violet

Little Pie loves her Violet...or as she would say, "bilet". I'm not sure when she started to love her so much (she's had her for over a year); but for several months now, Violet goes wherever Little Pie and bunny go. 

Little Pie typically lays her bunny over the top of Violet and then snuggles with them both, thumb in her mouth. When she sleeps, she lays her head on Violet and bunny like they are a pillow. When she snuggles with mommy or daddy, Violet is there too. 

And when Little Pie throws up in her bed, Violet is there. Unfortunately Violet took a nasty hit last night around 10:30. I rushed in the girls room to the sound of screaming and puking and pulled Little Pie out of her bed and straight to the bathroom. Unfortunately I was too late; Violet was a casualty. Daddy rushed in to start the process of cleaning up so that Little Pie could go back to bed. While I was trying to clean up Little Pie in the bathroom she voiced her concerns for bunny and Violet through her sobs. I told her they needed a bath. It took her quite a bit of hugs and snuggles as well as a reading of a book before she was ready to go back to bed. 

Unfortunately Violet was in no condition to go back to bed. I was actually surprised (but very relieved) that Little Pie agreed to go back to sleep with only her "old bunny". Daddy was working really hard to scrub Violet clean, but no matter how much we scrubbed her, the smell just wouldn't go away. So at 11 pm, Daddy went to WalMart to find a new Violet. (I think he was feeling guilty that he was leaving town again for the week). Unfortunately there wasn't one to be found. So back to scrubbing we went.

Violet dried over night and is now crusty from the soap/detergent and still not smelling pretty. Little Pie doesn't notice one bit. She is just happy to have her Violet. I still think we will replace her when we can get out to Target. 

Oh, it's snowing again. Our plans to have Auntie B and Sam over to play were canceled because the roads were too bad. Little Pie hasn't been sick again, but now her nose is runny/stuffy. 

We are just having a low key day...

Little Pie with bunny and "bilet".

bff's birthday!

Today we went out to lunch for BFF's birthday! The girls were all so excited to see each other! 

Three excited girls having lunch.

The birthday girl!

We went to Broadway Pizza where kids eat the lunch buffet for free and can watch the train go around the restaurant, but since neither of my girls eat pizza, I had to order them some mac and cheese.

The girls were having such a great time with this special experience of going out to lunch. We were there at about 11:15 and there were only a handful of other people in the place. Apparently the girls were having too much fun, because the manager came over to basically tell us that the girls were too loud. HUH!?!?!? They are two years old and nobody is crying or throwing a tantrum!! He should be happy! Plus, there were literally 4 other people in the place and since they were all 20 year old construction worker guys, I doubt they really care that 3 two year olds are whooping it up on the other side of the restaurant. The mamas were shocked. What do they expect when the offer free food for kids and a train to entertain them at 11 o'clock in the morning? They were making more money off of us since two women don't eat as much at a buffet as four 20 year old guys who are only there to stock up for the rest of the week. I'm quite disappointed in the place and don't plan on going back anytime soon.

Anyway, despite the annoyance of someone who obviously doesn't understand the need for two mamas to get out of the house and visit a "normal" establishment with their kiddos, we had a great time. I think these pics will prove it!

BFF looking so serious while reading her card from the girls. I love how Little Bird is looking at her like she is so proud. The girls gave BFF a Corduroy book a a puppy backpack!

Little Pie and BFF really enjoyed their Elmo cupcakes!!

Little Bird could not bring herself to eat the cupcake. She looked at it for a while, touched it a little bit, tried to bite it without picking it up and then finally gave up and needed a WetOne to wipe her hands off. I offered her a piece of it on a spoon which she ate, but she had enough after that. She definitely does NOT take after me!

Even Little Buddy enjoyed himself today!

our terrible no good very bad weekend

Ugh...there is no other way to put it, this weekend was BAD. The past two weeks didn't help either. Daddy has either been out of town for work (M-F), in town but at the office until midnight, or at home but working. I think we've had about 4 conversations in the past two weeks. And he's off on an airplane this morning...

The girls were extra grumpy on Saturday. I think they can sense my frustration with Daddy's work schedule and my incredible dislike for the disgusting cold weather we are having. It never fails...every year at this time I seriously wonder why we live in this tundra. 25 below?!?!? What are we supposed to do with THAT?!

