Hmmm

So for some reason the link to our videos is not working. I have contacted the company to find out what is going on. HOPEFULLY, it will be resolved soon and my videos will be back up!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

**Our video link is back up and is working. I added a few new videos and will be adding

more in the next few days. Wow, another year has ended. Crazy!

X-mas 08

Here are a few shots from Christmas day. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely and didn't know what to do with all of the wonderful presents they received.

From our family to yours - Happy Holidays!!

More Grandma

Last night on the way home from some friends who have twin girls the same age as Noah/TJ, TJ was looking at a photo album. She said, "there's my grandmother." And thus a convo between her and Noah began. Noah finally said, "she's all gone, she went away in her pink castle." Of course an argument began over what color the castle was. LOL TJ insisted it was purple and Noah said, "no - my grandmother likes pink." TJ would say, "no, my grandmother likes purple." It was cute. :o)

'T' for TJ

So TJ is getting pretty good at copying over her name when it is written on her paper. However, today she wrote her 'T' all by herself! She first drew the line going down, then from the top middle drew a little line left and then went back to the top middle and drew the little line to the right. She then proceeded to get upset since her 'J' looked like a 'ball' as she put it but the 'T' looks awesome! Wahooo!!

Noah & His Grandma

*Just before naps.

Me: Noah, why are you so sad?
Noah: I miss my grandma.
Me: I miss her too sweetie. Why don't you tell her that you miss her?
Noah: She can't hear me.
Me: How come?
Noah: She's working.
Noah: Mom, the doctor has to fix her.
Me: (Holding back a sniffle) Oh, ok honey. Let's go in your room and see if you can find her today to let her know.
Noah: Ok mom. I want to say hi to her.
Me: Me too Noah.

Silly Animated Card

http://animatedcaricatures.vistaprint.com/lp/r/c/s/r/carolers.html?view=67%3f%3e%3e%3dDD%3eD%3a99%3d%3d%3cAC%3f%4099%3a9%3d%3e%40*u%24yvA78kyuzoykkkj%7cton%24zxl%7b7%22t!%23ouxpv%7d8n%7bz%3dfi6i8%3b%3a%40%3cp47i%3d%3aBooC%3bf%3e%3c%3d6%3el%3f%3d%3b%3e%3a%3e96%3c%40pop7%3a9%3dm%3d%3f%3a%22%27k%24yok2%3b8-%3e1%2671%27

What a Long Time!

I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted anything! Apparently I've been busy. One of my goals is to update the blog more frequently. The kids are really keeping me busy lately and in my down time I've been taking naps! :o) I have always enjoyed a good nap!



So besides the obvious giant holiday we've been busy creating Christmas decorations, getting ready for their 1st Christmas program at school, making cookies, getting over Roseola (TJ), as well as passing colds back and forth.



The kids have enjoyed getting into the holiday spirit SO MUCH. Several times we went out to look at lights. It's like crack for Noah and TJ. They can't get enough, always get the munchies while we are out, and they babble almost non-stop with giddiness. Holiday music is another level of excitement. Noah asks me what every song is and then he'll ask who sings it. Regardless of how new or old the song is, he will sing it as best as he can. Then he'll proceed to sing them around the house. Here is some proof. The first video is Noah doing "la la la" to Frosty the Snowman. The second is him singing "Jingle Bells". Enjoy! Grandma would be so proud!













As for our actual Christmas, I will be uploading pics/videos Friday or Saturday and I'll post about the special day then.

For now, I have a few stories/moments to share as well as reminding those of you who have some free time that I have uploaded some videos of the kids. They are really into interacting with each other - sometimes good and sometimes that ugly sibling rivalry rears its ugly head. They are so fun to listen to!! As always the video link is located to the right of the blog. Enjoy!

Me Noah, we need to get your milk. Noah: Mom, milk comes from cows. Me: Yes Noah, it does. Noah: Mom, pink milk comes from pigs. Strawberry milk comes from pink pigs! Me: All I could do was laugh.

