elmo

recently, gillian has added the word "elmo" to her vocabulary.  we don't watch a lot of kids tv shows and when we do john tends to dominate what we watch.  elmo or sesame street is not on john's list of favorite shows.  we do have some elmo toys and stuff animals.  but i'm still not sure how she learned the word. 

i realized today that she calls any puppet or muppet elmo.  we saw a commercial for the muppet movie and she pointed at the screen and said "elmo!"  so we tested that theory.  i had john get our stuffed kermit and bring him to gilly.  she immediately said "my elmo!'  well this isn't good at all, we need to fix this right away.  she cannot confuse kermit and elmo. 

the kids with elmo and kermit

tea party

gillian got a tea set for christmas from aunt trish, uncle kevin, sammie and little kyle. i opened up the set tonight. john is at the phase where he wants to play with everything. it doesn't matter if it is his or is a baby toy. if it is new, then he needs to try it out. well gillian and i laid out the cups and assorted tea accessories. then john took over along with his ocd. "mommy, i have the green cup. you get the pink and daddy gets the purple. no you need the pink plate." gillian didn't play by his rules and soon the tea party was over.

gillian saw her kitchen for the first time tonight. daddy said the first thing she did was put baby in the microwave. poor baby!

the kitchen

in another attempt to clean up the living room, i moved gillian's play kitchen to the basement. i was just planning on moving the box to the basement and assemble it tomorrow night. i opened the box just to check out the instructions. i guess i am easily distracted. i built the whole thing by myself. actually kyle had to help with one part. i can't wait to see gillian's reaction tomorrow!

the christmas aftermath

my living room is a disaster zone. there are toys, clothes and empty boxes everywhere. it's my own fault. i had off all day yesterday. i could have organized it yesterday, but i chose to relax and play with the kids. tuesday nights daddy works late, so i decided to start organizing the disastrous living room. i don't know what i was thinking. i should have waited until the kids were in bed.

i took two shopping bags and started to separate the kids clothes. that way i could simply bring the bags to their rooms. it sounded like a good idea, buy every time i put something in the bag gillian would pull it out. so i decided i would distract her. i opened up a baby doll that she got from uncle t and aunt missy. great idea. it distracted gillian, but it also distracted me. i couldn't help it. she was pushing the little baby in a tiny stroller. and she started by walking on her knees. silly gilly.

before i realized it, it was bedtime. the living room is still a disaster. it doesn't look like i did anything. oh well. it will have to wait for another day.

christmas

every christmas eve we go to my parent's house.  my grandfather was a fireman when my mom and uncles and aunt were growing up.  he always worked on christmas day and they would celebrate christmas on christmas eve.  my mom and dad kept that tradition with us and we benefited by getting our christmas presents before our friends.  my mom and dad still have everyone over on christmas eve for hors d'oeuvres and cookies.  so this year we stuck with tradition and went to grandma and grandpa's house.  we had uncle kevin, aunt trish with sammie and kyle.  we also had uncle bob and aunt betty.  our usual crowd.  the kids got to play while the grown ups chatted. 

four of the grand kids on christmas eve

we tried to get a good picture of the four grand kids and then the fun began.  there was a flurry of paper and boxes as the kids rushed to get everything opened.  i don't think i heard one complaint.  everyone had a great time and got a lot of wonderful things.  gillian got a cradle for her baby dolls made by her grandpa complete with a little crocheted blanket by grandma.  john got dinosaurs and planes and trains.  and there were clothes.  gilly even learned how to hold up an outfit so everyone could see.

holding up a pair of pants

we got home right before bed time.  john had to put out cookies and milk for santa.  santa got 5 cookies!  i went in to check on john about a half hour after he went to bed.  he started to question me.  "mommy do we have a chimney?  how is santa going to get in the house?  where is santa now?"  we had a little discussion about how santa sometimes has to use the backdoor because not every house has a chimney.  he seemed relived and finally fell asleep.  which was a good thing, we had a lot of work to do on christmas eve.  john only wanted one thing for christmas...a fish tank.  we got a tank and had it set up and running in the storage area of our basement.  but we had to empty it and move the tank to the living room and then refill it.  daddy did an awesome job and we got everything ready for christmas morning.

