Will Christmas Get Here Already?

Maggie came home from Miss Kellie's with a little ornament. She was so excited. It went directly on the tree (it's the little stocking by her left hand):

Hanging out in our VERY crowded front room. We had to move a big chair into another already crowded room in order to fit our tree in. Now it all feels much more like a storage facility than a functional room to hang in. Oh, well--at least I can enjoy all the Christmas decorations in there.

Patrick taught Maggie how to make snowflakes. She liked it but said it hurt her hands to cut the very thick layers of paper.

I Wear My Sunglasses At Night

Maggie loves having a little doll to play with (and dress up):

Playing "winter" with her big sister:

This is what Caroline does when I put on Baby Einstein videos:

Haven't We Seen This Before??

I thought this year Maggie would be more into waiting each day and removing an ornament from the advent calendar. Wrong. Same as last year.

LOOK at my teeny tiny girl grow in one measely year! I think I might cry.

**I do have plans to finish the handmade advent calendar Julie and I started a couple of years ago. Since we started it the same week my brother Brian passed away it's been a little difficult for me to pull it out and start again. When getting out this years Christmas totes from the basement I spotted the box...and just couldn't deal. Maybe next year. I really want my girls to grow up with it (the way I grew up with the one my mother made for us).

Why Can I Not See?

She's a bit squirmy in the car seat...so this happens. A lot.

Crocs Warehouse Sale

We went to the Crocs warehouse sale the other day. I still look completely rediculous in them (proof = I tried on a pair and my friend, Vicki, laughed. out loud). But kids (Maggie) look super cute in them. I bought a handful for Mags and she can't leave them alone! They ALL come out of the closet daily and you'll find them all over the house, perfectly lined up. A few times she thought the Crocs looked lonely I pulled out every single pair of shoes she owns to join them on display. Since the display moves locations throughout the day, they pose the perfect tripping hazard if you're not careful.

And just a cute one.

Who Makes Her Smile?

Her daddy makes her smile. Instantly. No matter what is going on. Just as it was with Maggie. If she has a rough wake up I'll grab her from the crib, she'll cry all the way down the hall and then bust into an insta-grin the second we hit her daddy's office door and she catches a glimpse. I don't even have to see her face to know she's spotted the papa--her whole body starts to flail wildly.

We've also started Caroline on things like Cheerios and those gross puffy things from Gerber. The first time was very successful. I tried to get a picture of this lone puffy thing stuck to her chin but has I snapped the pic it fell on her shirt--so just imagine it was very cute.

And I do have some very sweet little video clips but I'm having technical difficulties (as usual).

Birthday

Dec 1 was my birthday. We were all sick. I've never been much of a birthday girl but the slow pace and mandatory house confinement proved to be the best recipe for a birthday! It was quiet, peaceful, and downright enjoyable.
When I woke up and came downstairs I was greeted with a Happy Birthday Mommy from Maggie (Patrick had coached her well).
The rest of the day she kept asking if she could "have my birthday". Then she walked halfway up the stairs and yelled to me, "When I come down stairs you say 'Happy Birthday Maggie!'.

The only picture I took that day was of Maggie making my birthday cake.

By the way, Patrick, as usual pulled off a lovely and very thoughtful gift. He's an awesome gift giver. Thanks Patrick. Love you.

Black Friday

After a very peaceful Thanksgiving at home (just us) we decided to do our Christmas decorating while others battled it out at the stores. It was a beautiful, warm day.

This is me trying to get a picture of me with the kidlets:

Mags really enjoyed decorating the tree. After she finished, I filled in the tree with basic ornaments and bows. She came back into the room and told me she didn't like what I'd done.

Telling her papa exactly what to do:

I bought Maggie a Little People nativity and she went nuts over it! For a short time she called it a zoo (I guess the animals threw her off). Now she keeps calling it her "activity scene" instead of nativity.

Caroline just enjoyed the whole day. Happy as a clam!

Sicklies

What does one do when your sick....FOREVER??! You take random pictures. We would go in and out of good and bad moments. Many, many days of just getting by.

Maggie put the bow in Caroline's hair:

The blanket is her wedding veil:

When Maggie was in the worst of her illness I crafted and put Caroline in her high chair to watch videos. She loves Baby Einstein.

A nice moment. We actually thought we were getting over it. Little did we know we had several more rounds to go:

I was too sick myself to actually take pics of our bad moments. It's best forgotten though.

