Mom! Mom! Mommmmy!

Bedtime is great in the Seyler house! Seriously, they sleep like champs! At 6:59 we start rounding up the troops. Paige gets her "nommies" (anti-puke liquid gold), they gather their "babies" (43 for Paige), & everyone kisses everyone good night (it's super cute). The best part about bedtime are the "requests" after they are in bed and we have already said good night and left.

It goes like this... (Paige ::: Cameron)
Mommy...Mickey. (How did she even let him out of her sight?)
Daddy...Toys. (After he has thrown everything out for no reason.)
Mama...Bear. (How could we have forgotten Lots O Bear?)
Mommy...Water. (Oh, why sure.)
Dada..."Banket" (no typo there.)
Mommy...Hug! (Yes, ma'am!)

This goes on for about 3 minutes...it's kind of cute. One day we will get it right and have our act together so there are no requests. Except the hug, I'll gladly fulfill that one!

How cute is this? Paige, circa 9 months...sleeping with her socks in her hands.

Go Huskies!

After this...

Came a little of this...

Go Huskies!!

Deck the Halls

Since the bird has been carved...it's time to deck the halls! Yesterday we spent the afternoon setting up Christmas decorations. Paige woke up from her nap & didn't even notice the gigantic tree in the living room, and Cam was scared! Once the excitement wore off & tears dried, it was time to decorate!


Now, the next decoration was not my idea, and I still have not come to terms with it. Nana thought that we should have this "for the kids." I might as well drive a mini van...


Taa Daa! Yes, we must cage in the tree & TV...you do realize C&P will be 2 in 22 days, right?

Gobble Gobble Photo Friday

Because it's still Friday, I present a Thanksgiving themed Photo Friday! I'm a little wiped from cleaning, cooking (I got great reviews!), and hitting up Toys R Us at 10 o'clock!

Who loves the parade? These two..

Ready!

Homemade turkey place mats that double as favors!

The Bird! "This is the best turkey I have ever head!" -Grandpa Dan
Thank you Rachel Ray!

That's way too much pie!

The rule is bring a side, and don't ask questions!C&P plates, fried rice was gone in 30 seconds.

On your mark...
Get set...Go!

Props to Grandpa Dan for the photo bomb!

and then we played blocks!

Even at the age of 2 they understand the concept of Thanksgiving!

Now that the bird is carved, let's deck the halls!

Thirteen Thoughts for Thanksgiving

1. I knew it was coming and it happened. Paige climbed out of the crib...well, not her crib, Cam's crib. They were in there playing (their choice), and she climbed out to get some animals that fell out...and I pretended that it never happened!

2. Did I mention that she can also climb into her high chair be herself? Beast!

3. Cam has been teething pretty bad lately. He is getting his 4 canine (fangs?) teeth at the same time, FINALLY!

4. I feel that the fangs explain why he has been awake (and not pleasant at this inconvenient time of night) for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. Mommy & Daddy don't think this is cool!

5. I spent 3.5 hours last night prepping for today's meal, and I didn't even actually cook anything!

6. I hate cooking. There, I said it.

7. I have prepped stuffing, green bean casserole, caramel apple sweet potato something, whole wheat rolls, stuffing stuffed mushrooms, cranberry sauce, gravy, streusel pear tart, & the BIRD!

8. My house is Oh So Clean! Mike even got in on the cleaning yesterday. He is the best wall scrubber I know!

9. The tree goes up tomorrow...
Question: What to cage in with "baby jail" the TV or tree?
Answer: The tree because the TV is still under warranty!

10. Our neighbors have had their Christmas lights & tree up & turned on since November 1st...I feel so behind...NOT!

11. I have been driving Mike nuts listing to Christmas music. Sadly, even though it is officially time for Christmas music, Mike will still hate it. Grinch.

12. I really would like to hit the stores on Friday, but the double stroller is a problem on the busiest shopping day of the year.

