Bring on the Holidays!!

Our girls have spent the last several days taking extra long naps (Emily), asking to go to bed (Elizabeth), falling asleep while playing, and (our favorite) crying for absolutely no reason. Maybe they are just preparing for what is coming over the next 25 days. We will spend four consecutive weekends on the road, visiting family, going to parties, exchanging gifts - basically living the holiday season to the fullest. After a November spent close to home, we are looking forward to seeing all of our family in December.

Until this month, Elizabeth only slept in her bed and occasionally in her car seat, so pictures like the ones above were as rare as BigFoot sightings. She has been so tired lately, that as long as we aren't encouraging her to nap, she'll fall asleep just about anywhere.

"Get out the Harvard application"

Well, that's what Lee said when we happened to notice that seventeen month old Emily was busy plugging away at one of Elizabeth's board puzzles (ages 2+). It's an alphabet puzzle with symbolic characters instead of letters - and while we watched, she was able to match five in a row - she didn't even confuse the "king" with the "queen", both wearing long robes and looking strikingly similar. Okay, maybe not Harvard material (yet), but still, we were impressed.

Holiday Weekend Visits

One of the best things about the holidays is seeing people that you don't get to see very often. On Friday morning, we visited with Melissa and Mark, who were in Connecticut from New York, celebrating Thanksgiving with their families. Friday afternoon, we made our way to Mike and Donna's new house to spend time with them, Lola and Andy, who was in from Boston. The girls were in love with Lola, although she was not as impressed by them. By the time Friday was over, we were all exhausted. Saturday and Sunday, we spent a lot of time outside, making fires and socializing with our neighbors over yard work.

Andy, Elizabeth and Donna

Who needs Santa when Andy can make our girls cry??

Lola!

Grammy Pictures

So, I'd love to claim these photos as my own, but I think it's pretty obvious from the rest of the pictures on this blog that I couldn't possibly have taken them! Here are some the shots that Lee's mother took this afternoon (you can see the rest of the pictures here).

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

We had a great Thanksgiving today, complete with all the fixins! This morning, we made the stuffing, prepared our 20+ pound turkey while listening to Alice's Restaurant (and thinking of Mike and Sandra). While everything cooked, we played outside a bit (the weather here was in the 60's!) and, once Grammy and Grampy arrived, played with them too! We had a delicious mid-afternoon meal, followed by some resting, followed by pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate cake for dessert (no pies in this house!), followed by some playing outside. It was fun, fun, fun - and the girls were so worn out that they were both asleep by 6:30. This year, we are so thankful for our two beautiful little girls, our family and good friends, our health and lovely life, and all of the other blessings that have been bestowed upon us. Happy Thanksgiving.
"God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food. AMEN."
Believe it - picture evidence of the first O'Connor to make a non-potato stuffing at Thanksgiving. I actually felt guilty and apologized to my mother....but the French Canadians like their meat stuffing, what am I do to?

The leaves are still falling here in Connecticut

Grammy and Grampy brought stuffed animals for the girls

Dogs Deserve Thanksgiving Too!

Although at our house, some would argue that every day is Thanksgiving Day for the animals (all of whom were rescued), Elliot and Rudy got a special treat today.
Lee couldn't scrape the scraps into the dog dishes fast enough!
What's taking so long??
Mmmmmmmmmmmm, turkey!!!

Godmother Knows Best

It doesn't take long to figure out the way to our girls' hearts - and of course, food is involved!!! Here they are visiting, with Emily's godparents after church on Sunday.
Whatcha got in there Marie?
Elizabeth has no trouble devouring munchkins and chocolate milk.
This is one good munchkin!!!

Thanksgiving Lunch

Today, we joined Elizabeth's preschool class for a Thanksgiving lunch. Before lunch, the class sang songs and said grace. It was a nice, relaxing way for us to spend some time together before the holidays start to set in.

The class sings

Emily and Elizabeth, waiting patiently for lunch.

Who's Afraid of...Santa Claus??

This year, Elizabeth has been so into Santa that I thought we would finally get a Santa picture in which she was smiling. My hopes only increased when I received a glowing report from my friend Janet of her son's (Ethan is ten days older than Elizabeth) wonderful visit with Santa, along with a beaming photo. Alas, it was not to be. For those of you that remember Santa 05, you decide which photo is better....
By the way, don't be fooled by the deer in headlights look on Emily's face - she was screaming too (it must run in the family!) - they just happened to distract her the exact instant this picture was taken. And for those of you that are wondering, Elizabeth told me this morning that she cried because "Santa was talking to her....."

Love the Routine

Those of you that know us well know how much routine there is in our lives. Lately, I have noticed how much Emily thrives on knowing the "next step" (and appears confused when we dare try to skip that step!). In the morning, when I get out of bed, she runs to get my slippers and brings them over to me, proudly (BIG smile) dropping them at my feet. When we do the dishes, she points to where the various pots and pans go, which is actually pretty funny. Lately, as soon as the girls finish breakfast, she dashes into the living room and sits down, patting the floor next to her so that Elizabeth knows exactly where to sit - even though Emily isn't interested in the television, Elizabeth watches Higglytown Heroes every morning, without fail. Emily sits next to her to keep her company.....

Playing in the Leaves

We spent a lot of time outside this weekend, trying to catch up with the rapidly falling leaves. It was sunny, but very crisp (low 40's) both Saturday and Sunday, but we made a fire and the girls ran around a lot, keeping themselves entertained.

Catch me if you can!!!

It's not that fun to ruin Mommy's leave pile after all!!!

Why wait for snow (and a sled) when you can use an old tablecloth?

Our Newest Dancer

Emily is really starting to develop her own personality - and she is such a happy little girl. She yells and screams a lot, but mostly to be heard over her sister (I think) and to make certain that we know what she wants. She is really into music and dancing - we think even more than Elizabeth was at her age. Here is a sample of some Saturday morning entertainment.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Last night, I took Elizabeth to the mall so that we could greet Santa on his arrival for the holiday season. This is the first year that she "gets it" and was practically shaking with excitement when Santa drove by in his sleigh (with the elves, of course). It was very cool to see. Afterwards, we shared dinner (pizza) and a Mrs. Fields cookie. It was a great mother-daughter experience!

New Words Every Day

Emily is starting to talk up a storm. A lot of the words here will probably sound the same to you but believe me, she makes herself clear!!!

Cousins Visit!!

Yesterday, the Blanchfields from Norwalk (Lee's cousin Josh and his family) paid us a visit - it is really great to have family close by, especially family with kids!! Emily and Nolan played great together and after Elizabeth finished one of the finest meltdowns of her three short years, she had a great time playing with both of them - dressed as her alter ego, Cinderella, of course. More pictures from our visit here.
Emily was fascinated with Nolan's head and kept rubbing it.

Question of the day: Did Nolan have more food in his tummy or on his face and clothes?
Nolan and Elizabeth