Dress Up Time

Madison has her dress up box… and Jeremy and I have ours.  Why?  Not because we are frisky newleyweds, but because over the years, we have been invited to a few themed parties.  And as a teacher, I have been involved in numerous spirit weeks.  If the students aren’t into showing spirit, THIS teacher is because anything (yep, pretty much anything) beats having to dress up in teacher gear every single day!   (Plus, sometimes, it lets me get to wear jeans, which is the ultimate in teacher dress down opportunities in my book!)  So, today, I decided to go through this box because it was annoying me that the lid wasn’t shutting.   I realized that Jeremy had put some t-shirts in there recently – you know the ones.. you don’t really wear them, but you just can’t throw them out.  In some ways they “fit” – Star Wars, Men in Black – but really… he just couldn’t bear it apparently!  Madison enjoyed what we unearthed…. There were wigs, glasses, cowboy holsters, numchucks (SP!!), leis, moon boots, 80s stuff, Hawaiian themes, and more.  When I glanced up from putting a few things back in the box, this is what I saw..

        

And then, she added the Napoleon Dynamite glasses…

     

And for all her long hair dreams… (I think this week was more annoying than fun, maybe a wig for her birthday???)

 

I am sure that one day she will want to kill me for ever letting these pictures see the light of day (the evil of digital photography and the internet).  But I simply couldn’t resist sharing one of the bright moments of our day.  (Ellie would have wholeheartedly participated, I am sure, but she was sleeping.)

Sisters

Yesterday Madison was extremely lovey with Ellie.  I see other big sisters playing, loving, and hugging their little sister.  And not that Madison doesn’t love Ellie or exhibit love to her, but usually she just does her own thing.  However, yesterday, she went all out.  Mommy, can I hold Ellie?  Mommy, can I pick Ellie up?  Mommy, can I feed her?  Mommy, can I ….?  I accommodated whenever possible.  Ellie enjoyed some, but not all of the extra attention.  Ellie’s favorite thing to do with Madison was hold her hands while standing up and “dance” (what I mean to say, it bounce!) with her.  This usually turned into a full blown hug by Madison during which Ellie was resisting the close quarters.  Ellie didn’t mind the book reading…

   

…until she tried to move and Madison held her back in a death trap! 

   

Ellie was accommodating when it came to the bottle – most anything to do with food, she does willingly – the problem was that Madison couldn’t actually hold Ellie (or the bottle) at an angle to allow milk to flow. 

So, I had to take over.  As for picking Ellie up?  Well, that just wasn’t physically possible, but Madison gave it her best shot during some of the dominating hugs mentioned before.  Regardless, it was neat to see some sisterly love and affection.  I do know Ellie loves Madison in return because she wants to do whatever Madison is doing – dancing, dressing up, reading books, playing with babies, etc.  Madison is doing it?  Ellie wants to, too!

Wintery Day

So, as beautiful as Thanksgiving was, it was over in a flash.  We welcomed snowflakes in the next days.  Not too many stuck, but it was a glimpse of winter.  I don’t mind winter – I think it can be beautiful.  But with young kids, I struggle with taking them out.  You work so hard to bundle them up for such little time out in the cold.  I think as they get older and can sled and build snowmen and tolerate the temps a little more, things could change.  (But this old woman finds that I can’t stay out as long either!)  Regardless, Madison wanted to go play out in the snow, so we did. 

  

Yeah, I know it looks like they are not having fun, but they did smile when I pushed them.  It also looks like there was no snow…it wasn’t sticking and the flakes were super small, but from inside you could see it snowing.  I will say they are a lot harder to get OUT of the swings when they are bundled up like that – I had to call Jeremy in for back up!

As I as getting myself and Madison undressed, Ellie attempted her Great Escape:

 

I got to her before she headed down the steps – pretty impressive considering what she was wearing!

Speaking of Ellie, she can pull herself up now – most of the time.  And she climbed all the way up the stairs by herself (me trailing behind).  I cannot wait til she is up and walking on her own.  I think she will enjoy life even more!  She seems to be growing up so fast.  She is beautiful.  My favorite time with her right now is after bath.  We get her and Madison dressed for bed on our bed.  But before she gets dressed, we let her have some “naked time,” and  I think she likes it.  She rolls from side to side, dives her head into the mattress, snuggles against my chest, and MOVES.  It is cool to watch her move and laugh and be free.  If it was legal to post a video or pictures, I would, but I don’t want to cross any lines. 

