The holidays this year were so much fun! For Hanukkah, we learned the prayer and how to light the candles on the menorah. We all wanted to blow out the candles, as if they were on a birthday cake. But after the first night, we caught on to the fact that they are supposed to burn all the way down. And although we kept it pretty low key for all of the holidays, we all loved going over to Pop-pop’s house to open presents and to have Christmas dinner.

Pop-pop gave Emmett a camera, which he is still figuring out how to use. But it’s great because he can take pictures on it, he can review the pictures he’s taken, and he can upload all of the pictures to the computer! So far, he’s mostly taken shots of the floor, so we haven’t uploaded anything. But he’s a really fast learner, and we are all sure that before we know it, he will be giving lessons on how to frame the perfect shot.

Pop-pop gave Riley a huge 4-wheeler. It rumbles, it plays music, it moves. Everyone thinks it’s fantastic. Even our little cousin, Ellie, loved playing with it. And she usually likes shoes and hand bags. That’s how cool it is.

Tessa got some clothes from Pop-pop, which is nice because she’s set up for a lift of hand-me-downs unless her closet is otherwise augmented through gifts.

Mom and Dad got us great stocking stuffers too. We got a Beauty and the Beast book, which Riley and Emmett constantly “take turns” reading. We got a bunch of things that roll or bounce or shake, and Tessa got a teething necklace that both she and Emmett like to chew on. Believe it or not, these little stocking stuffers were almost more of a hit in the house than the big presents were.

But hanging out at Pop-pop’s, helping everyone open their gifts, and eating dinner while watching Beauty and the Beast and Cars 2 on the television was what was the most fun. You can check out the pictures, we all loved the unwrapping (except for Tessa, who just loved the wrapping and tissue paper). And we loved playing with everyone who was there.

Next month, we have Tessa’s first birthday, so there is another present holiday to look forward to. Then, after January, we have a lull in holidays until next October. Mom and Dad were thinking of celebrating Emmett’s half-birthday instead, so we’ll see if that happens. They were also talking about just having one huge party for all three of our birthdays next December… There are a lot of ideas on the table. We’ll see which one works out!

Have a wonderful New Year’s!
Emmett, Riley and Tessa (T-bone)

Riley’s birthday; Halloween; and Emmett’s first day of school… So many things happened this past week, and they all went great!

First, Riley’s birthday… He was very excited for the first time ever to see what was under the wrapping paper. He played a bit with the tissue paper, but not much. He got a Thomas the Train flashlight, and so did Emmett, and they have both been big hits. He also got a chalk board that he draws on, a block-train he disassembles, some books he reads over and over, and some blocks he stacks. All very exciting things. Mom and Dad gave him a race track, and he and Emmett enjoy racing their cars all the way to the end. He asked for doughnuts in lieu of cake. Mom and Dad put a candle on top of an iced star, he blew it out (and theoretically made a wish) and then went to town. The icing got all over his hands, but he ate all but two bites of the doughnut. He loved it! I had fun being played with and cuddled by all of the guests. Mom and Dad have some great pictures of me, Riley, and Emmett before, during, and after the party-so check out what’s posted.

Then came Halloween. Like years past, we went over to Grandpa Bob’s (or Pop-Pop’s) and we hit up the entire cul-de-sac. I was dressed as a kitty cat, Riley was a spotted doggie, and Emmett was Spiderman. I was very excited to go along, as this was my first real Halloween. Next year, I’m hoping to hold a big bag of candy and say trick-or-treat when we go up to everyone’s front door. Since I’m not really walking yet, I just enjoyed being carried by Mom and Dad. The boys, though, did great with taking not one, but two handfuls of candy from every house. When someone wanted to give just one piece of candy to Emmett or Riley, they made it clear that they expected more than that. For the most part, everyone was happy to give them extra candy. Although neither of them said trick-or-treat, they both said ‘hi,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘bye.’ So some of the nice-ities were observed. The funny thing though was that Emmett didn’t want candy after we’d all come in to check out our haul. He asked for cheese.

Finally, this past Tuesday, the day after Halloween, was Emmett’s first day of school. We were all very excited about it, but – if truth be known – a bit unsure of how things were going to go. When Mom and Dad took him into his class room a bit early so that he could meet the teachers, he wasn’t happy about it at all. He wanted to go in the front door of the school building, not the side door that led directly to the preschool classroom. Also, there were no kids in there yet and everything that Emmett knew about school included the fact that there were a lot of other kids involved. But once Mom and Dad led him through the front door and around the hallway to the preschool classroom, and once the other kids arrived, he fell right into the swing of things. No crying. Just excitement. His teacher said he was the star of song-time and that he was full of big, belly laughs that made the other kids stop to see what was so great. Emmett’s teacher’s exact words were, “he was very charming.” He made an art project that he brought home and put up in the kitchen, and he was excited to do it again the next day…

Except that we had a blizzard and class was cancelled the next day. We have some pictures of the boys playing in the snow with Dad. Hopefully, Mom gets around to posting those too. What’s up with Me? I am staring to furniture surf, and generally pulling myself up on everything. I enjoy copying when someone makes a clucking noise with their tongue. I also will scrunch up my face and snort. This is super cute, I’m told. And it also shows off all of my teeth! My favorite toy to play with is a set of keys, and if someone takes them away from me (usually Riley) I cry until I get them back. Believe me, I know how this works….

