Dancing & Singing in the Car

Taking it Slow to Pumped up Kicks, trying to sing along.  She so badly wants to sing along to almost every song she hears.

Kicking it up a notch, hopped up on a Christmas cookie.  Notice the grass stained knee... she is a girl on the move, no doubt.

To the Zoo

We went to the Zoo last Monday when Justin had the day off.  We were only the third car to park in the parking lot when we arrived and literally had the place to ourselves.  We did not see another person until we had been there an hour and a half!

Which means we had the African Safari ALL to ourselves.

Eye level with the Giraffes... one of the coolest things I've done. 

We fed them lettuce!

I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Carlyle?

Don't worry, its just a statue.

"Give the fish a hug?" 

Daddy took Carlyle on her first Carousel ride, and they had the whole thing to themselves.  C chose to ride the Ostrich.  Since we were the only ones at the zoo, the controller let them ride more than once. Let's just say that she was not ready to leave when it was time to go.

Babies and Birthdays

Christmas has been especially exciting this year because it combines two of Carlyle's favorite things: Birthdays AND Babies.  We've been talking a lot about Jesus' birthday, and she seems to really like that.  I didn't anticipate that this would be her favorite part about Christmas, but I know next year she will probably "get" the whole Santa thing.  She sings "Happy Birthday to Jesus" and plays with our nativity quite a lot, making sure Jesus, Mommy Mary and Daddy Joseph are all there.  As for the presents under the tree, we told her she had to wait until Jesus' Birthday to open them... and she seems to be ok with waiting.

One on One

I'm really trying to make separate special time for Carlyle.  Its hard, but with Justin home on the weekends, we have time to play... just the two of us.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Twinkies!

Moments on the Go

Some random moments from my Iphone...

I'm trying to soak up these sweet naps.

Carlyle was very upset to see her Daddy drive away.

(she put together this outfit complete with a sticky fever cooling strip on her forehead that she wouldn't take off the entire morning)

So upset, that she proceeded to walk down the sidewalk in the direction that his car went.  She wasn't crying or talking, but she was quietly determined to go get him.

Carlyle and Azza (Alexandra) still love to pose on this curb ever since their first day of school when her mother and I asked them to sit there for a photo, ha!

Carlyle and Alexandra were entertaining the staff at Barneys with their excitement and giggles.  They were pretending this was a little house just for them at the entrance to the store.

An after school visit to see the Trains at Northpark with Alexandra.

A bus pulls up next to our car at the stoplight.

C: "Who's Dat?"

M: "I don't know Carlyle, who is that?"

C: "OH, its Mommy!"

I didn't argue with her.

What's yours is mine.

"Where's my blanket?" asks Carlyle as I cover up Ben on our way to the car on the way to school.  You can see by her expression, she means business.

If he is awake, he is smiling!

Santa Baby

We were invited to our friend Marissa's house on Saturday to meet Santa!  I thought with Carlyle's enthusiasm leading up to our visit, that she would be excited this year.  We've been reading books about Santa and Rudolph, and she's been requesting that I sing "Santa Claus come to town, Mommy?"
It didn't help.

It must be the twinkling eyes and rosey cheeks that set her off every year?

While visions of Sugarplums. . . 

. . . danced in his head!

Who do I Look Like?

I was almost ready to say, "Carlyle is starting to look so much more like me at 2 years old!"

Lauren at 2 years

Justin and Brandon
But then, I found this picture, and I think she still has a lot of  "Daddy".

....................................................................
Then, there's Ben. . . I think I got one that looks like me!

Lauren

Alex
He actually looks almost identical to his Uncle Alex.  They have matching single dimples, just on opposite cheeks!

First Full Family Outing

Over Thanksgiving break, we drove the family up to the Sealife aquarium when we realized a morning at the Zoo might be too cold for baby Ben.  It was really interactive and perfect for Carlyle's age.  Plus, we had the whole place to ourselves on a Monday morning!

Reach!

Stingray got a little too close for Carlyle.

and yes, we bought the souvenir photo!

Ben's 2 Month Checkup

At Ben's 2 month checkup last week, he:

weighs = 12 lbs 11 oz (80%)

measures 24.5" in length (95%)

and 40cm in head circumference (50%)

Hello there!

(this will be his first and last time to wear Carlyle's baby Christmas PJ's, but I had to give it a try before he literally blew out the seams)

He's getting so strong!

Thanksgiving

Zuzu with only 2/3 of her grandchildren

Meanwhile, Carlyle was too busy jumping in her new early Christmas present from Meme

Wearing her new Belle dress and favorite penguin Erik, both from her date with Zuzu to see Happy Feet Two

Justin grilled an amazing turkey on the green egg!

Its my "Birthday Party" Party

Carlyle has been singing and talking about "Birthday Party" since we went to our first one in July.  If she sees a "birthday party" hat, or a "birthday party" cupcake, or a "birthday party" juice, she sings Happy Birthday.  I wanted her to have all those things that make up the classic birthday party!  When we finally decided to have Carlyle's birthday at Gymboree, I still questioned if I was just "phoning it in" by not doing the at-home celebration with homemade decorations, cake, etc.  And now... I KNOW we couldn't have had a better party.  The best part was we got to leave the mess behind for someone else to clean up.  Carlyle soaked up every ounce of that party... the singing, the dancing, the playing.  She seriously could not have had a better time!  I am sharing a lot of photos, and it was hard to find a photo where Carlyle wasn't blurry running around the room or jumping.  

Enjoying the first song and dance of the party

Ellis and Carlyle

A train of some of our favorite 2 and 3 year olds

Anything Mercer does, I can do too! -her enthusiastic attitude for a majority of the party

Baby Ben enjoying his first birthday party with Zuzu by his side

Bubbles.  That's all they need to be happy!

Daddy rescuing Carlyle from the parachute.  We were supposed to be under, not running circles on top of.

And the finale, the best part.... the "birthday party" cupcake.

Mercer

Azza (Alexandra)

The girl LOVES her a cupcake.