TJ held up her shirt the other day and said, "mom, I'm holding my breath."

TJ has discovered the word "actually" and uses it ALL the time. "Actually mom, I would like grapes and not a banana." "Actually mom, ..." It's so much fun! :o)

Noah's new words are "anyone", "no one", "nothing" and "everyone". Not sure where he picked them up, but it's cute.

They both like to call us by our first names at times. The kids especially do it with Kevin. TJ will say, "Kevin. Kevin! Mere!" If you ask Noah who his dad is he will say, "Kevin Miles."

They never fail to entertain/amuse us on a daily basis. They wear me out but they are so much fun.

OH, TJ IS POTTY TRAINED!!! We haven't dared try out nap/overnight yet and what's the rush! But she has been in panties for 3-4 days and hasn't had an accident. For the past few weeks, she has been in pull-ups with a rare piddle here and there. That is HUGE considering how she entered this world! With Noah, it depends on the day. One day he uses the potty on his own EVERY time and the next day he has 2-3 accidents. The past 2 days he has done really well so we keep forging ahead.

Is There a Comedian in the House?

YES! We sure do have one - Noah! Not only does he crack himself up but also us. (Or vice versa!)

This morning, he and TJ were wrestling around on the floor. They were both laughing hysterically! Finally Noah determined that he had enough and said, "TJ, TJ, it's not funny any more!"

At the doctor's office on Thursday, the doc came in and said, "hello Noah." Noah replied with, "You have to fix TJ." Then he went back to playing with the airplane he had.

He also will sing EVERY song he knows on tune and in key with every word being "TJ". He sang, "You better not TJ, you better not TJ, you better not TJ, TJ TJ TJ TJ, Santa TJ is coming to TJ's town." He also sang, "TJ bells, TJ bells, TJ all the way." Then he proceeds to laugh with his head thrown back as if it's the funniest thing.

His new thing is potty humor. Yeah, nice. I won't give any specifics but it it's hard not to laugh.

Whenever he leaves the house and I stay behind he says, "see you soon mom. I'll miss you! Love you mom." No that's not comedic but it sure is cute!

So, all is well here. We're excited for Christmas with the kids this year. They are having so much fun learning holiday songs and checking out Christmas lights. TJ was sick with Roseola and she was a real gem to deal with. Poor baby! When she does not feel well, LOOK OUT! You definitely know it. Noah also had a rough time while she was sick as his best friend was missing. BUT, all is better now and they are back to loving on each other as well as fighting with each other. I love it and wouldn't want it any other way!

Happy Holidays everyone! Here are a few pictures from various holiday events we have attended so far.

Flashbacks!

So here is the famous Santa 2007 photo. Boy have times changed. Noah can't wait to see Santa to explain how he wants one of 2 things: a pink sports car or a pink truck. TJ, she could care less what she gets. She just wants a toy or a book. Well, until she sees what Noah gets and THAT is what she would want. Gotta love the sibling rivalry that has been quickly creeping up with them lately.

All Together Now - Awwwww!

So Kevin has been out of town since Monday morning and won't be back until next Tuesday. At least two different times in the past 24 hours, Noah has come up to me and said, "I miss daddy." It just breaks my heart! So this is what I found when I came downstairs from putting the kids to bed.

Noah had stacked his shoes inside Kevin's when we came home from errands this evening. The kids ALWAYS put their shoes in the shoe box but not tonight. How adorable is that?!

Santa Came Early and Tom Cruise as a Kid??

We went ahead and had the kids' pictures taken with Santa since Kevin is out of town until next Tuesday. I wanted to make sure we had them done before the kids ended up sick or with something and we weren't able to go. Yes, that means that I'm trying to be more organized!

