Obligatory - Be Still, Christmas PJ's - Photo

Christmas Eve

Yum!

Baking Christmas Cookies with Grandma Bev and Grandpa Steve

The Black Eye

The weekend after Thanksgiving Lou fell down an entire flight of stairs and landed on her eye.  She looked pretty rough for several days but healed just fine.  Those toddlers are tough I tell ya...

Blogging Delay

Sorry for the gap, we upgraded to a new version of Windows and for a while couldn't find our pictures on our computer - eek!  They have been located and backed up so we are good to go now.
I hope to catch up over the weekend.

Thanks and love!

Liza

Grandpa Rick and Lou

Louise Newsletter: Month 16

Lou - you are a bull in a china shop.  Your daddy and I feel that is the best description for you right now.  You are into everything, everywhere, all.of.the.time.  And you have no fear about anything.  You are tenacious and stubborn and adorable of course, so that helps =)

The Christmas season was so fun with you.  You watched everyone and imitated immediately.  i.e. you figured out how to open presents very quickly.  Several favorite toys right now include your kitchen, baby stroller and Minnie Mouse train. 

Though these last few weeks in addition to your boldness you have been quite crabby as you have been cutting some serious teeth.  Lots of whinyness and wanting to be held and snuggled, can't say that I blame you.  It finally feels like you have turned a corner and are feeling better this week.

New words include; uh-oh, bubba (baby), and you can shake your head no. 

It is amazing to watch you understand so many things even though you aren't able to say much yet.  There isn't a lot you don't get.  You even know to head to the bathroom and open the toliet seat when someone in the house says they need to go potty.  Could this be an early sign that you will be much easier to pottytrain than your brother was?  Your mama is hopeful...

Love you baby girl,

Mama

Elliot Newsletter: December 2012

Elliot - the Christmas season has come and gone and you were all in this year.  So fun!  When we put our tree up, you jumped and got so excited with every.single.ornament.  A plan was developed by you about which ornaments to put where and why so that Louise wouldn't break any of the special ones.  GK got you a Christmas countdown ornament and daily you check it to see how many days until Christmas. 

We baked a lot of Christmas cookies and you were a huge help, measuring the flouring and turning on the mixer.  And a new tradition began this Christmas with Elf on the Shelf appearing.  She arrived on December 1 and it took you a few days to get it.  She is magical after you adopt and name her.  You decided to name her Bean =)  You wanted her name to start with the letter "B" and that is what you came up with.  She cannot be touched or her magic will disappear.  She reported back to Santa at the North Pole each night.  Every morning you woke up to find her in a different place.  Bean added some special moments to Christmas this year.

You loved looking at Christmas lights and asked why we don't decorate the outside of our house.  (Thanks we get the hint).

There were a lot of questions about Santa that we didn't expect already.  You pointed out that we don't have a chimney or a fireplace.  And prior to visiting Santa, you informed me that he wasn't the real Santa...
At school during recess, do you have Santa 101 discussions or what?

On Christmas Eve, you were so excited to select special cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. 
On Christmas morning your eyes almost burst when you saw what Santa brought.  And you couldn't believe Santa knew what kind of candy was your favorite.  It was so cute!

You just drank everything in and were in awe of all the magical.  Honestly, your daddy and I cannot remember a more magical Christmas, it was so special.  And now you can't understand why it is over.  Yesterday you asked to turn the radio onto Christmas music =)  When I told you it was over, you said, "well, why?"

Looking forward to creating more memories and traditions with you buddy.

Love,



Mommy

Louise Newsletter: Month 15

Weezy,  you are growing like a weed right now.  At the Dr. last week we learned you are in the 96% for both height and weight.  And by the giant stack of clothes I just pulled out of your drawers that no longer fit, I believe it.

You are jibber-jabbering like crazy, super vocal and super loud!  New words for you are; danka (thank-you), uh (up), gu-duh or duh-gah (dog) and mmm (milk).  Though mostly you are just chit-chatting to yourself and your brother often yells for you to be quiet ;)

In addition to your increased confidence walking and running you have turned into quite the climber/adventure seeker.  Frequently you are sporting a bruise or bump of some sort.  Often you need to be rescued as you have gotten stuck in something or somewhere.  The weekend after Thanksgiving you fell down the entire flight of stairs and landed on your left eye.  It swelled shut for a couple of days and then phased through black, blue and yellow.  Today you were climbing something and fell off and got a rug burn on your nose.  Any chance you could be a bit careful over the next week so our Christmas photos don't make you look like a gang banger?  That would be great...

