20 Months

How has 20 months come and gone so quickly? How in 4 months with these twins of mine be 2??? Everyday these girls are more like little people, little toddlers, and less like the little babies I remember. The changes come so rapidly now that it's hard to keep up, I think I will have to start taking notes.

Olivia- Loves anything to do with Minnie Mouse even if its Mickey - she still say Minnie. She could watch Mickey Mouse club house all day if I let her. She can usually be seen giving me the remote after breakfast each morning to turn on her fav Minnie. Olivia is pretty independent of her sister and will generally do things on her own. She does join in on running around with Charlotte and if she sees Charlotte doing something she wants to do she is right there with her. She loves her Daddy, soccer, anything with a buckle, and her pets. Olivia will repeat just about any word we ask her to say and the sound of the word coming from her is just to die for. She can usually be seen without her diaper or in the process of taking it off. This is probably one the most frustrating parts of this age - as soon as her diaper is too wet for her she takes it off, I am taking this as a sign of impeding potty training. She has used the potty a few times but mostly takes her diaper off and gets a new one for me to put on her before she goes on the floor. She sleeps very well and goes to bed around 730-8 and wakes between 8 and 9. I love that all of my girls are great sleepers it helps so very much with sleep for mommy and daddy. We are still lacking 4 teeth (not counting the 2 year molars), it appears that one is about to come through very soon. She loves to be outside on our patio or in the pool or just going for a walk. Both girls have started a new thing of being scared of loud"er" noises. Cars pulling into the parking lot, lawn mowers, the vacuum cleaner - I am not sure where this came from but they are genuinely scared and come running every single time. We love to jump on the bed, run around giggling, and just be plain silly. Olivia definitely has a mind of her own and is very persistent in trying to get what she wants. She loves to say No and throws some pretty good fits... especially when she wants her paci... and our answer is no. Either way I love the quality of persistence in her and I hope it stays with her.

We love you Livy Grace

Charlotte - This little one is very much the leader of the twin pack. She is always trying to get Olivia involved in what ever she may be up to. She is very adventurous there isn't anything she won't try and  is only afraid of one thing... the sound of cars, trucks, or anything loud. I am not sure where this fear came from but the look of pure fright on her face breaks my heart. She is full of life, loves to laugh, and appears to be in a constant state of giggling. She is so very silly and loves to mimic mommy and daddy or her sisters. This is absolutely why I love this age - you get to see those little personalities take shape every day. Charlotte is also in the "I don't want to wear a diaper" phase- I think we are all of a sudden going through diapers at the same frequency as if they were newborns! Every day I am watching for signs they are ready to really start potty training. Charlotte is a big helper, she loves to help with the groceries, dishes, clean messes off the floor, and pick up her toys. She has such a big heart and is right there to rub your leg or give you a hug if you get hurt. She loves to help Olivia do whatever it is she may be trying to do. On the flip side Charlotte is still a little bit of a bully, if her sister has something she wants she does not hesitate to take it for herself. We've seen some shoving or hitting, but the apology usually follows in the form of a hug and a "soowy". This little one loves to eat and there aren't many things she doesn't like but if she finds something she doesn't like she will let you know as she spits it out and proceeds to wipe her tongue clean. This girl also has a mind of her own and I simply love this about her, she is not afraid to let her "point" be known, and we can't help but humor her.

We love you Miss. Charlotte

These two girls have an amazing bond that we can already see even at this young age. There is nothing more amazing than hearing two little voices giggle in unison or watching them run and play together. They love to sit together and "sometimes" share their snacks with each other. I am loving seeing this bond form and I simply cannot wait to see what happens next.

A Cause for Celebration

There are just some things in life worth celebrating and celebrating big. It’s pretty amazing when most of your family and friends can come together to celebrate big milestones with you. This past weekend I had the opportunity to do just that. Many of you may remember a post about my sister getting engaged! Just prior to their engagement they bought their first house, plenty of reason to celebrate right? Before the party recap let me tell you a little about my baby sister.

My sister (Tara) and I are eight and a half years apart, this age gap makes for a pretty interesting big sister little sister relationship. I used to take her to her kindergarten class every day and yes she cried… she cried for the first few weeks. I used to run down by her room when I had lunch and peek in the window to make sure she was not crying. My little sister was my sidekick she went everywhere with me and we did everything together she was my little bestie. When my husband and I started dating our senior year of high school Tara went everywhere with us – this created even more of a bond between her and myself as well as with my then boyfriend. Just as my big bother (he’s four years older) looked out for me I looked out for Tara. I hated to see her upset and to this day I feel the same way. When I went off to college and left my sister behind I vowed to come home as much as I could. In the beginning I didn’t do well keeping that promise, but when I did come home seeing her and my mom was exactly what I needed. So I started coming home almost every weekend, I needed and wanted to be a part of her life in anyway possible. As she grew into her teenage years she also grew as a person, her caring nurturing personality began to show. Being a part of her life during this time taught me a lot about myself and the kind of parent I wanted to be. Soon she was graduating high school and off to college. Always determined to be successful in all areas of her life… including those boyfriends! Often she would ask me for advice about the boys in her life never really sure if the relationships would last… but we got through them! One summer she met the neighbor boy David – they dated and took things slowly. From the beginning we could tell this was something different. Even though he was 3 years younger – fresh out of high school Tara didn't  let any negative comments about their relationship affect her choices. After graduating with her undergraduate degree (with honors) she went off to graduate school in a new state with her new boyfriend. At this time I was already a mom of two and busy living my life. We didn’t get to talk much and at times it felt as though our relationship was slipping. But anytime Tara would call me or need something we were right back at it… big sister / little sister. Tara graduated with her Masters Degree in Social Work and we were there to watch her in that amazing moment. During that time her relationship with David continued to grow – nearly seven years later and after being asked more times than I am sure they care to remember David proposed – just him and Tara in the middle of carrying groceries into their new house. Tara has always said they are writing their own story doing things on their own terms and this engagement is proof that is exactly what they are doing.

