Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

If you couldn't tell from the recent picture of Eliza, she is a big fan of Sesame Street.  She asks to watch it nearly everyday; she checks out Sesame Street DVDs from the library, and plays with her Sesame Street plush characters more often than her baby dolls now.  Elmo, Cookie monster, and Big Bird accompany us on all errands, eat dinner with us (strapped into Eliza's booster chair), accompany Eliza on the piano when she is singing, and Eliza not only changes their diapers, but puts them down regularly for naps.  Everything in our house revolves around Sesame street.  Eliza talks about every episode, tells me everything that Elmo does, and sings almost every song.  So you can bet that when my friend offered free tickets to Sesame Place (a Sesame Street based amusement park), I eagerly accepted.  Despite being the first day of November, the weather was perfect.  Half way through the day, we shed any jackets and sweatshirts and spent the majority of the day in short sleeved shirts. 

When we got there, as you might imagine, Eliza was completely stoked, exclaiming, "We found Sesame Street." 

The Halloween themed decorations and shows were very cute.  Even I enjoyed the singing and dancing shows. Murray was there to greet us as we walked into the park.

From there, we headed to the Count's Halloween Countdown, a cute little show.  We ended up sitting on the front row.  Apparently Eliza wanted a specific angle, because she found a different place to sit all by herself. 

It was great to sit on the front row because Eliza got some close contact with Abby.  I'm not really sure which character is her favorite because it changes everyday.  Every time a new character appeared onstage, she would point, clap, smile and yell the characters names.  I was afraid she would be frightened of how big the characters were, but she didn't seem phased by it at all.  In her mind, Elmo, Abby, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Telly, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Burt, Ernie, and all the rest of the Sesame Street characters are just as real as mom and dad.  Size doesn't matter; she was smitten. 

She may have changed benches part way through, but she watched the entire show, gave a standing ovation, and ran up to the front afterwards to try and give the characters a high five.  Zaby liked the shows so much, he wanted to take part of the action by getting on stage.

 

After the first show, we decided to try out some of the rides.  The majority of the park is actually a water park.  Considering we went on November 1st, the water rides were closed; and because Eliza is little, we were limited in the types of rides we could get on.  She absolutely loved the Elmo flying fish ride (pictured the top left corner).  She cried when she had to get off.  Boy was that hard to explain to her why we couldn't stay on, and why we weren't going to get back in line.  Not only was the line long, but we had to wait extra long because Zaby was too small to ride; and an adult is only allowed to accompany one child at a time.  So my friend and I had to take turns staying with Zaby and accompanying the three eager girls.  She also loved Snuffy's slide, and went down over and over again.  She did cry once when I pushed her down the slide - she was taking too long to go and the line was getting long. 

We watched another radio show (which was very entertaining), and an episode of Elmo's World. 

Zaby didn't watch much of the show.  He enjoyed climbing on the benches, diving head first off his seat, and causing all kinds of havoc.  Soon, he became interested in flirting with the people sitting next to me.  He would smile at them, giggle, turn back to me, and do it all over again.  What a handsome little boy. 

We took a few minutes to snap a picture with Abby and dance with Burt.  Eliza is giving Burt a high five in the picture below.  We rode the carousel (I left my camera in the stroller so I don't have any pictures of it), then found a place to watch the parade. 

 

Eliza and her friend Maddie are waiting for the parade to start.

 

Don't be fooled by this picture; he sat still for a total of 2 seconds before he thought it was more fun to join the parade.  It is times like this that no mother has enough arms. 

This video of the parade is terrible.  I was trying to keep Zaby at bay and balance shooting some of the parade and capturing Eliza's reactions to the characters' appearance.  Don't get dizzy.    

 

If we get the chance to go again,  you better believe we will go to Sesame Street.  It was a great day, and made even better by the magic in Eliza's eyes.  All day long, kids came up to her wanting to hold her Elmo doll.  She carried around that Elmo doll all day long - never put him down, and didn't even ask me to take a turn.  

