Christmas in Cincinnati



Christmas greetings from Cincinnati:)


Our traveling Christmas show began in Cincinnati the Friday before Christmas. We decided to have the babies open their gifts from us at home, rather than lug all the gifts and everything else to Cleveland and Pittsburgh.  Anna and John loved opening their gifts. See for yourself:)

It's a shopping cart ...

and play food!!!

 

 

Abby Cadabby tea set

LOL Elmo

A and J checking out the first snowfall of the year. 

 

Christmas in Cleveland

 

We continued our annual Christmas tradition of taking Sean, Brian and Regan to Dave and Buster's for their Christmas gift.  Gramma and Poppa were nice enough to keep Anna and John at home with them so we could relax a bit and enjoy spending time with our niece and nephews.  It was great spending time with everyone, including Tom, Trace, Andi and Kevin! All the kids and parents had a blast :)

 

Trace, Brian and Uncle John

Enjoying lunch and an adult beverage :)



 

Everyone came over to the Senior Briches for Christmas Eve lasagna dinner, which was delicious as always. The babies even enjoyed this meal, with little of the lasagna ending up on the floor. That's a good sign! John cleaned house on his mom's nut horns and candy cane cookies. The kids all enjoyed opening their gifts. Anna and John loved the balls from the Murphy Family. Thanks to the Flatens and Briches for our awsome play gift certificates to Ozo and Gymboree. This should keep us active and busy throughout the long winter.  The babies loved exploring and doing laps around the first floor at gramma and poppa's house. Poppa even had to put up a gate at the bottom of the stairs for these eager explorers!!!

 

Playtime!

Playtime with cousins Brian and Sean

Of course, daddy joined in on the fun:)

John sprouted a molar on Christmas Eve, and then another one after Christmas. Poor bud had the reddest cheeks I've ever seen !

We went to Target to get a thermometer to check his temp!

 

Christmas in Pittsburgh

We drove to Pittsburgh on Christmas morning after our visit in Cleveland. The babies enjoyed hanging out in their jammies and opening up presents before their cousins arrived. There were so many new things to explore at Nanny and Poppy's house and explore they did! They were up and down the steps, in every room of the house, and even took a swim in the big jacuzzi tub. The visit was a whirlwind with daddy having to leave in a snowstorm to go back to work, but we all had a wonderfully, crazy holiday :)


Anna and John opening up their Little People nativity set from Meme.

Poppy, Nana and the Briches

 

Peek-a-boo

Aunt Jenny, Ethan and Amelia tearing into their gifts :)

Watch out Nan. John is a wild boy!!!

John checking out Ethan's Dyson :)

Pretty girl

Poppy and Anna enjoying a quiet moment

Splish splash in the big tub

My handsome boy

Anna ended up at the Urgent Care with a head to toe rash from an allergic reaction. Poor girl, she was the best patient! Luckily, the rash cleared up after some steroids and Benadryl. She was back to normal in no time. Thanks Poppy for coming with us in the snow storm.









 

 

 

15 Months

The babies, well actually toddlers, turned 15 months on December 17.  We came more prepared to their doctor appointment this time. At their 12 month visit, they were all over the place and wanted to get into absolutely everything. This time, we came armed with Mega Blocks, which they love, milk and snacks.  This visit was different from their 12 month visit because they are no longer crawling, which was very nice. We didn't have to worry about holding them the whole time. They could explore a little without crawling all over the floor. Anna was more leary of Dr. Heaton this time and wanted me to hold her throughout her exam. John was less shy and and cooperated for the doctor. Here are Anna and John's 15 month stats:

Anna:
Weight- 22 pounds 9 ounces (50th percentile)
Length- 2 ft. 6.75 inches (50th percentile)
Teeth Count- 5

John:
Weight- 26 pounds 3.2 ounces (90th percentile)
Length- 2 ft. 8.75 inches (95th percentile)
Teeth Count- 12

