Twenty Two Months

Well that one snuck up on us! I was laying there the other night and I looked at my phone and saw that it was the 17th and told my husband ... guess who is going to be 22 months tomorrow? He of course replied "I don't know" smarty that one I tell you. So here we are 22 months, a short 2 months until the big TWO!!

Olivia ~ Little miss knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it, she even knows what to do to get it.  She is becoming much better and vocalizing just what she wants. Sometimes we don't always understand what she is saying but we are learning and she is getting better and picking up new words every day. She loves the beach and ocean, she is so much fun watch. She has learned how to clean her hands off in the water and gets so much excitement out of running towards the water and playing in the sand. She loves babies real and fake, she recently discovered her big sister's very lifelike baby dolls and hasn't put it down since. Good thing there is two of them, because Charlotte loves them just as much. She is always pulling hand towels out of the cupboard to swaddle her baby up. She loves to be tickled, so much so that she often asks for us to tickle her. Her giggles are so very contagious and can turn any bad day good. She does have a temper especially when she doesn't get what she wants and has bitten her sister twice, hopefully we have put an end to that little behavior. She is still very much afraid of loud noises and it seems to have gotten worse over the last few weeks. We have some ideas on how to address this problem during our upcoming trip to visit family. I am pretty sure Olivia is very attached to the male figures in her life especially her Daddy and Uncle Ry-Ry. The first thing she does in the morning is run to the bedroom looking for her daddy. On the weekends when she knows Uncle Ry-Ry is on his way she is ready and waiting for him to walk through the door. This little one sure knows how to brighten our days from her contagious giggles to her unending cuddles.
We love you Olivia Grace.

Charlotte ~ This girl is so full of energy that we can hardly contain her. She is always giggling, running, playing, and getting into some sort of mischief. She is very much independent; one of her favorite things to do is opening the refrigerator what seems to be a million times a day, she is always looking for food... berries, cheese, yogi (yogurt), and pretty much anything else she can get her hands on. She loves to climb into her own booster seat (I should mention our table is counter hight so the chairs are pretty high) and buckle her own buckle. If she can't be found it is pretty certain she is getting into trouble - playing in the toilet or emptying all of her toys. She loves to be outside and would play out there all day if I let her. She is also becoming better at vocalizing her needs and responding to our questions. But by far her most favorite response (along with her sister) is NO. It doesn't matter what the question is the answer is most always NO. Charlotte also loves the beach especially putting sand in her hair as well as her sister's. This little one also has a temper, although she hasn't bitten anyone she sure lets us know when she is not happy. She is pretty dramatic and likes to put on a good show for all of us. She is willing to do pretty much anything we ask her to do, her big sisters love to ask her to give cuddles and kisses all the time, and this girl gives THE.BEST cuddles. She loves to make sure Olivia is taken care of when it comes to her being upset or finding her "paci". If Livy is crying Charlotte makes sure we are aware by telling us "sissy cry". I love her compassion and love for anyone around her.
We love you Charlotte Ann.

It amazes me every single day how our hearts can continue to grow for not only these little ones but for all of our girls. Watching Charlotte and Olivia play and learn along side each other is pretty amazing and fun. The girls are doing well with potty training and everyday I feel great about their progress. They are learning so much everyday and surprise us with what they have learned without us even knowing it. We are so excited to watch them continue to change and grow... But maybe just maybe they could slow down a little!

one of THOSE days

So we all have them... we typically refer to them as "one of those days" well Wednesday was just that. Many of you know we "successfully" - kind of, completed the 3 day method for potty training about 4 weeks ago. We have had really great days (one maybe two accidents) and really uhhhh awful days (every other minute is an accident). But the past few days they have been doing great minimal accidents, telling us when they have to go, and even going on their own!!! Until yesterday... it was like they completely forgot they knew to use the potty. I don't think they went more than once in the potty before nap time and for the first time in weeks we ran out of undies!! Nap time was a short 45 minutes and more accidents to follow. It was frustrating for sure, and I was wondering once again if we made the right choice.
I began prepping dinner and heard the words "pee-pee" my cue to run to the potty with whoever had just uttered the words. And finally after all day I was able to celebrate with both girls they WENT on the POTTY!! Phew... ok maybe we made the right choice. A few minutes later while dinner prep continued Charlotte played with the plastic and wooden cutting boards in the cupboard like she has done a hundred times before. All of a sudden she is crying and not the usual sissy took my baby cry the cry every mom hates to hear ... she was in pain. Maddy quickly scooped her up and took her the couch. I came to see her and her toe was already bruised and swollen, she was just hysterical crying saying "shoe" (she calls her feet her shoes) over and over again. She would try to touch her toe and the cries were louder and more heart wrenching. I tried to put ice on it but she wasn't having it and she tried to walk on it but she immediately started crying and would sit down. I decided a call to our on call nurse was the best action... I know that with adults a broken toe or finger there isn't much to be done. But I just felt that with her being a toddler it wasn't like I was going to be able to keep her foot elevated or iced if her toe was broken. The nurse did recommend we take her to be seen because toddler bones are different and grow differently than adults - so just to be sure we took her to urgent care. After seeing the doctor and an X-Ray she was deemed "OK" no broken bones just badly bruised.... Phew....
After urgent care we thought a nice treat would be some frozen yogurt... Charlotte was excited.. maybe too excited. As soon as we sat down and I tried to offer her a bite she started screaming. My first thought was that I touched her toe or she bumped it... nope she was mad at me for something to do with her treat. She just continued to scream .... tantrum like. After a warning (really??? A warning to a 21 month old what was I thinking?) she calmed down and we tried again... again she threw a fit so out we went... in the pouring rain with our melting FroYo.
Needless to say she cried the entire drive home, crying "mine, mine" for her FroYo, why is it that we feel so bad about disciplining our children when we hear them so very upset? We made it home and she was able to eat.. this time without incident. After that it was off to bed and I just hoped she would stay there and sleep though the night without pain. Olivia decided after a 5 minute cat nap in the chair with daddy she needed to stay up about 3 hours past her bedtime! Once we were all in bed we stayed there for the night and this mama got some much needed rest!
Yesterday was better and we had less accidents. Charlie's toe is better and they napped for three hours! I'm thankful hard days don't last long and are usually followed by accomplishments and better days. It helps to remember this when we are in the thick of those hard days... better days are just around the corner.

