Hollidazzle Parade

We went to the Hollidazzle parade on Sunday 12/18. The weather was gorgeous (a balmy 30 degrees!), the crowd was enormous, and the parade was spectacular! Gabby enjoyed watching from Daddy's shoulders and waved at all of the floats and people as they passed by. (she's got a great parade wave!) Isaac enjoyed from the warmth of his stroller - but enjoyed the people watching.
 

Conversations with a Two Year Old

The other morning, Gabby was washing her hands after going potty and she says, "Daddy, when my a big girl, my can have a knife." Oh my, this comment is slightly concerning, taken out of context! To put it into context, Gabby likes to help set the table and never fails to attempt to set herself a butter knife. We tell her that she is too little to use a knife and will have to wait until she's bigger. Thus, "when my a big girl, my can have a knife."

Amanda (our daycare provider) gave Gabby a My Little Pony for Christmas. I was talking with her about it and every time I said, "My Little Pony", Gabby would respond, "No! MY Little Pony!"

Last Friday night, our neighbor, Jill, brought Christmas gifts over for the kids. Isaac was already sleeping, but Gabby opened her gift - a baby doll and a coloring book. She starts thumbing through the coloring book and says, "Awww, there no stickers!" Jill, thinks this is cute and responds, "Oh, honey, we can get you some stickers", while I'm shaking my head, no and trying to explain that we should be thanking Jill for the gifts (I think I should also mention that we have about ten thousand stickers laying around our house right now so there truly is no NEED for anymore stickers!). Sunday morning, we were up around 7am and let Elvis outside. Jill happened to be outside with her dogs and I waved from the doorway. Gabby comes running over, sticker her head out the door and yells, "Hey! Where my stickers?!" Lesson learned - don't commit to Gabby unless you plan to follow through. :)

Santa Baby!

A successful visit with Santa this year! Isaac is still to young to fret about who is holding him, so I wasn't too worried about how he would react, but I wasn't sure what to expect from Gabs. Especially after the meltdown on the tractor ride at the apple orchard this year, but she did awesome! In between photos, Santa would wave to the kids waiting in line. Gabby shot her hand high up in the air and waved her little fingers with excitement! It was awesome.  

To add to the excitement, the girls (and their daddies) went for a ride on the Carousel at the mall. (While I snapped a couple of photos, Isaac snuggled up with Auntie Michelle and won her over!)

Then on to the play area before heading to lunch. It was a FUNfilled day with some wonderful family/friends!

Santa

Santa sent Gabby a video message this year, reminding her to be a good girl and listen to her mom and dad. We've since had many conversations about who is nice and who is naughty (ahem, Elvis). Maybe I should interject here that threatening to call Santa and tell him not to bring any presents (due to undesireable behavior) has had unexpected results. The response from Gabby that goes like this: "no, my don't want any presents.My don't wike presents."  Seriously?
I asked her the other night if she wanted to go visit Santa and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She gave me a stone cold look and moved her head slowly back and forth, shoulder to shoulder. I guess she's intimated :).
Tonight she put Santa's hat on and she agreed to let me take a picture. As I was taking the photo, I asked her, "What does Santa say?". Her response, "CHEESE!"

Isaac is 4 months old!

14.2 lbs and 26.5 inches tall (96%) - this guy is growing so quickly! He is honestly the happiest baby I have ever met!

Isaac has been rolling back to front and vice versa for a while. He's just started using it as a means to move around (although, right now he's just going in circles). I have a feeling he's going to be crawling early. He's always got a story to tell and a big, sweet smile to go with it.

The doctor recommended starting on cereal since he's holding his head so well. He is really enjoying it!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Our fabulous (photographer) neighbor hooked us up with our family Christmas photo.

So, afterwards, I decided to try to get some photos of the kidlets, since they were already so snazzy. Still hoping to to get one of both of them smiling, but this is a good start. Don't they just look adorable?!

Conversations with a Two Year Old

Last weekend after Gabby got up from her nap I was telling her that I took a shower while she was snoozing. She looks at me and respond in a very high pitched, condesending tone, "Good job, Mommy!"

