Happy 23 Month Birthday!

February 11, 2015 by

Samantha and Amelia might as well be two years old already with all the big girl progress they’ve made this month. From getting rid of their cribs and graduating to toddler beds, to rocking the potty training (updates coming soon!), S and A have been intent on ditching all the last vestiges of their babyhood.

Except for their Wubs. Not ready to leave those behind anytime soon.

We are going on Night 3 of toddler beds and are definitely making progress as far as not getting out of the bed ten zillion times during the night.

Today also marked Day 5 of formal potty training and so far today we’ve had zero accidents (knock on wood). And that included running three errands this morning. All grown up, I tell you!

Meal times are still a work in progress. Amelia randomly ended her veggie-strike last week and inexplicably picked up a piece of broccoli and ate it like it was no big deal. I swear they just like to mess with me.

S and A are constantly joking and playing games with each other– typical meal time entertainment this month. Here the girls enjoyed a seaweed snack from their friend, Parker, which they then decided would make the perfect mustaches. No idea how they even know what a mustache is.

             

During the past month, the girls’ communication skills have grown leaps and bounds and they’ve been adding new (sometimes intelligible) phrases to their vocabularies each day. Their biggest speech accomplishment this month was applying the power of the word “please” instead of whining for what they wanted. Hallelujah!

Samantha’s favorite phrase: “Poo poo is stinky.”

Amelia’s favorite word: “Yeah!”
As in, “Would you like to read another book, Amelia?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you have to go potty?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you like walking Bandit?”
“Yeah!”

Conversely, Samantha’s favorite word this month was “Nooooooooooooo!”
As in, “Samantha, are you ready to play at My Gym?”
“Noooooooooo!”
“Samantha, let’s brush your teeth.”
“Nooooooooo!”
“Samantha, do you like graham crackers?”
“NOOOOOOOO!” (Pause) “YES PLEASE!”

In other news, the girls have been in a constant state of teething for what feels like the past month. Not sure how many teeth they now have, but I’ve made it a goal to count before they turn two. All I know is that they can chomp on a chicken drumstick like nobody’s business.

In addition to hanging out with their friends in the neighborhood and at the park, the girls have been keeping busy with their gymnastics and their Music Together class with Ms. Elena. As part of the class “materials,” we were given a songbook and cd, which we keep in the car and listen to all the time. I’m loving it too since the songs aren’t your typical “Itsy Bitsy Spider” toddler fare and include music from all over the world– some from Africa, Israel, France, and traditional English songs. It’s funny to hear the girls try and sing the songs or repeat some of the words after listening a million times.

Amelia, particularly, is really drawn to music and we’ll often catch her humming her own songs.  For some reason, she also loves to hum the “like a diamond in the sky” portion of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and will repeat those notes over and over again.

It’s been about 8 months since the girls’ first dance debacle (Toddlers and Tiaras Soviet Edition),  and now that the girls are a little older, I figured it might be time to try dance again. We found a new place with an awesome teacher– the very first class, I had to sign a bunch of paperwork up front and the girls were getting cranky, so the teacher called them over to read books with her AND THEY ACTUALLY SAT ON HER LAP, READING HAPPILY. This never happens with strangers, I can assure you, so it was a pretty big deal.

Anyway, the girls loved dance this month. I have to put “dance” in quotation marks, because it’s basically just an excuse to dress them up in tutus and miniature ballet slippers (I DIE) and give them ribbons/bean bags/stuffed animals/hula hoops to dance around with. It’s the opposite of their last Nazi-style dance experience– fun and whimsical!

Props to their teacher, Ms. Emily, for prancing around the room repeating vocabulary like “sache, “plie” and “arabesque” while five toddlers run around in circles. Hopefully they’ll pick up some of the terminology, but for now, they are super happy walking on their tip toes, turning in circles, and holding up their arms to say, “TA DAAAA!” S and A especially love the hand stamps/glitter they receive at the end of class and the “disco ball” time where they dance around in the dark chasing the lights of the disco ball. “Dancing Queen,” anyone?

