Playdate @ Aya's

Who cares about our play dates??  We are BFF right now.

Mel with her friends and red cupcakes - what can go wrong??

Seriously BFF

I was told later that I looked "tired" at the post-Thanksgiving playdate at Aya's.  Well, yes, there hasn't been a time in the last 4 years I haven't been "tired."  I took both kids to the playdate; Melanie had her typical Aya/Gracie/Ellie playdate (plus Izzy, who has been a staple at Gymboree and other Aya parties)...And Joey got his first playdate with a little boy who will be two in May!  He had NO idea he was on a playdate - but it was fun for everyone, because of course Aya has a bouncy house in her basement!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Hat!

Becky's phone games!

This is our baby cousin.

Check out my cool turkey shirt - I made it with my handprints!

Grandma-pose

These kids are smarter with phones than we are.

Air hockey with Pappaw

Worzala Women.  Strong Women. :)

Rain boots - Umbrella.  It wasn't raining.

Thanksgiving Dinner!

My cousin is giving me the bravery to pet this dog!

Dog??  Mel?? 

It helps to get "high fives" from Aunt Brenda every time I pet the doggie!

Seriously, I cannot get enough of this dog.

Now I'm telling Jen how to take care of the dog.

We are very thankful this year that Uncle Randy, Aunt Cory, Charlie & Sammie moved to Indiana!  It's been fun being closer to them - and even more fun to spend Turkey Day at their house!!  We arrived after Joey's morning nap - and stayed until bedtime (mine and the kids').  It was a VERY fun day with the Fishers Worzalas, Grandma & Pappaw W, Uncle Rick, Aunt, Sandy & Becky, PLUS Cory's family - Brenda, Marshall, Jerry, Brenda, Ryan & Jen - and "family" Angie & Jacob!  And......Bella the Dog!!  Melanie, who is TERRIFIED of dogs, told me, on Friday, that her "favorite part" of Thanksgiving was......BELLA!!!

Boiler Up!

Jeff & Melanie went to her first Purdue game - versus Iowa - to close this year's dismal home season.  Melanie slept the entire first half, but had good stories, such as "Purdue Pete went for a sandwich," "Gigi brought me a blanket too," and "I watched the football players."  "I saw the big drum" was also included in her limited-information recap.  One of her highlights was the donut she ate at the tailgate - which she ate "in the tent with the heater."  Gotta love a 3-year-old recap!

We tried going to a movie again on Sunday.  She did MUCH better than she did in May - but got bored midway through.  We're making progress!

Me & My Shadow

One evening as I put clothes away in Mel's room, I heard shrieks of laughter and excitement in Joey's room.  This is what I walked in to see - both kids in the blanket chest, with all of the blankets on the floor

Dinner Time

Literally everywhere one goes the other follows...

Every night, Melanie reads Joey Bible stories, sings him songs, and generally entertains him while he takes a bath.  It's a ritual they are both becoming quite accustomed to - and which I love!

Joey - 1.5 Years

Joey is getting a LOT of teeth.  I'm hoping that is why he's been so angry lately.   He is quite the little helper at daycare, and his teacher, Ms. Anna, reports that he is the "leader" in the classroom.  He's much happier at school, apparently, than he is at home :)  Joey loves to color, and do EVERYTHING his sister does.  He loves toys that make noise, soft blankets or books (he's been known to carry around a feather, a cottonball, a RUG, or anything that feels good against his skin).  He loves bath time, and particularly loves pooping in the bath tub.

He still doesn't have a lot of words (that we understand), but he does talk a lot.  Discernible words include "mine," (a favorite of his), "nana" (for banana), Gigi, Poppy, mommy, daddy, dog, "all done," and "more."  He will follow directions really well, and is a good helper when he wants to be.  He doesn't like getting his diaper changed, he LOVES having Daddy hold him, and he loves to make noise.  He has lately been seeking out our hand to hold, whether in public or just walking from the living room to the play room.

