Toddler Talk | Two

....And talk and talk and talk some more. These two girls have grown so much the past few weeks in the language department.

Talk: Repeat, repeat, and repeat again they love to learn new words and say them when we do they are learning how to use our words in context. Some of their favorites are "no like it", "please mama" (I love to have them say mama after everything.. thank you, please, ect.), "Let's go", "It's ok sissy", "I do it". I know there is so much more but those are the ones that stick out. Their little voices are just the sweetest and everyday there is something new coming out of them.

Play: Running around like crazy two year olds is their favorite thing to do. Tickling each other, chasing each other, and yes even tackling each other are big time favs. They still love puzzles and babies. Reading is a new favorite, pointing at the pictures and usually naming animals (even when there are none on the page) is how they read. They are still pretty much addicted to Mickey Mouse and have started naming each character and even get upset when they don't see them on the screen. They have started to recognize "princesses" although they don't know who the are they know a "princess" when they see one.

Food: Good days and bad days when it comes to eating for these two. I know this is a stage so I am not too worried or hard on them if they don't eat all that well. They usually eat any of the following if put in front of them... Hot dogs, eggs, cereal, yogurt, mac n' cheese, fruit, cheese, and toast.

Sleep: Still going strong and sleeping well. The testing of the limits has settled down a bit but when they do ask for someone to come in for an extra snuggle or drink it's pretty funny. Nap time has turned into sister giggle time and I can't help but let them enjoy each other for a few minutes before I go in there. Eventually they settle down and go off to sleep.

News: We are working on loosing the Pacifiers in the next few weeks. We have been talking about it and preparing them for what is too come. Sometimes they willingly hand them over other times the answer is a resounding NO. I have a feeling they will be ok after a few days.. it's probably gong to be harder for mama than them. They are loving on their little sister pulling my shirt up all the time and saying her name. Charlotte loves to ask for the baby to come out so she can hold her and give her drinks. They are also convinced they too have babies in their bellies!

15 Weeks!

How Far Along - 15 weeks

Total Weight Gain - 3 pounds - Some days I feel and look "maybe" more than 15 weeks pregnant and other days I am not sure if I think I look pregnant or just... well the alternative "I've put on a few pounds" ugh why are we so hard on ourselves?

Maternity Clothes - Still pretty much in comfy cloths at home (yoga pants all day every day) I do have to wear maternity tops as my usual shirts are just too "short". Anything other than yoga pants requires some sort of "give" in the waist area.

Sleep - So remember back at 13 weeks when I said I was sleeping well... yea that only last about 3 days and I am back to getting up several times a night and finding it hard to get comfortable. I realize I am "only" 15 weeks but let me tell you the older you are when you are pregnant the more your body DOESN'T like you! I am hoping I can start to get more rest at night soon.. thinking this is just a "phase" that ends quickly.

Miss anything?  - Sleep?? AND yes still sushi... I love instagram but wow does it seem like there are a lot of posts with photos of sushi in them lately!!

Cravings - I am pretty sure I will always type Subs in the section I don't know what it is about them but I just can't get enough. I was thinking the other day that I am sure I have always loved subs but being pregnant just really makes me want them all day every day. Water... I feel like I can't get enough even though I get pretty sick of it once in a while I still find myself wanting it... ice cold.

Symptoms - The heart burn has set in mostly at night.. hmmm maybe that's why I can't sleep. I've also become pretty dizzy and light headed most days especially if I am playing with the twins and I get up or move too fast.

Looking forward to- We have a Doctor's appointment and Ultrasound on Tuesday! This will be our second Ultrasound (first at  6 weeks) we are checking on the Subchorionic Hematoma discovered during the 6 week ultrasound. I also plan to have them take a peak just to make sure baby is in fact a girl! We are very much looking forward to seeing our little girl and how big she has gotten!

It's A..... WHAT???

