They allow us to have children

Merry Christmas

Sledding

Last week we went over to our friends house to play in the snow.

As you can see, they loved sledding.

And here's a picture of sassy Alison. 

These pictures are about as recent as they get - I thought I would share them early.  I'm going to try to upload everything I have to Flickr before the girls and I leave for Washington.

Zuzu is 2 Years Old!

I still can't believe that our baby is 2 years old already.  I took her in for her 2-year check and she's HUGE although still perfectly proportioned at 90th across the board, 35 3/4 inches tall and 31 1/2 pound.  She is still our little clown and will do almost anything for a laugh.  Ali was pretty silly too but Zuzu is more deliberately goofy.  I guess most of you will see her next week so you can see for yourself. 

Here are some pictures from her party:

With her presents.  We kept asking her how old she was (she can say 2 perfectly) but she just kept saying "presents".  Very cute.

She got a "Sit and Spin" which she LOVES.

With her cake - she chose Dora, ugh.

And finally a classic picture of the girls - it's impossible to get a good picture of the two of them together.  Oh well, it's funny.

More Updates & A Visit With Santa

This is better.

In the month of October (the last time I posted anything), we went to the pumpkin farm

Grandma Margie visited

And the girls were both bumblebees for Halloween this year.

During the month of November, Grandma Christine came to visit, but sadly I don't have those pictures done yet.  I have been very behind lately and quite busy so my internet life has suffered.  But I am trying to catch up and have started posting pictures to flickr again, so go there and enjoy.

December has already been pretty busy too.  I'll have to get back into posting some of the funny everyday things that the girls have been doing.  Alison continues to come up with some pretty crazy quotes and Zuzu is well on her way.  She turned 2 a week ago and we celebrated her Birthday last weekend (those pictures are still in the camera).  In the past couple weeks she has really started expanding her vocabulary - adding words faster than I can keep track.  One of her favorites is "Santa" which she says perfectly and which brings us to the whole point of this update.

We went to see Santa yesterday!!!!  And what a day it was.  First of all, Alison talked to him for the first time.  We all sat on the floor and talked to him for a while and he told the girls all about his toy factory.  Ali told him how old she was, how old Zuzu was, answered all of his questions and gave him fives in response to "Do you help Mommy when Mommy needs help?  Sleep in your own bed?  Eat your vegetables?  Brush your teeth?  Be nice to each other?"  etc.  Zuzu was giving him fives too.  Then he asked them to sit in his chair next to Frosty.

They were both smiling!  And then something even more amazing happened.  They both sat of his lap!!!!

Something I never thought would happen.  This Santa is indeed magic.  He had them both giggling too, playing pat-a-cake with their hands.  Amazing.  This picture didn't turn out as cute but I ordered one anyway for proof.

Anyway, that's all for now.  I better say Merry Christmas too because I don't know if I'll have time to make another post for a while.  I don't even know if anybody checks anymore.  I better go call the Grandparents and tell them to at least look at the recent pictures. 

Later.

Ok, lets update some more. In September Alison started preschool. From the very first day everything has gone well. She loves it! Here's a photo from her very first day. Ok, I have to figure out how to make a post with multiple pictures. Give me a minute.

Wow, I know it's been a while. I don't even know how this will turn out because they changed this whole site since the last time I made a post. Maybe I should test this. I'll try a picture too.

An Ali Quote From a Moment Ago

Zuzu was knocking over some block creation she was making: 

"I am tired of having a baby in the world." 

Sometimes My Life Seems Like a Musical

I swear sometimes I feel like I live in a musical.  Alison just sang (in the strangest little voice):  "I put a slipper on my tooooooooe and I run around slooooooooow".  What a strange and silly little girl.  Of course Zuzu is the perfect audience for this kind of silliness and I think Ali really enjoys making her laugh.

By the way, as I'm typing this she's still out in the living room singing some other crazy, made up, rhyming song.

Vegetarian Proclamation

Daddy guest post:

We have always noticed that Alison doesn't care for meat.  Originally we thought it was because of the texture.  Then, at about the age of 3, she declared that "animals don't want to be eaten."  But we never explained that "chicken" at the dinner table was the same as the "chicken" in her Fisher Price farm.  We also never explained that "beef" was the same as "cow" but for some reason she still never eats it.  Well, here's what happened at the dinner table tonight:

Alison to daddy, who was eating a chicken leg:
"Why are you always eating stuff like that?  Is it because that is your favorite type of stuff to eat?"

Daddy to Alison, who was eating a biscuit:
"I don’t know, because I like chicken.  Why are you always eating stuff like THAT?"

Alison to daddy:
Because I don’t like eating stuff like THAT.  Silky especially doesn’t like eating animals.  But since Silky is a cat, she sometimes eats FISH. 

So, there you have it.

There was no revalation, no day of reckoning, no day of horror when she realized that at the dinner table we were eating her beloved animal friends.  As it turns out, she has known all along.  

Chicken or beef?  No thanks, the four year old will have the vegetarian plate, thank you.

Tonights Quote

"You need to be very aware of Super Silky"