Valentine's Day

I know, Valentine's Day has come and gone, but I have the excuse that we've all been sick since then and that delayed my posting.

The day started out great. We gave the girls cute little popcorn containers. Eleanor's had new panties and peanut M&Ms in it and Carolyn got animal crackers. Then we went to an indoor waterpark with all the Young cousins. The girls had an absolute blast!

The girls all happy with their gifts :)

Carolyn at the hotel - she loves TP (and fishing in the toilet) and since we were at a hotel, we let her have at it

That's where it turned bad. We've all spent the past week and a half fighting sicknesses, visiting the doctors, filling prescriptions, missing work, etc. Carolyn's had a nasty ear infection that the first does of antibiotics didn't kill. She's now on her second, higher potency dosage. She also had pinkeye which she has gotten for the second time this week and also passed to her sister and mother.

In addition to the pinkeye, Eleanor has had the nastiest cough which won't go away. And occasionally will run a fever, once as high as 102.7. The girl doesn't complain one bit, only wimpers "I gotta booga" when she needs us to wipe her nose. I finally took her to the doctor to find out that she too has an ear infection.

Eleanor hanging out with Daddy

With the girls both on antibiotics and hopefully on the mend, I finally treated myself to a trip to the doctor. I too have an antibiotic and luckily Carolyn's eye drops work for all of us.

Mama and Carolyn just being sick

Matt's missed one day of work and is feeling better without the aid of an antibiotic (knock on wood).

We've Moved!!

At last! The house is finally complete! What an adventure these past almost 2 years have been. But now we're living in our dream house and we are already forgetting all the headaches we've experienced lately.


The girls are adjusting wonderfully - like they've always lived here. Eleanor now sleeps in a 'big-girl bed' and is doing better than I had thought. She has a way of proving us wrong when we underestimate her abilities. She goes to bed and almost always stays in bed. She has only fallen out once (and that was when she was still awake - we're unsure of what she was doing).


We're pretty well moved in. Unpacking is another story. It's definitely livable as we've been here for almost two weeks, but there's more to do. Mainly getting window treatment up and decorating. But we'll get there.


I'm going to post still pictures on our house blog - http://www.444moccasin.blogspot.com/ but below is a video of Eleanor giving a tour. Enjoy!

Lots To Report

Eleanor, uncoaxed and unassisted, wrote the letters 'E' and 'O'

Carolyn learned how to yo-yo
Eleanor helped make her first batch of Pepparkokar (Swedish Christmas cookies)

We dressed the girls up in matching outfits and went to a Christmas Eve party

Eleanor got a scooter from Santa

The girls both loved Christmas morning

Eleanor learned how to eat black olives

Eleanor opened a restaurant and is acting as the executive chef

Carolyn's big enough to take baths with Eleanor

Carolyn's been playing with all her new toys

We got together with all their 'Young' family cousins - all 14 of them!

Eleanor's socks started standing on their own

We started a rock band

Carolyn can pull herself up

Merry Christmas!

This year we decided not to send our Christmas cards. It's sad because I've enjoyed doing them the past couple years. But we plan on sending the "We Have Moved" cards soon anyway. Then I realized that just because we're saving on stamps doesn't mean we can't have a digital Christmas card. So here it is.

The Young Family 2008 Christmas Card:

Christmas is Wonderful!

"Christmas is wonderful!" That's what Eleanor told me today. She's so right. I'm starting to get into the Christmas mood lately. I know, it's about time. It's been tough this year with wanting and trying to get into the new house. But last week I finally came to the realization that it's not going to happen and I'm surprisingly quite fine with it. It's actually is a relief to know where we're going to be and not have to rush to get packed, moved and unpacked.

So, we're getting into the Christmas spirit here at 107 S. Detroit Street. To make up for the fact that we don't have a big tree (yet?!?!?! - maybe this weekend) I got out the 3-foot fake from the basement. It's in Eleanor's room and she loves it! She got so excited about decorating it that while I was stringing on the lights, she decorated her dresser :)

And last night we wrapped a few presents. I've cut back on gift buying this year and feel great about it. The girls will get a couple gifts each but mainly we'll enjoy the holiday by spending time together. The girls are both at an easy-to-please stage and Matt and I both realize the gift giving is best left for the kids. It's really nice! But I digress, we were wrapping gifts last night, Eleanor and I, and Eleanor LOVED it. It was one of the sweetest things. She was singing Jingle Bells and helping with the taping. She kept saying cute things like, "This is fun!" and "Wow, this is going to be the best party!"

My iPod's loaded with our favorite Christmas songs to sing along with and dance to (Eleanor's got some great dance moves). After nap time, we'll make Christmas cookies. And quite possibly see if we can give that last lonely Christmas tree at our local nursery a home. Matt and I have to be the luckiest people in the world. We get to spend the holiday season with two the the most beautiful, happy, and healthy little girls. Christmas is wonderful!

Eleanor the photographer

Eleanor's been playing with our camera for a couple months now. At first she was just hitting buttons and once in a while we'd get a lovely picture of the carpet fibers or her finger with blurry objects in the background. But lately she's really gotten the hang of it. Turning it on and off, getting her subject in the display (not necessarily centered), and taking the pictures. Here's some of her work:

Pinkie Pie

Her favorite subject, Carolyn (and her feet)


See, what did I tell you?

Carolyn (and quite a bit of countertop)

Carolyn again

Cute Carolyn Pics

Carolyn loves to swing, can you tell?

Carolyn lounging on daddy's boots.