Merry Christmas - a little late!

It is odd, but one of the kids absolute favorite things to do is go to Target (maybe it's because they have been hanging out there with me since they were no more than 6 weeks old). Example - I was throwing away a bag with the Target logo on it and Katie says - ohhh, go to Target mommy? So, when they refused to leave this afternoon when we needed to run some errands and told them we were going to Target I knew, even more, that Christmas was a big hit! The kids loved all of their new toys - even if Lance and I had trouble coming to terms with the added mess and chaos it all brought (we spent our day off today moving older things to the garage, re-organizing, and creating a more user-friendly bonus/playroom) - and didn't want to leave them. It all started with the elf visits who brought them little gifts and got them so excited about Santa Claus. We then went to So-So and Ray-Rays on Christmas Eve and they had a blast toodling around on their gifts from Uncle Matthew (wheelybugs) trying to carry literally everything else they got (brooms, dolls, books - all while wearing the hats So-So knitted for them). Christmas day started bright and early (although since they are still in cribs it wasn't as early as it could've been). They came down and were ecstatic to see a teeter totter (from Grandma and B-Bob), a much larger than we thought it would be bouncy house, and soon after So-So and Ray to help open gifts. They then finally got to open the presents that they have been eyeing for a month (with some additions from Santa) and were pretty overwhelmed. The morning was capped off by the unveiling of the bicycles they have been asking for, for months. They aren't quite big enough to ride them, but it won't be long and I am sincerely jealous of those so cute and cool trikes! The morning flew by (as I was fighting with the train track that didn't get put together correctly until we got back as you may notice in the pictures) and before I knew it we were racing around trying to pack and get over to Lance's family's house to give us time to spend there before on the road to Montgomery. We had a great time, and the kids got even more awesome gifts, and we ended up leaving an hour later than we intended. That meant we were on the road in some pretty nasty, snowy conditions and our non-napping children were wired and ornery so it was definitely an eventful trip. They slept for maybe 30 minutes each on the way down, and on the way back not at all (looooong days). Once we finally made it to Alabama we had so much fun seeing my family and the kids opened even more gifts (yes, we feel incredibly blessed and overwhelmed). We left the next day and got home in the evening and then spent most of the day playing and the kids were just thrilled to have so many fun, new things. I didn't make it to Florida to see my dad which makes me sad, but Christmas was a whirlwind as was, especially with the added weather worries. We really had a lot of fun, and have two very spoiled, very lucky children. I hope everyone else had a fabulous Christmas and best wishes for a wonderful New Year!

They didn't quite understand at first - but quickly figured it out. Too well, actually, since Tyler learned to get Katie in the air and Katie didn't learn to hold on and had a fall - but today they wanted to play again so it must not have bothered her too much.

They were pretty wild in the bouncy house - but that's the idea, wear them out when it's too cold to be outside!

They talked all the time about getting a "pink bicycle," and a "blue bicycle." They will have fun on these when they actually figure out how to ride them!

They had some of their other gifts in tow.

The remote control train is a big, big hit - especially with Tyler. He played with it for an hour straight this afternoon - amazing for a two year old.

"How they do that?"

Tyler thought he knew exactly where the elves were, and then went to point them out and was completely confused when they weren't where he thought. After many, many inquires of "where they go," "where the elves," or "where Taylor and Mary," I finally convinced them to go upstairs and take a bath without knowing where they were. When we got into the bathroom the elves were there and Tyler was shell-shocked and just kept repeating "how they do that?" It was fun to trick them - is that evil :)? Then, both of them went pee-pee on the big potty because the elves wanted them too. The cutest moment of all was when Katie had her turn on the potty and when she went I clapped and said good job, and Tyler said (copying us) - "Katie, I so proud (pwoud) of you!"

