Ho Ho Christmas..

So, it sounded like a sweet game plan. We've been talking up Santa for WEEKS now. What does Santa say? Ho Ho Kiss-mas (see previous posts). What does Santa bring you? Presents. Do you love Santa? Yes (I know, this one's kind of pushing it).

We show up at the Dison's Christmas Cookie Exchange today. We are ready. Too cute camo Hunting For Santa outfits on (again)? Check. Happy, well fed/well rested twins? Check. Getting familiar with our new surroundings for Santa's big arrival? Check (see below)


We here the bells. Yes, Santa is here! Do we want to go investigate? Yes! Is that Santa? Yes! Do we want to go see Santa... pause... look up at Mommy... RUN! No, No, No! Ok, let's give it a 10 minute break and try again. Want to see Santa? No. Well, darn. Ross, want to just make them do it anyway? Ok...


Better luck next year :o)

Holiday Happenings

2009 is almost at a close and we're really enjoying the holiday season thus far. Last year we had 2 still crawling children on our hands who were transitioning, grumpily, from 2 naps to 1 and not quite 'getting it.' This year, oh boy do they 'get it!' All they can talk about is Christmas lights, presents, Santa Clause, presents, and baby Jesus' birthday. According to Reid, Santa says "Ho, Ho Kiss-mas" and baby Jesus wants Happy Birthday sung to him every day. Eva wants presents! More presents PLEASE! (Well, at least she said please).

Let me back track a bit. Thanksgiving was wonderful! It started with a family 6K run/walk we did first thing in the morning and ended at Susie and Uncle Scott's house. The kids were all bundled up for the race and then played with their 'favorite' cousins all afternoon.



Ah, and next came the annual family oyster roast. Actually, the boat parade was the night before, but I forgot my camera and Meema has all of those pictures. I'll have to back track a bit in my postings later..

They Annual Barkoskie Oyster Roast was a great success! The weather was pleasantly chilly, perfect for oysters, s'mores, low country boil, and of course, hayrides. Oh, and Ross made his absolutely fabulous chili. There wasn't a bite left!

Meema and Papa got the kids matching outfits. They say 'Hunting for Santa' and were absolutely adorable. Here they are posing with cousin Will.


They hayrides were a blast as well as the s'mores. Once again, the kids really 'got it' this year and it just makes everything a whole lot more fun!







Next up is holiday cookie baking tomorrow, our buddy Brosnan's 1st birthday Saturday, our neighbor's party Saturday night, and then a cookie exchange Sunday. Whew, I'm going to be exhausted by the time Christmas actually gets here! But it sure is a blast :-)

Happy Belated Birthday to Y'all

The twins are officially 2, in both physical form and 'spirit' if you know what I mean. Welcome to the terrific twos!

They had an absolute blast at their birthday party. It was more low key this year with just family and, of course, Elmo. The little furry creature was everywhere. Eva was so overwhelmed she just started jumping up and down and could hardly catch her breath when she saw all of the decorations! I even made Elmo cupcakes. Just call me Martha Stewart. or not.


Meema and Papa got them new tricycles and they were a hit!



Eating cupcakes and opening gifts were fun since this year; they 'got it.' Can't wait until Christmas!





And finally- the aftermath of all the fun. What a great day. Happy Birthday Eva! Happy Birthday Reid! (Yes, I made everyone sing the song twice :)

Is It Really Almost November?

I have a million excuses why I haven't posted anything in, oh, MONTHS on this blog (starting a new job at work, studying for and passing my stock broker's licensing exam, getting sick for 3 weeks, etc., etc.) but basically I just haven't had the time to do it. So, time for new fall beginnings!

Our little mockingbirds are cracking me up all of the time now. Their favorite sentence is "______ (insert requested object/person here), where are you??" The way they say it is like Ricky Ricardo with "Lucy, I'm home." Like I said, it cracks me up. Eva has also picked up quite the un-southernly, rude answer of 'uh-huh' to the questions she'd like to respond 'yes' to. Mommy's not happy about that, so we're working on the 'yes m'am' with no such luck yet.

As of Monday, they will officially be in the 2 year old room which means no more progress reports home (eek) and no sippy cups at school (double eek). That also means at some point in the next year, I should hopefully have two potty-trained, big boy/girl underwear wearing toddlers. Down with the diapers and good riddens (TBD).

We are just kicking off the Halloween festivities. I brought them up to Merrill Lynch this afternoon in their oh so adorable handmade Bam-Bam and Pebbles costumes and they were an absolute hit. We'd been practicing wearing costumes and trick-or-treating at home and I was pleased that they are quick learners! (And no, the costumes are not handmade by me- thank you Aunt Katie!)








