Fun with Santa

Today we hit the mall and saw Santa. Elsa was pumped. She said,"I want to see the fake Santa." We were a little freaked out, but then she explained that the Grinch is a fake Santa. Ahhh, of course. After that was cleared up, I told her we were going to visit the real Santa: the one at Maplewood Mall. We finally arrived in the parking lot and she said,"Are we at the North Pole?" No, but it sure felt like it. It's freezing! Winter is here.

Since it's Friday, the line was short. The kids enjoyed watching Santa taking pictures with other kids. Lila is yelling,"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi Santa! Hi!"



She approaches him and waves and smiles. Elsa gets on his lap. Then we put Lila on his lap and walk a few short feet away.


And then...


She didn't like that we walked away and left her on some dude's lap - no matter that the dude was Santa. After the photos, she was smiling and waving at him again.

After the Santa experience, we had to take a ride on the carousel. They both loved it.


The kids are really getting into Christmas songs. Luckily, they have Tim, who happily plays songs on piano and guitar throughout the house everyday. They decided to hang out in the guitar case and try it out for themselves.


Tomorrow we put up the tree. I have serious doubts about Lila being able to keep away from the ornaments. To be continued...

Thanksgiving, and Sisterly Love Part II

We went to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving. I am thankful we can still go there after all these years.

My cousin Kelly and her fabulous homemade pies! I assure you, you haven't lived until you've had square pumpkin pie. :)


Pass the knife, will you Elsa?
But of course. Pass the fork, please Lila.
No problem.


Elsa and uncle Shane.


After dinner, Elsa wanted to watch one of Great-Grandma and Grandpa's movies. Of all the movies she saw based on the cover art, she chose Rio Grande, starring John Wayne.
"Momma, what's that stickin' outta that guy's chest?"

These kids are becoming sisters. A real pair. Partners in crime. I've said it before, but I just had to post more pictures. Now they've been demanding to be put inside Lila's crib to play. Hmm, a safe place to play that leaves me guilt-free "me" time in 30 min increments. Am I freakin' dreaming here, or what?

Read.


Rest.


Read.


Rest. Wow, reading is exhausting.


Peek-a-booty! Lila loves to do random yoga-esque poses throughout the day.


Lila will be 17 months old in a couple days. She's growing so tall, and talking so much. She can even say sentences like,"Turn the light on, Mommy." She rarely wakes up talking and happy; it seems she always wakes up screaming and upset. I've been telling her she doesn't need to cry, and now she wakes up yelling,"I CRY!" before screaming her head off. Stubborn. But she's sweet and she dances and hugs and charms everyone. She has a little lisp, too. Her F, S, and CH all come out sounding like a TH. She'll try to read the Foot Book and say,"Theet in day, theet in night!" Or,"The Ginth" (The Grinch). I try to teach her and she says,"Fffff...Theet!"

Elsa is trying to write letters. So far we've only practiced her name. She's getting more advanced at drawing, too. She's really such an easy kid. Sleeps easily, even-tempered, careful and kind. I think she's had less tantrums at 3 than Lila has at 1! She helps out in the kitchen and wants to be part of everything. A few weeks ago we found a stuffed Grinch toy at the thrift store. For awhile I thought we had a new favorite, but no - Hippo is still the reining king. She asks,"Why?" all the time, and throughout the day you'll hear conversations like this:

As we're watching the Wizard of Oz:
E: Mom, say, "What are you watching, Elsa, is it Barney?"
M: Okay. "What are you watching, Elsa, is it Barney?"
E: No! It's the Wizard of Oz!

As she's eating her carrots:
E: Mom, say, "Elsa, are you eating peas?"
M: Elsa, are you eating peas?
E. No! These are carrots!

Kid update

Lila is officially 16 months old. She's so sweet. She always wants to hug and kiss and sing and dance. But she can also be hardcore. In fact, sometimes we call her The Brut. While part of her pastimes involve peace and love, the other half are all about throwing herself onto the furniture with a huge,"HUH!", and almost knocking the wind out of herself. She doesn't seem to realize she's hurting other people, either. She innocently says,"Bling!", as she smacks Elsa on the head - hard - over and over with a plastic magic wand. She also hurts herself a lot. Almost every day I can hear her say tearfully, "Bonk on the head!". Lately she loves to read books with Elsa. In fact, I've been getting 30 minutes here and there to make dinner, clean a room, etc., while they look at books together on the bed. When it happens, it's the 'Leave it to Beaver' moment of parenthood.

Elsa's new thing is reading books from memory. Complete books, even ones we don't read that often. Lila loves to listen to her, but often I hear,"No Lila, I'm not reading to you, I'm reading to Hippo." Lately she's developed this goofy voice that she uses sometimes, and just today I heard a wacky new laugh. She's totally getting into characters and voices and it makes her seem so much older. You can't see a lot in this video, but just listen to the voice.
She's reading," Ahoy to Lila Pirate. Ahoy to Lila's crew. The Jolly Jake is setting sail, there's a lot of work to do."


