Give thanks

We definitely did this year!

The girls and I hung out in CS until Daniel came in the day before turkey day. We had a big group of family and friends come in from near (Houston) and far (Mississippi)! My mom, Aunt Jennie & I spent the days before prepping the house, tables, food and desserts. Pumpkin Pie is my thing. I love to eat it so I don't mind cooking a few for the big day! They were wonderful as usual and we even brought some home with us.I also made a broccoli rice casserole and it was awesome. I was so busy feeding the girls and keeping them occupied that I didn't eat a whole bunch at our actual lunch. But I more than made up for it in leftovers!The girls, Daniel and I headed out before we ate for a little photo shoot. It was not really a good idea..no one was happy or participating. I was hoping to get some pics for a Christmas card, as I have been stumped as to what to send out this year. I think I can piece together the shots...MANY thanks goes to Marigene, my good friend from Houston, who came in town to celebrate with us!The weekend continued with a tailgate party for the Aggie/t.u. game. Mark Ernst allowed us to come and hang out with them for the afternoon before me and Daniel headed to the game!The game was amazing..the atmosphere..one of the best I can remember..the enthusiasm and excitement could be felt..we were so close so many times..but once Texas ran the ball back I knew it was over! I wasn't that upset because I really didn't expect us to beat the #3 ranked team..so it is just nice to know we inflicted fear into our opponents! And yes, you know you were scared you Texas fans!!I was really happy to be there remembering it was the 10th anniversary of Bonfire falling. They did a wonderful job stirring up all the emotions of that time so many years ago!Friday, we headed to the annual Reed pig roast. It was great to see many faces we don't make a habit of seeing more regularly. It was also a 30th b-day party for some guys from my highschool - Dave, Brandon, Brent & Josh..wow, I am feeling old!! So many kids running around now. We also got to meet Bella, Ry & Kelli's little girl. She is too cute and was really great all night!! The only pics I took were of E & G when we got thereEmma was cold and her teeth were chattering!! Thanks to Natalie for the adorable outfits she keeps the girls in :)

FINALLY, we are home and I couldn't be happier. I am exhausted and ready for MDO to start up!! I have not walked into this house for over 2 weeks...that is a long time to live out of a suitcase with 2 young girls - shoes & bows are everywhere!!

The house is now decorated for Christmas and we even have a party planned! Fa la la la la...

Milestones

We have had a few fun milestones this week.
*Emmaline has started riding her tricycle by herself. She can pedal pretty good and steer ok. She had a hard time at home doing it but I think it was because the pedals were a little to far away for her to reach. My parents have a smaller one that she could do by herself and she was SO proud..
*Emmaline drew her first letter. She copied an E that I drew. She did great. I was so proud of her and her desire to want to do it. She also likes to draw circles and is right-handed. She drew the first line down, then counted the others out to the side - 1, 2, 3! A few times she got excited and kept going with her lines, but she did well. She knows that her name starts with an E and that Erica starts with an E and is "Momma"!
*Georgia can do a forward roll. She puts her head and hands on the ground and then just flops over. I noticed she was randomly doing this so I started helping her over. She got really dizzy because she was repetitively flopping over. She then was walking around the room with her head tilted to the side and walking sideways..poor thing..it was hilarious! Everytime she landed over Emma would run over, say "You did it" and pull up G's shirt and blow a razberry..Georgia would just giggle! They were sweet!
*Georgia can climb wonderfully and on anything. She has now been brave enough to get to the top of different playscapes, like at Chick-fil-A and McD's, parks, etc and then come down the slides even without help!! She also loves to stand on chairs and be dangerous.
We spent a few days in Dallas..saw some great friends..Amy, Mike and Avery (and almost Ansley), and cousins Dan, Kendra and Grey! Thanks for hosting our crazy family!!

BRECKENRIDGE, CO

Daniel and I, along with another couple, without all of our combined 4 children, headed on a last minute vacation to the mountains for some skiing and fun!our awesome friends, Leslie & Jason

I am still exhausted right now, but wanted to give a few highlights of the trip, before I forget it all!!