Little Bird threw countless tantrums on Saturday. Both girls seemed so tired (gee, could it be because they no longer take a nap?!?), so they were in bed by 6:15 on Saturday night. That did, however, leave some time for Daddy and I to be together (without him working!).

Sunday morning the girls were up early (of course). Little Bird wasn't interested in eating breakfast which is very unusual. I knew something was up, but she still played with her typical energy. Until...all of a sudden out of no where she threw up...all over the kitchen floor. Little Pie yelled from the other room, "what are you doing Sophie!?!?". I yelled back, "don't come in here!".

Little Bird got all cleaned up and just like a kid, she tried to go right back to playing. That didn't last long...about an hour later she asked to go upstairs and take a nap. That did it...she is definitely sick! There is no way this girl would ask to go take a nap. Thankfully she took a great 3 hour nap. Little Pie got a nap too since nobody was trying to keep her up! While the girls slept, I went to the grocery store to stock our empty shelves and Daddy...worked.

We also got some bummer news yesterday. The Little Gym that the girls absolutely love, closed, effective immediately. I had known they were having some financial troubles, but I had thought we would be able to continue at least through the summer. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, and we have now lost one of the best experiences the girls have had. I am very disappointed and crushed that we can't continue with something they loved so much. We are on the lookout for a similar experience but I know there isn't much out there that can top that.

On the bright side, we are leaving for AZ in a couple of weeks. While I am so looking forward to getting away from this wretched winter for a while, I'm already stressing about traveling with the girls. We can count on the airplane ride being stressful and them not sleeping well while we are there, but I know they will still have a good time. It may take us weeks to get back to normal when we return, but that's the price we'll have to pay for a vacation.

While this week is going to be tough since I will be solo parenting again, (this time with a puking kid), there is a light at the end of the dreary week...a massage on Saturday and a movie with Auntie B on Sunday!

Please week...go by FAST!!!!!!!

froggy and bunny

I've been meaning to do a post about these two for awhile but am only finally getting around to it. I think it's important that the girls know of their first love. 

Before the girls were born, Gramma found the sweetest, softest loveys to give them. She chose a froggy and bunny (because of the colors I think). Around the time the girls were 4 months, I decided I would give them their loveys to see if they could help comfort the girls. I'm not sure how I decided, but I gave Little Bird the froggy and Little Pie the bunny. 

They took to them right away and since then, they have been inseparable. 

While froggy and bunny were super soft and cozy in the beginning, the girls (and the washing machine) began to wear on the poor things. Gramma got a hold of a new bunny and a new froggy. The girls were young enough at the time to not really notice the difference (or else they didn't care).  But  soon, "new" bunny and "new" froggy were the favorites and "old" bunny and "old" froggy were banished to a drawer. 

"Old" bunny and "Old" froggy in their "new" home...the dresser drawer.

As the girls have gotten older, they have become even more attached to their froggy and bunny. They are really good about leaving them at home (so they don't get lost or dirty) when we are out of the house, but the minute they walk in, they head straight towards their loves.

Also as they have gotten older, they have become very upset when froggy and bunny need to go in the washing machine. There are tears. There is concern. It takes a lot of convincing before they are satisfied that froggy and bunny are just "getting a bath". The girls don't like to be separated from their "new" bunny and "new" froggy. Sometimes they will only calm down when I pull out "old" bunny and froggy. They always wait impatiently for the "new" to get clean.

"New" bunny and "New" froggy about to take a bath.

I'm sure you can't tell the difference between the two in the pictures, but the girls definitely which one is "old" and which one is "new". The faded colors and the lost softness are in fact noticeable. The girls have decided that "new" bunny and "new" froggy are "the ones". They tolerate the "old" but only when the "new" are taking a bath (or when they have thrown up on the "new").

Little Bird has definitely put "new" froggy through the ringer. She has started to chew on him which now makes him smell. Ew. Little Pie has put her fingers through her "new" bunny so that it has several holes.  Her pink bunny is now a dull shade of gray/pink. But, they still love the "new" ones the best.

