Christmas Vacation

We have had such a fun Christmas vacation. The week before Christmas we had 2 snowstorms so the kids finally got to make their first snowman. (Andrew's first too!) Andrew's mom was here for a week and it was awesome to have her here. We went to the Museum of Science and the Rainforest Cafe and did lots of Christmas shopping. Every morning they would come down the stairs and see if Grandmom was up. Luckily she's an early riser.
The kids were so excited on Christmas morning. The favorite gifts this year were clothes and a stroller for the Tricia dolls, cars for Eric, Tinkertoys, a Dora Lego house, and puzzles. Andrew and Eric have been puzzle addicts this vacation. They did 4 ocean puzzles (500 pieces each) that they are going to hang up in Eric's room.
We also went bowling with Dad and the kids. Ellie calls it "balling" and was more impressed with the snacks but Eric really got into it.
Andrew and I went away overnight and Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Jon took them to the Children's Museum and the mall.

I Like My New Bed Dad!

That's all Ellie keeps saying over and over. She is very excited because she just moved from a crib to a toddler bed and Eric is in a twin bed. They were so adorable, jumping up and down and arranging their new big beds.

Let it Snow

Today we had our first big snow of the season... about 8 inches. When I picked Eric up at school the first thing he did was to try to catch the snowflakes with his tongue. Ellie is very excited about her pink flowered snow pants, she was no problem to get geared up to go outside. Eric, the more cautious one, was not too happy about putting on snow pants but finally came outside with us. They both took turns shoveling and loved stomping in the snow. It is supposed to snow again this weekend so we'll have plenty of time for a snowman!

Personalities

i thought I would write about the kids' personalities so I can see down the line how much they stayed the same from 2 and 3 years old.

Eric at 3: very smart, amazing memory, loving, stubborn, huge vocabulary, talkative, comfortable with adults, rough on the playground, tentative about trying new things, lets Ellie take the lead, very good with numbers and letters
loves: singing, animals, vehicles, stories, building towers and pyramids, puzzles

Ellie at 2: very smart, talkative, loving, sweet, notices how people look (i. I like your shirt mommy), girly: loves purple, pink, bracelets, dresses, artisitic, go-getter, adventurous, has no fear, very friendly
loves: crayons, baby dolls, stories, dancing, building with blocks

The Pledge

I can't believe at 3 years old Eric has learned the Pledge of Allegiance. Andrew and I were shocked when he just started saying it one day.

It's A....

BOY!!!! I thought for sure we were having a girl because I have been so sick. But now it makes sense, all the meat and salt cravings. We had a 14 week ultrasound and the tech said "we usually can't tell the gender at this stage." And then all of a sudden at the same time we noticed that it was obviously a boy!
We told the kids and Eric said he wanted a girl and Ellie said she was having a sister.. sorry baby boy!

Cousin Mikey is Born!!!!

Baby Mikey was born on October 12, a little early! We are so excited about having a new baby in the family. Here is his own blog
mikeycsworld.blogspot.com

Potty Time Age 3 1/2

Today we were driving in the car and I let Eric look through one of my catalog of kids' stuff. He told us he really wanted the animals on the animal page. So Andrew said "If you poop on the potty, you can have them." Eric told us he would do it right when we got home. We laughed it off but sure enough, he did it! After months of trying everything, he did it all on his own. Andrew was off to buy those animals!!

Apple Picking

We took the kids to Honeypot Hill with Mom, Julie, Lindsay, Rachel, and Jon. They had a blast!!! They loved the hayride and got a kick out of Jon climbing the ladder into the trees. We caught Ellie biting every apple and putting them back into the bag. The highlight for Eric was feeding the goats.

First Day of School

Today was Eric's first day of school. He was very nervous and cried when we dropped him off but his teacher called after 20 min and said he was fine. He loves the trains and sitting on the carpet. He said even though he liked it, he's not sure if he's going back!

Cute Sayings

Eric always tells people " Do you want to know what I'm into? I'm into snakes, lizards, dinosaurs and horses."

He loved "dinosaurus rex."

What a PAIN IT IS

We were out to eat and Eric kicked his shoes off under the table. So when he had to go to the bathroom (for the third time) I said "See what a PAIN IT IS to keep putting your shoes back on." And he responded "Mommy, did you just say Penis!!!"

Ellie's 2 Year Checkup

Ellis is 26 lb 7 oz.
She is 33 inches tall.
She got a big bruise on her arm from her shot.

Eric's iron is still low, he had it tested again at the lab so hopefully it is just genetically low.

Birthday Girl

Here's a pic of Ellie celebrating her birthday in Asheville with her cousins. They did a great job decorating the cupcakes!
i can't believe Ellie is 2 now! She is such a chatterbox, counting, singing.. the kids are so much fun.

A-B-C

On Friday we were getting in the car after getting hot running around outside with Erics friends, Katelyn and Matthew. Eric said "Mommy, I'm so hot, you gotta turn on the ABC."

Potty Time

Eric wore underwear for the first time last Tuesday. He has been in underwear since then except for nap and bedtime. An accident here and there but otherwise he is doing great. He does say "I only want to pee in the potty... no brown stuff." Ellie calls underwear "diaperwear."

Weight Update

Ellie 22 Months 25 lbs 6 oz
Eric 38 Months 33 lbs

This week Eric had the croup and Ellie had a double ear infection.. yuck!!!

Eric Can Read (sort of)

Eric asked me to read him the Rainbow Fish so I said "let me just go get some water and then I'll start", while I was in the kitchen I heard him start the story by himself. Andrew snuck out the video camera and we taped him reading the entire book from memory. It was so amazing how he remembered every word on the page.

Cute Things

The kids have been doing and saying so many cute things lately. They are amazing! So smart and sweet.

Ellie: found a little green shamrock on the the floor and carries it around singing Happy Birthday

Eric: has been helping Andrew garden lately and they were searching for "vermiculite" to use in the dirt mix and it has become Eric's favorite word

Ellie: was at the library music show standing in the middle of all the kids singing and jumping and getting all the attention

Ellie: instead of no says "no way"

Eric: convinced Papa that 1 and 1 make 11 not 2

Wedding

The wedding was, or course, beautiful. The flower girl and ring bearer stole the show! It was the sweetest thing when they announced "Flowergirl Miss Katelyn Flynne escorted by ringbearer Mr. Eric Gregory." They marched out so proud of themselves. At rehearsal they just ran around so we were a little nervous.
Eric loved riding in the limo. He was amazed that they had cups and a TV inside.