Moms of multiples are freaks of nature

Yep...been asked many of these questions!

Children's Garden

Cleaning up my pictures in iPhoto I found some from late summer. My brother Tim and I took Sky, Elaina, and Olivia to the Botanical Gardens to play in their Children's Garden. The kids had a lot of fun but by far the kitchen area was the biggest hit.

Elaina hard at work on her meal, which just a few minutes later, Sky dumped everywhere. Tears of course followed.


Seriously it is hard to believe she is Tim's daughter!! She is such a ham like her daddy:)


No surprise she liked this part of the garden...she loves to help me cook at home!

Halloween

Figures the only picture of both smiling is from the trial run a month before!



She could hardly wait!


Trying to get a picture...one is always on the move!

A few pics of our puppy dogs from Halloween:) Skylar loved his costume until it was time to leave the house. Then he kept trying to take it off. Elaina was beyond excited about the idea of getting candy which would be "so yummy in my belly"! Once Skylar figured out he could ring the doorbell, well his attitude about trick or treating changed. He lasted about a half hour and only had to be retrieved from inside two or three houses. Elaina could have gone for another hour but we figured we should call it a night. This might be the last year we get a say in what costume they wear. But they were oh so cute dressed alike once again!

Artists

Elaina loves anything related to art, especially play dough and drawing. More often these days, Skylar is showing interest in it as well, though his attention isn't quite as long as hers. A little art fun we did last week...

Play dough Mr. Potato Head, one of the many great ideas we have gotten from Skylar's therapists.


She is very hard at work and always has a plan for what she is making.


Finger painting!


Mixing the colors is so much fun:)


About 5 minutes after this she decided to rub those hands in her hair which led to a unplanned hair washing in the kitchen sink.


Messy fun

Countdown to Halloween

It might be the last year they let me dress them alike. It is pretty funny to see them chasing each other around, barking and pulling each others tail. I should probably put the costumes away so the novelty doesn't wear off for Halloween, but they are too funny.

Our little collector

I went into Skylar's room in the morning and found him in bed with all this. He usually sleeps with a toy or two and of course his bunny. But this night he had been carrying around Elaina's doll and cradle (which somehow ended up in bed) and he must have gotten out of bed and brought a basket of toys into bed too. How did he fit?! Who knows?

First Day of Kids Day Out

The kids are going one morning a week to Kids Day Out at our early childhood center. Today was their first day. No tears or protests of going from either. Elaina ran out the door with her back pack (or pack pack as she calls it) and yelled "Come on Mommy!". Skylar was more concerned with playing with his airplane and taking one last ride in the Cozy Coupe. His back pack made it on once he got to school.



See how excited she was?!?


Skylar wouldn't pose. He was too busy once he got to school running around and taking his back pack on and off. Elaina on the other hand was more than willing. She introduced herself to one of the teachers and then turned and said "This is Skylar". Once the door to the room was open, Miss Independent yelled "I'm going to school Mommy!!". She didn't look back. Once Skylar found some of the things he was interested in, he was fine. I am so proud of them...my little ones are growing up so fast!

First time fishing

Jon has been so excited to take the kids fishing for the first time. Yesterday we went to Bass Pro Shop and the kids picked out their poles....Toy Story for Elaina and Batman for Skylar! They carried their poles with excitement through the store and didn't want to put them down in the car (especially Elaina). She talked about fishing all night and the whole drive to the farm. Yep, she was excited! Skylar needed some coaxing and waking up crabby didn't help but he eventually came around:) PS Click on the pictures...they look so much better big.


Elaina checking out the fish daddy caught.

Learning to cast with Daddy


Skylar's turn



Guess who caught the first fish?! Skylar! But he was a little freaked out by the flopping fish. Elaina wanted a closer look.


Relaxing on the dock


Pointing out the bobber...she totally got the idea of fishing!


Reeling is the best part of fishing!





Worms! She is not afraid of anything:)


Swinging


Such happiness!

