Thanksgiving

Tatum enjoyed her first Thanksgiving! We slept in a bit and got up around 8:30. The kids had scrambled eggs for breakfast and then watched some of the parade. Tatum kept saying 'Wow!' whenever a balloon came onscreen.
We headed over to Bobby's house at 1:00pm. The traffic was horrible, but it gave the kids extra time to nap! Colin went right in to check out the football game while Tatum went after the food, of course! Dinner was great! We brought Tatum's booster seat, which she sat in occasionally, and the blender. She had some turkey, sweet potato, mashed potato and gravy. Her favorite was the cool whip for dessert.
Colin sat for the whole meal! He fed himself with a fork. He had mashed potato, sweet potato and 2 servings of green beans. For dessert, he had some vanilla ice cream.
It was such a wonderful day surrounded by family. We are so blessed!

A Visit to the Museum

I took the kids to the museum last Sunday while Dennis went to the football game. It just re-opened after renovations. It now has a play area with a marble run, a light up lego area, and a giant lite-brite. Colin and Tatum had so much fun! We were there for two hours and probably could have stayed longer.
We started in the water room which is Colin's favorite. Neither kiddo would wait to put on a smock. Good thing that they had an air dryer! We then bolted upstairs to the market place where Tatum cooked and Colin played the clerk. Next came the block area where Colin and Tatum each did their own thing. Back downstairs, we played in a ball and scarf run, and created our own fort. Colin's new favorite was the light up lego table. Tatum was very taken with the circus blocks. They fit together to make a circus train and had many noise features.
I loved watching the kids enjoy themselves. I knew they were really engaged because I didn't get any photos of them looking at me. I don't even think they knew that i was taking their picture. We can't wai to go back!!!!!

Surgery and Trick or Treat

Tatum had her palate surgery on Thursday. We got up at 4:00 am and trekked into Boston for surgery at 7:30. The doctor said that there was alot of fluid in her ears and that her left ear drum was infected. The palate surgery went well and there were no complications. She looked pretty tough when we got into recovery. She had bleeding from her nose and mouth. When we got to our room, they gave her some morphine and that helped her to sleep some. Dennis and I couldn't put her down for hours. I stayed Thursday night and got to sleep in the crib with her! The doctor came in early Friday morning to find Tatum sitting on my lap drinking some apple juice. He immediately checked out her mouth and said that she could go home. Boy were we surprised. She has been doing great at home. She doesn't like taking her medicine or getting her ear drops. She is pretty good about her no-no's and we got her some leg warmers to put over them and make them pretty. In a few days, she'll be able to eat soft foods and I'm sure that will make her much happier.

Halloween was fun as Tatum was home. Colin went out with all the kids and was dressed as a dragon. He made it half way around the neighborhood and actually went up to three houses for candy. While I was out with Colin, Tatum brought her shoes over to Daddy and tried to escape out the front door. When I got home, I took her out around our street for a bit. She wore the top part of her poodle costume and smiled from ear to ear. Both kids ended up having a great time and slept all night!

Tatum's Baptism

Today, Tatum had her Christening. We got up around 7:30 after some snuggling in bed for awhile. Colin a bit to fully wake up. Tatum likes to snuggle under the covers and goes back and forth between us until she feels ready to get up. The kids had pancakes and took a bath.
It's a good thing that we got the kids new outfits to wear as it was very chilly here today. It only hit 50 for a high.
We left for Holy Family at 10:45 this morning. We missed the exit because we were chatting and ended up taking the long way around. Both kids fell asleep, but woke up without a meltdown (phew!!)We sat in the front row because Colin wanted to see everything. He was very curious about this church as it is not our parish, but rather the one that we were married in. Both kids were great during Mass. Colin stood up when we did and sat when we did. He even tried to answer the priest! Too funny! Tatum walked back and forth along the pew between everyone. The Cheerios also helped with the good moods!
After Mass, we changed Tatum into her dress. When we were in China, we had her dress made for her. We thought that it would be a nice way to honor her heritage. Tatum was great through the Baptism and especially when the priest poured the water over her head. Near the end, she had had enough and did try to crawl away though!
Back at the house, we had calzones and meatballs with the family. It was so nice to see everyone!

The Aquarium

Today we ventured to our favorite aquarium. It took us about an hour and a half to get there. We got stuck in a bit of traffic and Tatum was not thrilled about that.
The weather was absolutely beautiful! We didn't need our coats and the sun was shining. Colin's favorite animal was the Beluga Whale. He was able to get close up and got all excited when they came near him through the glass.
Tatum seemed more fascinated by the stingrays. She thought it was funny how they attached themselves to the side of the glass. Both kids liked the "touch and feel" pool. They put their hands pretty far into the pool and Colin held a few shells.
For lunch, we ate at the penguin cafe. Den and I had cheeseburgers and the kids had hot dogs and fries. Unfortunately, they didn't have any apple juice and that sent little Tatum into meltdown mode. She cried through the last part of the aquarium called Challenge of the Deep. We did let Colin go through it and we took our annual photo with Daddy. We have taken a photo in the same spot since Colin was 4 months old. Luckily, we found some apple juice while checking out the gift shop. Boy did Tatum's mood change quickly! Both kids fell asleep on the ride home.