christmas morning at our house, both kyle and i were awake and were waiting for john to wake up.  gillian was awake before john too.  so we ended up waking him up.  mommy and daddy were too excited to sleep!  we got him out of bed and he went running down the stairs (past the fish tank to the christmas tree). 

after he saw the fish tank, we had them start on the stockings (or sockings as john calls them) so that mommy and daddy could get a cup of coffee.  while john opened both of their stockings, gillian pushed her baby doll's high chair around the room.  i think she thought it was a stroller.  silly girl.

after mommy and daddy had their caffeine handy, we let john start on the presents.  he opened a dinosaur pillow pet first.  gillian opened a cabbage patch doll next.  she got very frustrated.  she wanted the doll out of the box.  she gave up on pushing the high chair around the room and moved to pushing around the cabbage patch doll around.  she gave up after awhile because john gave her a box that had an easily accessible doll in it.  john got a leapster and some games for it.  he keeps calling it his "ds." 

we got to relax at our house for a little bit and then we got ready to go to mimi and poppy's house.  we had a pretty big crew there this year: gigi & pop-pop, uncle t & aunt missy, cara and mike, uncle jay and nicole and uncle jay's mommy aunt linda.  this year uncle t and john played santa and gave out presents to everyone.

before opening presents at mimi & poppy's house

i think the present opening happened faster at mimi's then at grandma's because i didn't see anything that daddy opened or that anyone else opened.  john would open something and then if it was clothes (which majority of it was) he would hand the box to me.  gillian opened a few things, but again got distracted once she opened a baby doll.

overall a pretty fabulous christmas.  i did miss having everyone back at my house for christmas dinner, but i did enjoy all the time home with my little family.  john learned a lot over the past few days about family.  he learned that mommy's family is grandma and grandpa and everyone that we saw on christmas eve.  and he learned that daddy's family is mimi and poppy and everyone we saw on christmas morning.  he said to me yesterday "and i bring both families together."

breakfast & games

this morning i took the kids to mss for our christmas breakfast. john was shy when we arrived. gillian, on the other hand, went right to one of my friends and joined the party. i got john set up with a waffle and syrup and he was a happy camper. gillian happily ate off of my plate. she entertained my coworkers with her little smiles and shrugs. overall they were very good and the breakfast was very yummy! on our way out the door john said to me "mommy that was a good time!"

after the breakfast, aunt missy and uncle t took john on an adventure. john got to pick where they went for lunch. well he wanted a hot dog, so aunt missy and uncle t took him to the windmill. and then they went to chuck e cheese! john has never been to chuck e cheese before so he was a little unsure when aunt missy announced that's where they were going. aunt missy knows john well and she said "they have games there." john immediately said "i'm going to like this place."

john at chuck e cheese

john loves to play the games.  aunt missy got a little video of john playing a game.  at the end (in case you can't hear it), john says "it said i'm the best!"

john had a great time, and he didn't only think of himself.  he came home with a prize for himself and a little princess for his little sister. 

it is hard to be good

tonight was a rough night. we had to pull the santa card. nothing major, just our typical problem of not listening. as i was trying to put gillian to sleep, i turned to john and said give her a kiss. he then proceeds to run in circles around the room. i told him no and repeated my request. he then jumps into the rocking chair. we have told him numerous times that the furniture is not a toy and that we should not use it as a jungle gym. jumping on the chair was the last straw. i sent him into his room while i put gillian to bed. i got into his room an found him pouting on his bed. "mommy, i don't know why you yell at me!" i pointed out the reasons and he agreed that he was wrong. i asked him how many times we have told him to not jump on the furniture. he said "like 7 times."

