It's a tough life

Abby found a new game on the iPod Touch and it was too difficult for her to play.

Needless to say, she was not happy.  She even had real tears but I wasn't able to capture them on the camera.  I eventually had to take the game away because I couldn't take the whining and screams of disappointment anymore.

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen that game before.  I hope she didn't buy it.....

We visited Daddy at the hospital.

Tonight we went to the hospital to visit Daddy.  He's on call and won't be home until tomorrow sometime.

(Can you imagine working a 30-hour shift?  Going in at 7 a.m. and working until noon the next day?  I don't know how doctors do it, but they do.  Things are changing though, and this is the last year that residents will be allowed to work such long shifts.  I am thankful for that, but to be honest it didn't really matter anyway because they didn't have 30-hour shifts at Garrett's radiology program.)

Abby insisted on taking a picture before we left. (You saw in the last post video how much she loves being behind the camera.)

(Doesn't that puffy jacket make Ellie look like a marshmallow?  I love it.  She does, too.)

A little peek

I could tell you about the screeching that this little girl is capable of, but nothing I could say would do it justice. See (and hear) for yourself.

Meanwhile, I'm going to put that baby bouncer BACK into the closet... why I let Abby talk me into getting it out is beyond me. They fight over many things, but this is near the top of the list.

Wardrobe malfunction

First, Ellie woke up from her nap this afternoon with her shirt completely off.  That's the first time that's happened.  Then, later I turned around from playing the piano and saw her like this.  I'm pretty sure Abby helped.

 Abby has recently been insisting that she have a turn behind the camera.  Not too bad!

Can I just say... I am pretty surprised that Ellie still has cheeks... you'd think I would have kissed them off by now.  I could kiss her face all day.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love 1-year-olds??  They are so much fun!

And Abby has been doing the funniest things lately.  Her newest game is to run from one end of the room to the other while she pushes the play stroller.  She says she is "going running" just like mommy and daddy.  Back and forth, back and forth... sometimes she asks me to pass her a cup of Gatorade when whizzes past me.  Nice try.

It's a puppy!

Okay, don't get too excited... no we did not get a dog.  And I don't see that happening anytime soon (as in, hopefully never).  But this morning we had a very cute "puppy" for a while. 

It's amazing what will keep kids occupied.  They have 3 little bins full of toys but won't play with them even if I dump them out all over the floor... but give them a piece of ric-rac from a project I am working on, and they're happy for an hour.

Time to get rid of some toys, I think. (I am always looking for excuses, you know)

Guaranteed

If there is a hat lying around, it's pretty much guaranteed that Ellie will put it on... backwards.  She also enjoys wearing gloves (or, "glubs", as Abby calls them).

And it's pretty much guaranteed that if Daddy makes pancakes, they will be in all sorts of fun shapes.  Here's a spider...

And you can bet that Abby will always choose a sucker or a lollipop over any other type of candy:

Which is good, because I can guarantee you that Mommy has already stolen all the Milk Duds and Tootsie Rolls and hidden them away for herself.

(Funny story about that green shirt Abby is wearing... yesterday I told her to go get dressed, and that if she did it by herself she could choose to wear whatever she wanted to.  Sometimes this can be a bit sketchy, but yesterday she chose that nice green polo shirt and jeans.  When she came out of her bedroom, I said, "Abby! Great choice!  I love that shirt!"  Later that night when Garrett came home from work, she said, "Daddy, look at my choy."  Garrett didn't understand what she was talking about, but I immediately recalled that I had said that her shirt/jeans were a "good choice", and she must have thought that "choice" referred to her shirt/jeans, and must be plural, so "choy" was just the shirt.  Haha, that girl just cracks me up sometimes.)

Rabbits!

Ahhh, finally!!  Halloween is over and I can finally start moving on to more exciting things like Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I am pretty proud of myself that I had a semi-good attitude about Halloween this year.  I dressed the girls up in matching costumes, made some ghost banners with Abby, ate some pumpkin seeds, and filtered everything I said at the Trunk or Treat.  I have written in years past (here and here) about how much I hate Halloween, but I refrained this year from singing the same old tune here on the blog and just focused on getting it over with.  You're welcome.

(By the way, want to know how to steal candy from kids' buckets?  When they come to you and hold out their bucket, you put your hand (with your candy) into their bucket and, instead of dropping a candy into it, you take one out (or, you can drop in your nasty cheap candy that you bought, and take out something good.  That way it's just a "trade).  Works about 75% of the time.  But, I only do this to the kids who hold out their buckets and don't say "trick or treat".  I hate when kids refuse to say it and just hold out their buckets like I owe them something.  The first time around is annoying but doesn't really bother me, it's the second and third time they come around to my "trunk" when it gets obnoxious.  Also, this is only worth it if someone else is giving out good candy.  I don't really like most candy, but I do enjoy tootsie rolls, milk duds, and anything else chocolate-y from time to time.)*

Anyway, I am so happy that now I can focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I love both holidays so much and I'm thrilled that it's finally "the season".  Even though Garrett works a full shift on Thanksgiving, I still have high hopes that we will do something fun to celebrate (just not necessarily on that day).  He'll be on a "six days on, four days off" schedule.  Thanksgiving falls in the middle of a "6 days on" rotation, but hopefully we'll do something exciting for the 4 days off later that week.  Anyone want to come visit??  Seriously.

So I'm trying to think of fun ways to celebrate the holidays here on the blog... maybe writing something I'm thankful for every day in November, but is that too cliche?  Would that get boring?  Maybe I'll just do it every couple of days.  I just really want to celebrate and think about the holidays as much as possible... I don't know why I'm so excited about it this year but I just am.  Maybe because we finally live in a place where we'll be able to fully experience the winter weather? (Well.... more fully than we ever did in Georgia, and certainly more than we'll get in Florida.)  Maybe because we finally have an income and I can buy gifts for people without feeling guilty?  Maybe because Abby is old enough to appreciate the meaning behind each holiday a little bit better?  Who knows.... all I know is that I am very excited for the next two months.  They are going to be great!

So.... when should I start listening to Christmas music?  I usually make myself wait until after Thanksgiving, which is a good rule, but I don't think I'll hold out that long this year.  Christmas music is just too good to only enjoy for 4 weeks.  What do you think?

Thanks for reading this random, rambling post with no pictures.  Mom and Dad, I promise the next post will include pictures of your grandkids! :)

*Okay, I don't really steal Halloween candy from kids.  But it's a good idea, huh?  And I know that my method works... I did try it once or twice.  But I gave it back, I promise. :)

**The title of this post is called "Rabbits" because, growing up, my grandma taught all of us that on the 1st day of each month, the first thing you say should be "rabbits".  It will bring you good luck for the rest of the month (British superstition).  Some people think that you have to be the first person to say it, but I think you just have to say it before you say anything else.  My sister Molly texts me at 2 a.m. on the first of every month (midnight her time) and "says" it.  I think I beat her this year, though (but it was only 10 p.m. her time, so she'll probably say it doesn't count.) :)