Becoming Independent

I was vaccuming the entire 2nd floor today and when I was was done the house was really quiet which typically means the kids are into something they aren't supposed to be. I called Olivia and said "what are you doing and where are you?" She said "I'm in my room reading a book!" And she was on her little bean bag reading her book so I had to grab my camera.

I found Luca in our bed watching cartoons!  They've learned how to turn on the tv. 

I can't believe we only have 15 more days til' Xmas!  This year has been so fun b/c the kids are really into it and I hope to keep these memories of them being so happy about the holidays because it's so much fun for us, too!

Let's play Birthday Party!

Lately, the kids have been playing Birthday party with each other. They'll put on Bday hats and will sing Happy Bday to each other and give each other cake and blow out candles  and open presents (all which is make believe).

Olivia wants to wear her tutu almost everyday.

She knows which stocking is hers and wanted to take a picture by her stocking.

Buddy was hiding in this Bamboo tree this morning.  Luca found him 1st!

I think playing "modeling" that one time might have been a bad idea because now he poses when I take a picture.

Ummm this cracks me up.  The hand behind the head and the fierce look on his face, seriously?   I just asked him to take a picture by the tree and smile and this is what I got!

The Letter "L"

Today I took Luca to school and we had to bring something that started with the letter L. I asked Luca to tell me some words that start with the letter L and he said.."lion, eLephant, and his cousin Elle" I told him good job lion starts with an L, but elephant and Elle starts with and E. He looked at me like I was crazy. Why is our language so confusing to our poor kids. I can completely understand how he would think that.

In more positive news, the kids absolutely love running downstairs to find Buddy the Elf. It's like a game between them. If one of them wakes up first to open their bedroom door you can hear the other person run to the door, too. They both run downstairs and it's a race who can find him first! Olivia is pretty good at finding Buddy!

Matchin' Pj's

The kids were so excited to wear their matching snowmen pj's. I didn't even notice this when I took the pic, but they are holding hands. So cute!

I took Luca to school today and the letter this week was K. We are supposed to take a picture of something that starts with a K and my word flash card program had Knife which I wasn't so sure about bringing it but didn't have time to print off another picture. On the way there Luca said Knife doesn't start with a K it starts with a N! It's sad that I was worried about bringing a picture of a knife instead of confusing my little boy! Having little ones and trying to teach them makes me realize how confusing our language really is!

Two Year Old going on Thirteen

So, I'm really not sure of what to think about a conversation I had with Olivia today.  After giving her a shower, I was sitting in her room with her brushing her hair and she said "Mommy, why does Tangled have boobies?"  I said because she's a grown up." She said "I want boobies"  I said "You will someday."  Is this normal at such an early age?  Ahhh!

Oh Christmas Tree'S'

So...can you guess who decorated this Xmas tree?

We introduced the kids to The Elf on The Shelf.  We asked the kids to name him and Luca said he wanted to name him Luca then we asked him to think of another name and he said Santa.  So we decided Buddy is going to be his name. 

Well...did you guess right?  Here's the answer to the 1st question on this blog! :)  Oh and Olivia is showing you her newest tooth on the bottom.

The kids were so excited about the Xmas tree and they wanted to help.

They were actually great helpers.  I would put the hooks on the ornaments and they would give them to Corey or would even hang them on the tree themselves. 

Luca was so proud of himself!

So was Olivia.

Here we are about to place our Angel on the top of the tree! ;) 

Meatloaf Cupcakes....YUM!

One part of the day I dread is the time where I have to figure out what we are going to eat for dinner. I took out some ground meat to make meatloaf and then I went on pinterest and saw this idea to make cupcake meatloaf. It was awesome! It's the first time the kids actually ate it, too!

Luca was pretty happy to eat his cupcake meatloaf!

It's basically the recipe for meatloaf in a cupcake pan.  I had all the ingredients for the meatloaf but didn't have the ingredients for the sauce so I just put ketchup on it.  The frosting is whipped mashed potatoes.  It was soo good!

Olivia cleaned her plate!

She said "I win!"

SANTA!

Since I've had both kids, I usually take the kids to see Santa right before Thanksgiving because I want to avoid the crowds and the lines and I really want the kids to enjoy that time with Santa and not feel rushed.  Today I decided to take them both to see Santa and dressed them in their Xmas outfits.  I can't post the pics I took because they will be our Christmas cards.  But, I just wanted to share this picture with you.  They just stood in front of Santa, in awe for at least a good 30 seconds just staring at him.  It was cute!

I had them each go individually so they could tell Santa what they wanted. Luca asked for a Buzz Light Year Spaceship (we saw one at Kohls a few weeks ago and he wanted me to buy it and I said maybe you can ask Santa). Olivia asked for a Princess Castle and Princess'. (When we were at Urgent Care for her twisted arm she saw a commercial for it and her face lit up and she's remembered that ever since).