I remember when people would warn me about the babies becoming mobile. All I wanted for them was to walk, now I understand all the warnings I received. They are everywhere and get into everything, but they are also so much fun and gaining more independence each day.  They love to  help me "clean" and love exploring every level of the house. Anna and John are understanding most of the things we say and are starting to talk. Using some sign language allows them to express what they can't say yet. Anna and John sign for light, please, thank you, and sometimes clap their hands for the more sign. They both love babies and animals, especially kitties and doggies. They call babies "b" and make their own versions of a meow sound when they see our kitties. Anna also says "b" for her brother and they both say "h" for hot. Looking at their touch and feel books and lift-a-flap books is a favorite pastime. Anna reads her books and plays very contently.

John needs more action! He likes flipping toys over, dumping his shopping cart out and on occasion launching toys off the balcony. We are trying to discourage that one!  He definitely plays like a boy and loves to rough house with us, especially with daddy. We are working on being more gentle with one another and not hitting. I think this may take awhile to sink in!  John's developing a sense of humor and we like to call him our little jokester.

Anna and John both like music and dancing. I wonder  where they get that from? Their dancing consists of some feet stomping and head shaking. Anna throws in a knee bend every now and then. They are also enjoying sensory activities because they love to explore new things. We did a sensory box filled with Christmas items and made some exploration bottles. They love to shake things and make lots of noise!!! It definitely isn't quiet in our house, except at naptime and bedtime. They've moved to one nap now and we are still working on stretching this nap out as long as possible! Although we may not have a lot of quiet in our house, we definitely have a lot of love:)

Love that smile!

Anna loves the sound machine

Reading books

Making a mess :)

Christmas sensory box

Ozo Play Cafe

Thanksgiving

*Once again, I'm behind on blogging. Pardon the tardiness of the next couple posts. I promise (hopefully) to post in a more timely manner:)

Thanksgiving began at 4:30 AM. The babies have been getting up around that time for the past three weeks. Mommy and daddy are very tired!!!!!! This all began the night I got home from Chicago, when the whole family had the flu.  Ever since then, the babies have been waking up multiple times at night and getting up no later than 5! Anna is now sleeping through the night, but her brother hasn't quite caught on yet and continues to wake his sister up every morning.

We decided to take advantage of our early morning start and John was in the kitchen making sweet potatoes at 6 AM. This year, like many, we decided to stay put for turkey day. We do so much traveling for Christmas, it's nice to just stay put for this holiday. Although, we miss seeing our family and friends, we know we will be seeing them in a few short weeks.  The day was gorgeous and warm, so warm that we were able to take some pictures outside without any coats! John made a delicious turkey and we had all the trimmings and sides, all equally delicious. John and I ate our dinner while the babies napped, then shared it with them when they woke up. John and Anna were not impressed by our Thanksgiving meal one bit. They wouldn't try any of it and it all ended up in the floor. Oh well, that's toddlers for you!

Ready or not, rise and shine!

John's turkey never disappoints!

Naptime is over for Anna

Clap, clap!

Our attempts at a family pic:)

Annual Fall Family Fun Weekend

Every year we meet up with the Faiz family to celebrate fall. This tradition started back when neither of us had any children, we just used it as an excuse to get together. Rae Ann and Omar had moved to Bloomington and we were still living in Chicago and we missed them so much. John and I just secretly wanted to visit Rae Ann to eat her yummy apple bread, apple pie and homemade chocolate chip cookies:) She always spoils us with delicious homemade meals and treats. This year we missed the Phillipe family, but were happy to spend time with the Dickerson family. Here are some pics from the pumpkin patch and hayride. It was a typical fall day- sunny with a little chill in the air.


*The blog isn't letting me upload anymore pictures:( More to come once the problem is fixed!

Daddy and Anna enjoying the chilly fall weather on the hayride.

Brrrrrr, it's cold!

Rae Ann, Omar, Zakir and Saleh enjoying the hayride.