Happy 18 Month Birthday!

September 12, 2014 by
S and A are officially one and a half years old! I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that in just six months, I will have two two-year-olds.
Watercolor photos done with my new favorite app, Waterlogue.
One of the moms in my Moms of Twins Club emailed this poem entitled “The Last Time” to everyone. While I probably would have slapped her had I read this anytime within the first three months S and A were born (hearing about how you should be enjoying sleep deprivation while sleep deprived is like telling a lion they should enjoy being starved to death), now that I’m out of the fog of those early months, I can appreciate its truth. 
If you are not in the mood for a sappy poem, I don’t recommend reading on. Otherwise, bring on the waterworks!
The Last Time
From the moment you hold your baby in your arms you will never be the same
You might long for the person you were before
When you had freedom and time
And nothing in particular to worry about
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before
And days will run into days that are exactly the same
Full of feedings and burping
DIaper changes and crying
Whining and fighting
Naps or a lack of naps
It might seem like a never-ending cycle

But don’t forget….

There is a last time for everything
There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child
One day you will carry them on your hip, then set them down
And never pick them up that way again
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone
They will hold your hand to cross the road
Then never reach for it again
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this
One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus” and do all the actions
Then never sing them that song again
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.
The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.

So while you are living in these times, 

Remember there are only so many of them
And when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them
For one last time.

S and A– you are growing up faster than I would like, but I’m enjoying ever last crazy minute of it. Except when you screech. That–not so much. That being said, I hope I have many, many more days left of picking you up when you’re sad, holding both your hands as we walk down the street, cuddling on the couch for storytime,  singing and being silly together, and hearing you say, “Mama!” as you leap into my arms. I melt into a pathetic puddle of gushy tears just thinking about there being a “last time” for any of it.

Happy 18 Month Birthday, Samantha and Amelia!

We love you.
Lots of love, 
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Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Farewell, sweet morning nap

September 5, 2014 by

It’s official! The girls have gone two weeks now without a morning nap. Earlier in August, the morning nap was hit or miss, and the lack of consistency was driving me crazy!

At first, I was horrified by the idea of giving up the morning nap. How would I get anything done? How was I going to keep the girls busy all morning? Now that we’ve gotten into a rhythm, I’m actually loving the recent nap consolidation!

Our current schedule:

7-7:30 a.m.: Girls wake up
7:45-8:00: Breakfast
8:00-8:30: Playtime while I clean up
8:30-9:00: Walk with Bandit
9:00-9:30: Get the girls ready for the day
9:30-9:45: Small snack
9:45-11:00: Outing (usually the park or gymnastics class if it’s their day to go)
11:00-11:15: Lunch
11:30-2:30: NAP TIME WOOT!
2:30-2:45: Girls wake up from nap
2:45-3:00: Snack
3:00-5:00: Playtime outside, have a friend over for a playdate, sometimes run errands, Daddy gets home
5:00-5:30 Bath time (we do baths well before bedtime because I read somewhere that for highly spirited kids, taking a bath is not calming, and therefore makes bedtime more of a struggle because they are riled up. Ever since we moved bath time back, bedtime has gone a lot smoother).
5:30-6:00: Dinner
6:00-6:45: Jake takes the girls to run out their extra energy at the park or we all take a walk together
6:45-7:00: Pajamas on, girls drink their milk, brush teeth, read stories, and soothing massage
7:00: Daddy kisses girls goodnight and returns to work
7:15 Lights out
7:30: Girls conk out!

Now that the girls have consolidated their nap into one three hour nap, I’ve found I actually like this a lot better than having to get them ready for two naps. Although the girls are absolutely exhausted and pretty cranky by 11 a.m., they go down without any trouble and stay asleep for a solid two and a half hour to three hour stint. This is a huge chunk of time for me to get things done!

