It's the most wonderful time of the year

Happy Holidays

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!!

I apologize for this being the first post in the month that is about to expire but as everyone knows, December is a very busy month for all.  And of course with the passing of December comes another first for the babies, their first Christmas.  I must say, having kids in the house made this Christmas special for all of us.  The kids must not have been fully aware of Santa's late night visit because they actually slept in until 7:30 am (as opposed to 7:00 am) but once they did wake up and made their way downstairs, they both smiled when they saw what Santa had left for them.  In the middle of the living room was a Red Ryder bb gun, to which I quickly told them, "you'll shoot your eye out!".  Just kidding of course!  In the middle of the living room was a Radio Flyer rocking horse- a big hit according to Conner.  It is hard to convey just how spoiled the kids were this Christmas but to just give you a hint, Grandma and Grandpa Hatzis had to drive an SUV down to North Carolina just to fit all the presents in the car!  A big thank you for all the great Christmas gifts.  Luckily the weather was perfect today for us to take out one of the twin's big ticket items- their Radio Flyer wagon built just for two.  After daddy put it together and mommy gave it a trial safety run, we took the wagon out to the park and played on the swings.  Lizzie loves the swings!!!  Conner, well, lets just say he was pretty much over the swings as soon as we put him in it.  Its really amazing how much they have their own personalities already!

As I am writing this Chris is trying to teach Conner that hitting someone in the face is not allowed.   It is hard to teach Conner this lesson though because he smiles and laughs as soon as you tell him "no" and though we try, we just can't resist that laugh.  We are quickly realizing that these kids have us completely wrapped around their chubby little fingers and we are no longer the rulers of the house.  The twins are receiving an abundance of love this week from both Grandma and Grandpa Hatzis and also Aunt Amy.  And they are showing them all their new tricks, including clapping their hands, waving hello, and giving a high five.  Well, this may end up being the last post of 2008.  Hard to believe that this year is almost over but all good things must come to an end.  A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has shared in this great year with us- we love all of you!  I hope that 2009 is full of love, family, friendship, and laughter for all of you. 

 

The Hatzis clan out for a walk

In our new wagon!

 

Swinging babies

Thankful

Thanksgiving 2008

Aah, what a great post to write. This is the first post produced by my brand new MacBook! The most amazing computer ever?- well, maybe. If it only could write witty posts for me every few weeks then yes, it would be the most amazing computer ever. But even with that one flaw, I am still in love with this inanimate machine. Much thanks to the family for helping us purchase this for our birthdays and Christmas. So besides a new computer to be thankful for, the coming and going of Thanksgiving brought to light all the things we have to be thankful for. Two employed parents, a roof over our head (that isn't in foreclosure), relatively good health (though we have our share of colds, stomach viruses, and earaches running around our house), loving family and friends, and most of all, two wonderful babies. Seriously starting to wonder if Webster's dictionary is going to include our family portrait with the entry for "blessed". Time is flying by and its good to take time and look at how incredible this year is shaping up to be.

So along the theme of thankful, we just finished up hosting Thanksgiving this year. Grannie Elaine, Auntie Meg, and Auntie Lauren came out to celebrate with us. We bucked the traditions of Thanksgiving past and had ham instead of turkey and everything else in the meal was vegan. Overall, the vegan side dishes and pie were as good as "the real things" but we did learn not to put miso in mashed potatoes :). Conner and Lizzie loved the sweet potatoes but Lizzie turned her nose up at ham- maybe she'll be a vegetarian after all. Both kids are really taking a liking to food and exploring new tastes and textures. As I am writing this post, my salivary glands are turning on as I think about our new tradition of Pancake Saturdays. Both kids have mastered crawling and are constantly on-the-go. I fear it will only be a few more months before at least one of them is ready to explore on-foot. Oh, where did my sweet little babies go?

Well, we are already in the throws of December and who doesn't love this month? A few things I love about this month:

• The sight of Christmas trees tied to the roofs of cars as people bring home their tree
  
• Eggnog
• Watching the movie Elf over and over again

And of course, this is the month where I will be turning 30! I only have a few more days to enjoy the perks of being married to "an older man". Alright, Chris is rummaging around for breakfast which means its time to go make some pancakes! Obligatory pictures follow....

Bath time is more fun with two

Lizzie looks like she is guilty about something

Conner coming to get you

Daddy turned 30!

