Belated Merry Christmas!

Oh, there was much merriment to be had and much to be excited about over the past few days. After I have rested for at least a year or so maybe I can blog about how much fun the girls had during the Christmas celebrations of 2008. But since I am low on creative juices and have a bounty of new things to put away....today I will just leave you with the best family photo we could get. I hope that everyone had a fun (most likely not relaxing if you are like us) and happy holiday!

Christmas Eve 2008

WWJE?

During yet another snowy slow commute....

Me: "Lets say a prayer to Jesus for safety today."

Amelia: (who has a baggy of vanilla wafers) "Jesus can not take my cookies"

Me: "Jesus will not take your cookies. Jesus likes to share. He shares all things."

Amelia: "He does not like cookies."

Me: "What does Jesus like to eat?"

Amelia: "Ummmmm, eggs and potatoes."

Me: (laughing) "Really? Eggs and potatoes?"

silent pause........and then........

Natalie: "NO! He only eats baby food and drinks bottles"


Smart Natalie, she knows that the story of the season is about BABY Jesus. Come on people, everyone knows that babies don't eat eggs and potatoes!

Moon phases (according to N and A)

A quick astronomy lesson:

"Circle Moon"

"Oval Moon"

"Banana Moon"
(my personal favorite)

Every time the girls spot the moon they yell out one of these three names. They get so excited to describe the shape to anyone. I especially like it when it is the Oval Moon because without fail Amelia will also add, "Mama, we need to take our paints up there and color it in."

A girl after my own heart....she does not like to leave things unfinished!

Uncharted Territory

Today I am 26 weeks and 6 days pregnant...which means tomorrow is the beginning of the third trimester. I am now in uncharted territory because I had the girls at 26 weeks and 5 days. So technically I have had 2 kids and have never been this pregnant. Kind of funny if you think about it...2 kids and never been in the third trimester. Not many people can say that.

Of course as "D" day (delivery day) of the girls came and went delivering early has been on my mind. But rest assured I have been through more that one precaution to prevent a repeat performance.

Now I just adjust to getting bigger. Bigger at this point with one than I was with two. : ( And my husband....he is wondering what he is in for since he never had to live through the "crazy pregnant wife in her third trimester" stage. So far I think I have been completely rational at all times....now he may beg to differ. : )

Well worth it

So yet another long drive in to work/daycare today. Only 45 minutes instead of the usual 55 it has taken lately (in summer weather it takes only 25). In between the fighting in the backseat and the singing of multiple Christmas carols a conversation between me and Amelia made the hectic ride well worth it.

Me: "Amelia, who is your sister?"

Amelia: "Natalie........she is my best friend."

pause for a bit

Amelia: "And I love her very much."

pause....pause...pause...

Natalie: "Yep, that's me!"



What are wonderful thing to hear on such a bothersome commute. Though, about 2 minutes after this conversation they started fighting and stealing each other's blankets in the back seat.
(We will just pretend that the bad parts didn't happen and focus on the heartwarming stuff, ok?)

Snow!

Much to my frustration the snow in our area has made commuting to work a nightmare. In the past two days I have spent an hour and half more time in the car than I usually do at this point in the week. The girls have been doing fairly well...only annoying each other and me a little bit on these very long rides. I can't say I am looking forward to more days of slippery roads but since it is not winter break for work yet...every morning I take a deep breath, say my prayers and hit the road with two little kiddos.

On these long rides I try to remember that snow can be a wonderful thing. It can provide endless hours of fun. Here are some photos from past snowy days of fun.

Driveway fun

Cleaning Dad's car

Snow sliding

Natalie on the tire swing

Amelia

(I'd like to claim that I have great photography skills but in truth
this unusual effect was caused by a fogged up lens.)

A Lazy Sunday

I thought I would share a few pictures from our lazy Sunday at home. If you live where we live you know that the weather was dreadful that day. So it was indoors we were to stay!

Chili making

Amelia helping out

Coloring fun

Invading Dad's lap

Amelia's eskimo kiss

Quote of the Day- "Dad, Natalie won't get off of me!"

When I was younger...

I never thought there would be a day that I would be aggressively brushing blue* crayon from the back molars of a toddler's mouth.

Boy, was I wrong.

Thanks, Nat for making life interesting...that's for sure. But honey, please even though the box says non-toxic I am not so sure crayon eating is so good for your teeth!



* Why blue? I wonder if it tastes different than the other colors. I can't really say I am willing to find out. : )

In the closet

I never thought I would write a post about this. Someday when the girls look back at what is written here they may be greatly embarrassed. If you are a person who hates discussing bodily functions...STOP READING NOW!

This post is about pooping and the funny way our girls go about it. Every night around 5:30 our girls poop. This is bad timing for all as it is usually when Mike has just placed the dinner food on the table. Day in and day out this happens. You would think we would just start eating a bit later to avoid this problem. But I swear, those two little girlies would adjust their "schedule" and scheme against us.

Both Mike and I know when our girls are going because they start arching their backs and walking on their toes. Their body language is very agitated and some times they both even stretch their arms up into the air.

Can we get them to go on the toilet? No way...our girls have a preferred pooping spot.

Our girls love to poop in the closet...any closet. And they prefer to go together.

When one feels the urge they immediately start running down the the hall on their toes yelling "come on, come on..let's go poop!" If you try as an adult to check on them the standard response is "close the door we are pooping!" And trust me for the sake of your nose it is better to close the door! We hate it when they choose our closet because of how our clothes smell for a while afterwards.

It amazes us that even though they are on the same sleep schedule, activity schedule, and eat the same things that they can have their bowel movements within minutes of each other.

As they say, "females always prefer to go to the bathroom in pairs."

I guess Natalie and Amelia are following what seems to be a social norm.