Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was everything we could want and more. Well, except maybe if we saw both sides of the fam, then I could truly say that. We decided when we married to alternate the holidays between our families. This year it was the Winterstein's turn, so up to Pennsylvania we headed. Lola set out a feast for 40+ and it was delish. We stuffed ourselves Thanksgiving style, then repeated in 4 hours. The kids were great. They ate, took naps and played well with the other kids.

During the week leading up to Turkey day, Christopher watched "Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown" and "The Mayflower Voyage" on a daily basis. So far Charles Schultz has done a terrific job teaching Christopher history lessons. First, it was the birth of Christ, and now the story of our forefathers. Anyway, he really is into the Pilgrims, the Mayflower and of course the Indians. He wanted a Pilgrim hat just like Snoopy was wearing. So I had my way with a yard of black felt and a glue gun which yielded a decent Pilgrim hat. Then I decided Lilly couldn't be left out and every Pilgrim needed an Indian, so Lilly became Pocahontas. I was happy with the results and Christopher couldn't take his hat off.

We thought after the long day, Christopher would crash in the car. Wrong. Ryan kissed him good night as he buckled him in saying "I'll say goodnight now, because you'll fall asleep while we are driving then I'll put you to bed when we get home". Christopher responded "but don't forget to put my pajamas on Daddy!". He chattered all the way home "look at those Christmas lights! Did you see those Christmas lights, Mommy?" etc. Half way home, Lilly was fussing, so Christopher comforted her saying "don't worry Lil, we are almost home. I'll sing you a song: 'twinkle, twinkle little star...'" Lilly fell fast asleep as her brother sang her that song. Then he tells us "I made Lilly feel better by singing to her". So sweet. But Ryan and I couldn't contain our laughter when, within 15 minutes from home, Christopher finally sighs and says, almost to himself, "I guess I'm just too wound up". Priceless.

Two Months Of pictures!

This post hops around a bit, try and keep up!

This is race for the cure in October. We all had a ball. Next year we are going to really get our team together, with t-shirts etc. Our team was "Chodie's Angels" after Lola's sister who lost the fight with breast cancer last year. Pictured is Kristi, Karen, Abby, Brandon, me and Lola.

Halloween yielded the sweetest sweet pea this year, Emma Grace.

Our neighborhood is undergoing some work on the pipes and fire hydrants. Christopher loves watching the men work. In the center pic he said "how about I put my hand in my pocket?" Too cute.

Emily and Kaylin at the Annual Halloween party.

Christopher wanted so badly to be Diego for Halloween. Of late, it is the only show he watches and he often refers to himself as Diego. Diego is Dora's cousin. He's an animal rescuer, with a pet Baby Jaguar. He has a backpack and "Click" the camera. The costume was fairly easy and fun to put together. Lola did most the work, making the "Backpack", which was very true to form.

Lilly was a chicken. The costume was another Lola creation. She accidentally bought a dog costume, but we easily altered it to fit Lilly.

During our weekend getaway at the end of September, Lilly and Emma had fun together up in Pennsylvania at Lulu and Papa's house. They coincidentally wore matching outfits.

Lilly wants to see what Emma tastes like.

"Hmm, needs salt."

Going back further, these are pictures of our last picnic of summer. Christopher lost a ball up in the tree, so he wanted to climb up and retrieve it, of course.

Who is that in the mirror?

Everyone admires Emma Grace.

The final days of summer.

Lets see, where do I begin? We have really been enjoying Fall. There was apple picking with Aunt Sarah, Uncle Kevin, and Madeline. Our playgroup went to Weber's Farm, as well as Chapel Hills nursery. We go out for hikes/walks several times a week. Christopher knows all about Autumn, reciting "Leaves of red and gold and brown, come falling, falling, falling down." which is from his "Now Its Fall" book. I borrowed several Fall themed books from the library, which is a new routine I'd like to start doing (choosing several books with one theme). We went to a few Halloween parties, carved pumpkins, roasted pumpkin seeds, braved trick-or-treating at the Avenue, and of course Camp Katie. Today, Christopher and Lilly had endless fun covering each other up in a pile of leaves. Its early November and I feel like we have thoroughly experienced Fall.

Saturday my parents, Ryan and I took Leif, Christopher and Lilly to Strasburg for a train ride through the "beautiful countryside" as Christopher calls it. We ate lunch aboard the dining car. It was such a good time that I think we are going to make it a yearly tradition.

Yesterday was the baptism of Emma Grace. Ryan and I were honored to stand as her Godparents. It was such a great time with family and friends. I can't believe Emma will be three months old this Thursday.

Sorry this post hops all around. I am going to get back to weekly posting. I really need to buy a new camera. I am bummed that I missed taking pictures of such a fun weekend, not to mention the day to day silliness that goes on in our house.

Here are some more pictures of our everyday life:

Christopher sitting in Fire truck at Zach's 3rd birthday party. Zach is in our playgroup, which we've been a part of since Christopher was 9 months old. What a blessing it is. I have become good friends with the moms, we help each other in a pinch and the kids get along great. The birthday parties are just a bonus!

