Pictures of the day

Isn't she sweet?

I hold Bibi!!

LB's latest and greatest activity is holding his sister. He asks at least once a day. She is in to it for a few minutes and then she either screams, or he is done and tries to push her off. It sort of reminds me of my brother and me!

And so the season begins...

Today, along with Matt, Chrissy, and K., we went to cut down our first Christmas tree as a family. Mike and I usually take the easy way out and buy one from the lot near our home, but this year with the other side of our family, we went out into the wild blue yonder to become "Mountain Men", or as Matt said.. "Old Man River". There is never a dull moment when our families get together. LB got a ton of exercise. Enough to take a three hour nap!

Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday of the year has come and gone. I love the smell of turkey cooking, bread warming, and pumpkin pie wafting in the air. I was fortunate to have Nana here with us, as well as Uncle Matt, Aunt Chrissy, Poppa, and many of our friends who stayed in town for the holiday instead of going home to their families. I'm always happy to have company and cook for many. I also then get to use my wedding china and my grandmother's silver, which I love to do!!! LB sat at the table this year! Last year he was in the high chair next to me. How he is growing! BB and K. wore their Thanksgiving Day dresses, and lo and behold, they were the same dress. Don't they look lovely?

Bath time fun

I've been a little busy of late, and haven't had time to post. About two weeks ago, my two bears started to bathe together. Do you realize how much time this saves me? Hot damn! I get two baths done in 10 minutes!! Granted, LB doesn't get to play and "swim" like he wants too, but on a school night, this saves me my sanity. Here are a few cute pics of them together.

Reading time

I've mentioned before how LB likes to read. Frankly, he LOVES to read. He asks for books 24/7. The only time he sits quietly is when he is reading. I cherish those precious few moments a day. Anyhow, I digress... LB has decided lately, that reading to his sister is fun. He is becoming such a sweet big brother. He has always loved Baby Girl, but now, he seems to really notice her and dote on her. I am loving having two!

Visitors from afar...

Our friends, Kate and Tom and their new baby girl V. are in town for the month to see family, friends, and attend Kate's brother's wedding. They currently reside in Jordan, at least for the next couple of years. We get to see them maybe once a year, so this was very exciting! Not only did we get to meet baby V., Kate & Tom got to meet Baby Bear and M.! We had brunch together yesterday and we were all in awe of how much our lives have changed in the past 3 years. We were at a HUGE table, had 3 high chairs, plus BB's infant carrier. Then of course there were the toys, the bottles, the sippy cups, the pacifers, and the noise. The restaurant was smart and put us all in the back where we wouldn't disturb everyone else. It was nice to visit with them. Hopefully it won't be such a long time in between visits again!

All the kiddos!

Baby Bear and Little Miss V.

Little Bear and his future wife.

All the girls, and Mike too!

New Trick

Baby girl has learned to blow Raspberries. Yesterday, LB looked at her as she blew one at him and said:

"No, no, Bibi! No pitin!"

I guess maybe he was listening when I told him to knock off the spitting?????

Sick Baby!

My poor poor baby. She has been sick since Thursday, but you'd never know. She is too busy smiling and laughing and bouncing to notice she is sick. Didn't she get the memo? She's not allowed to be sick until after January! Luckily Dad and Linda are here on their way south for the winter. It was nice they were able to take her for the day so I can work at least one day this week. Remind me again why I'm working????

Finally.. Halloween Pictures!

I've been wanted to post these for days, but the only pictures I got of the kiddos was at school. Baby Bear was sent home on Thursday with vomiting that has now turned to diarrhea... so that means I haven't been to work. BUT that is another story... here are my Little Bear and Baby Bear in all their Halloween Glory...

Yum!

My husband asked my brother-in-law and his family over to watch the Redskins game today. He requested chili. He wanted Hard Time's Cincinnati Red. I said, "Hell, I can make that!" If you live in the area, you know how absolutely YUMMY Hard Time's is. Well I found a recipe off Food Network that is so damn good you could take a bath in it. My picky son licked it off his plate. If only I had a camera for that one! Next time, to make it more heart healthy, I'll try ground turkey.
Try it!

