Twin Update 20.5 months

Just a few things I want to remember about my babies at 20.5 months old. Big news this weekend... the pacis are gone. We are still adjusting to earlier wake up times and shorter naps but that could also be the time change. Holden gave his up easily and Emma Cate still says paci when she is upset but a little cuddle with Boo and she's good.

Emma Cate
You are still so feisty. You are a stubborn little girl and you remind your Gigi of your mama. I guess karma comes back around... You LOVE to hide and then look at us and say "I see you". You say is really fast and with purpose, like ic yooouuu. If a say peek you'll respond with ka-boo. You have definite opinions on everything. We'll ask you if you want something and you'll give us a clear yes or no. You've been learning about time out recently and you do not like it. You are quick to hit the dogs and Holden if they get too close to you. You are not one to love and cuddle. You are Miss INDEPENDENT. I love that God gave you such a strong personality but know that you are going to frustrate your daddy and I :) You love to hide in the corners of your crib and give big smiles. You are always so sweet when we come to get you from your crib. You are the BEST helper and will pick up things and bring us your shoes and socks. You have been LOVING going outside. You love the bubbles, pushing your Y bike around, and swinging. I'm hoping that we can get Daddy to install your swing soon. If I mention outside, you are quick to sit down for me to put your shoes (shooooos) and socks on. You are quite the little imitator! You got your first skinned knee this week and love showing your boo boo. You are still into accessories and love hats and sunglasses. You've finally started wearing bows and I love it! You have started requesting to go potty and you'll sit on there for a long time. You've only actually gone in the potty twice. I'm taking a laid back approach to this. I'm thinking we'll work on it harder after the new baby is born and I am home with you all day. When we head to the fountains at froyo or the mall you are so cautious with your pennies. You like to drop them in to hear the kerplunk sound. You are also cautious on the steps and don't like to go down on your belly anymore. You prefer to use the handrail like an adult.

Holden
You are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Gosh you are soooo sweet and such a flirt but then you can turn into a little terror! You love looking at us and making us smile with your silly faces. You are a good little imitator like your sister. You hate to be left out. If Emma Cate falls, you will fall too just to get attention. If someone coughs, you fake cough too. You are way more patient than your sister. You recently bit Emma Cate pretty hard. She was flailing her arms at you and you grabbed and bit her. I didn't see it but you definitely left a mark. You are getting a little mischievous. You'll look at us and listen for instructions and then do the exact opposite. You love you some Gigi and Pop Pops. You call Pop Pops, Pop-pooh and every time you say his name you say airplane. I'm guessing you either understand that we went to see Pop Pops and rode an airplane or that he always visits us on an airplane. Speaking of, you LOVE planes. We've been outside a lot lately and every time you hear one you go crazy looking for it. You love when we spot it and you can watch it fly overhead. Thank goodness we live on a flight pattern! You are LOVING cutting the grass outside. You also love your trucks and especially when you make them crash. Crash is a new favorite word. You also love to say bless you when someone coughs or sneezes. Sometimes you fake sneeze to say it to yourself. It comes out as bess you. You are also very familiar with time out. You throw your cup and food at the dinner table and wind up there a lot. You are quick to say sorry and give a hug to get out. You are very affectionate and still run up to give me big hugs randomly while you are playing. You kiss with your head and mommy has been head butted a few times recently. You love to do fist pound with your daddy and I had to tell your teachers about it because I was afraid they would think you were trying to punch someone! You are getting good at throwing and looks like you'll be a righty! We've visited the fountain at froyo a lot and you've got a pretty good penny throwing arm!

You both are so funny and I have the BEST time hanging out with you. You make your Daddy and I laugh so hard and bring our family so much joy. We couldn't imagine our lives without you.

Scenes from Our Weekend- picture overload

We had a busy, fun, and super productive weekend. I am simply exhausted this morning. I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I could REALLY use a nice green tea right about now to wake me up!

I am a believer that the weekend really starts on Thursday soooo without further ado...