So here is this year's Santa picture! You'll notice that unlike last year, there are NO tears! Noah didn't want to get down. He was so into cuddling with Santa with that cozy, fluffy suit! It's all about the comfort factor and snuggling with that one. TJ on the other hand was all business (as further described in the Thanksgiving post.) She saw the camera and made sure to sit up nice and tall while she did her "cheeeeeese!" This was the only decent picture however as Noah kept falling further and further into Santa's suit/hat. It was funny to watch though. We are pleased with this picture though.

So you'll notice that I have a picture of TJ in her lovely dress but not a pic of Noah all dressed up. That's because. . .

he came in, took off his pants to go potty and then was channeling Tom Cruise from Risky Business!

What's with the leg cross? He looks as if he is ready to hit the town and pick up some chicks!

Turkeys for Thanksgiving! (yes we had 2!!)

Let's see... Thanksgiving was wonderful! We spent the day at our nanny's aunt's house. Lots of fabulous southern style cooking that the kids just devoured! (Especially Noah!) With each bite you could hear him saying, "mmm!" TJ got her first taste of greens and couldn't get enough. They also enjoyed being around some older aunt/grandma-aged women. They certainly got their share of hugs, singing, and stories and they ate that up too! While it's definitely not the same as their real family, it sure did fill the void for this holiday.

So here's a brief explanation of the following pictures. I was trying to capture a few pics of the kids TOGETHER (near impossible it seems) on Thanksgiving day. TJ saw the camera and struck her "catwalk" pose. She then said, "wait mom" while she posed by the couch with a slight head turn. Finally she said, "mom wait wait wait, not yet." And that's when she went to the chair and leaned up against it as she looked toward the camera. Um, can we say DIVA! YIKES!!

Cool Contest!

Need a cute gift for a baby? Babysnazz is a very neat site with some adorable items. (They are also having a great sale on certain items right now!) I posted their link to the right under my 'links'. They are also having a cool contest! The link will take you there. Enjoy!!

Holiday Parade 08

We took the kids to our local holiday parade today and they had a GREAT time!

They saw fire trucks, llamas, horses, the policemen doing tricks on their motorcycles,

the Shriners on their go-carts, bands, dancers, etc. Here are some shots!

Say What?

Here are some more funny/cute/priceless comments & conversations from the kids.

Mom to TJ: "My goodness! You sure do have ants in your pants girlfriend!"
TJ: Jumps down off of my lap and says, "mom, I just wiped them off."

I took the kids for a walk the other day and during a "flower sniffing" break, Noah hugged TJ and said, "you're my best sister, TJ." Of course TJ replied, "you're my best brother, Noah."

We were reading books up in the kids' room and TJ asked Kevin if he wanted to come and sit down next to her and read the book with her. He sat next to her and she said, "DAD - you have to wait your turn!"

Kevin came out of his office one day to help TJ with her shoes/coat and TJ said, "Dad, go back to your office."

Noah's big thing lately is to do EVERYTHING on his own. If you offer to help him he will say, "no fank you. I will help myself."

Speaking of his manners, whenever I tell him that I love him he says, "fank you mom" while he has the biggest grin. It just warms my heart!

Noah also thinks he is slick with trying to manipulate us. I told him that it was time to go upstairs for quiet time and he said, "ok mom. I'll have a cookie first and then I'll go upstairs. OK." He answers 'OK' as if to let me know it's ok and that I have Ok'd it. It's too funny.

Whenever Noah sees a camera, he smiles and says, "cheeseburger!"

We were waiting for the kids' respite worker to come over so that Kevin and I could go out on a date the other night. TJ was waiting for her on the couch and as soon as she saw her she said, "oh my gosh!!!" and began jumping up and down. It was just priceless!

Noah came up to me the other morning and said, "mom I want you to take off your glasses so that I can see your pretty blue eyes."

Sibling Love

I love when Noah & TJ are cuddly and loving with each other. The other day we were having "family time" in bed and Noah turned to TJ and said, "TJ - kiss." So she kissed him. Then she said it to him and the exchange continued a few more kisses. TJ then put her head down on Noah's tummy for a hug and then Noah said, "TJ TJ TJ NO! Don't lay on my tummy. That's my privates!" All I could do was giggle.

