A few Thanksgiving Snapshots

2 Thanksgiving dinners, 2 days full of family, laughter and lots -o-food!

We are SO thankful for the amazing family we have! Here are a few shots of H & H's first Thanksgiving (Elliott Tgiving first, Duluth celebration 2nd)

Hudson, Harper and Izaak with great grandma Tootie, playing on the organ that is over 50 years old!

These are a few of my favorite things...

I caught the tail end of the Oprah episode yesterday afternoon and it just happened to be "Oprah's Favorite Things 2010". Man, it'd be AWESOME to be in the audience for that episode.
Anyway...it got me thinking. I will probably have a "My Favorite Things, Part 1, 2, and 3" as things come to me......but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Christmas which is JUST around the corner.....here are a few of my (recent) favorite things:

1. My two little miracles. What kind of mom would I be if I didn't put my little pumpkins at the tip top of the list? Life with these two is simply amazing lately. Ugh...here come the tears! Seriously though...they are happy, giggly, inquisitive, observant, constantly moving, grabbing, wiggling, snuggling and taking in the world around them. My heart hurts with how much I love them. Sooo...#1 of my favorite things: Hudson and Harper
2. My husband. This man gets more amazing by the day. He's the best father, provider and friend and makes my life so much more rich being able to live each day with with his smile and big bear hugs. He is SO happy to walk in the door after work....everyday. I can never tell if the day was tough, traffic was a beast or if he is just generally tired because he comes in with the biggest smile and love oozing from him while he rushes over to the babies and smothers him with kisses. 9 years with this guy and each year gets better than the last. Seriously.....we (H & H and I) are so lucky!

3. The best fam ever. Mom, dad, sister, nephews, mother/sister/brothers-in-law, aunts/uncles, cousins, grandma Tootie, and in this I include my dear friends b/c they are like family.........we're just so totally blessed beyond belief. I feel so very thankful for the completely wonderful people in our circle. Family that will willingly jump in the car to drive 1.5-2 hours just to visit for a few hours, friends that jump on a plane to visit for the weekend, sister who will pack up my adorable nephews and face the cold/ice/snow (while pregnant) to visit for a few hours....thank you, thank you, thank you!

***ON TO LIGHTER THINGS***

4. Starbucks/Caribou Holiday drinks. Simple pleasures like a nonfat peppermint mocha with a dash of whip cream.........YUM!
5. Heated seats in my car. Makes jumping in the car to run a few errands so much more tolerable!
6. Crock Pot. I feel like I am cleaning this beast of a thing daily......but that is only because I have been making tons o' meals in it lately and I love it. With (almost) 6 month old twins......dinner time is a bit chaotic. Soo- during the day, I can throw all of the ingredients in this wonderful apparatus, let it bubble and cook all day and then we can eat at a "normal" dinner time because we can quickly eat before we put the twins to bed vs. after. Love this thing.
7. Our nannies. We are so incredibly blessed to have our nanny Steph and Blake's younger sister, Katie watch the babies everyday week after week. There are a bgillion reasons why we love these 2 so much....they are great with the babies, they make it look easy juggling the two all day between snuggling, naps, feedings, entertaining them, teaching them new things, etc.....and it is also so wonderful to not have to pack up the babes every day and face the cold/slippery roads to bring them to daycare so we can both work. We're so fortunate!
8. Tuesday night-Biggest Loser night. Though I have missed quite a few Tuesday's recently....this little Tuesday tradition includes indulging in a sweet treat, a glass of wine and bundling up on Michelle's couches to watch these crazy, dedicated contestants sweat off the lb's while America cheers them on. It's so great to know the girls will be getting together every Tuesday and so the girl time, sweets, wine, and BL are definitely one of my fave things.
9. Amazon.com Books, Christmas gifts, baby gear, Birthday presents....I LOVE shopping on Amazon. Plus with all of the competition between Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.....Amazon is keeping with the competitive spirit and offering FREE shipping on almost everything. Sooo....Christmas shopping in my warm, cozy home in pj's, at any hour of the day? Yes, please!
10. Presents. Though it's fun to get, I mean presents in the context of wrapping and giving! I'm all stocked up on wrapping paper, bows, ribbons and can't wait to start wrapping gifts, storing them under our tree and then of course giving them to family/friends.

A few fun video's...time to start sharing the bgillion we've taken

This free photo collage created with Smilebox

Adventures in Eating...

These two have been busy taste testing some REAL food and they are loving it! First up, we went bananas...B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Ok, that was lame. But, you know we sang that as we tried them out.

Reluctant at first.........
But two VERY happy little eaters!

Each baby did a scrunchy face and a little shiver at their first taste of the food....but the next bite was less of a shock and much more pleasing. Ha!