Things I Want Recorded

Maggie: "Mommy, I don't have fuzzies under my arms like Daddy does."

Caroline is loving the solid food (if you can call near liquid baby cereal solid). She gets really mad if I take too long between spoonfuls. She's also extremely picky. I have to put a tiny bit on her lips, she tastes it, and then decides weather to open up. It's hilarious!

Maggie: "See the glitter right here? That's where all the fun comes from."

Sept 25th Caroline officially rolls over on her own (front to back). She's done it by accident several times and also done it many times with a small push but never on her own/on purpose.

Maggie kneels down next to Caroline and in a high pitched voice says, "roll over, roll over honey, roll over. It's ok.... Caroline you're driving me nuts. Mommy, Caroline is driving me wild".

Maggie: Mommy, it's ok to put snot on your shirt.

Maggie to Caroline: "If you throw your toys again I'll take them away" (with finger pointed). It's always odd to hear you child mimic things you say to them.
Caroline: (throws toys of course)
Maggie: "Ok, they're gone. (Gives her the exact warning expression I use). No more toys for you. Mommy, she lost her toys for the day."

Patrick bought a Mt Rushmore t-shirt while visiting South Dakota. The first time he wore it Maggie looked and him and said, "Look Daddy! You're wearing the United States!".

Maggie: "Can I have my Cindarella dress that helps me get crazy?"

Maggie is a fast learner: I opened a bag of candy corn and she held out her hand for some. I asked her age and in response to her "three" I gave her three candy corn. She came back a short time later and held out her hand again. I asked her how old she was and she said, "Four".

Maggie asked her dad for a toy she saw on a commercial and he responded with, "do you have any money?" to which she said, "Mommy does".

"Daddy, can you put Caroline on the ground so I can be a giant Cinderella?"

Found Maggie tickling Caroline with her feet--just like Grampy had done to her while visiting.

Maggie, show daddy your scary monster dance. No, it's too scary for him (and crosses her legs).

While changing Caroline's diaper, Maggie came up and pinched her naked bum and said, "pinchy pinch-pinch, pinchy pinch-pinch".

I bought a new shirt. I put it on the other day and when Maggie saw me she got a very serious look on her face and said, "Mommy, why are you wearing that?". I haven't worn it since.

Just Caroline

Big Head & Big Tower

At Caroline's 6 month check up we were NOT surprised to hear that her head is in the 90th percentile. That's my girl. Incidentally her weight was 14lb 8oz (20th percentile) and height was 50th percentile.

Here's our large headed girl with her big sister who had just put her arm on my cooling (but still hot) flatiron.

Maggie was quite traumatized for a burn that barely made a mark at all. I think it just shocked and scared her a bit. If you'll look closely she's also covered in "make up". She's doing lots of make up lately.

Maggie and her high tower ("taller than daddy"):

Then she asked me to take a picture of her knocking it down:

Hungry Hippos and an Owl

I've been meaning to buy Hungry, Hungry Hippos for a while. So glad I did. Mags loves it!

And the owl.....the owl, the owl, the owl. I've been knitting an owl for a while (it's SO hard with little ones running around!). I had originally started knitting it for Caroline's crib. But as I began to sew him together it became clear that my constant cheerleader throughout the project would have to be the final owner--Maggie. She watched each step, asked what part of the owl it was, said "good job Mommy!" a lot. It just seemed like it was hers.

Some Things...

Out on a lovely fall walk (it was HOT that day--oh, I loved it). Hey, Maggie, whats that in your mouth?

Oh yes--it's a strand of HAIR. She's become a hair sucker. It totally drives me batty! How do I get her to stop it??

Playing outside:

Here she's trying to demonstrate how Miss Stephanie (her dance teacher) wants her toes pointed:

Caroline, just like her sister before her, finds the Bjorn carrier THE perfect place to fall asleep:

Now that Caroline is taking a bottle Maggie and I have been able to have regular dates. This is my sweet girl on one of these dates:

Is Winter Really Here?

We've had a couple of big storms at this point but this was the first big one of the season (I'm behind--what's new?). Maggie and her daddy had a blast in the back yard. Caroline went out for a bit but it was too cold for us (me).

The girls got some adorable Halloween cards from their Grandma and Grandpa. Maggie's card was actually a little picture to color. She really got involved in that thing!

Caroline is mastering the skill of sitting up by herself. She usually tips after a while but she can hold it for a good long time.