Thanksgiving Revisited

Madeleine with one of her "Tato Head" creations.

Emily with one her "Tato Heads"

As mentioned in the previous post, Uncle Paul flew in to visit the girls over Thanksgiving. He arrived Monday night (his luggage arrived Tuesday night). He brought such magical things as Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, "Tato Head", and part of a tree trunk that beavers had chewed on.

Till spent part of Thanksgiving week in Las Vegas with friends Ramin and Petra, so Melissa was glad to have an extra set of hands. In fact the girls are convinced they "need two grownups all the time", and were greatly distressed by the thought of the two days it was just Melissa and the two of them (the reality was fine). I'm not sure they realize there is a 1:2 ratio from 7:30-5 most days, but I'm not going to point it out.

Wednesday the girls took Uncle Paul to "the big heads" as Presidents' Park is known in our household. This is a place that is beyond words, but let's just say there is something for everyone there, whether they want it or not. One of the many things the park has is an "Air Force One" (This isn't like Boeing Field's Air Force One, which actually was an Air Force One - this is part of a plane they have painted blue.) We all got on the plane and there was great consternation from the toddler set because: 1. there was no pilot and 2. the plane didn't move ; I think we have air travel figured out. That night Melissa and Paul put up the Christmas tree (we have to use an artificial one because we travel over the holidays, I'd prefer a real tree) and the girls helped decorate it the next morning.

Emily (left) and Madeleine putting the first decorations on the tree.

Pilot Madeliene at the cockpit of "Air Force One" at Presidents' Park.

Captain Emily at the cockpit door of "Air Force One"

Thanksgiving morning we went to the park and played on the swings and slide. We also "drove the car" that is on the playground. After naptime we had an early dinner and then went the Sunken Garden on William and Mary's campus and played in the leaves. The girls would like to thank Uncle Paul for his leaf raking dedication when it came to making leaf piles.

Madeleine in blue, Emily in orange, Uncle Paul in back.

Emily in the background, in a Halloween shirt on Thanksgiving, we aren't too picky - and Madeleine in purple pants. These pants are becoming a bit of an issue. They are Madeleine's absolute favorites, she literally hops around the room when she gets them back from the laundry. They are size 18 mo, the girls wear 2T, and when held to the light you can see through the backside, but she would wear them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if we'd let her...as you can see the knees are nearly shot....I will soon be looking for replacement pants.

Friday we took Uncle Paul to the airport. Based on the girls' behavior in the car, Uncle Paul may choose to never have children. The drive back home was better because Melissa broke out the yogurt-covered raisins (no way am I driving an hour each way with WWIII in the backseat both directions) and water in sippy cups. The girls wanted "more Uhuh Paul", but were somewhat consoled by being allowed to place his linens in the washer (I must cultivate this desire to do laundry).

Friday night the girls and Melissa went to Colonial Williamsburg to see the Christmas Trees that have been brought to Merchants' Square. There was quite a discussion about the car being dark - apparently when you normally go to bed between 6:30 and 7:00, you aren't used to being out in the evening. We left the house about 5:30 which was 15 minutes later than I wanted. I had run upstairs to grab my shoes and change into a warmer sweater. When I got back downstairs both girls had completely stripped from the waist down and were running around with great abandon (they were, as always, contained in the family room). It was suggested that we "go to the horses" (as Colonial Williamsburg is known in our house) "a little bit neg-neg" ("neg-neg" = naked), but that suggestion was vetoed and clothing was put back on. When we finally got to CW, the girls were very impressed with the trees, their lights, and of course, the dark.

Madeleine (left) and Emily by the "big tree" in Colonial Williamsburg.

Madeleine very excited about a window display in CW.

Emily's turn to be excited by the window display.

Saturday night Till came home again and all was well with the world.

This week we went to story time at the public library, as we do most Mondays. However, this week we went to the 11:00 session instead of 10:00. We were there early and the only ones in the room. The girls decided to take turns being "the lady" (librarian) and sat on her chair while enthusiastically leading her sister and mother in one of the story time songs. Apparently, we already have degrees in library science and there is no longer a need to save for college.