What if?

Do you ever just feel like you are supposed to do something? Not like do the dishes or clean the car, but like you have a purpose for something. Something you are called to do because you feel as though it fits you. Once you have that feeling how do you know it's the right one? A lot of times we think maybe God has called us to do something, we have that feeling so strongly, so deep in our hearts that we can't deny it. Other times that feeling is not as strong as we would like it to be... it's there but sometimes we are just looking for another sign to tell us it is ok. Sometimes we just have to take a leap of faith and trust in the path we have been put on. I think taking that first step is the hardest, the blind faith we must have that we are doing something we have been called to do.

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the last few weeks, thinking about what I have been called to do and what I want for this blog. I started this blog around a year ago to share the every day imperfections of life. To have a place to record our ups and downs, the fun times and the hard times, our laughter and our tears. I feel as though I have done that but I am not sure I have done it to the best of my ability. Like many times when we are led down a path there are bumps along the way for any number of reasons. Maybe we start to loose faith, or we aren't sure we are on the right path, we let fear overcome us and doubt sets in. We start to look for signs that we made the right decision to follow the path set before us. Sometimes those signs come when we least expect them and maybe they don't come at all. I found myself several times over the last year in many of these places but only until recently have I really felt that I have been on the right path all along. All of the questions, doubts, and fears I have felt only prepared me for the bigger journey I am about to take.

Ok, Ok so where is all of this going... I guess I just want to put myself out there some would say be "real". But I think it is important to share where I've been so that when I get to where I am supposed to be I can look back at this moment and remember the journey.

I can't wait to share more of myself with you all, more of our daily lives as we embark on new journeys, and more as I follow the path I have been given.

And thank you for sticking with me on this post... I promise it will be worth it!

Head on over to TwinTalk Blog today to check out my guest post... Here

First Day of Summer Break

Ahhhhh Summer Break - time for staying up late, sleeping in, no homework, and for my kids... sleeping on the couch. Why? Why do they do this? For as long as I can remember they have always wanted to sleep on the couch on the weekends and pretty much all of summer break!! I am usually the worst person to plan things out for the kids to do during break, mostly because I used to work a full time job and the girls (Kendal and Maddy) would go to New York to visit family for a few weeks in the summer.  This year though I am trying my best to make a point to keep the kids busy... pretty much so that I don't have to hear them argue for the better part of the day.

We have about three weeks before the big girls head to Pennsylvania for a week to spend time with my mom and sister, then we will join them for a few days before heading to New York for a week then on to DC for another week. At least that planning is done for me!

This morning we were up before 11 (as the girls would have had it) to head to the store - for the important things such as... cheese, lunchables (for our picnic lunch), and did I mention cheese. We then headed to the library for Kendal and Maddy to pick out their first summer reading book. It just happened to be story time so we joined in and Charlotte and Olivia loved it. Olivia of course just watching everything and Charlotte clapping and joining in on the songs. We then headed to the park for a picnic lunch and some play time at the playground. Then it was home for naps. We ended the night with a dip in the pool.

It was a great start to summer break and I hope to have many more days like it!

Potty Training Update

We are just over two weeks into our potty training adventure and the girls are doing fantastic! Since my last post (here) we have had some bad days, some accidents, plenty of good days, some great successes, and many breakthroughs. I won't lie there had been moments when I was ready to just give up... even after the initial three days. Thankfully my husband kept reminding me that they are only 21 months so there is going to be ups and downs. Since Sunday they have really turned the corner and we are pretty much down to one or no accidents a day!!! The accidents that do occur are generally when we don't hear them say "pee-pee" or they are playing intently and they simply forget.