we told him that buddy (our elf on the shelf) could hear everything going on and that he would tell santa. as soon as we mentioned santa he got sad. he said "but mommy, it's hard to be good. gilly makes it hard." this is not the first time we have heard this excuse. john told mimi that gillian makes it hard to be good. i said john you cannot blame this on gillian. she did not tell you to run around the room or jump on the chair. "mommy, gilly wants to be by me. and she makes me do crazy things."

i finally got him in his bed and snuggled next to him. we talked about being good for the next couple of days because christmas is almost here. he got sad again and said "i think santa is only going to bring me one present." well the santa card worked. let's see how good he is over the next couple of days.

bag lady

my gilly is a bag lady. she loves any kind of bag. she gravitates towards small gift bags or shopping bags. anything she can put over her wrist. she has laid claim to one of my small purses. anytime she walks a baby in her stroller she has to have a bag on her wrist or over her shoulder (or both). i love that she loves her bags. i do not love it when she starts rummaging through my purse or diaper bag. i tend to lose things when she uses my purse.

cannoli

today was daddy's birthday, and for dessert we had one of daddy's favorites: cannoli.  i put the cannoli on the table and john immediately says "i don't like those.  i think you should get me something i like."  after a dirty look from mommy, he said "something in the house i mean."  as you can imagine, gillian loved the cannoli and we didn't get any complaints from her.  john eventually tried the cannoli and loved it. 

i didn't get any pictures of gillian tonight, but here is a picture and a video from this summer of gillian enjoying a cannoli.

 

travis

when john was born, his uncle travis (john calls him uncle t) brought him a stuffed turtle.  we put the turtle in john's bassinet while we were in the hospital. when we got home, we kept the turtle in the pack & play. 


john at a week old with his turtle



john at 3 months old with his turtle

 john started calling his stuffed animals his friends a couple years ago.  he rediscovered his turtle probably around the same time.  daddy and i explained to him that the turtle was his very first friend.  we told him that his uncle t gave him the turtle.  john decided to name his turtle travis after his uncle t.  travis the turtle has become his favorite friend.  john needs him to go to sleep. 

when he started the new school a few weeks ago, he was allowed to bring one friend with him.  john decided to bring travis.  i was worried that he would miss him to much and it would mess with his sleeping.  but john has been very good with his sleeping. 

we brought travis home for the weekend and he has not left his side.  travis has helped make a picture for aunt betty.  he helped make cookies.  he got his belly scratched by john.  he got pushed in gillian's stroller by john with gillian chasing them.  travis had a great weekend.  and john is a lucky boy to have such a wonderful friend.   

yoshi & checkers

we had a busy week. on wednesday, the new school had a singer entertain the kids and mcdonald's lunch. so when i picked the kids up on tuesday night, i started telling john about what was happening the next day. i said, tomorrow you get to have mcdonald's at school and then yoshi is coming in to sing to you guys. john then says "wait, wait a minute. did you say yoshi? i know him!!!" john was right, yoshi has visited his old school. the following morning he was super excited to go to school. not only did he get to enjoy the special treat at school but mimi picked him up early from school too. mimi picked him up to take him to jenkinson's aquarium. he had a great time at the aquarium. He saw a scuba diving santa! he also had one of the employees at the aquarium point out checkers the penguin that visited his school last week. now john is an expert in picking out checkers in a group of penguins. he says "checkers has a bead on her." i'm not really sure what that means, but it sounds really cute.

loud girl

tonight john, mimi and poppy went to the aquarium. gilly got to spend the night home with daddy and mommy. it's amazing how much noise one little girl can make. when i got home, i could hear her in the basement talking to daddy and shaking the gate. as soon as she saw me, she started telling me little stories. it finally got to the point where daddy said i've had enough (Aaaahhh!). and she repeated his scream. she may not say a lot of words, but she will be heard.