Tuesday we took the girls to Celebration In Lights, a drive-through lights display. They liked it quite a bit, although there were requests to get out of the car - these were ignored.

Wednesday the girls went to Petco to get some Bitter Apple Spray because Lucy keeps eating the Christmas tree. They were very excited to see the fish, birds and mice (actually guinea pigs), however there was some distress in the cat area. There is a tortoise shell cat waiting for adoption and Madeleine was rather convinced it was Lucy. It took some fast talking to convince her this was, in fact, a different kitty. On the way home we visited a Christmas tree lot because the girls wanted to "say hi to the trees".

Madeleine in pink pants, Emily in black, at the Christmas tree lot. They are giving rather skeptical looks to the man who runs the l0t; he could not have been nicer, but it is always a gamble dealing with toddlers.


Tonight was a bit of a breakthrough in that both girls had a shampoo and did not scream at the top of their lungs. Seriously, both my parents and Paul have said it sounds like I'm removing limbs in the bathroom during shampoo time (I'm looking for sound-absorbent bath tiles). For over two and a half years bath time was not an issue. Then the sun came up, the wind shifted, the planets aligned...I don't know. In recent months it has been so bad that Madeleine would literally shake and sob while just watching Emily get her hair washed; Emily would sob and cower. They have not had water dumped in their faces, they have not been dropped in the tub, they haven't been chased with a hose...I don't know why this has become a crisis, but it is significant. We have purchased both the rinsing pitcher that has a flexible side so it forms a seal on the child's forehead and the visors a child can wear during a shampoo. Both of these products appear to work, but there is still screaming and hysterics. In part, life would be easier if the girls would tip their heads back on a consistent basis, but that is not going to happen. SO, in absolute desperation, I have started defacing myself. The girls wear the shampoo visor, they are given a Q-tip, I put dots of mascara across my forehead and they "wipe off the dots" with the Q-tip while I wash their hair. This not only distracts them, it forces them to look up....it has worked once and I'm really hoping it will work again. On the upside, I have a sparkling clean forehead, on the downside - my consumption of mascara has the potential to jump dramatically.

Happy Thanksgiving

Madeleine in blue, Emily in orange sliding with Uncle Paul.

Madeleine and Emily have had a wonderful time with their Uncle Paul who flew in Monday night. This morning we went to the park and made several trips down the slide and logged some time on the swings.

More details to follow, but for now we all wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Who Knew It Would Be This Much Fun?

Madeleine (left) and Emily (right) (once again in clothing of their choosing!) showing off their new toothbrushes after their first visit to the dentist.

Madeleine and Emily "cleaning" the dentist's sign with their new brushes. They had previously cleaned the floor, chairs and a wall or two. Brushes were sterilized upon our return to the house!

On Thursday Emily and Madeleine hit another milestone; their first trip to the dentist. We had explained to the girls that the dentist was a doctor who took care of teeth and he would count how many teeth they had and maybe put a special little mirror in their mouth. Apparently there was some post-good night conferencing Wednesday night because Thursday morning both girls announced they were not inclined to visit the dentist. I was informed "No know dentist.", nice to see their mother's social phobia has been inherited. So, we set off with the agreement we would just look at the dentist's room to see if it was nice. However, once we saw "the room" we were hooked - it had a small TV with PBS on and toys!

I had been a bit frustrated with the office staff as they refused to mail the registration forms to us in advance. In an effort to not be the outnumbered mother whose children dismantle the waiting room while she fills out the forms, we had gone to the office (during regular business hours) three weeks before the appointment to pick up the forms in advance so I could fill them out in peace (this was the option I was given when I was told they didn't mail forms). However, the office was closed, this was discovered after getting two toddlers out of their carseats, up a narrow flight of stairs and down the hall - in the rain (insert inappropriate language here). And so, I went to the office: 1. o.k. in the knowledge I had twice tried to protect the waiting room, 2. secure in the knowledge we would probably destroy something, 3. muttering that the dentist had better be good with kids to make this worthwhile.