For example:

My nap time project earlier this week:

This only took about fifteen minutes during the girls’ nap time, but since I don’t have to worry about the girls waking up in the middle, I’m more inclined to start projects. I’m not going to lie–it’s also nice to put my feet up and take a little nap myself some days!
Every day is a little different, but that’s pretty much our new schedule. I’m liking the new adjustments, but definitely dreading the day when the girls give up naps entirely. My goal is to keep them napping until kindergarten (not likely, I know, but I can hope!)

 

Lots of love,

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Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Happy 17 Month Birthday

August 22, 2014 by
While we were in Utah, Samantha and Amelia had their 17 month birthday, despite the fact that I ordered the girls to cease and desist any and all “getting older” activity. We took advantage of Aunt Sarah hanging out with us for the week to have her take some photos of the girls to capture the essence of life at 17 months!
Flashback to the twins’ first Utah trip exactly one year ago in August…
Samantha, five months old: 
Samantha, 17 months old: 
Amelia, five months old: 
Amelia, 17 months old: 
The infamous screaming Ute picture of Amelia! We will never let her live this one down. 

Amelia was way more cooperative than Samantha this time, so most of the pictures are of her.

We were all obsessed with the chair Grandma bought used and refinished for the twins.
Amelia is our little ray of sunshine. I wouldn’t ever use the term, “mellow” to describe either twin, but Amelia is generally the more upbeat and easy-going of the two. She is typically better than Samantha about letting others hold her and she loves making friends. She was our best sleeper this month, sleeping from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and taking an hour nap in the morning and a two hour nap in the afternoon consistently. She will sleep straight through Samantha screaming, sometimes waking up to see what’s going on and then rolling back over!

Amelia’s favorite activities at 17 months include climbing, running, pushing her shopping cart, reading, swimming, gymnastics class, swinging, picking out her clothes and accessories for the day, helping me unload the dishwasher, anything to do with animals, playing with water, and pointing to everything and saying, “Dat!”

Life is a blur right now with Amelia constantly on the go. Both girls started waving bye bye this month and will do it anytime someone (or Bandit) leaves the room. 

Giggle monster!

The only way we could get Samantha to sit for two seconds was to give her something to hold. 

Or throw. She’s definitely the moodier of the two. 

The girls’ receptive language has come a long way this month. They understand many requests, including “Hug sister!” or “Hug dolly!”

The girls’ willingness to share has also improved greatly the past month. If I say, “Share with sister,” they will usually give whatever they have to the other, with the exception of something REALLY cool they’ve just found. Amelia has always been great at sharing, but even Samantha started giving things to Amelia if I asked her to this month. 

The girls both adore animals and love to make animal sounds, including those of dogs, cows, horses, chickens, monkeys, owls, and birdies. All of their favorite songs, toys and books involve animals. 

We are still working on their language skills at home and will see next month at their 18 month appointment if we need to put them in speech therapy. Amelia can say about 15 words, while Samantha says about 10. It’s hard to keep track because they’ll often say words only once (usually after repeating me) and then I never hear it again. The words they use consistently are mama, dada, dog, duck, cat, up, drink, diaper, this, that, bye, and hi. 

A miracle! Everyone looking at the camera!

We had more success with Samantha bringing Grandma’s horsey ride out to the front yard for her. Yee haw!

Whoa back!

Anticipation…
Ride ’em cow girl!
I feel like I need to photoshop Amelia onto a live bull or something. 

You used to play with this horsey 25 years ago? You’re old, mommy!

OH MY GOODNESS! OUR 17 MONTH BIRTHDAY TREAT!

Ice cream sandwiches (made with coconut milk since the girls have a dairy sensitivity)!
One happy family (who may or may not have been bribed with treats to look happy).
See what I said about sharing? 

Nom nom. 

Can I try yours? 

Best. Day. Ever. 

My absolute favorite of the bunch.  I wish I could take this photo and make it come alive so that I could squeeze these two! 

I think I’ll just take a lick. 

Serious props to whoever invented this sandwich. 

Are you sure mommy’s really letting us eat this? 

