Tis the Season!

This Christmas season is turning out to be SO much fun in our house! Ella is OBSESSED with Santa. She knows that Mommy and Daddy give Santa a daily report of her everyday, and if she doesn't get a "good girl" report, Santa has to stop making her presents for the day. She also knows that Santa watches her all the time, so he can see for himself when she's naughty! Ella even got to talk to Santa on the phone one night a couple of weeks ago, and she got to hear straight from the big buy himself on a night that she was a very good girl! Last year, Aunt Liana bought Ella and Caden "Elf on a Shelf"... Mommy had planned to start that tradition next year with the kids, but if she had only known how much Ella would have caught on to the tradition of Santa this year, Mommy would have pulled it out weeks ago!

Nothing quite beat Ella meeting Santa Claus last weekend. We dressed the kids in their Christmas Best, and headed to Keystone Mall with Nana and Pap-Pap to get their pictures taken! Ella was awesome. If you don't remember last year, she was PETRIFIED of Santa. Her picture with him looks like he was torturing her. Not this year. Oh no. This year, she marched right up to Santa, sat in his lap and said, "I want a fishy". Santa looked at Mommy and said, "She wants a what?!" "She really wants a fishy!" Mommy reiterated. :) Then Ella sat there so sweetly (although a little nervous) and got her picture taken with Caden and Santa!

Caden, on the other hand, LOVES Santa (Ah-na, as he calls him), but wasn't so crazy about sitting on Santa's lap. He didn't freak out as much as Ella did last year, luckily, but he also couldn't get off Santa's lap fast enough. :)

See for yourself what a difference a year makes!!!

2008

2009

Children's Museum

We were supposed to go this weekend to Great Wolf Lodge with Brooke, Tony, Beau and Tommy, but both of our kids ended up sick last week. :( Ella was better by the time Thursday rolled around, but Caden was still sick, and both still had a pretty hardy cough. So, we decided to miss out on our much anticipated weekend of fun. Mommy was SO disappointed, and she was determined to take the kids SOMEWHERE for a little bit of fun this weekend! So, as a consolation prize, we took the kids to the Children's Museum! For those of you not familiar with the Indy Chi Mu, it's the largest in the world, and it is so much fun for the kids. They recently did some renovations and added some new exhibits, so we had lots of new things to see and discover!

They also have a "Jolly Days" exhibit right now for the holidays, and we stupidly didn't even go in it! Duh! But we did take Ella down the "Yule Slide" twice and she had a blast doing that! It reminded Mommy of the slide in The Christmas Story that Santa shoved all the kids down after hearing what they wanted for Christmas ("You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" Love it!)

It wasn't quite like the fun we could have had at Great Wolf, but we still had a wonderful time with the kids, and that's all that matters. :)

Caden on the choo choo

Mommy and Ella going down the Yule Slide!

Ella posing on the Sphinx in the new Egyptian exhibit!

Mommy and her babies taking a ride on the croc

Caden's first time behind the wheel of the race car!

Danica Jr!

Siblings doing their best to share space in the beloved tractor - notice Caden's hand getting ready to shove Ella's face...can you feel the love?

Peek-a-boo!

Pretending like it's Summer again, playing in the sand box!

We're not sure what the scarecrow did to upset Caden, but he sure paid the price!

Caden expressing himself artistically

Mommy loves this picture - her milky white skin and long fluffy pigtails are just lovely.

Daddy and Ella taking a ride on a freaky carousel horse!

Daddy and Ella's turn down the slide!

And within minutes of being strapped in the car...

...they were both fast asleep.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, we packed up the kids (and what seemed to be our entire HOUSE) and headed to Mommy's hometown of Cleveland for the holiday! Although traveling with our kids is horridly awful (especially when you, ahem, run out of gas on the way and have to wait over an hour for a tow truck with a gas can), but the travel challenges were plenty worth it!

Aunt Ashley graciously offered her home to us, as they were leaving Thanksgiving morning for Cincinnati to visit Uncle Kevin's parents for the holiday. We were lucky enough to have a few hours on Wednesday night to spend with them, although it's just never enough time. :( The kids had a blast together! Ella and Ellora dominated the house, running and jumping and giggling. And Caden was just as happy as a pig in mud trying to keep up with the big kids. :)

Unfortunately, the trip was a little overwhelming for Ella and Caden, and when they are thrown off of their schedules (both went to bed about an hour and a half after their bedtime), it always means bad things for that night's sleep. This night was no exception - due to Caden's crying at about 5AM, Ella woke up and never went back to sleep. Caden went back to sleep only because Mommy ended up sleeping in bed with him (that boy is a sucker for his Momma time). This made for a tired Momma, and a VERY tired Daddy on T-Day, since Daddy was stuck taking care of Ella from 5AM on...ouch.

But that didn't stop us from soaking up lots of quality time with our family! We started with a yummy Thanksgiving Day breakfast at Pop-Pop and Grandma Gail's house, and some play time with them and their big ol' German Shepherd, Bear. Unfortunately, we had to get the kids to Grandma Lalli's house for nap time before dinner, so we weren't able to wait and see Uncle Ryan and Aunt Rose, who were on their way in from Columbus. :( We missed you guys!!

