{ here comes santa claus }

Saturday morning we skipped swimming lessons to visit Santa Claus at the annual Minneapolis Junior League's "Breakfast with Santa". We purchased tickets for it last year and plan to make it an annual tradition since the money goes to a great cause, it includes breakfast, and mainly because we can avoid long lines at the mall to see Santa.

And the best part, the Santa is 100% authentic. Check this guy out.

We took a few minutes to stand nearby and get O & S warmed up to the jolly man. That seemed to work for Oliver.

But he had his work cut out for him in trying to keep Stella on his lap.

It was by no means a major meltdown but she didn't want much to do with him. Pretty sure that if it wasn't for the stuffed animals he was handing out, that she would have gone nowhere near him. Once she had it, she wanted out.

This girls loves herself some stuffed animals. She can't get enough of them.

Compared to Santa, breakfast was a hit.

Family photo time by the Christmas tree was a major fail, but Oliver was semi-cooperative for one with me.

 

We can check our Santa visit off the list for the year!

{ out & about }

Cold(er) temps have arrived which means no more playing outdoors. This is a major bummer for several reasons.
1. It means winter has arrived for the next 4 months
2. 2 toddlers + endless energy + 1,100 sq foot house = stir crazy
3. No more heading to the park or out for a walk to kill time during house showings (come on, you know you want to buy our house!)
4. Finding enclosed, indoor, reasonably priced play areas in the city isn't always easy. The key term there being enclosed.

My case in point to number 4. This week we had a showing at 6:00 pm. Luckily Chop got home a little early so he was able to help me get O & S out of the house, fed somewhere else so they wouldn't make a mess at home, and then kill time during the showing. We headed to the Mall of America and treated them to Noodles (WI mac and cheese, of course) and then I had a momentary lapse in judgement and thought they would be fine if we let them out of the stroller in the LegoLand area.

We spent the next 30 minutes doing this. Chasing.

With a break or two while they took a peek at legos.

Or when Stella decided she needed to lay down.

Not wanting to make this mistake while I was flying solo with these two runners, I found a contained spot to go during another showing. Thank you Edina Community Center open gym. If only you could be open all day, every day instead of two hours, two days a week.

The rings were a hit with Stella.

The firetruck Cozy Coupe was all Oliver needed.

And friends McKenna and Audrey joined in the fun.

No doubt we will be frequent visitors here this winter!

{ turkeys }

These two little turkeys were less than cooperative in allowing me to snap a photo of them to document their second Thanksgiving. I know, I need to just accept that I have everything working against me for the next 5+ years in getting a good photo of the two of them together.

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

Take 5

In the end, I'll settle for this.

We spent our turkey day at Uncle Shawn's house with Grandma and Grandpa Christensen. O & S enjoyed being reunited with Maizy (who Shawn is still graciously housing) and playing with all of the electronics and remotes at his house. Oh, and how could I forget - the dog bowl is always a good time.

We are filled with gratitude for amazing family and friends. And, of course, these two turkeys.

Gobble, Gobble.

{ life these days }

Have two weeks really passed since my last post? Yup. Not sure where the days/weeks are going.

I realized one reason for my lack of blogging has been lack of pictures. My camera has sat on the counter for weeks. I find every time I use it I get frustrated because my skills still lack and pictures I snap don't turn out. And if they aren't blurry, then the lighting is off. And if the lighting is right, the color temperature is wrong. Still haven't found the time to take a photography class so I guess in the meantime you and I will just have to deal with my less than mediocre photography skills.

Getting back to life. To say the least, these toddlers are keeping us on their toes. Though they seem to be ending up on their heads.

Last week we had Stella knock her two lower teeth loose (climbing, standing and proceeding to fall off an ottoman), Oliver fall down a few stairs at home (I caught him), and Stella taking out Oliver on a set of stairs at REI in the play area. Picture me, alone, with two toddlers, who fall down 7 stairs landing at the bottom. It was ugly for all of us.

And when they aren't putting themselves in harms way, here is a little of what they are up to: 

They read. Or in reality, they sit still at the library for a total of one minute and the rest of the time is spent trying to keep them in the children's area.

They are monkeys. Banana and all.

They "jump, jump, shake your booty" dance with their cousins.

They are all grown up. Miniskirts, furry boots, and cell phones.

They use spoons. Notice I didn't say successfully.

They love to help.

They have MANY expressions.

They love to do grown-up things. Like eat apples off the core with their six teeth. Still waiting on the other 14 to make their appearance.

They sport ridiculous Gopher gear on game days.

They giggle.

They copy each other. Example: Oliver's laying in the middle of the kitchen floor so I think I should too.

They remind us everyday how lucky we are to have them in our life!

{ wordless wednesday: tug of war }

{ halloween roundup }

Although O & S have no idea what the concept of Halloween is, we still had a lot of fun dressing them up in ridiculous costumes for the holiday. I figured this is probably my last year that they won't have an opinion as to what they dress up as.

I debated doing the standard super cute, plushy costumes that toddlers their age normally wear. But then saw the superhero idea and couldn't get that out of my head. And the bonus is that they can wear the capes for dress up for years to come.

They got plenty of wear out of them Halloween weekend, starting with a party with their toddler friends. This was the group last year.

And this year.

Is there anything cuter than a corral full of one year olds dressed on costumes? Well, maybe if they were all looking and smiling. But we all know that is nearly impossible. It was all downhill after the first shot.

Stella took awhile to warm up to the idea of having fun at the party but that gave me the opportunity to sneak the mask onto her. Probably the best part of the costume but this was the only 5 minutes that either of them wore them.

Other cuteness at the party included bears....

Pumpkins

Ducks

Dinosaurs

And bumblebees, which even this superhero couldn't fight off.

That afternoon we had to be out of the house for a showing so we headed to a free event in Eagan for more wear out of the costumes.

We mostly spent the time chasing O & S around the large gym. Now I get the kids on a leash thing.

Stella also took the opportunity to bust a few moves on the gym floor.

But the most exciting thing by far was the giant Panda.

We also saw twin friends Lily and Lucy at the event. Have you ever seen cuter ladybugs?!?

Halloween eve we headed over to the Christensen's for some pizza and play time with the cousins. Major fail that I walked away with zero pictures of anyone else at the party!

We let O & S do some cruising down the streets practicing their superhero speed.

No "true" trick or treating for these two as they were in bed by 7:00. I know, lame parents - next year!