January....hmmpf what happened???

Apparently January has come and gone and I have not one photo on my camera card to show  you from this month.  Seriously not a one.  Not sure what happened.  So let me update you on what might have happened.  Take this all with a grain of salt...my memory is not so great these days.

However here are few from my iPhone.

Josh and I took the biggest two tikes to their first Saints game.  They loved being in the dome.

My dining room turned into a parking garage.  Santa must have been hitting the crack pipe when he thought all those trucks were a good idea.

Josh and I traveled back into the 70s for a fun birthday party.

Margot learned how to skate.  Video proof coming soon!

Christmas Cheer

Christmas 2012

Thankfully I remembered to grab my camera and take a quick photo of us before we rushed out of the door for mass.  It's normally something I forget to do.  But look how nice we all look, and the kids... in their matching outfits....still relatively clean.  This happens once and a blue moon these days so enjoy it....pictures that is.

The reason we probably took the picture above is because my picture obsessed loving father-in-law was in town.  And had we not taken those photos before mass....no matter how late we were going to be....he would have flipped.  But seriously I'm happy he was here and that he has a very unhealthy habit of taking photographs or I would not have that gem above.

Luckily he managed to grab a few with the kiddos as well.  I think he is physically restraining Margot from moving right here.  No I'm not kidding....anything for the picture.

After Mass, we headed home where we took our turn in hosting the annual Christmas Eve party.  I managed to get one picture of the kiddos with their nice clothes on by the tree before all our company arrived.

Sadly my father-in-law was upstairs changing clothes or doing God knows what,  and I know he was because if he was around for the tree picture taking session, I'd have a lot more than the one above to show you.  In fact, he may have even got a rope out to tie that youngest tike to the tree for the perfect picture.....and there are some of you out there that think I'm kidding.  I'm so not!

After lots of drinks, food, laughter and almost setting my neighbor's yard on fire, we said good-bye to our company and got into our cozy jammies.  We read our yearly "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and then got settled into our beds, with visions of vomit dancing through someone's head.

That's right, as Santa and his elves were finishing up downstairs we heard a weird noise coming from the littlest tike's room.  I debated on whether to actually go into her room to check on her, I immensely feared waking her up and that resulting in her wanting to come down and play with all the new loot Santa had just dropped off.  It has been known to happen with our sweet, stubborn, little caboose.  Once she is up, she is up. But that mother's instinct kicked in and I went up to check on her.  As soon as I opened her bedroom door, the smell knocked me out.  All of the Christmas goodies she had eaten that night made a nasty re-appearance.  So at 2am we  whisked her off into the bathtub and then into a new set of pajamas with a fresh set of sheets on the bed.  Nothing like early morning Christmas laundry.  Then we amazingly were able to tuck her little butt back in bed.

At this point Santa was exhausted and so was his elf.... and the Momma knew it would be a long Christmas day ahead.  The biggest two tikes were up bright and early and were mesmerized when they woke up to this...

 But I made them wait patiently until their baby sister was awake...after about 45 seconds of them complaining about the unfairness of that.  I decided they were right and told Josh to go and wake the little booger up.  I mean I have been woken up by her more than my fair share....what do they say  about payback.  Oh I kid...she did rally though and came down with a smile....well sort of a smile.  

Meredith was thrilled to finally be able to attack her pile.  She went at it in true Meredith fashion. One gift at a time, taking her time and watching to make sure she was going to be the last one left with something wrapped.

I wasn't quite sure how Noah would attack his pile, but he did just that.  He went at it full speed.  He never turned around or showed us what he got.  He simply unwrapped every wrapped item in the pile to quickly see what it was.  We heard.."WOW....COOL....I LOVE IT.....AWESOME...COOL....LOOK!"  Over and over until it was nothing but a pile of unwrapped toys.  It took approximately 35 seconds.