We had a big day. We (me and Lance, Ray-Ray and the kids) went out to Opryland to see the lights and decorations and rode on the Christmas train, walked around looking at the water fountains, and took a boat ride around the hotel. The kids were exhausted, but had a blast. When we got home they looked at the pictures with me and Katie said "train was fun, mommy." I am still sad that there is no Opryland Amusement park anymore, but doing the tourist thing at the hotel was fun, too. When Lance and I first started dating we went to both the hotel and the park and my 18 year old self thought Nashville was awesome (still do, but never go out there)!

They were really mesmerized by the light fountain.

They didn't know what to make of Mrs. Claus

They were shockingly playing pretty well together before bed even though they were very tired which usually equals fighting and grumpy.

Elf on the Shelf

We started Elf on the Shelf a couple of nights ago. They are still a little young to fully understand, but they love trying to find them, and the fact that they bring them little gifts if they are good! It has been a good tool for getting them to behave and luckily "Taylor," and "Mary Beth" don't have to cause too much mischief yet to keep the kids entertained.

Tyler's elf brought him a Buzz Light Year - he was impressed! Katie was hiding the "Woody" figurine that she was brought because she thought the elf might take it back.

They were both silly and giddy, they thought it was fun that "Santa's helpers" were watching over them and bringing them presents that they were finally allowed to open (Katie keeps asking if she can open presents yet).

More Snow Pictures

We got back out when it had snowed a little more. The kids thought it was great - but it sure was cold!

Katie didn't want to go in, but she was too cold to smile!

Tyler was mesmerized by the "snowing on my boots."

It's snowing!

It's snowing today and the kids (the two young ones and the one otherwise known as my husband) are really enjoying playing outside. It is really, really, really cold but it is manageable if we get bundled up and stay out for only a bit. Tyler is refusing to take his hat off and keeps going to the door saying that "it's snowing" in hopes that we will let him go back out. We brought out some old toys from the garage to try to entertain them while we are not leaving much because of the temperature - the zebra fun lasted for about 30 minutes, oh well! It is early for snow for us, but I kind of like it (other than preventing me yet again from doing any Christmas shopping) since it is beginning to feel more like the holidays should!

Starting to stick in the lot down the street.

Katie was running and dancing so it was hard to get a picture that wasn't blurry!

Tyler was all smiles getting to play outside in the snow! Zebra fun - having two came in handy since they were fighting over everything! They are a lot more active on these zebras than they were last time we had them out - about a year ago!

Mini-Me?

Lance recently accused me of dressing Katie like a "mini-me." I denied it, since I rarely wear polka dots or "pinktails." With Tyler, we are the very grateful recipients of some hand-me-downs from a friend (and they are awesome, cute things), so I don't think I can be solely blamed for dressing him to look like Lance (although this outfit was purchased for him by me). Katie, though, doesn't have a clothes benefactor and when I took note of what they were wearing today to go to school I realized that Lance may have a point...


Turtleneck sweater for Katie, Jeans and fleece for Tyler...

I had the bright idea to let them help me put ornaments on the tree. The three that got put on with their help are the only ones on the tree a week later - that's how long it took me to realize that was a bad idea!

They've already figured out that presents are a great part of the Christmas tradition! They both have items that they are asking Santa for, and Katie in particular likes to take inventory of the presents under the tree and name who she thinks they belong to (not surprisingly Katie is named quite often as the gift recipient).

Debacle!