Right now, Gabby uses me or my instead of I. This morning when she was finished brushing her teeth, she said, "My done brushing my teeth". I said, "You should say I'm done brushing my teeth", to which she responded, "You done brushing your teeth". :)

"Watching" Football with Daddy

The Cleaning Lady

Isn't this what everyone wears when sweeping and mopping floors?

Our Little Man

Make the Ordinary Come Alive

Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is a way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them hot o cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.

You will have to constantly contend
with the pressure for ever more,
and ever bigger,
that culture seeks to impose
on your children
and you.
It takes courage and discipline
to go slow,
live simply,
and see clearly.
But the rewards are great.
What ordinary thing can you do together today?

-The Parent's Tao Te Ching

Beautiful November Day

Saturday was gorgeous, so we postponed nap time and went to the park. Isaac really enjoys the swings, just like Gabs!

"Mommy, are these my pants, or Isaac's?"

Happy, Happy!

Isaac tells us all about it

Isaac is honestly the happiest baby I have ever known. Lots of smiles and giggles and lots of chatter these days. A very social little guy already. I took a quick video of him the other night (sorry for the poor lighting!)

Two (year old's) Observations

Today I wore black dress socks to work. Before I put my shoes on, Gabby says to me, "why you wearing daddy's socks?"

One evening, Gabby says to my mom, "Gamma, why you mad?". My mom wasn't sure how to respond. She wasn't mad. But apparently her eyebrows were telling a different story.

Happy Halloween!

Gabby had a great time trick or treating with her friends, Adia and Rasa. (Isaac stayed home and passed out candy with Gma & Gpa Bostrom) As only we would expect from our independent little lady, she took the lead on the trick or treating adventure. She'd march right up to a door, knock or ring the doorbell and yell, "trick or treat!". When the neighbors would drop a piece of candy in her bucket, she'd say, "my need two", so matter of factly. I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed at the greediness of my little angel :). To her advantage, most people got a good chuckle out of it and dropped another piece of candy in her pumpkin pail. Then Gabs would walk away, waving her hand, calling "Happy Halloween!".
We made it to about eight houses and Gabby asks me to pick her uppy. Then says, "My need ta go home. My not feel good." A tough lesson to learn when you're just two years old: there definitely is a such thing as too much candy.
Needless to say, it was a very fun, memorable night for us all!

trick or treating at Kowalski's with friend, Whitney



cutest little chicken you've ever seen?

with friends, Adia and Rasa
(photo courtesy of double dutch photo)

Good Night Gabby!

Gabby has a habit of calling from her bed (to postpone going to sleep) –


Her: “Mommy!”
Me: “What Gabby”
Her: “I hafta go potty”
Me: “No, you already went potty”
Her: “Mommy!”
Me: “What Gabby”
Her: “I need drink water”
Me: “You already had a drink”
Her: “Mommy!”
Me: “What Gabby (patience running thin)”
Her: “I need…..something” (this made us giggle)

The other night I was feeding Isaac and Patrick had put her to bed and went downstairs to watch tv.
She starts calling “Mommy!”.
Patrick, no patience for this circus, responds in a short tone, “GOOD NIGHT, Gabby”.
There is about two minutes of silence.  
Then you hear through the monitor, “Um, Daddy...I talking Mommy.”


 Seriously, this girl is TWO!

Rock and ROLL!

Front to back; back to front - Isaac is rolling!!

The Cleaning Lady

Gabby is very into cleaning the house. Not just picking up (while singing, "everybody pick up!") but cleaning. I have to admit, that trait did not come from me, although I do appreciate it. I think she can thank Grandma Dellis for that one. Anyway, yesterday she starts telling me how dirty, yucky the toilet was (in my defense, it really wasn't THAT bad). So, let her go to work!

the apple of my I

We currently have a modified daycare schedule for Isaac until December 15, when the youngest at Amanda's turns one. I was able to temporarily change my schedule and the grandparents are helping out with picking up the kids a few afternoons a week.

We are very grateful for the help and it allows the grandparents to get to know Isaac (and vice versa) and spend time with Gabs. One evening after dinner, I was able to snap this photo of Isaac talking with Grandpa.

dellis per diem

I have been tossing around the idea of blogging for quite some time. Now that we have two kids and an enormous list of people we email photos to, I've decided that it's time to give it a shot. What an easy way to share our lives with friends and family - near and far! Keep your eyes peeled for some great stories and adorable photos!