GEORGE

We were given "Elf on a Shelf" by Honey this past week. As a former teacher, I love behavior modification tools that are positive. We brought this little elf out the night before Thanksgiving and after much discussion- Lucy named her elf George...not sure why but it is Stephen's "go-to" name when playing legos- so she must have wanted to suck up to Dad. George is AWESOME. Here is the deal- George leaves our abode each night to report to Santa on Lucy's behavior that day...and when he comes back he is always in a different spot. The search for George is hilarious- George can't talk but you can talk to him. And you cannot touch George or he will lose his magic. So- Lucy loves to hunt for George each morning. And frequently can be heard telling George, "I am bein' such a good listener".
We struggled with bath and bed time last night. As you may guess, George is sitting on the towel rack in Goose's bathroom this morning. Will let you all know if it works- good thing George is clever too- hoping he will help Mama out this week and correct the stall tactics that have become a habit pre-bedtime.
GEORGE- help a sister out!! xxoo.

hen & goose's halloween

trick or treat! smell my feet!! the Goose was a ballerina and Hen was a clown. we have decided that next year we must dress them up together somehow....any suggestions are welcome!! enjoy the pictures.....

the ballerina and clown at the neighborhood festivities

here are some full shots of the two

i had a multi colored wig & red nose but that didn't even get on the head or nose!

laundry man

he loves it when i am getting things out of the dryer. he likes to pull each one out separately and throw it on the ground first! so...we decided to see if he fit in the dryer! aren't we so mean???

quick visit with mark

the little ones aren't paying attention, so.....

we finally got them to kind of look at the camera....check out the crazy parents in the background!

then of course we had to do a silly face picture....i think i got lucy in the middle of her expression, henry had no idea what was going on & mark had it just right!

great to see you for a quick bit mark! we miss you all the time and can't wait to hang out over the holidays!!!

using those toes & a little info

those little toes have figured out how to work! he is off & walking!! two weekends ago he really started using the walker and walking behind it. that saturday he just grabbed it and started walking all over the house behind it for about 15 minutes. then last tuesday i went to pick him up from school & simone (one of his teachers) said "guess who took two steps!". i was so excited but of course a little sad that i didn't see it first....but...we got him home & he did it for us right away!! since then he has been practicing everyday & that seems to be all he wants to do. i've got some video footage below- the first is of a clip with him behind the walker. my favorite part in it is whenever he walks by the fireplace he always sees his reflection in it & loves to just check himself out! the bottom video is a super quick flick of him walking on his own.

i can't believe that in 4 weeks our little henry will have been with us for 365 days!! the year has gone by sooo fast. he amazes me everyday. his smile is contagious and so is his laughter. here are just a few things about him that you might not know:

• he has 7 teeth- 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom
• some of his favorite foods are grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, eggo waffles, and graham crackers
• for his bath we had to get a special seat so that he couldn't move all around the tub; he loves to splash so much that we get completely soaked- water comes out everywhere!
• the fridge is pure entertainment along with the open dishwasher...i think he could spend hours at both of them
• when we get to school we have to punch a code in order to get into the building; when i punch the code in he squeals with excitement & bounces up & down
• some of his best friends at school are Karma & Weston.....and of course little miss Goose who is two doors down
• we are working on say "uh-oh" but it comes out more like "uh-uh"
• the tissue box or a roll of toilet paper might be his favorite toy
• he has learned how to give us kisses thanks to watching Lucy

New things

Lucy and Stephen are into legos...which is great- she is doing so many more things on her own these days...see video below (I am not the best videographer).
Another funny- we had to take Baby to Harris Teeter to pick up perscriptions yesterday- once inside she handed me Baby and said, "Mom, I need you to hold Baby, my back's hurtin." Hilarious because when I am tired of holding Lucy I will ask her to walk and tell her it is because my back is starting to hurt! She is clever.

Time Out

Lucy is definitely getting the hang of playing Make Believe. She loves to play with her baby dolls (she calls them all "Baby"- only one has a real name, Mary, but still, she is just "Baby" to Goose). On Sunday evening we were playing in the living room and heard a door slam, Lucy came walking rather deliberately around the corner and announced to Stephen, "Baby's in Time Out." Stephen asked why (with a lot of emphasis like it was a VERY big deal and Lucy responded, "We DON'T hit our friends". Hands on hips. Very serious.
Of course, we were getting into it...."Oh NO, not a good choice, Baby". Then Lucy says "She is just not bein' a good listener." She did go in to to get Baby a bit later they had a little chat- "It's allright, say your sorry, we don't hit our friends, say "Yes, M'am", and all other commands we must rattle off a hundred times a day!
Could very well be that I am just her mom- but it was hysterical. She even told Stephen that Baby hit her in the face and asked him to kiss her check.
Baby returned to Time Out (a stool in the guest room) several times that night and has been there quite a bit this week as well. Let's hope Baby starts being a better listener!!