~ReDONKulous was the word of the trip, ex. "That slope was reDONKulous!"
~Dog the Bounty Hunter was there filming, with his whole entourage!!
~We had an episode of skis flying off the top of our Subaru and it was hilarious!
~The Steak & Rib has the best martini ever..caramel apple, and yes, it does taste just like one!
~We met some folks who were from Trinidad & Tobago, we think?!
~Our drinks of choice were martinis, mimosas, merlot & Miller Lite
~My skiing still leaves a lot to be desired but I do have mad "pizza" skills!~Gondolas are awesome and way warmer than a lift.
~I still hate ski boots and think it is more of a workout than a vacation.
~We found the cutest little homemade sewing shop..it has renewed my desire to learn how to sew fun things for my girls!
~My Thai is one of the best thai restaurants I have ever been to, ever!
~A trip without children is a true vacation, no matter what you are doing or where you are.With that last one being said, THANK YOU to the grandparents for watching the girls! And THANK YOU to our friends who invited us and made it so much fun!!

Twinkies

Like Father like daughtershe loves her "Dada" and runs to the door with a big hug when he gets home..she also asks for him when she gets sad or in trouble during the day!!

Big Sister, little sister
I poked my head in the playroom and this is what I saw..they were cuddled on the little red chair sipping juice & watching Dora..nicely..of, course, that only lasted a few minutes..but it was nice (and sweet) while it lasted!!

Every tutu in the house is on..

Emma is in love with singing "Happ Brday" --"Happy Birthday". She loves to put on a crown or put one on anyone or any dog :) in the house and wants to sing to them! She yells, "Surprise!" She is too cute. She then wants you to blow out your candles! "Ahh Fwooo"!

Bloopers...

Poopers
That is what we have had around here lately!

Georgia is in the stage of taking off her diaper/pants/shoes/socks/shirt/bow..you name it..it comes off something throughout the day!A few times in 1 day, she took off her diaper and would escape quickly. There goes the poop! All over the carpet. Smeared, rolled in, footprinted across the tile as she toddled to get away from me..Of course it couldn't have stayed in one plaace so it is easy to clean up.. Daniel ran from the room with a green look on his face! Really, it just makes me laugh..and the look on Daniel's face is almost worth the time to clean it up.

Emma was using a training potty in her room and would go without letting us know, so there would be a full potty and I would never be the wiser...Oh, not until Georgia would be playing in her sister's room and Emma would start yelling, "Georgia a mess!!"

Yes, she was a mess.. she was playing with urine and feces..and I don't even want to think about where her hands went soon after! Emma hit the nail on the head when she said, "Georgia a dirty girl" So Emma's potty WAS in her room and is now retired.
It was another beautiful fall day here so off to the park the girls and I went. I was on the phone with a friend and the girls were running about playing. I said outloud, "I need to find Emma..where is she?" Then I look over the slide and there she is on the other side of the playground with her pants pulled down to her ankles going potty. I squealed and then said,

"Oh no, gotta go Emma is peeing..I hope!"

I grab Georgia cause I didn't want to leave her on the other side where I couldn't see her..I see parents laughing, kids pointing and saying, "why is that girl naked, Mom?"

I run over to her..with a serious silent prayer, "Please don't let her be going poop, PLEASE!" You see, I am known as never fully prepared..my diaper bag is usually missing some essential item..but today..I was really unprepared!!

I had picked up Emma from MDO and on a whim went to Sonic and the park because of how great the weather was...no diaper bag, nothing in my car to help out!

Luckily, (and I like to believe it was due to my furious praying) she was only going pee-pee. So I get to her and tell her that she is not supposed to use the restroom in public and that she needs to tell Mommy when she needs to go, etc...

I was laughing (because I guess that is my embarrassment defense mechanism) and Emma thought it was funny, so she RUNS from me...with her pants and "wonderwear" dangling around her ankles..laughing and smiling too.

I finally had to get serious and another mom came to corner her in to help me wrangle my pantsless child. She was nice and claimed she understood. Not sure if I really believed her, but it was nice of her to say!
I just hope we can get through the holidays without any more blPoopers.