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.

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. 

Leaving on A Jet Plane!

After our little incident on Friday, Jay, My Mom and babies swung by the hospital to pick me up and off we went for the airport. My Dad works in New Jersey just outside of Philadelphia. He commutes to Charlotte on the weekends. I had never been to see his condo in Jersey so we decided this long weekend would be a great opportunity to visit. The kids had never flown before and they were still able to fly for free on our laps!  Due to the snow days the airport was a MESS. We decided to valet the car for simplicity and the valet was closed! AH! We unloaded everything and my mom and I tried to manage two babies, two car seats, and all of our luggage while Jay went to park the car. It was a little stressful...

I wish I had taken a picture of all of our crap together! My mom waited outside while I went inside. My line moved much faster and she was stuck trying to bring 3 suitcases, two car seats, and three book bags in by herself. Finally a sweet girl came to her assistance. Traveling with babies is no joke!

We made it through security even though it took 20 minutes! I tried to be as prepared as possible but they had to do special checks on my sling, the stroller, and the car seats. Luckily we were pretty early and had some time to spare. We were a sight walking through the airport!

We looked down to see Emma Cate squatted over like this.

She popped up with Gigi's green tea in hand. This girl is really into stealing beverages. No more sippy cup here.

We probably heard ahh pane (airplane) about a million times. They loved seeing the planes up close.

We went to board and my mom was the first on with Emma Cate. Jay and I were next and the gate agent asked us where the infant tickets were. Ummm we had no clue they needed a ticket to travel on our laps. I had read EVERYTHING on USairways website and never saw this. I had copies of birth certificated prepared but not tickets. I freaked a little and the lady was able to print tickets at the gate. We also learned that we couldn't all sit together because there are only 4 oxygen masks and there were five of us with the kids. If you ever travel with two babies I recommend booking all the adults in the same row. On both flights they had to reticket us at the gate and ended up moving the middle seat person to a new row. This left us with an extra seat between the two adults with the kids and it was so nice (and cheaper than buying a third seat!). Jay got super lucky on the flight there and got two seats side by side too. The babies were restless on the flight and I wish that I could tell you there was some miracle for getting them to behave but there wasn't. Our flight was delayed almost 2 hours once we boarded and we did our very best to keep them occupied but they required a lot of singing and climbing. 

Gigi was seriously the baby whisperer. With my arm out of commission it was SOOO helpful to travel with her!

selfies to keep us occupied

We had all moved seats by the end of the flight and Emma Cate was sandwiched between Daddy and I and we just kept filling her with food. My kids have never been lap sleepers. With two, they've always learned to fall asleep in their cribs or carseats. There has never been time to just hold them until they fell asleep in my arms. This has never been a problem until this weekend. After traveling during bedtimes, I WISHED I had lap sleepers!

We got into my Dad's LATE on Friday night and tried to feed this kids pizza but they were too stuffed from all the treats on the plane. My Dad was so sweet to have pack and plays already set up and all the kids favorite organic treats on hand (I had a hard time picturing my Dad walking the grocery store isles stocking up on Annie's treats and whole grain waffles!). He had also bought disposable diapers for us to use and surprised the twins with some new toys he picked up at target. He was so excited for his grandbabies to come visit!