Our Thanksgiving Tale

Continuing a long-standing family tradition, we got up on Thanksgiving morning with anticipation for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! We've been looking forward to it for weeks and were so excited it was finally here. As you can tell, we were ready for the fun, but daddy was, well, let's just say he was containing his excitement:We had front row seats for three hours of parade magic.

Our Thanksgiving morning tradition would be nothing without the classic caramel roll feast. We even got to eat in the living room! Yum, yum.

We helped Mommy set the table this year and even had a hand in making the place cards (ha, ha, ha!). If you can't tell, we fingerpainted paper, then cut out our hands to make little turkeys.

Speaking of turkey, here's Mom with ours:

We had to capture the moment when Mom made gravy from the turkey drippings and it was quite tasty. She went into the endeavor with fear and trepidation, but came out a champ!

Elyse: I think I'll just sneak a little taste...

Our neighbors were our fabulous guests and they brought one of our best friends along for the celebration--Juniper, their dog:

After spending a lazy morning in our jammies, we had to get all dolled up for the big dinner:

Charity also got dressed in her finest, even though she doesn't get to enjoy the fixings yet:

A family picture. It's not a disaster, but it is a circus. Just like every day at our house.

This is Nick and Laura, our new friends (and if you look closely, there's Juniper!). We just loved having them over and are so thankful for having great neighbors.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are especially thankful for our family, friends, and the fact that our crazy year is almost over!

Learning Life's Most Important Lessons

Charity: Some days I sit around just thinking how lucky I am to have such wonderful sisters in Elyse and Felicity. I mean, I do have a lot of time to just sit around and ponder things like this (what else is there to do?). They take very good care of me, love to hold me, and are teaching me all kinds of things about the world. For instance, I've learned that if you (the sister), take a toy from Elyse, what will follow is a shrill noise that will make you nearly deaf. The lesson here, I've gathered from Felicity, is to either not take Elyse's toys, or to pull the "grab-and-run" maneuver and avoid hearing loss. This is the kind of life lesson one can only learn from experience.

Another lesson I've learned from my sisters is that going to the doctor is an adventure rather than a chore. You see, with all of the times our mommy had to visit the doctor or go to the hospital, Elyse and Felicity have made the very idea of the doctor's office/hospital one big excursion (as it is one of their favorite pretend-pastimes).

Recently, I had to go to the same heart doctor Elyse and Felicity visit. They assured me that the heart doctor is great fun (he definitely has some nice toys and a very cool machine that takes a picture of the heart!). It's a good thing they like him because this spring they both have to have a little surgery to have their PDAs closed. We were all hoping that I wouldn't have a PDA and need surgery as well. The good news is, I don't! I do have a small VSD that the doc says will not cause me any problems and does not require surgery. Yippee!!

So now when my heart skips a beat, we can all rest assured it's probably because my sisters are stealing toys from each other and not from an actual medical problem. Good news, indeed!

Happy Veterans' Day!

The twins were dressed by the time Mom and I realized it was Veterans' Day, so we decided at least one of us should wear red, white, and blue to honor the sacrifices the military make for us every day.

Here's a shout-out to all of the veterans we know (from one cute, patriotic little lady).

Thank you for fighting for our freedom and our country!

How is Charity?

Mommy has been a little behind in updating you on my growth lately, but don't worry, I AM growing! I'm still a peanut, but I am growing nonetheless. Here are my recent stats:

One Month

Weight: 6 lbs. 8 oz (3rd percentile)

Length: 20 inches

Six Weeks

Weight: 7 lbs. 5 1/2 oz (still 3rd %)

Length: still 20 inches

Most days I just hang out with Mom and my crazy sisters and for the most part, I like to be mellow and relaxed. I really only cry when I'm hungry, which the whole family appreciates, especially since they all tell me I was quite a bit of trouble before I made my big appearance!

Curly Whirly Girlies!

Even though at times we are still sporting the baby mullet (come on hair, GROW!), it is long enough now for Mommy to put rollers in our hair. We have to practice this a few times before Jan. 1st when we are flower girls in our aunt's wedding. Mommy wasn't sure if we'd keep them in or how we'd do with them overnight, so she thought a few practice runs were necessary.

We sat still at the Beauty Parlor while she put each roller in and kept them in all night!

Don't I look silly?

See, guys? We made it through our whole bedtime routine and all through the night with the rollers in. Mommy and Daddy were so impressed!

Ta-dah! Here we are ready for church this morning. Because Mommy didn't even think we'd keep them in, she wasn't too careful with roller placement. Now that she knows what a great job we did, she has to practice getting what little hair we do have into the perfect curls!

Like we said throughout the day: "look at our hair! It's all curled-up!" We love looking like Fancy Nancy!

Move Over Picasso

It's raining buckets outside today so we decided to get our creative genius on and finger paint for the first time ever! Why have we not finger-painted before now? Our mom was way too nervous about the mess that would ensue, but with the proper preparation, she got over her messphobia. Look guys, I got the paint all the way up my arms. Woohoo!