Samantha’s favorite activities at 17 months include climbing, running, knocking things over, reading, standing atop tables, throwing food, walking Bandit, swimming, jumping into our arms, playing with stickers and pom poms, anything that involves speed and acrobatics, gymnastics class, dancing, doing her own version of tap dancing, climbing on top of the stroller, turning on the washing machine, helping me unload the dishes, and sitting on daddy’s shoulders.

Samantha has been the clingier of the two this month and literally holds onto my leg sometimes when I’m moving from room to room. She’s also been the more daring of the two, jumping off the edge of the pool into our arms like a maniac and climbing everything in sight. It’s been a struggle getting her to listen when I tell her to stop, usually when she’s running away from me.

And the award for most serious expression whilst devouring an ice cream sandwich goes to…Amelia!

The runner up: Samantha with the chocolate goatee!
The chocolate “makeup” makes Amelia look like some kind of sugar-crazed clown.

Not sure what happened here. I think Grandpa opened the door abruptly and scared Amelia. 

Don’t you dare tell me I have something on my face. 

Not that we ever had a problem before, but spotting Grandma and Grandpa’s house is definitely easy to pick out now! Grandma recently repainted the bench and front door the same shade of green, which turned out to be perfect for taking summer pictures. 

Same bench, 2013: 

The next day, we took a few more pictures before Aunt Sarah had to leave. The girls were less than enthused. 

An extra day was NOT in our contract. Especially if it doesn’t include ice cream sandwiches. 

Hey there, Mike!

Aunt Sarah and Mike with the girls (who, in the absence of ice cream sandwiches, wouldn’t cooperate unless they were holding this balloon). 

Grandpa with the girls. 

Amelia’s emotions change on a whim sometimes. Furious one moment: 

Happy the next!

And back to sad! 
Month 17 was a wild ride, girls. I’m just holding on to every last moment before you hit the big one and a half!
In the mean time, I will be staring at this picture daily, pretending like you are still chubby babies. Yes, I have issues. 
Lots of love, 

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Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two

Samantha and Amelia: 16 Months

July 14, 2014 by
Samantha and Amelia turned 16 months old on Friday– happy birthday, girls! That means it’s time for a photo dump, obviously. While these photos were taken when the girls were 15 1/2 months old, taking pictures of them is so tiring now days, that there is no way I was going to do it over again two weeks later!
98% of my photos look like this: 
Or this…
…Which perfectly encapsulates what the girls are like at 16 months! Life has truly been a blur since their transition from babies at 12 months to full fledged toddlers! 
This is my view of the girls most days– either two blurry masses RUNNING around me:
Or their backs as they run away!

16 month stats for Samantha: 8 teeth, 27 pounds and 34 inches tall. Still in the 99th percentile. The girl is TALL! We’re looking at an adult height of six feet at this rate. Calling all volleyball and basketball coaches…I’ve got two recruits for you!
Samantha loves to: walk, RUN, climb, dance, clap, shake her musical instruments, play hide and seek, read her lift the flap books (and tear the flaps out), walk Bandit, swim, jump in the pool, splash in the kiddie pool, drink from Mommy’s water canteen, take a shower, drink from drinking fountains, feed herself with a spoon and fork. 
Fave foods: Sweet potato with cinnamon, peanut butter toast, mozzarella cheese, pita bread with hummus, watermelon, pasta, bananas (she’ll eat the entire thing!), and zucchini tots (a little snack I made the girls in order to get them trick them into eating zucchini. It’s basically bread crumbs, zucchini and cheese– a win win). 
Hates: Baths, being strapped down in her car seat, being strapped down in her stroller, being strapped down in her high chair (are we seeing a pattern?), when Amelia steals her toy, when Mommy won’t let her have something, when Bandit walks too fast for her to keep up.
Walks around the neighborhood take a minimum of an hour these days–Samantha and Amelia love to stop and look at every leaf!
                    
