A Skater in the Making

Here in the warm winter (which I love by the way) we have an outdoor skating rink which runs from mid-December to mid-January. So in an effort to expose the kids to the winter activites I grew up with, I took them skating! The first time was last week. Princess TD was the only one who skated with me. Little TD watched from the sidelines, and looked to be interested in joining us.

This is her first few steps on the ice. She was hooked from the beginning. It only took three or four trips around the rink to get her wanting to go on her own.

She did very well with pushing her walker, and very quickly she was keeping up with me as I skated my normal pace. By the end of the session, she was wanting to try to go without the walker, but it was time for the Zamboni, so we opted to watch the Zamboni instead!

Every day since, she has asked to go skating again, so we went again today. Since Little TD seemed so eager to join us, I planned for him to skate too. I got Princess TD started, and went back for Little TD. He was excited. He took his walker and walked right over to the rink entrance, wearing his double bladed skates. He set the walker on the ice, and it moved! That got his attention. I grabbed the walker, showed him where to hold, and he stepped onto the ice. The first 3 steps were great! Then he realized it was super slick, tried to stop, and landed on his bottom! That was it! He was done. He kept saying over and over, "I don't like it...Daaaaaddddy!" I wasn't able to carry him and skate back to the entrance, so I had to leave the walker, skate backwards holding on to him and pulling him on the ice, and hand him off to a nice lady at the entrance while I quickly retrieved the walker (major tripping hazzard for these Texas skaters). That was it for him! It was so quick, we couldn't even get any pictures.

Princess TD, on the other hand, couldn't wait for me to lace my skates before getting on the ice! She was ready to go again right away! She pretty much skated on her own, making new friends with every little girl about her size. She skated for almost the entire 2 hour skate session. We quit a little early because with temperatures in the 70's ice tends to turn to slush pretty quickly. I don't think the rink chiller could keep up with the high temps and the number of skaters! But before we finished, she insisted that she try skating on her own!

We got several pictures of her skating away, but this is the only one of her coming towards us. Right after this was taken, she fell, but hopped right back up and tried again! She skated the width of the rink 2 or 3 times by herself.

She wants to go back again tomorrow. We are expecting a cold front today, so maybe tomorrow the ice won't melt so fast. We'll have to figure out what to do with Little TD, he gets pretty bored watching us skate. He would rather watch the Zamboni the whole time!

Our Visit with Santa

We went to see Santa today. Princess TD wasn't afraid this year. She walked right up and told him exactly what she wanted for Christmas: A scooter, a microphone and a doll bed like hers. I think Santa may need to change his game plan to accomodate her wishes. She recently pointed out that Santa doesn't bring what she wants, even though she likes what he's brought her. A little too insightful for a 4 yr old, don't ya think? Little TD, on the other hand, was terrified! He wanted nothing to do with the big man in red. So, Mommy sat in on the picture this year. Not one of my best photos! They at least look happy in the picture! Merry Christmas to you all!

Little TD is 2!

Well, the Little guy is 2! Where has the time gone? For those of you keeping score, here are his current stats: 36.5" tall and 31 lbs. (Princess TD was 37" tall and 33 lbs at 2 yrs)

Little TD loved all of his gifts. He played with them immediately. We gave him a single seater Power Wheels Jeep, just like Daddy's. He is a really good driver. He is able to drive it straight down the sidewalk all the way to the mailbox and back! He adores his new cars, boat (Matchbox size), motorcycle and trailers. He loves stacking them up and pulling them along. He's all boy!!

He loves playing with his cars and driving his Jeep. He carries cars with him everywhere and asks every morning to drive his Jeep. He loves to park it next to Daddy's. Just like every other car enthusiast, he has to check out under the hood!

What a sweetie!

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful, quiet Thanksgiving at home with just our little family. We had a traditional meal with turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans and stuffing. Somehow, I missed taking pictures at the "first" meal, but I managed to get a few in for the "next" meal. But here's the question of the day...do you think the pilgrims had pickled okra with their meal?

The rest of my family did....

I refused to eat it...as I always do. Mr. TD gave up eating it after he saw Little TD eat some and then drink his milk! Princess TD had at least 6 of them before she was finally through. I guess that's just another way they take after their Daddy.

I hope that all of you had a blessed holiday and got to spend some time with your loved ones. Love and miss you all.

Jesse and Woody

Well, we had a visit from Jesse and Woody of Toy Story 2 fame on Oct 31. Here are some shots of them as they visited both at home and at church.

Jesse, aka Princess TD, posing in the yard.

Woody, aka Little TD, riding his trusty steed, Bullseye.

The two posing together in front of the church. It took a very long time to get them to agree to stand next to each other AND look at the camera, or at least sort of in the direction of the camera!

And, guess who we ran into there.....

Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck!!

It was a Disney reunion there. We saw many of the Disney characters that night, including all of the Princesses. We really had a great time for Halloween. They collected candy at the church and then we went trick-or-treating with our neighbor across the street. He is just 10 months younger than Princess TD, so they had a blast together. We didn't get home and to bed until after 9 pm. We were all very tired the next day! A great time was had by all, but sorry to say that Mr. TD missed it all. He was in Florida...there's always next year!

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to a local Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Tree Farm last weekend to take pictures. In previous years, there were stacks and stacks of pumpkins, and this year there were just a few scattered here and there. We met some friends there and they got some great pictures of all the kids together, but I wasn't fast enough with my camera! Here's the little ones...

Princess TD loved climbing in the pumpkins!

Little TD wasn't so sure about them!

They are both getting so big. Princess TD is learning so much so quickly. We have started doing addition with her at dinner time, and she can pretty much add any number from 1-10. Little TD has really started talking in the last couple of weeks. He loves to "talk back" to Princess TD when she's trying to "tell" him something. It completely frustrates her! But they really do get along well and adore each other, for now!

The 7 Acre Wood

Hey, I figured out how to post pictures! I am on a roll!

These pictures were taken at our church playgroup last week at The 7 Acre Wood. This place has several play areas, minature golf, a real boat to climb all over, and a petting zoo. Neither one of them actually touched any of the animals, but they saw chickens, roosters, bunnies, sheep, goats, llamas and a potbellied pig. I think they were a little afraid of them, not quite like petting a puppy or a cat! They both had a great time and were completely exhausted when we left.

Princess TD with her friend chasing goats. No, the goats didn't chew on her shirt!

Little TD playing house.

Princess TD and Little TD checking out the pumpkin patch.

Princess TD playing "paying" (or store) with her friends.

New to This

Hello family and friends. I have decided to try to keep up with a blog to keep everyone updated on how the kiddos are doing, and what our family is up to. This is all new to me, so I don't know how this will go. Please stay tuned for more..

Mrs TD