Sunday, August 31, 2014

20 Months Old

Two years ago at this time, I was still trying to adjust to the fact that I was pregnant...with twins, a year ago at this time, we had two babies who were rolling and crawling, but hadn't taken any steps yet. Now, we have two kids that are just four short months shy of being two years old...amazing.

Here are some of the things that Harper and Jack are into at the moment:

Harper:
-Loves playing patty cake and will mimic playing patty cake with her dolls
-Has started talking quite a bit more this month- language is really taking off
-Shakes head "yes" and "no" in response to a variety of questions
-Is starting to tell us when she needs her diaper changed
-She like to stack blocks and make towers- especially the Duplo blocks
-Has one molar all the way through and is working on another
-She loves to read books and will sometimes meet Tony at the door with a book in hand when she comes home.
-Enjoys doing art work with Durinda, she was especially fond of finger painting and reenacted how she did her finger painting for me; she laughed and laughed!


Jack:
-Learned his first color- purple
-Talks about all sorts of things on repeat
-Has started saying the word "nope"; for instance, we asked him if he needed a diaper change to which he replied "nope" and kept playing :)
-Is working on a new lower tooth, thus bringing his overall tooth count to seven
-Loves reading books like his sister and will spend long stretches sitting on the floor reading to himself
-He loves to play outside and dig in the dirt; this boy always has dirt under his fingernails and mud in his shoes
-He always wakes up before Harper in the morning and lays in his bed talking to his sheets with animals and letters on them; he's a little morning person already
-Likes coloring and drawing with crayons and is getting pretty good at drawing lines


 Here are some pictures of our weekend fun:

Friday afternoon started with some down time for me after work and cuddling with my Harper girl- it was an exhausting first week back.
A few eating antics from Harper and the kids first taste of chocolate almond milk- I think Jack liked it :)



We went to breakfast with the Sterlings and got a picture of the Sterling/Collett kids together. I have a feeling that these kids will be good friends.


This afternoon I cleaned out Harper and Jack's closet and found a cow costume that Aunt J sent in the bag of clothes for Jack. Harper was a good sport and tried on the costume; she looked so adorable :)




 After the cow costume was put away, the kids opted to play blocks in their closet until nap time; I love to see them play together.

We went out for some gluten-free treats after nap time and the kiddos got to try their go at "real" chairs (because there was only 1 high chair in the whole joint). Here's a bird's eye view of our table (sort of). They did good in the chairs and didn't try to get up; I think the yummy cookie helped keep them at the table.

Happy 20 months Jack and Harper- I don't know where the last 20 months have gone, but I can't wait to see what the next 20 months have in store. We love you very much!!


Monday, August 25, 2014

Haircut Time

On Friday evening, Harper, Jack, and I made the trek to Arlington to get our hair cut. This is not the first time Harper and Jack have gotten their hair cut, but this trip did involve a few firsts that I was happy to witness and document.  A big shout-out to Nana for helping me out and taking countless walks around the hair salon to appease two very curious little tots. Also, a big shout out to Deb who was so patient and kind to the squirmy little ones. Jack has been saying "Deb, cut, cut, cut!" all weekend while patting himself on the head- Deb has become a mini-celebrity at our house :)

So, here are the pictures of the kiddos experiencing a couple of new things:

1. Friday was the first time the kids got their hair washed at the shampoo bowl.


Harper went first and happy to get in the chair, but was a little hesitant about leaning back and having water on her hair. By the time the shampooing was done, she was acting like an old pro.

Jack watched Harper and then was ready to take his turn. Jack has been upset about getting his hair washed in the past, so I was nervous to see how he would react. As you can see, Jack was a bit terrified and you can see it in his face; as soon as he laid down, he started saying "Up!" "Up!" However, when Jack got the bubbles in his hair and the spray "tickling" his ears, he was a happy boy and even laughed!


2. The second "first" for the kids was their first time to sit alone while they got their haircut.

Jack was first in the chair and did a pretty good job of sitting still, as long as he was playing with a comb. He looked like such a cute little curly headed boy when he was done, that I had to take a pic with him!


Harper watched Jack get his hair cut and was antsy to have her turn in the chair. She waited with Nana who walked around and around the halls with her while Jack got his hair done.

When it was Harper's turn she squealed, she was so excited. Harper did not, however, like when the cut hair fell on the towel we used as a drape. She immediately picked it up and tried to hand it to me so I could throw it away (like she does when she runs across a crumb on the floor).  Harper warmed up to the experience and got a much needed cut and bang trim.  Here's a shot of me with the pretty girl after it was all over.



