"Oh my goodness..."

"... it's a Nut Grabber!" Sydney's new catch phrase around the holidays :)

"Oh my goodness!!"

Zack exclaims as we are out for a drive looking at all of the Christmas lights on other people's houses.

Lights at the Zoo

We took a trip to the Zoo tonight to see all of the Christmas lights. The kids loved the "dancing" lights which were synchronized to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Zack and Sydney went to see Santa and they told Santa they wanted a train & red race car (Zack) and a ballerina & princess (Sydney).

Don't look now!

We watched the classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer last night. Every time the Abominable Snowman came on, Zack covered his eyes with both of his hands!

"Mom??"

"What Zack?"
"Whatever!!"

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun!! We couldn't have asked for a better night, it was actually warm, almost 60 degrees I think, so we sure weren't cold running from door to door. We were lucky to recruit Grandma & Grandpa B over to pass out candy while we went all around the neighborhood. We stayed out for almost the whole two hours. What a great time!

That blue thing!

We went for a camping trip this past weekend to Maumee Bay State park. We have really been enjoying the new camper and getting a lot of use out of it so far. This past trip we had Grandma and Grandpa B camping next to us in their RV. It was a lot of fun and the kids were always scampering back and forth between the campsites. They kept very busy catching caterpillars - they caught 4 different kinds. We also went down to the beach, on bike rides, and nature walks. When we were walking on the boardwalk nature trail, Zack wanted to be carried by Grandma and he called her "that blue thing" since she had on a blue coat! His favorite part of the camping trip was "playing" and "eating white things" (marshmallows!). At least he's incorporating his colors into his speech very nicely!

Investigation: Sydney's Treasures

Perhaps you've seen Sydney carrying around her "treasures". They are all stored in one of several purses, and even a miniture jewelry box which was selected personally by Sydney from a garage sale. Well one night we decided to investigate what the treasures really were, so we checked them out when she was sleeping. Here is what we found:

Assorted Dora "puffy" stickers, bracelets, foam disks from toy gun, Easter egg, rings, train whistle, flower eraser, buckeye, beads, and a flag from our lasagne at the Spaghetti Warehouse.

Zack's race car, blanket from baby doll set, lip balms, Cinderella from birthday cake (with two dresses), 6 cents, super ball, rubber frog, piece of paper with scribbles on it, beads, items from baby doll medical set: empty prescription bottles and medical tray.

Camping slips from our last camping trip, teddy bear with "S", 2 of Zack's cars, lizard toy, 2 feathers, Buzz Lightyear doll, Gummi bear doll, train whistle, tickets, Garfield pencil topper, beads, bead "poodle", bread tie, tag from pajamas, Dora puffy sticker, and another foam disk from the toy gun.

Cedar Point

We took a trip to Cedar Point for the evening. Here is a picture of Zack on a ride, just moments before he noticed that Mommy abandoned him to go take pictures of Sydney and Daddy on the Jr. Gemini!!

We all had a great time. Can't wait to go back next year!

5, 6, 7

That's the way Zack counts... not sure why, but instead of 1, 2, 3 it's always 5, 6, 7! I guess he's already ahead of the game :)

Muddy the Mud Hen

We made a trip over to Fifth Third field tonight to see the Muds Hens play. We got to sit up close, behind the home plate. Really great seats! We also got to see some goofy characters called the Zooperstars (http://www.zooperstars.com/). I think eating the big container of popcorn was the most fun of all!

Camping at Hayes State Park

We went to Walter J Hayes state park camping this weekend. It was our first "long" trip... all weekend! The weather was very hot on Friday when we got there. Thank god for airconditioning! On Saturday we went to the beach and played in the water and sand. Mom & Dad need to get some buckets and shovels for the camper, but we still had fun. The only bummer was when it rained on Sunday morning. Actually it started raining and it just never stopped! We packed up the camper and went to McDonalds for breakfast. Yummy!!!