        

Happy 23 Month birthday, Samantha and Amelia! We love you and can’t wait to celebrate the big TWO next month!

A few tidbits from ballet:

            

This pretty much sums up what they’re learning in class:
            

Lots of love,

Signature

Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Happy 22 Month Birthday!

January 14, 2015 by
Two months and counting until the big TWO! I’ve had several random people ask how old the girls are this week, and I’m really having trouble remembering that they are 22 months. The first thing out of my mouth is usually that they are 18 months…or is it 20? 
22? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? I can’t say I’m loving all this growing up business, but it’s amazing to see how much the girls have developed in certain areas in just one month.
                       
                       
                    
Samantha–
To think we ever worried about you being behind Amelia in speech. You had a mini-explosion of new words this month and were eager to communicate EXACTLY what you wanted. More times than I could count, you would say a phrase over and over again, exasperated, as I parroted back your request, unable to decipher it.
 Finally, you would just grab my hand, drag me downstairs, and show me that YOU WANTED A DRINK by pointing to the sink and your cup. The look on your face when we finally understand you is a mix of relief (that your parents are not complete idiots) and pride in yourself. 
Twin talk is still your language of choice, however, and you will babble with sister all the live long day (and throughout nap time, until we catch you). 
You made great strides in potty training interest this month. Just in the last two weeks, you started telling us when you had to go #1, and although you can’t always hold it until we whisk you to the potty, just the fact that you are recognizing the urge to go is encouraging.
 You LOVE to simply sit on the potty and request to go first thing in the morning and right after nap. Even if nothing comes out, you simply like to be a big girl, flush the toilet and wash your hands. We were waiting until the holidays were over to officially potty train you, and you are SO ready. You have grown to despise a dirty diaper, which has become a problem right before bed as you scream like a banshee if you happen to pee in your diaper before you fall asleep. Official potty training will begin within the next few weeks and my prediction is you will pick it right up and sing hallelujah as you say goodbye to those annoying diapers. 
Some of your favorite activities this month included hopping (while shouting “Hop, hop, hop!”), jumping from your toddler table to the couch (uh oh), drawing circles, and helping set the table by choosing your own plate, cup and silverware. You were so helpful to me all month taking in groceries, unloading the dishwasher and sweeping/vacuuming with your toddler-sized gear. 
You have almost perfected the art of manipulation by saying, “please” and “thank you” when you want something (how can I say no to those big blue eyes and your best well-mannered little voice?) 
You developed a weird phobia of frogs that we can’t quite figure out. One night, you were reading a book with Daddy and you went white as a ghost when you got to the part about the frog. There’s a frog living in our fountain on the patio that croaks in the evening and you started pointing outside to the fountain, screaming uncontrollably. Not sure what that’s about!
Your favorite words this month were the similar sounding “Grammy” and “gummy.” Coincidence? I think not. It’s Christmas every day when I pull out your vitamin gummy in the morning– you actually clap your hands and giggle with glee. 
Your curly locks get compliments wherever we go and it’s fascinating to watch your hair go from straight to ringlets after a bath. Since I’ve always had stick-straight hair, I’m really going to have to do some research on how to handle those curls!
You are growing up way too fast, Samantha, and we love every last high-spirited inch of you!
                            
                               
                     
                                 
                      
                          
                     
