We debated whether to set up our tree during Emma's nap time, or to let her participate. Doing it during her nap time would have saved us a little stress from the Emma tornado, but we didn't want to take this memory from her, even if she doesn't really remember it. She had fun helping Dad set up the tree, and even smelt it a few times. Then she had extra fun taking the ornaments and running off with them. I had to be creative and put them up higher so she couldn't reach them, and also tighten the hook a little more than usual so she couldn't pull them off either. She now isn't so interested in it, except for the lights. She loves standing at the tree, and looking at the pretty "parkly" lights. We are so excited for Christmas this year, for so many reasons, but we are most excited that Matt's parents will be here for Christmas! We can't stand having to wait to see them again, and we know Emma will love having them here to play with. Mom and Dad get boring after awhile, so it will be nice for her to have some new entertainment :)
Emma smelling the tree
As you can see, it didn't take long for the kitties to stake their claim on the Christmas tree skirt... happens every year!
Merry Chrismtas, we hope everyone's Holiday season is wonderful and full of family and love! xoxo The Twistles
We got some snow recently, and Emma has been having so much fun learning all about "no" which is how she says "snow" (the 's' is silent). Matty got her all dressed in her winter warmies and took her outside to further investigate this snow business. She had a great time... eating snow.
She was pretty content right there, Matt had to pick her up and bring her into the snow
... eating snow
Sharing snow...
... and shooting a cheesy smile, LOVE HER!
She had a fun time, although Matt made a good point, that it's supposed to be the children who come in all wet and cold, not the parents. Guess Emma is just really good about keeping dry in the snow? It helps when all you do is stand there! Here's the video Matt got of her in the snow:
Emma has learned recently that when Mom is with baby Charlotte, she has a lot more time to make messes. We like to call them "Emma tornados" because anything at her level gets strung all over the house. Mom has learned to pick her battles, and just let the tornado sweep through because that means I have an entertained toddler while I need to take care of Charlotte. Here's an example of the mess maker:
Yep, I did that
Emma has really warmed up to her little sister, and watches everything Matt and I do and then will go to Charlotte later and do the same. She loves saying 'hi' to her, letting her have her puppy, and giving her kisses.
Yesterday, Emma brought one of her books over to read to Charlotte. You may not have heard of this version of the book... it's in Emma language, but it's cute nonetheless!!
They both keep me busy all day, but it has been so much fun to be home with them and watch as they both grow and respond to one another. I remember with Emma, I just wanted her to be old enough to sit up, and roll, and crawl.. etc. Being a new Mom I was excited to witness all of that. Now, with Charlotte, I know how fast she is going to sit up, roll, and crawl... and I just want her to stop! I know that she won't fit so snugly on my chest for much longer, so I just like to hold her and take in each moment. She has already grown out of newborn clothes, and I just packed those away last night. She is fitting into 3 month clothes already! I know how fast she is going to grow up, and while I can't wait to see who she will grow up to be, I want her to stay little forever sometimes.
Emma and I have our nightly song time, where I will sing some primary songs to her before laying her down. After singing, I tell her, "Mommy loves you very much". She has recently started responding, "and Daddy..." and then I say, "And Daddy loves you very much" and we go through the list including "baby" and "meow meows" which are the kitties, and then we usually start over with Mommy again. It's one of my favorite memories and special times with her, I just love her so much!
I can't imagine life without families and having little ones around, it is hard, but so worth it when you see their cheesy smiles and hold their cuddly bodies. And, to boot, I have my best friend to share all these moments with, who just so happens to be the World's Best Dad too :) Here's Matty cuddling with his girls:
My awesome family all chipped in to get us a new double stroller for the girls, and we went and picked it out a few weeks ago. It looks great, and we love it! Except... Our brand new double stroller doesn't fit in our Mazda, or Matt's Nissan. Now we have to get a new luxury SUV so we can actually use it! Gosh, that sucks!