Words: Mama, Dada, dog, yeah, ruff ruff, baby sign for all done and eat. She doesn’t babble as much as Amelia and doesn’t speak as many words, preferring to observe and use gestures or grunt when she wants something. We are hoping her language will expand a little by her 18 month birthday.
Fave books: Anything with animals (Spot books, Peek a Boo Jungle, On the Farm)
Fave songs: Anything upbeat (especially BINGO, Here we go loop dee loo, Old MacDonald). Samantha loves to randomly “dance” by bending her knees up and down, spinning around in circles, shaking her fists, and wiggling her entire torso back and forth. 
Watching the doggies–her favorite. She will say ruff ruff every time she sees a dog…including Bandit (which is all. the. time.)
                     
                    
Since both girls are a little bit delayed with their speech (pretty normal for twins and for being premature, however), we took the girls to get a hearing test and to get their ears checked out this past week. They passed with flying colors, so at least we can rule out any ear issues when it comes to their talking. Their pediatrician isn’t concerned with their language and, after their 15 month appointment, said to wait and see what happens by 18 months, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give them a little at-home intervention in the mean time.
Samantha loves to “walk” her monkey. 
                     
Since the speech therapy clinic won’t take toddlers until they are 18 months old, I’ve been reading some books and getting ideas from speech therapy blogs so that we can work on their language skills at home. I’ve already seen an increase in the girls pointing and making eye contact to get what they want (precursors to a language explosion), saying “dat” when they want to know what something is, babbling, and trying to say new words. Their ability to sit still and listen or read a book with me has also greatly increased, which will directly impact their speech. 
                  
According to the research out there, twins, and active toddlers, in particular, are especially prone to speech delays. First of all, the girls have each other to talk to and since they babble with each other (and seem to understand each other just fine), they don’t have an immediate need to say actual words correctly.
Second, since there’s only one of me and two of them, the girls don’t get as much one-on-one exposure to language as they would if they were singletons. Lastly, active toddlers are constantly on the move, making it a challenge to get them to sit down and play with their farm animals/saying the names of the animals, or sitting through a book, for example. 
Always on the go. 
                 
Perhaps this is related to her lack of language skills, but 15-16 months has been the beginning of an era of full-on tantrums! This girl can SCREAM!
Sometimes it’s taking Bandit’s leash away from her. Other times it’s sister stealing her Wub. She can go from 0-60 in two seconds flat…happy one second and a red-faced, teary eyed, screaming maniac the next. And then back again. 
Sometimes I think she must have skipped a year and is actually a two-year-old. Nobody calls it the terrible one-and-a-halfs, after all! Samantha’s frustration levels definitely warrant that moniker sometimes. 
I think a lot of it is related to the fact that Samantha can’t always tell us what she wants and gets so darn frustrated that no one understands her! I’ve been reading Happiest Toddler on the Block (by the same doc who wrote Happiest Baby on the Block–an absolute lifesaver for us during the girls’ first three months), which has some great ideas for preventing/dealing with tantrums from highly spirited toddlers like Samantha and Amelia. Some of the strategies we’ve been implementing are already helping calm Samantha down when she’s really upset, so I hope they continue to work.
                           Intense is definitely a word I would use to describe Samantha.
                   
A busy little bee. Smiles for the camera are extremely rare these days.
On the opposite end of the tantrum spectrum, Samantha can also be the most giggly, excited, exuberant little human in the room. She’s constantly looking for ways to make us laugh and loves it when we ask her to show us her “Sammy laugh.” Drama queen!
Samantha is soooooo a mommy’s girl. Whatever I’m doing, she wants to be involved, whether that’s helping me cook or walk the dog. She’s been known to push Amelia out of my lap in order to be front and center for story time. 
Joie de vivre. 
Samantha is very helpful, grabbing her shoes and clothes when I ask, getting Bandit’s leash for me or helping me unload the dishwasher. 
While she gets frustrated when learning a new skill, her reaction when she does something new is priceless. Most recently, she learned to stack her wooden rings on a dowel, one by one– she was so proud of herself!
Often silly.
Sometimes sarcastic. 
Always Sammy girl. 
Amelia’s 16 month stats: 8 teeth, 24.8 pounds and 33 3/4″. This was the first month Amelia actually went down a little in the weight percentiles (from the 90th to the 80th). Still a big girl!