Margot went right after hers as well.   She became increasingly interested in unwrapping gifts this Christmas. In fact a few family members received already opened gifts this year.  I was not wrapping anything twice.  She attacked her few wrapped gifts cautiously and thoroughly.  She ripped tiny piece by tiny piece and didn't stop until the job was complete.   And once it was, she parked her little but in her new house and watched everyone else.

After about a half hour my living room looked like this.  You can see Noah's pile over there of semi wrapped gifts.  The first thing he did was go to the toy room and get some of his old toys to play with his new ones.  Meredith looked at her gifts one by one and decided what she was saving to play with later.  And Margot, well her everything Santa left open and unwrapped she plays with daily, but the ones in the original packaging are still in the original packaging, in her closet.  Mainly because I am the meanest mother ever and have decided that since our house was on the market, we weren't opening unnecessary toys.  They would be easier to move in the original boxes.  It would be like Christmas all over again when we moved.  Now 2 months later, the house still on the market, I guess I should break out those little people.  Seriously, it was only like 3 things...maybe two...Hmmm I wonder where they are.  Poor third child.

And that my friends was our Christmas.  Margot wound up spreading her Christmas Cheer around to everyone, including me.  Phenegran gel and Zofran became my favorite gift that year.  Tis' the season.  We also sent that special cheer home with Poppy Greg.  

**This post was written in February of 2012...the end of February.  I'm backdating it.  I'm trying to get back at it and highlight some of the things I missed.  

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

The land of the mouse

So maybe you heard...we visited the Land of the Mouse again.  I know, the kids expectations on Disney is high now.

 Meredith and Noah have both been three times and Margot just experienced it for the first time.  It's honestly not the kids, it's me.  I love it.  I'd rather go to Disney, then some exotic island.  I guess I'm weird.

 But I'm going to be honest now, the mouse land, it did me in.  I promise we are not going back until Margot is about 4.  Even with an extra set of hands, it was exhausting.  Had we not brought my mom, I might have booked us all plane rides home mid-week.

 Oh I kid, the kids loved it.  Margot was a definite trooper.  She was so very tired, but she hung like naps were a thing of the past.  Poor baby asked to go to bed at 5pm the day we got home.

 Meredith and Noah saw Disney again for the first time, Noah was a baby (22 months & 11 months) on his first two trips so this was essentially like he was going for the first time again.  He was amazed.

This year we did more stuff in Disney than we ever had before.  I guess it was their ages.  Well Josh and I  and the two bigs, Mimi and Margot joined us here and there, in between naps and rests stops for Margot.

 Margot was scared to death of all the characters, she would scream frantically and run into her daddy's arms everytime one approached us.  By the end of the week, she loved them and thought they all should greet her personally and give her a hug. Her favorite characters were Pooh Bear, she cut a very long line of people and walked right up to him to plant this smooch on his lips!  And she also loved Thumper.

We were actually waiting in line to see Minnie Mouse about 100 feet away and she saw Thumper across the way and demanded to go see her.  So we go out of  a very long line to meet Minnie to go and see her.  Her favorite rides were the carousel, Dumbo and it's a small world.  Oh and FYI, best place to see the characters in my opinion is Animal Kingdom, best setup to stand in lines and cutest shots!

Meredith decided she was over princesses.  Instead she was enthralled with the lion king.  With her envelope of money she brought home the entire set of lion kings stuffed animals.....exciting! (Can you hear my sarcasm, it's there....I loathe allergen collectors stuffed animals.)  Nevertheless we now own several stuffed animals shaped like lions.  It wasn't what I would have picked, but it wasn't my money.

 This year, the kids got money in and envelope from their Mimi and when it was gone, it was gone.  Meredith waited all trip to spend hers, hemming and hawing and thinking long and hard about what she wanted.  Her favorite shows were The Festival of the Lion King, Muppets, Mickey's Philharmonic Orchestra and Beauty and the Beast.  Her favorite rides were tea cups, Dumbo, Peter Pan and It's a Small World.  She also rode her first roller coaster...Splash Mountain...and while she was so very nervous, she loved it.  And she also rode her first thrill ride...Test Track...she also loved that!

