Grab your sunglasses!

You're certainly going to need them!!!

I've mentioned previously the beautiful color we've chosen to apply to our precious 3rd child's room... Planet Krypton Green.

Actually, Behr Paints, found at your local Home Depot, calls it:

After applying it, I'm thinking I would have called it "Fairway Missed".

We thought it was going to be subtle... until Stephen and some friends put on the tinted primer. That's when we knew there was no turning back and our precious daughter might resent us for the rest of her life. After adding the coats of paint it has toned down slightly. But we are still offering sunglasses for visitors to borrow before walking in. Just pretend you're at an amusement park (Disney) at a 3D attraction!

We promise once you enter there will be throwing up, crying, and messy pants... just like the real 3D rides!!!

So at this point there is nothing else I can do or say but show you a picture of the crib, decorations, and the "Green Monster" wall.

I beseech you NOT turn off the lights at this point in the blog.

Disclaimer: We are not responsible for any medical conditions caused by viewing the neon color found in the above picture.

Overall, the room really is growing on us. I just keep reminding myself of the positives - like when she wakes up at 3am in the morning I won't have to reach for the light...

3 year check-up

It's so bizarre going to the doctor's office and not being contagious. You almost feel like you shouldn't be there.

On February 10, 2010 we found ourselves mildly contagious (aka healthy), having just suffered through our THIRD flu of the season (yes, we got the seasonal flu vaccine and got H1N1 before our office had the shots) and went in for their 3 year check-up.

Here are the stats:

Grace: 30lbs - 50th percentile and 39" inches tall in the 90th percentile
Peyton: 30lbs - 50th percentile and 38.5" inches tall in the 85th percentile

Our doctor thought the nurse measured Peyton incorrectly because there is not a 1/2 inch difference in the two of them, if any at all. We all thought they were the same height.

So here are Peyton's revised stats:
Peyton: 30lbs - 50th percentile and 39" inches tall in the 90th percentile

This such a fun age for us as parents. Here are some of the things they like to do lately:

- play Queen/Princess/Prince (we have to correct Peyton on this as she is obviosuly not a prince!) Generally one of them is "waiting" on the other. They don't have the hierarchy down yet either so sometimes in our house the Queen is serving the Princess. Scandal!

- they LOVE to play puzzles! (thank goodness I have a wonderful husband and father who doesn't mind taking the brunt of this obsession!) They actually completed one of their first puzzles, together (teamwork!), this morning all by themselves. They are very capable of doing all their puzzles by themselves but I think they just love to have Daddy help them...sneaky and cute!

- they have also recently been really into books (as they should be, I know!). I made some quiche recently for dinner. Just bacon and cheese and eggs - that was it. All things they eat regularly. I asked them to help me make it because I was 99% sure it would be a struggle to get them to eat it once it was cooked. Of course they took one bite and proclaimed it was "yuck". So Daddy got a brilliant idea and told the girls no Wubbzy that night. I think I was as shocked and upset as the girls!!! What would we do?! Through tears (quiche really is that bad I guess) they made the conscience decision to forgo TV before bed. I thought they'd never go to bed - we were doomed! However, we mustered up some impromptu parenting genius and did what we should have been doing every night... read books. It's been a book night 95% of the time since then (especially when they request upwards of 14 books a night, much to Daddy's delight!)

- Candyland. every. night.

- Dance parties! They got a keyboard with all kinds of fun buttons to press from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas. It has different "genres" you can select - reggae, hip hop, country - that play their own version of popular kids jingles. One of them will start a song and then they both run to the middle of the living room and start busting a move! It's awesome! We even recently got our first unassisted somersault out of one of these dance parties.

- Stickers. Standard fare for a 3 year old I'm pretty sure.

- Helping mommy, especially when it comes to baby stuff. Peyton shows the most interest in helping it seems like. So I'm debating on teaching her how to unload the dishwasher or do the laundry. I'm split 50/50 for now. They will both be great helpers when the baby gets here though! I'm looking forward to watching them grow into their "big sister" roles which they have already been thinking about. At least once a day one of them brings up what she will teach or show the baby. I can't wait! We are still trying to convince them how much fun changing dirty diapers is but they aren't taking the bait.

Favorite foods: pizza, apples, pears, grapes, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese, Hershey kisses, ham & cheese sandwiches, PB&J, spaghetti, taco soup (!), corn dogs, muffins, and the list goes on... Thank God they have a high metabolism!

- McDonald's (rarely of course, but every time we go one will get the cheeseburger and the other will get chicken nuggets, it never fails. They always share their food too - pretty smart huh?)

- If you ask Grace which restaurant she wants to go to this is her answer: Mexican.

We are very lucky, they are great kids. They rarely get into trouble however we did just starts our 3's so things could change. They are taking 1 nap a day which I pray continues after we bring home baby #3. One of the best things to see in them is their love for each other.

Mommy & Daddy's favorite part of the day remains the moment we see them when we pick them up/get home from work. It's the best feeling in the world to have two someones always so excited to see you!

We can't wait for the rest of this 3rd year and all the fun memories to come, which will surely be documented here regardless of how embarrassed they might be in the future!