Funky! Christopher in all his toddler glory.

Painting: a fun post nap activity.

Finger FOOOD! She loves it.

Christopher helping with dishes.

Little Me.

My sweet little Lilly is 9 months old. I get told everyday that she looks so much like me. This isn't new. It was the first words Ryan exclaimed when the doctors pulled her from me in the delivery room. But I am seeing it more and more. And its not just the facial features either. Ryan laughs as he tells me she is shaped just like me (the pear doesn't fall far from the tree he says). She is so petite from the waist up and well, lets just say there's junk in the Pamper. And she is short. She wears 12 month clothes just so they will fit over her bottom, but the hems drag the floor. Poor girl, I've been putting up with this problem for as long as I can remember. It starting at 9 months is ridiculous. I am seeing my personality in her as well. She is stubborn, she is determined, she is bossy! She growls in determination as she grabs our hands and pulls, ordering us to walk her wherever she pleases. Lord, help me, I am getting a taste of my own medicine.

A Birthday For Daddy.

Today is Ryan's birthday. I've never seen Christopher so excited for anything in his life of 2 years. He helped me bake the cake. He helped me icing the cake (ok he mostly licked the icing). He wanted to make Daddy a card, which he did. And on our afternoon walk, when he spotted his first ever rainbow after a long rain storm he exclaimed "Mommy, a rainbow! I want to walk through it! A rainbow! On Daddy's Birthday!". The grand finale was the presentation of Ryan's cake. Before I could even round the corner into the dining room, Christopher was bellowing "Happy Birthday to YOU!" and actually keeping the tune (a rarity). Christopher loves his Daddy more than anyone or anything in the world. It is so sweet to see a 2 year old share in such joy for another person. Happy Birthday Ryan.

Tot School

As Spring faded into Summer I found that Christopher and I were bored. He was acting up too much, melting down too often, I let him watch one too many episodes of Dora and we were still struggling with potty training. After receiving some really good advice from my sister-in-law Laura and her sister Caroline (a.k.a. 2p), I began what I will hence forth call "Tot School". Basically, I create fun, inexpensive activities for Christopher. I change it up everyday, so he never gets bored. In fact, he begs me to do "activities" before I am even ready for the day. I get most of my ideas from Carisa's "Tot School" Blog. www.1plus1plus1equals1.com

Our days run a bit more structured and go something like this:

**Breakfast

**Give Lilly her morning nap

**While Lilly naps we do Tot School. I lay out three trays, each with their own theme (cutting, gluing, sorting, pouring, lacing, etc) which I put together the night before. I supervise from the kitchen as I tidy up breakfast. This way he is as independent as possible, but I am still within reach to avoid complete disaster. When he is finished one tray, he puts all related materials on said tray and returns it to the shelf. Then he can move to the next tray. This has helped tremendously with neatness and his sense of order, as well as obedience. When trays are exhausted, I put them away. I have a closet full of random goodies to keep this Tot School interesting.

**Then we go about the morning as usual, sometimes heading out when Lilly wakes up.

**After a 1pm nap, I usually have another activity set up, like music, painting or just playing in the pool.

**Before you know it, its dinner and bed time.

What I have noticed since starting this routine is a much happier, more independent Christopher. He has been going potty all by himself, without many, if any, reminders. He hasn't had an accident in 3 weeks! This in and of itself is HUGE! He hasn't had any time outs. He is listening the first time I speak to him. There is alot less whining. He is just a pleasure to be around. I also bought him a stool so he can wash his own hands, and help at the kitchen counter. I have also labeled his dresser drawers with pictures of their contents. Now he can dress himself every morning. Which he does wonderfully, even if his underwear is on backwards 50% of the time!

Christopher counts using 1:1 correspondence. Each time he counts a butterfly, he covers it up with a foam shape. The cards were in a Hungry Caterpillar tot pack I made.

First time using "tweezers" as he likes to call them. He really liked this activity. The muffin tin gives him a place to put each pom-pom.

Second time using scissors. He could cut all day long. I am surprised at how good he is so early.

Looking at another tot pack. He likes these packets for about 15 minutes, then he moves on. The fan folded strip on the right side of picture asks to color each character and he followed the directions. Its the most he has colored in a long time.

First official time using scissors. We made a picture by cutting out different shapes. He loved this. He is still displaying the picture randomly throughout the day.

Christopher finally pedals a tricycle. I have exposed him to a trike at least once a week for a year now, but he never made one revolution with the pedals. He usually whined then dismounted the bike. He just wasn't ready for it. Then last week he hopped on Sophia's trike and without hesitation, started pedaling away! He has learned so many skills these past weeks. I am truly amazed.

Busted!

Christopher is very intrigued with Diego and Dora. He likes the whole map/backpack thing. So when Lulu bought him a Diego backpack, you can imagine what a huge hit it was. He wears it everywhere. There are so many random things he likes to stuff into the bag, like bowling pins for instance. (You never know when someone might what to go bowling on a whim.)

One morning as I lay in bed trying to wake up, I hear him rustling around in the kitchen. Its barely 7 am and this is how I find him. Just too darn cute.