One

Our sweet children are one today.

At one year, Ella likes

Eating her food slowly, one piece at a time,
Turning her head and keeping her mouth shut at the opportunity to try a new food,
The feeling of free falling (she's a bit of a dare devil),
Standing up, especially to look out the window,
Saying 'ahh' into cups,
Following mom around the house,
Nesting cups and banging blocks together,
Finding the dog toys and then giving them to Moses,
Bringing books into her crib for after hours reading,
Combing her hair and taking off her clothes,
Climbing on mom, dad, her brother, furniture or anything else that presents an obstacle,
Emptying anything(the trashcan, the cabinet of tupperware, her clothes drawer),
Jabbering, singing, dancing,
Hugs, kisses and anything that resembles cuddling.

At one year, Noah likes

Shoving all the food in his mouth and then chewing it; if it gets too full, just spitting it out and starting over again,
Squeezing his pear slice until the juice drips from his little hand,
Concentrating. Concentrating on anything of interest,
Feeling his blankie between his fingers,
Pushing the 'speaker phone' button so that he hears a dial tone,
Testing to see if the dog food really is a 'no touch' item,
Finding small pieces of paper and inspecting them,
Sorting shapes, nesting cups and stuffing toys into containers,
Playing peek-a-boo in the curtains,
Following Ella around the house,
Trying to say a new word and following it with an emphatic 'baaa'.

Star of Wonder

Get ready folks, I'm posting lots of pictures here. Our Christmas was, in a word, fabulous. Really, the whole of the holiday season has been so special. We've been able to spend time with all of our immediate families and that has not happened in quite some time.

As one of my dear friends reminded me, kids bring back some of the wonder of Christmas...thinking through the Christmas story and the humility of a babe in a manger. Even though Ella and Noah are unaware of what is going on, just having them around brought back some of that for me.

Our morning started, per the Matt and Nicole tradition, with opening stockings on the bed. I forgot to dress the kids in special holiday jammies so they look like little space cadets in their sleep sacks.

Ella immediately found the castanet that I hung on the tree and she was quite efficient and getting it off the tree.

Nini and Papa Horton came over for breakfast: strawberry cream cheese stuffed baked french toast, berries, bacon and coffee.

We played.

Opened a few gifts.

Even Moses enjoyed his presents.

After morning naps, we headed over to Grandpa and Nana Potoshnick's house for the second round of festivities.

Of course, the kids were more enamored with the trimmings than the gifts themselves. The hits of the day were 1) an iTunes gift card that Ella gnawed on 2) the ribbon that Noah twirled in his fingers 3) the walnut that Ella carried around for a good hour and 4) the tins of Altoids that were instant musical instruments.

We attempted a shot of Nana with the grandbabies, but Noah would not comply.

You see, he had many things to check out, such as the tissue paper in the box...

Before Nana Potoshnick's Christmas dinner was served (which was, of course, wonderful), my dad and I put together one of the walkers. By the way, I realized that this was a mere foretaste of what Christmases in the future will look like...snap the wheel on the chassis, insert antennae into the hole...so on and so forth. Ella took to the walker right away.

And so did Noah.

It was indeed a sweet day. I do have to say though, my favorite memory of the day was sitting by our tree before bedtime. The room was glowing with twinkle lights and we were all gladdened to just be together. I could not have imagined what Christmas day would have looked like a year ago. I like the way things turned out.

Happy New Year

Really, I'll get to posting about Christmas but I figured that I'd post this video from New Year's Eve first.

Story Time with Papa Pish

The kids LOVE this book called Baby Talk. Here's a snippet of story time...

Another 'What we do' sort of post

Below is a shot of what Ella does when she does not feel like sleeping. If you look at the end of the crib, you'll see the bookshelf. She stands in her crib and, one by one, brings books into her crib. Since I'm not in the room when she does this, I'm not sure if she flips through the books or just accumulates them. In any case, I regularly find piles of books in her crib.

Once Ella knocks all the books off the shelf, Noah enjoys swimming in them. They have a symbiotic relationship, Ella and Noah.

Christmas Eve

"Is something going to happen with this tree?" says Ella. "I'm really digging all the shiny ornaments. If only they were a little lower, I could reach them."

"I don't know, Ella, I heard something about wrapped presents under the tree but it seems improbable to me. Wrapped presents under a tree? Who does that?"

"I know, Noah, it seems a bit odd to me as well. On another note, don't I look pretty in my Christmas dress?"

"Yes, sis, you do look nice. As far as the tree, we'll just have to keep watching."

Q & A with E & N

Question:
What do you do if you've just finished your lunch of tofu squares, grilled cheese, artichoke hearts and fig bars?