We decided to take the kids to a Vandy basketball game tonight. The time at the game (just until halftime) wasn't too bad. The kids enjoyed clapping and watching the jumbotron, and just the general atmosphere. However, NOBODY enjoyed the aftermath of staying up way past bedtime. Last night we went to visit some friends and there were lots of children there so the kids had a great time playing with new toys and new friends. They got to stay out later than usual, but they were in pajamas and in bed only about 30 minutes or so later than is typical and I didn't think it would wreak too much havoc. I was wrong - as is usually the case on nights when they stay up later, they were up earlier than usual. We were already operating on a slight sleep deficit - not good for strict sleep schedule kids - and deciding to keep them up for a second night in a row is in hindsight a very bad idea. Katie took a whopping 1 hour nap at school (also typical), and was in a relatively good mood when we set out to go to the game (early season, small crowd, sit where we want, no big deal to leave at halftime). That all changed however on the drive home and especially once they were supposed to be going to bed. Katie yelled (not just cried or whined, but flat out yelling, screaming, pitching a royal fit) for the entire 3o minute trip in the car, and then had to be wrestled to change her diaper and pajamas and after that went ballistic screaming, crying and flopping uncontrollably. We tried to calm her down, leave her to sort it out, and everything in between and she was just having the tantrum of all tantrums combined with being extremely overtired. Just 30 minutes ago she finally went to sleep after leaving her for a while, checking in, rocking, back rubbing, etc. I am sure she will be up at 5 AM and we will pay the price for messing up her sleep routine for a week at least. I definitely think at this point it is not worth it - Tyler seemed to really enjoy the game, but Katie could not stay still, and it was just stressful for us trying to keep up with them and keep them entertained so I think the verdict is debacle for now. We'll probably wait a year to try to take them back to another game, and I still think basketball is a better bet initially since there is no tailgating, the games are shorter, there is more action, and it is indoor! Football games are in our future too, though, of course - I just think for everyone's sanity we need to wait to include the kiddos in our sports fan fun!

Turtle???

The kids are regular little chatterboxes these days and can surprise you with the things they say. On the way home last week we saw someone riding their bicycle. Katie pointed it out and then said I wanna pink bicycle. Tyler of course, said he wanted a pink bicycle too (but he changed it to blue thankfully)! I told them they had to tell Santa (in hopes that this year they will sit on his lap without screaming). They are starting to "get" Santa and they know that Santa says Ho Ho Ho. Since Thanksgiving is coming up (!) I asked them what a turkey says, too. I thought they got it since every time I would randomly ask what a turkey says they would both answer gobble gobble. Well, we were reading books the other night and came across a turtle and when I asked what it was Katie said turtle - gobble gobble. We made up what a turtle "does" (scrunched shoulders like he's going in his shell) to try to help them differientiate. I won't be surprised, though, if on Thanksgiving they think we are eating turtle - gobble gobble! That confusion was a little easier to sort out than the moon debacle. Shortly after the time change we began to be able to see the moon and stars on our way home and the kids thought it was great. Well, we had a few cloudy, rainy evenings when the moon couldn't be seen and the whole 45 minute drive home consisted of questions like Mommy, where moon? No, moon don't sleep (yelled). Or, come out Mr. Moon peeese! It was funny, but they were really getting upset with Mr. Moon and didn't take any of my explanations that he was sleeping, hiding behind the clouds, etc. Luckily, the moon made its appearance in a couple of days and was big and bright and that fascinated them the whole ride home. There are so many fun and cute moments these days - I just wish they weren't so interspersed with such devilish behaviour. Tyler was in a mood yesterday and would look at me, do something he knew he wasn't supposed to, give me a big smile which turned into a whimper when he got reprimanded, and then do it all over again - the rascal. This Holiday season should be fun, troublesome of course, but they are excited about every new thing and it will be great to see Christmas through their eyes this year.

Trains, trains, trains

The kids had so, so much fun today. It was "Whistlestop Weekend" at the Adventure Science Center which meant trains were everywhere (including Thomas, but I don't think we saw him). So-So and Ray-Ray were with us, and the kids enjoyed checking out all the train cities (some interactive even for their age) with their grandparents. The day at the museum was capped off with a performance by Jack the Conductor of the Zinghoppers. The emcee who kicked off the show scared Tyler and so we (me, So-So, and Tyler) sat on the edge of the crowd while Tyler got comfortable. Katie, on the otherhand sat with Ray-Ray front and center and thought it was great! Jack the Conductor does a lot of singing and dancing, and the show is geared toward pre-schoolers and getting them up and moving and having fun. Katie got to show off her superb jumping skills and learned some new moves (move your hips). Tyler started participating eventually and proceeded to jump clumsily across the room. Katie was absolutely exhausted after the 30 minute show (plus, it didn't start until 11:30 which is 30 minutes after their usual lunchtime and the beginning of naptime at school). They got happy meals after the Zinghopper fun, and by the time we got home Katie was a wreck. She fought naptime mightily and fiercely (took some fancy maneuvering by me and Lance to get her diaper changed and get her to stay in her crib), but eventually slept for about an hour and half - a real feat for her these days. Tonight, the kids were jumping around the room singing the Tootie Tot song that he did and trying to do the motions and were having a ball (I am going to have to find that on youtube so we can do it at home since they clearly think it is awesome). Since they were looking at trains most of the time it was tough to get good pictures, and then they were too active during the show but here are a few cute ones!