Jay and I had a fun date night planned for Thursday. We got a really babysitter so we didn't feel guilty staying out! The kid's school does this really cool art night. It's like a gallery crawl where you walk the halls of the preschool and a ton of cool art projects are displayed. The kids' work was so good and I loved how they took pictures of our little artists creating their masterpieces. We got our sitter early and stopped by the mall so I could get my nails done before heading out. That's how crazy our week has been! I had to use date night to squeeze in a manicure! Anyhow after the art crawl we went out with some of the other parents to Carpe Diem. I had the BEST veggie pizza and will add that to my list of favorite foods! We also had a great time chatting with other families.

I had to work on Friday but Jay was able to take the day off to stay home with the twins instead of getting a sitter (they don't go to school on Fridays). He had some house projects to work too. 

This one has FINALLY been keeping a bow in her hair. Only problem is keeping up with the bows if they fall out! Our kids are such messy eaters. We usually go sans clothes at breakfast and dinner so we only have to stain treat their clothes from lunch. 

this guy LOVES his daddy!

Jay sent me this pic from their errand running session. So freaking sweet. It made me want to run home sooo bad! I was pretty shocked because normally they behave so poorly in the side by side stroller. Moms of multiples or those having a second baby, I totally recommend getting a front and back stroller instead of side by side! Mine pull hair and bite when they are sitting side by side.

I got home and the rain had FINALLY stopped and the sun was coming out! We made the most of the time outside. The twins are LOVING bubbles and we spent a good chunk of outside time blowing and chasing bubbles on the front porch.

Friday night, my mom and I hit up the Harris Y Consignment sale. I'm getting good at this consignment sale shopping thing! I can easily spot the brands I want and know which toys my kids will love. I got Holden a new dump truck and my mom bought him a fire truck. My kids have SOOO many toys so I'm really selective about what I get them. If I'm going to buy a toy I have to KNOW they are going to love it and right now H is sooo into trucks and I figured these would be great outside toys for the summer.

Saturday was busy busy busy but sooo much fun!

Holden found his new trucks as soon as he woke up Saturday morning. WHOOOA was the response I got! He was so excited. I love doing stuff that makes them so happy!

After baths and breakfast we headed to the Y for gymnastics. The kids had a blast running around and were so surprised when Gigi stopped by for the last 10 minutes of class. They LOVE their Gigi.

someone LOVED being thrown into the pit.

someone didn't

Headed over to the Londry twin's first birthday party after gymnastics. Seantel had every detail covered and they the party was absolutely adorable. Everything this family does is cute! The weather was awesome and the babies loved playing outside with all of the kids. I can't believe that I didn't take ANY pictures. You'll have to check out her blog to see all the cute pictures from the party. Happy First Birthday Ellie and Graham! 

The twins were exhausted but naptime didn't run very smoothly. We decided that we would take paci's away this weekend. They only use them in the car, at nap, and at bed time but it was time to go! The first few car trips were a little rough for emma cate. Nap time took a good 30 minutes for them to both go down and I'm not sure if Holden ever fell asleep. I ran errands during nap and Jay worked on the nursery. He called me around 3:30 and asked me to come home and grab Holden so that he could finish working. My mom and I had planned to go to the sleepy poet and Hobby Lobby to look for things for Shep's room. We picked up the babies and shopped until 7pm. We met Jay for a late dinner at Rusty's and then put the kids to bed. Bedtime was pretty easy because they were sooo worn out. 

Jay sent me a bunch of progress pictures throughout the day!

trying to figure out furniture arrangement

I'm realizing the rug I purchased was too small and I'm not loving the furniture arrangement. Luckily, my mom came over Sunday to help with that. Jay and I spent a good 45 minutes moving everything around. I'm also so in love with this dresser. It was a craigslist buy that Jay refinished. Seriously he is so handy! I'm looking for new hardware and planning to switch the casters to brass. I can't decide if I want to put brass casters on the crib too...

does anyone else creep on their sleeping children. I love to peek in on them at night and take their picture to show Jay. This girl seriously LOVES her dog Boo. 

He is the funniest to watch sleep. His legs are leaning up against the armoire. He sleeps in the craziest positions. No wonder my bumpers are all misshapen! 

We woke up around 8am which is really 7 thanks to the time change and headed out to celebrate Daddy's birthday at our favorite brunch spot, Toast. Afterwards, I took the babies to run a bunch of errands and to give Jay the morning off. We went to the mall and got some birthday gifts and Holden got a new pair of Sperry's. He is looking like such a big boy. He should really wear a size 6 shoe but we had to get him a 7 because his poor feet are too chubby. Jay is so worried he'll be a short chubby little guy which would be total karma because Jay had a friend that he made fun of for being the same way...