I love when they are doing something so funny (to each other) that they just laugh uncontrollably while everyone else in the room wonders what the heck is so funny.

They have also decided that it is fun to ride on the other one's back like an animal. The animal changes each time but they think it is the funniest thing and they always collapse on the ground giggling.

I absolutely LOVE these moments and cherish each and every one of them while looking forward to the next "sibling love" moment while praying to not have a "sibling fight" break out.

Turkey Day

The kids had their first Thanksgiving Feast celebration at school last Friday. Their

class dressed up as pilgrims and the K and 1st grades dressed up as indians. I can't

think of much to say except that the pictures will speak for themselves!

PeeWee's Playhouse

Remember this show?? Well Kevin has been doing research for a new children's show he will be helping pitch sometime in the next few months. He was watching an episode of PeeWee's Playhouse on his computer. As soon as Noah & TJ heard the music, they both came running and climbed up on Kevin. Here is a shot I captured of the kids. They were so enthralled by the show! So much to take in and they had so many questions about what was going on. It was so cute! They both look so serious but they were laughing up a storm! Maybe they were studying it to create their own show one day to follow in daddy's footsteps!

The Next Evel Knievel??

So TJ is the daredevil of the two and has no fear. For months she has been flying down the driveway and off of the curb on her scooter (much to Kevin's dismay and fear) as well as anything else with wheels. In the past month she has mastered pedaling - big wheels, trikes, etc. If she can barely reach the pedals, she's gone! Noah could care less and figures that if it moves just by him pushing his feet on the ground, he's good!

And here she is on her scooter. Seriously, she has been riding her scooter down the driveway for a few months! She just sees other kids doing things and figures, "I can do that!" For instance, there were kids jumping off a 20 foot high inflatable slide, landing about halfway down, and sliding the rest of the way down. What does TJ do at the top of the slide on her next turn? Yep, she jumps off! Luckily she does not have that great of a broad jump and slides down just fine. However, my heart did skip a beat for a brief moment. Let the games begin!!!

Legs - Pulling & Jumping!

Yes, Noah is totally pulling my leg with his "Noah starts with a T." He is such a silly boy! As to the question I asked him re: our country, we had gone to vote and had been talking quite a bit about voting, our country, etc. That's why he said that we need to find our flag. He was referring to his "I voted" sticker that he had on his shirt earlier that day.

As for TJ, I think her one-legged jumping says it all. She has SO much energy and absolutely NO FEAR! Definitely keeps me on my toes!

So the music you can hear in the background (if you can tune TJ's lovely recorder playing) is from "Imagination Movers". The kids LOVE the music from there; especially Noah. He would make his Grandma E. so proud with his love for music. If a sad song comes on the radio/tv, he comes in with saddest eyes and says, "mommy, turn it to a happy song. I don't want to hear a sad song." He is so affected by music whether happy or sad. He sure is our sensitive little lover boy!!

Here's the continuation of their dance time! They just LOVE moving and shaking to the music. Sometimes they will come up to me and say, "mom, let's rock it out!" It is so funny!

Trick or Treat Virgins - NO MORE!

Noah and TJ LOVED everything about Trick-or-Treating. TJ had to hug EVERY skeleton, witch, mummy, and goblin with eyeballs hanging out. Noah couldn't get enough of the lights and spooky music at some houses. They both ran from house to house while Noah was absolutely giddy! Both kids LOVED all of the kids in costumes and squealed with delight as each kid passed them. The joy in their laughter was so much fun for Kevin and me. You can probably hear us reminding the kids what to say. At each house, they would start by saying, "thank you" instead of "trick-or-treat". Hey, can't complain that they don't have good manners! They also enjoyed getting a glimpse into other people's homes. At one point Noah said to a lady, "I want to come in!" It was so cute! All in all it was a wonderful evening - even if the BIG BAD WOLF was hanging around!