Have a great day and stay warm!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I really like Christmas and Easter as well, and frankly, any time my family gets together.  But on Thanksgiving, I get to go to my church’s Thanksgiving Day Sale.  It is an auction of donated goods from the congregation that are auctioned off at exorbitant prices ($200 for a pecan pie this year!) with all proceeds going to various needs in the community, church, and abroad.  It is fun.  I connect with others, relax, bid up a storm, and walk out of there to go to my mom’s for a feast.  And this year was good, but somehow it was cloaked with stress for me.  It should have been an easier year – we no longer have to travel 1-1/2 hours, we can walk there!  But it was also the first year to have TWO children.  It was also the first time the sale was offering a kids area – which sounds great (and WAS great).  The catch was a parent had to be with the child to purchase their goods and make their crafts.  I wanted Madison to be able to do that, but I wanted to go bid and relax.  Jeremy was trying to get Ellie to take a nap, so he was already in parent-mode elsewhere.  I just felt torn.  It was also the first year I was bringing hot dishes to Thanksgiving….there is a lot of timing precision involved in this.  So, as my things cooked in my house, I felt like I was making everyone late for the festivities at my mom’s house.  (It worked out fine: I was just stressing about it.)   And from there, every little thing just kinda made me worry/stress/frustrated/etc.  It was like a ball was wound tight inside of me.  Blech.  I am sure this was a fluke, and next year, Thanksgiving will be back to what I remember – Ellie will be at a different stage, I will have the “hot dish” thing down, and I will know things don’t always go as planned. 

There were good things…

• Ellie had her first Thanksgiving and ate it like a seasoned professional.  She also talked up a storm at the window, driving my brothers (who yearn for quiet) crazy.  I assumed you couldn’t quiet a baby, but we have been working on telling her “shhh” at home, and it actually does work! 
• Madison went off and played with her cousins all by herself.  It was as though I was down to one kid responsibility – beautiful.
• Some people managed to fit dessert in amidst all the outdoor activity.
• Jeremy and my brothers had a mini basketball tournament that lasted all afternoon… and made them all (I think) sore for at least a day!  (For the record, they dressed a little quirky because this was a “serious” match up… this is not their normal bbal style!)
• The weather was BEAUTIFUL!
• The women took the kids (except Ellie who was napping) to the track to run and play while we walked a little.  It was relaxing to just release some energy and move a little.
• There were still a lot of people left at Jeremy’s side’s Thanksgiving.  Sometimes we miss a lot of people because we get there late afternoon.
• Jeremy’s grandpa had a health scare before we got there and had to be taken to the hospital.  He was doing better, and it wasn’t as serious as they thought.
• We didn’t have to fight the hours of traffic to go back home this weekend!

Beautiful days

There have been some glimpses of fall temperatures lingering.  Boy, have we enjoyed it!  Even knowing you CAN go out for a little bit is nice.  The last few days after lunch, we have laid out a blanket, got out bubbles, basketballs, buckets, chalk, etc and enjoyed the driveway play area for a little before nap time.  Yesterday, I ran in to get the camera…

Madison with bubbles

Ellie trying to once again learn from her sister

My favorite picture of day

We are looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend with family.  Blessings as you celebrate as well.

A little early

Who can resist this turkey?

Random

I don’t have much to say… I have been on a blogging block lately… And I have not been taking as many pictures.  We had Jeremy’s mom over (spontaneously… yes, I can do it for all of you that think I can’t act on short notice) for her birthday.  The girls dressed up in their Halloween costumes for them and trick or treated. (Grandma had brought a few little treats for them.)

Notice how rosy red Ellie’s cheeks are?  Well, we found out – with her first ear infection – that she is allergic to amoxicillin.  So she had a pretty rash all over her body as well as rosy cheeks and a “sunburned” forehead.  Now we know.

Madison LOVES to dance and play dress up right now.  We went to a cheer competition with my friend Sandy and her niece.  It was fun.  Madison was dancing/cheering with the cheerleaders from up in the stands.  Sandy got a cute video.  (If you click on the title, it will take you to youtube and you can watch it in a little bigger format.)

Learning to be a Cheerleader

This was her latest outfit – our little flower girl showing me the detail in her shoes…

And posing…

   

Ellie is now on the move officially.  It is actually very nice because she is not so frustrated when I can’t be with her every minute.  It is also a reminder of little things.  Madison saved Ellie from eating an acorn that had made it inside.  Good thing big sister is around!

Trick or Treat

We went trick or treating at the local nursing home on Tuesday night.  I think it is awesome what this place does.  Not only do kids get to interact with older people in a positive way, but the residents get to see kids dressed up and at their cutest.  In addition, the staff did a great job at adding decoration – even a “scary” hallway with low lights and Thriller in the background – and fall fun – pumpkin coloring, donuts and juice, and a touch station with foods that resemble scary things (olives for eyes, etc).  Another bonus?  We were able to stay dry and not have to walk to far for Madison’s little legs.  Ellie was pushed in the stroller… it is hard to carry a kid in a costume! 

I have few pictures.  My parents took more before we left, so I’ll have to get theirs to add to this post.  Daddy, the pumpkin, and the turtle.

Is this supposed to be fun?

    

Trick or Treat