KITCHEN...

Santa came EARLY to our house!!!  Shawn + I stayed up late Saturday night putting this together!!

We are so proud of this perfect-sized KITCHEN!!  It took about an hour to put it togther, but we are impressed w/ the finished product!!

Since we've been reading tons of Xmas books, Elsie Anne knew exactly what we meant when we told her, "Santa brought you a present last night!"  Her eyes lit up, and she hurried down a few steps to peer out into the living room!  She said... "KITTTTEN" (kitchen)!!!  It was PRICELESS:)

Do you think she could be any happier???

She talks about her "kitten" & "santa's pessent" (present) all the time now!!

Opening Day!!

Yeaaaah!  Its that time of year again...we get to ride the Gondola!!  After our 'Tumbling Tots' class @ the gym, we met our friends for our first ride of 2010-2011 Season!!  And yes, I say that in terms of riding the gondola, a little different than most were referring to on Opening Day @ Breckenridge... riding their skiis or snowboards!!

We met up w/ Adeline, her brother Jake, and Ms. Terry... these two KNOW what to do without us even asking:)  They must have heard me say "hold hands" a time or two!!  They've all got their ski passes around their necks...

This is the insane lift line... thank goodness I'm not out there on my skiis!  I'm too impatient for that, I'll wait until we have more snow + more lifts open:)

SKI!

This is our 400th Post!!  WOW, that's a lot! 

Shawn came home w/ these strap-on skiis, that fit any kid's snow boot!!  Its perfect... so much better than a real, clunky snow boot, that wouldn't fit her little feet!  We can't wait to try them out!!

Daddy couldn't be more proud...

Ski Pass!  Another BIG moment for Daddy;)

Around the House!

This week my car has been in the shop.  Thankfully, there were no major issues, just a testy sensor that had us thinking it was going to blow up any second!!  phhheeew...we avoided a huge bill!!

So, we had to get CREATIVE around the house!!  I was nervous @ the thought of having 2 toddlers (Elsie Anne + Adeline) cooped up in a 1,000sq.ft. condo for 7hrs, 3days in a row!  But, they put me to the test, and I was happy to see that we all managed to have fun + keep our sanity:)

Some of my favorite moments...

• having the... Dump Trunk w/ Driver, Car w/ Momma + Baby, Airplane w/ Pilot, 2 passengers, Handy Manny, Kelly +Abolito squished inside... all out in the living room.  the girls helping each figure in/out of the vehicles, flying the plane, vvrooming the car + dumping the truck!  love their imaginations!
• stacking blocks, making tall towers + knocking them over!
• playing w/ EAs new dollhouse.  each having a wooden figure in hand... bouncing them around, climbing the stairs, sitting them on the potty + @ the table, + sliding them down the arm of the couch!
• pushing the stroller + grocery buggy around + around + AROUND our tiny living room!  using the grocery basket w/ fruits + veges!
• climbing through the tunnel that Shawn made for them one of the mornings!
• stretching, yoga, singing songs, acting like animals, using our musical instruments + pots/pans!
• having almost every book out... and asking me to "wead peease!" and obliging w/ a smile!
• Bus Ride to town + back!!
• SNOW TIME!  its one of my favorite things, seeing these girls in their little snow suits, waddling along making tiny foot prints in the sparkling snow.  each day we get outside, some days i'm a little more motivated than others:)

Buggy Time...

Stacking...

Across the street from our house is a 'wood furniture store', which also make these cute Mtn.Bears...

Having a laugh together!

Took the bus into Town.  Walked around the Bus Station, danced to the music @ the Gondola, sat on a bench for snack...

...and splashed in the only puddle around :)  I love not worrying that they'll get wet!

Almost fell asleep on the Bus Ride home!!

After being worried about the week + what we would do w/out my car, I'm feeling pretty SUCCESSFUL @ the moment!  These little 'highs' are what LIFE IS ALL ABOUT!!

Monday Night Football!

Its always nice when the Bengals play on Network TV + we can watch them in the comfort of our own home!!!  Shawn loves dressing his sports fan up in her Bengals gear.

Our little BenGALS cheerleader!!

Elsie Anne watching T.O. (Terrell Owens) score his second touchdown... and Uncle Donnie was stealing some 'sugar'!

Bengals Family!

Even though our Bengals lost, it was a close game + we loved the time together!!

Movement Monday!!

Our Mondays are packed of FUN!  We have Elsie Anne's dance class in the morning.  EA + Ms. Kristin laughing @ the Tickle Duck book.

Climbing through the tunnel w/ Cameron!

Balance Beam practice w/ Ms. Kristin!

And after nap, we go straight to the gym for the Toddlers In Motion class I teach!  Its our second week + we're having fun meeting other children + families!  We play w/ balls, blocks, tunnels, tents, cheese mats, we have a Circle Time w/ songs + stories, and we begin + end w/ stretching!! 

EA is helping Mommy clean up the mats, but Daddy wrapped her up in the paper towels!

Watching the big boy practice rock climbing...

Our busy schedule has been great so far + EA is loving all her new activities!!

Oh, Holidays...

We are definitely feeling the Holiday Spirit!  Elsie Anne has been reading her Christmas books since Halloween, and loves seeing all the Xmas decorations @ the stores.  On a family trip to WalMart, we made our first Xmas purchases of the year... wreath, xmas fern, and reindeer antennas!!

Memoo sent EA this grocery buggy for an early Xmas gift!  We are loving her 'Xmas-morning-face' each time she gets an early "Kissmas pesent"!!

The boxes are always the best!!

EA's first holiday attire... she says "ormanet shuut + santa mittens" (ornament shirt).  For some reason she loves these socks on her hands, too funny!!

Daddy wearing her Reindeer Antenna headband (the red noses light up) while playing w/ her Insect Flash Cards!  Shawn has taught her to stomp or smack the mosquito + cock roach, haha!!

Loved this wreath... I added the bows, but thought I'll be able to use it for the rest of the winter + add different accessories to it:)

I've got to say that I usually don't get the first Christmas decoration out until the week after Thanksgiving.  This is something that I've inherited from my mother.  We love our Thanksgiving Family Celebration so much, that we don't even think about Xmas until after.  But this year is a bit different...w/ a toddler talking about Santa + candy canes already, I've let down my guard, + Shawn, who has Xmas spirit year-round, has gotten his way!  We've even been singing Xmas carols... I am LOVING it!!

ProNunCiaTion!

I've been meaning to blog about Elsie Anne's hilarious speech.  To start, I must give some background information on why this makes Shawn + I so proud... 

My grandmother, BumBum, as many of you know, is quite the Linguist.  She writes poems for every occasion in our family, spent 30+ years writing letters for Florida's Commissioner of Education, and has perfect grammar!  She has helped me w/ my Resume and Letter of Intent, when I had a real job, and the rest of her 7 grandchildren in one way or another!  Long story, short... she knows vocabulary words that you've never heard of, hehe!!

We think it must be a trait that is passed on, b/c as EA learns new words, she tries really hard to pronunciate just the way we do!  But the last letter of her word is always louder than the rest!  These are not necessarily new words, but just an example...

Me: M is for Milk.  mm, mm, Milk!
EA: "milKK!"

Me: H is for Heart.  hh, hh, Heart!
EA: "haaarTT!"

Me: B is for Blanket.  bb, bb, Blanket!
EA: "bankeTT!"

It is really the cutest thing to hear.  I need to post a video for you to get the full effect:)