Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?

Earlier tonight, Sara called me to tell me about how Allie rolled over on the pillow she was laying on and ended up on her back on the floor. (The pillow was also on the floor-- just to clarify!) It was a pretty stellar milestone, but Sara also felt as though it might have been a "mommy fail" since Allie rolled off the pillow in the 5 seconds that she looked away to get her camera.

I assured her that if that was the worse thing that Allie did when she wasn't looking- that we could probably call it a success.

Point proven tonight by my youngest son.

Matt and I were cleaning up from dinner, and I told Owen to go get his jammies picked out and then I'd come give him a bath. Eli ran back to the bedroom with Owen, so I took a couple more minutes in the kitchen before heading back. Just as I was about to head to the bathroom, I heard Owen cackling and shrieking. I ran to the bathroom and discovered Eli, grinning, wet up to his armpits, drinking from his tiny, little cupped hand, from the toilet. Yes. From the TOILET.

Disgusting. I don't even know what to say.

See Sara, now don't you feel better about what your kid did in the seconds that you looked away? ;)

Lesson Learned!

This weekend we went down to Brown County to finish up our Christmas shopping in Nashville and spend a night in one of favorite local getaways, the Abe Martin Lodge. We succeeded in finding the perfect gifts and made our way to the lodge.

The boys had a wonderful time swimming at their indoor waterpark. Owen had been counting down "sleeps" and "schools" all week in anticipation of our trip. The boys both LOVE the fact that they are allowed to go down the great big slide! Matthew and I love the fact that the waterpark is just the right size for our little guys and that it captivates them so well. We are also fans of the fact that they sleep extremely well after a day of playing in the water :)

After swimming for several hours, we went to grab dinner at our favorite Nashville pizza place and then returned to the hotel just in time for story time. The boys enjoyed listening to The Polar Express while sitting near the crackling fire.

As we were returning to our room to tuck our little guys in for the night, (They were already in jammies), we noticed a commotion going on in the gathering room just down the hall from our room. Matthew informed me that there was an "elf" dancing in there.

Well, you can't be told that there's an elf dancing, and NOT go check it out. Right? So we mosey on down there to nib nose, and see what was going on. Turns out, the "elf" was a square dance caller, and the "Bucks & Does" Square Dancing club of Nashville was hosting a dance right there in the lodge.

We were immediately approached by one the members who began his high pressure square dance sales pitch right away. He kept on trying to tell us how easy it was, and how much fun we'd have- and how we really, really NEEDED to get out there. We politely refused his repeated offers, but he didn't go away- he continued to do everything in his power to try to get us out there. We didn't feel as though we could walk away. The old boy was sweet and engaging and telling us his family history- how could we leave? I tried to tell him that we needed to get the boys to bed, and it really was getting late- but it was to no avail.

Soon, several of the women members of the club came over and informed us that they were watching our boys, and we WERE going to go dance. We continued to refuse, but it was all over when the caller spotted us, layed down his mike, and came over to drag us onto the floor.

Yes folks, that's right, Matthew and I square danced on that fine Friday night in Brown County, Indiana. I can now say that we have do-si-doed, promenaded, grand right and lefted, and various other square dance moves. All of the people were super nice and very patient with our lack of skills. They even had suggestions for my dyslexic self not knowing my right from my left. "Just put a bracelet on your right wrist, honey!" After the dance was over, all of the dancers came over to pat us on our backs, shake our hands and thank us for participating... As if we'd had a choice!

I have to admit that we did have fun. Matthew even admitted after much grumbling, that it was a *little* bit fun.

So! The lesson learned here is that if you ever see this...

And you don't intend on dusting off your dancing shoes... DO NOT for any reason go any closer. If you can see the whites of their eyes, you're probably already too close. Avert your eyes, and walk away. quickly. in the other direction.

On the other hand, if you're up for an impromptu, good time- go ahead and take a look-see. Because curiosity doesn't always kill the cat. Sometimes it just makes him dance!

Did someone press fast forward?

Was it seriously three weeks ago that I said that I would put a new blog up later that week?? I swear it was like three days ago.

It's not a suprise to anyone that this time of the year just flies by, and blogging has toppled right down to the bottom of my to-do list. It makes me sad though. I love my blog.

So let's see, things that have happened since Eli's party...

The following weekend, our nephew, Nolan was baptized. Matthew is his Godfather, so you'd think that I'd have some good pictures of the ceremony- but nope, Eli decided to shriek like a banshee, so we observed from the cry room. It was a lovely evening, and I do at least have cute pictures of Nolan from his party :)

Isn't he just the cutest?? I just love him and he has such an awesome personality to match his sweet face!

This guy was awfully cute too though- doing some light calculus reading before the party :)

After we got back, it was time for Owen's halloween party at school. Jodi was an excellent sister-in-law and came over to watch Eli so that I could go help with the party. Those kids were so stinkin' cute, it was ridiculous. I was also reminded of the fact that Owen's teachers are magic. MAGIC! I say! They have 20 four-year-olds towing the line and never even raise their voices. Owen adores them, as do the rest of the kids from what I gather.

Owen is in between the Ninja Turtle and Wonder Red on the front row.