Before we left - notice that I actually did fix Katie's hair, it just didn't last as long as the drive to get there.

The kids with So-So and Ray - they are almost too heavy to hold like this for too long!

Tyler found some time to get in some driving practice while we were waiting for the show to start.

They had a new gardening/flowers exhibit set up in the toddler area and this was where they could "dig up" vegetables. Tyler like watching the trains just as much!

This isn't today, but I thought it was cute - especially since Katie found the glasses on her own and insisted on wearing them and was having a very involved conversation on the phone!

Discovery

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and that Christmas isn't that much farther away. With the kid's behavior lately, switches and coal may be all they are getting :)! Katie, in particular, is in a real independent/testing stage. I am learning to get thicker skin since she is bound and determined to humiliate me in public. Hitting (me, dad, and Tyler), flailing on the ground, refusing to sit in her carseat or hold my hand - those are all bad enough. But the worst is that Katie has learned to be loud and verbal and will yell "No mama, and mama no hurt Katie" everytime I have to inevitably pick her up after long minutes of her refusing to come when I tell her to (like when we are getting in the car to leave school). Tyler isn't as demonstrative, but he is testing too. He flat-out refuses to have his diaper changed these days, or put pajamas on and it is a two-person job with one having to grab his kicking legs and the other of us trying to find a way to put the pjs on. Most of his resistance revolves around him wanting to"sit on the potty," all the time (and usually with a book in hand - what is it with boys and bathrooms), which is great, but neverending and usually with no result. I would say that they are both in a stage of discovery. Katie is discovering what control she has (and we are hoping to teach her that it isn't much) and what she can get away with. She has a pouty face (where she literally turns her lips down in a sad look), and has started throwing herself down when we say no or she doesn't get her way - and really seems to be starting to understand emotions and feelings. The plus side of that is that she has started saying "I love you" more deliberately and is all about hugs and kisses - the downside is obvious, she is learning to express her emotions, which for a toddler means lots of the world is coming to an end type of meltdowns. My dad said that I need to call Super Nanny for her - I just might have to. Tyler's stage of discovery is much more fun. He is doing really well with his colors and has started pointing out shapes on signs as we drive. He also really seems to have started to grasp the concept of "reading" and will sit down and go through a book reading it in his own way. They are both learning lots of new songs and we have singing time every day on the way home. I have some cute pictures that I haven't had a chance to upload (the one below is from their Thanksgiving lunch at school yesterday where Lance got roped into reading while the kids were trying to avoid naptime - it doesn't really show the kids but I thought it was cute to see "teacher" Lance), but I wanted to post while I was thinking about it regarding wish lists. It can't be said enough that we definitely don't expect anything from anybody for these two, but I have had a lot of questions about what the kids would like for Christmas so I started a wish list on Amazon as I come across things that I think they would enjoy - here is the link!
http://amzn.com/w/31MTSRB4PTVRA

