Monkey see-monkey do

Last night the kids had a "slumber party" in Maddy's room (you'll note that Maddy is now sleeping in a "big girl" bed but we haven't taken the crib out of her room yet).  Lo and behold this morning, we found BOTH kids in the crib. It seems that David (who is big enough to climb in & out of the crib by himself) figured out if he put the chair next to the crib, Maddy would be able to climb up on the chair and climb into the crib (apparently with a small push or pull from him to get her over the top).  Seems like I've seen something like this before....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_and_banana_problem

Baa Baa black sheep

You'll need to turn the volume WAY up on your PC to hear David singing "baa baa black sheep" and Maddy cooing in their bedrooms early one morning....

Christmas visit with friends in NJ

Here we are visiting Karsten and Holt (kids of Mary's Morristown Theater friends).

Maddy made friends with the toy tiger

Maddy loves playing with her new baby dolls

Wrestling with the boys

Christmas in Philadelphia

Visiting gramma and grampa Russell on Christmas and Boxing days:

Maddy explores alternative uses for her new pants

Playing "Angry Birds" on cousin Christopher's smart phone 

Christmas Eve, part 2

The kids opened the rest of their gifts after dinner and bath time (in case you were wondering why Maddy has wet hair).  They insisted on wearing their favorite outfits, Buzz LightYear and Tigger!

Oh look, it's the Evil Doctor Pork Chop!

 

 

Christmas Eve, part 1

The kids were very excited to get a train table and wooden train set for Christmas, they will have to learn the meaning of "share"

David's "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree"

David loves this story so much that he wanted his own tree!

Lionel engine #1644 is coming down the track

This 1941 Lionel electric train belonged to grampa Russell when he was boy.  We were able to have it repaired (we had to send it out to a specialist in Michigan when the local Lionel dealer didn't have the parts to fix it) and now it's happily chugging under the Christmas tree to the delight of both kids.
(Here is shown the engine, tender (which has the whistle) Sunnoco and Baby Ruth cars, it's a bit slow when we have all the cars attached, we'll have to figure out how to fix that so we can add the caboose).

Christmas is coming... part 2

It would be Christmas at a Russell household without lots of Christmas cards!

Special delivery

The kids have still not outgrown the fun of playing with the box! (yes, that's BOTH kids hiding inside!)

Outer space fun

The kids love to play "space ship" (overturned play table) with daddy

Happy Feet part 2

Still lots of fun for the kids!

Christmas is coming....

The kids check out the new Frosty the Snowman we got for the outside, as well the Advent calendar (with chocolates inside!)

(David checks out Frosty's box)

Auntie Do-do's visit

Auntie Do-do (aka Ann) came to visit after Thanksgiving, she enjoyed reading to the kids and seeing the holiday lights at the zoo!

Halloween

David decided to be T-Rex again this year while Maddy chose Tigger.

Boo at the zoo

The local zoo does a trick or treat day a week before Halloween. Buzz Light Year and Tigger investigate the scene.