Gramma was sweet and got the girls a third bunny and froggy. She gave them to them around Christmas. Unfortunately the girls were not interested. They did not want to replace "new" froggy and "new" bunny. There was no way we could convince them to take the clean, fuzzy, soft and cozy froggy and bunny. They wanted their worn out, but completely loved, froggy and bunny.

I've attempted to try and replace "new" froggy and "new" bunny with "cozy wozy" bunny and "cozy wozy" froggy several times, but am only met with such reactions as "not this bunny!!" and "not this froggy!!".

Today, I thought I had them convinced.

The girls excited about their "cozy wozy" froggy and "cozy wozy" bunny.

But as soon as I put "new" froggy and "new" bunny in the washing machine, both girls quickly abandoned the "cozy wozies" and cried for their "new" ones. Poor Little Pie was very upset and stood at the washing machine and watched her "new" bunny rolling around in the water. I was so sad for her, but that thing had to be washed!

Of course, I would prefer that they cuddle with their "cozy wozy" bunny and froggy (after all, that's who I would chose!), but why should I decide? The girls have loved their "new" bunny and froggy for as long as they can remember. The "new" froggy and bunny have always been there for them when they needed them the most, so to the girls, it seems impossible to replace their unconditional love.

I totally understand how they feel and will no longer try to force them to accept the "cozy wozy" froggy and bunny. If they chose to love their "new" froggy/bunny until it is just a tattered scrap of fabric, then so be it.

little gym awards

Today was our last day of Little Gym for the fall session. The day went pretty much the same, except we did a small awards ceremony at the end.

I continue to be amazed at how much the girls have improved since we first attended LG back in June. They have even improved so much since the beginning of this session in September. They are so brave and willing to try everything. They aren't scared of anything (most of the time!) and have SO MUCH fun each and every time we are there. 

We are all looking forward to starting the spring session next week!!

The girls used to dislike the air track. I think they were scared of the loud noise. But now you can't get them off of it! They love to jump all over the place!

Little Pie was feeling generous today and wanted to help Miss Amy put away the air track.

The girls continue to love the bars. They like to hang and do a backwards flip. They are quite good. Today they even hung from the really high bar! (I couldn't get a picture because I was spotting them!)

At the end of the session, we had a small awards ceremony. All of the kids were quite confused about what was going on, but they were all so cooperative. Each child got to stand on the "podium" and get a medal. Some chose not to do it, but most did!

Little Pie had no problem getting up on the podium, but once she was there, she didn't really enjoy it. When she got down, she went to give Miss Amy the medal back! Little Bird loved being on the podium. She acted all shy, but I know she loved that people were clapping for her. She was beaming on the inside. Only 5 out of the 12 kids were willing to pose for a group shot. Little Bird joined in, but Little Pie refused!

We can't wait to continue with Little Gym!

taking a risk!

This morning I decided I wanted to go to Trader Joe's. We don't go there often because it is not as easy to maneuver with toddler twins (Super T is a tad better). However, since I'm starting a new healthier eating quest, I wanted to get some organic veggies at TJ's since it's easier to get a good deal. Also, I wanted to get some wine (the house is empty and it's been a long week without Daddy!) and TJ's has a liquor store attached; one stop shopping!

I was a little hesitant about going because I wasn't going to be using the stroller. The girls are very anti-stroller lately and it's actually really annoying to use in the winter. The big coats make it hard to buckle them in, the snow and slushy parking lots make it hard to push, and the mess that ends up in the car after putting the stroller back is enough to make me not want to use it. 

I knew TJ's had little carts for kids to push, so I thought that we would try to use those. When we entered the store, there was only one available. Panic. Little Bird got her hands on it right away. Little Pie was SUPER upset and wanted to try and push the big cart instead. Fortunately I was able to find another little cart fairly quickly, and we were off to shopping.

Two proud little girls helping out their mama!

The girls did really well following me around and pushing our groceries. We didn't get a ton of stuff, but got everything I wanted to get. We also got my favorite (and now the girls' favorite!), Cinnamon Schoolbook Cookies! 

The cashier was pretty impressed with the girls (and me!) and I'll have to admit that I was sort of beaming with pride that our trip was a success. 

We got some wine too which makes me happy as I'm sure the next round of snow (seriously, it's snowed at least every other day this week) is going to make me crazy!