I've suddenly been cooking/baking up a storm, and Elsa is always more than happy to help.


Lila likes the big girl swing, Elsa prefers the baby swing. Of course.


Saturday morning acrobatics.



We don't always realize how much Lila understands. I can't believe she's been listening when Elsa excuses herself from the table. Elsa usually says,"I'm all done. May I be excused?" And for a couple weeks now, Lila has been saying the same thing! It took me awhile to get it, but I know that's what she's saying. Check it out:

"Nooo. Get down. (Maybe I be excused?) I'm all done. May I be excused?"

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...

The day before Halloween we carved some pumpkins, and by "we", I mean Tim. He carves a mean pumpkin, and fast. Here are this years beauties:


The kids had fun watching and helping Dad with the carvings.







By request, Elsa was The Grinch. I made the costume and I think it turned out pretty alright. Lila's costume was another homemade creation that Elsa wore 2 years ago.

The Grinch!


Lila Strawberry.


Earlier in the evening we took the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa with their costumes. Then we went home, bundled up, and got ready for trick-or-treating. We borrowed a wagon from my parents, filled it with warm blankets, and hit the neighborhood. It was a pretty cold night, but the kids didn't seem to notice or care. Elsa had a good time of course. She always likes to be "out in the darkness!" Lila sang and smiled a lot, and after we'd leave the houses she'd keep repeating,"Sack-ooo!" (Thank You.)




This lady didn't seem too impressed with my paparazzi-style photography.

Sisterly Love and the Pumpkin Patch

For the longest time Elsa would act as if Lila didn't exist. She'd walk right by her like she was invisible. But lately, Elsa gives her sister hugs out of the blue, watches out for her safety, and plays with her. I'll be in the other room and hear quiet and think,"Uh oh, where are they?!" I'll find them in their room with the door shut. With an ear to the door, I'll hear Elsa reading to Lila, or asking her if she wants to play with a toy. Of course this type of banter also leads to screaming and fighting, but for now it's so fun to see them interacting on any level.

If I put in a DVD, I'll come back and find them sitting side-by-side.


Sometimes when Elsa is sitting alone, Lila will come up and plop right down into her lap. Elsa isn't always amused.


"MOM! Come find us!" Sitting in the toy box.


Ahh, of course. The sisters that play together, destroy their bedroom together.


Synchronized spinning.




Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch for the third time, and I finally remembered my camera.



Poor Lila was afraid of the mini ponies.


Lila with her dirty graham-cracker-drool jacket. :)




While we were there we ran into my friend Kelty and her family. Her son Cael is in Elsa's preschool class. They've actually been going to school together since they were 14 months old! She took these photos with her super sweet new camera.

Elsa and her friend Cael.



Next post: HALLOWEEN!

Halloween party and playing in the SNOW

It's snowing today. Snow isn't my favorite thing, but it's hard to be down on it when the kids are so excited!





Yesterday I took Elsa to a Halloween party. They decorated cookies, hit a pinata, dressed up in costumes, and played. It was super fun! Elsa couldn't stop talking about it.

The gang at the table decorating cookies.


Elsa's preferred decor: a layer of frosting with a huge pile of candy on top, of course.


Thankfully the pinata loot was all toys.


Ashley, Maddy, Violet, Elsa and Allie in costumes.


Uh oh, the sugar kicked in!


Finally, I have to give a birthday shout-out to my sister who turned the big 3-0! Saturday night I went to her house to celebrate. They had a big wine/beer tasting and dinner party and it was just fabulous. Happy Birthday Jenny!

Walk and Roll

Last Friday, Lila turned 15 months old. We went to the doctor and they have a new reading program, so she got a book. The doctor said,"Do you read books at home?"
To which Lila replied, as she shoved the book in my face,"Read it!"
Here are her stats.

Weight: 21 lbs, 9.5 oz. 31%
Height: 30.7 inches 60%
Head: 18.25 cm 66%

A week ago today, Lila started walking everywhere, all the time.

Whenever she sees the camera she says,"cheese!" She's waiting for the flash to go off and keeps posing, haha! In the end she says, "camera".


She still falls forward quite a bit and hits her face.
Poor baby. Just waking up, with evidence of the latest road rash.


She likes to sit on, or as near to Elsa as possible.


Elsa is still in love with the Grinch. This drawing is from today. She also took the picture. The two lines underneath the name are his "mean" feet. It might not seem like much, but just a couple months ago she could only draw a circle. Now she has the eyes, eyebrows, nose, and smile, all in the right places.