Then it was Halloween for real. We took the boys trunk or treating at the church, and we totally thought that we were off the hook for actual trick-or-treating, until Owen asked us when it was going to be "dark Halloween". What exactly is, "dark Halloween", I inquired. He informed me that it's when it's getting dark so that the houses turn on their lights and you go knock on their doors for candy. Hmmmmm, can't pull the wool over his eyes anymore...

Then we bought a mower. It's awesome. It was a long time coming!

Sara and I took the kiddos to the zoo and Sara got to experience the awesomeness that is cool, fall zoo day. Our day especially rocked because my neighbor, TJ, who is interning in the Oceans building showed us around and even fed the penguins so that the boys could watch him. TJ is totally their hero after that!

Then, Holy Geez, it was Thanksgiving! We made the trek to Southern Indiana and spent the holiday with our Gessner family. We also got some quality Koenig/Fleck/Dilger time as well.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we spent the day with my Toschlog family. It's always great to see all of them, but it was even more special, because we were able to take my Little Sister, Michelle, along- as well as her little one, KaeLynn! I just love those girls, and I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like!! It was so great to be able to spend the day with my sis, and snuggle that sweet, sweet little girl! (Why don't I have pictures of this day!?!? I have no idea!)

Next up was Owen's Christmas program at school. It was SUPER cute, and Owen was seriously the cutest little guy there. This was confirmed by completely non-partial third parties such as Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Sar!

No, seriously- tell me he doesn't look ridiculously handsome!

Last Friday/Saturday, we got our first snow of the year.

The boys were excited, and Owen especially loved playing in it. Eli however doesn't love being bundled up in all of his snow gear.

Eli layed there like a slug. It was his only defense.

Saturday, we got to babysit Cooper for the first time. We had a great time, and the boys loved loving on Cooper. Owen informed us that he would be a good big brother to Cooper... Not Eli... Cooper.

Eli expressed his love by putting Cooper in a headlock/strangle hold. Fortunately, Cooper didn't seem to mind too badly. He's working on toughening up by spending time with my two hoodlums :) He is just so gosh darn cute. We're loving this aunt and uncle gig!

Last Sunday we celebrated St. Nick's day at St. Susanna with the St. Nicholas breakfast. Jodi and Cooper joined us for the event- and Cooper even got his picture taken with St. Nick (Who has apparently been doing Weight Watchers!)

That night, we took my my mom and dad to their first Colts game at Lucas Oil. It was a fun evening, and I'm thankful that they were able to go with us!

Well, now you're all caught up. That's what we've been doing. You better have something to say about it in the comments section, so that I feel missed and like I should write some more blogs! ;)

I'll do my best to get a couple more blogs up between now and Christmas, but I need to buckle down and get my elf hat on, 'cuz I've got some gifts to make between now and then!!

BRB

Hopefully I'll have a new blog up sometime this week. Sorry for the long wait, it's been a rough week.

Get excited about some Halloween cuteness coming your way.

Birthday Party

Saturday we celebrated Eli's 2nd birthday penguin style. There was family, there were friends, and there was even an adorable, baby penguin to complete the day!



We had beautiful weather, so Matthew and I played "Grill Masters" and barbequed ribs for the clan.



Unfortunately, Owen came down with a fever shortly into the party, so this is one of the only pictures that I have with both boys from the day. It sure is a cute one though!



I don't really think that Eli minded his brother's absense too terribly much. He got his own special day where everyone doted on him.

I made Eli penguin cakes since penguins are his favorite.

He wasn't too sure that he actually wanted to eat a penguin.

A taste of buttercream solved that problem though...

Turns out though, that eating black buttercream gives you a rockin', necrotic tongue.

Everyone was sportin' them!

Eli even busted out his boots for the occasion. How can you resist a cute boy in cowboy boots?

I know I can't!

You know that it's an important event when the Todderazzi is there to capture the memories!

And then there were presents. Lots of presents. However, I don't think that there are any pictures of presents because Eli's favorite thing that he received was a Toy Story birthday card that sang, "Woody's Roundup", when you opened it. There are pictures of the card for sure!

This little boy had a hitch in his giddy-up for three days after his party because of the walk/dance he does whenever the card sings to him!

It was a pretty great party, and as always, I was so thankful for our wonderful family and friends. We are blessed!

Dear Baby

Dear Eli,

My precious, precious boy. I can't even begin to tell you what a joy you have been in our lives these past two years. You have brought a fullness to our lives, and filled a space that we didn't know was empty. Every day is special with you. Because of you.

You are such a funny little boy. You make the best faces, and you can always make me smile. You can light up a room with your silly ways. You still have very few actual words, but you are incredibly communicative. I rarely have trouble figuring out what it is that you want. :)

My absolute favorite thing about you is your sweet, loving nature. You love to snuggle, read books, and get belly rubs. When I ask you if you're "Mommy's baby", you give an emphatic head nod to assure me that you are.

You bring the sunshine into our world.

We love you.

Happy Birthday!

Mommy

To my husband

Happy Birthday to the best husband a girl could ask for.

Happy Birthday to a fantastic father.

Happy Birthday to my very best friend.

I have so many more things that I could say, but well, you are sitting here listening to me sniffing my head off- so I know that you'll forgive me for cutting it short for tonight.

I love you.