Answer:
Play peek-a-boo, of course!

Horton Hoopla

We've been back for over almost a week and I am still reveling in the good time that we had in Connecticut. It was fabulous! In keeping with our previous foibles, the trip started with a flat tire on the way to the airport. At 5:45 AM. In the snow and 5 inches of slush. Thankfully, Pish saved the day and had the tire changed in 25 minutes flat. After that, it was smooth sailing.

In an effort to keep babies content and quiet on the airplane, Ella ate a few too many on Gerber Puffs and Cheerios, and was looking a bit overstuffed.

The kids LOVED exploring Papa and Nini's house. They have a two story foyer which was perfect for playing peek-a-boo.

The Achmoodys arrived shortly after we did. Ben, almost 3, is quite the active little fellow and he immediately took to wrestling with Papa.

Micah, age 5, and Ella got to know one another. Actually, I think that Ella just wanted his apple slices.

Attempted pictures of the cousins...of course, we forgot to get a picture of the entire family, but that just means that we'll all have to get together again sometime soon!

Relishing the fact that they are in REAL high chairs with trays.

Doesn't Noah look tiny in this chiar?

Thrilled by the massive whirlpool tub and the water pouring out of the faucet.

Giggles with Papa and Nini

Learning to climb stairs

Best dad ever

Noah loves being pulled (or rather zoomed) around the house in this little cart. Ella gets a kick out of watching Noah.

Coming clean

Lest you think that we have our T's crossed and our I's dotted...This story almost competes with locking the kids in the car in the departures lane at the airport. Thanks to Skippy and Boomer of Chicago Police Department (yes, that is what their name tags said), we were able to get back in the car without breaking the window. The only casualty of that incident is that the passenger side door that has to be opened from inside the car. But I digress.

We had snow last night and Pish had some extra items to carry into work this morning so he asked me to drive him to the train station. It is just a few blocks, but I was game for getting out of the house. Even though it is a multi step process to get the kids in their car seats and out to the car, it seemed worth it. We put Noah in his coat and stuffed a blanket around Ella in her car seat. Never mind that it was 13 degrees outside, we were just going on a quick trip. Rather than taking the time to get dressed in real clothes, I stepped out in my PJ pants, plastic gardening clogs, and coat. After living in NC for two years and being on bedrest/nursing round the clock last year, I had no boots. You can see where this is going...

As soon as we crossed over the train tracks, the warning chimes on the car started going off and it flashed 'STOP CAR IMMEDIATELY' along with the oil pressure light on the dash. Thanks to someone who shall remain nameless, I knew that this was not a 'pull over when you feel like it' sort of warning light. We parked the car and came up with a game plan: put Matt's ear muffs on Ella and stick her in the Baby Bjorn inside Matt's coat, tuck Ella's blanket around Noah and high tail it back home through the snow. To say that I was cold would be an understatement but we made it home in about 5 minutes with minimal vocalizations from the kids. The car is now at the mechanic and I promptly ordered a pair of the warmest snow boots that I could find. The mechanic just called and here is the irony...all that was because I forgot to get the oil changed.

Moral of the story: there are no 'quick little trips' with kids. Prepare for the worst and dress for the weather. And get your oil changed every 5,000 miles.

Has anyone seen my cracker?

I just had a cracker and I can't seem to find it anywhere. When I eat I get excited, wave my hands above my head, and usually I can find my food again. But this time...seriously, where is my cracker?
--Noah

I think that the cracker had just enough drool on it that when he set/dropped it on his head, it stuck there. He was quite happy when I 'found' it for him and gave it back.

Autumn

Examining the leaves:

So excited that she can hardly contain herself:

I love it.

I was getting ready to write a post about some other stuff, but this picture totally cracked me up and I wanted to get it up right away. Last night Ella was in a terrible mood. I think that she is getting another tooth. Anyhow, Pish got her out of her chair and was trying to cheer her up. When she saw herself in the mirror and started to giggle. Pish then started the super-Ella routine with zooming her toward the mirror. She loved it! I love the pic.

What the babies do with the trash can when mom looks away

Yahoo!

A very elated Liz Potoshnick called me last night. She is naturally a joyful person, but this was the most joy I've ever head in her voice. Pure giddiness, actually. As of yesterday afternoon, she is engaged to marry Stephan Leman. For all you Wheaton Academy alums out there, Stephan is the grandson of the ping-pong playing, math teaching Dr. Leman. Aside from all the great things that come with the impending marriage, I particularly like her new name: Liz Leman. Nice ring to it, huh?

Congratulations to you both --we are so excited for you. We love you!