Ella had tons of fun having playing with Pop-Pop!

And with G-Ma Gail too!

"Hey Pops, what's that fuzzy stuff on your face?"

Once we got to Grandma Lalli's and the kids took naps, it was time to EAT! Grandma does the holidays the way that Pop-Pop's parents did them - the good old Italian way! There are several courses - 1st: antipasto (salami, roasted red pepper, olives, etc) / 2nd: an Italian dish - this holiday, it was lasagna with meatballs and slow-cooked pork tenderloin / 3rd: the traditional turkey dinner with stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes and salad / 4th: dessert, of course! Needless to say, we were stuuuuuufffed! Grandma cooked for a small army, so we were lucky enough to bring some frozen leftovers home for future dinners. YUM!

Ella sitting pretty by Grandma's fireplace

Intimate holiday dinner - just the way we like 'em!

Mommy and her Mommy

Grandma Lalli made the lasagna and meatballs JUST for Caden - he liked them so much when she made them for his birthday party, she was sure it would be a hit again...eh, not so much. Maybe next year Grandma can try a new banana lasagna recipe? :)

Ella, however, happily ate Grandma's super-garlic meatballs!

This was just a funny picture that Mommy had to include...Caden kept hitting the "power" button on the TV to turn of Daddy's football game, and every time he did, he made this face at him...

We had to leave Grandma's by 6:15 or so to get the kids in bed on time to avoid another sleeping debacle. Luckily, both kids slept without a peep for over 12 hours, thanks to Caden being able to sleep in Ellora's crib, and Ella having her own room. Mommy, and especially Daddy, needed that quiet night!

Friday, we went and ate lunch with Pop-Pop at Champps. Unfortunately, Grandma Gail had to work, so she missed out on all the fun. :) Later that afternoon, we went to Dave and Buster's and met up with Grandma Lalli, Aunt Erika, Uncle Joe and Colin, Owen and baby Aiden! We were also lucky enough to have one of Mommy's best friends from grade school, Michelle, come up to see us as well! It had been YEARS since Mommy had seen her, and she brought her beautiful family to meet us. It was such a great evening, catching up with the girls and watching the kids play!

Mommy and Michelle - grade school BFF's!

Aunt Erika says, "Why don't you take one of mine, and I'll take her? We'll switch back when they turn 18!"

Aunt Erika and her newest Singleton Beauty - Mr. Aiden Carl

The middle Singleton doll-baby - Owen. Look at those curls!

Grandma and her Grandbaby boy

We headed home on Saturday morning. Ella was not happy to leave. She cried as we put her in the car, wanting to see Grandma Lalli, wanting to go to Pop-Pop's house, and NOT wanting to leave Aunt Ashley's kitty cat, Althea. Ella was IN LOVE with the cat. It was the perfect bribery for 3 days - teeth were brushed and potty time was easy all because Mommy would promise to find the cat if she cooperated. It's a good thing Mommy is allergic, or she might be tempted... :) OH, and she also LOVED helping Mommy feed Ellora's fish - now that might be something Mommy - or Santa - surprises her with. :)

Back in Indy, we celebrated not only Thanksgiving with Nana and Pap-Pap, but also Pap-Pap's birthday! Happy Birthday, Pap-Pap! We got to have another delish Thanksgiving dinner that helped tip Mommy's scale in the WRONG direction - but oh, so worth it! :) Of course, we were so pooped from the trip, we didn't even think to break out the camera for our Thanksgiving Part II. :( Sorry Nana and Pap-Pap!

We are so thankful and blessed to have such wonderful family in friends surrounding us, everywhere we go. Most of all, Mommy is thankful that we have each other. Having 2 beautiful, smart (and challenging) children, and a pretty darn good husband is more than she could have ever asked for.

A visit from Kiki and Michael!

We had 2 very special visitors last week! Aunt Kiki and Michael came to see us all the way from New Jersey! Unfortunately, it turned out to be a BORING weekend. Caden was sick on Friday and Saturday, so we were pretty much stuck at home. Well, minus the 20 minute trip to the park that Caden cried almost the whole time. Poor buddy is NOT happy when he doesn't feel well. :( He was feeling much better on Sunday, so we went eat lunch at QDoba (I know, you're ALL shocked by that one!) and got ice cream at Cold Stone. YUM!!

Daddy then headed to the Colts game with his friends (and YES, they were a group of the dummies that LEFT the game in Q4 and missed the big win against the Patriots!!). Mommy, Kiki, Michael and the babies went to Steak n Shake for dinner (they don't have one in NJ so it's a must every time they come!), then we spent the rest of the night (after bedtime) watching the game, drinking some wine, and playing Gin Rummy (and NO, Michael did not drink wine :).

We're sorry it wasn't an action-packed weekend, but we're soooooooo thankful that you came out to see us! This was the first time Michael got to see Caden, and Caden just LOVED him! We're so happy that we all got to spend some quality time together!! We love you guys!