bop-o

a few years ago we got a package from gigi. she sent us some yummy cookies from mrs fields. the boxes of cookies had a thick red ribbon tying them together. john was very excited about the cookies but became very attached to the ribbon. it went everywhere with him. he would wrap it around his hand. he would ask us to make a leash for his stuffed animals. i'm not sure when or how it happened but he named it bop-o.

bop-o went missing for quite some time. i found it the other day under my bed. he was very excited to see his bop-o. he started using it for everything. sunday he took bop-o to bed with him and wanted to take bop-o to school with him. unfortunately bop-o is nowhere to be found. john and i cleaned his room and gillian's room tonight in an effort to find it. no bop-o.

santa

visiting santa is always an experience.  i remember taking john to see santa for his first christmas.  he was only 5 months old and he loved santa right away.  i think it helps that my dad has always had a beard.

john & santa 2007

his second christmas was a little more eventful.  he would have been just over a year old.  he did not want anything to do with santa, and we ended up with mommy sitting next to santa and john sitting on my lap. 

john & santa 2008

i can't seem to find a santa picture from 2009.  i am surprised.  i am pretty sure that we took him every year to see santa.  2010, gillian was five months old and john was a little over 3 years old.  he was very excited to meet santa that year.  the line was ridiculous.  gillian slept the entire time, but mommy and daddy had to keep taking turning taking john for a walk.  by the time we go to see santa, he was exhausted and gillian woke up from her nap.  luckily, we got a cute picture of the two of them together. 

john, gillian & santa 2010

it's amazing how quickly things change in a year.  this year, we have been talking to john a lot about santa.  i asked him if he would sit on santa's lap and tell him what he wanted for christmas.  john quickly replied, "no!"  he did not want to sit on santa's lap.  we went to the mall really early today to get some of our remaining christmas shopping done.  we got on the santa line around 10:45 and santa was due to arrive at 11.  the line was not too bad.  gillian sat in her stroller and waved and blew kisses to santa.  john and another little boy on line were trying their hardest to not get in too much trouble.  as we got closer to santa, john kept saying that he would not sit on santa's lap and that he would not talk to santa.  there was a brief conversation about what santa could say or not say.  i think he thought that santa couldn't speak english.  that may have been my fault (i have told him in the past that buddy does not speak english).  anyway, we got to the big man, and john jumps right into his lap and starts talking to him.  gillian, on the other hand, took one look and buried her head into my shoulder.  santa explained to me, that i could sit next to him and have the illusion of gillian sitting on his lap.  as soon as i sat down she started crying.  poor little girl.  santa didn't even talk or look at her.  just tears.  oh well.  there's always next year. 

john, gillian & santa 2011

penguins and toothbrushes

today was penguin day at the lincroft center for children. they had the penguin from the jenkinson's aquarium come for a visit. all the kids got to see the penguin. her name was checkers and according to john "she waddled around a little bit." he also told me that a man brought the penguin. and he brought some stuffed penguins too.   john is going to the jenkinson's aquarium next week with his mimi.  he is very excited to see checkers again!     

a couple of the penguins from jenkinson's

we have been trying to get john to do more things by himself. he is pretty independent, but there are still a few things that we help him with. this week we have been having john brush his own teeth. both kids like brushing their teeth.

gilly loves brushing her teeth

we got a video of john brushing his teeth this morning.  i have to admit.  it is one of the funniest things i have seen in a long time.  enjoy :)

mr. sun

while blow drying my hair this morning, john walks in the bathroom and says "mommy why are you making so much noise?" i said i am doing my hair. "but mommy, why are you doing your hair in the middle of the night?" it was about 6:30 in the morning, and a little dark out. i explained that it was the morning. and he replied "no mommy. it's the nighttime. mr. sun is not here yet." i continued to ask him why he was awake if it wasn't the morning yet. he quickly replied "because you were making all that noise!"

