Christmas, Birthday and More...

Hello. Thanks for checking in to see what is happening. We haven't posted anything too substantial in some time. The little stinkers keep us more than busy when they are awake. When they are sleeping we try to do the same (and clean, pay bills, etc...).

This year Christmas was fun with the girls. Last year they were only home less than one month when we celebrated Christmas. They did not quite get the gift thing yet. This year they understood that they would be getting presents. When asked what they wanted for Christmas they would say "pink presents" or "green presents" for example. They also wanted "Happy Birthday Jesus cake" (it was Jesus' birthday after all). They would have been happy with some empty boxes, balloons and Happy Birthday Jesus Cake. What they received (and we're not complaining) is more stuff than we, or they, could imagine. They received dolls, pretend guitars, digital cameras, books, play food, clothes and more. Thank you to everyone.


Ironically, one morning after Christmas (I was lucky enough to be able to take some time off) I let Rett sleep in and I fed the girls, bathed them and got them dressed. After I got them dressed I asked them if they wanted to go play. Laney immediately said "YES! I want to play hangers". I was a bit puzzled. She then picked up a plastic clothes hanger off the floor and then proceeded to the closet and pulled another clothes hanger out. She handed one to Abby and they headed for the living room. They then proceeded to spend the morning playing with two plastic clothes hangers. They had more toys that they could image and hangers were the toy of choice. It was hilarious.


After Christmas we took our 2nd annual trek to Indy to attend the Indy Auto Show and to do some shopping at Circle Center Mall, Target and etc... Last year when we to the event and we said it was their first American cultural experience :) In addition, last year when we went we first stopped at Babies R Us and purchased a double stroller. It makes us sad because we realized this year that they are quickly out-growing the stroller. The year flew by.


As you may be aware, the girls also have a birthday a week after Christmas. Last year we celebrated their 2nd birthday with just a few family members because they were only home for about a month and 3 days. This year we decided to throw them a party.


They had experienced a birthday party or two over the past few months. They soon began asking when they would get Happy Birthday cake? We kept telling them January 2nd (and January 3rd, the date of their party). They could not wait. Again, they appreciated the gifts, but on their birthday all they really wanted was Happy Birthday cake. We purchased them a small chocolate cake. They ate almost all of it on their own. We then went out for lunch and let them choose what they wanted. We ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings and they had exactly what they requested, chicken and fries (mostly fries).

The Happy Birthday Cake they ate on their birthday.


After their lunch of fries and chicken, we thought we would introduce them to more American culture, bowling. They loved it. At first, they could not get the balls to roll all the way down the lane. At one point we had two stalled balls and the bowling dude had to come save the day. He then gave us a ramp for them to use to launch the balls down the lane. That is when the embarrassment began. Let's just say that we did not exceed Abby's 115 and Laney's 114 score...even using the bumpers like they did.

Roll the ball then RUN back to see how many pins they knocked down. After their success (including many spares and strikes) there were high-fives all around. (Laney Pictured)

Another strategic send-off... (Abby Pictured)

The next day was the long awaited birthday party. We held it in the church's youth center. The colorful youth center quickly became overshadowed with PINK! Pink balloons, tablecloths, cup cakes, plates, plastic ware, napkins, and a custom pink cakes created by Rett for the girls. The girls had a great time. Friends and family all attended. They received many great gifts which they love AND received more of their requested item, Happy Birthday cake!!

Their custom cakes created by Rett...can you tell she has been watching Ace of Cakes on the Food Network? Maybe we can move to Baltimore and she can work for Duff...?

Pink and more pink...

and more pink...

and more PINK and PINK cake...

With all of that said, there are tons of things I am leaving out. All the cute things they say (like Laney calling the refriderator the "frigilator" or Abby's new way to communicate with you using her fingers like little moving whiskers when she has something important to say to you and more...).

Per a previous post, months ago, we converted their baby beds to toddler beds. All has been well up until the past few nights. All of a sudden they realized "hey, we can get out of these things!". Let's just say we are having new parental challenges. Just this evening Abby was out of bed because she felt she needed to do some coloring on her magna-doodle. Again, now you understand why the insightful posts have been few and far between. Enjoy the pictures and please let us know you stopped in by leaving a comment. Have a good week!