13. Most of my thoughts today (& other days) may seem like complaints. There are no complaints in the Seyler house! We are beyond thankful for our friends, health & family.

Happy Thanksgiving from mine to yours!

C&P One Year Ago Today...

Jumpin' Around

This past weekend we helped celebrate cousin Sofia & Vincent's birthdays. We headed to Jump Zone in Niles, and I was quite impressed! Super clean, lots of equipment, and great for many ages (like my toddlers)! It was a surprise to both Sofia & Vincent, and Paige wasn't quite into waiting before jumping, but once they were able to Paige was gone! She is fearless...this is good & bad I feel. Cam was a little more apprehensive. It took him awhile to "warm up," but once he did I started sweating! His favorite activity was climbing a 6 foot ladder to go down a slide, and he did it all on his own!! I don't know what Paige's favorite activity was...she was a bit everywhere! Paige also had fun hanging with "the big kids" who loved playing mommy to her. After we jumped ourselves silly, we headed to the party room for snacks & ice cream cake. Of course Aunt Trish had the cutest gift bags for the guests, she's creative like that. I don't have photos of the jumping beans, like I said we jumped ourselves silly!

Party Bags!

Vincent laughing because he blew the candles out too early.

Sofia with her Hannah Montana cake.

Chowing down on some cake with Grandma Val.

Loving that cake a little too much!

Look Paige!...Oh, wait...nevermind.

4:7...What Could Go Wrong?

Last week C&P begged me for a play date with their friends, and how could I resist...I love their moms! With 4 moms & 7 kids, what could go wrong? Well, I'll tell you...NOTHING! No major catastrophes to report, and everyone shared (& if they didn't the just went crying to their mom). C&P helped wreck Aunt Mandi's living room with the help from Avery, Parker, Cambria, Gabby, & Gulianna. Of course Paige was over the moon to see her other puppy friend, Baron. He may have stole a kiss from her before we left. The biggest hit of the day was from UPS! Avery & Parker purchased some diapers for their mom to put on them, and some kids thought they were playing King of the Mountain!...Paige won. Please notice my some going belly first down the slide during this rousing game of King of the Mountain!

Not a Baby!

Don't call Paige a baby....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ56uhGsH3o&feature=youtu.be

Photos for Friday

Caught being naughty, and nice...

Nice...

Naughty...
Nice...


Naughty...

You make the call Santa.

Thirteen Thoughts for Thursday

1. With only one week until Thanksgiving, I am getting a bit nervous. I'm cooking! My poor family! Nah, it should be fine. I got the Rachel Ray magazine, and have already planned the menu in detail.

2. Did I forget to mention that last time a cooked a turkey it took me, Mike, & the new Mrs. Stevenson 10 minutes to figure out which side was the breast side? That turkey turned out fantastic!

3. I am way too excited about picking our my holiday wrapping paper and gift tags! This is a big deal people!!

4. We are getting our holiday photos taken this Sunday. Prayers for no incidents like our Santa experience!

5. The holidays bring out the OCD in me, I have lists like you would not believe...

6. That kid still hasn't crawled out of her crib, AMAZING!

7. I used to call Children's Place my baby clothes Mecca, but I'm so over it now. Nothing fits! It's all short & boxy, and C&P are long & lean. Well, Paige is long & lean and Cam is just lean. We are liking Old Navy & Gymboree!

8. I'm ready for C&P's birthday & Christmas...I'm so over the toys they have now. I think they are getting bored of them too!

9. This whole 5 o'clock getting dark thing is already old! No more evening walks :(

10. To the lady at Kohl's that asked the cashier to silence the "alarms"...and alarms being my whining children, SHOVE IT!

11. I really thought that I could buy Cam a Christmas gift with him there, he's not even two after all! Well, I was wrong. The second he saw Toy Story Mr. Potato Head he FREAKED! I still don't think the lady at Kohl's could have just kept her mouth shut.

