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.

First Snow

It's a little early to be snowing! The girls were napping and Daddy was in sunny Southern California staying at the Ritz.

Writing Letters

The girls were trying to write letters. Evelyn made an E and Sylvia Q without any help. Impressive!

Halloween Party

This week was a little busy. Every day I did something to prepare for the Halloween party I hosted for the girls' friends on Friday at 4pm. I made clementines with pumpkin faces; mummies (hotdogs wrapped in pastry dough); bone meringes; breadstick fingers with blood (marinara), popcorn balls; Halloween peep pretzel sticks; sandwiches shaped like bats, cats, ghosts, and pumpkins; and caramel apples. We had lots of crafts and our friend brought a moonbounce! At least 50 people came (about 35 kids!). It was so fun. Of course, I took very few pictures (I was a little busy). Daddy was out of town and missed the fun!

Happy 27th Birthday Angela

Angela turned 27! We had a great day celebrating. We made her pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and presented her with the girls homemade cards. That evening, we made a big dinner of filet, au gratin potatoes, broccoli and brownie cupcakes with peanut butter icing. The girls also gave her flowers and a gift certificate for a pedicure.

I hope she knows she's well-loved by the Romley's and can stay with us as long as she wants.

Household Chores

The girls are great with chores and earn a magnet on their reward chart almost daily. They put their dirty clothes in the hamper, set the table, bring their plates to the sink after dinner, and clean the table. Now, they are vacuuming! This awesome Dyson vacuum was a gift for Mommy's birthday from Grandpa and it's the perfect size for the girls. They love using it. Once, Sylvia was on the potty and Daddy started to vacuum. He didn't understand why she came running in crying. She wanted to vacuum!

Carving Pumpkins

We carved pumpkins and they really got into scooping the goop from the inside!

Pre-Halloween Festivities

Here are the girls are dressed up (E as Snow White and S as Little Red Riding Hood) ready to the go the neighbhorhood Halloween Parade and Oktoberfest.

Neighborhood Oktoberfest and Halloween Parade

The girls had a blast dressing up as Snow White (Evelyn) and Little Red Riding Hood (Sylvia) for our neighbhorhood Oktoberfest and Halloween parade. The girls had a blast playing with Ella (friend from the pool, age 5) and all of the other bigger girls. At one point, Evelyn pushed me away and said that she wanted to play. So proud of her!

Pumpkin Playground

We hit up Burke Pumpkin Playground Friday with the girls pal Wyatt and had a blast!

Fun Fall Days

We had yet another fun fall weekend. Here's a picture from our visit to River Farm's Fall Festival (its serves as the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society). The girls got their faces painted, went to a story time, made bird houses, went on a scavenger hunt, hiked through the meadow to the water, made thumbprint pumpkins, got balloons, flower seeds to plant. The venue is incredible! It's right on the potomac and about a mile from our house. Such a hidden treasure. The staff at River Farm took this picture and emailed it to us!

First Why?

Friday night at dinner, Evelyn climbed into her chair and started eating (she could eat all day long if we let her). I told her she needed to come wash her hands, and there it came...her first "Why, Mommy?" For a few weeks now, they have both been asking, "what is" and "where is", but not Why.

Grammommy's Visit

Better late than never. Grammommy visited a few weeks ago and brought a load of goodies -- wooden masks to color, tutus, cute aprons, crowns (that just happened to match their new shoes!), and surely a few other things. She taught them some ballerina moves (she was a ballerina back in the day) and some yoga. They love her so much (and so do we!). Next time I will get better pictures with her and the girls!!!

Recognizing Letters and Knowing their Sounds

The girls have been doing so well with the alphabet. They now know all their letters AND all their sounds. Here's a preview of Evelyn showing off a little! Mommy is so proud! They are so eager to learn and try so hard! {Excuse all of the nose picking}

Riding Bikes and Scooters

When running at a nearby park a few weeks ago, I saw this little guy cruising on a minikick scooter. He was just 3 months older than the girls. It was amazing. I had to buy one. Check out the girls the FIRST day they got their scooter! Also noteworthy is that Sylvia can now totally peddle the tricycle (these videos are before Daddy moved the seat up)! They are doing well on the balance bike too!

Fun, Fun Fall Festivals

This weekend was a BLAST! Daddy missed it because he was in Texas. Saturday we went to a Fall festival at Burgundy Farms Day School where they got to ride a school bus for the first time (it was the shuttle to the festival)! They also got to feed sheep, pet chickens and run from goats (they have a bunch of animals there all the time, apparently). They bounced in the moonbounce twice, got their face painted (balloons!) and enjoyed live music.

After naps their friends Maya and Clara came over and we all went to the St. Aiden's Oktoberfest, which is the school next door where they will go to preschool next year. They enjoyed yet another moon bounce, missed the cake walk (we got too distracted playing), watched their friends get face painted, and enjoyed fun German music (the girls had to hold hands and dance in a circle). Here are a few pictures.