Halloween 2011

This was the first year of school Halloween in elementary school. Only the kindergartners get to dress up and they have a "Storybook" parade. So Ben was Tacky the Penguin. It was my mother's favorite book.

Maddie was "Spot". Actually she just wanted to be a dog again and had grown out of the Clifford costume. Both took their books to school and everything. 

We even got to see cousin Paityn while we were there. 

A Visity with Brynli!

We had an impromtu visit with cousin Brynli.  While she does not really know who we are, we had a good time playing.  She is a little slice of Jimmy, that is for certain!  Knows no fear! She even let Ben kiss her cheek.  Awe....

Township Community Day

Our township had a community day on 9/15/2011 and the kids had a blast riding ponies and checking out all the neat things to see. The ponies were a big hit, but the guy making balloon animals really captured their attention. 

Get ready for some updates!

I have been failing at updating the blog for a while now, but thought I'd bring this all up to date.  Buckle up, I am anout to update everything I've forgotten to do!

Our First Trip to the ZOO!

We finally made it to the Philadelphia Zoo, America's first zoo. Friends of mine, Michelle and Ann had passes and were kind enough to take us along for a half day. We saw monkeys, reptiles - notably the crocodile! - and bears. It was just enough and we are hoping to procure passes to go back again and again. All photos can be found on the photo link to the right!

New Year's Eve

Well the kids finally got to stay up for New Year's Eve this year! We went to Skot and Lynn's house and they got to play with Nico and Luca. (Finally, since they have been whining for them since we last saw them!) They had a good time with Daddy for a few hours while Mommy watched the dog (Teddy) who was a little under the weather and then we all watched the ball drop. Well Mommy and Daddy watched. The kids were running around somewhere. Maddie was adorable when she curled into Mommy's arms and fell asleep. We let her go hoping that Ben would too, but alas, he was not to miss a moment! He was wide awake until we hit the car after 1am, but barely lasted out of the neighborhood.

As usual, Skot and Lynn had great food, great drinks and great company. We always have such a great time with them!! We even got to take some home with us! Thanks to Skot and Lynn for such a great New Years!

Sorry, no pics this year.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year, even with all the challenges we have had. We had Christian from 4 on Christmas eve until 3 on Christmas Day. It was great to have all three kids come down Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought. Ben and Maddie were over the moon over their stockings and really seemed to get the concept. Ben did mention that he asked Santa for a dinosaur and did not get one. (Probably because he has TONS of them????) But it was a lot of fun for us all. Mom-mom and Pop-pop came over in their jammies and we all had a nice breakfast together. Aunt Ginny came by later and helped play some of the games that were under the tree. The kids really liked all the games they received and all the company to play said games. Hungry Hungry Hippos was a huge hit and I still think it is funny that they liked Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots!

Christian seemed to like his new game, movie and clothes. BOY did he need the clothes. He is growing like a weed! He was so excited about Santa coming and also when I explained that Santa also made a stop at his mom's house too.

I have attached a picture or two of the day and the rest can be found on the link to the right.

Merry Christmas to ALL!!!

Bumps along the way towards the holidays

I am sorry to report that there was no Christmas card this year. We had some challenges during our weekends with Christian this year. He was diagnosed with Scoliosis earlier in the month and we found out that he would need surgery to correct the curvature of his spine. Needless to say, taking Christmas pictures was the last item on our list during the two weekends when we normally accomplish this task. Thanks to all for understanding, and I plan on getting pictures out to all with a brief note of well wishes for the new year.

Disney!

I know I have been remiss in updating the blog, but wanted to post for those that are not on facebook. Today we spent our first day at Disney World. It was quite hot, but the kids had fun anyway. They were a little lethargic when we first got there, but after some water and air conditioned rides, all was right with their worlds. They got to meet Mickey and Minnie and watched the parade with Chip and Dale, Woody and Jesse (Toy Story) and a cast of other characters. Maddie even went up to dance with Jesse. We had a great time and will be going again tomorrow for a second and last day.

additional pictures can be found on the link to the right.

