A Jolly Few Weeks and a Merry Christmas

The Girls have been very busy over the past few weeks.  Visits to the park and to Great Nonnie Lo, a trip to Florida, and of course Christmas.  C's latest delight is constant walking with the aid of one's finger.  V is still on the loose and the more slack you give her to explore, the more she takes.  Both have developed a recent fascination with dogs.  Both quickly learned to love beach life in Florida, despite a jelly-fish sting incident w/ Victoria (she recovered with Godspeed).  Christmas was great and the Girls are surely going to enjoy their new toys.  Here are some recent pics.

Don't worry Nonnie Lo, she does this to us too!

A rare moment of Victoria not removing the barette in her hair.

Caroline and her little turtle claws.

There are more and more moments of the Girls playing with each other, which is great for Mom & Dad to see.

They love the box car, but it requires a lot of work from Dad.

Playing at the park in FL in December!

Both Girls like going down the slide, but you never know if they will end up head or feet first.

Back at the park in Chicago- chilly, but sunny!

The Girls love to explore the fridge- this was on vacation.

Nothing like milk and a view of the ocean for breakfast.

Beach day, every day.

V was a bit unsure of the sand and first, but quickly warmed up to the playa!

Caroline and her cousin Dominic at another fridge.

Book time w/ Mama.

The Girls loved the al fresco dining on our balcony.

Woof, woof.  Victoria now gets very excited when she sees dogs.

A moment like this is usually followed by C attacking V.

V awoke from her afternoon nap in an almost comatose state and proceeded to lounge in Dad's lap on the balcony for 1/2 hour.  It doesn't get much better than this as a Dad!

V loved climbing and sliding down a small  sand hill at the beach.

Caroline absolutely loved to walk in the water and splash the water.

Dad and the Girls.

Christmas Eve opening some of the first of the Girls' gifts.

Cousin Evelyn is very excited after opening her tent!

Whatch you talking about Dad?!

Auntie Kristin bought the Girls a Princess tent which they will certainly enjoy!h

C and V will be forever indebted to Aunt Carol and Uncle Tom for this state-of-the art wagon.   The Girls' one experience in the wagon was at the Pumpkin Patch this Fall and they loved it.

V simply loves books.  She explored Pop's office and pulled out one of Koontz's thrillers!



C has found herself w/ this face more than a few times.  She has definitely figured out how to get Mom and Dad to agree with her demands!



The Puccini Christmas photo.

A V1 Motor

Victoria treated Caroline to a ride at their Play Group the other day.  She probably could have pushed her for another 20 times, she thought it was the coolest thing.  Caroline clearly enjoyed it too.  When we got home, they both got on their little vehicles and wanted to be pushed around the room....constantly!

The Couch

The Girls love the couch.  Victoria can now get safely down from the couch on her own.  Meanwhile, Caroline has so much fun that many times she falls right off (usually backwards) and if you're not there to catch her, it would be a seriously unhappy Caroline.  Here is a clip of The Girls tonight jumping on the couch.

Go Yoda!

The Girls celebrated their Halloween in what has become almost a weekly outfit.  They debuted their Bears Cheerleader outfits at their birthday party and have worn them a few time since.  They went to a parade today with their buddy Charlie, who was dressed as Yoda.

Nonnie brought some Jack-o-lantern balloons last weekend and the Girls have been playing with them since.

Here they are on Southport in their outfits.  Still not huge fans of the stroller, but so long as they can get their grubby hands on some Cheerios, they are generally OK.

Here is their buddy, Charlie, who went as Yoda.  It was a good time!

A rare glimpse of daylight on Southport today.

Had to get this Great Dane.  

Caroline also has been packing up the grocery cart with everything from animals to her sippy cup.  She walks behind the  cart w/ stiff legs and on her ankles, but she manages to get around.  Both of them figured out how much fun it is to run the carts/walkers into daddy's legs this evening.  That was good for about 20 minutes of laughter.

On the Bench

Humboldt

Humboldt Park is one of the nicest in the City.  The Girls like a trip through to look at the ducks or just a little people watching.  Inside the park, they recently installed a new children's play area, which we checked out today.  We rode the bikes over to the park and tried our luck w/ the Chariot again.  To Mom/Dad's delight, the Girls enjoyed the ride.

Before we left V decided to climb up onto this work bench (not meant to hold 23lbs).

The Girls were all geared up and ready to go.

Neither V or C were quite sure how to climb up the rubber hill.

They liked getting in the mix of all the equipment.

Swings continue to be a reliable favorite.

A Day at Didier's

Nothing like pickin pumpkins in 78 degree weather!  The Family headed up to Didier's Farm to pumpkin hunt, visit the petting zoo, ride a hay ride and have a picnic lunch.  The Girls even went for a little wagon ride and had a fantastic time.

Caroline loved the animals.  She'd giggle and wiggle when they came near.

After a recent goat stampede, Victoria is still very cautious of the petting zoo.

They both loved the tractor hay ride.

Cheese!

Not that there is ANY room in the garage, but Mom and Dad may need to check into a wagon.  They girls thought this was the Bee's Knees.

Happy Birthday to C & V!

The Girls had a great time celebrating their FIRST Birthday, along with a Bear's win.  Thanks for celebrating with them!