Up, Up and Away!

Katelyn is going through a transitional period right now. She has times where she is so sweet, always considerate of our feelings and needs. But then there are times when I have to remind myself that she is only 2 years-old. Like last Thursday night I was trying to get her to stop licking the TV cabinet. She got upset with me, picked up a nativity and threw it. It hit the TV which ended up like this. The sound still works, so I guess we could just gather around the screen and pretend we are in the era of radio entertainment. It may be fun, but mostly we have just been using the TV as a "Don't throw fits" tool.

Tonight was a sweet moment though. Katelyn got a balloon from our friend. She was so happy, but she let go of it as soon as we walked in our home. The entry in our house is two story, so I thought the only way we could get the balloon down was to wait for the helium to run out, but I told Katelyn we'd talk to daddy and see if he could get the balloon down. Devin couldn't reach it, and Katelyn on Devin couldn't reach it either. She was sure cute trying. She would stretch as big as she could and say, "Can't reach it, daddy!" So I sarcastically offered to get on Devin's shoulders and get it myself. He said yes! Crazily, he stood on the fourth stair, made a stirrup with his hands about chest high, and I climbed up and got the balloon. It was a Christmas miracle. Katelyn thought we were awesome. Devin handed her the balloon and she said, "Thank you soooo much, daddy. Thank you soooo much for trying, daddy!"

Devin's answer was classic. "We didn't try, Katelyn. We succeeded!"

Awesome.

Thanksgiving Movies

We went to Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with Devin's aunt and uncle. We had so much fun. Here are the highlight reels!

Elyse has started babbling with "dadadada." I think it is about the cutest thing!

Katelyn rode Tyler's roller coaster and loved it. Taking turns was the only downside for her.

We were so glad to spend the holidays with family. Thank John and Chelsea!

Life at the Tanner House

I lost Elyse the other day. I was cleaning Katelyn's closet , and Elyse was playing on the floor. I turned around, and she was gone. It only took me a few second to hear her babbling from under the bed. She was happy, but I think she was happier after I pulled her out. I made some play-doh for Katelyn. We had a lot of fun. She would tell me what to make, I'd make it, then she'd smash it. This is her getting ready to smash our family.

Pretty good, huh?

Elyse loves to sit in her walker. She just sits and watches me cook.

Katelyn went shopping with this "dragon" the other day. She filled it full just like a shopping cart.

And then took and dumped it in the living room. Cute for a little while-messy in the end.

These next picture are the progression of Katelyn folding the dinner napkins.

Lay it out...

Roll and rip it.... Crumple it a little...

And then she tried to throw it away. I convinced her she could leave it on our plates because they looked so pretty. I love her help at dinner time.
This was my sweatshirt. It is very early 90's, but it made me smile all day long.

Thanks mom for bringing it.

Elyse has been sleeping on her face lately. If you look closely, you can see the red splotches. I think she looks so much like Devin in this picture.

I feel like time is going so fast and the girls are getting so big. I am so grateful for my family and the time we spend together. The everyday moments are my favorite of all.

Toss me a Biscuit.

Elyse is funny. She is already losing bows a church. She sits up so big in the highchair and loves rice cereal.
Look at these sweet smiles.

She still loves to snuggle with me and eat her bottle. She is such a sweetheart.And then there is my first sweetie pie. Katelyn just makes me laugh. She reminds me a lot of my dad. Every Sunday growing up my mom made rolls to go with dinner. And every Sunday, my dad sat at one end of the table and said, "Toss me a biscuit," with a sly gleam in his eye. My mother would then respond with a "I can't pass you a biscuit, because biscuits don't have yeast. These are rolls." As we got older, we all joined in in giving my dad the attention, all brought on by one request...toss me a biscuit.

I see these same tendencies in Katelyn. When she wants a little attention, she knows she only has to do simple things(ie: play with the toilet paper, go down the stairs, touch the TV screen, jump on Elyse, scream). These things always capture our attention in a hurry. The other day, she did something a little more surprising. I made bread with some friends and came home with two loaves. We cut into one and the other was on the counter wrapped in plastic. Later that night, I went to check on Elyse and came back to find this...

She was just chilling on the couch eating a whole loaf of bread. The plastic was carefully discarded in the garbage. She smiled sweetly and said, "Want some bread Mom?" In other words, "Mom, toss me a biscuit." We each had a slice, and it was such a sweet moment.

Movies

Elyse talking tonight. So sweet.

Katelyn doing somersaults

Everyday Pictures

Here is Katelyn and her new favorite toy. She will play for 30 minutes at a time at the kitchen. Cutie pie!
My sweet girls. I can't believe how hard it was to get Katelyn to lay by Elyse for me to get their picture.

Elyse is so smiley. I only have to look in her general direction and she grins, but it is hard to catch it on camera because she hates the flash. Crazy hair is common at our house.

See what I mean. Crazy hair.

This hair is from the bunting hood. I couldn't not take a picture.

Katelyn took this picture. Her hand was over the flash. Artistic.

Elyse's new favorite treat--toes?

Elyse is on her way to six months. She rolls all over the place and is getting big fast! I love my girls and the time I get to spend with them. They brighten my every day!

We've Been Waiting a Long Time for This

And the time has finally arrived! Cara gave Elyse this outfit right after she told us that it was a girl (our 15 week ultrasound). And now she fits into the sweet, green, fur-lined vest!

Pretty styling! Thanks Cara!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!

Little girls get bigger everyday! Here are some pictures of our girls doing just that--getting bigger!

Katelyn and Elyse hanging out while I cooked dinner.

I love Katelyn's folded hands. Katelyn patiently waiting for me to take her picture so she can run and look at it. Elyse has thrush. The poor girl's mouth hurts, but she is still smiling. So I took her picture...a few times!
You can see the white patch on the back of her tongue here. We hate thrush!
Camille came during the Ohio State game. Here are the three girls after their naps. I don't know what kids do while they sleep, but their hair sure tells a wild story!
Katelyn and Noah. They have a really fun time together. Devin has started cleaning teeth. He cleaned mine a couple of Fridays ago. Unfortunately, we did get any pictures, so this will have to do.
I think when your two year old head is 4 inches over the top of the high chair, it may be time to move her to the booster. I just don't like her getting in and out of her chair, so I always put her back in the highchair. She looks pretty cute there!
We went and played on the toys at the park. Katelyn wore this...And Elyse wore this. Isn't she adorable.Yep, pretty cute. She sure likes to eat everything. We had a toga party the other day. Well, not really, but Katelyn had me make dresses for her, Elephant and Bear out of blankets. She loved it.

As the say in Rome (where they wear togas), "Videbo vos mox." We very roughly translate that as, "Until next time, see you later!"