Noah loved Disney World, but he really loved was the transportation to and from Disney....the boats, buses, and the MONORAIL!  I could have skipped purchasing this guy a ticket and just put him on the monorail in the morning with some chicken nuggets and a coke and picked him back up at the end of the day.  He knew all the different colors that rode on the various tracks and could not wait to get on them.  It only added to the excitement that we stayed at the Contemporary, where monorails passed through the actual hotel.  Yes, exciting stuff indeed! (no sarcasm...seriously...loved this hotel!)  The highlight of his week was taking a picture with an actual monorail driver.  After he was finished he looked at her and said "One day I'm going to be a monorail driver just like you!"  To him it was like meeting Cinderella.

And he also did meet Cinderella and that confirmed what I already knew...my boy is a flirt!

Noah's favorite rides were Small World, The Track, and Peter Pan.  He cried because he wasn't tall enough for Test Track...I mean crocodile tears.

The trip was great, the kids had a blast.  It was also right around Noah's 4th birthday so we scored a Birthday pin and every person who worked at Disney from characters to food service workers told Noah Happy Birthday.  He had no clue how they all knew it was his birthday!  Super cute!

Disney was awesome, but next time we go I think I will require everyone be able to wipe their own asses first and entertain themselves happily and quietly on the plane.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from 2 Tikes Under 2 & the Caboose!  I could not be more thankful for these 3 little turkeys and my wonderful husband!

The Bike Race

This year I asked Noah what he wanted to do for his birthday.  I had almost talked him into a party at the zoo, where everyone could ride the train and carousel and call it a day.  However my little Noah had much different and better plans.  First he started off by explaining he wanted a bike for his birthday.  Then he said he wanted a bike race with all of his friends at his house.  

So I immediately went into bike race planning mode.  My friend Blair planned a cute little cheerleader party for her 4 year old and had the cutest "tiger treats banner."  So I asked her to please help me get a banner for our bike race and she did.  Thank you so much Blair. I then decorated in various shades of his favorite color green!   

The morning of his birthday he got a brand new, orange bike and a new helmet.  He practiced riding his new bike with pedals as we set up for the party.

We put up his new banner and got lots of balloons and racing decorations.

We also hung racing pennants on the treehouse and swings.  The kids had a ball playing in there.

He wanted goody bags complete with his favorite things...bubbles, gum and tattoos.

All of his friends started arriving and they all brought their bikes and helmets for the big race.

And thankfully cousin Connor made the long trek for the party too!

After everyone said hello and played for a little while we all lined up on the starting line.  See the white line Josh came out early and drew.

All the kids lined up for the race.  The moms were all given checkered flags to wave.

On your Marks....Get Set.....Go!!!  Mrs. Katey waved the flag for the kids to start racing!

We made it clear that every child that crossed the finish line got a medal.  It wasn't a contest.

We told the kids to race under the banner and back into the driveway.

There Mimi and MeMaw handed out gold medals to everyone.

Noah was super excited that he and all his friends got them.  They were all #1!

After the race we sang Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy!

Then we played some more with all of our friends!

This was a super easy birthday and a fun, cute idea!  I guess it's all a 4 year old really wants!  Happy Birthday Noah man!

To Noah on his 4th Birthday

Dearest Noah,

I'm not sure when you got to be so big.  I mean 4, how did that happen?  I've always said it and I truly mean it, but you my dear grow the fastest.  Maybe because your big sister always gets to experience the first at everything and because your baby sister is the baby and we make a big deal of all her new milestones.  You are just somewhere in the middle....you grow up each day and it's not always as obvious.  I know, that is why you are struggling with a little bit of that "middle child syndrome."  It's how you know that you don't always need to listen or cooperate.  It's like you have figured out the system.  You know that Margot has to have my attention and that I expect more out of Meredith because she is "older" and you well you just coast right on by.

