Turkey Taco Time!

The last few months of the year always pack a wallop and this year was no different. As Lily is in the Nutcracker, every weekend is tumbling on Saturday followed by rehearsal on Sunday. This is intermixed with trying to find balance with two kids, my first business travel since coming back from leave (pumping in airplane bathrooms? fun, fun!), pre-planning for Christmas since December will be a mess, etc. Somehow we managed to make it all work while still taking a breather to appreciate the small things that make us laugh, like me asking Lily if I could share her Nerds after Halloween and being given one....literally. One lone nerd. And how strong Matteo has gotten, continuously trying to sit up in his car seat or bouncer, almost as if he is doing baby crunches. And how Lily is now always saying "I have a GREAT idea!" every time she solves one of life's problems...like what to have for lunch, or what toys to put in her backpack. And Matteo's foot obsession and how he is constantly pulling off his socks so he can closely examine and suck on his stinky tootsies (yes, his feet get smelly, poor little dude). And his other favorite past time - blowing raspberries...and more raspberries...and more still. And the funny things Lily is always saying - like when she was wearing polka dots and I asked her who else is wearing them, to which she answered "Paco! Because he's a wiener dog!" And how Matteo tries to take charge and hold his own bottles...even though doing so tends to knock them right out of his mouth, but we can't help but admire his dogged determination. And Lily having an itch and declaring "I have a chicken pock!" and how pridefully she declared "I did a chore!" after helping Chris take out the trash (of course this was followed by a request for money, but that's another story). And the immense pride I felt when Lily found an old candy stash in her room, told me about it and put it in her treat bag in the kitchen....all entirely of her own accord because it was the right thing to do. And how Lily plays DJ in our cars...requesting Beastie Boys and The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Chris' car and the Not-Its in mine. And how Matteo's grey-blue eyes are now finally settling into brown...but are even more beautiful, sparkly and full of life and future mischief with every passing month. Or how Lily sang "Jingle bells, jingle bells, Robin laid an egg, shot a tree and made a pee in 1981!" while decorating the tree the day after Thanksgiving....and then informed me you can substitute any year for 1981 and it still works. And how Matteo's head is suddenly FULL of fuzz that doesn't rub off when we wash it, how his ears are suddenly not quite as elfish (though I will always call him my little elf), and his eyelashes are so long they break your heart. And how Lily is suddenly the queen of please and thank-you and asks to be excused from the dinner table. And Matteo's ridiculously cute Jurassic baby noises. And Lily seeing an elf at Swanson's and asking if she should speak Spanish to her, then calling out "HOLA!". And Lily transforming into a hula-hoop phenom, hooping to the point her poor hip bones were bruised. And how she declared "Roses are red, violets are blue, I like marshmallows because they're made of sticky goo!" and says "yummy yummy in my tummy!" just about every time she sees/eats something she enjoys. Yes, I'm glad that despite how crazy things are, we could enjoy all of that.
Oh...and Thanksgiving was grand...slow-cooker turkey tacos at the Szambelans, complete with margaritas, adult conversation, pinata for the kids and an introduction to The League. Perfection!