another little reason to be thankful...

We are going to become an aunt and uncle again next June! Elise and Chad told us a few weeks ago they were expecting, and I have been given the a-okay to share the news! Hurray! We're very excited! Amelia can't wait to give up the "baby" spot to someone else, because you know she thinks she's one of the big boys already.

when everyone's together, everyone is happy...

...we're thankful that we have so much to share.

(See my Thanksgiving Day post if you don't know how the above ditty goes.) We had a great Thanksgiving weekend, and for the first time in awhile, Seth and Amelia saw all their aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins in one weekend. You know how schedules get; there's usually at least one of us missing.

Nathan took the entire week off and I worked Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday morning we took the kids to get pictures done, and then we headed to Cary. Lisa and Michael brought their Wii, it was very funny to watch my parents AND my grandma bowl. Friday morning Lisa, Michael, and I hit the Kohls and Target in Apex. No lines (when we checked out), it was great. Back at the house by 8:30 in the morning! The big bummer of the trip was that as Seth was giving good-bye hugs, he tripped and split his upper lip open, blood and tears ensued. He was so embarrassed that we ended up leaving just so we could get him to calm down. Nothing mommy in the backseat and a new portable DVD player couldn't fix!

We drove straight from Cary to Kings Mountain so Nathan could go to the high school football game (they're in the state playoffs). Marie and I stayed home with the kids, but it sounds like we missed a great game. Elise and Chad brought their Wii, and the game of choice there was Rock Band. Amelia seems to have inherited her brother's infantile inability to sleep well in a pack n play, so we headed home Saturday so we could try to get a couple nights of good sleep before we both had to go back to work.

Seth playing in a pile of leaves with Michael and Lisa...

My grandma has made everyone in the family a stocking. She let Amelia and Michael open theirs this weekend.

Amelia LOVED turkey!

Rock Band Ryan!

Seth's solo...

All you Wii owners have nothing on us!

Nathan's mom found his old Nintendo and it is in working order...Super Mario Brothers, here we come!

Festival of Trees 2008

Festival of Trees is a fundraiser for Brenner's (my work). All the trees are auctioned off and many are then donated to schools or hospital floors. This year our theme was Candyland. This is the first year I have worked on the tree, and it was a lot of fun. We started back in early September.

my little elves

Last Sunday, Seth was helping me wrap one present, and Amelia woke up. As I plopped her down on the floor, the phone rang, so I went to anwer it, and came back to find this......I think they're getting in the holiday spirit!

Seth just found a blank notecard from my work, asked for a pencil, and "wrote" his letter to Santa. He says it says, "Dear Santa. I love you." Nothing else yet, just buttering up the big guy!

A Thanksgiving to Remember...

More on our holiday weekend later, but Seth has been the all-star of our Thanksgiving Day. As we were sitting down to eat, he tried to sing the Noggin "Thankful" song...which is pretty darn cute when a 3-year-old is singing it to his parents, sister, and his entire extended family on one side (including GrammyGram!). He then said the blessing. And he has gone poopoo in the potty three times today! (pleasepleaseplease let us be headed for full-time underwear!)

the calendar looked empty...

...but somehow we managed to stay really busy this week. Monday I worked in PICU, and it was a really short night because Amelia was up at 5 again. So Tuesday afternoon we all took naps. Wednesday afternoon I left the kids with Liz (our new sitter) and I went to decorate for Festival of Trees (more on that this weekend). That night we took the kids to a Wake Forest basketball game. The kids did really well, considering the game didn't start until 7pm. Seth cheered for white (Wake), against green (UNC-W), clapped for the fight song, and tried to copy the cheerleaders. Here he is eating his screamin' deamon ice cream. He later had an...er...wardrobe malfunction, but luckily we had bought a bigger t-shirt that hung down to his knees. He was still self-conscious, so he wore Nathan's coat, which covered his shoes. Little Miss Serious watches the game...Between walking around with Amelia and changing Seth, I didn't get to see much of the game, but it was fun to be back in the Joel again. We will have to have a date night during ACC season.

Thursday was the childrens' museum's fourth birthday. They had free admission from 3-5, so we went after nap. The kids had a blast, and both were asleep by 7:30. Nice! Seth performed a puppet show...this was a song about a crab, just replace "spider" with "crab" when you sing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and you'll know how it went. Who thought it was a good idea to give a hundred kids free cake?

Most of the time, Amelia was content to watch from the stroller. I'm grateful, because the last thing I want is for her to catch her first cold this weekend. My grandma is in Cary for Thanksgiving and I don't want to bring any bugs with us.