Finally, I was pretty proud of myself too because I actually asked for some help. I took a big cart to the car with both girls, groceries and wine piled in. Unfortunately at TJ's you have to bring the cart back to the store. We weren't parked that close and I didn't want to leave the girls alone in the car (obviously!). Instead of leaving it in the parking lot, I asked a woman who parked near us and was heading in if she would please return my cart. She was a little surprised but after she heard the girls yelping, she happily obliged. 

I'm glad we took this "risk". I sort of feel like a dork for being so proud of the girls and myself for successfully getting to and from the grocery store, but every little accomplishment is important! Now I think the girls will look forward to returning to TJ's soon!

an entirely different day

I suppose that since we had such a wonderful day yesterday, it is only fair that we have a day that is the complete opposite. Wait a minute; it's not fair ... it's just the way things go.

It all started with Little Bird's sleep issues. She woke up 4 times last night. When she wakes up, she basically whimpers, whines and cries. When I enter the room, she expects me to bring her water and "medicine". She expects this because this is what I do in my super tired, half awake, little patience state of mind. In my mind, if I just accommodate her wishes, then she will go back to sleep quickly. And she does. But only to wake up AGAIN.

I've decided that it's my fault she has developed this pattern. Now because I was too lazy to deal with the issue in the past, I know have to try and break her of a really bad habit if I ever want to get a good night's sleep again. I'm going to need Daddy's support, so will have to wait until he is working in town.

The poor day continued when we attempted to go to story time at the library. Now that the girls are 2, we are attending Toddler Storytime instead of Baby Storytime. Due to the holidays, our first attempt at the new storytime was today. During this storytime, it is expected that kids and parents sit and listen to the librarian read a book. We also sing songs, etc. The librarian makes it clear at the beginning of the session that if your child is disruptive, parents need to remove them from the room.

Well, today I was that mom...the one with the unruly, disruptive kids. The girls at first sat nicely waiting for the session to begin. I thought we would survive, but once the librarian started reading, the girls had decided to stop cooperating. Little Bird begged for fruit snacks. When I didn't give her anything, she started throwing a tantrum. I couldn't distract her from the idea of fruit snacks. Little Pie at this point started to become antsy. She kept standing up and begging for water. I couldn't distract them enough to be quiet and listen to the story so I had to remove them from the room. At this point Little Pie went into full blown tantrum mode. They wanted to go back into the room, but I couldn't get them to calm down enough to return.

I tried to pick up some new books to check out, but somehow Little Pie managed to find a Clifford Big Dog book and wouldn't let it go. I'm so sick of those books, not only because I think they are incredibly boring, but because the girls always fight over it. I didn't want to check it out and told Little Pie so, only to set off another tantrum. I was ready to get out of there and attempted to put on Little Pie's coat, hat and mittens (I hate winter!) only to have her lay on the floor screaming. Ah...the embarrassment!

We finally got out of there. On the ride home I could sense the girls knew I was upset. Little Bird even started talking about how she was naughty at the library.

I knew the girls were tired because nobody slept well last night, but I still didn't think they would nap. To my surprise (after an hour and half of struggling), they fell asleep for an hour.

I'm just anxiously awaiting for this different day to be over.

little pie and little bird's very big day!

Wow! The girls had a really fun and FULL day!

We met BFF, Little Buddy and their mama at the MOA for Toddler Tuesday. Today, the Teddy Bear Band was playing. The girls have seen them before so I thought they would be so thrilled. The three girls had a blast, although they didn't dance as much as I thought they would. I guess they were just taking in the whole experience.

Those are some silly girls!

Little Pie danced a little bit. She was really good at following the directions from the musicians. Little Buddy enjoyed himself too!

Look at these sweethearts!

After the band was finished we headed to a food court for lunch. The kids got pretty lucky (mamas too) because they were giving away a ton of free milk and they got to eat free at Chipotle too!

Little Ladies that lunch!

The girls were having such a fun time hanging out together so we thought we would wander the mall a bit and find some other fun things to do. We headed to Lego land and the girls thought they were in heaven. They had so much fun building! It felt like we were there for an hour. The girls were so busy that the mamas had time to chat too!