In case you missed it we are adding baby GIRL number FIVE to our family! Whoa... mind blown I know right? Ok so it's not too crazy to imagine that we might have another girl.. I mean we have successfully created 4 girls and 2 of them at once... just to prove we could do it!

All joking aside we are thrilled to be adding this little one to our family boy or girl it doesn't much matter which gender we end up with. We had grand plans to go the gender reveal route even surprising my husband and myself. After our 12 week appointment we knew we would get a phone call with our panorama results which would include the gender. Part of me was relieved to know that we would know the gender soon but I also wanted to be surprised! We decided getting the phone call was going to be surprise enough so we would go ahead and "reveal" the gender to the rest of our family. When the office called on Wednesday (one day earlier than expected) we were on pins and needles listening to the doctor on the phone waiting for her to tell us the gender. When she told us (the most important stuff) the testing was negative for any genetic abnormalities (and we were very relieved) she said "ok see you at the next appointment" My heart nearly dropped thinking they didn't test for the gender! I asked her if they had the gender results and she said "Oh yea do you want me to tell you over the phone?" YES!!! Hello YES!!! When she said it's a girl I didn't know what to do, I was in genuine shock! I only say I as shocked because I really thought and was convinced it was a boy! I was pretty much laughing the entire rest of the day I just couldn't believe it...but then I put my hand on my belly and I said to myself ... baby girl and the tears just flowed. I couldn't believe it, we were being blessed with another amazing wonderful daughter and at that moment I knew God had bigger plans for our family than I could have ever imagined.

Surprising the kids and our family was a lot of fun.. the girls of course were routing for a boy.. I think my mom and sister were too... ok... I think we all were... just to mix things up a bit :) When it was time to open the box the anticipation was high for everyone.. Kendal, Madison, Olivia, and Charlotte did a wonderful job exposing those pink balloons. I think everyone was just as shocked as we were...we had a few questions of if there were some blue balloons hidden in the bottom of the box... nope just pink.

Through all the shock and surprise everyone was happy and excited to be adding another little girl to our family. With four daughters we often hear things like... "oh poor Curt" or "oh just wait" "better start saving money for prom/wedding now" and a few others. While these are of course other peoples opinions and thoughts it does make us wonder what is so bad/wrong with having a family full of girls? Do families full of boys not have to save money for things... do those parents have to "just wait"? Ok, I am being a bit sarcastic here to prove a point it doesn't matter if you have one child or ten. It doesn't matter if you have all girls or all boys or a mix of both. What matters is the love we have to offer and our ability to be the best parents we can be with the children God has trusted us with. We feel pretty proud of the fact that we have been trusted to raise these FIVE daughters and we can't wait to welcome our new princess into the family... She is already more blessed and loved than she will ever know.

Favorite Eats: Irish Beef Stew

There are many recipes for beef stew - stove top, crock pot, in the oven. My husband pretty much demands (politely of course) this particular stew over any other and I have to agree with him it comes together amazing and it's pretty easy to throw together. Side note it does take a few hours to cook so plan for this!

Here is the recipe:

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, Divided
3 pounds beef chuck, excess fat trimmed, cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
1 1/2 cups stout beer (I don't always add the beer, some say this is what makes it "Irish" either way it's good!)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 bay leaves
3 large carrots, sliced 1/4 inche thick
1 large yellow onion, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, cut in 3/4-inch pieces
1 large parsnip, cut into 3/4 - inch pieces

Preheat oven to 325 F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat in an over proof pot or dutch oven. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper. Add beef in batches to pot in on layer. Brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining beef. Return beef to pot and add the garlic. Sauté 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook stirring, one minute. Add stock, beer, thyme, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black better. The meat should be just covered with liquid if not, add additional stock or beer to cover. Transfer pot to oven (Covered) back until meat is tender, 1  1/2 to 2 hours. (I generally give it a stir a few timesharing cooking).

