November Moments

November is already over! We certainly had a busy month. We celebrated Daddy-o's birthday. Ellie, you did a very nice job playing your piano while we sang to Daddy.

We discovered that Patrick really loves the bath. Ellie, you like to re-live your childhood by jumping in the little tub when when he is done. You look so big in there! Patrick, I wish we could keep you in the bathtub all day long because you love to chill in there.

Cousin Mary's wedding was this month so there was lots of festivities going on to celebrate.We went pole dancing for her bachelorette party. Here are grandma and Sasha doing their thing. It was very fun.

We went to the zoo one day with the Leto family and cousin Larry took you to feed the girrafes.  

Ellie, you got very sick with the croup. Thankfully it only lasted a few days and THANKFULLY you didn't get Patrick sick. I am amazed because you seemed to want to love on him more than ever while you were sick. Daddy spoiled you rotten with popcicles and lollipops. I think you actually liked being sick because of all the treats and you got to eat on the couch.

We also put the Christmas tree up after Thanksgiving. Ellie, you are so excited for Christmas! You get so excited when you see anything that has to do with the holidays. You also are getting prepared for meeting Santa and sitting on his lap. You are going to ask him for presents, Dora, Boots and princesses. Well..atleast that is what you want today. Patrick, you get excited about the lights on the tree. I think they will help us entertain you for the next month!

Thanksgiving

Ellie and Patrick,
This year Grandma and Papa had a big Thanksgiving at their house. There was even more people than usual because some cousins from Detroit were still in town for Mary's wedding. So Mike, Aunt Betty, cousin Larry and Lisa and their two kids, Peter and Kylie came over. Thanks to Grandma for cooking a delicous turkey!

We did lots of hanging out while all the kiddos played outside. Patrick, I think your favorite thing of the day was Uncle Jerry's hat. You were in awe. This was also one of the first times that you and Joey were awake at the same time, so you two were able to check each other out for a bit.

Ellie, as usual you played your little heart out with your cousins.

After the big meal some took a walk over to the park to feed the ducks.

Then came back for some desert and basketball and tree climbing.

 

Smiles

Patrick, you started smiling a lot this week. We are loving it! You give most of your smiles to the ceiling fan and Mr. Star but thankfully you share some with us as well.  You are six weeks old now and spend your awake times staring at the fan, watching Elise, or laying under your play gym and looking at the star. You still like to be swaddled like a burrito in order to eat and sleep so it is nice to let you move and get all your wiggles out when you are awake. You still give us a hard time for a good stretch of each day but we are crossing our fingers your fussiness will go away soon and more of your smiles will take over!

Imagination

Ellie, you have been developing quite the imagination lately. Your Daddy-o made you a little house out of a big box. The first night you were the little pig and daddy was the big bad wolf but then you quickly turned it into your school house. You got a little stool, chalk and board and said "I teach you." For some reason, you always want us to be laying down while you are teaching. If we are sitting on the floor you come and push our forheads and say "lay down" before you begin your lesson. You like to teach us the ABCs, nursery rhymes and how to walk, jump etc. You also love cooking food for us. You have a lot of play food. You tell us you are going to make lunch and say I'll be back in one minute and you serve us some delicious meals. You also cook some good meals from your playhouse outside.  I love it when you are in your playhouse and you look out the window and you yell at the monsters to go away. Sometimes that can keep you busy for quite a while. For some reason, you really don't like Cookie Monster and he is usually the one in our yard. You also like to chat on your phone to all of your friends and family. We don't know what you are talking about...but it is something good.

Stinker

I am pretty sure our honeymoon period with the two kids is over.  If you asked me a few weeks ago how things were going I'd say its great. But now things are starting to get a little more tricky. Ellie, I can't tell if it is just that you are 2, or you are adjusting to life with your brother but you have been pretty darn naughty lately. I try my hardest not to get too mad at you and remember that you are 2 but sometimes that is pretty hard. I know you are just a curious little thing but sometimes I wonder if you know exactly what you are doing because you tend to do these things when I have my hands tied up feeding your brother or trying to put him to sleep. For example, today I came out from laying him down and you had found the bag of Dumdum suckers. I looked around the living room and there were about 10 Dumdums licked and laying at various spots on the carpet. I am sure you were in heaven tasting all those suckers. That made for one sticky mess.  Last night you ate half of your banana but then took the other half, laid it on the floor and stepped on it mashing it up into gross little piles.  You loved the mashed up banana in between your toes. Thank goodness you did that in the kitchen and not on the carpet. The other day you took carmel that you dip your apples in for a treat and said "look mommy, I wash my hands with this." Carmel was everywhere! Thankfully MOST of your naughtiness consists of making messes with food and not torturing your brother. The other day you did throw a few pieces of puzzle at his head while I was feeding him. When you were sick last week we told you to stay away from your brother but instead you tried to love on him even more. A few times you came over and fake coughed right in his face on purpose. Naughty.
And then, there was that time a few days ago you came up to him and very sweetly wiped a booger on him...but that one made mommy laugh.

One Month

Patrick,
You turned one month today. You had an appointment this morning with the doctor and all is well. You are doing all the things you should be doing like a champ... our healthy little butterball. You are starting to relax and hang out a little more instead of wanting to be held all the time. You look around to find us when you hear our voices. You love being outside. I am pretty sure that you are the happiest in the bathtub. You are a little grunter and are very loud when you are making stinkies. You are very slobbery and often have bubbles of spit coming out of your mouth. You are also very very loved! Elise calls you brother most of the time but she also calls you Pacwick or Pancake. I love how you are a little snuggler. When we pick you up you shift around and get your body just how you want it and then you relax. Sometimes you have the cutest little smile as you drift off to sleep. It is the sweetest thing.

Weight  10 lb  50th percentile

Height 22 inches  50th percentile

Head 14.75 inches 20th percentile

It is Zoo time!

The weather is beautiful and we are able to have long mornings at the zoo again. Over the summer, when we head to the zoo it is usually for a quick trip and just to play at the splash pad. But now, the animals are out and active and you guys love watching them. You also love playing in the sand at the playground. You especially love being stroller free and running on the path. This trip to the zoo we even saw the tiger, who is always laying around in the shade, playing and running around. Patrick, this was Joey and your first trip to the zoo so we had our hands full. Thankfully Adam and Ella's mommy, Joni, had an extra set of hands to lend us so all went smoothly. She also gave us all tickets to ride the carousel. Ellie...you liked it at first. But soon after it started moving you freaked out...just like your cousin Mia.