The Nutcracker

Today I took Isabella to see The Nutcracker for the first time. Having been a pseudo-ballerina at one time in my life I have been anxious to share this experience with her. I made peace with the fact that we would most likely be leaving early which made the experience a little easier. Not to say it was easy. Isabella LOVED it. And you see, that was the problem. From the moment the overture started her head bobbed in unison with the music and her little legs ached in need to join in on the movement. She was able to contain herself pretty well for the first half, thanks in part to our awesome seats. We were only 3 rows back in the balcony (which I have always preferred to get the full stage view) with nobody in front of us directly. She had no trouble seeing. At intermission she entertained most of the lobby with her skilled arabesques and even inspired some other young folk to join in. For the second act we moved to an empty section of the balcony as I anticipated an early exit. I was correct in my thinking. She enjoyed Mother Ginger with the children running under her skirts, but the Waltz of the Flowers is a little too long for anyone to handle. I was glad to take off, as the production was good (definitely better than I could have ever danced) but the set and choreography (in my humble opinion) uninspiring. Plus we beat the traffic (yay!). I am glad that we did it, but I will probably hold off for a few years before we do it again. As Isabella said when we were done, "mommy, that was a really long movie."

Oh Christmas Tree...

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how long will you be standing? Seriously....

We put up our trees December 1st and neither girl will leave them alone. Noelle's main goal is to savor the taste of every ornament, while Isabella likes to make up stories about the ballerinas - this cannot be done without taking them off the tree. Her favorite story is about the double life of ballerinas- I bet you didn't know they are physical therapists too. According to Isabella, ballerinas help get the people out of bed who have headaches and knees that hurt. It is no coincidence that I also went to work this week for the first time in ages. This is how I've explained my job to her because I don't think she would understand that some people have artificial knees and it is my job to torture them, or that the 300lb guy that just laid his bike down on "The Dragon" and has a shattered pelvis must walk TODAY (per dr.'s orders). I do love my job but it is a tough one to explain to the queen of "but why?" On a funny note, Isabella was crying before bed last night. When we asked her why, she said through her tears "I am just a drama queen!"

As for Noelle, we have increased our workload by 90% by putting up the trees. We need to know where she is now every second. She is very skilled at taking off ornaments. Her favorites are the plastic icicles. She'll double fist them and lick away. Yum! The grandmas are going to be very happy to have us in their "empty nester inappropriately decorated for children" houses this Christmas. The neat part about all of this is that you can truly see the excitement in their faces. There is something magical about all of those lights.

proof

Here is proof of Ellie, or as we like to call her, The Ellinator, performing her gate-climbing stunts. She looks alot like George, the infant chimpanzee here at the Knoxville Zoo. Don't worry, Ben was within arms length of her, hidden from the camera for effect.

does your child do this?

Lately every picture I take of Isabella looks similar to this. We recently had their christmas pictures taken at JCPenney and I asked the lady to PLEASE stop asking her to smile. Somewhere along the line at school she learned how to make a funny face and she really enjoys doing it. Her favorite one is this 1/2 face smile. I try to tell her that this is funny, but not what we want in our pictures. Oh well, she will enjoy looking at these with her boyfriend when she is 16. Paybacks. I figured out that I must have done something really bad to my mom as a young child for her to let me walk around with bangs like that in middle school. In Ellie news, we have recently found out that the gate at the top of our steps is not going to work on its own as a baby proofer. She has been sticking her toes in the little holes and climbing up to the top. I'm not sure what she thinks she will be able to do if she gets over it, but she is very proud of how she can give her mommy a heart attack.

Trick or Treat!

My girls were lucky enough to get to enjoy 2 trick or treats, one in Ohio and one in Tennessee. Isabella loved getting dressed up in her Cinderella outfit although we all agreed that sugar was probably the last thing she needed that day. Noelle was Little Red Riding Hood and seemed to be very proud of herself. She even left her bow in long enough for this picture! Here is Isabella with one of our neighbor girls dressed as Belle. There were a few princesses in the neighborhood but for the most part there were alot of kids dressed in black with weapons! Hope everyone had a happy halloween!

Happy Birthday Noelle!

I know this is a little late, since Ellie's birthday was last friday, but we were in Ohio visiting the folks and this is the first chance I've had to sit down and write. Izzy is out trick or treating with Ben and Ellie is sleeping for the moment. Thank you for peace...