What a fun weekend we just had! Chris turned 30 on Friday and it was his weekend to let loose and celebrate. Aunt Amy (Chris' younger sister) came down from Maryland on Friday to wish her brother happy birthday and also to see her favorite niece and nephew! On Saturday night we hosted a 30th birthday bash in our garage and celebrated with friends while the twins spent the night at their best friend Weston's house. Seems both the twins and the parents were up late that night but for differing reasons. Conner and Lizzie tried to stay up late during their sleepover, I think to play some pranks, while mommy and daddy stayed up late trying to pretend that they were only 22 instead of 30! In the end we all had fun and Sunday was a day of napping for the whole family. While I won't be posting any incriminating pictures from the party, here are a few 9 month old pictures of the twins. Conner now really loves to get his picture taken and everytime I pull the camera out, he gets the cheesiest smile on his face, squinted eyes and all. Lizzie is too busy moving around to sit still for a picture (living up to her nickname Bizzy). One day I will be able to get both kids to sit still and smile for a picture but until then, here's what we've got.

Lizzie's fashion tip #2: Spit does happen, but a true lady always keeps her spit to herself.
Conner's deep thought: Daddy always calls me his favorite son, but if Lizzie was a boy, then would I still be his favorite son? Oh, probably, I am pretty incredible.

Conner and Elizabeth's First Halloween

October is officially over and Halloween was a great night to cap off the month. The babies did dress up and here is the big reveal of their costumes. Conner and Lizzie were panda bears (though their costumes were a bit ambiguous and were mistaken for cows or pigs). They were sooo cute! So we learned during the summer olympics that panda bears almost always give birth to twin cubs and as soon as we found that out we knew that was the perfect costume for our twin cubs. We got the babies dressed up and headed over to a neighborhood in Winston-Salem that puts on quite a Halloween party. They block off a street and people set up all sorts of elaborate decorations, music, and dancing! It was a lot of fun but really crowded. The babies did amazingly well, not at all scared of all the ghouls and goblins out. Next up for us is Chris' 30th birthday (Nov. 7th)! We are throwing him a big party on Saturday night and even Aunt Amy is going to come down. We are all excited to celebrate though its not as easy to recover from a night of celebration now that we have two babies who want to wake up early! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Forgot the fashion advice and deep thoughts

My previous post neglected to give you the promised fashion advice from Lizzie and deep thoughts by Conner, so here you go:

Lizzie's fashion tip #1:
Nobody likes to see VDL (visible diaper lines) so be sure to wear pants that are a bit loose in the butt/

Conner's deep thought:
Was I really supposed to be born first, or did Lizzie just push me out of the womb to try and take over the place?

Its fall y'all

Ugh, I can't believe October is almost over. This year has just passed by way too quickly but isn't that the way it always goes. Good things just go by too fast. We are loving the cooler weather- you know I love putting my babies in stocking hats (or toboggans as they call them in these parts). The leaves are just beginning to turn vibrant reds, oranges and yellows, the air is cool in the morning, and sweaters are being pulled out of storage. Fall is really a great time to live in North Carolina. Every weekend there is some sort of festival occurring and this year we have been more motivated to engage in these cheap forms of entertainment.

Chris and I also got away for a quick weekend trip to Chicago a few weekends ago. Chris' friend from med school was getting married and we made the trip up there. It was an absolutely beautiful Indian wedding and I got the privilege of wearing a gorgeous Indian sari! It was a lot of fun and best of all, Grannie Elaine came out and stayed with the babies. Fun was had by all.

Now, we just have Halloween coming up to close out the month. The babies are dressing up and boy, are they going to be cute. Pictures will be posted but here's a hint at their costumes:
Hint: They are dressing up as this animal which almost always gives birth to twins.
Stay tuned for the answer....

The first entry (attempt)

Welcome! After discovering how much I love reading others blogs, I have decided to start one to keep up with family and friends. We are at such an exciting time in our lives right now and I want to keep all of you updated with our happenings. So here's what I envision this blog will be about:
1. What's happening in Conner and Elizabeth's life
2. Fashion advice from Elizabeth
3. Deep thoughts by Conner
4. Pictures of Conner and Elizabeth
5. A few tidbits about Mom and Dad (no worries, these will be minimal).

So, I'll give it a shot and let me know what y'all think. I hope this makes you all feel like you are right here in North Carolina with us!
Love,
Chris, Erin, Conner and Elizabeth