Some really cool hairbows had just come in the mail (thanks, MM!), but Amelia had some CRAZY hair, so it just wasn't a good look for her, ha! They looked much better last night after her hair had been tamed in the tub.

Amelia's first...

...snow?

We woke up this morning with a dusting of snow. I've lived in NC 15 years now and I don't think I can ever remember snow before Thanksgiving. It's been a little colder than I'd like, too. Bring back the normal weather!

She's on the move!

Amelia started crawling Friday. This video will have to do until I can get Nathan to make a fancy one. Her biggest motivator is anything that is Colette's....you know, water bowl, nasty elephant toy...yuck.

And this morning the little stinker pulled up on the dishwasher (scavanging for a piece of noodle)...any bets as to how long it is before we find her standing up in the crib?(hmm...i recognize that eyebrow!)

Norwegian Betty Crocker?

I think I am finally starting to notice the extra nine hours of free time each pay period. Last week Harris Teeter had 5 lb bags of potatoes for $1.99, and I thought, "Hey, I should make lefse." Which is kind of crazy talk because I really haven't made a valiant effort to help since college, when I wanted to throw the rolling pin across the room (me + rolling pin = patient? nope). So Saturday night I boiled and riced the potatoes. The kids both took early naps Sunday; as soon as I knew Amelia was asleep I got to work. I only had to call my mom once...the tapestry of profanity I was weaving wasn't helping me get the lefse off the counter, but the floured dishcloth did. My parents have lefse-making down to a science; my mom rolls them out, my dad flips them, but Nathan knew better than to come anywhere near the kitchen. My lefse aren't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, and some of them are a little darker than the Swedish Mafia would approve of, but it was my first attempt and I am proud of myself that I finally did it. Nathan's non-Minnesotan taste buds asked for seconds! I couldn't get Seth to try one, but Amelia ate some with her dinner.

whoa

I just drove home from work in the worst rainstorm I can remember in at least 5 years. I never topped 38 mph on the interstate. But I made it home safely.

...and gas was $1.99 at the Roo here in Clemmons!

I'm not sure which thing has shocked my system more, but I think a cup of tea and a book are going to be required if I want to fall asleep before 1am!

buzzer burner

Last night was the first night of Nathan's basketball league. He plays on his work team at the big Baptist church in Winston. They are historically terrible. Last night Nathan made a half-court shot at the buzzer, which made them win the game by a point. He was pumped!

Ladybug races

I didn't realize it at the time, but I'm pretty sure our ladybug race turned into a Dora episode.

Mundane Monday

Nothing on the agenda today. And I'll take it. Last week at this time I was complaining (again) that the time change only helps people who don't have little kids. Try as I might, it took me most of last week to get the kids adjusted to waking up at the new time. However, Amelia has slept through the night the past four nights, and I am giddy with the thought of all the full nights' sleep in my future. Here are some pictures, before they get too old...No change in potty training, other than he's starting to tell us the second he does it, so at least that's making clean up easier. Seth hasn't figured out that all the schoolwork is punishment, he is even creating more new projects to do (he made a "shark" by gluing felt scraps last night). We're doing really well with everything except trying to role play social situations at school (to help them use their words rather than grab or hit), he gets the giggles when the monkey steals the toy from the lion. Extra credit: I'm working with him on the table blessing they say before snack, because when he says it, it sounds like:

Come Lord Jesus

And eat a pizza

heh heh weh

eat a pizza

AMEN.

Amelia is ALMOST crawling. She can get across the room using several different tricks, but rarely more than a couple seconds of true crawling. She loves the walker because she can cruise all over the place (I think that's why she gets frustrated so easily when trying to crawl). Her newest trick: high fives. She thinks she's hilarious when she does it, too.

Yesterday stunk.

Literally. (warning: the following story is disgusting.)

Yesterday was the first day of the preschool's Fall Break. At first I wondered why they needed one, but if all three year olds act like mine has been acting, the teachers deserve a break! I decided to take the kids to Chik-fil-a after my eye appointment, and they were being good, so I decided to run into Michaels. Seth once again got mad that it is a store and not (Uncle) Michael's house, even though we talk about it every time we go there. He didn't cause a scene, but it was definitely time to head home for naps. Seth clunked around in his room, so I assumed it was going to be a quiet time day (which does not bode well for the evening hours!). It's best to just let him clunk around, otherwise he'll want to come out if I go in and check on him. Sooo....I come upstairs to start ironing, and he opens his door and says, "I POOPED." It stinks, so I say "Where?" He proceeds to run around his room saying, "Right there. Right there. Right there." What? I don't want to gross you out with too many details, but he basically painted every piece of furniture, his whole bed, and one wall in #2. Why? "Because I so mad at you, Mommy." Right back at ya, kid. Nobody else seems to have had this problem, but one of Marie's coworkers suggested calling a paint store. Should you ever find yourself in this situation:

