Holiday Pictures? Don't think so, Mom!

Well, I really wanted to have the kids have holiday pictures this year (since I've never had them done before and now I have a little girl to dress in adorable holiday dresses). Our kids wanted no part of it however. Elijah spent the first 10 minutes sticking his tongue out at the camera, while Matea took one look at the photographer and screamed.

Elijah was eventually coerced in to big smiles, but Matea would not cooperate until Daddy came to the rescue (he was meeting us for lunch so I called him in to come help wrangle the kiddies). We ended up with some cute pictures of the two of them, but none that were just amazing.

We did get a really good picture of Elijah, so that's my one consolation. I'm not sure about trying this photo thing again any time soon though. Pictures by Mom in front of the tree are going to be in order, and I better get some good smiles out of these kids or else! :)

PlayWorld Fun

Last Friday we met my friend Stephanie at the mall for lunch, and then, since Mommy/Aunt Missy royally screwed up the carousel riding at the mall (long story, not that interesting), a "bribe" visit to PlayWorld was needed to avert meltdowns by Lexi, Tori, and Elijah. We had so much fun at PlayWorld, and we'll be going back again soon for a whole day. We only spent the afternoon there, but the kids could have stayed much longer. It costs a pretty penny to get in, but then the food inside is very cheap, so that kind of makes up for it. Anyway, here are some fun pictures of our afternoon at PlayWorld!

Pretty Princess Lexi, locked up in the tower by the mean witch (Aunt Missy). :) Prince Eli and Brave Knight Tori arrive in their trusty Cozy Coupe's to save the Princess.Look what a Twizilix popsicle can do to your mouth!My tongue matches my eyes now, Mommy. And my tongue matches my shirt!Matea spent most of her time in "CarSeatWorld." Matea did get to ride a motorcycle just her size, though! Road warrior! Sweet ride, tator-tot. 

Mealtime Fun

Well, things have been busy, yet not that interesting over here. Nothing major to report. I can't believe it's almost Christmas, and that Matea is almost 6 months old. She's been developing such a fun little personality, and she keeps us on our toes, especially since she has an aversion to napping for any amount of time.

I don't know if this is a sign of things to come or not, but Matea has now decided that she needs to have the spoon when she's eating. In fact, she won't open her mouth for food unless her hand is on the spoon! I've worked around this by giving her one spoon and keeping one for myself, occasionally switching them. I think she knows what I'm up to, but it's working for now!

Right after she eats her cereal Matea gets in super-happy mood, so I thought I'd share some of our fun photos from mealtimes. You'll have to just imagine the high-pitched squeals that accompany the pics though . . . :)

Funny faces? Me! Never! I'm a little lady!Haha, I finally got that spoon! Admit it, you think I'm adorable. Here I'm telling the camel what I really think!  Another winning smile to keep Mom wrapped around my finger. Playing with my favorite chew toy - Eli's dinosaur. Matea's so excited she can't contain herself - and notice the dinosaur going flying over her shoulder!Peek-a-boo! Roar!Another smile (and squeal) for my fans. :)

Matea's Turkey Day Dinner

Matea joined the family in enjoying her first Thanksgiving day dinner, complete with her first solid food! We thought it would be fun to have everyone around to see this milestone, and we were right. It was definitely a fun occasion to have all the kids around for!

Matea made the predictable wrinkly, what-in-the-world-is-this-stuff- face when we first started, which was really cute.

I can't believe you put that stuff in my mouth, Mom.

Then she decided that this eating thing was kind of fun! I think the full audience helped make it interesting. She was the center of attention (my little drama queen).

Hey, I like this stuff!

She really caught on quick and ate her entire bowl of cereal! She even got the hang of sticking her tongue out when the spoon came near, and of course wanted to explore the spoon whenever she could swipe it.

I'll just help you along here, Dad.It's mine, all mine!!! Now what do I do with it again?

All hail the purple spoon!

I got the hang of this. Tongue out, spoon in! So simple, yet so complex.

After just a bit Matea was really excited and kept kicking and making her "ughh" sound to get more. She was just happy as a clam as she was eating and then squealed and kicked in her swing and on the table after she was done eating. I guess "solid" food agreed with her!

I can barely contain myself this is so exciting!More more more!!

My tummy is full and now I'm happy. Nope, I'm beyond happy . . . I'm squealing!

Still squealing . . .

And still squealing . . . I really liked my food!