Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a countless number of reasons to be thankful today...and everyday. I love this picture so much...my two greatest accomplishments...and two of the many things I am thankful for!

The World According to Jack...some of his favorite phrases these days!

1. "OH...MINE...GOD!" He hears me say this when I am talking on the phone...of course, I say "Oh my God", but I like his little take on it.
2. "NOOOOO, EM!" this is commonly heard when Emma comes remotely close to anything that Jack considers to be his. This phrase is always accompanied by outstreched arms and his little hands waving wildly as if to keep Emma away like she is a disease. His new favorite possessions are the catalogues that come in the mail and advertise toys!
3. "Can Jack have that toy?" usually followed by "Can Jack play with that toy?" As he pages through his catalogues or watches the commercials on TV, this is what we hear at least 100 times a day. Joel and I have been telling him that when he poops on the potty he can pick out any toy he likes...and yet I am still changing diapers full of toddler goodness. What's funny is that when Jack asks now, we say "What are we going to tell you?" and he smiles real big and says, "Poop in potty!" Yes, Jack, that is right, just do it already!!!
4. "CHECK IT OUT!" This phrase is also used as he thumbs through his catalogues. This is one of my favorites, because he is so excited when he says it!
5. "THAT'S COOL!" Another phrase he picked up from me. In my world, everything is cool. I didn't realize how much I said it until he started saying it, too!
6. "DAMN IT!" My fault...oops. The funny thing is that he uses it in the appropriate context.
7. "I want sumpin!" translation: I want something. The annoying thing about this phrase is that he never specifies what it is that he wants! He will just hang off your leg and whine repeatedly "I want sumpin, I want sumpin!" These are the times I wish Jack had a mute button.
8. "Get out your big bed!" This is what Jack says when he walks into our room in the wee hours of the morning. Usually followed by, "I go downstairs!" Once downstairs, he blesses us with a symphony of "I want sumpin."
9. "I WANNA GET OW A HERE!" translation: "I want to get out of here." Frequently heard during time out or nap time.
10. "You go to work and be a nurse?" This is what Jack says to me when he sees me in scrubs. I taught him to answer the question, "What do nurses do?" The answer is "take care of people." Jack says it "take cow a pople". Very cute.

The other day I was sitting in the recliner just watching Jack and Emma be, and I thought how much I love Jack's little language. I laugh to myself all day when I hear him talk, and I thought I had better write down all the cute things he says now before he learns any more! Emma is certainly developing her own little language, too. Right now, though, it consists of "Mama" and "yeah". She will answer "yeah" to any question you ask her. It is so cute when you ask her something like, "Are you going to love me forever and ever, and always think I am the coolest person you know?" and she smiles a shy little smile and replies "yeah".

Halloween cuties!

There is no time to write anything at this moment because Jack is hanging on my leg begging for more candy. But, I just had to post this pic...my new favorite! Have you ever seen a sweeter Spiderman and Snow White?

Dinosaur cuties!

I actually got Jack and Emma to sit still together long enough for me to get these pics! I had to bribe Jack with popcorn, of course. Heaven forbid he do something merely for the fact that it would make me happy! Though, I should add...the other night when I was leaving Jack's room after putting him to bed, he said, "I love you, Mommy" as I was about to pull his door closed. Usually, I have to say it first, but not that time! I thought my heart would explode right out of my chest! And he said it so genuinely. There are no sweeter words in the English language than those three put together and said by a child. I am so blessed!

It is so fun...

...to play with my blog! So many templates to choose from...this is the one I like best today! Here is our latest attempt at a family picture. One of these days, I will get a picture where both of my children are smiling and looking at the camera at the same time!

Why...

does part of my last post look single-spaced and the other part look double-spaced??? I did not do that! Are there any superstar bloggers out there that know how to fix that? Here I am making my blog all pretty with my new template...and now it is being a pain in my ass! This is how I feel right now...Emma will illustrate my frustration for you...

Long time, no write...

I have a very good excuse for not writing in a while...I have taken up reading! Michelle recommended some books to me, saying how they were sooooooo good, and she was right! It is the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer. I am on the second book now, and I have my mom reading the first. Thank you, Michelle, for the recommendation! I had forgotten how much I like to read! I also recently read James Patterson's "Sunday's at Tiffany's" with some girls from work. It, too, was excellent, and I would highly encourage you to read it!