Potty Party

I know that the majority of you don't want to hear about the toilet exploits of the kids, but we had a very exciting day today! Katie used the potty at school today for the first time (#2) and she was absolutely giddy and so proud - so we have been celebrating potty time all night. Unfortunately, she is a bit grumpy because she is still not napping (I and school have about given up). The teacher noticed that she went at about the same time everyday (when she was supposed to be napping). So, today she put her on the potty at 12:30 (supposed to be asleep for an hour by that point) and she sat for about 15 minutes and then got so excited at what she produced that she almost woke up all of the other children. Apparently the teacher says that she is happy if she gets a half hour nap out of Katie and can count on a hand and a half the number of times that she has even done that. She does better on weekends, but doesn't get to sleep until about 2:00 and wakes up around 3:30 which isn't possible on school days. We have also started separating them for naptime at home which at least means that Tyler is able to get some zzzzz's. They are growing up so fast - toddler beds (the plan is this weekend when the time changes), big kid potties and their oh so cute Yo Gabba Gabba underwear soon, and now giving up naps. Next thing I know I'll be posting about their first day at Kindergarten - kind of sad!

Happy Halloween!

We went to So-So and Ray-Ray's neighborhood to trick or treat since our neighborhood is so small and devoid of festivities (not a single trick or treater according to Lance). We went over pretty early (halftime of the Titans game) and the kids were decked out anxiously awaiting dark (when we told them they could trick-or-treat). Ray-Ray went with us while So-So stayed at the house to hand out candy to all of the other trick-or-treaters. The kids thought it was a lot of fun, and really got the hang of it fast - Katie started approaching every door with her hand out and every time Tyler would pick up one piece of candy to inspect it, then put it down and settle on another. They still haven't tasted any of the candy so the packaging was what was most important (I hope that holds true for Christmas). They really just enjoyed "hold Ray-Ray hand" and seeing all of the pumpkins and decorations and getting to walk around like the big kids, not to mention Katie loved everyone telling her she was cute :)! We had a great Halloween!!! Now, unfortunately Katie has a cold. Plus, my grandfather passed this weekend and I am on jury duty so it was great to see the kids having fun in the midst of some definitely not fun things. Some pictures!!!

Patiently waiting for it to get dark.

A pre-trick or treat hug. They both wanted to hold Ray-Ray's hand when they found out they had to hold somebody's hand.

They loved the pumpkin addition to the porch with the "hot fire," and they were both checking them out when I said they were yucky and had to go bye bye.

Checking out their loot!

Ghouls at Grassmere

We went to Ghouls at Grassmere (at the zoo) tonight and the kids had so much fun! When we were putting their costumes on at the house they were ecstatic - we have been gearing them up for wearing costumes for a month - and then even though it took us almost an hour to get there they were still very excited (squealing and machine gun laughter from both) when we pulled into the parking lot. We started out trick or treating at little stations they had set up and the kids really got the hang of it. At first they were reluctant to go up to the little huts, but by the end they were racing to them hands-out for the treat. Tyler said Trick or Treat and Happy Halloween, Katie always said thank you so between the two of them we were polite. We then walked over to "pumpkin town" where they had a dance floor, a maze, lights and a costume parade. Tyler was dancing the whole night to the music that could be heard throughout the zoo, but when we got to the dance floor he refused to join in. I think he was scared of the lights and people, because once we left the dance floor he started dancing and spinning again. We skipped the carnival and games because it was getting cold and late and the kids were already up past their bedtime. The Hayride and carousel were a bit much for Tyler, at least, at this point.

On our way in - they were a little hesitant (and scared of the smoke tent that was at the entrance), but that changed pretty quickly!

It was the ultimate for the kids - they got to see animals (flamingos were pretty much the only thing out, though - Tyler kept asking about the meerkats), trick or treat and stay up late.

For some reason Tyler kept sitting down when I told him I wanted to take a picture - it hid his cute tail. A tail shot.

Katie dancing, Tyler not going near it! We were trying to get pictures of the bee and lion together, but were not very succesful. Maybe on Halloween!

My mom and B-Bob were in town and B-Bob "made a boat" for the kids. This might be my best chance of getting a picture of them together since they both really like playing in it - especially when they fill it up with all of their stuffed animals and anything else they can find.