Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving was awesome. Grandpa Benson and Grandma Debi arrived from Fort Wayne, Indiana on Wednesday and stayed through Sunday night. David's brother (Aaron), his wife (Suzette) and the girls' cousins Brandon and Aaron also came Thanksgiving dinner and stayed through the night. I made a big meal, the girls helped Debi make a pie, we played football, and enjoyed smores and fire, the girls and Brandon raced down the hill over and over, ate pie, and then made gingerbread houses. And, check out that sunset!

It's Fall

We had a great time playing in the yard Sunday afternoon (and Sylvia taking a spin on her bike -- they can now peddle!). We raked some leaves in a big pile and we all enjoyed rolling around in them. We also started a fire and enjoyed spiced cider until it was dark and cold. What a great end to Daddy's birthday weekend.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

David turned 41 on November 12th, the day after Veteran's Day and 2 days after the Marine Corps 236th Birthday. We had a date night out and enjoyed a nice dinner and lots of drinks on Friday. On his actual birthday we went out to lunch, enjoyed cupcakes, and ice skating in the evening. The girls LOVED Daddy's custom ice cream cupcakes. They wouldn't take their eyes off them! Happy birthday Daddy, we love you!

Preview of Holiday Pictures

We had our pictures taken on Friday (Daddy's birthday). Here's a preview of a few I took. We got great ones of each of them individually, together, and one as a family.

Ice Skating

For Daddy's birthday, we went ice skating. The girls LOVED it. It was part of a holiday festival and the girls got to go on a horse drawn wagon ride, play in the "snow," see Santa and Mrs Claus and a few other characters (which they wanted NOTHING to do with), and jam out to holiday music. We will definitely ice skate again soon!

Gum

Believe it or not, the American Dental Association recommends chewing gym with xylitol after meals (in addition to normal brushing and flossing). They said even my 2 year olds should do it. We tried it. Evelyn swallowed her first (half) piece, but did great on her second try. Sylvia is a pro. Not sure if we will do it often, but it kept them occupied in the car.

Drawing

The girls LOVE to draw in the driveway with chalk. Sylvia made this really cool drawing on her own. Notice the head, eyes, nose, mouth, arms and legs. A budding artist? I was pretty impressed. You'll also notice a bunch of E's, Ps and Qs. Evelyn made the Es.

Coveted Lollipop

I saved 2 lollipops, raisins and pretzels from all of their Halloween loot. The rest was given to my work colleagues and my parking garage attendants at work. After waking from naps dry yesterday (I think neither have had an accident in over a week at nap...no accident during the day for at least 2 weeks), they got to enjoy their lollipops.

More Pre-Halloween Fun!

The girls have had a chance to wear their costumes 5 times already! Maya joined the girls trick or treating in a nearby neighbhorhood. It was healthy and fun. Most houses gave out little toys (playdoh, matchbox cars, etc) or healthy snacks. So fun! Sylvia kept saying "more houses Mommy." She really got into it! They LOVE wearing their costumes! Don't you love how Sylvia is carrying her pumpkin in her mouth so she could hold both Evelyn and Maya's hands? So sweet.