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 the Weekend

I can't believe it is Thursday afternoon and I'm just getting around to updating pictures from our weekend. Better late than never. 

This girl woke up on Friday with some curls going on! We're having a bit of a hair dilemma. Her hair can be totally crazy because it is getting longer in the back but the front is still really short and she is just now starting to grow a little hair where her hairline was receding. The humidity is bringing out her curls and I'm thinking that keeping it longer will be better for this summer and her little ringlets.

We went out to eat at Brixx on Friday night with my mom, my friend Sara, and my sister Bo. This one was hamming it up at the table like usual.

Not to be outdone by his little sis, Holden was running around and giving us goofy grins. He notices the attention that EC gets when she falls or makes a funny face or coughs (or anything really) and he imitates her to get the same reaction from mom. His fake cough (followed by a devilish grin) is pretty much my favorite.

not the most flattering picture but a few of my best college girlfriends got together on Friday night. I was so tired but made it until 12:30 chatting with these girls over drinks at Nan and Byrons. I had the BEST time.  I have missed my friends sooooo much lately. I'm working on being more intentional with my friendships. It's so easy to let friendships slide, especially because none of my very best friends are in the same stage of life as me (i.e. have children). I have some good "mom" friends but nothing like this group of my college besties. Because of work, I spend most of my free time at home with my family but I have got to start making an effort to get together with friends old and new!

We headed to gymnastics bright and early on Saturday morning. I was sooo exhausted after being out late on Saturday night. I was so pumped that we got this parking spot. Anyone that works out at Harris Y knows the spots around the circle are coveted. I've tried for 5 weeks to land an expectant mother spot and we finally did. Parking here makes it SOOO much easier to wrangle the kids into class rather than walking a mile from the back lot while carrying a toddler. There is no room for the stroller in the gymnastics space so carrying them is the only way to go.

these babies were obsessed with the beam this week.

Holden was flirting MAJOR with these two sweet gymnasts. He would run on the trampoline by where they were sitting and bat his eyelashes at them and give them little smirks. They asked if they could help the twins during class and of course I agreed. I had to take pictures of them walking the beam with their "big girl" helpers.

we ran some errands and had our weekly chick-fil-a lunch before heading home for naps. We bought EC some sunnies at target because she ALWAYS wants to wear mine. She will leave them on until they fall off or we take them off of her. We tried to get Holden a pair but he wanted nothing to do with them. She will put them on whenever she can! 

My mom and Bo came over for Chinese on Saturday night and we bathed the babies and put them to bed before dinner. Emma Cate was petting Holden in this pic.

And by the way- the kids are pretty much taking all of their baths in the bath tub (finally). We still stick them in the sink when we need to do it super quick!

She loved putting her feet in when he was bathing!

i know i know... this will totally embarrass him later but this pic was too cute of his little tush and his outgrown robe.

She isn't potty trained yet but loves to sit on the potty. 

We barely made it to church on Sunday morning. Jay dropped me off with the kids and I checked them into Sunday school while he went to park the car. I headed back to the lobby to wait on him. There was another family that did the same thing and after I saw her husband walk in I assumed Jay would be there shortly after. I waited another 5 minutes and by this time we were so late that I figured we'd just go try a Sunday school class because there was going to be no way we'd get a seat in the sanctuary. I continued to wait. I finally went to the twins' Sunday school classroom and checked to see if Jay had been by there. Of course, he had (about 5 minutes ago). I had no clue where he would be so I headed to the sanctuary and found him sitting in the last pew. UGH! I was so frustrated and didn't know how we had missed each other. I settled down during the service and enjoyed worshiping. 

We met Gigi for breakfast at Eddie's Place after church.

