Family Fun Continues

After the shower we headed over to my cousins Polly and Jim's house. Lots of friends and family joined us....it was great catching up. I always love meeting over there because it reminds me of all the Christmas Eve parties they would have when I was a kid.

Morgan and cousin Isabel (Julie's daughter) had fun playing, while the twins (Ethan and Elaine) played mostly by themselves. They were a little unsure of all the new people and still were groggy from their nap. PS. I put Ethan and Elaine in paratheses because they were the third set of twins there. Joslyn and Julie are my age and my third cousins, Peggy and Polly (J&J's mom) are my mom's age (well, a few years younger) and my second cousins.

My cousin Amanda helps put cousin James (Julie's son) down. I didn't get any pictures of Jake and cousin Paul (Amanda's son) because they were off in their own corner playing video games! They were like best friends, it was really cute.

A New Treat

Elaine didn't eat anything at Jim and Polly's partly because of a monsterous poop and all of the new people. I hate to see her not eat, so we stopped to grab her some chicken. Of course Morgan and Jake had to get something too...who blames them?! Elaine was thrilled though because she got to eat some of their fries and cheese sauce! She has a love for the cheese sauce just like me...poor thing, it is a daily battle not to buy a GIANT can of it from Sam's Club!

Ethan understands the danger and runs the other way!

Pros on the Road!

We headed to Chicago today for our cousin Joslyn's bridal shower. The twins were AWESOME! They were so well behaved and quiet. They didn't even ask for the tv!

For dinner we stopped at Chick-fil-a because I love it so much! Good food and a great, clean playground for the kids to run some energy off! I think the twins equally share my enthusiasm for the chain.

You Gonna Eat That Pickle?

Today we grilled out some burgers. Elaine tried her first pickle spear and LOVED it!

Happy St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patty's Day! I was sick, so I stayed in bed all day. Patrick told me that the kids LOVED the corned beef Patrick simmered all day.

2 Year Check Up

The twins had their two year-old check up today and NO shots! Here are their stats

ETHAN

Head 19in (53%)
Weight 26lbs (21%)
Height 2'9" (11%)

ELAINE

Head 19.25in (65%)
Weight 24lbs (21%)
Height 2'9" (20%)

After a Hard Day's Play

This is the typical ride home from the twin's sitter, Bev, house. Ethan is pooped and Elaine takes a few minutes to look through a book and will sometimes sing or practice her counting. Now that it is warmer, I can leave the door from the kitchen to the garage open and the car windows open so Ethan can get a small nap in before dinner.

Hello Spring!

Today we able to get home and go for our first walk of 2010! The twins were really excited to try out their new wagon. We just went up and down the street, but they had a blast!

A Celebration

Tonight we went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Elaine getting her cast off. The twins had a blast watching the show, eating pizza and playing on all of the rides and games.

Ethan LOVED the skeeball game and yes, Patrick's mad skeeball skills got him a whooping 10,000! :)

George's 3rd Birthday

This weekend we headed up to Cleveland for George's birthday. We drove up on Friday after work. We just relaxed that night and enjoyed visiting with family. On Saturday the kids played all morning. For lunch we headed to the Winking Lizard. After lunch and the twins' nap it was time for George's birthday party! We had delicious pizza for dinner and cake for dessert. The twins had a blast watching George open his presents and even got to play with some of them! By Sunday morning the twins were beat and ready for a relaxing ride home. Happy Birthday George!

A Place Where the Adults Wear Bibs

Tonight we tookUncle Michael out to dinner for watching the twins and Charlie in the past. Ethan enjoyed Montgomery Inn's Saratoga chips and Elaine just like all of the attention from Uncle Michael.

My Future Live-in Housekeepers

The twins gave me a hand with some cleaning. Watching the two of them I definitely had some thoughts of sipping a margarita while the two of them cleaned the house!....Well, maybe I have a few more years until this is a possiblity but it is definitely a goal.

President of the Dora Fan club

The kids have a new favorite cartoon, Dora the Explorer, and the only that they will watch. Here is Ethan saying Yum, Yum, Yum Deliciouso!! This is what the Backpack says when he helps Dora. You have to watch the show to fully understand.

Valentine's Day

Tonight we went over to friend Matt's house for Valentine's Day. He made spaghetti and the meatballs that beat Bobby Flay on "Throw Down". The kids had a blast and Matt surprised them with some heart cookies.

An Early Valentine's Treat

Lizzy came over tonight. She brought a pizza and a special valentine's cupcake for the twins. Elaine was a little upset at first when I cut it because she wanted it all for herself! This thing was HUGE, so that was not a possibility.

She quickly got over it, but decided using her hands was too messy....they definitly had to be cleaned up after this!

After dinner Elaine took Lizzy on one of her favorite actvities....

WALKS!

She loves taking our hands and letting us take her for walks around the house.

How Bad Can It Be?!

Ethan got his first bad haircut today. While we were out running errands I tried to get his haircut, but all of the kids places require an appointment. In frustration I told Patrick to just stop at a Great Clips.....Bad idea! It's hard to see totally in this pic, but they CHOP his hair! At least their 2 year old pictures got pushed back because of Elaine's cast! He'll have a few weeks to grow out a bit before it can be fixed by his regular hairdresser! :)

Get Well Wishes!

Elaine has a bunch of admirers. Lizzy and her family gave her a stuffed dog and some valentine themed bandaids to help her feel better. She named the dog Charlie. I can only guess it is because it's a brown dog. She sleeps with it every night. Aunt Cate, Uncle Don, George and Henry sent her a Dora DVD. Both twins are in LOVE with Dora right now so it was a great gift that will definitely het used and help her get the rest she needs. She has also gotten numereous calls and cards, thanks to everyone!

A Visit to A Favorite Spot

Since we were in the Clifton area, we met Lizzy for lunch. We went to one of my favorite places, Skyline! It was the same one I'd go to in college. In fact we sat at the same table we'd normally sit at back then. Only this time it wasn't 2am, we weren't drunk, and we weren't smoking up a storm. Lizzy and I had a laugh that the place used to be smoking....it's so small, the whole place had to stink!

Ethan found it much easier to place his desired food in Lizzy's hand and eat out of it. What a weirdo! :)

A Super-Duper Birthday Present

To celebrate the twin's birthday I thought it would be fun to take Ethan to the doctor...haha! Nothing serious, he just had to get a two week check up on his ear tubes. The doctor said it looked great and he'll see us in six months.
While we were waiting the kids had a blast playing at the kids' table. Elaine has starting a new saying. Her bulky cast gets caught on stuff, so now she looks at me and says "stuck, stuck". I don't know where she picked up that word, but it is really cute. Here her cast is "stuck" on the table leg.

A Few Laughs and A Few Steps

Kids and I were goofing off today and having a blast taking pics of ourselves.

Elaine is back to her old self! She can hobble around and is smiling again. She normally doesn't wear such boyish pj's but she has to wear Ethan's because the legs on her pj's are too small for her cast. You may also notice she is wearing her shoe, that is to help compensate thickness of the cast and the boot.

Elaine is really starting to move around more on her own. It looks a little funny, but whatever works I guess.