Well, next time we blog will be after Thanksgiving. Dad is looking forward to some good time off from his Master’s Program at school and Mom is hoping that the new year brings a bit more calm days for everyone here… Stage 5 Clinger anyone? (Riley you know I’m talking about you!)

Take care,
Tessa

These past few weeks, and the weeks to come, are much about anticipation. Emmett starts school on November 1st; Riley turns two on October 23rd; and I, Tessa, am on the cusp of a bunch of milestones. And Halloween is right around the corner! Everyday is fun and full of cute, sometimes new things. But soon, a ton of stuff will change.

After a couple of weeks of neanderthal-like behavior, Emmett has calmed down and has settled into his role of the learner. Although he is super smart, he still hasn’t been speaking a lot. But in the past two weeks, or so, he’s been picking up a bunch of new words. Riley is the real talker, and Emmett copies him. I think it makes it easier for Emmett, since he feels he can tell us all what he wants. His favorite is “no, no, no!” He almost never says the word just once. It’s always repeated in triplicate, with a slight Italian accent. Don’t ask, we aren’t sure why. Emmett also now says Riley’s favorite word (poop), but not in conjunction with potty training, which is what Mom and Dad are really hoping for. When he starts school he will be going for four mornings a week, for two and a half hours a day. Lots of learning! And also lot of playing. We all think that he is going to LOVE it!

Riley, we all agree, is a little bit of a show-off. He is clearly very smart. While Emmett watches and figures out how everything is working like a scientist, Riley repeats everything he hears trying to get the laugh. He is very expressive verbally. He will say a word over and over and over until you repeat it for him, thus validating his learning. He still thinks that everyone is poopy and will tell you so. But when asked, Riley do you have poop? He emphatically shakes his head no, even though many times he for sure needs a new diaper. He acts out parts of Finding Nemo and Monsters vs. Aliens, two of Emmett’s favorite movies. He really is quite silly. (He has also just evidenced behavior of a two-year-old. He’s defiant, easily frustrated when he doesn’t get his way, and often mad about it all. We hope this passes quickly.)

While Emmett is poised for a huge leap in his learning, and Riley is becoming more and more of a goon each day, I am quietly making headway through all of my first year milestones. Like Riley before me, I am an army crawler. I am thisclose to crawling, though, that it seems like it could happen at any moment. I am also pulling myself up on things, but not furniture surfing just yet. I am eating like a champ, still, and trying my hardest to talk Mom and Dad into letting me have some solid food. When they feed the boys, or even themselves, I stare at their food longingly. Mom has started giving me thumbtack sized pieces, but I would like more…

We all have our Halloween costumes. Emmett is going to be Spiderman, Riley is going to be a white, spotted dog, and I am going to be a kitten. We are going to wear our costumes to Riley’s birthday party, and then again, of course, on Halloween. We are going to Grandpa Bob’s (or Pop-pop as well all call him) to trick-or-treat. Emmett and Riley have already been practicing. It’s going to be fantastic.

I’ll have Mom post pictures after the 31st, but check out the ones that I just put up. All great.

Talk soon.

Love, T

Turns out, when you throw a sippy cup-even an empty sippy cup-at a plasma screen TV from roughly 3 feet away, you can break the glass. Did you know that? Well, now we all know that. And we can tell you, Mom and Dad were not very happy to learn that fun fact. Worse yet, it could have been more of a mystery. Not the actual breaking. Just the implement inflicting the damage. But a sippy cup leaves a mark. A small spot of milk from said sippy cup was left behind at the scene of the crime. And so, Mom and Dad had found the blunt object, so to speak.

But that was just the start to a great (said with some level of sarcasm) week. The video baby monitor made its way into the pond, too. By this time, Dad mentioned something to Mom about keeping a tab so that they could be paid back for all of the unnecessary out-of-pocket expenses once we were all old enough to get jobs. We are assuming this was said tongue-in-cheek. At least, we hope so.

The icing on the cake was, well, not really icing at all. Emmett woke up Saturday morning, in a fairly good mood we have to admit, with puke all over his crib. When Mom came into the room, Riley pointed at Emmett and said “Poop.” Two mornings later, after Mom had gotten sick, Dad walked into find Riley pointing at the corner of his crib making a funny face. When he looked closer, he saw that Riley had also gotten sick sometime during the night and was indicating that it was a bad scene. A short time later, Tessa threw up all over herself in her car seat. She was almost literally swimming in it. Riley, who sits next to her in the car, leaned over, pointed at her, and said “Poop.” A little more than 24 hours after that, Dad, himself, was the last to get sick. Although, when he did, everyone else was asleep so there was no one there to point and enlighten him.

On a lighter note, Emmett had learned almost all of the letters of the alphabet, which we are told is a feat for someone so young; Tessa is army crawling all over; and Riley is repeating everything that he hears, and his favorite word is-wait for it-Poop.