Things we do...

Another installment of if you were a fly on the wall in our house...

*Books, Books, Books - they love looking at their books, carrying their books, fighting over their books, etc. They LOVE going to the library and picking out books and they love when we read the library books at home. They both say, "Reah, momma, please!" Drew tries to crowd Ella out and he loves to be in charge of turning the pages.

*Rain boots - they love wearing them and carrying them. They line them up next to the couch and step into them saying "I do!"

*Music - at home they like when I put music on the computer during meals. They even make their Elmo cups dance. In the car, Mike and I struggle because they request the same songs over and over and yell "More" or "Next" when they want us to skip a song. Ella is relentless...

*"Hi" game - Ella and Drew chase each other around the house, wave at each other, and say "hi" - for some reason they think this is the funniest game around!

* "I love you" they say it to Mike and I unprompted now and have started saying to each other as I close their bedroom door at night-night time - melts my heart everytime.

* Drew attempts to take care of Ella more everyday. From bringing her drinks to making sure she is wearing her hood, he is concerned about her. Sometimes he takes it a little too far, for example trying to shove the cup in her mouth when she doesn't want it. He is very interested in making things fair...well as long as there are two of something...sharing one toy - forget it!!

* Daddy - boy do they love their daddy. They get so excited when he comes home, talk about him taking the choo-choo to work all day, and love their wrestling time at night. You never heard so many giggles...

Thanks Turkey!

My mother was a waitress for a few years as I was growing up. One of my most vivid memories is driving down the driveway and waving to my mother as she cried in the door - I don't remember which holiday it was, or how many she missed, just that she wanted to be with us so badly. Now I get it.
My little Turkey, Drew, started feeling warm last night and continued to have a fever this morning. So, I found myself waving goodbye to Ella and Mike as they left for Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Although I held the tears back, it was such a horrible feeling and one of those moments where being a mother smacks me right in the face. This tightness in my chest, these tears behind my eyes, this longing, weird indescribable thing is being a mother...and I am so thankful.
Holidays have taken on new meanings and meals often mask the purpose. But, I have shared a few Thanksgivings with people who have reminded me to take pause and appreciate it for what it is. Im not talking reflecting on the pilgrims here, but to truly take stock of what there is to be thankful for. It is all too easy to run down a list of complaints, wishes, and wants - but it takes a little more effort to list the blessings. I'll keep my list to myself, or maybe Ill share it with Drew over our Mac & Cheese this afternoon. One thing is for sure, I am so thankful for the experiences and feelings that I am living every day- even the gut wrenching ones.

Phases and Stages

You may have heard of famous child development specialists use terms to describe stages such as independence vs. dependence or the more famous Freud terms like oral fixation. As a mother of two, Im defining my own stages such as the "hats and boots" phase and the "beads" stage. You read about the beads phase in previous posts, well the beads are sooo last week! And last week we had daily battles over wearing hats. At one point they both screamed for 7 blocks because I made them wear hats!! Well, this week, I can't keep the hats off them!! Cousin Katie bought them new hats for their Bday and they LOVE them! They call them "com com" hats because each hat has a pom pom on top. When the hats get too hot inside, they wear their rain boots all over. Drew especially loves to wear his rain boots and run like a horsey down the hallway. Ahh...never a dull moment...

Dynamic Duo

Since they were born we have all been so fascinated by their interactions with each other. I remember seeing Ella and Drew on ultrasounds kicking and bumping each other through all of the sacks and fluid. Their interactions change almost every day. They have just started talking directly to each other. While eating Ella will attempt to give some food to Drew, sometimes he takes it, other times he says "no thank you, Ella" which sounds more like "nonodankyou, ella." When Ella says a new word for the first time she now turns to Drew to "teach" him how to say it. Today at the park Drew was ready to go and I told him we had to wait for Ella. He proceeded to run over to her, mumble something at her, then drag her by the hood to the stroller. They are so sweet to each other - it will melt your heart to hear them tell each other "I love you!" They also play peek-a-boo, tag, and catch. Ella says "Ready?" before she throws the ball to Drew. They also thoroughly enjoy identifying which one is Ella's and which is Drew's, this includes cups, seats, dolls, beads, cribs, shoes, books, the list is endless. Of course with all this cuteness comes some craziness, as the video demonstrates. Sometimes kisses turn into bites, hugs turn into pushes, and sharing turns into fighting...but hey, what are brothers/sisters for?

Birthday Part 1

We took a trip to Mass this past weekend to celebrate Ella and Drew's Bday. They will turn 2 next month, but with #3 arriving in 5 weeks, there won't be another trip for awhile! It was a great weekend. All of our family came out to celebrate and it was great to see everyone. It is amazing how in a few short years our family get togethers have turned into crazy kid fests. It was surprising to me that Ella and Drew understood the whole present concept, as they haven't opened anything since last year, but they enjoyed it. Now that we are back home they love their new books and new baby dolls. After being with my dad I can always expect to hear "Nonut!!" first thing in the AM...Ella's way of saying donut reflecting his daily munchkin offerings! While at "home" we sorted through the baby clothes and packed up the infant car seat. It made me a little excited, but made the whole thing seem so much more real and scary. The countdown is on...

Happy Halloween & Fall

Halloween

Click on the pic for an album...
We tried to be a Teddy Bear Picnic for Halloween, but never found the tablecloth to go over the stroller or the picnic basket! Ella and Drew did not want to wear the hat part of their costumes, so we ended up looking like a stroller full of brown fleece! They did love to watch the parade as well as walk with their friends. Drew had a little fear of the people on stilts - and darn it you can see them from everywhere! The town throws a little party after the parade and Ella had a ball dancing.