Polite dinner conversation...

At one point in tonight's meal, Allison leaned over in her chair and tooted. When she sat back up, she smiled. Then this conversation started...

Mom: What do you say?

Allison: (accuses) RUDY!

Mom: Did you toot or did Rudy toot?

Allison: Mia toot!

Mom: Did you toot, Mia?

Mia: RUDY toot!

Here's a picture of Mia next to the person I suspect taught them such a thing...

Collegeville Orchards... The 'we need a nap' version.

Pictures by the pumpkins and picking up apples- Just two of the reasons I love the fall! So, this year we took the second annual trip to the orchard. Mia and Allison weren't in a posing for pictures mood...The picture below, for me, is reminiscent of those old black and white pictures of the dust bowl. Little Mia looks so forlorn!

Alli perked up a bit by the animals. She was most interested in the horse, but when given the chance to stand by it, you would not have been able to pass a piece of paper between her back and Auntie's legs. She was pressed right up against her!!! (And with good reason. The old thing bit me on the knee!!!)

Yikes... Now that's a goat!

It's like he can see through me.

(I think I took the same picture last year?)

Taking George to a new level...

Nanny Jenn found a deal on this Curious George costume and, lucky for us, she couldn't resist! When we put it on Mia, Allison was mesmerized and chased her all around the house. From the back, it really did look like we had a little monkey!

Today, Mia was having a hard time settling down for her nap. Alli climbed up on a chair next to Mia's crib and asked, "OK?". Mia kept crying, so Alli said, "I'll hug you." It was pretty sweet! (Although not entirely effective- both girls are still fighting their nap...)

Itsy bitsy dancing?...

(P.S.- For some of you, this video may be the first introduction to our other dog Zoe. She has been getting more social and on rare occassions sneaks into our photos. Mia and Alli love her and love to tell her "Zoe, no!" and "Zoe, quiet!" We wonder where they get that from!?!?)

Future do-it-yourselfers...

I wouldn't have guessed it, but the girls seemed to find the inner workings of Auntie Amy's dishwasher incredibly interesting. Maybe it was having Grandpa and Monica at their level, or the promise of dripping water... Whatever it was, the girls were captivated and eagerly got their noses in to the project, providing moral support to their grandpa!

A whole new outlook...

So, I finally conceded the point that these girls were never going to stand for barrettes and ponytails and that if they wanted to see anything during their childhood, they'd need a haircut. We booked the appointments then tried to soften their nerves with cupcakes and a couple of 'before' shots. Then it was time to head to Kids Hair. Mia took to the chair first and after some initial tears, she relaxed a bit. Mia never smiled, but she did start saying 'hi' to the stylist every time she came back around to the front of her.The Dora cartoon helped the nerves a lot!The dinosaurs helped too! Mia had a pretty tight grip on this one!

Then it was Alli's turn. She protested pretty seriously for a little bit, but Dora and the dinosaur's calming influence took over.

Throughout her haircut, Alli was VeRy serious!!! Secretly, I'm pretty sure she liked it, but she certainly wasn't going to let anyone know.

After...

They seemed to approve of their new looks in the end! The celebration included kisses and "la-pops"!

Girls weekend at the cabin...

Unfortunately, Nanny Jenn was sick one Friday. So, the girls and I decided to take advantage of the rare three day weekend and road tripped to IKEA and the Affeldt cabin! It was a fun weekend of boating, touring the Rudolph Cheese Factory, and relaxing! Wild goose chase...