The girls got to work right away. They were very intense about their work!

After Lego Land, we shopped around for a bit. BFF's mama got a new pair of super cute boots!

We took the girls to Barnes and Noble to look at some books before it was time to head out. They had a blast checking everything out.

We couldn't believe how well behaved all of the kids were. It was so fun to be out and have fun with the girls without worrying about whining, fighting and general crabbiness. They were having so much fun that they didn't even realize that they missed nap time. The mamas were so glad that we didn't have to hurry home and put them to bed. It was just a super fun day.

From the MOA, the girls and I went straight to Taylor's basketball game. They just love to go and see him play; and they absolutely love to play with Terbear in the stands. Terbear had some fun treats for them today and the girls just cuddled with us and enjoyed their Teddy Grahams and fun water bottles. Today Taylor's team won by 40 points!

After the game, the girls were pretty much ready to go home. They were still (surprisingly) cheerful on the way home. We quickly ate dinner and when I suggested we go upstairs and get jammies on, nobody protested. They were fine with reading only 2 books tonight and by 6:45 it was all quiet. 

I would have loved to have just crashed on the couch, but of course it snowed today and Daddy is out of town, so I spent about 25 minutes clearing out the driveway. 

What a day! I'm so happy the girls enjoyed themselves so much. This will go down as a really good day!

super fans and one last Christmas

The girls have really become quite the groupies when it comes to following the MG 9th grade boys basketball team. We've gone to a handful of games so far and plan to continue to go for the rest of the season. The girls love to watch Taylor play basketball!

Since they are such great fans, Taylor thought they should have some shirts to reflect it.  Now they can show off their support when we go to the games!

The girls have a lot of fun exploring the gyms, eating snacks, bringing Taylor some water and cheering for him and his team. Even though we have been to several games already, it still takes Little Pie the entire first half to get used to the buzzer. She usually spends the first half clutched to me and jumping every time the buzzer goes off. We tried to make a game of it, after a while. We'd say the buzzer wasn't scary, it was funny; and then we would laugh. She tried hard to play the game, but it was still difficult not to jump!

This weekend we had our last Christmas celebration. We are a little late since we were sick and had to put it off until now. I'm afraid the girls are going to think they get to open presents every weekend! It's kind of been hard to convince them that Christmas is over!

While her face doesn't show it here, Little Bird is actually excited about her new outfit. Yellow is her most favorite color!

Helping Kelly open her present. Oh fun, a College handbook! (We also got her a fun gift too)

Little Pie trying on her new blue sweatshirt. In the words of Little Pie, "oooohhhh! CUTE!!!"

Little Pie sharing dessert with her Godmama Kelly.

The girls and their Terbear!

the "art" of twin sleep

Getting the girls to sleep and to sleep well has always been a challenge. In the early days we would worry so much about one waking the other so we would always rush to comfort or remove when one would cry. It never turned out that they woke each other. Our urgency wasn't really necessary in those days.

In the early days we were so regimented with putting them "down for nap" at the same time so that they would be on the same eating/sleeping schedule to make life easier for all of us. They did pretty well when they were forced to sleep when the first would show signs of drowsiness. They eventually got on the "same" schedule.

In those days, it seemed like Little Pie was going to be a "better" sleeper. She was the first to sleep through the night (around 4 months). Little Bird finally "slept through the night" around 9 months. She still doesn't consistently sleep through the night. Little Pie usually falls asleep first and wakes up first. Little Bird can struggle with falling asleep and staying asleep (she's like her mama). 

Now that the girls are getting older and way more aware of their surroundings, it has been harder for them to fall asleep/stay asleep if the other one is having difficulty. Right now Little Bird fights a nap with everything she's got. She manages to keep Little Pie awake as well, even though she appears as if she could fall over any minute. I struggle with how to deal with this. The girls are so attached to each other that they won't sleep unless the other is there. It may work at night when they just can't ignore their exhaustion, but at nap time they will easily put up a fight if the other isn't there. Not even when they are sick.

On the other hand, they can't sleep with each other either. Who can sleep when someone is yelling at you to jump, asking where you are, telling you to wake up?

