Two and A Half

Today G and D are two and a half.... 30 months... roughly 900 days have passed since they made their grand entrances....

It has been an amazing experience to watch them transform from babies into "little people" as Dave likes to call them.

Here's what they are doing at 2.5:

They are potty trained...woo hoo!! They go to the potty by themselves now without being reminded. They can undress themselves, but still need help with redressing.

They can both feed themselves with silverware and drink from an open cup

They can wash their hands and dry them with a towel

They can name and recognize shapes and colors.

Their favorite TV show is Caillou and Daniel has a new obsession with Dora and was very upset to find out that they don't make Dora underwear for boys

D loves trains, firetrucks, shovels, and tools

G loves necklaces, swinging on the play set, and "Baby Thomas", her doll

G is the better eater right now... she will eat almost anything except oatmeal, which D can't get enough of

They both both have large vocabularies, of course G talks a little more than D

G weighs about 34lbs and D is about 35lbs.... G is 37.5" tall and D is a little over 38.5"

Multitudes on Mondays - 1

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."

Sara Ban Breathnach

I am thankful for....

1. A White Christmas.

(This is the first time it has snowed in my part of the world on Christmas since the 1960's)

2. A smile that always makes my heart happy

3. A chef eager to serve "hot soup"

4. Family time to rest and play

5. My boy child's love of all things Thomas

6. Lunch with a friend that lives too far away

7. Hearing "excuse me" and "thank you" from my toddlers' lips

Seating Delimas

Out of all of the baby gear we have bought, high chairs have been the biggest pain in the neck.

We started out with Peg Perego Primma Pappas...

and next I bought theses from IKEA....

And then these Costco ones from BRU....

Now that the twins are 2 years and the size of some 3 year olds, high chair battles are becoming more and more frequent. So I have set out yet again to find seating. Initally I planned to buy some type of booster seat, but I was nervous about the stability since they climb like monkeys. Then I found the Kaboost....

The kids really like them because they can sit in regular chairs at the table. They are very light weight and portable too. I just got them this week, so I'll keep you posted.

2 Weeks of Potty Training

So today marks two weeks of potty training and things are going pretty well. I ordered E-Z snap AIO cloth training pants from http://www.squishytushy.com/ and I LOVE them. Squishy Tushy has amazing customer service too.

In the past 2 weeks G hasn't pooped in her pants at all and D has only had 1 poo accident. They have averaged about 1 pee accident each per day, but we have had 3 completely accident free days. G didn't have any accidents today and D would have had an accident free day too except for the darn toy aisle at Costco. He told MaMa that he had to potty but couldn't tear himself away from the kitchen set fast enough to make it to the bathroom. I am really proud of them considering they are only 24 months old.

Day 10

Today is our 10th day of potty training and I'm very proud to report that it was totally accident free!

Potty Training

It's official... we're potty training. We have been doing "potty awareness" for a while now. The Easter Bunny brought G and D each a potty. At first they thought they were cool new ride on toys and just "drove them all over the house. After a few weeks they would sit on them while Dave or I were using the restroom... yes, bathroom privicy no longer exists in our house. I am a Montesoori fan and she believed that the best time to potty train was between 22 and 26 months, so that has been my aim, but I didn't want to start before they were ready. Last week they both, without prompting, randomly removed their own diaper and used the potty. I have heard that once there is interest you should tell the diapers good-bye to eliminate confusion, so we made a quick Target trip to buy "uder wears" as G calls them.

Thursday was our first full day of training. I had already scheduled a play date at our house, so I called to warn my friends that they would be coming to a nudist colony. I have read that "bare bottom" training is best in the first few days. It lets them see what's happening and get to the potty faster. We had a really successful day with only 1 accident.

Friday was day 2 and the only accidents happend while they were both sitting in their high chairs. I'm sure that my cooking was so good that it distracted them ;) I am especially happy that we made a quick trip to Kohl's last night wearing underwear and no accidents!! G even told me that she had to pee, so she had her 1st public bathroom experience... thank you Kohl's for having clean bathrooms.