Naturally, Amelia got scraped up on her cheek RIGHT before we took pictures. She’s an adventurous one, that girl.

Amelia always seems to find the most interesting things on the ground. 

See ya. 

Like Samantha, Amelia loves to say “ruff ruff” and hang out with her canine buddy. 
Like Samantha, my view is usually of her back as she runs toward something more interesting. 
Amelia loves: walking her puppy, carrying around her bubbles, drinking from drinking fountains and water bottles, seeing dogs at the park, the slide, digging in the sand, climbing on benches, chairs and tables, dancing and singing, gymnastics, swimming and splashing, feeding herself with her fork and spoon, clapping when she hears music.  
Amelia hates: baths, when mommy doesn’t let her touch anything at the grocery store, sitting in the front seat of the cart at the store, when Daddy leaves in the morning, when Samantha steals a toy, when Mommy won’t let her have something. 
Fave foods: hard boiled egg, peanut butter toast, mango, kiwi, watermelon, grapes, zucchini tots, cheese, pasta, chicken, guacamole, pita bread, carrots, spaghetti squash–just about anything!
                      
Fave books: Anything with animals (Spot books, touch and feel animals books).
Fave songs: Anything upbeat– she’ll start dancing and clapping to pretty much anything. She especially loves to here BINGO, Wheels on the Bus, She’ll Be Comin’ Round the Mountain, and some of Jake’s random 80s techno music (much to my dismay). 
Amelia says: mama, dada, hi, dog, done, up, yeah, duck, and does the baby signs for all done, more, and eat. She also gestures, points to what she wants and grunts a lot. We are hoping her language explodes in the next few months as well. 
Amelia loves pointing to the sun, moon or whatever catches her fancy. She’s extremely persistent on pointing and exclaiming, “Dat! Dat!” when she wants to know the name of an object or wants me to pay attention. 
One of my favorite characteristics of Amelia is that she is so sensitive and caring. She will follow little kids around the park, offering them her shovel, pail, whatever toy she has at the moment–even if they don’t want it! She’s been known to give spontaneous hugs to random kids too. 
If Samantha is crying, Amelia usually tries to go over and give her a hug or offer her a toy. If Amelia wakes up from her nap before Samantha, she’ll immediately give Samantha a great big bear hug once Samantha wakes. 
She’s a great helper and will bring her shoes or books to me when I ask. She also loves getting dressed and will pick out shirts and headbands for me to put on her (or her dolly). She loves being the class clown and will do anything to make us laugh. She’s usually adaptable in social situations and loves to play with other kids and grown ups. 
                  
                 
While very intense sometimes, overall, Amelia is the more even-tempered twin out of the two. 
The many angles of Amelia. 

Great at multi-tasking. 

Always one step ahead of me. 

Our fun-loving, kind-hearted, spirited Amelia. 
The girls’ relationship continues to blossom every day (for better or for worse!) 
One moment, they are having an epic battle over a tupperware container, and the next they are wrestling and giggling on the floor. 
Quick to forgive and forget. Forever BFFs.
We’ve learned a new trick for getting the girls to be in the same place at the same time. If one is running off, we’ll shout, “Amelia, where’s Samantha?” Amelia will immediately turn around and run to wherever Samantha is. At least we can round them up in the same place this way!
Batten down the hatches!
Here they come!
TWINZILLAS!

Just in case you skimmed this post, in summary, Samantha and Amelia are the most intelligent, adorable, beautiful 16 month olds of ALL time. Naturally. 
Lots of love, 

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Filed Under: Milestones, Year Two
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