Decorating the tree

Turkey Day in Valpo

We had a great Thanksgiving in Indiana at Nana and Grandpa Chuck's house, and our girls got to spend time with some of the wonderful family members who love them. Lily chowed down on the best Thanksgiving dinner EVER (at the big kids' table!) and made friends with all the older cousins, and little Ginny charmed everyone with her cuteness.

Cousins!

Sorry for the shameful delay in postings, we have had a very busy past couple of weeks in the GA Mangerson household! Even though it's after Christmas, I am still catching up on Thanksgiving pics...here are some cute ones from our quick but fun evening with Ryder and Quinn!

"El" is for Lily!

We kicked off our Thanksgiving expedition to the Midwest with a few days in Chicago, where the girls and I revisited our old stomping grounds while Daddy was working. The most exciting thing for Lily was not the tall buildings or the big lake, but riding the El. I took her around the Loop and up the Brown line to Fullerton, then we switched to the Red Line and rode underground back downtown. She was looking out the window on the way up saying, "Mommy, look at all the big houses!" when we passed the Hancock Tower, and "the ladies are getting off now!" when anyone, male or female, got off the train. When we rode the Red Line back, she said "Mommy, we going real so fast unerground!" I have never seen anyone so excited to ride the subway, it was by far the best $2.25 I've ever spent. If you ask her now what she did in Chicago, all she remembers is "I ride a train!"

First Haircut

Although we were reluctant to cut Lily's beautiful curls for the first time, her refusal to keep a barrette or ponytail in the front necessitated an intervention to keep it from constantly falling in her face. We went to see Papa's friend Ms. Brittany in Vidalia and she gave us both a trim. I went first so that she could see me get my hair cut and she wouldn't be scared. She jumped right up in the chair and held perfectly still with no whining whatsoever, I was so proud! I think she was just relieved to finally be able to see!

Pocahontas...or is it Tiger Lily?

Halloween festivities abounded in the Mangerson household this year! Between her preschool party on Thursday, her playgroup pizza party on Friday night, a costume birthday party on Monday morning, and trick-or-treating on Monday night, Lily completely wore out her adorable homemade costume. She was a rock star for her first trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, and she was all business: when we pulled up to a house, she would hop off of her tricycle, and say "I need my pumpkin, please." Then she would knock, say "Tick or Teat!", smile, say thank you, and on to the next house! It was very exciting, but Lily also discovered that candy=awesome, so that was not so much fun for Mommy and Daddy afterwards... :}

Pumpkin Carving

Little Punkin

During Auntie Julia's visit to Georgia a few weeks ago, we went to Washington Farms to pick our pumpkins. Lily found out that picking pumpkins is fun, and riding in wheelbarrows is fun, but playing in the dirt is the most fun!

Sticker Queen / Go Pack Go

Lily has been obsessed with stickers lately, and I am constantly finding them everywhere - little sparkly stars on the couch, butterflies on the kitchen cabinets, fairies on the remote control, and smiley faces in the washing machine. She also loves to decorate herself, Jake, Ginny and me. We all sported our bedazzled Packers gear for a Sunday afternoon game.

Terrific TWO - Part 3 of 3

For the final leg of Lily's second birthday festivities, we met Ya-Ya, Papa, Aunt Lizza, and Aunt Tara at Lake Oconee on Saturday the 24th. Papa's 58th birthday was on the 27th, so we had a double birthday cookout for them and then we spent the afternoon on the water. Lily played and swam until she was so tired, she couldn't even make it through her new book "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" with Ya-Ya. Little Ginny was a sleepy girl too!

Terrific TWO - Part 2 of 3

Lily's actual birthday was action-packed and full of surprises. When our two-year-old woke up in the morning, she walked downstairs to find her new play kitchen! She didn't say a word, didn't jump up and down like we thought she would, she just walked right over and started cooking (which was even better). Then we had to tear her away to get ready for preschool, where Mommy brought blueberry muffins to celebrate with her class. Aunt Tara surprised us by meeting us for lunch at Lily's favorite place, "Chick-a-fay" (Chick-fil-a). Lily had requested a purple chocolate cake, so Mommy got crazy with the food coloring during naptime. Lily was anxious to dive right in, and she did manage to sneak a couple of bites before dinnertime. Dinner was her favorite spaghetti with our neighbor friends the Herndons, and then she and Austin and Avery played until she was so wound up she didn't fall asleep until 11:00! All in all I would call it a very successful birthday, but I'm glad she doesn't eat chocolate cake every day. :}

Terrific TWO - Part 1 of 3

Lily's fabulous second birthday celebration lasted a whole week. We kicked things off Monday morning with her "friend party" at home, which was essentially our normal Monday playgroup + balloons and goody bags. The kids ran around and played and had a great time. We had special Elmo cupcakes that Lily was so excited about, but after blowing out her candle she wouldn't eat hers because she said "I don't want eat Elmo's face." Mommy had to take the frosting off. :)