decorating the tree

we bought our christmas tree this weekend, with the intentions of decorating it yesterday.  unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to work on the tree yesterday.  so we decorated tonight.  i am a little anal retentive about the lights.  daddy understands and left me with john to put the lights on the tree.  before we started, i gave john the game rules for putting up the lights:

1. no stepping on the lights
2. no throwing the lights
3. listen to mommy

he did an awesome job.  he did ask a lot of questions, but that is to be expected.

my big helper

we called daddy and gillian back to help us put the ornaments on the tree.  we set aside all the unbreakable ornaments for john to put on the tree.  gillian helped in her own little way.

gillian took one of the moosie ornaments and pushed it around in her stroller

i love decorating the tree.  i love pulling out all the old ornaments and remembering the first year we got them.  we pulled out the ornament my mom and dad made with john daniel when he was a baby.  it has his little hand print in the plaster.  john's hand looks huge compared to that little hand print now.  

we finally got the tree decorated and it was time for john to put the star on top.  





best picture of the two of them from tonight

 

buddy

we have an elf on the shelf.  his name is buddy.  for those of you that don't have children or have never heard of elf on the shelf, let me give you a little background.  an elf on the shelf is one of santa's helpers.  he or she comes to your house and your child gets to name him or her.  he or she then watches your child during the day and at night they go back to the north pole to report to santa how your child was throughout the day.  the next morning, your child will find his or her elf in a different spot.  also, you can't touch the elf or he or she will lose their magic. 

buddy first started visiting us last year.  he found john at the ranch last thanksgiving.  john decided to name him buddy (with a little help from mom & dad).  buddy came back again this thanksgiving and john was very excited to see his friend again.  since gillian was a baby last year, john explained to gillian that buddy was "one of santa's helpers."  john is also very concerned that gillian will want to hold buddy and snuggle him.  john told buddy "you got to stay up high, cause gilly will want to hold you like a baby."  we have been very lucky, buddy has listened to john and stay where gillian can not reach him. 

gillian is recognizing him now too.  she says "buddy."  and points to his location.  before we leave for school in the morning, she does blow him kisses and says "bye-bye."  last night, we went to aunt trish & uncle kevin's house for sammie's birthday.  while we were there, we saw sammie & kyle's elf "cute elf."  gillian saw cute elf and said, "buddy."  it's a little hard to explain to her that there are multiple elves.

buddy in today's spot

 

butter

a few months ago, kyle picked us up breakfast of toasted bagels with butter. the bagels were drenched in butter. gillian ate an entire bagel and smelled like butter. daddy & i kept saying "gilly, you smell like butter!" and she would laugh. to this day if gillian has a stinky diaper john says "oh man, gilly you smell like butter!"

first day

today was the kids first day at their new school. i was very nervous. john was very excited. before we left the house, he said to me "mommy can you hold my hand when we walk in?" we got to school and john showed me where his cubby was and he found gillian's cubby too. i walked him to his class and he found some sharks and fish to play with and he sat down. i took gillian to her class. she was a little clingy and did not stray from my side. i left her for a moment so that i could get the rest of the stuff out of the car. and she was crying. i checked on john and he was coloring a picture. he gave me a kiss and basically threw me out the door. as i walked past gillian's class she was still crying. it just breaks your heart. i was so proud of john and worried for gillian at the same time.

i called to check on them later in day and the director said they were doing great and that they were such happy kids. i mentioned that gillian was crying when i left. she said by the time she got in gillian was happy and playing with a babydoll when she got there.

i picked them up tonight. john was happily playing with a couple of boys. his teacher said that he did really well and had a great day. i found gillian in another room sitting at a big table covered in paper. she was coloring and didn't even notice me when i walked in. i again talked to gillian's teacher who said gillian was awesome today. as we were leaving gillian was waving and blowing kisses. yay for a great first day!