new towels

tennyson and maggie got new towels the other day.

we pulled them out for the first time tonight.

i think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

even after we were all dry and in pajamas, we spent a lot of time in our towels.

in between roars, tennyson would run up to me...

"mama, name is sully."

and then more roars and the occasional...

"mama, gaggie name mike."

so tonight, instead of putting tennyson and maggie to bed,

i got to put mike and sully to bed instead.

they are such goobers.

but i sure do love them.

coming out of hibernation

i feel like everything has gone into hibernation this winter...

including my blog.

i promise you haven't missed anything.

this winter has been dull and long and and we've spent far too much time in our pajamas watching tv.

i blame the bitter cold, the three thousand feet of snow and ice, and my ever expanding belly.

but lately, it seems the spring thaw might just finally be here.

our three thousand feet of snow has melted down to a more manageable foot or so and the sidewalks are finally clear and i can finally get my kids out the door without having to bundle them up in a million layers and still have to listen to them shiver and exclaim that it is "soooo cold, mama!!"

the windows in our house have actually been cracked open a few times.

yesterday they stayed open for a good duration of the afternoon.

it's amazing how wonderful 45 degrees can feel after a winter that had far too many days below freezing.

----- ----- -----

yesterday we went to our little outdoor mall here in lansing.

mike was able to get out of school before six, which was glorious, and so we all took a little family trip to get some outdoor air and some new clothes and books.

speaking of new clothes, maggie is all sorts of girly trouble.

she's our fashionista.

we walked into baby gap yesterday and maggie stopped dead in her tracks.

her eyes bugged out and when she recomposed herself she ran towards the racks exclaiming (in the most excited of little voices) "wow!! pretty dress!!"

it didn't surprise us one bit.

----- ----- -----

truthfully, maggie is a hoot lately.

she's got a personality as big as the sky.

and a vocabulary to match.

she absolutely insists on choosing out her own clothes, and on any given day you'll likely find her decked out from head to toe in pink with a tutu to match.

she's speaking to us in little sentences and we forget that she's not even two yet, until she goes full on tantrum mode, then we quickly remember.

and tennyson is still just as quirky as ever.

his newest love this winter has been legos.

he calls them his "puzzles" and he'll sit at the table for hours playing with his set.

he's also become quite the neat freak. there have been multiple days where i'm lazier than i should be and a little tennyson comes up to me, gestures around the room, and says "see the mess, mama?"

being trapped indoors together all winter has really brought these two kids together.

they're the best of friends, and i love that they have really become playmates lately.

it's nice hearing them in the other room giggling and having a good time.

and it's nice having some time to myself while they play.

that part won't last much longer. we've only got two more weeks until #3 gets here.

so here is to spring finally arriving in michigan.
(i'm blissfully ignoring the snow in our forecast for tonight.)

i promise that we are out of hibernation mode and that my blog will be more active in the upcoming seasons.

one year

sometimes i can't believe just how much has changed

all in the short time of one year.

christmas at home

for the first time in our married lives, mike and i stayed home for christmas.

we've loved traveling in past years, and there is nothing like being with family for christmas,

but with two kids and one on the way, we decided it was too much hastle.

and we discovered that there is nothing like being home for christmas, either.

we started our christmas traditions inside our own home.

the kid's favorite was their advent calendars. nothing beats a piece of chocolate every single day.

we also took a trip to see christmas lights down in jackson.

the kids got to sit in the front seat with mom and we drove around the fairground spotting santas and dragons and trees.

on the way home, the kids slept and mom and dad listened to a recording of "a christmas carol" from the 1930s. it's a tradition from the fiske side that i quite enjoy.

on christmas eve, we decorated gingerbread cookies for santa.

tennyson decorated, maggie ate the sprinkles.

fun was had by all.

and after all the cookies were decorated, we grabbed the popcorn and snuggled on our couches watching "a year without a santa claus". it's one of my all time favorites.

santa came that night.

christmas morning started at 5:30am for us.

just like every other morning.

we opened our stockings on mom and dad's bed.

i think christmas morning could have ended here and the kids would have been perfectly happy.

we ate breakfast in bed, since it is one of my traditions that you don't get to see the tree until after breakfast.

maggie and tennyson had their traditional breakfast of eggos, and mike and i enjoyed my first attempt ever at cinnamon rolls.

then it was present time.

somehow santa knew just what the kids wanted.

the only toy tennyson wanted this year was the "m house". it's a scare floor from monsters inc that has figurines and doors that open into bedrooms and he hasn't stopped playing with it since he opened it.

in the afternoon, we skyped with our family.

 we had the missionaries and some neighbors over for a turkey dinner.

the kids both napped and recovered from the morning.

and we spent hours upon hours playing with all our new toys.

spending christmas at home was wonderful.

it was so nice to be able to enjoy the kids.

it was the first christmas that tennyson really understood and got excited about.

and the whole day, the lines from my favorite christmas song rang through my head...

"it's worth the wait the whole year through,

just to make someone happy like you,

and i'll never outgrow the thrill of christmas day."

november

i feel like november went by in a flash.

it was a busy month for us.

and a couple big things happened.

like when we found out we're expecting a girl,

and when mike accepted a job offer from general motors.

but the best part of november?

it seems always to be a month that is crammed full of family.

i like november for that reason.

and thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

we were very blessed this last month that my grandparents were able to come out to chicago to visit my family.

the week was full of custard and deep dish pizza and laughter.

my kids didn't go a single minute without having a playmate.

plus, we were able to make our way downtown a couple times.

i love downtown chicago, but it really comes alive at christmas time.

one of my favorites at christmas?

the museum of science and industry.

i would go there just to look at their trees.

and as if fate were smiling down on us,

this year was a disney theme.

and my kids thought grandma had taken them to disney world all over again,

and fell in love with christmas right then and there.

we were even more blessed that tennyson only had to go a week from the time we left chicago until the time they came up for thanksgiving.

and we were blessed to have someone to share that giant turkey with.

and the four (yes, four) pies.

ps... despite how absolutely amazing mike's turkey was, tennyson opted for the other traditional pilgrim feast of a peanut butter sandwich with a side of m&ms.

so that was our november.

on to december!

this month is going to be good.

mostly because of christmas,

a lot because of how much tennyson and maggie are loving the holiday,

with an extra topping of mike being on vacation.

happy holidays, folks.

we hope your november was as wonderful as ours.