However my boy....you are just that, my only boy.  Despite being stuck in the middle and sometimes glossed right over.  You have your Momma's heart.  You are my sweetest, most tender hearted child.  You are always in a good mood, always happy and rarely if ever do you get angry or upset.  Which is why when you do, I know you have a very strong opinion about whatever it is that has upset you.  You are like your dad that way.  The girls and I, we fly off the handle with every little thing.

Now that you are four you love trucks, airplanes, helicopters and all things that go.  You recently discovered your love for riding a bike.  We got a you a balance bike a couple of months ago and you are a pro on it.  For your birthday you got a big boy bike with training wheels and I bet in the next 6 months, if that long, you are ready for those training wheels to come off.  You love to play with your sister, and you still love your trains, but not nearly like you used too.  You have recently started playing the Wii a little, a ver little.  You still love sharks, and watching movies about trucks, lumberjacks, trains, cars and motorcycles.  You decided last week you might want to be a mechanic.  You got a "real" tool set for your birthday and have been working on all of your trucks and cars since.

You are smart, you know how to figure things out and use logic and reasoning to get your answer.  You quickly put things together.  Your answers are always witty and accurate.  You have a solution to every problem and are always happy to share.  You still tell me you love me out of the blue....all the time.  I hope that never changes.  Most days you tell me how beautiful I am.  I love you my Noah Elliott.

And so today on your birthday like every birthday I want to tell you about the day you came into the world....

On the morning of Tuesday, November 19, 2006 I woke up at 4:30am to shower and get dressed before we headed to the hospital.  I was more than a tad nervous.  I knew that surgery was the only way to meet you and that my boy is the only reason I even went to the hospital that morning.  We arrived at the hospital at 5:45am and I was hoping I would be the first c-section of the day, unfortunately someone else had arrived at 5:30am so we were bumped to second. If you know your Momma, you will know that I was not happy about this.

I met your anesthesiologist, the OR nurses and of course Dr. B.  I was ready.  However in all the time I had spent waiting for my turn, I had talked your dad into having absolutely no more children and having a vasectomy the following week.  That's a procedure to make sure we would have no more babies.  About 9am, it was time to head back, I walked back to the OR with the nurse.  It was a little intimidating.  I'm not sure why they make you walk.  Or why your dad couldn't come with me.  I got back there and they prepped me and inserted my spinal on the first try.  I remember them sticking a big  piece of silver looking tape to my leg and I asked what it was,  and they told me it was to ground me.  At that point I decided questions were not a good idea.

After a few minutes I was ready to go and Dr. B came in.  He started asking if I was feeling anything and since the sheet was draped I can only imagine he was beginning the surgery.  A few seconds later your dad arrived.  He stayed by my head the whole time and gave me a play by play of what was happening.  I unfortunately could not see since I was strapped to the table and had a big sheet in front of me.

And at 9:53am you arrived.  You were a beautiful baby boy.  When they first delivered you, you were very quiet.  It seemed like way too long. I got very panicky, but no one else was.  I'm sure it was just a second or two and then you were screaming.  Not loud like your sister did, but more of a okay I'm here little yell.  You weren't mad.  You were just letting us know...hey I've arrived.

You were then cleaned up and whisked to the nursery.  You made a quick detour to the waiting room where everyone who was waiting on you got to have a peek.  You were beautiful.  I was then wheeled to recovery where on my high from your easy delivery and the medicine and seeing you I decided I wanted at least two more children.  After what seemed like an eternity I started getting antsy about getting to hold you, I watned them to bring you back.   I sent your dad to check on you and they assured us everything was fine, it would just be a few more minutes.  I think I gave them 10 more and then I made your dad go and get you.  And when I held you for the first time it was amazing.  I never knew I could love another child as much as I love you.

Happy Fourth Birthday my little man.  I love you to the moon and back and as long as all the train tracks in the world.

Love,
Momma