When our haircuts were over, we went to Nana and Pop's house for dinner and to play outside in the backyard. Jack and Pop also spent some time trying on hats- they had fun.


This was a great way to end the summer and get ready to go back to school. I will miss these kids so much everyday! One final picture that I can't leave out- here are Jack and Harper showing off their newest skill- climbing into the kitchen chairs. Who knows what they're meeting about, but I know in a few short blinks of an eye, these two will be sitting at this table doing homework- my how time flies. Lord, please give me the ability to appreciate all these days with my little ones.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

House Shoes, Pig Tails, and Uncle T

We were lucky enough to start this week off with a very special visitor: my brother, Uncle Tanner. Tanner came back to Texas to visit us before starting his senior year of college. He saw the kids briefly in May, but was shocked to see how much they've grown and all the "real people" things they do now.

They were both a little shy when they first saw Tanner, but they warmed up to him quickly. Jack was very concerned and cautious of Tanner's "boo-boo" on his knee (his scar from knee surgery), but when the books came out, the kids were quick to climb into Tanner's lap.


We're so glad we got to see Uncle T and wish him the very best his senior year; we love you and hope to see you soon!

We got to go to dinner with Tanner and I also got a couple of shots on our way out the door- too cute not to share.


 I have missed the kids so much while I've been back at work this week, but I have been cherishing the little moments I have before work with two sleepy-headed toddlers who now say "bye-bye Mama" and blow kisses as I leave, and greet me at the door when I get home, some days with a book in their hands, some days with hugs and kisses- always with lots of love and "stories" to tell.

We haven't been able to do anything very exciting, but I know that the kids have been having a great time with Durinda. I pulled out crayons and paper for Durinda and the kids and they have become little artists making pictures (some of which will be proudly displayed in my classroom, and is already on display in Tony's office). They have also ventured into finger paint and were very excited to show me how they did their finger painting. I knew they had a good time doing that because I found paint in Harper's ear! She immersed herself in her work. :)

Durinda also put Harper in pigtails- something that took my breath away. Here are the pictures she sent and as soon as I got them, I couldn't believe that this "big girl" with pigtails was our little girl. She has grown so much hair in just a year!


I think the pigtails very much fit her personality, and Harper left them in all day long- success!

We also spent some time this week playing with gloves. The kids were interested in the oven mitt glove that I was wearing as I was working in the kitchen, so after dinner, I pulled out some of Tony's gloves and let the kids play with them. Harper had a great time clapping with them on, and Jack just thought the glove was funny.
Speaking of Jack, he learned how to climb up in his high chair on his own this week. Harper has been doing this for a few weeks, and she will climb up when she's hungry and wait, sometimes patiently, sometimes in more of a screaming manner, until she gets food. Jack's first climb was a reaction to sister climbing into her own chair- Jack was hungry too; I guess I should start serving dinner a little earlier.

While Jack was learning to climb, Harper was learning how to operate the dishwasher- oh boy! I thought keeping it locked all the time would be a perfect solution to Jack being able to open the dishwasher himself- looks like Harper has figured out the lock.

Oh, Jack has also figured out how to pull the outlet covers out of the plugs- I don't have a picture of this, but if anyone has any ideas for keeping him safe (I'm worried he will try and eat the plug cover and then stick something in the light socket), please let me know.

After all the climbing and forced entry, the kids decided to rest and watch a little tv (I know they're not supposed to watch tv yet, but I had to get dinner ready- sue me). Jack climbed up into the big chair all by himself and this is how I found him.


When Harper saw I was taking pictures of Jack, she decided to join him- sometimes siblings aren't too bad.
One last mention for this week. While Tony and I were getting ready for work this week, a Pyrex dish feel off a shelf, hit our countertop and shattered- glass was everywhere. It took us almost and hour to clean everything up. Thankfully, Abby and the kids weren't in the kitchen and Abby went outside and Durinda kept the kids corralled in their room until it was safe in the kitchen. But, we have been wearing shoes in the kitchen and kept shoes on the kids all day.  So, I bathed the kids tonight while Tony was at the gym and needed some house shoes to put on Harper and Jack in the off chance that one of them scurried down the hall into the kitchen before I could catch them. I easily found shoes for Harper, but poor Jack, I looked all over and this is what I came up with. They're too big for Harper right now, but barley fit Jack. Harper was interested in showing off the shoes, but Jack wasn't thrilled about them.





While we waited for Tony to come home from the gym, these two read books- it melts my heart to see how much they love their books and how big they're getting. I hope they never outgrow their desire to sit down and read.