Potty 101

1. You MUST be fashionable even when on the potty!

Sunglasses, a scarf, beads, or a necklace will do.

2. A cool, refreshing beverage on hand is a MUST!

3. Be careful with your accessory so that it does not fall into the potty!

Melts My Heart

So Noah hasn't been the "kindest" of fellows these past few days. Poor thing has a snotty nose and is going through the "terrible twos" to say the least! So after getting him to go down for a "nap" today, I heard him yell out, "I'm talking to my grandma! I love you grandma!" We talk a lot about my mom and I show them lots of pictures, talk about all of the things she was able to make for them before they were born (their blankets and pillows, etc), we even have a yellow butterfly that visits us most days that they call the Grandma Butterfly. (Actually, the other kids in our court call it that too. It's very cute.) So I got up to try and hear what Noah was talking about and all I heard was, "play piano." (Which my mom did.) It was so interesting to hear. The messages we receive from our loved ones are just priceless.

Our 1st Trip to an Amusement Park

When I first posted about our exciting trip to Funderland - I wasn't able to upload any pictures. I did post a few earlier today on that post but here are a couple more that my friend took. (She has twin girls who are a week younger than Noah & TJ.) It took a little while for Noah & TJ to warm up to the idea of going on the rides, but after lunch they couldn't get enough! They even went on a pony ride! Just a few weeks ago I tried to get them on ponies and they both FREAKED!! Noah even went on with a lady who worked with the horses! That is HUGE for him. All in all it was a great time and we are planning on going this Friday as well.

The Great Pumpkin

We went to a pumpkin farm about 30 minutes away today for the kids 1st school field trip! This place is so much fun! We did a hay ride, a train ride, picked out pumpkins, enjoyed the pig races, explored various tree houses/slides/train cars, and had some delicious fresh apple cider. It was a wonderful day and Kevin was lucky enough to go with us and have some fall fun!

TJ looking out an old train car window - reflecting on her day.

Noah hanging out in an old western town.

TJ once again in her pensive mode.

Oh yeah, this is MY pumpkin!

Dad, I really like this pumpkin. It's green, different, and squishy. (Yes, that means rotting.) Oh well, he picked it and we are supportive of the kids' choices. He doesn't realize that it didn't make it home though. Hee Hee

Believe it or not, but this 'little' girl from Noah & TJ's class is only (drum roll please....... 3 1/2!!) Uh, she is quite tall!! I had her sister a few years ago in my 1st grade class and she was really tall as well. Noah seems to be quite fond of her!

FUNderland

We went to Funderland with our twin friends Kiana & Jenna. It's a little amusement park with 15 rides like the teacups, old-fashioned cars, a mini-log ride, carousel, etc. The kids all had SO much fun! They even had the pony rides going and both kids saddled up and LOVED it! Noah got to ride on Candy and TJ was on Dusty. (Sound kind of like stripper names if you ask me!) Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures as I had my hands full with the kids. Here are a few from the car ride though. On the way home, the kids both asked me if we were going back to Funderland and if we could take Daddy.

For some reason, I can't upload pictures. Hmmm, weird. I'll try tomorrow. You can always check out our Kodak Gallery site. We have a few pics there. :o)

Our Getaway

So we have had a busy last week! We spent a few days in Windsor, CA. We stopped at The Jelly Belly Factory where we took a tour and had some yummy treats!

We also spent some time in Bodega Bay at the beach. The kids LOVE to run in the sand and play at the water's edge.

Although it snuck up on TJ and startled her. She fell down and was soaked. Lucky for us, she shook it off and kept on playing! Here she is 'drying off' in a fluffy blanket!

We had a relaxing time and the kids are at such a wonderful age! They loved learning about everything and had so many questions about their surroundings. We even stopped at The Jelly Belly Factory on the way home since TJ kept asking, "Where is the big Jelly Belly man? I want to give hims a hug and a kiss." It was so adorable! Of course the dude is like 25 feet tall so once we got there she was like, "no, I don't want to go see him, mom."