Amelia– 
You are so quiet sometimes that you almost fly under the radar…until I find you on top of the fridge/inside the pantry/under the laundry hamper/insert random place here. Quiet as a mouse, but quick and sly like a fox you are. Your prefer to be surreptitious in your mischief, whether using Samantha as a decoy so you can dump out an entire bag of dog food, or waiting until I am preoccupied in a conversation with Daddy to draw on the wall with crayons. I’m going to tell all your future boyfriends that you used to eat dog food, by the way. 
You’re incredibly sweet, mild-tempered (most of the time) and soooo not the squeaky wheel, that you always catch us by surprise when you cause trouble. Unlike high-octane Samantha, you prefer the more subtle approach when it comes to rebellion. At dinner, you will wait until we look away to create a mini swimming pool in the circle on your tray with your smoothie and will then proceed to “swim” in it with your fingers. 
Lately, you have become more daring and love to test my reactions to everything from pretending to step off the side of the sidewalk to holding a glass of water and tipping it ever-so-slightly to see if I’ll grab it from you before you create a waterfall on the floor. One of your favorite tricks is holding a piece of chalk and looking me straight in the eye, while you allllllmost place it in your mouth and then whip it back out again. I know it’s made it into your mouth once I see the tell-tale chalky lipstick on your face. Yuck! 
You are not as big of a fan as Samantha when it comes to the potty, but you like to sit on it and “pretend” like you have to go, just to see Mommy and Daddy get excited. I’m sure you tell Samantha, “Watch the new trick I taught Mommy and Daddy– I’ll sit on the potty and they’ll clap their hands for me!” 
This month, you were the Queen of Christmas, hugging all the Rudolphs and Frostys in town, unwrapping gifts with Olympic athlete-like intensity and having a grand time on all our outings. Seeing you enjoy the magic of the holidays made it magical for the rest of us. 
Your favorite activities this month included cooking (both real and imaginary). You really get in the zone in your play kitchen and have whipped up the most masterful pretend omelets, pizzas, and soups the world has ever seen. I would know, since you’ve asked me to sample all of them. 
Besides your kitchen, my lap is your second favorite spot, which you’ll only leave for a split second to search out another book to read. You always choose the most convenient times for stories too– like when I’m cooking or on the phone. The word “wait!” is something you’ve struggled with, but are getting much better at. It’s a joy reading with you and I have a hard time saying no– even if I’m busy at the moment. There’s just something about you holding up a book and looking up at me that’s irresistible…you must have learned some of those manipulation tricks from your sister!
You also love to have Daddy set up your tent and “camp” in the family room with Samatha…and fifty-nine other stuffed animals/all your blankies and pillows. Pretty soon you’ll be camping for real!
Your food snob ways continued this month as you were picky picky picky (except for breakfast– always a hit). I think I’ve developed a formula that gives me a pretty good prediction of whether you’ll eat or not. More time finding a toddler-specific recipe/more time preparing a meal = less likelihood you’ll actually eat it! 
 We’ve also found that you actually eat a lot more when we completely ignore the fact that you’re refusing to eat certain things at the dinner table– no more bribing, “train rides” of food on your spoon or reverse psychology from us.  Your resolve has met its match and you will keep receiving nice little cut-up veggies and pieces of chicken on your plate, no matter how much you turn up your nose at it. I know you’ll succumb eventually! 
As for talking, the majority is in your secret language, and you are generally a girl of few words. When you do speak, it’s something wise! While passing the jewelry counter at Costco with Daddy, you pointed at the jewelry and said, “Mama!” I’m glad I can count on you to have my back. 
You love to sing and say all the names of your animals as you hold them up.  I won’t be surprised if your language explodes again within the next few weeks as you are a keen observer and seem to be taking in every little detail of the world around you. It’s not uncommon for me to call your name three times as Samantha and I are walking ahead of you while you’re completely wrapped up in studying the ants on the sidewalk.  Daddy is betting you will be an engineer or scientist for sure. 
Silly girl– we love you and your beautiful, happy-go-lucky personality!

                          