3rd Birthday Party

Because of the "Snowpocalypse" that hit Memphis, the girls and I high tailed it to Grandma & Grandpa's house on Friday (their actual birthday - January 29th) to wait out the blizzard. Of course they both had fevers all day so that was awesome! The next day we had Nana & Popa, Aunt Karen and Luv join Grandma & Grandpa and GiGi for a more formal family birthday party.

Here is Grace waiting patiently for the loot that was to come:

The girls got all sorts of great gifts from everyone, some of which included:

Some adorable pullovers from Luv:



Cute jacket/pants outfits and savings bonds from GiGi:

A tea set, Girafalaff Limbo, and some cool Wubbzy stackers from Aunt Teresa, Uncle Al, and "Baby Nathan":

Their very own computers from Nana & Popa:

Vera Bradley travel bags (mom was SUPER jealous!), ballerina slippers, leotards, and handmade tutus from Grandma & Grandpa:

The girls big gifts from Mom and Dad were princess scooters:

On the menu - pizza of course! Their favorite food...

Mom threw in some grapes for nutritional value.


The cake and party hats the girls requested (no joke):

The Girafalaff game in action!

Peyton, showing Girafalaff is sometimes no laughing matter.

We had a great time at the birthday party!

A BIG thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for hosting it!!!

Learning

The title makes me feel better as a parent. The pictures do not.

Watching one of their favorite shows I was able to catch them both memorized.

I love this look from Peyton.


However, I knew immediately we were done with the impromptu photo shoot at this very moment.

Attention: Pigs Have Flown!

Most of you reading this will NEVER believe what I am about to post. Luckily I have pictures.

For their 3rd birthday Grandma made the girls some ballet tutus, got them leotards and real ballet shoes. They put them on a couple weeks ago and this is what you have. Adorableness time a MILLION! (Yes, this is still Emily typing...)

Look at that form!

This is definitely a keeper!

And they're off!

I just love this picture and Grace's face!
They LOVE their daddy!

You better believe we practiced our soccer passing skills in the playroom that night as well - I wasn't about to let them enjoy being ballerinas for too long...

Zhu Zhu Pets

So let me start off by saying I'm the coolest Mom out there. Why you ask? Because I was able to secure the ever elusive Zhu Zhu Pets as a present for the girls 3rd birthday via Amazon.com! I was so excited and proud of my find - after all there are actually websites out there that can tell you in real time which stores have these things in stock!

What is a Zhu Zhu Pet?

They are rats, I mean, hamsters that seem to have a mind of their own and scoot around independently in their "habitats" (sold separately of course!). They make annoying, I mean, cute sounds and only cost $8 at Wal-Mart. I know right, 8 bucks! On Ebay, before Christmas, they were going for upwards of $35-40 and that's just what I saw. I'm sure it got much worse - things have seemed to simmer down now though.

Of course the girls are oblivious to how cool they (and their parents) are now since receiving said rat/hamster but luckily they do enjoy them.

Here is Peyton watching Patches zoom around!

"Patches" has her own bedroom (pink pod) and bathroom (blue pod) and zips between the two lickity split!


Daddy was at Wal-Mart earlier this week during his lunch break and picked up the exercise wheel for Patches. No one wants a fat electronic pet hamster, including the Fuller Family!


Work it Patches! Go, Go! 1 more mile, you can do it!

He also bought 3 MORE rats/hamsters!!! I tell you, once you catch the Zhu Zhu pet fever, you've got it! I mean honestly did you think we would just stop at one? Patches at least needs a friend to play with - - a la Peyton & Grace. So we welcomed Jilly to our "family" two nights ago and the girls love her. We're not sure when we're going to give them the other two - maybe for Valentine's Day.

Or if they pitch a fit and it's the only way to make them stop crying...

Just kidding! We would NEVER bribe them...

THE Question

I have many blog posts in the queue, but only have time for a short one. We get asked all the time if we have a name for the baby yet. Considering we only have a maximum of 42 days left at this point (I'm 33 weeks and my c-section date should be March 17) it's a pretty valid question.

The answer to this question (as many of my friends and co-workers already know) is a disappointing, no. We are not "in utero" namers to begin with so that doesn't help either. Basically, you'll all find out the day she is born just like her parents probably will!

However, I did want to provide a short list of names we have garnered from the girls which, based on this list, are very imaginative at times:

Snow White

Ariel

Restaurant

Ponk Honk
(some made up word they like to use - they claim it means "hello" in Chinese but they actually know better since there is a show on TV called Ni Hao - Kai Lan. "ni hao" meaning "hello" in Chinese - those tricksters!)

Susie

Baby Sister

Peyton

Grace

I'll have to add more later, I know there's more! Way back in the 4th or 5th month we did actually run some of our real contender names by them and we got resounding no's for each... so of course we've never gone down that path again. The girls will find out what their baby sister's name is just like the rest of you. There, doesn't that make you feel a little better?

Who needs a helper?

This Sunday Daddy and some really nice friends painted the baby's room a nice florescent green color that I'm sure she will come to adore once we get her some baby sunglasses (more on that in a later post).