Since the house and the engagement my sister and I have a renewed bond – I can’t quite describe it but its like we are that big sister little sister duo taking on the world all over again. I am so very happy I was able to go to Pennsylvania (with no kids) this past weekend to celebrate the amazing life my sister has built. It was also great for us to spend some one on one sister time bonding… its been way to long.

In the midst of celebrating the wonderful news of a new house and engagement – it was also time to announce that a baby is on the way!! Just weeks after their engagement they found they were also expecting! This is such an amazing time in their lives and the joy on their faces when they were able to share the news with family and friends was so great to witness.

Oh yea and the party... well it was great everyone had a great time celebrating all the wonderful things this couple is experiencing! 

My sister has inspired me on so many levels; she is my confidant, my champion, and my best friend. There is nothing more I could ask for… ok maybe for us to live closer together….. but for now….  I love you sister.

The first camping adventure

Two weekends ago we (My husband (Curt), myself, my sister in-law (Bridget) and her husband (Ryan)) decided it would be a great idea to take 7 kids camping... And it was. We had a great time, killed some bugs, and learned some important things to do differently "next time". Between my family and my husband's sisters family we have S E V E N kids! The oldest two girls Kendal and Jaden are 10 (born just 6 weeks apart) the middle two girls Madison and Rileigh are 8 (born just 4 months apart.. with Madison turning 9 on the 6th), then comes Mason 6... the only boy, and lastly the twins 19 months. We've been discussing going camping since I was pregnant with the twins but just never got around to going. After the boys went on an overnight hunting trip they declared we would be going camping and promptly decided on the weekend it would happen. So it was in the calendar ... no backing out now. We planned and "pinned" (thanks pinterest) for two weeks - what we would eat, how we would sleep, what we would do, how we would keep the bugs away, and how would we get the twins to take naps and go to bed at night (the most important and crucial in my opinion!). We shopped together for supplies, made lists, bought tons of groceries, beverages, and of course the adult version of those beverages. We packed up two vehicles full of tents, coolers, pillows, blankets, dog crate, toys, totes, diapers, and so much more. My family arrived at the camp site first and we set up the tents, started a fire and ate our first camping meal... the easiest one of them all. Bridget, Ryan and their kids arrived later that evening.

The first day/night was good we only had to kill 3 tics on the babies and had to drive them around for about 20 minutes so they would fall asleep. Once we they were asleep the slept pretty well until about 5 AM, from that point on Charlotte was not having it- she was crying and we didn't really know why, Olivia was talking nonsense and making us all laugh (the adults shared a tent with the babies)- so the boys decided they would let us girls get some sleep and take the babies out for a drive.to walmart. 20 minutes away. LOL BOYS! Needless to say I didn't get much sleep the first night but I expected I wouldn't be sleeping all that much.

Day 2 started with our grand plans to make a big breakfast (Thanks to my hubby and his grand idea to make big meals) eggs and bacon was on the menu. Let's just say we didn't plan out this breakfast the best in the beginning- but figured out a better way to cook the breakfast about half way though. Everyones bellies were full that was the most important part! We hung out for a while let the kids play and the twins get nice a dirty (and boy did they) before we set out to find the spring so that we could take the kids swimming. One of the things we particularly  loved about  going camping was that we wouldn't have internet or very good cell service so the kids would not be messing on their phones/ipods. However, that didn't come in very handy when hubby forgot the map at home and we needed to see it to figure out how to get to the spring!! After a few minutes of driving we finally had enough cell service to hit up google maps. The kids were a little underwhelmed with the spring at first... because well they were expecting a P O O L and no fish! Once the got used to swimming with the small fish and seaweed they had a blast. The girls and I got up some courage and jumped of the "cliff" after watching the boys have a blast. Back to camp to make our elaborate dinner of BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and potatoes. Lets just say we have made the very wise decision to make easy more simple meals on the next trip! We felt as though we spent most of our time cooking. While we cooked for about and hour the babies took late naps (Livy while in Aunt Bridget's arms) and Charlie passed out on Uncle Ryan's chest. It is hard to have the babies running around when it starts to get dark because they just can't see where they are going and they end up falling a lot. So into the van for more driving around - except this time they didn't fall asleep! After some holding and walking them around they finally fell asleep and this time we decided they shouldn't sleep on the same mattress (with mommy and daddy) like they did the  nigh before. They just aren't used to sleeping right next to each other and I think that is why they woke up so many times the first night. So that night Livy slept with Mommy and Daddy and Charlie with Auntie and Uncle. Let's just say we all got a much better nights sleep!

Day 3 consisted of cereal for breakfast and packing up. We had a great time and made some really great memories that I know our kids will always remember and cherish. We love trying and doing new things and we will for sure be camping again... with a few changes of course!