He loves footballs, baseballs, soccer balls, etc - loves throwing them, bringing them to us, saying "ball," etc.  He is wearing 18 month clothes, size 6 shoes, and size 4 diapers.  He LOVES the camera, saying "cheese" at any opportunity.

Melanie - 3.5 years

Breakfast for Dinner!

Melanie went in for a mid-year checkup so the doctor could continue tracking her height & weight.  I thought that it would be a good time to review the things Melanie is currently enjoying!

Mel loves working on her letters - tracing letters everywhere she sees them, spelling them out, working with her Leapfrog toys on writing them, etc.  She can spell a few words from memory - cat, dog, Marsh, Mel, Joe.  She likes me to write out her friends' names so she can identify them.  Usually, when asked to spell a word, she will first say the Pledge of Allegiance, with a "Thank you, God" at the end of it - and then spell the word she's been asked for.  At the library earlier this week, she saw flags all over a Christmas tree, and stopped to say the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by a prayer.  She'll thank God for everything from Joey to our refrigerator; she's a very thankful little girl!

She LOVES to sing songs - Bible songs.  Bible songs include actual Bible songs, as well as "open shut them, open shut them, give your hands a clap," among other Biblical favorites.  She loves to sing her ABCs, count, and she still enjoys playing "teacher" with her babies, putting them all down for a nap, and not letting us turn any lights on.

Since Joey has been in such a bad mood lately, Mel has picked up the slack, and has been behaving pretty well.  Her ways of lashing out include licking me when she's angry (that was this morning's antic), and screaming for Daddy.  She definitely has a favorite!

She's been a pretty good eater lately - one of her favorite dinners is Cheerios.  But hey, at least she's eating!  She is a good helper, getting Joey's shoes on and off him, trying to change his diaper, entertaining him at bathtime, etc.

She's very picky with her clothes; she has to pick them out, and they don't always match.  She gets a favorite outfit and wears it multiple times throughout the week.  She is allowed to wear clothes to bed on Fridays, and that's a personal favorite of hers.  She's been sleeping pretty well (save for her sicknesses and the crazy wind we had for a couple of nights - which moving her bed back across the room helped with as well).

She took her second field trip with school this week - to see Pinocchio at Beef & Boards.  She seemed to really enjoy it, and sat through it longer than she sat through the last production at Beef & Boards, when she went to see Little Mermaid with Gigi, Aunt Julie, and Molly.

She has the memory of an elephant, and it never ceases to amaze us the things she comes up with that she has observed, heard, or put together on her own.

She's still less than 30 pounds (I can't seem to find the notes from the doctor's visit!) - but pretty tall.  The same day she went to the doctor, she also went to the dentist - so both doctors encouraged her to stop sucking her thumb by Christmas.

She's wearing 3T clothes, size 8 shoes, and is VERY much looking forward to Santa's visit on Jesus' birthday!

Sick Days, Continued

I was trying to capture Joey's sick face.  But he saw the camera and immediately "cheese"d

You know Mel isn't feeling well when she doesn't move from the couch all night.  She was in bed by 7:15 this night (Thursday)

Joey passed out on Daddy before 7pm on Thursday

Mel and Joey are still feeling less than 100%.  Joey was running a low-grade fever for three nights in a row; during the day, he was fine, so he continued to go to school, until Thursday evening, daycare called and said his temperature was about 100.7.  When I picked the kids up that night, Mel also complained of not feeling well.  I assumed she was saying this because she knew Joey was sick - but, lo and behold, her fever was over 102.  She wolfed down her food that night and laid on the couch all night.  The next day (Friday), they both stayed home from school, and Joey went to the doctor - to simply be diagnosed with a cold.  They had the weekend to recover, and throughout the week they were still a little under the weather - Joey's was evidenced by the foul mood he's been in for over a week - Melanie's by her incessant cough.  On Tuesday night, she was coughing so hard she vomited several times.  Some honey at bed and naptimes, coupled with Vick's plug-ins in her room, worked to make the cough much better throughout the week.  Joey's foul mood is still being worked on.....