Finally you have enough hair so that I can put in a pony or some piggytails.  So far you don't mind them and you look pretty damn cute sporting them.  Guessing this willingness won't last forever, right?

Love you bumps and all,

Mama

Elliot Newsletter: November 2012

Elliot - time is flying and all of sudden winter and the holidays are here.
This past weekend we finally got some serious snow, about 13 inches and you are thrilled.
You went outside yesterday with daddy and helped him shovel a bit.  But mostly you played and tromped around.  The high ground around tree became a mini sledding hill.  And then you convinced daddy to pull and push you on the sled down the sidewalk.  An ear-to-ear grin greeted me at the door when you decided you were finally done.  It was a thrill to watch you and admire how much you have grown and changed since your first tromp out into the snow a few years ago =)

We traveled to WI for Thanksgiving and had a great visit.  Though you complained a lot about how long the drive was...listen kid you have no idea how long a drive is =)  Again you fell in love with pumpkin pie and enjoyed playing with your cousin Syd a lot. 

Then Grandpa Rick and Grandma Mary came to visit the weekend after Thanksgiving.  We went to see the Holidazzle parade as they had never been before.  You were squealing and taking it all on while on Daddy's shoulders.  It really put us all in the holiday spirit. 

For some reason you are in the middle of a phase where a lot of things scare you and you are worried a lot.  You don't want to go to preschool, don't want anyone to leave you at preschool and cry and yell at the door when we drop you off quite a bit.  At night, you want the light on, all-night, all the way up.  We know this is a phase but we hope it passes soon.  It is no fun to see you scared and worried.  Poor buddy...

Your daddy has been kind of sad lately as he came across a few pictures of you when you were Louise's age.  Some day when you have kids you too will realize that everyone who says that your kids will grow super fast, is actually right.  Indeed you are growing up too fast - knock it off, ok? =)

Love you so much,

Mommy

At the Piano with Grandpa Rick

Weezy in the Cupboard

E and Uncle Josh

First Pony

Louise Newsletter: Month 14

Lou, you are seriously on the move. Including wanting to be chased as you take off when we call your name after you have done something wrong. Good gosh you are fast! It is hard to stay mad at you when you are giggling the whole time.

Your vocabulary continues to grow. You clearly greet people with "hi". You also say "cackah" (cracker), "mah" (more), "ahht" (hot) and "E-Ah" (Elliot). It is clear you understand so much more than you can say.  You know how to put things away or look for something specific.  And you continue to be a daredevil and are climbing on top of the coffee table, standing up tall, waiting to be told to get down with a smirky grin on your face.

Our grocery bill continues to increase as you eat and eat and eat. Seriously the other day you had 1/2 of a chicken patty, an Elliot portion of mac and cheese, an entire banana and 3 jars of baby food. Where do you put it? In your diaper. Enough said...

You are still a rockstar sleeper at night going 12-13 hours straight.  Though your diapers are having a hard time keeping up with all of that potty overnight.  You frequently wake up soaked through but somehow happy as a clam =)

In the morning you are super snuggly and love to give "love" (hugs) and squeezes.  Though when you do get mad you pull down on your lip and make a bub-bub sound.  It is pretty funny to listen too.
And you can dance!  When music is playing you start bopping up and down and wiggle your butt a little - adorable!

Your energy and big smile are infectious.  Though you keep us on our toes as you are a constant hazard to yourself right now - we are also loving this stage.

Love you Weezy Girl,

Mama

Elliot Newsletter: October 2012

E - you have been growing like a weed. A few weeks ago most pants fit you just fine. Last week a few looked like high-waters. After confirmation from a regular check-up at the Dr. this week, you did indeed grow 2 1/2 inches over the last year.

Halloween was the talk around here for several weeks. You had a 10-day countdown going. For days you slept with your trick-or-treat pumpkin next to your bed just so you could be sure where it was each day. You repeatedly stated how excited you were for halloween and that you would teach Louise how to trick-or-treat. We had the opportunity to wear your costume a few times before the big day and each time you loved being in it. Remember the days when I couldn't convince you to wear your costume i.e. cookie monster? Oh how things have changed.

After preschool on Halloween you asked often, how many hours, what we needed to do next, etc. Once out the door you were off shouting, "light on!" when we approached a house. We had a hard time keeping up with you. Frequently we witnessed you skipping and shouting, "this is so fun!" You bounded home with a full bucket and we have been rationing the candy. Your daddy and I had a blast watching you really get into the holiday. Looking forward to seeing what Christmas is like with you this year =) Love you buddy, Mommy

A Rainbow Fairy, a Ghost and a Train

Thomas the Train and a Flower

E, Mommy and Lou - Pumpkin Patch