I just love the way the paint feels on my hands. Ooey, gooey, and slimy fun!

What's that Mom? There's something on my face? Where?

Raise your hands if you think this is fun.

Charity: This is how I feel that I can't finger paint. Mommy said I have to wait at least a year to do this and that did not sit well with me. As you can see:

Monkey Business

If you know anything about us, you know that dressing up for Halloween as monkeys is a perfect costume! We love to climb and be mischievous just like our furry friends. And because monkeys like a little snack, Charity was the perfect banana! We got lots of loot for our cuteness!

Charity: Mom, do you understand the implications of dressing me up as a banana while my sisters are monkeys? This may haunt me for life. I hope you're prepared to deal with that.
(from Mom: But isn't she just so cute???)

By the end of the night, our bags were full, but we wanted to go to "just one more house." Overall, our efforts proved to be quite the success!

Here we are at our neighbors' door trick-or-treating and having fun with their puppy. It definitely pays to know the people with the candy...boy did we get a real haul from our neighbors! Candy, treats, play-doh, and glow sticks!! This trick-or-treating is serious monkey business.

A House Divided

There once was a couple who got married and certain individuals were genuinely concerned regarding the feasibility of a union of one Packer fan and one Viking fan. Could it work?

The couple made it work with a minimum of ill will, persevering through wins and losses. There were even times when they could concede that the other person's team played well.

Then God gave them twins.

And the rivalry continued.

Lest you think it would be a good idea to mention the outcome of the game in the comments of this post, tread lightly. You wouldn't want to make a sweet 2 1/2 year old cry would you?

Lots of Love from Grandpa and Grandma

We are so lucky to have two sets of wonderful grandparents! Our Wisconsin grandma and grandpa were here when Charity was born, so this past week was the first time Charity met our Minnesota grandparents and did we have fun! Lots of cuddling time with the peanut:

Loving time with Grandpa:

Grandma read us lots of books and cuddled with us too:

Thanks for the great visit Grandma and Grandpa! We can't wait to see you at Christmas!

The Perfect Welcome

We just love our cousins and wish we lived closer! Here's a little note from them to welcome Charity:Thanks, girls! We love you and miss you!

Busy Little Bees

In the last 2 1/2 weeks since Charity's arrival, we have been busy little bees enjoying life with our new baby sister, hanging out with a Mommy who isn't sick, and having lots of fun with our Grandma and Grandpa! Here are some snapshots of our fun:

Charity: Sleeping is number one on my agenda!

Great times with Grandma:

It's crazy to think there are 3 of us silly little ladies in the family now!!

Our little sister is so cute! Here she is doing what she does best: sleeping. We can't wait for her to "do" more with us.

Grandpa and his girls:

Now that it's fall, we've been spending our fair share of time watching football and cheering on our favorite teams.
Elyse: This is the face I make when I think the referees are making bad calls.
Felicity: And this is the face I make when the Badgers are playing. Will they win? It's a nail biter!

Charity had her first bath at home and was a real champ! We think she's going to like bathtime even more when she gets cool bubble bath like we do!

Of course we equally cheer for the MN Gophers as we do the WI Badgers. Unfortunately, this is the face that naturally follows the poor showing of the Gophers this football season:

And finally, we've really loved having more time with Daddy recently. He's been playing with his crazy girls lots these days and we love it!

A Proper Hello!

Hello! My name is Charity and I'm the newest addition to this crazy family you've been reading about. My Mommy thought it would be best if you could get a closer look at me to get to know me a little.
Although I'm a little peanut, I've realized early on that I will have to be tough and mischievous to keep up with my crazy and zany sisters.

And a healthy dose of cuteness won't hurt either!

Can you believe all of my dark hair? After what I hear was my sisters' long-term baldness, it seems like so far I'm lucky to have any hair!

Well, it was nice to meet you folks. I look forward to sharing many of my adventures as the newest Butcher with you in the future. But for now, I must bid you adieu and get back to the difficult job of sleeping and eating.

Party at the Park

Living across the street from a school has the added benefit of being able to play at the playground at a moment's notice! It also made for the perfect place to take our first family outing. Charity hung out in her stroller while we showed her how to swing:She also did her fair share of sun-bathing because she was jaundiced (although it wasn't enough and she had to be re-admitted to the hospital overnight for a little phototherapy).

We've been so giddy about Charity's arrival that we just can't contain our smiles!!

Elyse: On our walk I pushed Charity's stroller so Mom could take a break. I think Charity preferred Mom's more conservative steering style, but I told her that the swervy way around the sidewalk is the way to go!

We figure if Charity gets to ride, we should get to ride on Grandma's back and Daddy's shoulders. Good thing Grandma and Daddy obliged!

It was so nice to show Charity all of the fun she will be able to have at the park when she gets bigger. And an added bonus? Mommy got to join us and enjoy the outdoors. We are so happy she can play with us again!