Nicknames

We were having a dinner conversation with Lily and Madeleine about their day at school. Many of the kids in the three year-old room have been with them since they were infants.

They were talking about somebody named "H-dawg."

Mommy: Who's that?

Lily: Heath

Mommy: Who calls him that?

Lily: Avery

Mommy: Does Avery have nicknames for other kids?

Lily: Yes.

Mommy: What does he call you?

Lily: Madeleine.

Mommy: And Madeleine, what's your nickname?

Madeleine: Lily.

Cold Day Thoughts

Okay - it was a unseasonably cold weekend here in NC, so with the current runny nose situation, we opted to not attend the Raleigh Christmas Parade on Saturday.

Sunday afternoon it was warmer, but still chilly out. So I attempted to introduce the girls to the concept of hot chocolate. I got them little espresso cups to use and set them up in the kitchen with some marshmallows. Lily just wanted to eat the marshmallows (three bags full), but Madeleine finally ended up drinking the actual chocolate after about 45 minutes.

They spent most of the time stirring the marshmallows around the cup and making a general mess. Here they are eating marshmallows off the floor.

Thanksgiving Feast

The girls had their annual Thanksgiving Feast at day care today, so Daddy and I were happy to attend. I also got to try out my new camera, so that was a bonus.

They ate much better than last year, and I could tell they were very happy to have us there. About half of the kids in the class had their parents attend. The kids were playing pin the tail on the turkey when we arrived.

Go Wolfpack!

Yes, I'm a Carolina girl who hasn't said "Go to hell State!" in a very long time. Whether is it was the tough times NCSU faced in the early 90's when they lost Jimmy V or Kay Yow's valiant struggle with cancer, I lost all animosity against NC State athletics. I've looked forward to the day we could take the girls to sporting events, particularly women's events, for a long time. NC State being the closest option, they win.

Then in August I got a NCSU cheerleader outfit at the consignment sale for $10. It was fate. I just needed an event to wear it to. For weeks Madeleine has been asking to wear her cheerleader dress, and I told her we needed to check the basketball schedule.

Unfortunately, most of the women's basketball games fall at 2 pm or 7pm this season, prime sleeping times for us. However this weekend they had a special tournament with a game at 2:30. So, today we took an early nap and got them up early. We managed to make it to the game about 5 minutes in and grabbed a seat on the third row to watch.

They sat in our laps most of the first half. We got popcorn and some nachos, and they were very excited to see the cheerleaders and mascots during breaks. Then I let them out of the bleachers to jump around during halftime. Then it was over. There was no going back into the seats then. They wanted to jump and dance for anyone who would smile at them. We made two separate trips to the bathroom that was a mile and a half away. They wanted to stalk Mr. and Ms. Wulf.

We did manage a few cheers, and the girls both managed to make the Wolfpack sign frequently.

State managed to just beat UNC-Charlotte. It was a close game, but I always like to see Yow's ladies win.

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Fancy Ribbon Dance

Well, our first dance class went as well as can be expected for a room full of 3 year olds. Both Lily and Madeleine were so excited today, they told anyone who would listen that they were headed to ballet class tonight.

We got there around 5:15. I tried to feed them some goldfish in the parking lot since I knew we'd be having dinner late. Madeleine wasn't interested, but Lily was going to town. Eric showed up shortly after with juice boxes, so they had those as well. We went in around 5:20, but no one else was there yet, so we were left to entertain ourselves for 10 minutes. Not really a whole lot to do in the community center.

But class started promptly at 5:30. Almost all the other little girls had on the Target brand ballet slippers. The course is taught by Khadija ElMcPherson, or 'Coach K." I have to hand it to her, she did a pretty good job wrangling all the kids together. We started off sitting in a circle all together, parents and kids, but shortly after the girls were on their own.

It was hard for me to watch sometimes as the girls were doing something wrong. I wanted to help them out the best I could, but I knew that Coach K was their teacher, and I shouldn't interfere.

The last 10-15 minutes they did "solos." I think this was the hardest part for the girls because they had to wait while each girl took their turn on the dance line. They were not supposed to touch their ribbons, but of course they did. Some girls went and ran to sit with their parents when they were done. I thought she might have a meltdown, but Lily was very patient and went last out of the whole crew without a complaint.

Getting out of the community center was another story. Lily freaked out immediately that we wouldn't let her run into one of the other meeting rooms. I knew she just didn't want to leave and go home. Madeleine followed her leave and started yelling too. We tried more snacks in the car, but they kept at it for a few blocks. All was well though by the time we got home. Hopefully they'll understand next week that they do get to go back.

I'm experimenting with a video montage for the first time, so please excuse me if it sucks.

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Baby Showers

We all went out to Pittsboro this afternoon to celebrate Hunter's babies - Tristan and Corinna. She is 24 weeks along with boy/girl twins.

We got them what I would call a "box of linens." It was a mix of new items as well as some used hooded towels that the girls used as infants. There were also a bunch of burp cloths, bibs, etc. that we never really even used.

Many of Eric's old college friends were in attendance, and it was very strange to see everyone with their children and all the kids playing together. I brought bubbles, so we did those outside a couple of times. But the little ones loved jumping around in the papasan chair and playing in the babies' room most of all. The daddies and big kids pretty much hung out downstairs and played with the Wii.

We stayed past the girls' bed time and didn't make it to bed until almost 9. Needless to say, they totally passed out.

Halloween Divas

The kids had a super-busy Halloween. We started off the morning by heading to Global Knowledge for the annual Halloween spectacular. We picked up breakfast on the way, and the girls snacked on it at the conference table.

Then we walked around to see the other costumes and decorations in the office. Many groups had candy out for the kids, so the girls enjoyed picking out candy. They especially liked seeing other kids dressed up. We entered the individual costume contest as "Super Mom," but I didn't win.

Around 9:30 am we headed out to EPLC for their Halloween parade. This year they marched up and down Executive Circle. All the kids were super cute.

I picked them up from day care at 4:30 and headed home for dinner and trick-or-treating. We went up to Grandma and Grandpa's house since more people on their street give out candy. The girls had a great time, but they forgot to say "trick or treat" after the first house or so. They just wanted to say "Happy Halloween." They also were under the impression that everyone knew them, so on one occasion Lily tried to enter someone's house.

We only went to 6 houses before the girls said they were done. Then we headed home to talk about our candy before going to bed for the night. I had to go through each piece in their pumpkin and tell them what kind of candy it was.