wanted to wear it in place of the bow after she saw it, but she was not a fan of the elastic strap. I suggested that she let me attach it with "bobby pins". In her words, her "twig" was attached to the top of her head using "Barbie clips". Makes perfect sense to me!! She loved her costume! That's what counts!










P.S. I whacked Rush in the head with Big Fancy Camera lense. Can you tell which picture followed that incident? There were real tears and sad faces (his and mine). So, other than that and SF skidding across the pavement, spilling all of her cnady in the middle of the dark road, Hallo-wing went off without a hitch. ;-)

On being a mother...

I just finished reading my friend Elizabeth's blog. She had this article copied and pasted to her post from this morning. I didn't know when I started reading that my eyes would be filled with tears when I finished. It hit home. One part stood out to me in particular, and I highlighted that part below. I am sooo guilty of trying to "jump through the hoops" of each day. I think I am this way partly because of my personality and partly because I have the pleasure of raising twins.
:-) Anyway, I really liked the excerpt she shared, so E.B. I hope you won't mind that I shared what you shared.

Raising Children
by Anna Quindlen, Newsweek Columnist and Author

All my babies are gone now. I say this not in sorrow but in disbelief.

I take great satisfaction in what I have today: three almost-adults, two taller than I am, one closing in fast.Three people who read the same books I do and have learned not to be afraid of disagreeing with me in their opinion of them, who sometimes tell vulgar jokes that make me laugh until I choke and cry, who need razor blades and shower gel and privacy, who want to keep their doors closed more than I like.

Who, miraculously, go to the bathroom, zip up their jackets and move food from plate to mouth all by themselves. Like the trick soap I bought for the bathroom with a rubber ducky at its center, the baby is buried deep within each, barely discernible except through the unreliable haze of the past.

Everything in all the books I once poured over is finished for me now. Penelope Leach., T. Berry Brazelton., Dr. Spock. The ones on sibling rivalry and sleeping through the night and early-childhood education, all grown obsolete. Along with Goodnight Moon, and Where the Wild Things Are, they are battered, spotted, well used. But I suspect that if you flipped the pages, dust would rise like memories. What those books taught me, and finally what the women on the playground, and the well-meaning relations -- well what they taught me was that they couldn't really teach me very much at all.

Raising children is presented at first as a true-false test, then becomes multiple choice, until finally, far along, you realize that it is an endless essay. No one knows anything.

One child responds well to positive reinforcement, another can be managed only with a stern voice and a timeout. One child is toilet trained at 3, his sibling at 2.

When my first child was born, parents were told to put baby to bed on his belly so that he would not choke on his own spit-up. By the time my last arrived, babies were put down on their backs because of research on sudden infant death syndrome.

To a new parent this ever-shifting certainty is terrifying, and then soothing. Eventually you must learn to trust yourself. Eventually the research will follow.

I remember 15 years ago pouring over one of Dr. Brazelton's wonderful books on child development, in which he describes three different sorts of infants: average, quiet, and active. I was looking for a sub-quiet codicil for an 18-month old who did not walk. Was there something wrong with his fat little legs? Was there something wrong with his tiny little mind? Was he developmentally delayed, physically challenged? Was I insane? Last year he went to China. Next year he goes to college. He can talk just fine. He can walk, too.

Every part of raising children is humbling, too. Believe me, mistakes were made.They have all been enshrined in the "Remember-When-Mom-Did " Hall of Fame.The outbursts, the temper tantrums, the bad language, mine, not theirs.The times the baby fell off the bed.The times I arrived late for preschool pickup.The nightmare sleepover. The horrible summer camp.The day when the youngest came barreling out of the classroom with a 98 on her geography test, and I responded, "What did you get wrong?" (She insisted I include that.) The time I ordered food at the McDonald's drive-through speaker and then drove away without picking it up from the window. (They all insisted I include that.) I did not allow them to watch the Simpsons for the first two seasons. What was I thinking?

But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three of them, sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages 6, 4 and 1.

And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night.

I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.

Even today I'm not sure what worked and what didn't, what was me and what was simply life. When they were very small, I suppose I thought someday they would become who they were because of what I'd done. Now I suspect they simply grew into their true selves because they demanded in a thousand ways that I back off and let them be. The books said to be relaxed and I was often tense, matter-of-fact and I was sometimes over the top.

And look how it all turned out. I wound up with the three people I like best in the world who have done more than anyone to excavate my essential humanity.

That's what the books never told me. I was bound and determined to learn from the experts. It just took me awhile to figure out who the experts were.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We headed out for what seems to be turning into an annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We decided to try a different one this year that was really close to our house. I think this might be their first year to host such an event on their farm. The kids seemed to really enjoy it. We all went on a hayride, and then the twins played on some slides and rode ponies.


"Yes, we are slightly disconcerted by all of the people staring at us asking us if we are twins and telling us they like our shirts. We will hold hands."


Let this photo serve as a statement to let you all know that Rush didn't really look at the camera... at all. The sun was really bright.


This is the best we could do for a picture of them together!






There was a fun, twirly slide that the twins wanted to try, so Phil climbed up to the top with them and sent them down to me. They loved it! It was pretty high and apparently greased with some oil or something because they came flying down it!



The kids enjoyed the pony ride. I can't help it, but I always feel sorry for these little ponies at fairs and festivals. They just walk in a circle all day. One time, they all just stopped. Like they were finally putting their feet down... a little protest. But, then they started again. The kids loved it, though. The ponies were gentle. This was good because Frannie was looking like she might bolt, but she was a brave girl and went for a ride. Rush? Fearless. He got on that pony, and the ladies in charge of the pony ride called him a "natural". Not sure what that means when all you have to do is hold on, but he did seem at ease.



Remember "Fearless" from earlier? He walked over to the holding pen for the extra ponies and stuck half of his body in up to his waist to reach in and pet them. Phil and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. Lord, please protect him. I'm not sure how much this Mama's heart can take. This rambunctious, fearless little boy may be the end of me. :-)

It was a fun morning, and now we are home and ready to watch our teams play football later this afternoon! Enjoy your weekend!