The dentist was fantastic and the girls had a wonderful time. He was very low-key and gave them a ride on his "magic chair" and allowed me to "brush" their teeth for the actual exam. They were not quite convinced they liked his gizmo that shot water and air, but as it wasn't used on them, there wasn't too much fuss. His attitude was that it may take 4-5 visits to actually get them to sit in a chair for a cleaning - at this point it is about showing kids the dentist isn't scary (which is exactly what we were looking for). The good news is - teeth are right where they should be, totally healthy and "sparkling white". I didn't mention months ago we had to start bribing them with stickers just to be allowed to brush the teeth; this is a case of ends justifying means.

In other news we have discovered yet another issue to "discuss". In the early days of potty training there was often a "disagreement" regarding who got to use the facilities first and/or who got the "big potty" and who was relegated to the "little potty". Now that we are trained and have a little bit of "holding" ability, the "little potty" has literally been thrown away (I hated that thing) and I have figured out Madeleine goes in and gets it done, while Emily takes her time and you have a chance to do a load of laundry, cook dinner and possibly catch up on correspondence while waiting for her. So, generally, Madeleine goes first and Emily waits, then it is her turn. The other day the girls were in the family room and having a rather heated discussion regarding whose turn it was to use the "poppy". I went flying into the room as the bathroom is the ONLY room with a potty. It turns out the girls were playing with their Fisher Price Little People house and the plastic figures were having a tough time waiting in line in the bathroom. If you can't fight about an issue in reality, feel free to do so in imaginary play!

In other news... on Friday the girls were given their first taste of pomegranate. I wasn't sure they'd go for it, but generally if a new food is going to be a success the first time out it is usually a fruit or veggie (we aren't too fond of meat and poultry). So, I told the girls the "red beads" were like "red raisins" (Craisins) which we go through by the pound and they gave it a shot. The "red beads" turned out to be so popular, it had to be explained that too many of them would hurt your tummy.

Leaf Adventures

Madeleine (left), Emily (right) playing with leaves in Colonial Williamsburg.

Emily (left) and Madeleine (right) with more leaves.



Dear Blog Readers,

We offer our sincere apologies for the delay in adding a new post. Grandparents have been in town and we have been on the go! Assuming our apologies are accepted, we will continue.

Placing acorns in our stroller, all the while explaining the intricacies to Grandma.

Collecting acorns with Grandpa.

Madeleine and Emily have had a wonderful time with "Bapa and Mama" (Grandpa and Grandma) who flew in on the 30th and have spent two weeks with us. The girls had fun collecting acorns, going to the park, going to the "cafe" by the "big fountain", showing the grandparents "their" horses and playing in leaf piles in Colonial Williamsburg (we did our best to return the piles to their original shape upon our departure). There has been much participation in coloring of pictures and molding of Play-Doh.

The girls' parents have had fun enjoying the liberty to run errands on a whim and without planning comparable to the invasion of Normandy. They were also able to go out to dinner without having to pay the "babysitter" and the "babysitter" even put the girls to bed!! (We usually do this before frantically running out the door).

The girls were baptized at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church on November 11th and did fairly well for two-and-a-half-year-olds. Madeleine's thumb got a bit of a workout from all the sucking and Emily, after seeing water placed on Madeleine's head, loudly announced "No put water on Memy's head." M with Madeleine and T with Emily. During the ceremony we had the opposite partners.

One of our young ladies, who shall remain nameless, has been a little "demanding" recently. My parents have extra space in their luggage, but are not jumping at my suggestion they tuck a munchkin in their suitcase....so we shall trudge forward.

