You know you have a toddler in your life when...

Ok, I was at work the other day and overheard one of the therapists ask their patient "What did the Doctor say?" And before I could stop myself, I blurted out... "The Dr. said, No more monkeys jumping on the bed." Everyone in the gym stopped what they were doing, looked at me, and then burst into laughing.

I've been spending time with my 2 year old niece, and 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed is one of her favorites at the moment. Along with the itsy bitsy spider and all the traditional kids songs. We'll sing/listen to each of them at least 10 times a day. So naturally, their going to get stuck in my head.

So, I totally embarrased myself infront of all my coworers and the patients who happened to be presant at the time. But oh well, we got a good laugh out of it. Most of my co-workers have younger children and can understand how/why I think the way that I do. They've all done the same thing in the past themselves. Just not at work...

Tomorrow I'm going to take both Leah and Susanna to go get thier Christmas pictures taken. That should be fun. Dressing them up in their best dresses and then trying to keep them happy, smiling, and clean is going to be an adventure. Our last trip to the photographer didn't go over to well. Leah wasn't interested in the least in doing what the photographer wanted her to do. She would have much rather ran around the mall instead. That's my girl! A true shopper at heart. Maybe if we're lucky, we can get a picture with santa as well.

Well gang, I'm off to take Leah outside and play in the snow. Talk at ya later!

Let it snow... let it snow... let it snow!

I forgot how much fun it was to play in the snow. Especially when you're playing with a 2 year old. We got our first real snow this weekend. Not a ton, but enough to play around in for a couple of days.

I spent the weekend at my parents house helping to take care of my niece Leah. We watched videos (PLEASE no more Thomas the Tank Engine, I'm begging,) played with all the toys in the house, and spent a good chunk of time outside in the snow.

Leah and I headed outside after getting into our snow suits, gloves and boots. It was quite a production just to get both of us dressed and out the door. Thankfully, Leah is still in pull ups so there was no "I have to go potty" after we were finally all dressed. Leah was adorable in head to toe pink and I looked like an orange Michelin tire man in my hunting suit.

Leah ran around like a bee looking for the perfect flower. First we stopped at the rock pile, then we went to the trees, then we ran around the front yard for a while, and finally ended up at Grammy's Christmas decorations (Also know as "The Boys" by Leah.) She made sure that each boy had the snow wiped off of their heads and faces, and each received a kiss. We looked for the sled, but couldn't find it. Maybe someone can get us a new one for Christmas. (Hint..hint..)While we were out there, Leah spotted her swing set and slide. I was impressed that she could climb up the ladder in full snow gear. We went down the slide about 10 times until both of us were exhausted. Leah loved picking hand fulls of snow up and throwing them in the air. It didn't matter that her hands were fisted in her mittens, that her nose was runny, or that her boot keep falling off. She'd look around and then say "What happened?" "it snowing" and "That's cute."

Being the wanna be photographer that I am, I carried my camera with me and tried to get the perfect picture. I kept calling to Leah to get her to look at me so I could snap a picture. She'd respond by saying "Leah, Leah, Leah" back to me and keep doing what she was doing. I managed to get a cute picture or two, but got far more memories that will last me forever. My camera couldn't quite capture the twinkle in her eyes, the wind as it stirred her hair, or her excited chatter as we ran around and around in the snow.