Some days I like blueberries

Skylar is a picky eater. Food is not something that is a priority for him - something I just don't get! It makes it even more baffling because Elaina is a great eater. She will try almost anything and rarely doesn't like something. So when Skylar tries something new or unexpected and doesn't spit it out, Jon and I are calm on the outside but screaming on the inside. Blueberries are fine in smoothies or in muffins but plain forget about it. Until this night. Skylar climbed out of his seat as I was clearing plates and then got into Elaina's seat, buckled himself in, and began to eat her blueberries. Not one, or two, but several. Let me just say this hasn't happened since. But there is hope now that we have witnessed it!



Elaina came over to see what he was doing and he fed her some. She has him wrapped around her finger!!

No more cribs (or pack n plays with tents!)

With most milestones and transitions your children reach, there is a feeling of both excitement and nostalgia. Excitement like "Thank goodness they finally did that" but also nostalgia over knowing they are growing up. I think the transition to the toddler beds has been the most nostalgic for me so far. People ask us all the time if we will adopt more children. The answer is no. We have no plans to expand our family more. We feel blessed beyond belief to have two children, TWINS!, and on top of that a boy and a girl. We like our family the way it is. And getting pregnant? I highly doubt that! So much that I am choosing to forego the extra $200 a month I would have to pay for my health insurance for maternity coverage!!

But with the move to the toddler beds, it seems we are officially moving away from having two "babies" in the house. We are cleaning out all the baby toys and clothes they have outgrown and are just unbelievably small. Seriously were these two really only 3 lbs 6 oz and 3 lbs 11 ozs at birth?!? It is amazing! Now if only both kids would cooperate and consistently use the potty. But I won't wish these days away (though underwear would be much cheaper!).

A few pics from the first days in their beds...

Trying it out for the first time (she is a total snuggler and piles her bed with lots of blankets and stuffed animals). We have now rearranged her room and the bed is not against the wall since we realized she won't fall out.


The aftermath of her meltdown over not wanting to stay in her bed for nap. Not even watching Finding Nemo would keep this tired one awake! Thank goodness it isn't quite as bad to get her to sleep. Though she has decided she must have the door open. This afternoon's nap included her "reading" her Brown Bear, Brown Bear book to herself and yelling "I am sleeping in a big girl bed!"


Getting ready for night two in his bed. He loves it and just snuggles in with his blanket, stuffed animals, and truck.


Giving the mommy rabbit a kiss (he moved onto the baby which is attached next!)

Happy Happy Happy!

Some days seem to go so well. So well that you don't even want to jinx it by talking about it. Maybe writing about it doesn't count? And I will have just as good a day tomorrow? We can hope!

Back up two nights ago... I was up with Skylar for two hours trying to calm him after he woke in pain from his diaper rash (rough day with the diapers!). Then the next day as I tried to catch up on my sleep from the night before, Elaina threw the biggest tantrum over sleeping in her bed during nap.

So last night I was exhausted and ready to sleep. The kids came through and slept until almost seven this morning. They woke up happy too! Then I got the morning to myself when my mother in law came to watch the kids. Sure I had to have a crack in my tooth filled and my mouth still hurts but I had four hours to myself! I came home to two kids that were happy and tired. They went down with only a minor Elaina tantrum lasting less than five minutes. Followed by them napping for three hours!

I also decided today that I was tired of buying diapers. Yes, tired of the cost and especially tired of the fact that Elaina was just being stubborn. So I caved and bought M&Ms to bribe her and guess what. She went at least four times this afternoon!

Feeling abnormally brave I decided to take the kids to the pool myself. I knew I was pushing my luck but we survived. No tantrums when it was time to leave. No running to the splash pad area. No crawling into the tunnel they love. They stayed right at my side, splashing and playing.

We came home and had dinner where both kids ate and got along with no fighting. Am I in the Twilight Zone? Nothing ever goes this good ALL DAY!! And it continued with them going to bed without a fight, no problems at all. I am not going to push my luck any further. Off to bed I go, knowing that one or both will wake in the middle of the night. One or both will wake crabby. But for now I am enjoying reliving the day that went so well.

