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.