On the way out, we stopped to take a family picture by this Ernie shaped pumpkin. The kids were troopers - having gone all day, they were exhausted, but you can tell from the pictures they had fun. 

I couldn't help but take a picture of this sign that was hanging up in the nursing mother's room (yes, they had one there; it was great).    

  I really hope that my children know that they matter to me because they sure brighten up my life. 

 

For Grandma Smith

Last year, grandma Smith sent Eliza this singing reindeer for Christmas.  She liked it then, but loves it this year.  Always the dancer, now she has a partner.  Zaby likes to dance with it too, but he also likes to push it over. So funny!

Trick or Treat

 

Trick or treating this year was so much fun.  I explained the concept of Halloween at the beginning of October when most decorations went out.   For weeks after that, Eliza talked about dressing up in her costume and carrying her treat bucket around.  She practiced every chance she could until she finally perfected the sweetest, "trick or treat" one could muster. 

What I asked Eliza what she wanted to dress up as for Halloween, she coordinated our entire families attire. 

We have a pig:

A Duck:

 A Cow:

Note to self: a cow costume with balloons is not conducive to holding infants

And none other than Old McDonald:

E-I-E-I-O

 Complete with a chicken farm:

In all actuality - Bruce actually missed out on the Halloween festivities.  He was in Chazy, New York with the Dairy Challenge team, so our farm was without a farmer.  These pictures (minus me as the cow) were taken a week before Halloween when we were on our way to a Halloween party at a local preschool. 

On Halloween night, after a quick dinner, I threw costumes on the kids, put a bowl of candy out on the porch for the 3 or 4 trick or treaters we would actually get, and loaded them up in the wagon.  I figured it would take a while to go around the circle in our neighborhood so I wanted to get a jump on it before it got too late.  Little did I know how long it would take us. 

All excited to go trick or treating

The excitement was bursting out of Eliza.   And believe me when I say she was a cute trick or treater.  She insisted on holding both hers and Zaby's treat bucket.  After I rang the doorbell, she held her bucket out with gusto and declared, "trick or treat."  Most of the houses offered their bowls and let her choose what she wanted.  Things were the same at every house. 
She put both buckets on the porch.  As she picked a treat, she said, "one for my bucket and one for my brother Zaby."  When the deed was done, she looked at the person and said, "Thank you!  Happy Halloween!"  Then the explanations started.

"I am a pig and I say Oink Oink here there and everywhere!!  Zaby is a duck and he says Quack Quack her there and everywhere!!  Mommy is a cow and she says Moo Moo here there and everywhere!  And Bruce, he is Old McDonald and he say E-I-E-I-O."  (I don't know why she wouldn't call him daddy; she continually called him Bruce - maybe because he wasn't with us???)  This adorable phrase was repeated at every single house.  That's why it took us so long to trick or treat to such few houses.  As we walked from house to house, she chatted about all her treats and told me again what she told people after we rang the doorbell.  She commented about which houses had lights on and which ones didn't and thus which ones we could go trick or treating to. 

As the buckets began to fill, she decided to only hold hers.  I put both Zaby and his bucket in the wagon between houses because Eliza wanted to walk and holding him was getting heavy.  It was then that Zaby discovered the joy of trick or treating.  As you can see from this picture below, he really liked trick or treating.  He sorted his candy, (throwing what he didn't like over the side of the wagon) and ate 2 tootsie rolls and 1 sucker (with wrappers still on) before we got home. 

 Yes, he is too busy eating candy to pose for any pictures. 

 When I took the bucket away from him to put more in it, he had a complete conniption fit.  Throwing his body back, screaming, you name it.  He's pretty possessive of his bucket. But not near as possessive as he was when I took his sucker away to remove the wrapper.   

 I kept trying to tell Eliza to choose the brown M&M's, but she liked the yellow ones better.  I guess I'll have plenty of peanut M&Ms to eat.  I'm always nervous about Eliza eating her treats before I have a chance to take out the ones with peanuts (she's allergic).
 Happy girl with a full treat bucket!