Lots of love, 
Signature

Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Happy 21 Month Birthday

December 11, 2014 by
Twenty-one months: gone like that in the blink of an eye. I was flipping through some old pictures this week, wondering what in the world I did with my time when the girls were still crawling and couldn’t destroy the house yet, laughing my head off at all the mischief they still managed to get into on their bellies. 
Looking back, I always miss particular ages and milestones. 
BUT, I absolutely adore this age and all the craziness that comes with it. 
I’ve gotten a lot better over the past twenty-one months of embracing the chaos and repeating to myself that one day, the girls will no longer want their boo boos kissed or their tears wiped away. That keeps me going through the good times, the bad times, the mundane times, and the downright terrible times. 
I have a picture in our living room that reads, “Enjoy the little things in life…for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” Whether the girls and I are having a fantastic day, or I’m just trying to make it until bedtime, I try to remember this and savor all of it. I will never get Samantha and Amelia at 21 Months back. And what a month it was!
Amelia– 
Our little sunshine. 
You do very well playing by yourself independently and are frequently asked if you would like to be the example to all the other kids at gym class when we are trying something new. You relish every bit of it! 
Independent by day, but by night, you turn into the cuddliest little bug. You alternate between getting upset if I’m not the one to put you to bed to being grief-stricken if Dada is not the one to put you to bed. In your perfect little world, both of us would cuddle with you until you fell asleep– and sometimes we can’t help but acquiesce. 
You are a light sleeper and want to be picked up out of your crib/cuddled in the middle of the night at least once a week.  When morning comes, you throw off the covers and wake up with the biggest smile on your face– no one is as much of a morning person as you. Anytime you don’t awake in your crib, you will scoot off the bed and run down the hall to Samantha to see what she is up to– she isn’t usually too happy to be awoken by you!
Silly little clown you are. You love to mimic mommy and daddy, and will then fall over in hysterics laughing at yourself. You think you are the funniest creature in the world. My favorite is when you grab my phone, your play phone, the remote, or anything resembling a phone and gab away on it…I have no idea where you get this from as the only way I can get a phone call in during the day is by giving you a graham cracker to keep your mouth shut for two seconds so I can hear. You, on the other hand, have some very detailed conversations with your imaginary friends. 
You still carry your dollies around– sometimes stuffing two dollies in your single stroller or shopping cart– and bring them with you everywhere you go. You were obviously born to be a twin mama and are quite good at multitasking– holding a baby in one arm (no matter her hair is usually dragging on the floor) and cooking up some eggs on your play stove with the other. You love to go to the pantry in the garage when you think I’m not looking and find read food to store in your pretend fridge and oven– you get bored with the fake stuff.
As you have demonstrated from Day 1, you are full of energy and adept at climbing. You run circles around most two, three and four year olds at the park, and usually scare us half to death with how fast you climb furniture before we can get to you. After falling off a chair earlier this month, we were both convinced you had sprained or broken your little arm, as after falling, you would cry anytime we touched it and whimpered when you had to put any weight on it. As soon as you saw the doctor, you were all smiles and reached, pulled, pushed, grasped and put weight on that little arm. You win the academy award for faking it!
You, little bit, are the pickiest of picky eaters and we have to watch you closely– if the meal isn’t up to your standards, you’ll often toss it in protest. ALL food on your plate MUST be separated, or watch out for the tantrum of the century. Your once beloved lasagna is a thing of the past; you despise any sauce on your noodles or any mystery veggies hidden in your casseroles. You prefer it all simple and separated– plain noodles for you! 
After a little coaxing, you will eat your veggies only after we ask you if we can have a bite of your green beans/broccoli/peas. You shake your head, giggling, and then daddy or I will say, “Fine, Amelia. You get to keep your veggies, then. You always win!” You then happily take a bite as we act hurt that you wouldn’t share. Works like a charm!
Green smoothies–you down them in two seconds. Sweet potatoes and carrots? Yes, please. Chicken, cheese, berries, bananas, oranges, quesadillas, and toast? Your fave. 
You have done extraordinarily well this month with all the traveling over Thanksgiving and then all the Christmas activities we’ve taken you to so far. Wake up in a relative’s house that you’ve never been to before? No problem. Go to three Christmas events in one day? No sweat. You take it in stride. 
You were frightened of Santa at first, but now that we’ve walked around the neighborhood, pointing out all the snowmen, Santas, and reindeer, you treat them like your BFF’s.  When we took Christmas pictures, after getting over your initial fright at the photographer, you were the perfect subject– sitting on the sled, hugging the teddy, hugging sister. You just love making us all melt.
Reading is a favorite activity and you will request to read every book in our house multiple times a day. You are happiest taking your place of honor in one of our laps as we read you a story, Baby Beluga being your current favorite. I have no idea what your narration is about when you point to all the pictures in the book, but it sounds like a best-seller. 
Your other favorite lap activities include Pat-a-Cake and The Grand Old Duke of York; you learned that last one in music class, and man, does it give mama’s legs a workout. You laugh every time as you bump up and down and to the ground. 
You are a model sharer and if sister is upset, you’ll search the house for a stuffed animal, Wub, book, random knick knack, ANYTHING to soother her. You love hugs and kisses and often bestow them on Samantha whether or not she likes it. 
Earlier in the month, a new play lawn mower arrived for you two to push around the neighborhood. Although you really wanted a turn, you patiently waited and watched Samantha try it out. When I had to pull it away from your screaming sister, you pushed the toy around and when my timer went off, you got up and gave it to sister yourself, with no coaxing at all from me! 
You are so sweet that you often use this to your advantage and catch us off guard when you get into trouble. You know you are not supposed to taste the chalk that goes to your chalkboard, and yet you’ll put the chalk right up to your mouth, wait for my reaction, and then giggle and put it down, as if you hadn’t done anything wrong. Ditto for Bandit’s dog food, sand, and other non-edibles. 
Where did your fashion consciousness come from? You love changing your clothes multiple times a day and will notice if there is even the tiniest little speck of lint or stain on your outfit. The other day, I came in your room after drying my hair, and there you were (having climbed out of your crib, of course), on the floor, wearing a perfectly-positioned headband. You then proceeded to dress up Bandit with several more headbands and were pretty upset when he escaped. Poor Bandit– I see many more torture sessions in his future. 
You’ve added a few more words (snowman, Frosty, Santa, turkey, pie), but for the most part, you are content to point, jabber in your own language, and speak in single words instead of stringing them together. And how could we forget your animal noises? It’s not uncommon for me to stop and wonder how monkeys, cows, roosters, chickens, and pigs got into the house. 
We love you, our fun-loving, full of life, independent, cuddly, playful, mischievous little girl!

