Novembers Random Ramblings

• Abby and I were talking about hair cuts and how lots of boys have short hair and lots of girls have long hair. Then she asked me why Olivia has her hair cut like Nolan's.
• Abby now calls Olivia "Livy" or "little one".
• Abby has started calling Nolan, Nolan Richard (which is his middle name) when she really wants him to do something or she is trying to get her point across.
• We were at the mall the other day and we saw 10 month old twins. I tried to explain to her what twins are, to which she replied "Nolan and I are twins." I figured I didn't do a good job explaining and continued to try to explain the concept. I told her that twins means a Mommy has 2 babies in her belly at the same time. She then told me that next time I will have 2 babies in my belly instead of just one.
• Anytime we are in the car and Olivia is crying (which is often because I seem to have the only 2 kids in the world who don't instantly fall asleep in the car) Abby tells me I need to feed Olivia when we get to where ever we are going.

Clean machine

Lots To Be Thankful For

During this season of reflection, I realize more than ever that I have so much to be thankful for. I don't have a lot of time to post it all but here is a list of the most important things!

• I am thankful for my 2 beautiful, healthy little girls.
  
• I am thankful for my understanding, helpful, hardworking husband.
• I am thankful for my supportive extended family that takes care of us from afar.
• I am thankful for my friends both near and far who put up with spells of non-communication when things get crazy in the Vrabec household! I am also thankful for all of the support, encouragement, and laughter they provide us.
• I am thankful for the basics.... a roof over our head, food to eat, and clothes on our back.
  
• I am thankful for our freedom and those who sacrifice so much to provide us with it.

I wish I had more time to elaborate, but life with a 3 year old and a newborn keep me busier than I ever thought possible!!! I hope you all have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Turkey Lunch Date

Abby's preschool hosted a Thanksgiving Day lunch and the parents were invited to attend. Unfortunately Andrew was out of town, but Olivia and I were able to go. The school pulled out all the stops and we had a full-blown turkey lunch complete with mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, corn, green beans, rolls and dessert. The kids were very excited to have their Moms at school with them and seemed to be on their best behavior. After lunch the kids took us back to their class room to show us the turkey pokey dance and song that they learned. Most of them weren't very interested but it was cute all the same. I am glad I had the opportunity to spend some time with Abby at school. I always wonder what she is up to while I am away and now I have a bit of an idea of what goes on at school.

The table setting

Abby and Nolan before we ate

"Can I have some turkey too, please?"

Mommy and Abby

This was the best picture of the 3 of us. Abby was done taking pictures!
After lunch, getting ready to do the Turkey Pokey

1 Month Old

I can't believe my baby girl is already a month old. The old cliche is true, they really do grow up fast! It seems to hold true even more so for the second one. I guess that is because you learn the hard way with the first one. One minute they are helpless newborns and in the blink of an eye they are busy, independent toddlers! With this knowledge I am trying to enjoy and relish every moment I can (with both girls). Life with two kids has been an adjustment to say the least. And, I had no idea that the guilt I felt with one kid would quadruple with two! We are settling in though and finding our rhythm. Abby and Olivia already seem to have a special bond and I look forward to nurturing that bond and see it strengthen with time. Olivia seems to be just as strong willed as her big sister and reminds me very much of how Abby was at this age in many ways. There are areas where they differ though and if I had to decide now I would guess that Olivia is not going to be the girly-girl princess that Abby has perfected. That is only based on the fact that Olivia grunts, toots,and belches like a man and if Abby has any say in the matter they will prove me wrong. Olivia is growing and thriving and I've already had to pack away some of her newborn outfits because the are too short for my tall girl. She is very strong too, already holding her head up (shes been doing that for a few weeks now) and turning her head from side to side and picking it up off the ground while laying on her stomach. Andrew and I joke that it looks like she is just going to up and crawl away, but in all seriousness she is not a baby I would trust to stay in one place and I won't be leaving her on the middle of the bed or some place like that unattended. Well, I could go on forever but I am typing one handed as I am enjoying holding my sleeping one month old daughter and my bed is calling my name (hopefully for the next couple of hours anyway).

Libby turns 1

Nolan's birthday party wasn't the only party we attended on Saturday. After a brief stop at home to regroup and rest, we headed to another birthday party! Our friends Ben and Molly's little girl Libby turned 1. They hosted quite the shindig at their house with tons of kids, lots of yummy food, and of course birthday cake! Abby befriended 2 other little girls that were her age and they had so much fun playing together all night. In fact, they had so much fun playing we allowed Abby to stay up way past her bedtime (till 10PM) to play with her new friends. After all the "partying" Abby recuperated by sleeping in till 10AM on Sunday morning!!!

The Birthday girl eating her cake

Abby enjoying her 2nd piece of cake of the day

Libby, Ben and Andrew

Abby asked Mr. Ben to play the guitar and then all the kids were dancing

Daisy, Abby, Taryn

Happy Birthday Nolan

Abby's best friend, Nolan, turned 3 on Sunday and on Saturday he had a very fun birthday party. It was held at the gymnastics place where the kids used to take gymnastics class. They set up an obstacle course where the kids were able to show off their skills. After running around for an hour it was time for pizza, cake, and presents. It was a really fun party, the kids had a blast! Happy Birthday Nolan, we are so happy we were able to help you celebrate turning 3!

On the rings

Swinging on the rope

The parachute. I think this was the kids' favorite activity, they were having so much fun with this!

The birthday boy and the cake his Mom and Dad made, it was awesome!

The true party animal! I guess all that running and jumping made her tired ;)

Any Ideas??

Ok, its time to change the name of the blog.....any body have any cute, creative ideas they want to share?

3 going on 16

I wasn't allowed to wear make-up at such a young age, but how can you say no to a face like this. Plus, she is a natural when it comes to actually applying the make-up!

2 Week Check Up

Well, I am a slacker and forgot to do Olivia's 2 week picture but we did have her doctors visit on Nov. 6th and I have all of her stats. Our not so little girl is growing well and she got a clean bill of health from the doctor, even her hip clicks that were present at birth are all cleared up. So, here are her stats:
Height: 20 3/4" (75%)
Weight: 9#4oz (90%)
Head Cir: 36 3/4 cm (75%)

Pumpkin Carving

You will have to forgive me, my posts are all out of order. I am lucky I am getting any posting done at all!! Anyway, a few days before Halloween we carved our pumpkin. Abby did not like the guts at all and wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. After Andrew removed all the pumpkin guts Abby had a good time drawing and carving the face. Olivia and I watched as Abby and Daddy did all the work.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year, 3 is a great age for trick or treating. Brian, Sam and Nolan joined us at our house for pizza and then we headed out to go trick or treating. I tried to dress Olivia up in Abby's chili pepper costume from when she was a baby, but Olivia was just not having it! I was lucky because my Dad and step-mom were in town and my step-mom volunteered to stay home with Olivia so I wouldn't miss out on the trick or treating fun. Abby and Nolan had a blast and were so excited that they were dancing and singing in the streets in between houses! They were also very brave and weren't scared of the decorations or of any of the costumes. Both the little ones got tired after a while so we headed home where they got their second burst of candy induced energy!

My Girls

The kiddos before dinner

My little stinker

The cutest dragon and skunk in all of Florida