parks, picnics (and attitudes)

We are still enjoying this wonderful summer weather. It sure seems like the days go by so fast and that I am so tired at the end of these days. Oh well! That's what summer is for! The girls continue to LOVE to go outside. We try not to do the same thing two days in a row. Our biggest challenge is that (surprise!) the girls don't like to do the same thing at the same time. That makes for lots of opportunities for mild to moderate tantrums. Little Bird typically loves to spend most of her time in the Little Tikes car. She refuses to get out of it most times. Little Pie is easily distracted and finds herself playing with anything and everything; moving from one activity to another like she has never had so much fun. Both girls get very mad when it's time to move on to a new activity (they would like to do things on their own schedule). Typically, Little Pie needs just a bit of prodding to move on, but Little Bird will definitely only do something different on her own time. I have learned that if I wait about five minutes (and stop asking), she'll eventually give in. At least that works for now!

 Little Pie with activity number 1.

Little Bird getting ready to get into her car (her only activity)

She did not learn this from me!!

Yesterday we met BFF (Little L) at our local early childhood center to play at the outdoor park. Both the mommies like this park the best because it is fully enclosed (no child can run out into the street or parking lot), the equipment is made for smaller children (all the girls can climb up the stairs and go down the slides on their own), and there aren't any "big" kids around to knock over our little girls.

Little Pie and BFF pose sweetly on the bench at the park.

Little Bird wanted no part of the photo shoot because she couldn't get herself on the bench without help.

Today we went to visit daddy at work to have a picnic lunch. Of course, we first had to go inside and see all of his coworkers. Little Bird was SO EXCITED to run around his office! We found a nice shade tree so we could sit outside on this beautiful day. It was a great time (until we had to leave because of someone's attitude).

BFFs

Last Thursday, the girls' best friend came over to play with the water table. It's great that May has been so hot...we get to play with water already! The girls love to play with Little L. We are fortunate to have such a good friend close by. Both the mommies hope that all the girls can be best friends for a long time!

Little Pie and Little L checking out the water.

Little Bird jumps in on the action. Look at that smile!

The girls had a blast sitting together and singing songs. They also loved the wind in their hair. :)

Saying goodbye to Little L. They were all so excited to give each other hugs and blow kisses.

Little Pie's hug is a little more awkward.

By Little L, see you next time!

After we came inside, Little Bird had a great time wrapping herself up in her towel.

first skinned knees

Poor Little Bird. She got her first skinned knees (of, I'm sure, many!). We met friends at a park today and both girls did a great job of walking around the different surfaces and checking out the different playground equipment. We had a great time. Both moms were very busy as we had 4 girls under 25 months! There was a lot of chasing going on! We did manage to get some fun chat time in and had a fun little picnic lunch.

Our friend Little Miss K.

  I tried to get a picture of 3 of the 4 girls. Not easy!

 Little Pie trying to get the keys out of my pocket.

Little Bird was quite upset because she couldn't find her beebo (she's not a fan of onesie shirts)!

Unfortunately, Little Bird was really anxious to get back to playing after our little picnic lunch. She was having a great time running away from me and laughing hysterically as I tried to chase her. She ran right onto the pavement and as she turned around to see if I was chasing her, she tripped and fell and skinned one knee pretty bad and the other just a little bit. I was so proud of her though because she hardly even noticed. She cried a little bit, I cleaned her knees as best I could (of course no band-aids were immediately available) and she was off running again.When we got home, I got some pics of the damage. Poor Little Bird! But I'm really glad she is a tough little girl and doesn't even notice it.

What other injuries do you suppose we'll encounter this summer? It's funny because I would have thought Little Pie would have been the first to get skinned knees!

the bubbles and the sandbox

So summer is finally here; thank goodness! As the days are getting nicer, they are also getting busier. We only got in the car once today, but we managed to stay super busy. This is the first time I sat down all day and it really feels nice. I have a feeling we are going to have a very busy summer!
After ECFE this morning, we played on the deck a little bit. It was our first taste of a day outside. The girls were desperate for a nap though, so I stayed busy getting more outdoor fun ready. After they woke from their nap, they wanted to go outside right away.
We started with bubbles on the deck. Little Pie LOVES bubbles. She has learned how to blow them too. If we could get a better set of bubbles she would be blowing them all day. She is also very obsessed with putting the wand in and out of the bottle. It kept her busy for a very long time.

Little Bird put on her serious face as she examined her bubble bottle. I wonder where she gets that look from??

They both had a blast playing with the bubbles! It's amazing to watch how they learn so differently and find different things about the bubbles interesting. Little Pie knows exactly how the bubbles work and Little Bird tries to figure out what else the bubbles can do.

Little Bird did eventually get tired of the bubbles (but not Little Pie); so we went on down to check out the sandbox. Little Pie decided that she would just watch from the outside and play with her bubbles instead.

