A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

We managed our annual trek to Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm , and our wreath is up on the front door, but two sagging pumpkins still sit on our porch. The poinsettia shares space on the coffee table with a few gourds. Each new holiday seems to arrive before we have let go of the last one. (Annie is still occasionally wearing her koala Halloween costume.) It seems only appropriate that since it is almost Christmas, I should share our photos from Thanksgiving . Puzzles with Grandmother Linda and Pop! See the whole photo album online . We spent the holiday in Houston – a long overdue trip to see our family there. I am especially glad for some quality time spent with Mami Taylor, Spencer’s step-grandmother, who passed away this month. In spite of an ice skating incident that left Spencer fairly incapacitated for most of the trip, we had a grand time, putting together puzzles, talking around the table, visiting the zoo, and sharing each other’s good company. We are rich i

A few days ago, Annie laced her fingers with mine and said, "Our hands are a puzzle!" I am so grateful for these funny, healthy, smart, strong girls. Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought koalas ate eucalyptus, not chocolate. Visiting the house of friends Josh and Brandy (and their awesome headless horseman). Our koala and our Jawa! Happy Halloween!

The sisters at Shryock's Corn Maze. (The Shyrock family doesn't use an apostrophe on any of its signage, but clearly, it is needed.) Annie with pals Sarah and Louise (or "Mah-weeze" as Annie calls her). Let's make crop circles! Margaret, Ella, Annie, Louise, and Sarah. Getting five kids to look at the camera at the same time is impossible. They are saying, "gumballs!" Love the pink cheeks on Annie.

Ella will head to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and 30 minutes later she will still be in there, making faces in the mirror or digging through the medicine cabinet, teeth unbrushed. Similarly, on Saturdays we'll let her know that in 30 minutes we need to leave for her ballet lesson and ask her to get her leotard on. After 30 minutes have elapsed she will have perhaps removed a sock and also created an elaborate maze on her bedroom floor, using only dirty clothes and library books. She will not have put on her leotard. Lots of yelling happens after this. Today, on the way home from ballet, and a couple of hours after a frustrating scene much like what I've just described, I asked Ella if she had any ideas for solving this problem. She thought for a bit and then replied, "We could get a monkey that would pinch me every time I didn't stay on task." Problem solved.

Here, in no particular order, are five random goings on in the lives of our girls. Ella got sent to the assistant principal's office for hitting a kid on the playground after said kid taunted Ella for being "slow" during a foot race. At the end of the race, the girl tried to give Ella a high five. "I'm not going to give you a high five," Ella said. "I'm going to give you this." And she hit the other girl in the nose. Ella commented later, "Now I have been sent to the office twice - once for kissing and once for hitting!"  Halloween costume decisions are solidifying. Ella wants to be a Jawa from Star Wars, so Spencer has already made two trips to Radio Shack for LED lights and other gadgetry to fashion the glowing eyes. Annie is leaning towards an animal of some sort - bird, cat, koala. If I can make it out of a sweat suit, I'm happy. Annie wants to listen to the Disney read along version of "Finding Nemo" 30 times a

A few weeks ago when it was still ridiculously hot, I went to Westlakes for a new trash can and ended up bringing home chrysanthemums. It was as if I thought I could summon fall (cool evenings! apple cider! overpriced pumpkin spice lattes!) by simply planting them. Here are mama's darlings among the mums. (And fall did arrive, by the way. You're welcome.) Please note that Annie is not a giant. Ella is just kneeling in these pictures.

Weight back, hands down, eye-on-the-ball, letter-rip.

 Ella's first day of 3rd grade was on Thursday, August 16.  I took the morning off of work so I could walk Ella to school and say hello to her teacher, Mrs. Zamarripa. (That's a Basque/Northern Spain last name. I'm a librarian. I had to look it up.) When given the choice of where to sit, Ella chose the desk in the front row center, naturally. This is Ella walking to school wearing her "Agent P" backpack. For those of you who don't have elementary school-aged children, he is from the TV show Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel.  The obligatory annual photo of Ella in front of the Russell Blvd. Elementary School sign. I'm so glad she still gets so excited about school. I know that this will eventually wear off, but for now, I'm enjoying her enthusiasm while it lasts, even if a big percentage of that enthusiasm is for some boy named Jonathan, for whom she pined all summer. (He likes Star Wars. And climbing stuff. They are a good match.)

So, the cable for the laptop on which we have our photo editing and sharing software died, and we had to order a new one, and then school started and life happened and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, a couple of weeks late, here are some pictures from Florida! Huge thanks to the Florida grandmas for taking such good care of Ella for the weeks before the rest of our little family flew south to join her. We had a magical time. Here are some of my favorite moments. Annie, looking out of the airplane window shortly after take-off: "I can see the Unites States of America!"  Ella, after riding the Rock 'n Roller Coaster (which goes upside down more than once): "You were wrong, dad! I didn't like it! I LOVED it!" Spencer giggling nonstop during our two rides on Space Mountain.  Ella and Annie, who asked to be called "Light Fire" or "Princess Light Fire." Ella loves Mickey! Where is Annie? Cowering behind mama. Premium bar! An

Ella at Epcot Ella is the monkey. (Mimi and grandpa, who have to bribe her out of the treetops on a regular basis, are not surprised by this designation.) She was born in the year of the monkey, meaning that she has a strong intellect, is creative, outgoing, and intuitive. This girl is a climber - trees, doorways, and jungle gyms are no match for her. She is currently climbing all over Disney World and perfecting her diving in Grammy and Mom-Mom's pool. That makes Annie the squirrel. This girl can chatter . Which is so comical considering how quiet and calm she was as a baby and how shy she can be around a new person or situation. Her tendency is to give a running commentary on whatever she is doing or seeing, and her sometimes quirky word choices or non sequiturs make me laugh. Here are some recent gems. After describing playing rocket ship at her preschool: "We pretended we were sick from falling down the moon." From the backseat, related to nothing: "I l

Hi, there! Welcome to our new family blog! The girls have grown up, and in the eight years since I started writing stories and posting pictures over at babyhomepages.net, the web has grown up, too. The blog format is such a better match for our insane  life right now. We can throw up a couple of pictures or post a quick funny story rather than wait until we have time (time! ha! what's that?) for a thoughtful essay on parenting or childhood. The result should be more frequent updates from the Williams Thompson clan. Enjoy!