Kirsten loved Adison more each day which is so sweet to see. She will do anything for her and loves to hug her. Luckily Adison is used to Kirsten now so she smiles for her which makes Kirsten really happy.
Finally Nicolas has learned to play with play doh, not just eat it, so it's great to keep him busy while I cook. Mom and Dad both played with him and I love seeing the different things they do with him. Mom made tea cups and had a tea party and Dad made animals for him. I don't remember them doing that with us, although I'm sure they did, but with 'plasticine', the playdoh of my generation!
Whenever Nicolas disappeared into Mom and Dad's room he was always playing with Mom's alarm clock. He loves anything with buttons he can press. He also wants to unplug and replug things into the sockets which I don't want him to do because next thing he'll be sticking screwdrivers in sockets as they are his other favorite toy.
I loved this picture because it shows Adison's backwards finger sucking technique. She has started to hold things and can get them in her mouth, so now she has her passy less as I can give her toys to chew instead.
She still loves her bath and afterwards is one of the few times she gets to be on her stomach. She will probably be sitting before she can roll over at this rate. I have made more time to put her on her stomach, but at this age Nicolas could push himself forward and support his weight when he stood up. Unfortunately she will probably be like me and not walk until 16 months!
When Dad was here last Xmas he went on a wild boar shoot with Adam, Woody, Ben and James. We have been waiting all year to cook the hog, so Woody, Stephanie, Sam, Russell and the kids came to the ceremonial eating of the hog! I'd marinated it all night and slow roasted it, but it was still tough and tasteless. It was a good excuse to get together though.
Sam, Russell, Stephanie, Kirsten, Lilli, Ike, Mom and half of Dad.
My Aunt and Uncle, Caro and Theo gave us this table cloth a couple of years ago and I don't know what I'd do without it. It fits the table perfectly and has been used at least once a week for the last month, and I'll use it all through the Xmas season too.
Mom and Dad got to come to Nicolas' gym class and see what he does. They also got to see how I participate with Adison strapped to me (thanks Yvette for the invaluable sling - it's coming your way for Baby Franklin!!).
In one of my previous posts I'd put pictures of what it looked like in front of the kitchen window. I managed to get most of it paved and Mom spent the first week here itching to get outside I do the landscaping around the pavers. She and Dad make a great team as Mom has the vision and Dad does the digging! Nicolas even helped by filling buckets with water to put around the plants after we moved them.
It was quite cold so Adison was all rugged up in her pram and loved watching what we were doing.
When we didn't need Dad he cleaned out the gutters (with unwanted assistance from Nicolas) and wet all the leaves I'd bagged and poked holes in the bags to make compost for next year. When I lived on the farm in England if someone told me I'd be buying rock and cow dung when I was older I would never have believed them as we had limitless supplies of both!!
As you can see we got the area planted and it looks wonderful. I just need some woodchips to complete the path to the deck and a few more pavers around the deck and the area will be complete. I love looking out of the kitchen window and seeing all we achieved. I would hate to have parents who wanted to go to malls and shop with me, rather than create something beautiful with me. I know I would have eventually finished this area, but with having both kids I only get an hour or so before one cries and wants feeding. With Mom and Dad here, Dad could look after them while Mom and I carried on working or I looked after them while Mom and Dad worked.
Leo missed out on his walks with Dad as we were just so busy. He did have plenty of extra love though.
Both kids loved having the extra attention and Nicolas has been extra annoying the last couple of days since Mom and Dad left, which I think is a reaction to them leaving.
Nicolas is such a good big brother and will share all his toys with Adison.
She loves watching him and a couple of days ago laughed for the first time when she was watching Nicolas and Leo playing.
It's hard for her to push herself up when she's on her tummy as her main preoccupation is sucking her hand, which she obviously needs for pushing up on.
She is lying on the quilt I had as a baby and is wearing the dress my Gran made for my Christening 33 years ago! My old dresses are in such good condition that I'm sure Adison's babies could wear them if I look after them properly.