We got home from brunch and Jay and I dove into Operation Nursery. I really wanted a grey Jenny Lind style crib and couldn't find any for sale so we decided to buy a white one and paint it. I went with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey and Graphite. I mixed 1 cup of Paris Grey with 4 tablespoons of Graphite for the perfect mid-grey color. 

mixology

we bought a paint sprayer and OMG I LOVED it! We tried hanging the pieces at first but decided it was better if I held them and Jay sprayed. We mixed the paint with 10% water to thin it before spraying.

I sprayed one little bit and it came out chunky so I gave up.

excuse my adorable painting outfit.

It took us around 2.5 hours to paint the crib. We did one coat and then touched up the spots that we missed. The paint covered soooo well! I want to give a HUGE shout out to my mom who came over to help me get started (Jay was working on refinishing the dresser behind him above) and then once we had it under control she left. Around 4:45 the kids started to wake up from nap and she came rushing over to babysit so we could finish up. SOOO thankful for her. We would have never gotten it done without her help!

Daddy assembling the crib!

Crib and mattress! Can't wait for all the bedding and the baby to put in it! I'm also planning on sealing it with Annie Sloan clear wax! I'll update when I get some new pictures.

We totally crashed Sunday night after an exhausting but fun weekend!

Home Again Home Again

We slept until 8:30am on Monday morning! My Dad heard the kids wake up and took them to his room to hangout with my mom and him. It felt so good to sleep that late with no interruptions. Everyone was pretty exhausted from our busy city day. 

We went to a little diner for breakfast. All the food was local and organic but still diner food. You know how some places do the local/organic thing and put your non-staples on the menu? This place had all the classics, just made with fresh ingredients. Yum!

Emma Cate loves to clean her mouth and hands by herself. Miss Independent will cry if you try to help her. 

This kid is so easy going. He polished off tons of his food plus everyone else's. He is definitely my eater!

Our trip through the airport went so much smoother this time around. I packed our carry-ons lightly but unfortunately our suitcases were way over weight. I tried to drop our bags curbside because I had already checked in online but didn't realize that we hadn't paid our check baggage fee. The porter outside was SUPER nice. He picked up my bag and told me it was way overweight but took pity on this poor mama and said he'd take care of it and not to worry. He got all our luggage checked in and baggage fees paid while I waited inside with the kids. I was sooo thankful for his help and that he didn't make me take things out of my suitcase!

The Philly airport has two play places inside. This was sooo helpful! The kids played for 30 minutes and then we headed over to Legal Seafoods for lunch/dinner. The big kids on this playground were driving me crazy! They were climbing on top of the play structures and jumping off and you know my sweet Holden wanted to be right there with them. File this in things I need to remember when my kids are big... help them to be good role models to the younger kids. It is so hard to tell my baby not to climb up the slide when they see everyone else do it! 

she probably went up and down the slide 50 times. 

photobomber

This sweet boy always lands in a straddle at the bottom of the slide.

We tried the ipad out and it did not help at all. Planes kept Holden's attention for maybe 2 minutes before he started tapping the screen with his toes. I ordered special toddler headphones but unfortunately, with the snow, they didn't arrive before we had to leave.

We arrived at the airport to find that my stroller had been broken while in flight. The frame was bent and although I still "works" it is so awful to push. The seat barely fits in and it veers to the left. It took me 20 minutes to file a claim with baggage and the lady there told me she couldn't see any damage. I about lost it on her. She eventually realized what I was talking about and filed my claim. Jay and I have been in contact everyday with the airline to get the problem handled. 

By the time I filled my claim, we picked the dogs up and dropped my mom off it was 9:30 and these babies were wiped. She stayed asleep after we transferred her from the car inside the house and stayed this way in her crib until it was her turn to get ready for bed!

Philadelphia

The weather outside was pretty yucky when we got up on Saturday morning but we had plans to head into Philly for the day. The kids woke up and Pop Pops brought out the toys he had purchased for them. I seriously cannot imagine my Dad cruising the toy isle at Target! The blocks and the push toys were huge hits though.