Pumpkin Painting

We finally got the pumpkins painted. LB loved it! I also found that old broken ice cube trays make wonderful paletes for your paint if you are so inclined. Just a fun mommy tip!Front side.Back side.

And a picture of BB watching her brother!

Look what the cat dragged in....

To my surprise, my husband turned up 24 hours early! Hooray for Daddy!!! The kids were so excited to see him. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get some snuggling in myself, now that he is done putting to bed Little Bear!

And so the countdown begins...

72 hours until my husbands return. I hope is flight is on time and he is home when he is supposed to be!
Also, for those of you so inclined... please keep my mom in your thoughts, she is in San Diego, and if you've been keeping up with the news, you'll know that the wildfires are on their way. Luckily Mom is on an island, but it's still scary for those of us who have never experienced that kind of situation before... I'm used to hurricanes, not wildfires!!!!!!!

Cox Farms

My Dad is here for the weekend, giving me a hand with the kiddos while my husband is still away. We took the kids to the Farm to attend another fall festival. This one has SLIDES! All kinds of slides. There was also hay stacks to climb, animals to investigate, apple cider to purchase, TONS of Kettle Corn (forgot to pick up some of that!), plus a hay ride with NO wait. Last weekends hay ride had a 30 minute wait, there was next to no wait because of the amount of wagons. LB loved it. BB had a great time too. As soon as my dad emails me his pictures from the event, I'll have shots from the haystack and the slide we rode together! We also got to pick out 3 pumpkins to take home with us, as part of our admission. They are too small to crave, so we are going to paint them. When we accomplish that project I'll post those pictures!
(Isn't that sweet. He gave her a kiss, and then proceeded to tell her "No, No, No Bibi!")

Last weekends Pictures

These are the pictures from the Fall Festival we went to last weekend.

Updates

Well, this is the first week I've actually been to work, for 3/4 of it. Tuesday LB spiked a high fever at school, so I had to take him home. Thank goodness Poppa was able to stay with him. After missing practically all of last week, I had to be there. Oh, and did I forget to mention that after all that craziness the week before, it turned out Vivian did have pneumonia! Just a touch. What the hell does that mean? Just a touch? Anyhow, the Pediatrician said that the antibiotics she was on for the ear infection should clear it up... So because of BB pneumonia, I took LB in. They gave him antibiotics, steroids for the cough, and a new med for the nebbie that won't make him as CRAZY!
So here we are, back to school, with everyone feeling at least a bit better. Now my daughter doesn't want to drink. She only wants to eat. And I mean EAT! She was only getting cereal in the morning and evening. In order to get her to eat, her teachers have started to mix some cereal with her formula, to get fluids in her. So in honor of my daughters growing appetite. We started veggies the other night. Little Miss V LOVED peas and sweet potatoes. Holy Cow! You should see the look on her face when you eat something in front of her. She just watches and licks her lips. Too funny! Now that she is eating so much more, she is now pooping up a storm. I think she shat almost 7 times yesterday. Her poor hiney is so sore.
I'll have to post pictures of her eating soon.

Nana's Here

Nana came to visit to help me out while Mike is gone. We are in the final few weeks until he returns home.

We've been having fun! We went to a fall festival in Annapolis, with our friends. I'll post the pics when I get the chance!

Autumn weather has arrived FINALLY! My cutie girl gets to wear her Halloween getup, along with her ghost hat. Thanks Aunt Chrissy!

Potty Training Continues

LB has his first few pairs of underwear. We've been putting them over his diaper to get him used to the idea. He is very proud of them. We've got Cars, Shrek, and Thomas the Train undies! As you can see he only wanted to wear his undies today. I eventually got him clothed. After all, fall has finally come our way today.

5 months today

And aren't I cute?