While the meat is cooking heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a deep skillet or large pot over medium heat (I usually wait until there is about 30 minutes of cooking time left in the oven). Add vegetables and lightly sprinkle with salt. Sauté the vegetables until the brighten in color and begin to take on a golden hue, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove beef from oven. Skim any fat on the surface of the liquid with a  spoon. Add vegetables to the beef, stirring it to combine. Return beef to oven, uncovered. Bake one hour, stirring once or twice, until the sauce is slightly reduced, the vegetables are tender and the meat is fork-tender. Serve hot with mashed potatoes. (I love this with mashed potatoes, but hubby loves it over biscuits)

Either way you chose to serve it, the stew is simply amazing and very filling you will for sure have plenty for leftovers and even better... its tastes amazing on day two.... and even three!!

Original recipe from tastefoodblog

13 W E E K S!

If you go by a few baby apps and certain websites we are in the 2nd trimester :) I choose to believe those  few apps and those websites.... so yay Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!

How Far Along - 13 weeks

Total Weight Gain - 2 pound - Yesterday my husband told me that one of his coworkers was shocked by how "pregnant" I looked. I am not exactly sure what this means for me and they rest of my pregnancy but I have a feeling it won't be the last time someone is "shocked"

Maternity Clothes - Sometimes.. is that an answer? If I am not in my yoga pants then yes, its got to be maternity clothes or a maxi skirt.

Sleep - The last two nights sleep has been amazing, when I wake up I realize I didn't get up at all to empty the bladder! And I feel as though I am sleeping more soundly.. let's hope this continues for a while. I am still pretty tired in the eveningI think it's largely because the day has finally caught up to me.

Miss anything?  - Still Sushi! Yesterday at the grocery store I had to look away and walk quickly when I passed the sushi!

Cravings - Still subs and sugary sweets! Normally I am a chocolate lover but this pregnancy has me feeling sick anytime I try to eat some chocolate (Boo). BBQ and it can't be homemade BBQ I want BBQ from our local restaurant... I can pretty much taste it as I type.

Symptoms - I am still pretty tired at points though out the day but I am not sure if it is completely pregnancy related or just the fact that I am chasing two (2) year olds around all day. Some indigestion and nausea at night.

Looking forward to- Hopefully we will know the gender in the next week or so. At our last prenatal appointment we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat and let me tell you that was a great sound to hear after 6 weeks!! We had the panorama test (a blood test that screens for genetic abnormalities and yes gender) done and should know the results and gender soon!

And here is the 12 week photo just for good measure :)

You'll have to stay with the Dog!

Our new warning mostly for Olivia when we are trying to leave the house and she won't do what she needs to do so that we can leave! Getting out of the house with Twins or more is not an easy task especially when they are little and you need to make sure they are fed, diapers changes, diaper bag packed, stroller, and on and on.

Now that they are older it is somewhat easier to get out of the house but wait.... potty training! Oh the joy; and now the thought can we make it to where we need to go and back with no accidents? All drama aside the girls are doing well with potty training and we can do the things we need to do out of the house with no accidents (ok sometimes there is one or two). But in order for this to happen the potty must be used before we leave the house! Charlotte does a great job, gets her shoes on and uses the potty with only me asking once maybe twice. Olivia this girl she will avoid sitting on the potty at all cost. I can often be heard saying things like "I guess you have to stay home" "Ok, Charlotte sissy doesn't want to go" and my favorite "Guess You'll have to stay with the dog". Sometimes these phrases work but let's be real... she doesn't even care! Sometimes I have to ask her if she wants "candy" and maybe she will sit on the potty. But this girl is only going to do what she wants to do.

In all fairness to Olivia she has done amazing even when she doesn't go potty before we leave the house. I try really hard to get her to at least sit on the potty I feel confident that if she has to go she will... she usually doesn't! As parents we have a lot on our plates and we are fighting battles more often than we care to remember. In order to save our sanity we sometimes have to decide which battles are worth fighting... this is one I have decided may be time to stop fighting (if I ever want to leave the house anyway!)

Ahh the joys of twin toddlers :)

Let's celebrate with ice cream!