Samantha–
Our Sammy girl! Every time I see the quote, “Though she be but little, she is fierce” pop up on Pinterest, you always come to mind. Shakespeare was obviously talking about you when he wrote it. With a personality bigger than your body, you take the world by storm from the minute you pop up like a piece of toast from your crib. 
A champion sleeper, you rarely wake at night, although you definitely prefer to cuddle with mama and dada in the big bed. You love the fact that you have a built-in sleepover buddy, and many times in the morning I will find you have climbed into Amelia’s crib– at what point in the night or morning, I have no clue. 
Despite your sometimes vehement protests when sister cuddles or kisses you, you love her back just as much and can’t stand when she sleeps in or naps longer than you. “Where is my playmate?” you whine until we finally go wake her. 
You typically get more alone time with me than sister as you tend to wake up from your nap 15-20 minutes earlier. You relish that alone time and bring me every single toy in your room, narrating exactly how you want to play with them. 
When it comes to reading stories, you and sis are fierce competitors for my lap, so you use any alone time with me to get your lap time in. You love your Christmas pop-out book (of which you’ve destroyed two of the pop-outs so far) as well as the No Biting and A Potty for Me lift-the-flap books. Interesting how you love the book all about not biting, hitting, throwing, or yelling…
Fiercely independent on your home turf or at the playground, yet shy in your classes and around most other people continues to be a trend. You have come a long way in your gymnastics class and will now tolerate the other teachers helping you do a somersault, pushing you on the swing, or helping you with the balance beam. 
You act like a social butterfly, talking and playing with the other kids in the neighborhood, but as soon as an adult stops by to chat, it’s run behind mommy and cling to her legs as fast as you can!
You continue to make mommy happy by hardly ever refusing any food I’ve cooked you. Like Amelia, you prefer your pasta sauceless, but you will tolerate a little tomato sauce or olive oil here or there. Chili, any kind of soup, tacos, quesadillas, chicken, cheese, rice, pasta, all veggies, all fruits, eggs, and fish are guaranteed to please you. The mustaches you get after your green smoothie in the morning are epic!
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease and that definitely applies to you. If you don’t like the route of our morning walk, the temperature of your soup, choice of hat, or what the weather is like that day, you will let us know. We are working on waiting our turn, saying please and thank you, and moving on quickly when you don’t get your way. 
I wouldn’t say you like sharing, but you are getting much better. Every day, we practice sharing toys with sister, and for the most part, you are getting the hang of it and understand the phrases, “Amelia’s turn. Then, Samantha’s turn.” If the toy in question is something highly coveted–your toy lawn mower, for example–then the gloves are off. 
You are busy, busy, busy and always have something more important than whatever it is I want you to do. For some reason, whenever you see the car, you beg to jump in, but if our ride is more than ten minutes long, you change your mind and whine to be let out. A round of “The Wheels on the Bus” with the windows going up and down and the wipers going back and forth or the longest version of Old Macdonald you could possibly imagine usually does the trick. You love washing your hands by yourself, brushing your own teeth, and bathing yourself– and sister!
You’ve had a hard time parting with daddy this month; if he happens to leave while you are awake, you get so upset that it’s almost impossible for him to leave you in such a hysterical state. “Dada” is usually your first word after waking from a nap, and you’ll repeat it throughout the day, frustrated when you bring me his clothes and shoes and I still don’t get it! Your favorite part of the day is when daddy walks through that door and swings you around to your heart’s content. 
I can’t believe we were ever worried that Amelia was far surpassing you in language abilities. All those months sister was adding words, you were soaking it all in, getting ready to surprise us. You pick up a few new words a day, in addition to all the chatting with Bandit and Amelia. Our dinner conversation is never dull as you are always telling us about your day and pointing to various objects in the room. 
Your new favorite word is “gummy,” after Daddy bribed you with some gummies at a photo shoot with baby Noah and Great Grandpa. It seems as though you don’t waste your time with words you don’t care about– you get to the good stuff! You’ll repeat “gummy,” randomly throughout the day, encouraged by our laughing. Sorry, don’t have any in the house– for photo shoots only. You never give up, though!
Your favorite activities this month have included drawing with chalk, painting on your easel (and in sister’s hair), pushing your stroller/lawn mower/shopping cart around the neighborhood and pushing mommy’s buttons. You know exactly what the limits are, but insist on testing them– multiple times a day. You know you are not supposed to step off the sidewalk into the street, but you’ll take one leg, dangle it off the edge, look straight at me with a sly smile and then put it back on the sidewalk when I tell you no. At the table, you’ll take a bite of food, stand up in your chair until notice you, and then quickly sit down again with a grin once you see the warning look on my face.  
That innocent look doesn’t fool us. You know exactly what you are doing.
We love you, our fierce, tough, sensitive, highly-spirited, talkative, curious, hilarious Samantha!