My dress again.
Nicolas disappeared again and when we found him he had Adam's shoes on. He loves wearing our shoes at the moment and looks pretty cute.
On our second visit of Mom and Dad's trip to Longhorn we tried one in a different location. It was my best steak ever and the kids were pretty good. Afterwards we went to see Santa but I'm going to post those pictures seperately.
Adison demonstrates her improving hand to mouth coordination.
One of the things I love most about Mom is the way she knows so many songs to sing for the kids. Often Dad will join in with her too. I'd forgotten most of them but as soon as she sings something, I remember her singing the songs for Will and me when we were little.
We also had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, which is another 'must' for Mom and Dad's visit. Adison got to sit at the table which she loved. 
Nicolas had his new cards with pictures of diggers and trucks on them (his obsession), so he was quite happy.
Now that I've spent two weeks with Mom I've realised that although Adison has a passing resemblance to Mom, once again I have produced a baby version of Adam. Just as Jaden and Kirsten both look like Adam, but in different ways, so do Adison and Nicolas. Adison's eyes are still the same color as mine, but I'm sure that will change.
I was trying to encourage Adison to roll over and Nicolas decided he'd help too. She didn't seem to mind at all when he pushed her over. Babies are very accepting, or at least Adison is.
The Monday before Mom and Dad left we had the family around to celebrate Stephanie's birthday. Adam's eldest brother James' birthday is Dec 9th and his brother-in-law Russell's is Dec 10th, so we invited them to have a triple celebration. It was the first time we met James' girlfriend, Sarah, and she is just wonderful. She is also very brave to meet us for the first time when me, Mom and Stephanie are all together. She did very well to get a word in the conversation!! She also had to sit a French final the next day so it was even more special that she made time to join us.
James, Sarah, Stephanie, Woody and Sam 
Russell got a very scary (but apparently very practical) face mask for hunting in.
The day before Mom and Dad left I had to take a meal to one of my friends who had just had a baby, and she lives right next to one of my favorite parks. So Dad and I went to see the ducks and have a walk. While Mom and Dad have been here I've regained 8 of the 11lbs I'd lost on Weightwatchers, so I have some work to do once they leave!
Adison went on the swings for the first time and really enjoyed it. She looked so little though.
It poured with rain on Mom and Dad's last day so we went to one of the bouncy places near us. We were the only people there so Dad and I got to go down slides with Nicolas and behave like kids. Unfortunately Mom took the photo just a bit too soon, but Dad is on the left with Nicolas on his lap and I'm on the right.
I was very sad when Mom and Dad left as their visit seemed so short this time and was so busy. I hope we will be able to come to England next year, but with finances and Adam's job it may be unlikely, so it could be a whole year before I see them again.
I went to my MOM's Club xmas party on Thursday and it was good to see friends again as I hardly saw anyone other than family while Mom and Dad were here.
Gina and Jill had their babies within a week of Adison, so it was good to see how they are coping and to see how Adison compares to Ella and Evan.
Adison went on the swings for the first time and really enjoyed it. She looked so little though.It poured with rain on Mom and Dad's last day so we went to one of the bouncy places near us. We were the only people there so Dad and I got to go down slides with Nicolas and behave like kids. Unfortunately Mom took the photo just a bit too soon, but Dad is on the left with Nicolas on his lap and I'm on the right. 
I was very sad when Mom and Dad left as their visit seemed so short this time and was so busy. I hope we will be able to come to England next year, but with finances and Adam's job it may be unlikely, so it could be a whole year before I see them again.
I went to my MOM's Club xmas party on Thursday and it was good to see friends again as I hardly saw anyone other than family while Mom and Dad were here.
Gina and Jill had their babies within a week of Adison, so it was good to see how they are coping and to see how Adison compares to Ella and Evan. My plan is now to do a photo blog each week and write daily notes on what the kids did that day. We'll see if that works!
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