Happy Thanksgiving!!

Alex tries on his lion mask to see how it feels

Helen is a zebra (who is sucking her fingers)

Ella is a tiger and very proud of it

I told them I wanted to take their picture and for some reason they all ran to their chairs and sat down. I guess they think you have to sit down to get your picture taken!

We flew to Ohio for Thanksgiving. The trip up went better than expected but was still a lot of work. Thankfully there were no delays. We flew in on Thanksgiving Day. Here we are on Thanksgiving with my family, my brother's family, and my parents.

All of the cousins

Alex and Uncle Brad - I see so much resemblance between Alex and my brother. They both have the blond hair and blue eyes - Alex definitely gets his genes from my side of the family.

The kids got some early birthday presents - here's Ella trying to open one (and of course they were more excited about the gift bags than they were about the presents)

Alex checking out his present

Ella is my own little gift!

The day after Thanksgiving we went out to run errands. I had the kids all bundled up but when we walked outside, Ella stopped, looked around, and just said "Cold!"

Grandma and Ella at lunch. We were freezing, but we found this restaurant that was built inside of an old train. Alex is crazy for all things trains so he thought it was great, and the rest of us just suffered along in silence. It was so cold in there!

An episode of Mickey Mouse always has everyone captivated

After lunch in the train, we got to go outside (and freeze some more) and look at the "choo-choo"

Alex even got to pull the bell until his hands were numb

I think the poor kid would have stayed out there all day if we had let him

Alex in his choo-choo

Birthday Party #1

Since we will be in Ohio on our birthday, we had a pre-birthday party in Jacksonville the weekend before. Two years old already! Here is Ella enjoying her cake in her too cool shades

Alex and Ella sit in the birthday throne (unfortunately it was not big enough to sit three - which was OK because Helen did not want to sit in it)

Ella in her boa, glasses and tiara at the birthday parade at the party

We had the party at a kids' gym - lots of cool stuff to play on. Here's Alex riding out on his "horse"

Helen and Ella got pulled behind the horse in the wagon (Helen declined her boa and tiara)

Ella enjoying herself at her party

Mommy and Ella

Alex trying to figure out who that other little boy is with a birthday shirt on

Ella swinging

Alex enjoys the swing too

Helen had a great time

Ella tries to throw the ball over the mat

Helen picking up the balls

Helen loved the ball pit

Mommy and Alex (it took Alex awhile to warm up to the idea of separating from Mommy and doing all the cool activities)

Getting Ready for Holidays

In the event that it eventually cools off here, we try on our coats to make sure they fit only to discover that it is so much fun getting to wear them and putting up our hoods!

Helen has found herself a diaper

Alex is very proud of his tower of diapers (and even pointed at the camera to get me to take a picture of it for him)

Last week we took them to get their 2 year old pictures taken. What a zoo. Before we left, I was determined to get a picture of them on the front steps for our Christmas card. Alex's face gives you an idea of how excited he was about the idea.

The girls were too distracted by the rocks and leaves to even think about sitting still

Helen hams it up for the camera

On Saturday morning mom lets us watch a little Mickey Mouse while we sit in our chairs

To prepare for our trip up north for Thanksgiving, mom got us new hats and we had to try them on to make sure they fit

An outing in our strollers (yes, it was 80 degrees out and the girls insisted on wearing their boots. It was actually Ella's idea and Helen was happy to follow. Who knew that two year olds had strong opinions about fashion?)

Last weekend we went to the zoo - and had lots of fun playing around on all the great exhibits

The highlight of the zoo for Alex was riding the train. He kept saying "Choo choo!!" the whole time. Here's Daddy and Ella on the train.

Mommy, Helen, and Alex. Helen was glued to my lap and was not all that thrilled about the train.

One Saturday we went out to lunch and the kids had their first smoothies. They loved them. Helen usually does not eat her fruit - but apparently if you puree it and make it cold that makes it OK.

Alex had no problem sitting still with food in front of him.

I was so proud of how well behaved the kids were and how nicely they sat in their chairs and ate their lunch. We can go out in public!

On Halloween, our multiples group had a playdate at the park. Here they are eating their snack.

Daddy helps Helen and Alex color while Ella walks up to check things out.

Helen finishes her snack and everyone elses

Go Gators!