Trikes & Cars

We took our two cuties on a walk today-with Delaney's new tricycle and Elliot's new car. The best part of Laney's trike is the very long handle that I can use to push her-because let's face it, she can't quite reach the pedals and even if she could, her steering is just a tad bit rusty!

In Other News....

In other news, Delaney begged-pleaded-screamed for me to buy lingerie for her at Target today. I swear she's 2 going on 22! A little disturbing.

We left Elliot with a babysitter for a couple of hours this morning while we took Delaney to a doctor's appointment. When I returned, he smelled like the babysitter's perfume from snuggling with her and I was a little jealous--he's my boyfriend.

Miraculously we have found a DVD that holds Laney's attention for more than 30 seconds. Perhaps I'm a bad mother or maybe I'm just human, but I have been so frustrated that Delaney won't watch any tv; not that I want her glued to the tv, but I could use 20 minutes a day to get things done. And we now have THE Elmo DVD that she absolutely loves-for at least 25 or 30 minutes. As Dave said, this could revolutionize our lives!

Elliot's new word of the day: Baby

Merry Christmas!

Well, these aren't Christmas pictures, but they're still pretty cute! Our camera is out of batteries and 'we' (I) have misplaced the battery charger--no mother-of-the-year award for me.

We've had a great day. The babies were excited (and a little overwhelmed) to open up presents this morning. We played outside in the freshly fallen snow--how perfect is a white Christmas?! And the babies even took good naps. Now Delaney and Dave are cooking our Christmas feast.

With the kids being sick with croup, it's been an awfully long and difficult week, so today has been extra wonderful-particularly for me. We've been inside all week and the babies (especially Delaney) have had some serious cabin fever. Delaney is challenging on a good day and really has been extremely difficult this week; the tantrums have been rampant and the screaming has almost driven me over the edge a number of times! Dave has been my personal angel-keeping me sane and being totally supportive. Dave also has been sick this week-so I let him go to work, instead of staying home with two cranky and sick babies!

Happy Hanukah!

Tonite, Delaney and Elliot celebrated their 1/4 Jewishness!

Elliot liked his potato latkes, especially the accompanying sour cream. I could look at this little boy's smile forever.

Dave showed Delaney how to make Grandpa Aaron's latkes-with a grater. I can only imagine, but really don't want to, all of the little sick germs that went into these latkes!-Any takers for a latke made by a two year old with croup?

My Big Boy

Elliot is walking, walking, walking. He really doesn't fall too much and is becoming super quick. In fact, he really is bordering on running (not good for me but super cute!). The first video is sideways (oh well-I've given up on pretending that I'll learn how to edit videos!) and Laney is grabbing the camera.



No matter how sick these kids get (and they are sick), they still have these little spells when they act just like their crazy selves! Since we've been getting sick a lot recently, Dave suggested to me that we wash our hands more. Good advice for the average person, but we would probably have to live in a bubble to avoid the coughs and sneezes that are sprayed in our faces-not to mention the little runny noses that our wiped on our sleeves!

Sick-Yet Again

Delaney and Elliot are both sick. Since the beginning of November, someone at our house has had a cold. It's so hard when Laney and Elliot are both sick and so needy, but it really, really makes me grateful and thankful that we have two children without any major health problems.

Laney and Elliot watched Elmo shows with their daddy, and danced to Christmas music. Dave is great at entertaining them!

Cookies, Cookies!

This past Sunday, Delaney, with a little help from Daddy, was busy baking up a Christmas cookie storm. Elliot and I vacated the house, so Daddy and Laney could bake in peace and quiet. We returned to a very, very 'floury' house, but Laney (and Daddy!) were pretty pleased with the results!

Oh Christmas Tree!

We bought our Christmas tree this afternoon. Delaney thought that it was hilarious that we put a tree on the roof of our car!

Delaney and Dave had a great time putting up the lights and ornaments. Elliot did his best to take every ornament off of the tree (repeatedly), so we now have a tree that is 2/3 decorated!

Date Night

Maybe not the most traditional of date nights---but, tonight Dave took his little girl to see a local production of Seussical. Apparently, it wasn't Broadway (surprise!) but was thoroughly enjoyable and very entertaining. Delaney sat through the entire show and loved every second!


After the show Dave and Delaney headed to McDonald's for dinner-she's a pretty cheap date. Delaney always likes the idea of McDonald's much more than she likes the food; she shunned her Happy Meal and when she arrived home, ate a plateful of peas and tortellini (that's my girl!).

I, on the other hand, had a date with my little guy. We stayed at home and played trucks (his pick) and caught up on our celebrity gossip by reading US Weekly (my choice). I had wine with dinner; he had milk. We listened to the Indigo Girls (my pick) and danced the night away (his choice).

The above (sideways & blurry) video shows Elliot toddling around the house.

Shameless

Today was a particularly not fun day; I have (another) nasty cold, Delaney and Elliot woke up from their naps soooo cranky, and it's Friday, so I'm more than a little burned out. So, I did what any mother of two small children would do to get through the day....

