19 Months Old

I am sitting at the kitchen table typing this blog post little earlier than usual and watching Tony and the kids play. There are two 19 month olds running wild in this wreck that is our living room and climbing on the couch and stoping momentarily to give each other hugs and kisses, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We celebrated 19 months with the twins first trip to the library today. I was a little trepidatious about taking the two of them by myself, but we had a really good time. The library has a whole floor dedicated to children's books and play, and the kids' eyes lit up when we got off of the elevator. I was worried Jack and Harper were a little too young to enjoy the library, but to my surprise, there were big sections of board books and the twins were happy to help themselves to books. Harper even took a book to an unsuspecting woman and asked her to read- oops! We're still working on the "stranger danger" bit.

Harper and Jack checked out the reading corner, complete with chairs that were the perfect size. They also liked playing in the puppet theater- Jack's favorite part of the puppets was banging on the theater stage like a drum. But, far and away Jack and Harper's favorite thing at the library was the play kitchen. Those kids spent 30 minutes in the kitchen corner and even talked about it when Tony got home tonight. Jack was quick to tell Tony "cook, cook" and pretend to stir a pot when Tony asked how the library was. Success! :)

When we got home, I made some macaroni and cheese (known simply as "cheese!" at our house). This big girl climbed into her chair all by herself when she heard me say "lunch is ready!"

The highlight of the day, though, was hearing Jack say "Harper". Last night, Durinda came and watched the kids so Tony and I could go to the Ranger game, and when we got home, she told us that she thought Jack had said "Harper" a few times. So, today I made sure to listen for it, and sure enough, he said "Harper" in reference to his sister 5-6 times today. It is the sweetest thing to hear because he says her name softly and round "Hap-pur" and grins so wide each time- he is so proud of himself!

Harper also surprised me today by saying "Jaaa" when I asked her to say "Jack"; my past experience  asking her this question would result in a smile, but this time she tried to say "Jack"! We're making progress everyday.

19 months ago seems so short when you say it, but so long when you live it. Tony looked at me this evening and said, "do realize that 24 months is coming up quick?" What a crazy thought that these two little ones are just 5 short months away from being 2.

In honor of their 19 month birthday, here are some random pictures taken this month- enjoy!

Crossfit Toddlers

Every Sunday night when I sit down to type the blog, I find myself thinking the same thing: "What would be a good opening line"?  Sometimes I comment on the pace of the weekend, or on something monumental we experienced. This weekend, I realized the extent to which "toddler-dom" has set in, and I now fully understand that "babies" are not living in our house anymore.

This realization started on Saturday. Tony participated in a local Crossfit event honoring a fallen Marine at a local Crosffit gym. The kids and I loaded up and went to support Tony during his workout and cheer him on. Jack was quick to find Tony in the crowd and yell "Dada!" The kids sat in their stroller and watch Tony complete the workout, and then we took the kids into an adjacent room with vendor booths to let them run around and check the place out. Jack immediately got out of the stroller and started doing burpees (think push-up to a standing position with a jump at the end); he would do a burpee and then clap for himself- he was mimicking the workout he just saw Tony doing.

After burpees, Jack and Harper decided to check out the kettle bells and the barbells. They had more fun exploring the gym and pretending to lift weights than they did the rest of the day playing at home. They're so funny to watch and were quick to imitate things they saw- defiantly not babies anymore, especially our little big man who loved every minute of the gym experience.

The experience was bitter sweet for Tony and I because the event was held at the gym we were members of when we found out I was pregnant. In fact, here's the pregnancy announcement picture we took- as you can see, our math was a little off- haha!

Here's a shot of the kids playing and Tony watching on the same lifting platforms where we took our announcement pictures almost exactly two years ago, and a picture of Jack playing with the same kettle bell that was used to denote "number 3" in our announcement. We no longer belong to that gym, but it will always hold a place in our heart, and it will always be part of the story of Jack and Harper.