We headed straight for Reading Terminal Market. If you are in Philly, you have got to eat here! It's hundreds of booths of delicious, non-chain food. It's crazy and busy but fun. The kids and I enjoyed gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. The kid's sandwich was called the "Little Shepherd"! How appropriate. I didn't take many pictures because we were trying to navigate the market and keep up with the babies! Everyone else enjoyed cheese steaks. We also got home delicious donuts to go. The line for the donuts was 30 minutes long! 

We headed to the Please Touch Museum next. This place was amazing. The kids could have played for hours and hours. We were all exhausted when we left. They had so many fun exhibits. This is is MUST do if you are in the Philly area. 

my kids find slides wherever they go. 

This was an area that simulated nature and was marked off for kids 3 and under. They had it staffed and it was so nice not to worry about big kids trampling my babies. Holden loved this goose! 

They loved the piano but didn't weigh enough to make it play so Gigi and Pop Pops had to help a little.

This area was set up like Goldilocks and the three bears. Emma Cate was trying out the littlest bed. 

There was a beautiful solarium area with an indoor carousel. The babies had so much fun on their first carousel ride. 

Daddy even hopped on with Emma Cate. She was in heaven! 

They had an Alice in Wonderland maze set up and the babies loved the tea party room. Emma Cate and I sat and had tea for a while. Gigi bought her a tea set for Christmas but lost it before she was able to give it to her. It's definitely on the must find after we saw how much sweet girl enjoyed her tea party.

this was her smile face

this child has zero personality... zero

This was the main street exhibit. They had a little house set up. The babies loved sitting on the front porch and vacuuming in this area. What is with my kids and vacuuming. They certainly did not get that from their mother!

They LOVED the hospital area. Holden was pretty obsessed with the MRI machine. I thought they were sooo cute in their doctor scrubs. I am dying to get some dress up items soon to add to our collection.

Emma Cate headed to the nursery area of the hospital to rock the babies. Fingers crossed that she'll be a great big sister.

We were putting the babies in their cribs in the nursery and Emma Cate did prayer hands. We do this every night before bed and it is the sweetest thing. She also screams AAAAAA Men! When we're done praying.

Gigi was demonstrating how to feed the baby.

Holden kept trying to feed the belly button... we've got a few things to learn over the next 9 weeks!

She picked up the stethoscope and said Hey! We'll have to work on how to use our medical devices... :)

Listening to Gigi's heart

Holden loved the construction area. The wheel barrow was a little big for him but he kept trying to get it upright. 

They had a huge kids grocery store and both babies loved shopping with their carts.

on a mission.

this picture makes me laugh. my little postmasters

They had a shoe store set up and as soon as we walked in, Holden took off his shoes and put his foot in here... a sign your mother may buy you too many pairs of shoes.

again, we turn everything into a slide.

driving the trolley in the transportation area. 

mom, this monorail is not like disney.

showing off our gymnastics skills

So this is kind of funny to us. My Dad always talks about Wegman's. It's this grocery store up North and he is obsessed. They really do have everything. We went there for dinner and had a smorgasbord of sushi, mac and cheese, Chinese, prosciutto wrapped mozzarella, fruit, and salads. 

They also had this giant gluten free section plus an organic section 5 times this size.

We came home and had dinner and the babies were off to bed. We had a great time watching the Olympics and hanging out with my mom and dad. We had a hard time finding pacis for bedtime that night (we had pacis EVERYWHERE, in bags, suitcases, etc.) and were worried about not having one for the train ride to the city the following morning. My dad also noticed that we were out of wipes. He is so funny and took pictures of the wipes I use and the pacis and headed to target to replenish our stash. He came home and asked me how long ago I had purchased the wipes because he couldn't find the 80 count that I had, only the 72 count. He is so funny like that. I would have never noticed the count! He also bought two sets of pacis, one for 6-18 months and one for 18-36 because he didn't know which ones the babies would prefer.