Saturday... G and D have both asked where their diapers are. It made me a little sad, and then I felt crazy for feeling sad. How could I feel sad about not changing diapers.... I've changed over 7,000 in the past 2 years. But it is another sign of how fast they grow and change, and that is bittersweet. I have been researching the best cloth pull up and finally decided on these

http://www.squishytushy.com/potty-training-c-134/snap-ez-eco-aio-training-pant-p-798 and the customer service is out of this world at Squisy Tushy. I ordered 6 AIO for the day and 2 stuffable for night. My hope is that I won't need the daytime ones for very long, but I don't want to be afraid of going to the park, zoo etc and changing outfits multiple times.

I also bought them the Baby Signs "Potty Train" DVD and they love it... I on the other hand may scream if I hear "all on board choochoo..." on more time

http://www.amazon.com/Potty-Training-Signs-Linda-Acredolo/dp/1933877103

They played outside in their unders this morning for about 3hrs with no accidents...yay!

Birthday Gifts

I can hardly believe that the G and D's 2nd birthday party is 3 weeks away! I have the venue and the invites covered. The Cake and outfits are almost a done deal... and now on to the presents. What do I get my most favorite soon to be 2 year olds? I have tried to establish guidelines for gift buying, because truth be told I love to shop and can get out of hand. So... I have decided that for birthdays 1 mutual gift and one individual gift is great. If the eBay gods are in my favor tonight I will have all of my shopping done. However, as I was looking, shopping, and researching I have come across some things that I think are fabulous and I know the twins will enjoy. But I am sticking to my plan and have decided to start a Christmas list for them. One can never start too early, right?

Lacing/ sewing cards

"The Bow Tieing Book"

Stringing beads

Dressing frames (Montassori)

Lock Box (Montassori)

A pass to the Children's Museum

I'd love to hear other ideas too!

23 Months Old

G and D are......

Running, climbing, jumping, twirling, dancing, throwing, kicking, carrying, and sliding

G and D.....

can repeat most any word and both have quite the vocabulary

D.... claps at G, as if calling the dog and says Gacie, no, no

G... says "batteries" and "yogurt"

G....after waking goes through the household roster so that she knows that everyone is accounted for.... mommy, daddy, mosmo, d, ma, pops

G and D are silly...

D...has the greatest duck impersonation and has an obsession with butter knives

G... is best buds with her Gymbo the clown doll

G and D love....

Baby Sign Time and Yo Gabba Gabba

Playing at Gymboree, the park, and pool

Dogs

G and D eat....

Most anything (except meat)

Greek yogurt is tops on our list, followed by fruit, and pizza

They can drink from regular cups

G and D want to read...

"Head to Toe"and "Puppies" every night

Other favorites are "Red Tractor" because they think it is about Pops and "Gossie and Gertie"

G and D are...

23 MONTHS OLD... where has the time gone?

Preserving Memories

Tonight as I looked in on my sleeping babies, it occurred to me that in less than a month they will be 2! Where has the time gone. A friend who has recently had twins called the other day asking questions about sleeping and feeding schedules. I was shocked that I couldn't remember many of the details from those early moths. I started thinking back to their very first days, weeks and months and truthfully I don't remember a whole lot. Of course my stomach still goes into knots when I think about our NICU days and I'll never forget the first time I held them (especially Daniel whom I had to wait 3 days to hold), but the rest is fog of feeding, diaper changes, and little sleep. I will admit that losing memories is one of my strange fears. Maybe I inherited this from my mother, because she has saved every paper, toy, etc since my birth. I have taken 1,000s of pictures and blogged, but the older and busier they get, the less I record, and that scares me. So I'm jumping back on the blogging wagon. I would love to hear from anyone that has a certain plan for preserving memories. How do you store your photos? Do you try to take a photo weekly, monthly...etc? What baby items are you saving? and any other creative ideas.