Today was my day to volunteer at "school". The weather was a bit hit and miss so we skipped the playground and went to the church's "atrium" where the kids could run around, crawl through the fabric tunnel, kick balls etc. On our way we went on a bit of a "tour" of the church (in an effort to tire the kids) and each child decided they needed to bring one of the "babies" from the classroom. Seven toddlers, each clutching a doll in varying degrees of nakedness, headed to the atrium. As we were wrapping up and leaving, the teacher ducked into the church's kitchen and came out with crushed ice in styrofoam cups. The "babies" were quickly shoved, rather unceremoniously, into the mesh bag with all the balls so each "student" could carry his or her styrofoam cup and munch ice on their way back to the classroom. This was a first for many of the kids and it was a hoot to watch them wrinkle their noses with each new ice chip, apparently ice is cold, and then eventually announce that they had cold mouths. Apparently some of us think we'd prefer warm ice next time.

Emily and Madeleine wish Aunt Chessy a very happy birthday!

Happy Halloween!

Madeleine left, Emily right - inspecting each other's petals

Emily 2007
Madeleine 2007

2006 (19 months) Madeleine Bee and Emily Ladybug - they were actually in each other's costumes at the time of the picture, but you choose your battles.

2005 (7 months) - Emily left, Madeleine right - Emily is very excited about her ability to grasp!

2005 (7 months) -Madeleine (right) seeks revenge for the tugging on collar in the previous picture.


After much waiting (and explaining the difference between "Halloween Time" and "Halloween Day") Halloween finally arrived! The flowers headed out and had a wonderful time trick-or-treating. The only slightly less-than-fun event was a man dressed as a skeleton (complete with face paint) handing out candy; Emily managed to get candy and move on with a backward glance or two, Madeleine burst into tears, shook and was carried part way home before recovering (I was honestly shocked she'd even walk up the driveway in the fist place, so her reaction was not a surprise). The girls don't like skeletons, "keketons", and announce "No like that guy" when spotting one at Target, etc....then you get one that moves and talks......

Treat awards this year are as follows: Most Creative - the house that handed out mini bags of "Halloween Pretzels" instead of candy, Most Helpful - the woman who handed out small bags of chips to "help moms pack school lunches tomorrow", Most Generous - next door neighbors Leisa and Maureen who brought over a pumpkin filled with candy because they weren't going to be home during trick-or-treating.

Theoretical Theology

Madeleine sporting the newest in lunch fashion - I don't know why she decided to do this...nor did I ask.

Emily following Madeleine's lead....I give up.

I'm afraid the blog readership is going to have to tolerate a little background information. Each night, while I bathe and dress one girl, Till reads to and plays with the other - then we trade. This is one of the few times we get one and one time with each child and we both enjoy it. As I dry and dress each girl in her jammies we discuss the events of the day and possibly what is on the agenda for tomorrow. Completely unrelated, this past summer the girls learned that when one is taken on a boat ride at the lake there is a high likelihood one will be taken to a small store and given "chocolate Ms" (M&Ms) - this was especially true when the captain and skipper of the boat (Grandpa and Mommy) realized the girls would tolerate a much longer boat ride (as in we could actually leave our bay) if they thought "Ms" were involved! All of this bring us to the girls' developing theology.

Last Sunday the girls were told about Noah's Ark while in the nursery at church. The "teacher" went so far as to have brown construction paper semi-ovals (arks) and pictures of animals that were cut out of magazines and the Heifer International gift catalog (Christmas is coming and this wonderful organization has great gifts for the person who has everything) for the children to glue on the arks. That night Madeleine and I chatted about Noah and his big boat and that he helped the animals. She was fairly willing to go along with all of this as long as I would agree that he did NOT take kitties on the boat; I have no idea why, but he didn't. Emily, however, had a different approach. She conceded that Noah had a large boat, but when I asked her the purpose of the boat I was informed it was "take the kids to get chocolate Ms!"