I bribed them with lollipops and gummi bears-repeatedly. I would NEVER have given Delaney a lollipop when she was 12 months old, but I guess Elliot benefits from being the second child-I have no choice (except to have him flip out for half an hour-which really wasn't an option for me today) but to give him a lollipop if I'm giving one to Delaney.

And the afternoon seemed just a tad bit more sweet!

Partners In Crime

Well, it has taken 12 months, but Delaney & Elliot are becoming little buddies. They pal around the house together, playing with toys and chasing each other up and down the hallway and in and out of every room. They absolutely love to play under the kitchen table with a bunch of their toys.


And Delaney has started to become quite protective of her little brother. When we're at a play date, Delaney makes sure that no one takes any of Elliot's toys (after all, that's her job!), and that everyone knows that he's 'her baby'. It's adorable and so sweet; I could live off of these little memories forever!

They certainly have their brawls and there are days, when I feel that they literally fight every single minute of every agonizing hour, but there's no doubt about it, they're also buddies.

Artists

Delaney really has been into art lately-she loves to draw, color and scribble, and will sit to do any type of craft that I can think of!

Of course, Elliot wants to do whatever Delaney is doing, so today, I put him right up to the table with Delaney, giving him a few crayons and markers. He was in heaven, eating about 1 1/2 crayons, chewing on markers, ripping up paper and throwing everything on the floor about a hundred times; Delaney was absolutely appalled and kept saying-'No, Ellie, don't do that, don't chew, no, no, no'!

Elliot Starts To Walk!

I've always been a little unclear about the famous 'milestones'. Like-does dragging himself across the floor qualify as crawling? And, what exactly does walking mean?-the first tentative step or two or when he can walk across the room?

Well, tonight, Elliot walked almost across the room and walked back and forth between Dave and myself---so, that's at least 'starting to walk', right?? He took his first step or two a couple of weeks ago and then three and then four steps a couple of days ago, but tonight was the first time that he started to toddle around. What a big boy!

Tree Lighting

I bundled up the babies and met Dave in town to watch the Christmas tree lighting in front of the capitol building. Despite Dave's best efforts, I bought the babies matching monkey hats and mittens-they're just too cute and I know that they'll only go along with matching accessories for so long! We arrived just in time for the countdown for the tree lighting; there were decorations and lights, and local children's choruses sang Christmas carols.

I love these small town events-they're so much fun for the kids (and us!), and there's really no hassle--everything is so close, there's no traffic and there's always accessible parking. And more often than not, we run into acquaintances and friends.

One Year Stats

Elliot had his one year old well baby visit today. It made me a little sad-my baby is getting so big! He's a definite one year old-waving, clapping, imitating, saying his first words, starting to throw little fits when he doesn't get his way and getting into EVERYTHING. He's figuring out how to torture his sister and certainly doesn't back down to her. He's precious.

And, for the grandparents (and Jodi!), here are his one year stats:

Weight: 19.06 lbs (5%)
Length: 29 inches (25%)

He's a handsome little peanut. But he seems so big to us-he's 3 lbs bigger than Delaney was at one year. Delaney wasn't 19 lbs until she was 21 months. However, and I can't believe that I'm putting this in writing, but I swear that Delaney has had a little growth spurt--Her 18 month clothing fits perfectly now, and I think that she'll be in a 2T soon.

Thanksgiving

We had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving. Dave and Laney started on the stuffing right after breakfast, and it was a definite favorite at dinner. Laney is a great liitle cook and follows directions really well.

Delaney is a little verbal sponge right now-soaking up tons of words and all sorts of phrases. Her favorite right now is-'Ellie-don't do that, don't do that, no, no, no'. She very definitively knows what she thinks is 'yummy' and 'ooh, yucky', and lets everyone know it! Yesterday she was 'chatting' on her phone, telling 'Gramma' all about how Elliot pulls her hair. It's adorable.

While we were visiting family, Laney, Elliot and I were sick for-oh, about 2 1/2 weeks of our 3 1/2 week trip. However, Grandma B and Pepah took good care of us, and in a way, it was easier to be sick away from home than it is when I'm at home by myself with the babies. By Thanksgiving Day, we were all (finally) feeling a lot better.

Delaney and Elliot had a great time playing with their cousins. It was really cute-Delaney tagged along with Hannah and Andrew and would have followed them anywhere. Andrew read books to Laney, and Hannah played 'horsey' with her. Andrew and Hannah were so sweet to Laney and Elliot.

Since we live so far away, we rarely are able to celebrate holidays with our families, so we very much appreciated and were grateful to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with Lynde, Sang, Sang's cousin Dorrey, Julie, Chuck, Hannah, Andrew and Ken and Terry, and Grandma and Pepah.

Dave and I certainly can get caught up in all of the daily hassles of life-fussy babies, too many bills, too little sleep.... But we are so grateful for our lives-our babies are happy and healthy, Dave has a good job and we have so many wonderful friends and family. We are very, very lucky.

And we're so lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country. I was so glad to see the wide open skies and feel all of that sunshine when we arrived 'home' yesterday!

It's The Big One!