 Zaby is a big fan of trick or treating

One in each hand

The overflowing treat buckets.  This year was so much fun!  I look forward to many more years of childlike innocence and trick or treating.  Happy Halloween everyone from Old McDonald's farm!

First Haircuts

Eliza and Zabien both got their first haircut yesterday.  It was ironic that they both experienced this first together, but Zaby's hair was getting so long - down to the bottom of his ear and curling up on his neck that I thought it was time.  Eliza's hair was beginning to be so unruly and wild - I thought a haircut might tame it a bit. 

I took them to an actual salon.  It's called Dragonflies.  The age of the child is the price of the cut.  Hence, Eliza cost $2, and Zaby cost $1.  They gave me some adorable certificates that say, "My First Haircut" with a lock of their hair attached to it - pretty cute!

Here is a before picture of Zaby:

I didn't get a before one of Eliza - I'm lucky I got the ones I did.  You may notice that she isn't very happy - a bit grumpy is more like it.  She was mad at me, very mad.  Eliza wants to do everything herself, which is fine assuming she actually does it.  After 30 minutes of her getting dressed "by myself", and she was still pant less, sock less, and shoeless, I finally took matters into my own hands.  I pinned her down and finished getting her dressed.  I wanted Bruce to go with me, and time was running out, he had to be to work soon.  Because of this getting dressed battle, Eliza wouldn't even look at me.  Oh well!!  She's pretty cute despite the snarl on her face.

 You may notice she took a water break in the middle of her haircut.  She doesn't go anywhere without a sippy.  She is also mad at me because I made her leave her Elmo doll in the car - it doesn't do any good for him to be covered in hair, but she frankly disagrees.  Look how big she looks.
She did great during the haircut.  She sat completely still, albeit growling, and was so quick to hop off the seat that I didn't get a good after shot either. 

Next it was Zaby's turn. 

Surprising to me, he sat still during it.  He must have been very intrigued because it was new.  I thought it would be a wrestling match (like everything else is) which is why i wanted Bruce with me.  He proved me wrong. 

What a big boy he is. 

His reaction to the clippers was more of what I expected. There is one spot by his ear where she accidentally went a little too high, but what do you expect from a 10.5 month boy who is curious about those clippers.

 

In that short amount of time, my baby turned into a boy.

On a side note: 3 different people at 3 different times said his little shirt made him look like a miniature lumberjack. 

Here they both are after their haircuts.  A beautiful princess, and a handsome prince.

 

 

She cut more hair off Zaby's head than she did Elizas.  I really couldn't believe how long Zaby's hair was for such a young boy.  Here are a few more after shots of Zabien.



 



10 Months Old

10 Months!  Can you believe it.  It is hard to believe that he has been part of our family for 10 whole months, but it seems crazy that it has only been that long.  It seems like buddy baby Zaby has always been part of our family.  The photos aren't the best, but he won't sit still long enough to take one.  What new things can he do?

• He waves bye-bye (can't remember if I recorded this already or not)
• He loves food.  He eats almost anything and everything.  Still never took baby food, but at least now he is old enough to eat a few more solids.  He loves bananas (wearing them too), peas, carrots, and chicken to name a few.  The boy eats chicken like crazy. 
• He loves giving high fives
• He is a chatterbox.  He always has something to say, and it's always extremely important.  If you don't respond to his "ah!, Oh, mama, baba, da, grunt, grunt," he will speak louder and look straight at you in annoyance until you do respond. 
• He has 4 teeth with more on the way based on how he has been acting lately. 
• He is always on the go - he wakes up dancing, standing, moving, you name it.  I haven't seen him sit still long enough for anything.  Completely unlike his sister, he won't sit through books.  He will flip through some of them on his own, but he is quickly on to the next thing. 
• He enjoys opening and emptying the refrigerator, pulling all the food off the shelves, and pouring syrup all over the carpet.
• 

• Not only does he crawl super fast - the loves standing up.  He can stand up by himself for only a couple of seconds.  He always has his hand resting on something; while moving, dancing, or squatting to reach something. 
• He lives for the outdoors.  If an outside door is even slightly ajar - he makes a bee line straight for it.  In fact, he tends to throw a screaming fit if he isn't allowed outside. 
• He's a busy boy who likes to be included and involved.  If I leave the room for any reason, he is quick to follow- afraid he might miss out on something. 