Meanwhile, every Sunday we take the girls into the sanctuary ("Mommy Daddy church room" in their world) let them hang out for about five minutes (we get there early) and then take them to the nursery. The first week as they happily, and none too gently, grabbed hymnals and Bibles we told them these were God's books and they needed to be gentle with them. With a great seriousness and a rather business-like tone, Madeleine opened a hymnal, folded her hands, leaned over the pages, and said the "grace" they say at "school" before snack-time; apparently that is how one reads "God's book".

In other, not at all religious news, the other day the girls were fighting over their two plastic phones. More to the point, they were fighting over the preferred of their two plastic phones. One of the girls was on the phone (I'm afraid I can't remember, but I think it was Emily) and as I encouraged her to share, I was informed she was on the phone with her father and "Daddy say no share". These children are two - adolescence should be fun!

In an effort to add an addendum to the last post's comments regarding the amount of cooking we had done. If you are ever at our house and offered any sort of "break and bake" cookie, it has probably been licked before being placed on the cookie sheet (I try and stop it, but these kids move fast); they are baked at 350 degrees, so I think you are ok. Also, the girls now insist on setting the dinner table. When they feel overwhelmed by the amount of silverware they are holding - they simply set it on the floor and set the table from there. We are working on: 1. not licking cookies 2. taking pieces of cutlery to the table one or two at a time and 3. if overwhelmed by spoons and forks - set them on a chair!

Is Hogwarts Next?

Madeleine in blue and Emily in pink. Normally, I'm not a big fan of closed eyes in pictures, but in this case, I think it was a wise move on Emily's part.

Wand storage - Emily left, Madeleine right.

In a week of highs and lows a major high-point was the purchase of wands. We had a playdate set up for Wednesday morning, but the mom emailed that the other child was running a fever and had not slept well. So, two disappointed girls and their mother ran an errand or two. On a whim we walked into the Rite Aid next to the grocery store and saw that wands were on sale in the Halloween costume section. Thankfully, there were two wands and they are just different enough to allow their owners to identify them. Being an idiot I let the girls have their wands in the backseat of the car on the way home, resulting in approximately two miles of the girls attempting to beat each other senseless (thank God for carseat straps). I figure we gave the driver behind us a nice show. When we got home Emily and Madeleine asked to watch "Bibby Baba Boo" (Cinderella - they only watch the scene where the Fairy Godmother sings Bibbity Babbity Boo and transforms everything) while waving their wands around. They then decided to store the wands in their tool bench, apparently it was a bit too masculine. If Hogwarts decided to extend its curriculum to toddlers it would be ok with Mom if the girls skipped rigorous classes such as Potions and Transfiguration and started with just a few seminars. She may suggest "Accepting The Word 'No' Exists And What It Means", "Why Only Parents Are Authorized To Put People In Timeout", "Come Here Really Means COME HERE".

The low-point of the week were our flu shots last Thursday. Madeleine went first and as soon as Emily saw what was happening she began to announce, rather passionately, "Memy no want that. Memy no want that." Unfortunately for Memy, she lives under a benevolent dictatorship, not a democracy; she received her shot about 10 seconds later. When we got home the girls took off their bandaids and threw the "hurt" (blood to those with a science background) in the garbage.

Emily inspecting one of the "pies" and Madeleine with the rolling pin.

It has been a week of cooking. On Wednesday the girls made "orange muffins", apple cinnamon muffin mix with food coloring added, and on Thursday they made "Apple Pies" (thank you to Parents magazine for that idea), the biggest challenge was having enough apple - every time I turned around one or the other assistant was happily munching away. On Tuesday they combined three different cereals at breakfast and are fairly convinced they are ready for the next season of Top Chef.

Tuesday at school the teacher apparently "moved the tree" and made the leaves fall down. The teacher is currently held in god-like adoration for her ability to control nature.

While it was several days ago...the girls would like to wish Grandma a happy birthday! (click here)



Madeleine on floor, Emily in chair - this morning I was informed this was their car and they were "driving" .
Dad, Emily (seated) and Madeleine talking to Germany on the computer - Madeleine is leaning over the computer so her voice can better cross the Atlantic.