My choices to solve this problem are:

1. Do nothing. Certainly children have survived sharing a room with a sibling. Can't they just figure out how to deal with what they've been given? Daddy shared a room with his brother for a while and he's a great sleeper now!
2. Have one girl sleep in a pack 'n play in the guest room. I don't see this being successful. They are already the size of their pack 'n plays and I always feel bad when they have to sleep in them when we are away. I also see them throwing a fit about being the one banished to the guest room.
3. Move one of the girls completely out of the room and give her the guest room. I don't want to do this. I like that they share a room and have each other when they need each other. I always imagined that one day when they were like 12, they would ask to have their own room and we would happily accommodate.  Also, I don't want to go though all the work of putting a room together and find out they are completely devastated that they aren't together anymore.
4. Figure out how to teach Little Bird to be quiet so that Little Pie can sleep. I have absolutely no idea how to do this.
5. Get a babysitter to come over and deal with nap time while I go enjoy a tasty brewed beverage and a good book. HA!

In the end, they sleep well with each other at night and I think that's what really counts. Nap time has always been difficult and will probably always be difficult until I finally wave the white flag. These days if they don't nap, they aren't that cranky the rest of the day. It used to be that if a nap was missed they would be horribly out of sorts. I guess that means they really don't need to sleep every afternoon and I'm just going to have to live with it.

...

After writing the above I went upstairs to get the girls. It had been an hour and half and no sleep. I walked in the room and asked why they didn't take a nap. Little Pie confidently said, "Sophie's naughty. She need time out. She not watch Elmo. Evie can't sleep anymore." Little Bird didn't argue.

the dollhouse

The girls got a new dollhouse for their birthday back in November. It came with a Mommy, Daddy and Baby. It also came with at toilet and kitchen set. The girls loved playing with it immediately. And per the routine when something new comes in the house, Little Bird assigned ownership for the main characters. Mommy and Baby belonged to her and Daddy belonged to Little Pie.

Little Pie happily went along with the assignment and passes off the Mommy and Baby to Little Bird when play time begins.

When they first began playing with it, we were amazed at what their little imaginations came up with. Many times the Daddy climbed the stairs, went pee pee poo poo on the potty, said his prayer and went off to bed ... in the bathtub!

Oops, they needed some more furniture to fill this house! Thankfully Nana came through and the house is now fully furnished with a bed and armoire (fancy!) for Mommy and Daddy, a crib, swing, and rocking chair for Baby, and a TV, couch, lamps and DOG for the family room.

The girls love this dollhouse! I love listening to them play with it!

books

The girls continue to love books. And like toddlers are with every other aspect in their lives, they go through streaks where they are totally OBSESSED with reading and streaks where they could care less.

Right now they are OBSESSED. The last time we went to the library we checked out 9 books. For the last week they have needed to read ALL NINE books before they go down for a nap. Plus a few of their new books they got for Christmas. It has taken at least 45 minutes to get through the books. Typically after I read through one of the books, Little Pie has to "read" it too. She actually does an amazing job and says phrases verbatim from the appropriate pages. It's hilarious to listen to her.

Today we went back to the library because I was getting quite sick of the books and one of them had to be returned because it was on a wait list. The girls were pretty excited to get some new ones too. Little Bird had to get another Clifford Big Dog book. I don't mean to sound like a snot, but I don't like those books. They are just plain dumb. But the girls love them, so I check them out reluctantly. Little Bird found a Clifford book right away and then just had to find another Clifford book. She managed to find 3 books...2 we had already checked out in the past. Ugh.

Little Pie doesn't care what books we check out just as long as we get books.

On our way out of the door, I put the two Clifford books that we had already read back on the shelf.

Tonight before bed, Little Bird needed to read Clifford. We read the one book and then she went to find the other two. It took me about 10 minutes to convince her that we only had one in the house. (I feel pretty bad but am still glad there is only one Clifford book in the house). 

She finally accepted that we had already read the one and only Clifford book so we were able to move on to the Grande Finale of our bed time book routine, Rainbow Rob.

at the start of 2011...

So instead of recapping 2010 with a list of all the things the girls learned to do and all the things we experienced, I thought I would post about where the girls are as the year 2011 begins.