They got balloons at nordstrom and this was their face as Holden's got caught in the wheel of the stroller and broke away from the string. They were precious watching it float to the ceiling. 

We stopped at Starbucks at the mall while waiting for the mall stores to open. I made the mistake of grabbing a "granola" bar to find out that it was primarily chocolate. Another stained outfit. 

Jay and I spent ALL of nap time working on this nursery. It took him FOREVER to make the final cuts on the pallet wall. Getting around the window, electrical outlet and floor vent took sooo many cuts. While he did that, I started finishing the crib with Annie Sloan's wax. I am LOVING the finish that it gives the crib even if it is taking forever. The twins both took short naps (I'm blaming it on daylight savings) so I only got half of the crib finished. Hoping to finish the rest tonight as well as put a wash of paint on the pallet wall. 

Yay! The wall is done! Now time to paint, hang curtains and put the room back together. Don't mind my child's outfit. It was such a nice day that they napped with windows open in just their t-shirts. We added the boots in order to go play outside. Gigi bought the babies a bubble machine and OMG it kept them entertained for EVER. Another GREAT toy purchase! I wish I took some pictures of them playing but it's hard to take pics and keep them out of the road. We need one of those neon green slow-men to hang out at the front of our house. 

Someone (Holden) got a hold of mama's scissors and poked a hole in the screen. Daddy was not happy. Here he is showing me his uh oh. Love that cute pudgy hand though...

My mom took our family out to dinner at Harper's to celebrate Jay's birthday! He turned 29 on Sunday. This little girl is obsessed with these sunglasses. I am working on finding her a decent pair. The mismatched neon sides aren't really working with our style. The lady at Nordstrom chuckled at me when I asked if they had any baby ran bay aviators. 

we finished off the night with froyo to celebrate our favorite guy. I was such a slack wife and didn't even get him a card or make him his favorite dessert this year. I feel terrible that I really downplayed his birthday this year and will definitely be making it up with the big 3-0 next year! I'm planning to surprise him with my homemade key lime pie sometime this week. 

Pretty Days, Veggie Muffins, and Valentine's Party

We returned from up north to gorgeous NC weather! Adjusting to being back at work on Tuesday was so tough after being off for almost a week due to the snow. I knew we had to get out and enjoy the beautiful day so my mom met me at yoforia for a treat! The babies LOVE some froyo!

They have recently started to enjoy carrying things. Emma Cate carries bags and purses all around the house. They like to help carry their school stuff, specifically their lunch boxes. 

Thankfully, the preschool Valentine's party was postponed and I had some time to work on their treats. I was totally that mom that didn't send candy. My kids don't eat a lot of candy and I love being able to feed them more wholesome treats while they don't know any better. I know that in a few years I will not be able to send my kids Valentines with veggie muffins (thanks for the recipe Seantel!) :)

my super hubby has been very helpful recently. I've had some late days at school (grading is KILLING me and I refuse to bring it home) and long, tiring evenings. I don't know how many other guys would help cut out pinterest Valentine's Day tags for his kids treats. It was really cute how proud he was of me for putting these Valentine's together. He facetimed his mom to show her what the kids were bringing to school. Sometimes he gets totally annoyed with me and all my projects and pursuit of cuteness/healthiness/organization but I think he appreciates having a wife that goes the extra mile to make everything special for our kids. 

Holden handed out "you're a real cutie" along with cutie oranges.

Emma Cate handed out "Be Mine Stud Muffins"! 

The Valentine's Party was too cute! All the mamas (and Jay) came and the kids all passed out Valentines to each other. I was really amazed when we told the babies to give a valentine to a specific classmate, they were able to find that person and give it to them. These friendships are so sweet!

passing out valentines

My mom had purchased a tea set and toaster for the twins for Christmas and couldn't find it anywhere. She just found it this week and the twins have had so much fun having tea parties with mommy! 

can you tell we are working on potty training? Zsa Zsa (our bitty baby) is strapped to the potty all the time. She even grocery shops like that.