On the way there Luca asked me if Santa's reindeer would be there and I told him no. He asked where they would be and I told him he should ask Santa and he did. Santa told him that they were at the airport. Luca also asked me if Santa lived in the mall! I love how curious he is.

Luca also asked me in the car "Is Papa getting old?" and I said why would you say that? He said "He told me that. He had a gray hair!" I totally forgot that Corey got his first gray hair and as we were getting the kids ready for bed yesterady he asked me if he had a gray hair and that he was getting old. It's amazing all the things the kids pick up.

School

When I pick up Luca or Olivia at school, I usually go to the classroom first to pick up their craft that they made and I noticed on the wall a huge turkey made with everyone's hand prints as the feathers and it said "I am thankful for...." Each hand print had the kids name on it and what they were thankful for. Luca's said His House and Olivia said her princess' and her mom and dad. :) It was sweet. I had fun reading the other kids comments, too. One had GOD, some said the teacher (brown nosers!), grandparents names, and a girl said her hippo on her shirt! It was funny to read all of them and I thought it was such a good idea.

Olivia's 20 Question Interview....

I saw this on Pinterest and wanted to do this with the kids and I will do it every year to see how much their answers change. It took 5 hours to upload this video so I will try to get Luca's up later, too! BTW... I didn't go over any questions before I taped it, I asked these questions for the 1st time on camera...I was surprised because I thought I knew all of her favorite things but I guess not!

Shutterfly House Party!

I hosted a Shutterfly House Party last night! I got this idea of cutting cucumbers and piping it with Hummus through Pinterest. I just heard about Pinterest recently and it's my new addiction!

I applied through House Party to host a "sponsored event" and I was chosen to host a Shutterfly event.  I actually love Shutterfly and use it a lot.  This was the 1st time I was chosen to host an event.  All my guests received 15 free holiday codes, a free calendar code and a $10 gift card to Plum District. 

I made mini cheesecakes and mini brownies as desserts!

Everyone checking out the Shutterfly Holiday card samples.

Thanks Mommy's for coming to this event!  It was a success. :)

Game Night!

Both Luca and Olivia are addicted to playing board games! They ask me everyday if they can play a game. Tonight we did a family game night we all played Candy Land...I won! :)

They also love playing Caribou Island.  It's a great game for kids to recognize letters, colors and numbers and great for fine motor skills, too! I highly recommend that game for all you readers with kiddos.  It's for kids 3+ but if your kids can recognize letters, numbers and colors they can definitely play this game.  Olivia loves it! Plus the winner wins the treasure chest!

Candy Land is a good one, too.  It's also for ages 3+ but Olivia can play this game.  It's mostly recognizing colors and counting.

I hope that someday my kids don't think I never played with them since I'm the photographer. 

Olivia is so cute because she cheers for everyone. She'll say "Yay mommy" when it's my turn. Or "Go Luca!" If someone else wins she's happy for them and says "Good job, Luca!"  She's doing so well in school, too!  She is starting to try to write her name!  She can write the letters O and L so I'm sure if I keep practicing with her on it she will get it soon. 

Luca has a different approach.  He gets so angry when he doesn't win and will usually cry.  It's great that he wants to win so bad but not so great when he's a sore loser.  We make him shake Olivia's hand and say good game to show him good sportsmanship.  Luca is doing well with reading.  Just yesterday I wrote down a few random words and he sounded them out and read them.  It's so cool that my 3 year old can read!

I bought The Elf on The Shelf today.  I'm so excited about Xmas this year. Both kids are going to be into it.  I can't believe that the malls had Santa there starting at the beginning of the month!

My little models....

Corey picked out Olivia's wardrobe today and did such a great job dressing her. She looked so cute that I wanted to take some pics of her! I was amazed at his ability of accessorizing her with a hat and her bracelets and he even chose her skinny jeans to wear!  I'm a little jealous b/c unlike me, she looks great in hats especially with that curly hair.

After I took a couple of pictures they wanted to take more pictures.  They love posing and then they want to see the picture and take another picture.   I was trying to teach them the cat walk and how to pose and turn.  Luca did an excellent job.  These pictures crack me up!

Look at how hard Olivia is trying and Luca is just a natural.

I don't foresee a modeling career in her future, even though she's gorgeous.

This is how I was trying to get Olivia to pose! LOL  It was effortless for Luca. Hope you had a good laugh, I know I did.

Oh and yes, Luca is STILL wearing his Halloween costume just about everyday. I even hid it today in the guest room closet - he found it. Then I hid it in one of my drawers - he found it. He's obsessed with being Buzz Light Year. When will this phase go away?

National Airforce Museum!

My friend Rachel who recently moved to Cincinnati suggested that we meet up in Dayton at the National Air Force Museum. WE didn't even get through the entire museum b/c it was so big but Luca loved it especially that he got to hang out with his favorite buddies Carson & Grady.

I do feel bad for Olivia because we were with all boys and she would ask to sit in her stroller and then she liked carrying the lunch bag like it was a purse. She really enjoyed the purple plane the most. She's such a girly girl!