Adirondacks

Hi All,
Drew and Bree got some new chairs. They are mini plastic adirondacks that I thought would be nice for outside by the beach next year. But, apparently they work just fine in the living room too!

19 Months

Hi All,

Happy 19 months to Drew and Bree! Bree had a rough night sleeping and woke up with a runny nose and fever. Poor peanut was up and down all day, so it wasn't a good day for photo ops. But hugging one another has been the latest order of fun. I managed to snap a picture at bedtime of one of their embraces. Hopefully, Bree's illness comes and goes quickly, and we are back to good in no time.

As for our unofficial weigh in, Drew is now 27 pounds and Bree is 23.5 pounds.

It Doesn't Get Much Sweeter Than This

Hi All,
As I mentioned before, the twins are getting really good at showing their affection. It's so heartwarming to see them willingly hugging and sitting together! Today, we caught them in the act a bit more.

"Any room on your lap for me?"

"The hug"

And, last, here is "the hug" on film. Aww, how sweet is that ?!? (Sorry, it's a little long. I couldn't edit off the last 45 seconds or so, because we taped it with the regular camera instead of video camera.)

State Fans

 Hi All,

We declared Saturday "State Day" (as every day should be) in honor of MSU taking on the Irish of Notre Dame. Drew and Bree cheered for the Spartans with Grandma and Grandpa from the home front, while I went to see the game live, complete with a little tailgating. (Jim was off in Green Bay also enjoying a football weekend.) Our team did not disappoint. We won a shocker in overtime, with a field goal fake, thrown for a touchdown on 4th and 14! Final Score: MSU 34 - ND 31. Love it!

"Proud to be a Spartan!"

"Me too!"

Watching the game - looks like a tense moment...

"Go ahead and get us as many toys as you want - we love the boxes they come in!"

Cozy

Hi All,
Drew and Bree had a case of the cozies today. It's so nice to see them showing their affection!

Drew cozies up to a monkey, or two, or three

And later.....     I wasn't sure if I should title this:

Bree cozies up to Drew

or: Our living room at it's best!

And, by the way, this is standard for our living room these days. Everyone once in a while it bothers me, but for the most part, I've accepted the state of disarray we call our home. :) But that's another post.

Oh the love!

Drew kicking back to watch some Dora

And Riley gets some bedtime cozies

The cats want no part of cozy-fest, so Drew and Bree help them step outside

Special Delivery

Hi All,
My dad came by with a special delivery - a fresh batch of pumpkins from his garden. I like them - it gets us in the fall spirit. The kids had fun rolling them along the sidewalk and moving them from place to place. It was a long while before they made it to their final resting spot!
Oh, and please excuse our weed garden in these pictures. I guess we are waiting until spring to clean it up and start over.

Oh - the excitement!

Pumpkins for my pumpkins!

Drew just wanted to move them

And Bree helped

And Drew proudly delivers one back to Grandpa

Birthday Celebration

Hi All,
I celebrated yet another birthday. The celebration started a little early, as Jim and I spent the weekend in Chicago. We arrived Saturday mid-day and settled in to a relaxing day. We grabbed some Thai food (a favorite of mine) for lunch and watched some football and dare I say a nap before venturing out! We headed to a sports bar to catch dinner and some more football with our friends Doug and Lisa. We also made a stop to the John Hancock observatory for some great views of the city. Then, on Sunday we joined our friends Al and Sandy for the Bears-Lions football game at Soldier field. Both teams played bad, which made for a close match. And, we witnessed first-hand the most controversial call of the weekend - a Lions caught pass in the end zone to win the game (yes, it WAS a catch), which was reviewed and called incomplete to everyone's surprise.
Monday was back to business as usual.  We attended our first gymnastics class today at the MAC; it's called Wrigglers. The class description stated it was for children starting as young as 18 months. But Drew and Bree were nowhere near ready to perform much of anything the instructor asked of them. Bree wanted nothing to do with the instructor and spent the entire time running around the gym on her own or stuck to me. We did get a few somersaults out of Drew. Luckily, D & B were the only two kids in the class, so we weren't disruptive to anyone else!
But, of course, it was good to be home to celebrate my birthday with my kiddos. When Jim got home, he cooked a great dinner, then we made a cake run which made the day complete! :)

Bree at the ready to help with the opening of gifts

Drew demonstrating his latest trick - climbing over couch to the buffet table

Trying for a picture - but the kids are way more interested in the cake

and balloons

Come Sail Away

Hi All,
Jim and I picked up a Lake Michigan sunset cruise at a silent auction and thought it would be the perfect treat for our friend Kris's milestone birthday (even though we celebrated several months late!) And, as luck would have it, we also had the perfect weather last night for the trip. We arrived on the boat, and our captain Jared greeted us with refreshments and snacks galore. It was great! It's safe to say we all enjoyed the beautiful, relaxing evening on the water.

Beautiful Lake Michigan

Enjoying good food, drink, and company

Our buds Brad and Kris

Hair Raising Experience

Hi All,
Well, we are back to the drawing board with Drew's haircuts. We took him to a local place for a cut (the fun kids' place was just too far to drive). He was not at all pleased with the experience! He wouldn't sit on the chair by himself, so Jim had to hold him. He fought every step of the way, turning his head this way and that. Needless to say, the results were also a bit jagged. I'm sure the stylist was happy to see us go! The bright spot for Drew - a sucker for all the pain and suffering we put him through.

Unhappy customer

End result - still mad

"I'm taking my sucker and getting out of here!"