My sweet baby Elliot is one year old today. I had been a mom for 15 months when Elliot was born-a relatively short time-, but he certainly was born into a very different family than his big sister. When Delaney was born, I held her all day-literally, all day-staring at her in awe-with Elliot, I could barely catch my breath during the day-much less brush my teeth or change out of my pajamas, but I so looked forward to our quiet times at night when the house was silent and we could just snuggle in the big white chair with a comfy blanket.

This little boy makes me love being a mommy. He is wonderful. So, so wonderful. He crinkles his nose when he smiles. He likes to rest his little face against my cheek. He gives slobbery kisses and big hugs.

He reminds me of a sweet little forest creature-chewing on sticks in our backyard, digging in the dirt (and eating it too-of course), crawling and climbing, sniffing everything and rolling around in the leaves. He doesn't sit still for more than a minute and is so, so busy.

He is quietly persistent, testing his big sister, and not backing down to her. He looks for Laney everywhere-when he wakes up from his nap, he immediately crawls over to her door, stands up, and starts pounding on it.

He always goes down slides head first and seems to dive into everything head first-with total enthusiasm and curiosity.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Happy Birthday Elliot!

Delaney, Elliot and I have had terrible, terrible colds for the past week. Delaney was sick right before her first birthday, so I guess first birthday sickness is a (bad) tradition in our house! Since I'm feeling so crummy and literally have no voice, Grandma B played hooky from work to help me with the kids which was so wonderful.


Despite his cold, Elliot thoroughly enjoyed his cupcakes-made by Grandma B and Delaney. He devoured two cupcakes and easily could've eaten another two.

In The East

Less than a week after Halloween, we headed to Long Island for Uncle Mat's wedding. The trip to Long Island was about what about what you would expect when traveling across the country with a tempermental two year old and a squirmy-can't-sit-still-for-three-mintues-almost-one-year-old---sheer hell. Dave acted as the family sherpa, lugging two awkward toddler car seats through three different airports as well as two very large diaper bags. Delaney kept us living in fear of one of her God-awful tantrums as she shouted 'off plane, off plane' on the flights. Elliot crawled around on disgusting airport floors, putting who-knows-what into his mouth and squirmed and screamed on the planes. I repeatedly swore that we were never going to travel anywhere again.


We arrived in New York tired and more than a little frazzled. But at least Dave and I were still married and hadn't given away one of our children. We roughed it through a couple of sleepless nights.

Delaney was the flower girl in Mat and Rebecca's wedding and she walked down the aisle all by herself--I was so proud of her and I still can't believe it (pictures to come!). The bride was beautiful and the groom was dashing. I managed to drink 1 1/2 glasses of wine and ate one little appetizer before Elliot became completely inconsolably tired and I took him back to his grandparent's house.


I got to meet Marty and Damien's little boy-Mason--finally! Mason liked to follow Delaney around and Elliot enjoyed some boy time. I, on the other hand, was so happy to spend time with Marty and we even managed to sneak away one night for a couple of drinks.


Both Delaney and Elliot were able to visit their Great Grandma D in the hospital. It is so special for them (and us) to have great grandparents.


Elliot managed to unhook one of Grandma D's monitors and kept trying to steal her glasses, but I have a feeling that Grandma D didn't mind so much.


On Saturday Grandma Mary and Gramps drove us to Philadelphia, where we met my parents at Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Bill's house. It was so nice to visit with Carolyn, Bill and their boys Jeffrey and Michael. Their kids are so wonderful and were so sweet to Delaney and Elliot. I hope that Carolyn and Bill will let me in on their parenting secrets (because there is a magic formula, right?!)!


On Sunday, we visited with my grandparents-Nancy and Frank, who had never met Elliot. I think that they were quite impressed with the little guy. Both Nancy and Frank were surprised that I have two blonde babies (I'm still surprised!). Frank playfully took Delaney's cup and pretended to drink from it-which she thought was funny, but not nearly as hilarious as when she gave him Elliot's sippy cup to drink from.

My parents drove us to Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. It was a long drive but we survived in relatively good spirits.

Two Little Monkeys

We had an absolutely wonderful Halloween! We started the evening off at my friend's house, where Delaney and Elliot had a great time playing in their bouncy-house (see super cute video!). We then went trick-or-treating at the Governor's Mansion and at a few homes in the historic district. Delaney loved it and was a real trooper--walking right up to the houses by herself and grabbing her candy; she loved all of the people and commotion-she would be happiest if she lived in a three ring circus.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

LOVE, MOMMY'S LITTLE MONKEYS

Fall Evenings

This week has been absolutely beautiful-I think that I had forgotten how much I love fall. Dave came home 'on time' tonite and raked up leaves in our front yard for Delaney and Elliot.

Delaney loved 'wading' through the leaves and picking up big leaf piles and throwing them.

Elliot was his usual little-boy-self, playing with sticks and trying to eat every leaf in sight. He loved watching Laney run around.

Notice Delaney's outfit-yes, she picked it out all 'by yourself' as she says-she confuses 'myself' and 'yourself'-it's pretty cute.