A big thanks to Christina Kennedy for the photos and to her twin daughters for entertaining S and A enough to get them to smile a few times!
Just in case you are confused, we took these photos on two separate days and accidentally switched the girls’ outfits. In the fall leaves pictures, Samantha is wearing the white sweater, while in the lake pictures, Amelia is wearing it. Just keeping you on your toes. 
Lots of love, 
Signature

Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Twinspeak caught on tape

November 17, 2014 by
I’ve said it before, but Samantha and Amelia love to babble in their twin language all the live long day. As much as I wish I could understand their secret code, I have yet to meet a linguist who can decipher it. I’ve never been able to capture it on camera because the girls only do it for extended periods of time when they don’t think I’m listening. Anytime I whip out the camera to record for posterity, they shut it down.
The girls also have a sixth sense and every time I’ve tried to record them standing outside their nursery, they somehow know I’m there. We don’t have our nursery video monitor set up anymore, so I haven’t been able to use that to capture the girls talking to each other either.
Then, a breakthrough! I usually put the girls in their cribs for 10-15 minutes of “quiet time” right after our morning walk so that I can dry my hair and get ready for the day. For whatever reason, the girls didn’t “sense” me at the door this time. Ignore the sideways phone angle and take a listen to their conversation (I use the term “conversation” liberally as Samantha was doing most of the talking/giggling). Note at 1:10 how Samantha spots me spying on them. And that was the end of that.
Whatever they were talking about, it sounded pretty exciting!
Lots of love,
Signature

Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two
« Previous Page
Next Page »