Our New Camper

We are picking up our new camper tonight. It's a 2007 Fleetwood Niagra... http://www.fleetwoodcampingtrailers.com/series.aspx?id=5&sn=Highlander Very cool, and not much "roughing it" at all! Our first trip is planned for Maumee Bay State Park. I hope we can figure out how to use it :)

Zack's a Genius!

well, we had our suspicions, but now they have been confirmed - Zack's a genius! When I picked him up from school yesterday the teacher mentioned that he really surprised them. The teacher was reading a new book and they got to the page with a plane skywriting. When the teacher asked, "what does this say?" Zack answered "Drink Milk!", and he was right!! Just imagine, reading at 2 years old, what's next?? You can imagine the surprise when the teachers heard his response, and were stunned, but then couldn't get him to repeat it. well, it does help that we have that same book at home :)

Nakes! Nakes!!

If you are ever considering taking a journey into the jungles, Zack is the one to take with you... he is an expert at pointing out "snakes". He shouts out "Nakes! Nakes!" almost 3 or 4 times an hour. He sees the snakes that people normally overlook, like the spaghetti, string, grass on the floor, lizards (not really lizards, they must be snakes with legs), food cut into strips, and much more! He'll keep you safe :)

Happy Mothers Day!

Today I am such a proud mom - Zack has figured out how to fart on command (yes, I really said that!) and Sydney threw such a hissy fit that she bit me tonight. How precious! Seriously, I did get a very nice gift from Alan (spa certificate!) and although it has it's ups and downs, I am truly blessed to have two wonderful kids and a supportive, loving husband. :)

Knock Knock! Who's there??...

why it's just a rock smashing around in our dryer! Sydney stashed away one of her favorite items, a large rock, in her coat and Mommy forgot to thoroughly check every single pocket for treasures. I thought that thumping sounded a little too loud to be *just* a zipper!!

The Tale of Two Jammies

After talking to our Pediatricians office, they recommended that we do not stay in his room, but we calmly place in back in bed when he gets up, reassure him, and leave his room. Ok, that sounds reasonable enough (ha!). So we get ready for a tough night of resistance last night. Trying to defuse some of the clinginess, Dad puts Zack to bed. I can hear them reading books, then rocking, and finally he is put into his bed and Dad exits the room. The screams begin... however, they stop within about 3 minutes! And surprisingly they don't continue. Dad then informs me that Zack can no longer climb out of his bed since he is back in his roomy winter jammies (he has been in a much smaller, spring 2 piece jammies due to the warm weather on vacation and at home)! We also turned on the humidifier for some "white noise". I don't think we've had such a good sleep in a long time!!

We have a climber!

Hell hath no fury greater than a toddler who doesn't get his way. Our little guy has continued his insistence on having someone staying in his room with him all during the night. And I mean *all* during the night! I sit in his bedroom until he falls alseep, and then when he wakes up screaming in the middle of the night because I'm not there, I go back and sit some more. When I try to leave when he's awake, he just gets up and climbs out of crib, to find me!
This is a "sleep separation" technique and it's supposed to help, however, I just don't think it's working. Well, I know it's not working because I have spent many nights and hours just sitting around in his room waiting for sleep, and then trying to escape unnoticed - which sometimes is not so stealth-like and the whole process begins again. Yikes. We need to find a new approach because this is getting old very fast and our whole family is cranky

Day 7 - the Princess day

Today was all about the Princess... Princess Sydney that is! We promised her a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique if she stopped sucking her thumb. Well she did stop stop, for a while, and now and then, but the dress was bought and the appointment was made so she got to go even though she has not completely stopped. I think it's improving. She went to the salon and got a hair extension put in, and makeup put on. What a beautiful princess she was.

Grandma spoiled Sydney and Zack with several stuffed animals while they shopped. They got to go on the merry-go-round and eat some chocolate! Sydney's favorite part was strolling around Downtown Disney showing off her glamorous new look. She definitely was a princess for the day!