The twins love Fisher Price Little People. I wanted to give "Sarah Lynn" to Elizabeth for Christmas. Sarah is Eddie's twin and we already have Eddie. Sarah Lynn comes in one playset which, I now know, cannot be found in any store in Tulsa. Elizabeth is going to get the "Family Van" instead. She was with me yesterday when we went to Toys R Us to pick it up, so I let her hold it in the car. I told her when we got home I would wrap it to take to Giji's house and she could open it on Christmas day. Amazingly that worked. She says, "We go to Giji how an I oh-oh my preh-preh. Furse we geh reh-ree to go to Giji."

If anyone asks the twins about Christmas, they always get the same response. Whether the question is "What do you want for Christmas?" or "Are you excited about Christmas?" or "What's the best thing about Christmas?" they always answer, "Id baby Jee-juh bir-day!"

When Sean opened a bottle of wine the other night Elizabeth said, "I wan one tay." Then to me she said, "I geh one tay, theh you can dree, Momma." Sean gave her a drop off his finger. She made a face.

My Secret Santa gave us You Are My I Love You. Thank you.

Thursday was a tough day. They had a tough time napping and a tough time going to sleep. Christine went out, so I put them to bed by myself. Wil didn't want to go to bed. He fussed for a long time - various complaints. Then he cried out 'Grampa, come back. I need you. Gamma Sue, come back. Elibeh need you. An Eheh (Aunt Erin), come back. I need you and Elibeh need you.' (Mom and Dad and Erin had visited over the weekend and left tuesday). It was pitiful, but sort of funny.

We're in party mode having gone to our playgroup's Christmas party this morning and getting ready for a Homemade Gourmet party at our house tomorrow. Wil and Elizabeth spent almost an hour this afternoon exchanging little sheets of paper and saying to each other, "Will you come to my party?"

Going to the grocery store is a very popular game in our house these days. This morning the twins were writing "lists" on scrap paper. "I nee my lih," Wil says.

In addition to lists, Elizabeth made "gift tags." She'd write for awhile, then hold up a scrap of paper covered in scribbles as if she was examining it and say, "Fum Momma an Da-da."

I sell Usborne Books for children and often when I go to a home show I tell the kids I'm going to see if anyone wants to buy my books. We recently borrowed You Are My I Love You, by Maryann Cusimano, from the library. Elizabeth was "reading" it to herself and said to me, "Can we buy thih book?" It's a beautiful book so I added it to our amazon wishlist.

Wil and Elizabeth are so worn out from Granma's and Grampa's visit that they asked to be put in their cribs less than two hours from when they got up. Wil is reading I Spy Little Letters and Elizabeth is pretending to drive to the grocery store.

Also yesterday: by happenstance, Dad and Wil and I got left in the living room. I said to Wil 'The boys are in the living room. Daddy and Grampa and Wil are the boys.'. And Wil said 'And Mama, Eh-beh, Eh-Eh [Aunt Erin] and Gam-ma Sue are. the. girls!' And I said [glowing] 'That's right! What a smart boy!'.

Long time no update. Sorry.

Mom and Dad and Erin have been visiting, which is always a great time for stories.

Yesterday, when Dad and I were home with them, Elizabeth was explaining a photo-ornament to Wil and said 'That Baby You, Wil.'.

Elizabeth and I have come up with a great way to transition to naptime and bedtime.
After I put her in her crib, cover her up, give her water, etc. we agree that I'll go
clean up the kitchen and then come back to check on her. Sometimes she is awake
and sometimes she's not. Today she told me to go clean the kitchen before I even
thought about it. "Furse keen kih-kih. Theh come ba." It works like a charm.