Caden's mission all weekend was to pull Michael's "snake bites" out of his lips.

Why so somber, boys?

Aunt Kiki and her baby boy!

Ella and the Kikster!

Six on Sunday

1). Caden is now opening all doors. 14 months. WHY so early?! Now we have TWO little escape artists!

2). Ella has turned into a total back seat driver. She now knows that "Green means go", "Lellow means slow down" and "Red means stop". This translates into a little voice that sits behind us and constantly tries telling us how to drive! And Daddy thinks MOMMY is a back seat driver...HA! Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! :) :)

3). Caden - well, he's just a smart little bugger. Mommy and Daddy put up the Xmas tree today, and when Caden saw it lit for the first time, he also said a new word for the first time: "Petty". He actually looked at the tree, got the sweetest little smile on his face and called it pretty! Mighta got his Daddy's looks, but he sure got his Momma's brains. :)

4). We have been working ALOT with Ella's manners. She tends to be VERY bossy and demanding - "Nana, don't talk"... "Mommy, MOVE!"..."Daddy, don't come in here!" are just a few examples. We are constantly reminding her that she is not allowed to be bossy, that it's rude (she's now very well-versed on the definition of rude). We also have been teaching her the nice way to ask for things. Instead of "I want that..." she is learning to say "Can I please have that?" Or, instead of "MOVE" she'll now say "Excuse me!" She certainly doesn't do it all the time, but she's getting much better, and everyday we see nice big glimpses of a sweet, well-mannered little girl.


5). Mommy mentioned in a previous post that Ella is becoming really fond of "Yo Gabba Gabba". Well, the funny part of this is that Ella's new favorite part of the show is "Biz's Beats". For those of you that are familiar with 80s/90s rap, this part of the show features Biz Markie teaching the kids how to create beats using their mouths. It is hilarious to watch Ella trying to spit beats with Biz Markie. If she starts rapping "...you say he's just a friend..." we might have a problem on our hands.

6). Caden is STILL on one bottle at night. Mommy has always believed in taking away bottles at 1 year, but she's afraid to take this last one away! He's SUCH a finicky eater, and many nights he won't eat more than 2 bites of food! He's already so thin that she's afraid of taking away the one consistent source of fat and calories at night. So, the bottle might be sticking around for another few weeks until we can get him eating better...can't win 'em all!

Fall Photos

We got our pictures taken last month by Angie Vaughers (http://www.angelavaughters.com/). She does fantastic work - we were so pleased with her shots! Here's just a few Mommy thought she'd share! I wish I could figure out how to get the images bigger on the blog because you just don't get the full appreciation for them when they're this small!

The Things They Love...

Ella loves...

--Make-up. She applies "lipstick" (lip gloss) at least 15 times a day.

--Little carts at the grocery store. She will comply with just about anything in order to earn a shopping trip with a "lille cart".

--Playing in her tents!

--Painting and coloring with markers and crayons.

--Asking question. After question. After question. Over and over and over again. Grrrr...

--Her bunny blanket, of course.

--Her one hole-y paci left, that she refuses to let go.

--Yo Gabba Gabba. It's one of the only shows that we can get her to watch more than 2 minutes of (she'll watch this one for about 5 minutes, tops).

--The Happy Birthday song by the Ting Tings that they play on Nick Jr.

--Her baby doll. She feeds her, changes her, rocks her, and puts her down for naps. Of course, if she's not in the "baby doll" mood, the poor baby starves. :(

--Fixing Mommy's hair. And she does a bang-up job.

--Having her back rubbed and scratched. Oh, and foot rubs. She's so spoiled, but they're guaranteed ways to get her to snuggle with her Mama. :)

--QDoba. She'd eat it 7 days a week if we let her. "Chicken, beans, and slalad, please."

--Taking orders for the grocery store. She'll get her pen and paper, and go around to everyone asking, "What you going to have?" And as you give her your order, she'll take your order and say, "okay, uh huh, ok..." as she writes.

--She has a new imaginary kitty cat. Her name is "Kitty Cat" (creative, huh?) and she's black. She talks to her, picks her up, pets her, and gives to her us to hold.


Caden loves...
--Bananas. Always.

--His blanket, or "bebet". He's just as attached to his now as Ella is to hers.

--Giving hugs and snuggling. He's such a little lover.

--Climbing the stairs. If the gate to the stairs is left open, watch out!

--Snacks. Just like his big sister did when she was a baby, he would live over by the snack cabinet if we let him. Of course, he's terrible at eating his meals. Wonder why? :)

--His sister. He could have tears streaming down his face, and she is the only person that can get him laughing just by looking at him and cooing or giggling. Adorable.

--Guacamole!

--Bath time. He is his happiest in the bath tub with Daddy. Unfortunately, we don't always give him alot of time in there because we're trying to get both kids bathed, but he'd turn into a little prune in there if we let him.

--Tents, just like his sissy! They have so much fun climging in and out, and hiding in them.