A NICE(ville) Christmas in Indy

Grandma Thornton, Uncle Mike, Aunt Amy, and Stevie drove all the way to Indy to celebrate Christmas 2 weeks early!
We packed a lot into a few days- including the Incredible Pizza Company and a cold Christmas at the zoo. It was great having everyone here- there was laughing, drinking, talking, eating, drinking, kids, drinking,presents, drinking...

Grandma with Sydney

Sam and Grandma looking at pictures

Sam & Sydney bundled up for Christmas at the zoo (see the sharks!)

Tom got to pet the sharks

Stevie posed with a huge snake- yikes!

Grandma feeding Sydney

Sam opening his first present ever- with supervision from cousin Stevie

Sydney opening her first present ever (we aren't counting all of the slightly torn presents currently under our tree)

It's crazy to think about how Christmas will be next year. We will need to get prepared with a child-proofed basement and a fully stocked bar :)

8 months old!

Wow 8 months old- time flies! The kids are now in the chick room at daycare and have adjusted well. They are learning all sorts of things from the older kids and before moving on from this room they will have graduated from a crib- so hard to imagine.

The big thing now is teething- at least that is what we keep being told- at least that would explain the fussiness, lack of sleep, and the picture below.

Is it Christmas yet?

I think Sydney is anxious for Christmas. No matter where she starts out she ends up army crawling to the gifts and trying to open them. Here are some pictures of when I caught her in the act.

Isn't she innocent?

Contemplating her next move

Sarah & Sean's reception

On November 27th we attended Sarah and Sean's wedding reception. Overall we had a pretty good night without any major temper tantrums- the kids were good too :)

Sydney's first dance

I think the bib says it all (Party Guy)

Sam update

FYI- Sam first rolled over on October 31st- no pictures though since we were at a friend's house. He is doing well trying to keep up with Sydney but he isn't in a rush- he seems happy to have people bring things to him instead of crawling after it- like father like son?

I think I hear Sam saying dada but Tom disagrees or hasn't heard it- I will post when we know for sure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

For Sam and Sydney's first Thanksgiving- we decided to host the Knox family. Grammy Kim, Grandpa Joe, Uncle Joey, and Uncle Dan all came to visit and stayed through Friday. It was the first chance Sam & Sydney had to meet their uncles.

Early morning playtime- sorry Uncle Joey -Uncle Joey got to sleep on the couch and then got to wake up bright and early with the twins:)

Grammy Kim helped me make our Thanksgiving feast and it turned out well I am happy to say

Grammy Kim had a ball playing with Sydney and Sam- they had changed so much since she last saw them in July

Harvest Celebration

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving Sam and Sydney's daycare, Beech Tree House, has a Harvest Celebration where the whole school brings in a fruit and a vegetable and they sit together and have fruit salad, vegetable soup, and homemade bread. The twins didn't participate in the meal but they dressed for the occasion!

Sam was obviously excited for the day :)

Sydney's new sweet smile

7 Months Old

I can't believe it has been 7 months already! Sam & Syd are getting so big! They only have 4 more days in the "bunny" room because after Thanksgiving they officially become "chicks". Tom is still struggling with the fact his son will be a "chick"- but hey he is a bunny now...

Right now Sydney is managing to get around like an inchworm- she will be crawling soon so Tom & I need to get ready! Sam is content to rollover but doesn't seem anxious to crawl yet.

Both Sam & Syd enjoy sitting up and "talking". They love sitting in their highchairs trying new solid foods and talking and laughing at each other.

Sam is 7 months!

Sydney is 7 months!

Sydney & Sam

Sydney just showing off :)

With the parents away, the kids will play

Tom and I got to go to Sarah's wedding in Florida 11/12/10 and while we were away Grandma Lu and Aunt Nessa came to stay with Syd & Sam.

The weekend was full of fun for all- once Sydney stopped crying Friday night...

Playtime

...more playtime

finally naptime

well...not for Sydney

a little more rest

nope Sydney is just getting started

Tom and I were so glad to get back to our kiddos and I think Grandma Lu and Aunt Nessa were ready for some rest of their own.

Trick or Treat 10/31/10

On Halloween Sam & Sydney got all dressed up to go trick-or-treating...

Ready to go

Our pretty little flower

Our brave little lion?

Well ok-they got all dressed up so we could take their pictures and then we went to one house- (Mary Beth & Jim's) and they knew we were coming early. Maybe next year we'll make it to two houses?

Sydney & Sam with their treat bags from Mary Beth & Jim

Happy Halloween!

On Friday 10/29 Sam and Sydney got in their Halloween outfits for daycare. The bunny room always takes an annual Halloween picture of the class- for now here is the one we took.

Sydney- "Daddy's under my spell"
Sam- "Mommy's little pumpkin"

Pretty Special!

I picked the kids up yesterday (October 28th) and was told my daughter is pretty special. I knew this already but was curious what she had done to impress her 3 teachers- Miss Mary told me that Sydney said dada and mama and that it is rare that a little one says both. Her teachers think she could be speaking in sentences soon- haha. Of course all evening Tom and I kept trying to get her to repeat it without luck :(

Pumpkin Patch

Aunt Janessa and Josh visited us October 24th and we decided to take the kiddos to Appleworks apple orchard and pumpkin patch. It was a perfect day and hopefully we can do this every year!

Ready for fun!

Sam is not sure about feeding the animals in the petting zoo.

Sydney isn't shy- she stuck her hands right in the cage

Aunt Janessa & Josh with Sam & Sydney

Look how big!!

Is daddy sharing or teasing with that caramel apple?

6 months old

It's hard to believe Sam & Sydney are 6 months old already!
They are starting solid foods- so far just peas and bananas. Sam likes to sit up straight and bounce in his jumperoo. Sydney is rolling all over the place and always has a story to tell. They both are still great sleepers and are working on increasing their daily totals of formula- still under 30oz/day. Daddy's goal is to see them at 5 percentile by the next doctor's appointment (Sam was 1% and Sydney was 4% at the last one).

Pretty Peas!

At Sam & Sydney's 5&1/2 month check-up the doctor said they may now start solid foods. Our first attempt was peas.

Sam's first taste

Sam's after pic

Sydney's after pic- she really did get some in her mouth