They boys also used the afternoon to perfect their rib recipes and cooking techniques. Obviously cooking six slabs of ribs is more than just a one-man job!

Enter Grace, who ended up being some much needed relief and served as the timekeeper for the entire cooking process. Just kidding! However, she wanted in on the action and before we knew it she had on her glove and was ready to baste!

Here she is doing the secret "The Pork University" Memphis In May team handshake...

Daddy teaching her the basics of basting.
A lesson every (almost) three year cherishes.

I'm not sure why Peyton wasn't gloved up either. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her since Sunday morning...

Wait, never mind - here she is!

Lesson #165:
NEVER forget your Elmo slippers when putting on your knee pads and helmet inside.

A big THANK YOU to Jason (aka: "my favorite boy" ~ Peyton), Won (kind of, I think he ducked out of most of the work to "check on" Mallory) & Jessie (aka the Trim Queen). Baby Fuller #3 can't wait to be blinded by the Planet Krypton color we've chosen and you've so lovingly applied.

Finally

It's been so long since I've posted an update I don't even know where to begin. Therefore I won't begin, I'll just continue. The title of the post obviously references the lack of posting happening here but it also references the biggest surprise I got at Christmas... an iPhone!!! I was stunned, shocked, and super excited when Stephen surprised me with it on Christmas morning but apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Exhibit A: Peyton

Exhibit B: Grace


Video Exhibit C: Grace

I've downloaded a bunch of kid friendly, educational (if you can believe it) games for the girls to play. So far they have come in handy at the doctor's office and at restaurants if things get ugly. It's almost scary how well and quickly they've adapted to the technology. Makes me wonder what their "iPhone" will be, a flying car perhaps? A robot that makes dinner for you? (I hope I'm still alive for that one!)

This has made me ponder the following question, which I try to avoid thinking about at all costs:

When will they get cell phones of their own?

I'm shuddering just thinking about the bills! I don't think I got one until I was 16 or 17. It lived in the glove compartment of the car and was only to be used in an emergency. I was in college before I got a phone I could actually use!

Scary stuff!

Update!

Kind of.

So it's been more than a month since the last post and we feel terrible.
Just look at the girls...

They're taking it so hard... we can hardly get them to smile these days.

In our (my) defense, we have been a tad busy lately dealing with a week long case of the swine flu, a kidney stone complete with a Thanksgiving Day surgery and hospital stay (yea!), creating life on a daily basis while waddling to-and-fro, and running a marathon. Okay so one of those things didn't happen but I'll let you guess which one.

The good news is we will be back up in full swing after Christmas with new blog posts and pictures to share! None of which will include my large-and-in-charge self if I can help it. Hello 3rd trimester, goodbye feet!

We hope you all have a great Christmas!

Quick: Hide!

As if battling the swine flu this week hasn't been scary enough, we decided to let the girls watch the old classic "The Exorcist" a few nights ago.

Here is their reaction:

As you can tell it was actually a Wow Wow Wubbzy episode titled, "Escape From Dino Island". The dinosaur chases Wubbzy, Walden, and Widget all the way from Dino Island back to Wuzzleberg to ask for a cup of sugar to make cupcakes. Thus scary dinosaur becomes nice and silly dinosaur who bakes and eats cupcakes.

Why didn't I become a storyboard creator for kids shows? That's the kind of stuff I want to get paid for!

Arrr Matey!

Our Halloween day started getting spooky after nap time. We broke out the candy and decorated our pumpkins! Not with knives though...

From L to R: Daddy's pumpkin, Peyton's Princess Pumpkin, the "Little Baby's" pumpkin, Grace's Pirate Pumpkin, and Mommy's adorable pumpkin.

Dad spotted these super cute Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorations that we thought would be perfect for the girls and they were a big hit as you can see. Next year we will get bigger pumpkins though... for all you Mr. Potato Head aficionados, I'm sure you've already spotted the missing red nose on Grace's Pirate Pumpkin. It was a toss up between the nose and the mustache and we jointly determined a mustache was a "must" for any pirate.

Mom also broke out her carving skills, a la Martha Stewart, this year on the small pumpkin as I carved everyone's favorite, Wow Wow Wubbzy!





What's your first thought when you think of the perfect Halloween costume for a couple of almost three-year-old girls?

Everyone in unison... a pirate!



Grace on the left, Peyton on the right
or is it
Peyton on the left, Grace on the right


The ceremonial "show-me-your-silly-face" picture.

After we practiced our "Arrr Matey's" and saying "Trick-or-Treat" and MOST importantly - "Thank You" we headed out on the open sea/sidewalk to look for booty.

I believe this picture was taken just after Peyton randomly told an older kid who walked by, "Cool costume". It was possibly the funniest part of the night for Mom and Dad.

I take that back. The funniest part of the night was when Peyton told the not-so-nice older gentlemen in the neighborhood that he needed to put on his shoes.

He had answered the door in his bare feet. That's our girl!

Pirate looting in action...

We had a great time trick-or-treating with the girls and are looking forward to enjoying their candy without their knowledge for days to come!