Madeleine rocking her bear (who is wearing one of last year's Halloween costumes)

Emily rocking the other bear (in the other costume)

Emily (left) and Madeleine (right) swinging at the park yesterday.

Pumpkinville Or Bust

Madeleine in blue and Emily in pink at Pumpkinville.


Last Thursday brought our aforementioned trip to "Pumpkinville", a small local farm, that makes its best attempts to put up a corn maze and lets you wander through their pumpkin patch. I had been previously warned their prices were high, and seeing as we already had our big pumpkins...we went with the understanding each girl could get one little pumpkin (the size that are used for centerpieces, etc). We came home with each girl having acquired three little pumpkins and two gourds, I'm a sucker, for a manageable grand total of $8. The girls had a great time and thought it was better than anything Linus could desire, The Great Pumpkin of course excluded. They were also thrilled to see the homemade cutouts of Sesame Street characters at Pumpkinville (it truly had a bit of everything).





Emily, Bert, and Madeleine

Madeleine with her "favorite" two gourds and a pumpkin

Emily, looking very distressed, trying to handle two gourds and a pumpkin. I suggested each of them take their favorite ONE pumpkin for the picture - what do I know?

Emily unpacking her pumpkins at home, the child owns shoes - she just removes them in the car.

Madeleine with two of her pumpkins right before we put them on the mantel. This lasted long enough for her to realize she couldn't reach them...then they were moved to the ledge between the kitchen and family room.

In other news....we are now eating dinner together as a family. We hadn't done so previously because the girls go to bed so early, it was easier to eat after they were down. It isn't the nicest dining experience for the adults, but the girls think it is just the neatest thing and are learning to set the table (they get everything at the appropriate person's spot - not necessarily in the right order, but they are two!) and are personally offended if I should do it in the hopes of eating before Christmas.

Last Wednesday we went to the "cafe" at the local Barnes and Noble (Williamsburg is slow to wake up and this is one of the few places open before 10) for a muffin. In the bookstore's development there is a large fountain, with surrounding courtyard, in front of a movie theater. We often watch the fountain, however it wasn't running on Wednesday. We ate our muffin and then went on a walk (wearing them out for their nap). When we were heading back to the car we went by the fountain again....Emily was running full-steam-ahead in front of me and Madeleine was behind me. Just as Emily was about 15 feet from the fountain - it turned on. I think she has a shot at making the Olympics in the high jump! The poor little thing jumped straight up, all four limbs outstretched, and hit the ground running back to me. Both girls were upset and my maternal instincts took over as demonstrated by my valiant effort to quell my laughter. Emily's eyes recently returned to their normal size. We had a lengthy conversation about the fountain "waking up", but haven't returned since.

This same visit to "New Town", as the movie/bookstore complex is known, prompted another discussion, this one about language. They are building condos and as we watched some of the construction there was a loud crash followed by "Mother f*****" from inside the building (serves me right for hanging around construction zones). We had a chat about how only big men who wear hats and build houses can use those words; they are not words for us (unless Mommy is driving).

Saturday we went to Busch Gardens (which we do pretty much every Saturday - there will be a crisis when it closes for the end of the season this month) and went on some new rides. I was personally disappointed that the balloon ride was "kids only" as it is about my speed. A video of it can be seen here - Madeleine is in the shirt with purple stripes and Emily is in pink stripes (Emily got to face forward as the balloon moved). We also went to "Ireland", we hadn't been in a while, and discovered it had the most pumpkins of any country - very popular!

Emily getting ready to go on the elephant "roller coaster" with Daddy. She loves it and her face lights up the whole time (unfortunately not captured in this picture).

Emily, left, and Madeleine in the tea cup before it starts spinning.

Emily

Madeleine

Just gives an overall idea of the ride...the girls are in the background

Madeleine

Emily

I didn't know the Irish kept pumpkins on their roofs...makes me wonder about mental health of ancestors.

This pumpkin was a highlight - I can not imagine the storage facility they must have for it.