Since I last wrote, we have done some exciting things! Emma had her first birthday party, which was very fun! She was much more dainty when eating her smash cake that Jack had been at his first birthday party.

When she was done, though, it was easy to see why it is called a "smash" cake.

Emma had zero interest in opening presents, so I did all the work with my little helpers, Jack and his girlfriend, Elena. Elena is the daughter of one of my best friends, Jamie. So, I am sure you can imagine what it is like having two 2 year-olds help with opening gifts. They fought over every toy! It really was funny! Joel and Jamie played referee and eventually both Jack and Elena went to time out. I even had to take one toy that they refused to share and put it in time out before Emma even saw what it was! It was very classic birthday party chaos. Once all the party guests left, Jack and Elena played much nicer together, and Emma was content playing with a pink bow that had been on one of her gifts. It really was a very nice day!

Later that week, Emma went to the doctor for her 1 year check-up. She is in the 75th percentile for height and only the 20th for weight! She doesn't even weigh enough to move up to her big girl car seat yet! When the doctor asked if she was walking yet and I said no, he seemed stunned. Based on how early she started crawling and cruising along the furniture, he expected me to say yes. He said she probably was capable of walking but was just lazy! I agree! Her majesty, as we call her here, is sooooo lazy! That girl still won't even hold her own bottle! She can hold toys, a sippy cup, and feed herself, but she refuses to hold that bottle! Now that she is one year old, we are switching her from formula to whole milk, which she is tolerating well....a lot better than Jack did! But, she will only drink the milk from a bottle, and she won't hold it. When we ate dinner tonight, we put her in her high chair and gave her chicken and strawberries, which she was happy to feed herself. We also gave her a sippy cup of milk and she screamed for a half-hour at it! I let her win and finally poured the milk into a bottle. I thought my head may explode if I didn't. And that would've been one more mess for me to clean up.

The following Saturday, we went to a local pumpkin patch. Joel and I were so excited...Jack and Emma seemed bored. Joel and I were walking around and talking real excited like "Ooooooo, look at this cool pumpkin!" and our kids were looking at us like we were losers.


We picked out two pumpkins in the patch, which I thought was really fun, and then we got to take a hayride back up. Later that day, Jack and Emma were both acting real pitiful...runny noses, watery eyes and the most pathetic little cough you ever heard. Jack understands "blow" when you hold a tissue to his nose, but Emma just does not get it. With her, you just have to wait for the snot to start dripping and then wipe it off. And you have to get it before she takes her hand and spreads the snot into her hair and her eyes. If you don't get the Jack snot in time, he either uses his shirt sleeve or the curtains or he walks along the couch and drags his nose on the cushions. I am not kidding...it is gross. I cleaned the sliding glass doors in the kitchen today, and found lots of little boogers on the glass. I could tell who they once belonged to because some were down low, like Emma must have done a crawl-by boogering, and others were grouped together on the edge of the door near the corner of the kitchen where Jack stands for time-out. I guess picking your nose is a good way to pass time when you are bored and stuck in one place. Maybe that's why people do it when they are sitting in traffic? Have you ever noticed that? You are sitting in traffic and you look to either side of you and in your rearview mirror and everyone is discreetly "itching" their nose.

So my week has consisted mostly of snot, with poopy diapers thrown in here and there, as well. I had to work Monday and Wednesday, which one may think would be a nice break from the cooties, but remember...I work in a hospital. In my world, there is no escape from the cooties.

Something wonderful happened on Thursday when Jamie gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Owen!! Elena is now a big sis! Joel and I went to visit them in the hospital on Friday night. Owen is soooooo adorable, and he looks just like his beautiful mommy. I am so happy for Jamie, Greg and Elena now that their family has one more! And of course, holding a sweet angel of a baby in my arms totally made me want another! I think Joel may have felt a bit of a baby itch when he held Owen, too, but he certainly isn't looking to start pro-creating again just yet!

So, that's my story...hopefully, my babies will be feeling better before I have to go back to work on Wednesday...and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Joel and I do not catch this cold of theirs! That is one thing I would be okay with Jack and Emma not sharing!