When we returned home from the Crossfit event, Tony hopped in the shower and I started working in the kitchen, preparing for Lindsay and Wes to come over for lunch. While I was emptying the dishwasher, I looked up and saw Harper sitting in her high chair. I stopped dead in my tracks and asked her, "how did you get up there?" She just smiled and I grabbed my camera. That little girl is our climber and now I'm starting to realize that we're going to have to "toddler proof" things that we never thought to "baby proof".

While I was snapping pictures of Harper, I heard a funny thunk noise and looked over to find this scene:

 Jack had climbed into the dishwasher and was saying "cup, cup" as he tried to pull a cup out of the top rack- I suppose he was thirsty.  I don't know how I'm ever going to get anything done again if I can't turn my back these two for a moment without them climbing on top of, or in to something. Oh dear!


Harper also had a fashion show at our house before we went to run errands and meet Tony for lunch on Friday. She showed off her cute dress that Great Granny got her; she was so excited to put it on and twirl and march around the house.

The final moment this weekend goes to a picture of these two sleeping little ones in their new car seats. I know that when you look at this, you might see two sleeping babies, but I look at this and I see two very active toddlers who have replaced my sleeping little babies- it's so fun to see how far they've come and to celebrate these moments.

Food, Friends, and Fun

Harper and Jack have had a full week so far and it's only Wednesday!  Here's a rundown of what we've been up to:

-The kids "re-tried" bananas for the first time in about 6 months. Durinda has been mushing up bananas and putting it in their oatmeal from time to time, but the kids would not eat bananas by themselves. I'm not sure what possessed me to buy some bananas this week, but here are the results of the taste test:

I started by giving Jack and Harper bites of the banana on their tray, but not giving up the whole banana itself. Jack was very persistent that he be allowed to hold the fruit himself, so I gave him the banana (peel and all) and let him decide what he thought. Jack took a bite, chewed a little bit and then broke out into a huge smile; that kid finished the whole banana- what a little monkey!

Harper took three bites. The first one she took from her tray and made a horrible face, then she saw that Jack was holding the banana and taking bites himself, so she had to try that. The first bite she took, she seemed like it was okay; the second bite went into her mouth and popped right back out. Verdict- Harper still does not like bananas. 

The kids also went shopping this week in their new stroller seats. If you'll recall, we got new car seats last week, and in doing so, we eliminate the ability to just pop their infant carseats into the stroller and go. Here is what the new set-up looked like as we were walking into Target; I thought the kids would love being able to look at each other while she shopped!

This is what the arrangement looked like on the way out of Target.

Jack and Harper kept kicking each other when they were facing each other, so I turned Harper to face away from Jack and then Jack kicked her in the back, so I had to turn Jack to face me, thus resulting in our end product- lesson learned.

On Tuesday the kids had a play day with their friend Madeline. Jack and Harper had a great time and I was impressed that they kids got along so well- very little drama, thank goodness!  Madeline has a slide that Harper was enthralled with- she spent 80% of her time there sliding. Jack also liked sliding, but he was just as happy playing with the other new toys available to him, and climbing on the picnic table (ugh). We will have to have another play date soon!

Today we played outside before it got too terribly hot and ran some errands. The kids have an outdoor bowling set and I tried to show them how to bowl; Harper had more fun kicking the pins over, and carrying the ball around while Jack  used the pins as drumsticks. 

The kids have also been helping me with some chores this week. Harper was nice enough to brush Abby, and Abby was nice enough to tolerate said brushing. 

The kids have also been helping me to do laundry. Jack likes to put things into the washer, and Harper likes to unload the dryer and put the clothes in the basket. While I was folding laundry, Harper came over and picked up one of Tony's shirts and said "Dada!" She then insisted that I put the shirt on her and said her best "pleasssssseeee" So, I put Tony's shirt on Harper, and then Jack came over with Tony's shirt and wanted in on the act. The kids wandered around in Tony's clothes for quiet awhile- Harper even smelled his shirt and laid down; they love their daddy.

After all their hard work this week, they needed a bath. So, here are a couple of pics of these two cute kiddos playing in the tub- I love this part of the day. We are so thankful to have these little ones- what was our life like without them?