It's Getting Closer!!

We have a family tradition on Thanksgiving day to help Grandma & PopPop Rusch decorate their home with Christmas ornamentation- okay, so really it's Daddy and PopPop that haul in the Christmas tree and all the heavy boxes and Grandma and the kiddos do the fun decorating!

I was expecting Boston and Brooklyn to be really excited to see all the lights and santas and ornaments on the tree- but to my surprise, neither of them hardly noticed at all!

Brooklyn crawled right past the Christmas tree at least ten times and never noticed anything - Boston recognized a few pieces from last year, a small santa and elf in a sleigh being pulled by a reindeer, it's definitely his favorite to play with. He did however notice all the Santa Clause pieces- he calls them "ho-hos" and so far he's counted ten ho-hos around the house! There's even one on the front porch that he makes sure to say hello and goodbye to!

There is one stuffed Santa that sits up, I was able to get Brooklyn to sit by him for a picture without crying, but Boston didn't want anything to do with it except take it for a short ride on a stick horse! I did convince him to sit next to Brooklyn for a moment- maybe some day he'll get to see the real Santa Clause!

Time Out!

I would love to say that we never have to put Boston in "time out," but I can't. It doesn't matter whether we put him in a corner, sit him on a cushion on the couch, or even put him smack dab in the middle of the floor - for some reason none of the things we try seem to make any effect on him... except the stepping stool. We got him a stool for when he needs to stand on it and reach things on the countertops, but it has turned into the time out seat. We placed it in the hallway so there's no distractions and it has seemed to work the best - until little sister comes along!

Brooklyn's doctor said she shouldn't be climbing or pulling herself up to things until she's about nine months... what do doctors know? For a seven-month-old she has no fear. She is already climbing stairs, pulling herself up to everything (and just letting go!) and thinks that the time out stool is the coolest little perch. Again, I'd like to say that she'll be an angel and we'll probably never have to put her in time out, but I doubt it! Needless to say, I think we're going to have to find a different time out spot for her when she gets older!





She looks innocent now but don't let that angel face fool you!
She's got the twinkle in her eye!

Some Tricks - Lots of Treats!

The kids had a great Halloween! We took them downtown in the morning to do a door to door 'trick-or-treat' to all the vendors. It was fun to see all the other costumes and it gave us some ideas for next year. Boston seemed somewhat confused to see other strange creatures running around, there were a couple that scared him, but otherwise he did really good. It took us a while to get him to say the words trick-or-treat, but when he finally got brave enough it was so quiet that people still couldn't hear him, but he did make sure to tell everyone thank you for the candy. Brooklyn made it about three blocks before she fell asleep, then woke up again on the last block before we were ready to leave. We were surprised that the "Yoda" costume was such a big hit- it seemed that everyone was commenting on our little star wars guy!

That night we drove the kids around to a few houses of family and friends that we knew wanted to see the kids in their costumes. This wasn't as enjoyable since the kids didn't like getting buckled in and out of their seats so many times- but they liked visiting different houses and showing off their cool costumes! We came home with a bucket-full of candy, of course most of it will be eaten by mom & dad, but Boston was proud of the stash he collected!

A Bathroom Full of Fun!

I'm sure if my kids were any older they would hate that mom is telling these stories and sharing naked pictures- but doesn't everyone do it? I decided to give both kids a bath at the same time the other night, but not in the same tub. Boston likes to take his baths in our big bathtub, but it's hard for me to get Brooklyn in there without him acting crazy. Besides, baths are for splashing and having fun, not sitting quietly and patiently waiting for your sister to finish so you can play with all your boats and other toys!

So I put Boston in the big bathtub and Brooklyn in her smaller infant tub- thinking that although with the two of them apart I would have to drain two tubs, there would be less of a mess. Not really. Boston decided that after mom got him cleaned up he needed to jump around and stomp on his toys (not very safe I know, but maybe he'll eventually learn!) like a big monster in the water. Plus, much to his delight, mom left a cup in the tub with him so he figured it was fair game to fill it up and dump water out of the tub!

Boston wasn't the only culprit though, Brooklyn did her fair share of getting water on everything. She's really starting to like bathtime, and now that she can sit up on her own she likes kicking her legs in the water and making big splashes! So obviously with two kids doing the same trick, I figured what the heck, just let them have fun - towels are made for a reason!

But the story doesn't end there... when Brooklyn was finished I dried her off and took her to their bedroom to put on pajamas. Chris helped Boston out of the bathtub and brought him to the bedroom- then they both continued to tell me that Boston had left me a present in the bathroom. Immediately I thought more water had escaped from the tub - nope! Boston decided that he couldn't wait to go potty, and since he was already surrounded by some type of water bowl, he might as well poop. Yes, I said poop. Boston left me a great present in the tub- thanks buddy!