The Basics
the girls sleep about 12 hours at night

they DO NOT take a nap everyday

they still wake up at night about 3 or 4 nights a week, requiring intervention from one of us

they still sleep in their cribs

Little Bird sleeps with about 12 animals, Little Pie with 3

they continue to be picky eaters...waffles for breakfast, mac n cheese for lunch, pasta for dinner

they will only drink milk or water. this is fine by me except when it's necessary to drink Pedialyte!

both girls are still in diapers

Little Bird will pee on the potty every once in a while. She still has never had a dry diaper.

Little Pie has no interest in trying to pee on the potty. She has never had a dry diaper.

Both wear 2T clothes. Sometimes I'll get a 3T shirt because they seem to be long in the torso.

Little Bird wears a size 7 shoe, Little Pie a size 6.

Talking

There is constant conversation in our house and in the car.

The girls can make 6/7 word sentences.

The girls can carry on a conversation with each other.

Both girls know their ABCs and can count to 20 (sometimes they miss 14 and 15)

Both can spell their names.

Both can recognize many letters. E for Evie, S for Sophie, D for Daddy, M for Mommy, H for happy

Both say their prayer on their own before bed

They've recently started saying, "no, mine!" all the time. ugh!

The girls say "Thank you Mommy for ____" at meal times

They love to "read" their books aloud themselves

Movement

Both girls walk, run and jump

Both girls can go up and down the stairs by themselves although they prefer to be carried

Both girls can climb up the step stool, turn the water on and wash their hands themselves

Both girls can get in their booster chairs alone and buckle themselves in

They hate riding in their stroller. We do really well getting around without it.

The girls walk holding my hands into the library. They are very good about staying with me. They love to push the buttons to open the doors. I think this is why they won't ride in their stroller.

The girls will walk (holding my hand) through the Target parking lot so we can get inside for a nice, dry, warm cart. They refuse to sit in the double cart. Little Bird sits in the child seat while Little Pie insists on sitting in the cart. That means I can't do a huge grocery run with the girls in tow, even though I try.

Because of Little Gym, the girls can hang from a bar by themselves, do a somersault by themselves, walk on a low balance beam almost unassisted, swing from the rings, and much more!

They can take coats and hats off and put them away on their own. They can sometimes take their own shoes or boots off.

Fun and Play

The girls like to play with each other. They generally get along well

They like when their friends come over to play.

They are pretty good at sharing. Lately they have gotten more possessive about toys, but if one throws a big enough fit, the other usually gives in and gives the toy back, always saying (about themselves) "good girl sharing".

They like to color. They tell me they are writing their names and drawing pictures of various family.

They really like to play pretend especially with their dollhouse. We hear them jabbering away about what the Mommy and Daddy and baby are doing. Sometimes we think they are talking about us, only to realize they are just referring to their dollhouse!

Things to look forward to in 2011:

Starting an ECFE class again. We didn't take one this past fall, but I'm excited to start again. This class will be different because the girls will be separated from me. I'm excited about them learning to trust other people besides family.

Trip to Arizona in February. I'm already stressing about the plane ride and the sleep issues, but we will have an awesome time!

A Mommy and Daddy only trip to San Diego at the beginning of April. Yahoo!!

Maybe another trip to Arizona at the end of April?

 Summer!! I think this summer is going to be even more amazing than last. I'm thinking the girls are going to be more independent so it may make getting in and out of the house a little easier? I think that we will be at the swim pond every day! :)

POTTY TRAINING - I'm optimistic that the girls will be potty trained by their birthday. I'm dreading the process but will be thankful to get diapers out of the house and out of our budget.

Big girl beds - I'm assuming the girls will transition to their toddler beds by the spring. I'm also dreading this transition as I can see their room destroyed during "naptime".

Loss of nap completely. Since the girls already don't take a nap every day, I'm thinking they will give it up totally sometime this year. boo.

Hair growth. Maybe by their next birthday we'll be able to put their hair in a pony tail? or at least use one of the super cute barrettes they got when they were born.


It'll be fun to come back to this post at the beginning of 2012 to see where we were and how long we have come. I'm looking forward to a really fun year with these silly girls!
        

Christmas 2010

Finally! A post about our Christmas! It's been a long week with lots of travel and sickness, so I haven't had time to post until now.