• He has gotten taller, and therefore able to reach and get into many more things
• He only has a handful of toys he likes to play with and has a fascination with opening and emptying drawers.  His favorite toys are: Eliza's kitchen - he enjoys opening all the cupboards, Eliza's musical walker, my comb, his trucks and trains, balls, and Eliza's play laptop.  He loves, loves, loves to push things around the house.  It started with the trains - he pushed them all around the kitchen, under the table, under the chairs as if he were moving through tunnels.  It was the most adorable thing.  If something can slide, he will push it all over the house. 
• He has an uncanny way of finding trouble and getting into it quickly.  I seriously can't keep up with him. 
• I still can't comment enough about his smile.  In essence, I wish I could capture all the different dimensions of Zaby's smile. 

• He is still the most ticklish little boy I've ever seen.  A slight wiggle of your finger on his back is enough to get him reeling. 
• Eliza calls him "Bo-Bo,"  not sure how this one got started - it might just be a shortened nickname of boy-boy.  Whatever it is, he responds better to that than he does to his name. 
• He learned how to open the toilet lid - he likes to stick his hands in the toilet.  There is something about plungers and toilet paper that absolutely fascinate this child.   
• He has taken to eating out of the garbage can.  At least he goes for the excess food thrown in there from Eliza's plate, but still - he's just so fast, I can't get him to stop. 

He is a bursting ball of energy, and busy, busy, busy - always on the move.  He's one happy, smiling kid, except when he is not - then the whole house knows.  I just can't get enough of his giggles.  I sure love this boy to pieces. 

Playgroup Halloween party

I mentioned before that I am the leader of our ward playgroup.  The Friday before Halloween, I decided to host a Halloween carnival type party at my house for our playgroup activity.  We had a great turnout - all of the regular attendees and a few non regular attendees.  15 children in all.  It's a good thing we had plenty of moms to help out with the chaos, but it did make for a lot of people in one place. 

Even though I hosted the party, I didn't even think about putting the kids in costume.  I threw the ballerina skirt on Eliza at the last minute. (She's the one with a pokadot shirt) Luckily they weren't the only ones, but everyone who was dressed up looked adorable. 
We tried to get a picture of all the kids in their costumes.  Some were very cooperative; others weren't.  Through all the attempts, Zaby was the only one who sat still and looked at each and every camera.  I was surprised he wasn't the first to try and escape.  Pardon the poor lighting in all the following pictures - the sun was glaring at an odd angle through my windows.  Plus I'm not the best picture taker anyway.

I split the kids up into four groups and had them rotate through the different carnival stations.  We had:

Pumpkin Painting

 

 

Beanbag toss - complete the with homemade pumpkin face I made.  Eliza consistently threw side arm and the bean bags landed right at her friends feet.

 

 

A candy corn toss - they were supposed to toss candy corns into the tiny plastic pumpkins.  Most of the children ended up just placing them in, then taking them back out to put in their mouth.  They got to take the full plastic pumpkins home as a party gift. 

 





Pumpkin Ring Toss

 

She's a pro

 

And cookie decorating - I think I am still cleaning up sprinkles

 

We ate Halloween themed treats and drank orange punch.  We played with balloons, and ran all our energy off outside at the end.  Poor Zaby didn't get to participate in the activities.  He was held by me the entire time since I figured he would just terrorize all of the games.  It was a fun party!