We'll have to find a solution soon, and also find the $scrilla$ to pay for a new SUV. For now, it sure is nice to look at! Thanks family, we really do intend to use it eventually... xoxo The Twistles
I desperately hate large crowds of any kind. It makes me irritable and anxious having to be smooshed in a room, no matter the size, with so many people. So when we decided to hit up the Festival of Trees this year, I thought I had really lost my mind. Then we arrived in the vicinity of the Expo center... and I wanted to turn back. The whole area was jam packed with cars, people, and congestion. I started to sweat a little. Second bad choice of the evening, was going to Village Inn for dinner. Even worse, I for some reason, decided to get the turkey dinner... 'nuff said, it was terrible.
I tried to get the holiday french silk pie to make up for it, but that was terrible too! I was so disappointed. I get so bummed out when I eat bad food, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth, literally! After eating we headed to the Expo Center, and parked in the 7-Eleven parking lot even though it said parking was for patrons only... okay, so I broke the rules a little... but we did buy our Rockstars there before leaving, so technically we DIDN'T break the rules, ha! The place was packed, so much so that I was overwhelmed and didn't even know where to start walking around. They did have a "Kids Korner" where we took Emma first to see if there was anything she could do. They had a face painting station, that I mistakingly thought would be fun for Emma. We watched a few kids get their faces painted, and when I asked her if she wanted to do it, she said "yeah! yeah!". So off we went for tickets. We stood in line for about 10 mins, and when it was our turn, Emma would absolutely not let the woman touch her. Not her face, not her hand, not her arm, and most definitely NOT her leg. We tried everything to coax her into letting a stranger paint on her, but she had made up her mind. She DID however, want to play with the strange lady's brushes, paint, and glitter. I think she wanted to paint on herself. So in classic Mommy fashion, I had the woman paint something on my face to show Emma how fun it would be if she did it too. She watched her paint my face, but still wouldn't let her face be touched. We left the station, and went on to look at the trees, but anytime Emma saw my face, she would point to hers and say, "paint?" as if she wanted hers painted. I told Matty that if she kept asking, I'd take her back before we left and try again. We tried again, and this was the result:
Momma walked away with two paintings at the end of the night. I should have known better, but was certain that Emma would see the paints and think it was cool to let someone paint her face! Little did I know, that she did love the paint, but wanted to do it herself. Matty told me she wouldn't do it, and he was right! Way to go Dad. Here are the rest of the pictures from our evening, there aren't much variety because I forgot our camera AND the large crowds didn't make for great pictures. Not sure if I would go again, maybe when the girls are older and can enjoy the kid stuff!
I just realized that I didn't post my pictures and write about Thanksgiving this year. Aaron took a lot of great pictures on his camera, and I got a few on my phone, which is awesome because I never seem to remember my camera for these moments. Thanks brother!!
Our Thanksgiving morning was pretty lazy, we all stayed in our pj's until after Emma's nap time. We went over to my Mom's new house and enjoyed a lovely feast. I am always sad the day after Thanksgiving, because I reminisce about how amazing the food was the day before, and how much I want it again. Thanksgiving meals should not just be once a year!!
Emma is getting to such a fun age, where she actually enjoys being on her own and playing with her cousins. She had a great time at Mom's house, playing with Olivia and Tristan in the basement with all the toys. Tristan is so amazing with Emma, and loves to play with her. She loves the attention and really looks up to him!
We have so much to be thankful for, it's unreal. I have two beautiful and healthy daughters who light up every part of my life. I am married to my absolute best friend, who would do anything in this world for me. I have the knowledge and a testimony of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, and am blessed every day with the quiet whisperings from the Spirit letting me know that everything is going to be 'OK'. Through all our ups and downs, there is one constant in our life, and that is the gospel. It is our rock and our foundation, and in it we always find comfort for our worldly troubles.
Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving this year, we hope yours was just as great and filling!!
The Entwistle Family
Emma trying out some deviled eggs...
Uncle Aaron and Emma!
The Feast table
Olivia and her baby
Emma and Olivia
Crissy, Charlotte, and me
Love my family!!
Crissy at her best...
Coloring!
Nicole and Grandma Walker
Look at the huge smile on Emma's face, she loves Tristan!