On the 23rd we headed to Nana and Papa's house. We wanted to make sure to beat the snow storm and to be in town in time to see baby Joel who was back for his first trip to MN. We had lots of time to goof around with Nana and Papa and Uncle Drew. We also got to play out in the mountains of snow in their backyard.

Getting read to "slide".

Little Pie loved the snow.

 

That's a lot of snow!

Sliding with Daddy.

Fun times!

Little Pie adventuring off on her own for a while.

Little Pie had a great time "falling" into the snow and then asking for help to get up.

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!

We were having a great time until Daddy decided to throw a snowball at me when I wasn't looking. I saw it coming out of the corner of my eye and tried to get out of the way but instead tripped on the ice on the patio. I fell hard and started yelling and scared Little Bird. She screamed and cried like crazy. We were done playing in the snow.

On Christmas Eve morning we went to visit baby Joel who was in town for his first visit. He was so cute and such a sweet baby. The girls liked seeing him, but also had fun playing with Sam and big Joel.

J, J and baby J.

Later that evening we went to church. Nana and Gramcracker sang in the choir so they were sitting together in the first few pews. We sat behind Auntie B, Big Joel and Sam. The girls were super silly at church. They don't quite get the whole being quiet business. They would say to each other "what's going on Sophie? what's going on?". When the choir got up to sing, Little Bird yelled "Gramcracker!". They spent most of the service asking for goldfish and water. It was quite hard keeping them quiet!

On Christmas morning we got up to open presents from Santa. I asked the girls if they wanted to open presents from Santa. Little Bird was excited but Little Pie didn't want anything to do with it. I think it's because she really doesn't like Santa now, so she didn't want anything to do with him, even opening presents. I had to open all of her presents for her, but Little Bird opened most of her own. Everyone got lots of great stuff! 

New helmet from Uncle Drew. Wow!

Very serious about safety.

Little Pie rocking her helmet.

New monkey backpack from Nana and Papa! Little Pie got a bunny.

After presents we got ready and went to Magra and Boompa's house for brunch. The adults ate well, but the girls didn't. They had fun playing though. We brought colors over and they did pretty well considering it was getting into nap time. We headed back to Nana and Papa's for a nap and relaxed for the afternoon.

That evening baby Luke came to visit with his family. It was fun to see everyone and to see how big Luke is getting. He will soon be one! The girls like to talk about Luke so they had fun seeing him. It was hilarious because they started crawling around like he does. It was funny to see two "big" girls crawling around with the little guy.

Sweet baby Luke.

It was a very full few days. The girls didn't nap well and had some trouble sleeping on Christmas night. We headed home on the 26th and they took a good nap in their own bed. Daddy and I took the Christmas tree down and tried to clean up and organize all the new toys. We were heading to Fargo the next day so I wanted things to be somewhat clean when we got home.

On Monday morning we went to Little Gym. Daddy got to come and see how the girls have improved over the past few months. He was really impressed with their skills. They have gotten pretty good!

After Little Gym we headed straight to Fargo. It was a longer trip since since we headed from Little Gym and stopped for lunch, but the girls did pretty well. Little Bird had had a cough for a few days and it was getting worse. Little Pie slept a little in the car, but Little Bird did not.

When we got to Fargo, we opened some more great presents. I was starting to think the girls will expect presents everywhere they go since it seems like we are always opening presents (we still have one more exchange!). The girls went to bed early, but I could tell Little Bird wasn't feeling well. Good thing we brought the nebulizer because she needed it that night. The next morning Little Pie woke up sick too. Little Bird seemed better but Little Pie ended up with a fever. I think they both had the croup because they had the worst barky cough. Daddy and I still managed to go out for lunch and a little shopping with the girls cuddled with Gramma. It ended up being a rough night because I got sick too. It's hard to take care of little ones when you are sick yourself. We needed to get up and go the next morning because Fargo was embracing for a huge storm that was to last a few days. We managed to get out before the storm and get home to our beds. It was a quick trip and we feel bad that we were sick, but it's still nice to see family.

We spent the next two days in our jammies. We canceled New Year's Eve and New Year's Day plans because it just seemed like we couldn't kick these colds. Daddy seemed to have avoided the sickness...for now.

What a whirlwind week!