Next up, butternut squash fresh from a local farm in Apple Valley. They get VERY excited now when they get into their high chairs and though they were a bit confused at the first bit.......they eventually loved it.

Who knew this would be so fun!

Month #4 Recap (just a little late)

Partners in crime....not sure where they're going, but they're getting ready to make a getaway!

Well.....the babies are already 5.5 months old (almost) and here I am recapping their 4 month. Whatevs....life is gloriously busy and so it's better late then never ;-)

Month number 4.......definitely the MOST fun one yet. It's like these little people replaced our little babies. They have personality, they are so much more engaged in their surroundings, they've gotten so strong.....there are so many milestones!

Much of the milestones, I noted below. Both love to stand, grab at things, pull just about anything into their mouths (toys, clothes, burp clothes, pacifiers....anything). They seem to "favor" certain toys and the blue "hand", teething ring and Sophie the giraff are a few favorites.

Mr. Hudson

At your 4 month appointment which was on September 27th, you were 16.3lbs and 26.25 inches tall. 75th-90th percentile for height and weight.

You are wearing size 3 diapers.

You take about 7-8oz at each feeding which is now pretty much all formula.

You are a very messy eater, but do love being fed. We have you on rice cereal and oatmeal- which end up in the ears, neck, tummy rolls.....but it's so much fun to watch you eat.

You love to stand and barely need much support at all.......so strong!

You love to be tickled on your sides and under your chin....you just SCREAM with laughter!

You talk, talk, talk nonstop.

You love the Jumperoo......you could spend all day in that thing if we let you .

You roll over from back to tummy, but haven't rolled from tummy to back yet.

You love bathtime...and love getting ready for bathtime because daddy gets you all hyped up and laughing uncontrollably.

You love your feet....you lay with your legs up in the air during naps, playtime, when you're on the changing table. You especially love to pull your little socks off.

Little socks? Scratch that....BIG socks. You have big feet and hands. You're gonna be a BIG boy!

You love your sister. You look at her, reach out to her and smile really big when she responds.

You LOVE the pups! You crane your neck, body, arms in the direction of them and pet them and tug on their ears whenever they are close enough. They LOVE the attention...I see a great little bond forming!

Hudson, you are amazing. You are the happiest, funnest, most jolly little soul and it's the greatest gift to be your mom and dad. You wake up with the sweetest smile and squeel of delight.....you're all around an extremely happy baby!

Miss Harper Rae

At your 4 month appointment on Sept 27th, you weighed 13.2lbs and were 24inches tall. This is the 50th percentile for height and weight.

You were size 2 diapers, though I sometimes put you in size 3 which are more like a "diaper suit" but hey- it's kind of nice to not have to buy 2 different sizes.

You usually eat about 6oz per feeding....and it's pretty much all formula.

You started out an extremely messy eater.....but have gotten quite skilled and "neat". You love eating by spoon.....but the timing for this feeding session has to be timed right. If you're overly tired....forget it. No food will distract you from your tiredness.

You started standing just before you turned 5 months. Your feet are exceptionally tiny (as are your hands) so it's funny to see this tiny little body and feet standing so perfectly straight in our laps.

You love to be tickled in your neck and on your tummy.

You love to talk and squeeeeel! You actually SCREAM but it is followed by more jabber and then giggles.....not tears so it's a happy scream not a freaking out scream. It's extremely dramatic.....it scares me actually for what lies ahead.

You roll from back to tummy, but haven't yet rolled from tummy to back.

Bathtime is the highlight of your day. You are seriously the happiest, jolliest little child in the tub. You constantly grab the washclothe and try to suck the water from it...?

Come to mention it, you just love to be naked. You love diaper changes, getting dressed/undressed and the tub. Uh oh.

You love grabbing at faces....especially the puppies and your brothers. You stick your little hands in Hudson's mouth (while he smiles away) and I've caught you grabbing and pulling at Koko's ears and face (while she snores away).

Harper, this month has been especially huge for you. While you started the month just sort of getting out of the fussy stage, as soon as you started "talking" it's like you changed into the happiest, most jolly (we use that word a lot when describing you) baby. You just seem to have really been developing before our eye's it's been the most amazing thing to experience. I LOVE hearing you talk to yourself in the morning....then you talk, talk, talk after your bottle as if you're telling me about your dreams. You are beautiful, inside and out and it is the most precious gift to wake up to you everday.

Blake and I are more than fortunate to have such wonderful, beautiful and healthy children. I bet he says about 5 times a day how blessed we are. Seriously! We feel like life keeps getting richer and I'm just in awe of words often because I feel so lucky that this is our life.