Ellie's birthday was exciting but difficult. We were leaving for Ohio that night and I also decided to try to squeeze in Isabella's dance class and birthday portraits for Noelle. I know, I know....

Noelle refused to nap that morning. She must have known that she is a big girl now and doesn't need 2 naps like those little babies Audrey and Reed. Isabella was a royal stinker all morning (usual 3 year old pokiness and refusing simple tasks such as dressing, brushing hair, etc.) and must have sensed my annoyance because she did not improve as the day went on. By the time we got to the portrait studio, Noelle was exhausted and not interested in standing in 1 spot. Isabella, continuing to punish me, refused to help make Noelle smile. When we got home Noelle crashed and slept for awhile. When she woke up Ben was home and we celebrated with cupcakes. She took a few bites but didn't seem to like the sweetness which is fine with me. Isabella ate all her icing and like usual, was definitely affected by it! Then we packed up and shipped out - the girls slept all the way!

I am glad that we had another celebration for her in Ohio because I felt like she deserved a better birthday than the one I had given her in Knoxville! She had a great time and got to spend the day with our families. Thank you for all the kind gifts. She and her sister are very blessed to have so many people that care for them. We had a good visit and are looking forward to the time when we do not have to travel so far to see everyone.

I can't believe how fast this year went by. When I first became pregnant with Noelle I had no idea how crazy my life would become. I thought I was busy with just 1 child. Now I wonder what I did with all my free time!! But really, she is a joy to be around. She will be my strong girl I think, with a sense of humor to back it up. Her smile will light up many hearts.

Here we go again..

Well y'all, another year has passed in my life and oh how many changes we have had in our family! Last year this time I was swollen from head to toe and anxiously awaiting the birth of our baby. Isabella was still somewhat a baby - she slept in a crib and used a paci even though she could give me the synapsis of her day in complete paragraphs. Today I turned 33 and I chased after an almost 1 year old toddler and answered one thousand "but why?" questions from my little girl. We had a good day, me and my girls. Ellie took 2 naps, Izzy and I watched dancers and danced in the basement and then "tailgated" in our new minivan while we sang the name song "Izzy, Izzy bo bizzy....". We went to the mall where I attempted to spend some birthday money and then decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Instead we played at the little playground there and tossed pennys in the fountain. When Ben got home we had cupcakes and then went to dinner. Izzy was a little loopy from the icing and Ellie did not want to be contained so that did not go so well. However, they are now in bed and there is quiet in the house. I reflect on how difficult I think that my life is sometimes and then remember how truly blessed I am for such a wonderful family.

Continuation of mountain trip

I was having technical difficulties after adding that video clip in so I just decided to start another post so please go back and read the previous post if you want the whole exciting story about our weekend! I am just not computer savvy! Here is Isabella on a ride with Ben.

Ellie rode some rides as well. She even drove the 50's style cars and loved it (hated waiting in line however.)

For Ben and myself, the trip was alot of work as all of you with little ones know. We endured frequent whining, many potty trips, and lack of sleep. But in the end, those little glimmering moments made it all worth it.

Our mountain trip

Since we may be moving from the area soon we decided to take a fall trip to the smokies this past weekend. Our cabin was beautiful - we have stayed in cabins many times before but the view from this one was incredible, especially with the fall color beginning to show. Isabella loved running up and down the steps and checking out the hot tub (although we did not allow her in it). Ellie got into all kinds of trouble as it was not baby-proofed. For those of you who have not seen her in person lately, she is my stunt-baby. She started walking just before 10 months and is now trying to run. Here is some video of her on one of the porches.

We decided to go to Dollywood as we have not had the opportunity yet to sample this southern confection. The girls had a great time. Isabella loved the rides and watching the singers. Her favorite ride was the river raft where we got completely soaked. She was never scared which surprised me. She just kept saying "Oh my goodness! It's the end of the world! We are all wet!". I think she was imitating me.

I started a blog today!

What a thrilling accompishment! Today I actually did something I said I was going to do. The ladies in our playgroup have been blogging about their cuties for awhile and I thought it was a wonderful way to let long distance friends and relatives know what the kids are doing. Since we may be moving to Ohio in the spring it will also be a good way to keep up with the friends we have made here in Tennessee. I have watched our children grow up from babies to toddlers to preschoolers these past 3 years and I would love to see what grade schoolers, teenagers, and people they become (think we could keep it up that long girls?). I will write more later, but for now I need to figure out how this all works!