Chocolate is my fav-o-rite!

I know it is the New Year, and I should be watching my waistline. But, the weather is still frigid (23 degrees now), and ice blankets the yard. Warm brownies go great with a cold glass of milk, and they make the house smell better than a freshly blown out Yankee Candle. So, little Katie G and Daddy worked hard in the kitchen tonight making Brownies with Caramel. Mmmm...

From retrieving the box from the pantry, to stirring, to finally licking the bowl, Katie kept declaring, "Chocolate is my fav-o-rite!"

Me too, Honey. Me too.

A sprinkle of Pixie Dust please...

For those of you who know our daughter, you know she has been obsessed with the Disney Princesses since she could walk! Thankfully (sense the sarcasm), Disney offered Tinkerbell the spotlight this Fall, and now she is obsessed with Princesses and Tinkerbell, walking around the house in her crown and wings (picture forthcoming). Well, the little Tinker Princess hasn't been doing so well with her breakfast lately, so I had to come up with an idea to peak her interest and EAT! Therefore, this photo is a picture of Kate eating "Tinkerbell Toast with a sprinkle of Pixie Dust". To you and me, it is buttered toast with cinnamon and sugar. She was so excited at the thought of eating pixie dust, she asked me for two pieces today and ate them both! Pop Pop would be so proud! These childhood moments are wonderful. I love her imagination.

Now, if I could only come up with an idea to keep her in her bed at night...

Ten months and five teeth...

As our little man approaches ten months, it is official. His fifth tooth has just broken through on the bottom, and I will officially now loose count of any new ones from this point forward. As you can tell from the photo, he is a proud little fella. They sure grow up fast!

One step, two step, three step, NO!....

I have to say we are lucky. Our oldest encourages and loves on her brother so wonderfully. In fact, some days it is as if she thinks we had him for her. Having said that, her claps of joy and shouts of, "Good job, Conor!" are fairly frequent around here. So, today, I thought nothing of it. She is shrieking, "Go, Conor, go!" (probably because of the endless Diego cartoons that play 24/7). She was laughing, clapping and jumping up and down. I was at the sink washing dishes, and broke a smile at the thought of how close they are. Then, came the ever so familiar, "Look at Conor, Mommy" that usually follows. What I wasn't expecting was what came next..."He is climbing up the stairs!" This is when my heart skipped a beat, and dish bubbles came flying out of the sink. It is amazing how fast you can move when you are in a state of panic!

Thankfully, she is a talker and I caught him on the first few steps. The camera was in reach, so I had to catch a picture of his attempt at mischief. Look at that face! It's as if he was saying, "Look at me, Mom!" Too cute and sooo bad!

The picture below is a bonus for our beloved Uncle B-Rad. Courtesy of B-Rad Fashions...

"Did Darlene come?"

I am not sure if it was the fact that all her toys were picked up off the floor, or that the house was simply clean, but when my daughter walked in the door from daycare today and asked, "Did Darlene come?" I had to wonder what she was really suggesting. Was it that obvious that something was different? Did the house look that bad when she left this morning? I know she is not quite three, but kids speak the truth. Despite how unpleasant the comment, she is usually right. A little background...Darlene comes every other week to help clean the house because, one, that is about as long as it can go without being a complete disaster. Two, my husband and I both work full time and have two kids under the age of three. Three, well, I deserve it! It's my one luxury in life. Yep, no manis and pedis for me. Just send over a nice lady who is quick with a broom and has skill with a vacuum, and I am a happy camper. I did always like Mary Poppins...

Anyhow, I guess I was reminded this afternoon that kids speak the truth, and mine was saying, "Gee, Mom, the house looks great! So clean! I know you didn't do it. Did Darlene come?"

If you're happy and you know it...

SAY CHEESE!

Yes, it snows at the beach

From our weekend trip to the beach to see GrandMom and Pop, we learned two things...
1. It does snow at the beach. In fact, if it is cold enough (and it was), the canal freezes.

2. Little Katie G thinks going to the beach means wearing your swimsuit. We pick and choose our battles in this house, and as you can see...this time she won. Judging by the smile on her face, she knows it!