Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day! Ah...it is so nice to have Alex home on holiday! The girls love having extra time with him and I love having extra time to breath! : ) My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are in town as well as some of their friends & family who are arriving today. We were going over the menu last night and whew - there is going to be a lot of food!

Things I am thankful for:

H - Honda Pilot (Our new larger vehicle!)
A - Applesauce (A food my girls will always eat - good fall back)
P - Pie (Rumor has it we will be having pecan, apple, & pumpkin)
P - Pancakes, French Toast, and all the other breakfast items Alex makes on Saturday mornings
Y - You - all my friends and family who keep me sane on a regular basis as we move through each new phase of life

T - Turkey Trot (The 5K Alex is running right now with the girls while I relax at home)
H - Hot Showers (Sometimes the only indulgence of the day)
A - Alex (My perfect mate - we are such a good fit and he's the best dad to our girls...although I'm pretty sure they'll love him more when they become teenagers!)
N - Nana & Papa (We love how our girls get weekly contact with my parents - they all get excited when they see each other and we can only imagine how this will grow over the years)
K - Kisses & Hugs (It is the best now that the girls know how to show their affection)
S - Sugar (Can't imagine life or food without it!)
G - My girls (They are so different and so amazing. They were making us laugh so hard the other night while they played in the bath - love them love them love them)
I - Imagination & the ability to create (I enjoy using my imagination as much as I enjoy the results of others' imaginations - books, movies, art, decoration, etc.)
V - Vino!
I - Icky, yucky, messy, and all the other fun words my girls are learning to say.
N - Netflix (Because seeing a movie in the theater when you have small children is nearly impossible)
G - God - thankful for the relationship He has created us to have with Him, thankful for the amazing church we have found and love, thankful for the talents He give authors to write meaningful books like "The Shack"

And some photos from this week:


Alex put the girls up in a tree yesterday....Jasmine looks cool as a cucumber here...but her real demeanor is captured below!


Can you tell who is the risk-taker and who is not!?


The girls wanted me to read them a book, but I was cooking so I told them to go read it themselves...and the clever little monkeys actually did. It was pretty funny...since they can't really read! Addie has had enough of the paparazzi and was insisting I hand over the camera.

Feeling Better

Addie and Alex are feeling much better. The picture above is actually from a few weeks ago. Alex was typing on the computer and Addie woke up from her nap. He got her up and set her down to play and went back the computer. He didn't realize for several minutes that Addie was way too quiet (she was however standing right next to him the whole time). She found my open make-up bag on the computer desk and was liberally applying mascara and concealer all over her face!


Sweet Addie.


Suspicious Jasmine.

Reading has gotten more and more fun as the girls' attention spans lengthen!

Fun with Sick Toddlers

7:00 Feed girls breakfast - which they won't eat and throw on the floor.

7:15 Addie throws up the little breakfast and milk she had.

7:45 We're in the car on the way to drop Alex off at work - Addie throws up again.

8:30 We're home again and the girls are asking for the milk they didn't finish at breakfast - give it to them

8:40 Addie throws up again

9:00-10:00 Watch Sesame Street

10:00 Get toys for the girls, shut them in our bedroom so I can take a shower in the master bathroom.

10:05 Stepping in the shower, Addie appears at the door having just thrown up all over herself.

10:07 Strip Addie, take her in the shower with me to rinse her off. Step out of shower, diaper & dress Addie step back into shower.

10:10 Hear Jasmine screaming, step back out of shower, discover Jasmine is constipated, calm her & change her.

10:15 Get dressed myself

10:30 Addie is falling asleep on me - put her down for a nap

11:00 Feed Jasmine lunch (nice that Addie is sleeping so I don't have to explain to her why she can't eat)

12:00 Put Jasmine down for a nap

12:00-12:30 Call babysitter and cancel for this afternoon, call clients and cancel appointments

12:30 Addison wakes up and goes to her highchair begging for milk....

12:35 Call the girls godmother who agrees to bring over Sprite for Addie.

1:15 Jasmine wakes up screaming because I've put her to sleep in a pack n' play in our bathroom so she won't wake up Addie.

2:00 Put in a movie and cross fingers that the girls will sit with me quietly and watch it...HAHAHA! It lasted about 2 minutes!

3:15 Put the girls down for a second nap (even though they normally take one longer nap) because they are tired, I am tired, etc! : )

Still not sure if they've fallen asleep! Amazingly this is the first time one of our girls has a sickness that involves vomiting. Normally they'll get the endless runny nose and nothing else. I had to even call my mom and ask what I could give Addie to eat/drink since we hadn't been down this road before. I guess I should just count my blessings!

Poor Addie, it hasn't been her best week. Yesterday she found a mousetrap and snapped her hand in and today she is vomiting! Less than an hour now before we get to leave and pick up reinforcements (i.e. Daddy) from work.

Halloween

To my surprise, the girls enjoyed being dressed up. I thought they'd tug mercilessly at each other's antennas and costumes, but they just got big smiles and danced around the house when I got them dressed!


Here's Jasmine showing me in the car that Addie has fallen asleep before we've even arrived at my friend's house for a Halloween party!


Here's my two with our friends two little girls. Ah - one of those classic couch pictures where all the children look uncertain but the parents think they look adorable and can't believe they are all in the same picture!

Water

The girls learned the word "water" while in Arkansas. We had a dock just in front of our rooms and the girls really enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and making splashes!

Alex decided to show the girls what a big splash looked like. He got a HUGE rock and was about to throw it in the water when Ang took this picture. Apparently, they had already figured out cause and effect - really big rock = really big splash!

Here's a picture of the splash!

Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas

For a week, we stayed at a timeshare in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas. It was MADNESS packing the van and getting ready for the trip. Thankfully it was only a 3.5 hour drive to our destination. The girls were pretty good in the car and even better when they were bribed with suckers!


Since they couldn't bring all their toys from home, the girls improvised with some kitchen utensils!


One of Addie and Jasmine's favorite features of the timeshare was the rocking chairs on our porch. They'd wander out there and rock and look at each other and giggle and rock! Very sweet!


Alex's parents gave us LOTS of time off and took walks with the girls, played on the beach, ate tea & toast, watched cartoons, and all other things 1.5 year olds love!

Fall Festivals, Etc.

Whew! Last month flew by - so here are a flurry of posts to catch you up on all our happenings! The girls and I took Alex's parents to a local fall festival called Apple Butter Making Days. We had a great time! The girls LOVED all the junk food and action. They were on a vigilant hunt for puppies and babies - their two favorite words to say!





Here's a picture of Addie demonstrating for her Zim grandparents just how messy she can get!


We didn't let them relax for long - Ang cooking and Mitch helping Alex repair the garbage disposal!