Feliz Navidad 2012

We had a wonderful holiday season this year spending Christmas Day in Wheaton. 

Christmas Eve was spent in Wauconda.  Here C is delivering a present to her cousin,  Baby Charlie.

C and V loved playing with their cousins.  Even though it only happens in short stints, it is great to see them starting to play independently with other children.

C and V love Baby Charlie.  They are always asking about him and they get very excited when they get to see him!

One of their favorite gifts was a pair of rolling suitcases from Nonnie and Pop.  They have already used them on a overnight stay with Aunt Kristin.

C was a very focused gift opener.  

After Christmas we all came down with a cold so we took advantage of some down  time.  Here Papa is instructing the girls on proper TV watching posture.

C and V have never been super into TV until this movie came on the other night.  Now we are bombarded by requests to watch Dorothy.  Some of their Wizard of Oz catchphrases include: "No hot" (translation: the Wicked Witch always shows up in a burst of fire), "Dorothy night night" (translation: Dorothy falls asleep in the poppy field and "Hold it" (translation: Dorothy is always holding Toto).  

Ho, Ho, Ho (No!)

The Girls continue to be very busy since turning 2 in October.  Here are some recent shots of some activities over the past several weeks.  They continue to say more and more each day, the most eloquent blend of Spanish and English that Brooke has ever heard!  

Our 2012 Family Photo Shot was received with mixed reactions from the Girls.  Here Caroline has about had it with the poses.  There was a lot of "Uppp!" coming from them on this day.

C chasing V because V has decided to take her dried apple snacks.  1/2 the time it is the other way around, so don't feel too bad for either one of them.

Today we decided to make Papa's favorite Jam Thumbprint Cookies.  Here the Girls are donning their Chef's outfits that Johnny Huber gave them for their Bday.  We had a great time; V was very meticulous with ensuring enough nuts were rolled onto the dough balls, while C seemed to be in a race and in between rolling the dough in the nuts, she would take bites out of the raw dough (rolled in egg white).  We're hoping she keeps it down if you know what we mean!

Chef Caroline here is demonstrating the fine art of taste-testing  her creation.

Her Partner Chef Victoria is proudly displaying a perfectly rolled Jam Thumbprint dough ball.

The spread.

A couple weeks back we visited the Nature Museum and grabbed a bite to eat at the Farmers Market afterward and then looked at the ducks in the pond.

At the Nature Museum, V got up and personal with the Christmas Iguana.  This guys is the chillest creature on earth, he never even flinched with dozens of Kids curiously exploring him all morning.

V with C in chase.

Wonder if Brooke would allow one of these in our house?

...and at last, here is our recent face-to-face with Santa Claus last night.  As you can see, Victoria was absolutely terrified, the poor thing.  C was not far behind, and Santa questions whether this job pays enough! The Girls love talking about Santa and reciting Ho, Ho, Ho, but this was apparently just too real for them...maybe next year!

Here C and V cuddle up to their buddy, Ms. Stephanie (V's Godmother) and check out a transformer.

Another Family Photo Shot, our photog must have taken 500 pics and somehow found a keeper or two amongt them.

Trick or Treat

C and V loved their first Halloween on the trick or treating circuit.  They caught on VERY quickly to the whole process.

Our fellow trick or treaters: Charlie the Dragon and Ricky the Fireman

A quick beso between houses

Buzzzzzzz!

The last stop was at our friend Brianne's house.

As you can see, the girls were already getting into their treat bags and trying out their first lolipops.

The Big 2

C and V had a wonderful time at their 2nd birthday party last weekend.  Thanks to everyone who made it out to celebrate with us!

Fall Fests

A couple weeks back we hit the St Charles Scarecrow Festival with Grandpa Paul.

We went to the River Trail Nature Center's Fall Festival.  The Girls brought their strollers along and  enjoyed a walk in the Woods.  C & V saw two owls, a hawk a bald eagle, lots of turtles and plenty of snakes.

After a little apprehension, the Girls ended up enjoying a hayride through the Forest Preserve.

We enjoyed lunch while the Bluegrass Band played in the background and  the  Musket Demonstrations boomed loud enough to scare pretty much every little kid at the Fest.

Here the Girls pose for a photo with their friends (Left to Right): Eden, Caroline, Emmett, Connor and Victoria.

The Beautiful Shop

On their 2nd birthday, C and V asked that their mom stop giving them bad haircuts!  So off to the beautiful shop we went...

Mom and Dad were shocked at how smoothly the experience went.  Caroline was the first up and she was a happy clam in the taxi watching a Dora DVD.

It was a read deal haircut...with clips and all!

Victoria soon followed and was very excited to get the choo choo.

Studying the technique

Neither C nor V were big fans of the hair dryers, but they managed through

Voila!  Victoria's first pigtails!

Happy Birthday Pop and Welcome Little Charlie!

Recently, the girls helped Pop celebrate his birthday and they finally got to meet their new cousin!

!Feliz cumpleanos Pop!

Hanging out at the lake

C and V are really into their baby dolls right now, so they were super excited to meet the real deal...Cousin Charlie!

Pop and his fan club

We took this picture last night as we were getting changed into our PJs.  What can we say?  The girl knows how to strike a pose!