Diva

This little cutie....well she might look 2 1/2 but I think she is secretly 13! She loves to be around older kids and is super independent. But then she turns around and is really to hug and kiss you and tell you she loves you. Our Elaina reached a big milestone last week. And she loves to show it off and tell you about it...."I sleep in a big girl bed!" she says with a huge smile. Oh it took a few nights of screaming for us and some major fits (though she always did it from her bed and never got out). But now she runs right to her bed, cozies up with her beloved bunny and other stuffed animals and is happy as can be. She is little diva but we love her to pieces!

June fun

I hate that I haven't been blogging more since I have been out of school. I think that it is not only fun for our family and friends to read and see pictures but I love to look back through old posts. So I pledge to try harder and blog more in the second half of 2o1o!!

In mid June Aunt Barb (aka BoBo to Elaina and Skylar) came to help my mom recuperate from back surgery. The day before the surgery we enjoyed getting out and playing in the water fountains at Tillas Park. It is such an awesome park...totally redone and so much better than when we were kids and played there. But it definitely is a place I can't take the kids myself. They seem to get out of sight very quickly!

After climbing and sliding, they hit the cool music toys.


Skylar posed for a picture with MoMo. I think he adores her more than anyone else in the world...including me and Jon!


And finally cooled off in the sprinkers while BoBo and I watched!




Elaina loves her BoBo! She talks about her all the time and can't get enough of her when she visits us. Elaina told her the first day, "I love you, BoBo." Paused and said, "I missed you BoBo!" Please move here, BoBo!


Anyone who knows us knows we are total Cardinal fans. We used to go to many games each year but with the kids it is not quite so easy. Finally we had tickets to an early evening game which we knew they wouldn't last through but at least we could take them for a bit. It went about how we expected.

Elaina was excited to go because we told her Fred Bird would be there.


It was a ball giveaway game so the kids got a souvenier that we didn't have to buy! We wandered around and they took in the crowds. Skylar clapped and cheered after the National Anthem. Having no interest in attempting to reach our seats, we headed to the part behind the bleachers to eat. Skylar was thrilled that we brought some fruit snacks and Capri Suns.


Elaina dug into all that plus the nachos!!


Skylar charmed us with his adorable face, right before finding a nearby puddle and sitting down in it and splashing while we were packing up. Oh course, his sister joined in the fun!


The only way to distract them was to point out Fredbird who was taking pictures nearby. Elaina loved him almost as much as she loved meeting the Easter Bunny. She sleeps with her Fredbird Build a Bear and talks to him all the time. She is definitely a Cardinal Fan. That is until World Cup is on and she watches with Daddy who taught her to yell "Goal!!".


Sometimes they fight but more often than not, they are the best of friends. Watching the rain from our front porch, they stopped to hug a couple of times. Sweetness:)

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Things you can't plan

One of the things as a parent you can count on is the unexpected. Yesterday I had one of those moments. Nothing can prepare you for the first time your child sticks their hand in their poopy diaper and unsure of what to do, comes to you, holds out her hand with a puzzled look on her face, and then wipes it on your shirt. Now that's love! Next time I will know to react sooner and dodge the hand. And just as I was typing this post, she yells out to me, "Mommy I have poops!" I cautiously approached and was happy to see poop free hands!

***This post is dedicated to my brother David...the one with the very easily induced gag reflex. "You will make a great dad someday, David, and have this to look forward to:)"

Some indoor fun

Skylar's hair is LONG. He actually let me comb it and I slicked it back. He looks so funny to me!!


Snuggling with Daddy after baths.



They were anxiously watching out the window for Mo Mo to arrive.


Skylar is making lots of progress with his therapy. When I have more time, I will write more about what it all entails cause it is pretty neat if you aren't familiar with any of this. One of the things we are using for him is a swing. It was causing major meltdowns because they couldn't be in it at the same time. Skylar's awesome OT showed me how to rig it so they both could fit. They LOVED it and snuggled for about 30minutes.


Another thing we have been working on is dinner time. Skylar struggled a lot with sitting in his chair, we gave in, let him out, and the cycle continued. After lots of work he is doing so much better. Tonight I was finishing up dinner. Jon was in Elaina's room playing with the kids. Skylar walked into the kitchen and I told him it was almost time to eat. He happily went into the dining room, climbed in his chair, and buckeled himself in. He didn't last the entire time but we are making progress!!