• throw the offender in the bathtub
• wash every sheet, blanket, and stuffed animal (=four loads)
• Clorox wipe every plastic toy and surface, if visibly soiled, soak in a bucket of Clorox
• to clean the wall, clean first with a mix of disinfectant and water (yes, this will mess up the paint job). When dry, clean again with soap and water.
• vacuum carpet
• put the room back in order

It was a beautiful day yesterday, but we spent the afternoon inside cleaning. Potty training is frustrating anyways, but this was about the straw that broke the (momma) camel's back. So now we are in potty training boot camp for Fall Break; undies during all waking hours when home (at this point, what's one more mess?) Seth's teacher sent home a whole sheet of suggested activities to practice, and rather than do one or two a day, Seth is going to do all of them every day. He may go back to school drawing the best circles in the class!

Teeth Week

Yesterday Seth went to the dentist for the very first time. We went to see my dentist rather than go to the pediatric version because I've heard Dr. Rogers with kids before, and he did a great job with Seth. He counted teeth in a Donald Duck voice! This was basically an "inspect the mouth" visit; we'll go for a cleaning later. All Seth's molars line up and he has a LOT of space for the permanent teeth when they come in later (no surprises there). He may need to have the same oral surgery I had later, but I was kind of expecting that (my dad had it too, what a fun thing to pass along...sorry, Seth). No cavities...maybe he'll take after Nathan and not have any until after college! Amelia has decided to work on her top teeth, and maybe the next two bottom ones too. Seth got a toothbrush in his Kings Mountain stocking when he was six months old, and he loved that thing. I found Amelia one with ladybugs on it the other day. I don't think she has it figured out yet:

I'm breaking the pattern and going to the eye doctor today...and hopefully I'll have some new specs soon. My current pair was bought in the fall of 1999 (while still on my parents' insurance)...I am due!

Wonder Woman!!!!

This is not a late Halloween post. Yesterday, Barb, my second mom growing up, completed the Ironman Florida. She has been dedicated to this for a while...the morning of Lisa's wedding, she ran for three HOURS. Her goal was to finish in 15 hours and she actually finished in 14 hours, 40 minutes, and seven seconds! I kept checking all day on her times...congratulations Barb! You killed it!

BARBARA S.
BIB 2560
AGE 52
STATE/COUNTRY ATLANTA, GA
PROFESSION RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

SWIM 1:31:19
BIKE 6:51:03
RUN 6:05:21
OVERALL RANK 1937 OF 2268
DIV.POS. 20 OF 30
14:40:07

TOTAL SWIM
2.4 mi. (1:31:19)

FIRST BIKE SEGMENT
73 mi. (4:35:56)
15.87 mph

FINAL BIKE SEGMENT
39 mi. (2:15:07)
17.32 mph

TOTAL BIKE
112 mi. (6:51:03)
16.35 mph

FIRST RUN SEGMENT
6.55 mi. (1:23:59)
12:49/mile

SECOND RUN SEGMENT
6.55 mi. (1:27:12)
13:18/mile

THIRD RUN SEGMENT
6.55 mi. (1:34:42)
14:27/mile

FINAL RUN SEGMENT
6.55 mi. (1:39:28)
15:11/mile

TOTAL RUN
26.2 mi. (6:05:21)
13:56/mile

TRANSITION
TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE
7:14
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN
5:10

Note: I just heard from Barb yesterday, and she said it was so much fun, she's already signed up to do it again next year....crazy woman!!!

Halloween 2008

We had a fabulous Halloween! We started our day with a marathon Walmart trip...I have been spoiled with preschool, running errands with two in the cart is a lot slower!

Seth's shirt from Gram and Pops...he was very excited to see he had a Minnesota twin!I think this was the highlight of Amelia's day...she loved posing on the stairs with Seth.After "naptime" (nobody seemed to really take a nap at our house yesterday) we went up to my work so the kids could show off their costumes. The 7th floor has a 520 lb carved pumpkin on display. Amelia was scared of it!Tigger and the Hunny Pot getting ready to go trick or treating...And he's off! (Grandma Sarah gave him this bag for his very first Halloween, I wonder how many years we can make it last...)One very tired Tigger...We didn't have as many trick or treaters this year, so I'm leaving it up to Nathan to eat the excess candy so I don't!