They are afraid to use any public restroom...so whenever we head out we bring along one of the potty seats. This seems to be working ok for now, but we definitely need to work on them using public restrooms. We will be doing a lot of traveling in July and I certainly cannot lug the potty seat around everywhere we go. If anyone has any tips on making this work any easier for them please leave me a comment! We have a little backpack with special stickers and treats for going potty outside of the house but so far they still won't go anywhere but the potty in the back of our van!

They are still in diapers at nap time and at bed time.. they generally wake from nap dry but most times they are wet in the morning. We will try to transition them out of diapers for nap some time in the next few weeks, probably before July.

I am very proud of these two girls and how far they have come.. I am glad we chose to potty train them when we did and that we went for the 3 day method. I know there will still be accidents but I am glad we are down to just one or two a day...

21 Months

Three months.... only THREE months until these girls are two!! How in the world does this happen so quickly? It seems like month after month I have the same thoughts about these girls growing up so quickly. Of course having two older daughters doesn't help matters. I started thinking about the second birthday party the other day... something that I almost immediately shut down in my head because its SO HARD!! I guess reality is sometimes hard to come to terms with but none the less here we are at 21 months...

Olivia ~ So much spunk in such a little person...She has such a fun personality always giggling, running, playing, and just being plain silly. She is the most ticklish little girl - it doesn't matter where you try and tickle her she will go into a full on belly laugh. Still very much a daddy's girl this little one loves her uncle RyRy (Ryan), giving him all the snuggles when he's around. She's become very adventurous when it comes to swimming, climbing on furniture, and just general play. She loves to "bounce" on her bed, on the couch, on mommy and daddy's bed and anything else that is conducive to bouncing. She does have a bit of a temper arching her back and balling her fist when she doesn't get something she wants... oh this girl knows how to throw a fit. She gets over it pretty quickly if we just ignore her and help her move on to something new. She has a huge love for babies - she is all about the babies, she loves to hold them, feed them, swaddle them in dish towels, even take them to the potty with her. I know I say the same thing  every month but she still likes to observe what is happening but is now more apt to get involved and do what her sister is doing. Most times her getting involved is to take something (a baby) Charlotte has for herself. She is a lover of Mickey Mouse (really Minnie) she hands me the remote most mornings saying Minnie Minnie. She also loves to watch her preschool prep DVDs - shapes and colors - I can turn these DVDs on and they will sit and watch so that I can get a few minutes to prep dinner or make lunch! She has become quite the picky eater many of the past favorites are no longer appealing to her (or Charlotte for that matter)... someday its all I can do to get them to eat breakfast and lunch is often a mixture of snacking  on fruit, crackers, and/or cheese. Dinner is usually the best meal of the day for both girls so I guess we have that going for us.
This little one with her blond hair and blue eyes knows exactly how to get what she wants and win over just about anyone's heart especially her mommy and daddy. We love you Livy Grace!

Charlotte ~ Crazy, silly, energetic, and full of life are just a few ways we describe this little one. She is always making us laugh at every turn. She repeats almost every word we say in her little baby  toddler voice and it is just so stinking adorable. She very much has a mind of her own (I am sure I have said that before) but this girl reminds me so much of Kendal - she is not afraid to do what she wants and makes it very known that she will do what she wants. She runs around the house giggling and leaving a mess in her path. She knows exactly what to do to get what she wants and is rarely told no. Her sense of humor leaves us laughing so often, its almost as if she knows what do to and how to be funny at this young age. She loves to show Olivia who is boss and is pretty much always the leader of whatever mischief is happing with the two of them. Her personality has also come on very strong this past month and like I mentioned above she is very independent, opinionated (yes, at 21 months), and full of character. She loves to dance, give this girl a beat (any beat) and she will dance to it, even if she is sitting. She is also very daring and adventurous, most recently climbing the chair onto our counter hight table. She is going to give me more gray hairs than I already have! Eating is also been a struggle with this one - mostly cheese, grapes, and any kind of berry is this little ones favorite things. Charlotte's favorite toys are everything... you can never have too much right? This girl will play with whatever is in her path... she will often give up what she is playing with to Olivia and move onto something else. She probably does love her kitchen and her shopping cart the most. Charlotte has found herself in timeout for hitting Olivia or any of us for that matter. I think she loves to say sorry "sowry" she gives the injured a pat on the head and a sowry followed by a hug. She is so very compassionate if one of her sisters gets hurt or is crying she is right there to hug them or rub their leg or back it is the sweetest.
This little one wins us over with her big smile and warm heart... we love you Charlotte!

Everyday my heart seems to grow watching these two girls become more and more like toddlers. They successfully completed potty training boot camp (aka the 3 day method) {read about it here} and are doing very well with using the potty. I often catch myself looking at them wondering how did we ever get so lucky. They bring so many smiles and much laughter to us every single day. We love you little ones!