Little Bird eventually got tired of the sandbox (Little Pie was still happy playing with her bubbles), so we headed around front to play with the cars. Little Pie just sat in hers and played with her bubbles!

After all this time, Little Pie was doing so well playing with the bubbles. I only had to remind her a couple of times, not to put the wand in her mouth. However, since we were playing with the cars in the garage, she was having trouble balancing both the car and the bubbles and managed to drop the wand on the garage floor. For some reason, she decided that this would be a good time to put the wand in her mouth. That was the end of the bubbles! And also the end of Little Pie's good day.

After the 5 minute tantrum, I finally convinced her that it would be fun to take the cars in the backyard and go in the sandbox. Thankfully she forgot about those darn b-u-b-b-l-e-s!

words

There is a lot of talking going on this house! New words seem to appear all the time. Little Pie has been very vocal lately and is very good at enunciating. Her words are so clear (especially the word no!). Little Bird is keeping up as well and definitely has her favorites (car and anything that has a "c" or "k" sound) . I thought I should make a list of the words they are saying now at 18 months. I'll make another in a few more months and see how we're doing! I may have to edit this post as I'm sure I've forgotten some  good ones. (I should probably have the hubby and the grandmas verify this list).

1. no
2. dad
3. mama
4. bye
5. where's?
6. hi
7. car
8. cracker
9. more
10. up 
11. down
12. home
13. ball
14. good girl
15. bock (block)
16. tow (tower)
17. Elmo
18. baby
19. eye
20. nose
21. shoes
22. wawa (water)
23. tunna (tunnel)
24. nay nay (banana)
25. ba (bath)
26. nigh nigh
27. bobo or obo (Lobo!)
28. all done (although it sounds more like all gone)
29. puzz (puzzle) 

Since it is a cold and rainy day today, the girls and I went to the mall to play at the play area. We also went to Kohl's to wander the clearance racks. Two little girls, (4 1/2 and 3 they informed me), entertained Little Pie and Little Bird while I sneaked around the narrow aisles (that don't fit strollers). The little girls talked and talked and told stories to all of us. Their mom and I just laughed at how cute they were and how excited they were to tell my girls the things they new. Their mom said to me, "just wait, before you know it, yours will be talking nonstop". I'm so excited for that! i think it'll be so fun to hear what Little Pie and Little Bird have to say. It'll be very interesting to hear what they are observing about this world. I'm sure it'll also be hilarious to hear what they have to say to each other!

18 months! my how the time flies

The girls turned 18 months on Saturday and while both were still getting over ear infections, we still tried to have fun! It's still hard to believe that 18 months have passed since the girls were born. Because the beginning was tough, it seems like some of it was such a blur. It's also funny to think back at all their milestones over the last 18 months and how, at the time, we thought they were so unbelievable. And then it seemed like the next day they did something even more adorable and exciting. I don't know how many times I thought, "they'll never get cuter than this"; but then I say it again!
It also seems unbelievable to me that I have been a SAHM for 18 months. While I was extremely excited to start this new job, I really had no idea how I would feel about it. I think the hardest part for me is to make sure I am still part of the "real world". From day one, the girls and I left the house even if it was just to Target (and boy did we make a lot of trips there!). Now we are very active with something scheduled for every day. (I need to have things scheduled!). I love our routine and I wouldn't trade my "job" for anything.
I love how each day is so much more fun than the last; and watching the girls learn new things is so amazing. I can't believe how smart they are and how they are constantly looking to learn. It's unbelievable how they still get to discover everything about the world and I love watching them have so much fun doing it! 
So in honor of the girls' 18 month birthday, we must look back at how they have changed!

About 2 weeks

Christmas 2008 (6 weeks)

Baptism January 2009 (2 1/2 months)

3 months

5 months

7 months

9 months

11 months

12 months

Christmas 2009 (13 months)

16 months

17 months

18 months!

week in review

Well, it's been one tough week. Last week both girls had bad colds; Little Pie first, Little Bird second. Both seemed to recover well by the weekend. Then Monday morning Little Pie just couldn't stay awake. She had a rough time at ECFE and when we got home, she went straight to bed for 4 hours. When she woke she had a fever; no other symptoms, just sleepy and a low fever. Tylenol seemed to help, but she never was 100%. The doctors told us to come in on Thursday if she wasn't better; she wasn't better, so we brought her in and sure enough she had an ear infection! The doctor checked Little Bird's ears just to make sure she was fine and she was all clear. Well, overnight she developed a fever and had trouble sleeping. Brought her into the doctor this morning and found she had an ear infection too. The joys of twins! It seems like our sick pattern will be Little Pie getting sick first, Little Bird showing no symptoms, next day Little Bird is sick. Oh twins!
We have been watching a lot of Elmo. I sort of wish they were into some other show. We don't have that many episodes of Sesame Street recorded and they always want me to fast forward through any non-Elmo scenes! At least it's just cold and rainy today so we aren't missing much!