Our Black Friday Adventure

We spent Thanksgiving in Dallas this year, and instead of battling the shopping crowd on Black Friday, we spent our time watching underwater creatures amaze our two toddlers. I had no idea fish could get them so worked up! It turns out that we picked the perfect day to walk through the Aquarium in Grapevine. The place was not even a little bit crowded, so we let the kids out of the stroller and turned them loose!

In addition to fingerprints (and some nose and mouth prints), Jake and Lilly left an echo of giggles as we walked through each exhibit.

The sting rays were a hit! Jake thought they were absolutely hilarious! Cody and I have never heard him laugh so loud!

Lilly thought this guy was smiling at her!

Lilly was in awe of just about everything. We are convinced she would have stayed here plastered to the glass all day long if given the choice. I am betting that as she gets older, she will be just like her Dad when it comes to museums.... he has to read every single piece of literature attached to the walls. I take the same approach as Jake... run like crazy through the place, then head to the gift shop!


Lilly was brave enough to touch this hairy-spidery-looking-creature. (Jake was not a fan!!)

The best part of the day was getting to spend it with family.... Uncle Dave and Auntie Bri, Noni and Poppy.
We were thrilled to spend time with Uncle Jay and the kids' great-grandparents on Thanksgiving as well. It was a relaxing trip and the kids are completely worn out today. I took a break from the massive pile of laundry that is waiting for me. I guess I'll get back to work before nap time is over!

Jake's First Haircut

Watch Jake get his first haircut! He reminds me so much of a little old man, not a sixteen-month-old. Can't you just hear him asking, "Does this include a shave?"

Wadded Up Receipts and Slippers

Wadded up receipts and slippers…that’s what they’re into today. At 7:30 this morning, I went to get my toothbrush out of the drawer next to my sink and this is what I found.

Jake had been playing in the bathroom while Cody got ready for work this morning. Apparently, my bathroom drawer was a much better place for all of the receipts he found in Daddy’s closet.

At about the same time I made this discovery, Lilly took every slipper in my closet and drug them into the center of the bathroom floor.

Then she methodically inspected each one, searching for the perfect slipper to wear on this chilly morning.

The Little Red Wagon

In our house, the little red wagon is the barometer for how our day will go. Let me explain this phenomenon:

Some days Lilly and Jake can’t even get past who will sit in the wagon and who will pull it. They both love to be the rider, and Jake only likes to pull if the wagon does not carry his sister. (I guess he figures he can pull an empty wagon faster than one with cargo.) Ten seconds into the debate, which is way more physical than verbal at this point, both are crying and no one is in the wagon.

Then, the poor little red wagon ends up locked in the hall bathroom for the remainder of the day. One day Cody came home from work and opened the door to use the restroom. He almost broke his neck on all the toys piled up in there. That hadn’t been such a good day!

But some days, like today, they take turns with no pushing, crying, or banging the handle of the wagon on the other one's head. Then I know, it’s going to be a good day!

Buttons, Gadgets, and Such

My little Jake is destined to be a technology nerd like his Daddy. Forget the typical toddler toys like dump trucks, blocks, Legos, and puzzles. He’d rather mash the buttons on our baby monitor. Give him an i-phone and he’ll have all your apps rearranged and perhaps make an international phone call. One time he got a hold of the TV remote. I am still unsure of what buttons he pushed, but I had to call Cody at work to get the TV functioning normally again. My mother-in-law tells me that Cody was just like this when he was a kid. Now he is the family's official tech-support help line.

Last week I ran the dishwasher five times and could not understand why the soap dispenser would not open. My dishes were wet, but the spaghetti casserole from the night before was still crusted to all the plates. So, I just kept running it. It would beep, alerting me that the cycle had ended, after only 30 minutes. Weird, I thought.

When Cody came home that evening, I told him about the dishwasher dilemma. I seriously thought we needed to call a repair man. I was frustrated. The dishwasher is maybe three years old. Less than 30 seconds into my rant about how everything in this house is falling apart and appliances these days just don't last, he figured out the problem. Jake (and I say that with 100% certainty because Lilly just doesn't care about these things) had changed the cycle to “Rinse Only.” Now why didn’t I think of that?