ready for christmas!

it was so much easier updating this thing when i only had one computer that all my pics were on! oh, the cons of actually living with your hubbie ;o)

anyway, we have been getting ready for christmas, and thalia is loving the decorations. it's hard to get her to keep her hands off!

we've also put up the advent calendar that yiayia made...gosh, i don't remember...i think the date on the bottom of the calendar is 89 or somethign like that. thalia has had a blast putting the ornaments on...although she hasn't quite got the hang of the word ornament. so last night she said "can we put another christmas on?" took me a few tries to figure out what in the world she was saying.

we've gotten a few gifts that have come wrapped in bubble wrap...which thalia LOVES trying to pop. i love the look on her face!! papou taught her how to jump on the wrap which she also does. surprisingly we haven't had any major wipe outs doing that!

a few weeks ago we took thalia to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Love that show! we had great seats, and we took thalia's "ears" so it wouldn't be too loud. she's been telling everyone about the singing and lasers and "it was really, really, really loud!" :o)

We also had our first snow of the year...which is ridiculously early! We've actually had 2 snows this month already! this was the first one. i of course was taking the snow for granted because i had things i needed to do. thalia on the other hand just wanted to stand in the driveway all day. so i bundled her up and we stood in the driveway. it was a really great reminder of the wonder of a child...and how happy snow still makes me...even if i am a grinch about it sometimes!

we had a lovely thanksgiving with everyone in town. unfortunately, those pictures are on my desktop at home and i am avoiding work at work :o) i'll put those up tomorrow. i'm also going to try to put up pictures from our trips to michigan tomorrow. almost all of those are on the desktop too. there are some sweet, sweet pictures of thalia, me and stella! just wait! (i know, i know...you've been waiting for MONTHS now!)

oh, one more christmas story - the other night we went out to eat at a mexican restaurant. the waiter said "feliz navidad" when he gave us the bill. thalia replied "fee-leaks mommy-dad" chris and i were dying! then yesterday i asked her to say it again and it became "fee-leaks mommy-and-dad" you can't make this stuff up! what a true blessing she is - hopefully there aren't any doubts out there that she won't live up to her name (inspiration of comedy!)

i hope you all have a wonderful week!

much love and less sleep (stupid night terrors AND chris setting off the house alarm!)

c, c, and t

happy birthday kelsey!!

many of you probably remember thalia's dear first friend kelsey. they were in the same class when thalia and i first moved down here. kelsey has since moved to a different school, but amy and i try to get the girls together often. well, a few weeks ago kelsey turned 3, and we got to go to her birthday party. the two munchkins were SO excited to see each other. it was great. in fact, after cake, kelsey kept asking thalia to help her open her gifts! talk about sweet friendship! i don't think my best friend would EVER let me NEAR her gifts ;o) (love you jillian!)
the girls have been sharing silly bands...this is them showing how many they have on their arms while playing with kelsey's new art set.
what a cheeseball i have for a daughter
thalia helping open gifts
ha! i just realized these pics are in reverse order! we were trying to get a pic of the two of them in birthday hats but they weren't cooperating.
thalia eating some Cars birthday cake. kelsey is a girl after my own heart - she couldn't decide between butterflies and Cars, so she had butterfly decorations and a Cars themed cake!
kelsey also wanted thalia to help blow her candle out. adorable!
we had a great time. i am so glad that the girls remember each other and have such fun together. it's really incredible to watch.

while i was typing this post, i noticed i had a draft post in my box. wouldn't you know it - its from our playdate with kelsey and amy at the park over the summer. who knows how it didn't make it to actually be posted, but these are some of my favorite park pictures!

they LOVED this tire swing. they were cackling and squealing. it was great
there are about 15 of these - me trying to get them to stand together for a picture and them blowing me off
this is my favorite. look at her pigtails! this was a really big slide and a tunnel the whole way down. but she climbed up there and went down like she was a big kid. we spent most of our time here.

anyway, we are so blessed by kelsey and amy. more pics to come as they grow older together.

as for a real update - we have been super busy. who knew that being home together could actually make you MORE busy than when you travel! this weekend i'll do a big november update. and who knows...maybe i'll eventually get the pics from october up here!

much love and more sleep (now that thalia's night terrors have stopped!),
c, c, and t