12. Still thinking about how I could possibly ruin Thanksgiving, because ya know, I'm cooking! It will be fine, right?

13. 31 days until C&P turn TWO!!! Need more coffee.

Seeing Double

Last week was our favorite day of the week/month...Lyda/Seyler Family Fun Day! We started with a bounce zone experience, and then followed it with lunch at Nana's!...errr Fridays.

Paige ate her weight in honey mustard.

The coolest families around!

Could her pig tails get any cuter?

Santa or Bust

I really thought we would have had good luck with Santa, but sad to say THAT WAS NOT THE CASE! C&P had quite the Santa encounter when we took them earlier in the week. We thought since it was a weekday we would have a short wait & could kind of take our time. Well, we did have a short wait...about 15-20 minutes...but we were 3rd in line! The Woodfield Santa display is very pretty. Before you go see Santa you walk through a "snow globe"...GREAT, now we look like we have dandruff! Next was a cozy bench where they take a family photo....and here's where we lost C&P. The bench was meant to look like ice, and it was cold. Toddlers don't want to sit on a block of ice!! They then made us wait a moment before stepping up to see Santa...this just gives toddlers time to evaluate the situation. Santa looks creepy to a toddler, so they don't want to go up to him & smile for a photo! Here's where I freak out on the "elves"....when parents actually get their TWO kids calmed down...TAKE THE PICTURE!!...even Santa had my back on this one.

Needless to say, we left without a photo, and a sour taste in all our mouths. The "elf" actually tried to sell me a $20 photo of Cam crying (hysterically) & Paige with a face like she was going to throw up...and I quote (said with enthusiasm), "This is the best photo!" Um, I am not paying $20 for a photo of Cam crying, I can take that photo at home for free any day of the week. "This is the best??"...that's kid of like saying this poop smells the best. Maybe we'll try again (but I won't be sad if we don't). I have no documentation of this "adventure," but it looked something like this...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's SANTA!!

Saturday we went celeb spotting at Woodfield...for SANTA! Well, really we went hunting for ugly sweaters for an upcoming party, but then we saw Santa. C&P know all about pumpkins, ghosts, monsters, & witches after an awesome Halloween season. Now it is time to teach them about all things Christmas. While strolling through the busiest mall in the world, we spotted Santa on the escalator & then again in the elevator while he was schmoozing with some kids. On the way home we taught them what Santa says, because every thing/ person/animal must say something. So, by the end of the weekend they figured out that...

1.) Santa wears red & works at the busiest mall in the world
2.) Santa says Ho Ho Ho
3.) Santa brings Toy, which he gets at Toys R Us (the place where Paige spilled an entire bagg of crackers & pretzels, awesome!).

FYI...Stay Away From Woodfield!

Leaf It Here

It was a windy one today! C&P had a busy little Sunday. First we hit up Toys R Us to do a little window shopping. They had a great time cruising around the store checking out all the great toys for 2011. High on their list were Mickey Mouse and "guys." Paige pretty much has an emotional breakdown when we pass anything Mickey, and Cam loves toys that come with "guys." Before we left we picked out a small toy for each of them, we're weak! For Paige, a $1.98 Mickey figurine...SCORE! For Cam, chunky GI Joe "guys." Cam wasn't thrilled with his purchase, and Mike wasn't thrilled that he wanted Mickey over Gi Joes. I believe the quote from Mike was, "Unbelievable!" Before the Bears game (Win!), we headed outside for some fall fun! With almost 50 MPH wind gust, I'm surprised we didn't see Dorthy & Toto! C&P had a blast sliding into a pile of leaves, and throwing leaves on each other.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, since it snowed for the first time today...and since our neighbors have turned on their Christmas lights and tree (really?), we might as well buy some winter coats! C&P were excited to put on their puff coats and hats, but were disappointed when they found out the only place they were going was to bed!

Can we say puppy-dog eyes?

Paige dancing around, trust me, she was dancing.

They did this on their own...Old Navy plug!

The laughter stopped when they found out it was bedtime, sorry!