Happy Thanksgiving

We had such a nice Thanksgiving and a relaxing long weekend. It is so nice when we have "our daddy" all to ourselves for a few days of relaxing and fun. The weather has been fantastic so we got to take long walks, go to a new playground, and play in the sandbox.

Here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving photo shoot. Thank goodness Holden is finally being mildly cooperative for a camera.


Notice I said mildly, we have no pictures of her with Ian or myself, but at least we got a few of her and Everett!


And of course Ev is happy to ham it up for the camera every chance he gets!


We went to Uncle Rob's brother's house for dinner and it was an adventure. Neither of the kids wanted to eat at dinner time, so Ian and I took turns eating and entertaining them. There were three dogs, 12 adults, and three toddlers, so there was plenty of excitement to keep everyone busy. Dinner was delicious, even cold, but when you go out for Thanksgiving you have no leftovers...bummer. So, Holden and I went to the store yesterday and bought ourselves a turkey and everything we needed to make a second feast. I am smelling the delicious scents pouring out of our kitchen as I write this entry.

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And Now For My Final Trick...

That's it....the new blog name!

andnowformyfinaltrick.blogspot.com

I am going to officially change it in a few days and send out the new title in our Christmas letter too.
I don't want to wait and have someone else snag it.

Some other contenders were:

I should be folding laundry
Delirious and devilish in Denver (Marsha)
Take a H.I.K.E. (Holden, Ian, Kim, Everett) (Mom)
No further inquiries
No appropriate behavior (my fave but it was already taken)
No lifeguard on duty
Broadcast Hanou (sounds like a band, no?)

Holdenisms

This little girl kills me. She comes out with some pretty funny comments and pronunciations. Just wanted to capture a few for everyone:

"That's NOT good!"- When I close a drawer and the corner of a shirt is sticking out, or her Dora pillow isn't facing the correct way and lined up with her blanket, or one of Ev's pant legs is rolled up and the other isn't

"TV for girls"- I usually hear this a 7:15 when I am watching the Today show, trying to wake up, trying to drink a cup of coffee, and trying to get Everett fed. She is referring to cartoons

She has trouble saying the "t" sound, so we hear a lot of Prelly (pretty), Polly (potty), and Scoulie (Scoutie)

"I have full hands" instead of "my hands are full"

She also has trouble with the "th" sound. So when she is trying to say, "one, two three, throw!" It sounds like,"one, two, flee, flow."

"That's not fair!" Accompanied by a huff with her arms crossed and a big frown. Where she heard it, I don not know. She says it at completely inappropriate times. I asked her what she thinks it means and she said, "I don't like it." So she says it whenever she doesn't like something we say, something she eats, something Everett does.

"Mommy has a big but." Let me explain....We were in the family restroom at the zoo. I sat Holden on the big toilet and told her to hold on to me. I said, "you have a little but and if you don't hold on you might fall in." Then I had to go and she looked at me and said, "you don't have to hold on. You have a big but."

Brilliant

My son is brilliant.

Over the past three days he has been wowing us with his amazing abilities.

First of all, he has finally started, "talking"...alot. Constant babbling. Along with this he now points at things and looks to me like I should know exactly what he is saying.

I swear he says "ma" and points when he wants me.

Then two nights ago we were reading, Barnyard Dance, a classic that Holden loved. I was pointing to the different animals and saying their names. I turned a page and Ev pointed to three cows among a mix of farm animals. Then I turned again and said, "where is the cow?" He pointed to the cow and said, "ca." Then he did it like three more times. And there were actually other animals mixed on all the pages.

AND, just when I though I couldn't walk one more circle around my house, buddy started really walking on his own...everywhere. It's actually kind of scary. I leave him playing at the car garage and then I hear,"boom, boom, boom" (not pitter patter, he walks tough) and I turn around to see him lurching across the dining room. He can walk one whole lap around the first floor without holding on, bend over to pick up a toy, stand back up, and keep going. However, he is very happy with this new independence. He actually entertains himself for 10 minutes at a time. The past few weeks have been rough, he refused to let me do ANYTHING other than hold his hand and walk.

Today, I cleaned up the breakfast dishes, with both hands because I wasn't holding him, and it was pretty nice. I usually get 3-4 minutes at a time, so I do everything in fast forward. I move so fast, I scare myself. But, today, I finished cleaning up and looked around....Ev was playing ...by himself...and not crying! I frantically looked around for the next thing to clean up and...nothing. Hmmm, took a sip of coffee and scoured my brain, what do I need to do, I have more time!!! And nothing, I actually sipped my coffee in peace and stillness. It lasted for about 3 1/2 minutes, but it was good, very very good. My life will settle down a little bit a some point in the future. I have tasted the freedom and I want more!

Naked Time

So Ev has this intense diaper rash, and I have heard that going commando can help clear it up. So he ran around after his bath enjoying the freedom!


However, naked time with an 11 month old comes with it's risks.... Ian got a little messy...


Everett is becoming a great walker. I am ready for him to master this skill and get my own freedom back. He is a demanding monster right now. All he wants to do is walk...all day...holding my finger and leading me around and around and around the house. I am glad all of this "practice" is giving him confidence, but it is nerve wracking. I will leave him at the play kitchen and I turn around to see him "running" across the kitchen wildly careening towards the corner of the table. I drop whatever I am doing and dash over to save him before he gouges his eye out.... I am rethinking the purchase of a toddler helmet...haha

My three zoo cuties...

Crack

This evening, as Everett was strolling around, he walked up to Holden and slapped her, HARD, across the face. No apparent reason ...is it bad that Ian and I immediately started cracking up?

Today's Top Ten List

The top ten reasons I stay home with my kids:

10. I am the first one to them when they fall.

9. My daily chores involve going to the zoo, library, story time, playground, pool, and play dates.

8. We get to spend hours in a toy store exploring every toy known to man.

7. I actually have time to cook healthy and homemade meals for all of us.

6. I am the one to listen to all of the whining when they have a bad day, and I am the one who can turn that bad day around.

5. I kiss all of the boo boos

4. I am the one to foster and see their first smiles, steps, and giggles.

3. I can let Everett unroll entire rolls of toilet paper, because I have the time to roll each one back up again. Over...and over...and over...

2. Holden and I get to do extravagantly messy arts and crafts projects every day while Ev takes his morning nap.

1. I get to give them millions of kisses and hugs and listen to their beautiful voices all day long.

Mommy!!!!!

"Mommy, he got my oatmeal!" (Ev was covered in her oatmeal is more like it)
"Mommy, Ev's grabbin my hair!"
"Mommy, Ev took baby!"
"Mommy, Ev's touchin me!"

I wasn't expecting all of this quite so soon. But, it is kind of cute to see them interacting and watch him get under her skin a little bit. He is so pushy with her and she is in shock every time. He grabs her clothes, hair, toys, cups, and food.

By the way, shouldn't we have at least a 2 week reprieve from illness? Both of the kids are runny, stuffy, and coughing. Everett woke up at 4:30 today because he couldn't breathe. UGH