Christmas 2009

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. The kids really seemed to get the idea of presents and Santa. They were so excited that we had a hard time getting them to go to bed the night before and they slept ridiculously late. Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Ginny came by with presents for the kids and they loved them. Uncle Jimmy got Ben a Nerf Rifle that he took great pleasure in chasing his sister with, and I think she is the only one who can actually use it! Mommy of course has a conniption about a gun, but hindsight -- was just being ridiculous. They loved all the gifts and especially the dinosaur stuff from mom-mom and pop-pop. It was great to have Jim and Gin over and mom-mom and pop-pop were lots of fun. I uploaded all the pictures -- uncensored too! - to the link on the right so feel free to see the madness and mayhem! Happy New Year to you!

BRU Christmas Portraits

I have to tell the story of the Babies R Us portrait studio. I was shopping with Ben late at night and the photographer asked if she coud take some practice pics of Ben. I was just finishing up and figured, why not? Well, she did an amazing job! So I made an appointment for them both to go hoping for one nice shot of each kid. I did not expect what I received. They were able to get Ben and Maddie to look at the camera at the same time and smile! They did such an amazing job that I had to post about it. Here are the Christmas portraits taken by the Babies R Us in Exton. Hooray!

The Puppet Show!

Since the kids seemed interested in puppets, we tried making them and have a show. Mommy made the first one and then the kids made theirs and kept asking for Mommy's pieces to add to their puppets. As such, they all wound up looking alike. Here are some pictures of the finished products.

Happy Halloween!

We had a lot of fun with Haloween this year. It rained, but we did not plan on canvassing the neighborhood. I was hoping that my little girl would want to be anything even remotely girly, but alas, it was not to be.


I tried princesses and TV characters, NOPE! She wanted to be a dinosaur! Ben had his Clifford costume, and I hope she would want to be Cleo or Emily Elizabeth, but the dinosaur stuck. Christian had fun pulling the Star Wars costume out again and loved dragging the wagon behind him. (which still amazes me! It gets heavy, but he refuses to let it go! ) We all had a great time and the little kids also got to hit Mom-mom and Pop-pop's house as well!!

Maddie Makes Cupcakes!

Maddie found a muffin pan at the store the other day that makes leaf and pumpkin shaped cupcakes. She could not wait to make them for her "Aunts". Today she added all the ingredients, mixed the batter and filled the pan. She also enjoyed eating as many cupcakes as she could before delivering to Aunt Holly and Aunt Karla!

Another Failed Attempt at Potty-Training

We tried to potty train again, but after 2 days of sitting on the potty with no deposits made -- and 2 packages of pull-ups soiled, the pediatrician advised us to stop and wait again. They found the pull-ups were more fun to put on their head sand then asked for their diapers back!

Side note: Ben realized that if he does not drink, he doe snot need to go to the potty and as such, refused to drink. I think waiting was a good idea.

Toy Box Forts

While I was out to lunch with a friend, Chris was watching the kids. I found these images on Facebook when I returned. The toy boxes are a nice little place to hide out and snuggle in with our favorite blankets and pillows.

Daddy's Shoes

11 PM Play Time

The kids are not yet potty trained -- much to my chagrin - and I am using the new beds as an incentive. Well one night after Daddy went to work, they refused to go to sleep and were raising quite a ruckus in their cribs. When I went upstairs, Ben asked to sleep in his bed. As it was late, and I was tired, I put him in his bed, and then Maddie in hers. Not five minutes later this is what I found. They loved it and were playing for about 20 minutes before deciding to join me downstairs. It all ended with them back in their cribs for the night and the beds have not yet been put into use as we are not yet using the potty... the prerequisite for the beds...or rather incentive??

Clifford Watching Clifford

I bought a Clifford costume at the MOM sale this year. I was trying it on Ben as he is the biggest and he just loved it. Then...Clifford came on the TV and he had to sit and watch it while wearing his costume.

Doll Strollers

Christmas of 2009 Aunt Bridget and Uncle Chris gave Maddie a doll set including the stroller. While the doll and the other accessories are in her room, the strollers never cease to be a source of constant amusement. I need to mend them regularly as the kids are too big for them -- and always were, but they insist on strolling around the house one pushing the other, or just use it as a nice snug seat.