Style... we have plenty of it around here lately. You've gotta love toddler style. Please keep in mind all of these outfits were chosen by the dynamic duo themselves- no parental intervention.

Yes, Daddy is proud... Go Blue


Eva's a big fan of shoes (no idea where she got THAT one from). These happened to be Ross' house slippers.


And here's her too big Crocs. Note the lack of pants and striped socks. Gotta love her!


That's it for now. More to come after the REAL Halloween festivities tomorrow!

Hot Fun in the Summertime..

Where has the time gone? August already (well, almost)? Wait, could that mean FALL is just around the corner?? I wish. In all reality, we're a good 3 months away from any relief from the stifling heat. Oh well- such is Florida, and such is our home.

Speaking of home, if we're not outside with some body of water nearby, we're getting very crafty and kooky at home. Oh yes, who needs toys when you have an empty box, toilet paper, and indoor bumper cars? Who knew?




Ross and I- thanks to wonderful angels Meema, Grammy, and Aunt Shirley- got to escape to St. Petersburg Beach mid-July and enjoyed every minute of it. Well, besides the fact we saw kids EVERYWHERE and missed ours dearly. The ladies and the dynamic duo had a ball and wore each other out the whole time. The road the train at the Town Center, went to the pool, visited the Children's Hands On museum, and read many, many books:



Weird Habits.

I think we're getting into the age of strange habits and quirky behaviors (and I love it). Hey, I'm a little odd myself and think it's refreshing to have children who think outside of the norm. Cases in point..

Reid woke up early from his nap, as did Eva. Eva curled up on Daddy- end of story. Reid slept on the sofa with me for awhile, then decided he wanted to get up, only to climb on the other sofa and fall back asleep.


Tonight, before reading Goodnight Moon, Eva dug around in her armoire and fished out her sun hat (which, by the way, she refuses to wear outside). Reid, as a good little brother always does, proceeded to follow. Now, we have reading hats.


Finally, major physical milestones don't happen nearly as often as they did those first 18 months, but we have one more step in growing older today.... officially sitting at the grown-ups table. Reid's legs aren't fitting under the tray of the highchair anymore, so we have to make them booster seats and scoot them up to the table. They were in heaven :)

Home Alone

Well, not really. I'm never really alone, but it's not the same without Ross here. Meema has been a big help and our Aunt Angela just left for the night. She's going to meet us at the pool tomorrow morning for round 2 of toddler swim lessons. It's late and I haven't slept well since Ross has been gone, so I'll make this a short one.



Enough said. Goodnight!

P.S, and this, too :)

Happy Father's Day Ross

Dear Daddy,

We are so happy to have you as our Daddy. You help Mommy do everything around the house, you cook dinner for us, you clean, you read books to us, you play with us outside, you tickle us until we cry, and you sing us to sleep at night. We don't know what we would do without you.

We Love You,

Eva (Baby Girl) and Reid (Big Boy)

P.S. Mommy doesn't know what she would do without you, too.

The Dog Days of Summer..

... are upon us. It's supposed to be 99 here today and 100 tomorrow. Factor in the humidity and the heat index level is over 110. Yippee!

The twins are doing wonderfully. We're still going through the on again, off again toddler sicknesses and Eva has her ENT appointment July 1st. Let's hope we don't have another ear infection between now and then.

We started our first swim lessons a week ago with our wonderful 'Aunt' Angela at our neighborhood's community pool. We blew bubbles, floated on our backs, kicked around, and even dunked under water without screaming. I'd say it was a success! Here's the dynamic duo taking a break:


Lately, Reid's had a lot of fun practicing using real, non-sippy cups with water outside at school, which means we've seen him come home with a completely new change of clothes almost every day. Well, one day this week we forgot to send a new change of clothes with him and this is what he willfully wore the entire afternoon. His teacher Miss Courtney was laughing so hard when I walked in because she really tried to not have to change him but he was just too wet. Wait until his future wife sees this one day (note the pink paci was just the cherry on top):


The many faces of Eva. This could have been a blog in itself, but I didn't want to get too carried away. Oh her little personality is showing itself in many forms these days. Case(s) in point:

'Happy' Eva, relaxing by the pool:


'Time Out' Eva, because she wouldn't stop hitting her brother:


'Leave Me Alone and Don't Question What I'm Doing' Eva:


'Meema Tells Mommy I'm Her Little Payback' Eva: