May in Pictures and Stories

The first half of May we spent in Colorado (glorious), the last half at home in New Mexico, spring easing into summer, the kids growing and changing every day. Some favorite pictures:

One of my favorite things about the twins at this age is how much they are starting to interact...it's generally friendly, such as when I give them the "wrong" forks at a meal (they are very particular about whose things are whose) and they will hand the forks back and forth and say, "Here you go, Luke." "Here you go, Zo." Or Luke watching Zo do a puzzle and saying, "Good job, Zoey!"

There is the flip side, too, which mainly involves Luke playing "Tackle, Tackle Zoey," which she almost never likes, and Zo stealing Luke's Hot Wheels and running across the house with them, leaving him in tears.

Luke is big into cars and trucks, Zo into her kitties, Stanley and Fuzzy Britches; she'll have them interact with each other...I'm actually seeing a lot of imagination from these guys, from cooking up play meals (a favorite activity) to picking pretend grass to feed pretend bunnies.

Some commonly heard phrases from Zo this month:

"I have a pocket." 

"I need a Kleenex!"

"I love you Daddy!" (Mommy, too. Me-ma and Grammy and Papa and Uncle Ben too.)

"I'm making a funny face!" 

And from Luke:

"Not yet! One more minute!" 

"Let's DO it!" (eg, "Would you like to brush your teeth, Luke?" "Yes! Let's DO it!")

"I love you Daddy!" (Mommy etc, too.)

"No, no, I don't LIKE kisses. Don't kiss me Mommy!" (Followed by frantic wiping away of said kiss.)

"Let's whip up dinner!"

"I don't LIKE Mommy!" (Ouch. Oh well, he's two.)

"I don't do shirts!" (Said while trying his best not to let me dress him.)

Cuteness from Zo:

"I need to be careful around cars. And monsters."

"I made a terrible mess!"

And Luke:

"I hurt Daddy's feelings. I need to fix them."

There are LOTS of hugs from the kids these days. 

Luke misses his sister if I take him out alone.

They both love looking for trucks when we're "out and about," as we call it; they can name pretty much anything they see on the the road (eg, "Box truck! Semi truck! Auto carrier! Cement mixer! Etc. All said as an exclamation.)

We still rock and sing at night, although the kids aren't always into it. Sometimes they run around the room while I sing. Or sit in the other rocking chair. I don't know how this started, but I've been giving them the choice of the "Regular Version" or the "Oink Oink Version" of a song, the "Oink Oink Version" having most of the words replaced by oinks.

Both the kids like playing "Tunnel" with Dad, where they give him a "toll," he gives them change, and then they go under his bent legs. They also like playing "Boat," where they sit between his legs on the bed to keep away from sharks. And Luke has been playing "Hit Hit Daddy," where he'll hit his Daddy on the chest and Daddy will tickle him and then stop 'til he's hit again.

"Baby Races," are also a big deal around here, where the kids will start with Dad and he'll outline a course for them, eg, "Run around the coffee table twice, jump on your bunny or bear rocker and rock, touch Mommy and then run back to Daddy. First one back wins!" The kids love to play, and it's fun to watch because it's totally unpredictable who will wander off course when and thus as far ahead as any one baby seems the other baby always has a chance of winning.

Saying goodbye to Daddy in the driveway when he goes to work and welcoming him home are also big activities these days.

And both kids still chime in at random with, "I'm happy!"

"I'm happy too," I always say back to them.

And June, wonderful amazing June is here, so looking forward to it! We're attempting the 3-day potty training method starting Friday and switching out to toddler beds at he same time, so big stuff happening around here! Wish us luck!

XOXO 

March/April in Pictures and Stories

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!

We've had a lot of fun around here the past month and a half, and the kids are continuously doing new and cool things. First, a few pictures:

The kids got sand toys for their birthday and a favorite activity is definitely playing in the sand. It's been warm some days, cool others but unless the wind is really blowing I try to get the kids outside every day:

This is the bed in my home office/our guest room...I've been trying to make this space more kid-friendly, with a coloring station set up and some special toys they can only play with in here, a nice soft throw on the bed they can curl up in, etc. My thought is that if they are in here and letting me work, they can hang out for short peroids (especially if I'm doing something that's more rote/not super mentally taxing)...but if they start to get disruptive they have to go back out with Grandma. Trying to eek out some extra kid time while still getting the quiet/concentration I need...we'll see how it goes...

These pics were taken in front of the house en route to the mailbox one morning (the kids LOVE to mail out letters)...

And the zoo...if I take the kids by myself somewhere I'm finding the stroller is imperative so I can corral them if need be. Here we are at the zoo one weekday morning:

And a recent Saturday with Daddy: (We have an annual pass to the zoo/aquarium/botanic gardens, which is the best thing ever because the kids love all 3 places and we can go for just an hour or two without feeling like we are not getting our money's worth.)

And these pics that didn't make it into my Easter post...a little walk with the kids up to a duck pond in the foothills...such a beautiful day that day:

And let's see...what else...so much happening around here that I haven't snapped photos of...

When the kids first got the sunglasses (see above zoo pic), they put them on inside and ran from mirror to mirror, giggling at their reflections...cutest thing ever.

Luke is starting to recite things pretty much word-for-word (my husband has a memory like that too). Like the "5 Little Ducks Went Out to Play" song, one night in the bath I listened to him do the whole thing start to finish. And "Where the Wild Things Are" (oh my gosh I love that book)...one night Luke sat on the couch with me and I turned the pages and he told me the story as written, even including the little wordless song I do on the pages where Max and the monsters are wild rumpusing.

Sis isn't doing the word-for-word reciting, but she is singing back songs I sing to them at night, like I've been singing "True Colors" and Sis now sits in the rocking chair and sings it to me, her voice so soft and sweet. She is still super snuggly and lets me rock and sing to her every night. Luke would rather sit next to me in the second rocker, and that's fine, he's his own person, I still sing him his own song, he's just in his own space while I'm doing it. Both kids also like me to make up songs these days because their daddy does it...he is much better at it that I am...

Luke also is starting to get frustrated easily...everything has to be a certain way, his food whole not cut, he has to pour the milk, he's saying (whining really) "Mommy don't kiss me!" a lot and one morning last week he said, "I don't do shirts!" when I was trying to get him dressed. He also says, "I don't like it!" a lot, about food, about songs, about strong winds outside, etc. It's challenging. He is also super caring about other people and kids, very compassionate and empathetic, a mix of contradictions like I'm sure most kids are but I'm really feeling that way about him these days. 

Sis is starting to say, "Yes." instead of "yeah," which makes her sound so grown up. She also says, "Sissy happy!" a lot which just melts my heart. She also talks about making other people happy (as does Luke), eg, "I color a picture, make Grammy and Papa happy!" (We color and send pictures once a week. And speaking of coloring, the kids have such distinct styles already, Luke more of a minimalist, Sis with color covering the page.) Sis also talks about things being cozy a lot, which is super cute. "My fuzzy blanket is cozy." "My play house is cozy." :My crib is cozy."

We're seeing pronoun issues with language development, eg, they'll say "Pick you up" instead of "pick me up." I know it'll sort itself out but it's kind of interesting to see how language progresses.

Sis especially is really into superheros. She runs around waving her Spider Man doll in the air going, "Bip! Bip! Bip! bad guys! (Helping Spider Man fight crime.) She also asks regularly to put on the pink superhero cape her grandma made for her and runs around the house with it flaring out behind her.

The kids are really attached to their daddy. We've been seeing him off to work in the driveway, and welcoming him back home (he'll call me when he's 5 minutes or so from the house). Yesterday morning we waved goodbye, and as soon as Daddy was out of sight Luke sat down on the pavement and said, "I wait for Daddy to come home!"

There is also lots of "Tackle Tackle Daddy" going on (where they bring him down to the floor), and "Tunnel," where they go under his bent legs, and they like to sit inside his legs when he's laying on the bed, they say it's their boat and outside of it are sharks. And "Baby Races" with Daddy as the referee/judge who decides the winner, the kids either running or crawling around the coffee table 3 times and the one back to daddy first wins. And "Ring Around The Rosy," which I taught them in the driveway one evening waiting for Daddy to get home...they want to do it now all. the. time.

We're trying to get together with friends once or twice a week...sometimes bigger groups...more often now just one or two kids they are starting to get to know well. One day after a playdate I asked Luke at nap if there was anything else he needed in his crib and he said, "Elliott and Annabelle in crib!" (Elliott and Annabelle being the twins he had had a playdate with that morning.)

We're talking a lot about potty training around here...we are going to try the 3-day method starting in a few weeks (wish us luck!). I realized a little ways into discussing potty training that the kids thought it was an actual train. "Potty train's coming!" they would say.

Stanley and Fuzzy Britches, the stuffed kitties they got for their birthdays, are constant companions around here. Kids are "feeding" them food and when I ask Luke what he wants for dinner he says, "Stanley wants Mac and Cheese!"

There is lots of racing around the house with their big dump truck or wagon. Full speed.

We've been having a lot of "where do babies come from?" talks, which I didn't expect this young. They generally go like this:

"Where do little cows come from?" 

"Big cows!"

"Where do baby bunnies come from?"

"Big bunnies!"

(They answer the question themselves or for each other these days.)

Etc.

Luke's also been having some nightmares, generally some sort of animal in his room...peacocks, donkeys, dogs...he's generally soothed back to sleep pretty easily but I hate to see him wake up crying...

We had a few days of Luke getting out of the crib...he wanted to be in Sissy's crib with her, which would of been fine with me but it wasn't fine with her, she wanted her space, which I respect but it broke my heart to have Luke crying to be with his sister and her saying no. (He also tackles her and pinches her sometimes...he's either 100% love or 100% a menace.) Problem solved by moving their cribs further apart so he couldn't just flip into her crib. I think we're about to go to toddler beds when we do potty training, though...nervous about that transition, mostly because I want to keep them safe and the thought of them having run of part of the house (I think we're going to block off the back hallway where their room, the playroom and their bathroom is)...I'm sure it'll be fine but I just don't want them getting hurt...

Easter was super fun...loved Luke's excitement. "The Easter Bunny is coming!!!!" he would run around the house shouting. Such enthusiam in both those kids...love it.

I'm doing letter flash cards with them at breakfast sometimes (just A through F to start...and honestly, they got their colors really fast but letters aren't going so well...but I don't really care...I want them to be kids and if they get it, great, if not for a while, they love doing flash cards for 10 minutes in the morning and I figure, what's the harm?) The cutest thing though is when Zo finishes eating before Luke and then she wants to do the flash cards and then holds them up one at a time and says, "What's this, Luke?" like I do, and Luke will guess...she is just so cute mimicking me I can hardly stand it.  

It's so fun to see how the kids put thoughts together. Zo is doing this sort of thing too but the examples in my head are Luke:

--Big white circular onion flowers in the garden, he tells me they are like jellyfish (and they are).

--The other day he was talking about reindeer when he was eating lunch/I was prepping dinner. I couldn't imagine where talk of reindeer was coming from...I asked him and he said "olive" pointing to the can of olives I had out...there's a story we read at Christmastime called "Olive, the Other Reindeer"

--The kids are really into trucks, which they know go "beep beep beep" when backing up. We were reading a story about a rhino, which you could tell it's a rhino, I explained to Luke, because it has horns. "When the rhino backs up it goes 'beep, beep, beep,'" Luke then said.

Anyway, lots of joyous stuff happening over here, punctuated by lots of whining for things the kids want or don't want vs just straight-up asking. And temper tantrums. And exhaustion at the end of the day.

Can't wait to see what May will bring!

XOXO

Luke at Two

Ah, sweet, full-of-it boy, amazing little man, we are so lucky to have you!

You can be a little on the quiet side, unless you are in the mood to talk and then it is strings of words non-stop. The other night in the bath it was, "Five little ducks went out to play..." the whole song spoken word for word fast jumble over and over and over.

Like your sister, we are amazed at the things that come out of your mouth...how do you know all you know?

You are definitely your own little guy, and pretty independent, but also the sweetest, like when you come to visit me in the afternoons in my home office because you miss me (only you do that). Or when Sis is napping longer than you and you say, pleadingly, "See Sissy, please?" because you miss her.

You are good with "please" and "thank you."

Your favorite things right now are some wooden truck we have...you'll play with those all day.

You say almost everything as an exclamation.

There is the normal toddler frustration and tears at times, and some ignoring of what Mommy and Daddy ask.

We call you "Bubs" and "Bubby" and "Luke" and "Little Man."

You like to talk about your family...you'll walk around going, "Luke! and Zoey! and Luke! and Zoey!" Or "Luke! and Zoey! and Mommy! and Daddy!"

You're pretty friendly 95% of the time, have an ease about you, think nothing of jumping right in when you're in a group.

You love to help cook. Your speciaty is spinning the lettuce in the lettuce spinner.

You're good, so good, with taking turns (as is your sister).

You love it outside. Love to play ball. Are daring at the playground, as is your sister.

You play comfortably with both "boy" and "girl" toys (as does your sister.)

Over and over you get that sparkly, impish look in your eye, that little smile...I know we're in trouble, but you are such a charmer, just so dang cute, I just smile the whole time I'm around you, my heart full to bursting.

Love you, little one.

XO

Mommy

Luke and Zoey's Second Birthday

Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!

Luke and Zo turned two on March 15th, which just happened to be a Saturday, and was also exactly one year since we moved into our house.

Last year, the moving truck was here and we didn't know anyone, so it was a super low-key one-year-old birthday for the twins. This year, I wanted to do something...nothing too crazy...but a little party for them. I promised my husband I'd keep it small...small ended up being about 25 parents and kids, which was perfect.

My parents were down, which was so wonderful. We did a 4-6 PM BBQ and a few decorations, including balloons, which my dad helped me with:

The kids opened presents from Grammy and Papa early in the day, so they could start the day with something special:

The other decoration thing I did...I have all these dreams of being crafty but almost no spare time in which to execute...but still, I wanted to do something for the kids and this was perfect because it was quick and easy and totally customizable. I got this idea from A Beautiful Mess Photo Idea Book, (really cool book, by the way) and it's essentially picking fabrics, tearing strips, and tying those strips to a length of clothesline. Added bonus: the kids asked for a "Trucks and Foxes"-themed birthday, and not only is it impossible to find both trucks AND foxes together (which I expected), but also unless you want to do some licensed character (eg, Hello Kitty, Spider Man, etc.) there are not a lot of decorative options out there was my experience (which surprised me). 

Anyway, my "Trucks and Foxes" banner:

My mom and dad and I took the dogs for a hike while the kids napped. Last snow of the season (I'm pretty sure) on the peaks: 

After naps, we changed the kids into new clean clothes and got ready to welcome guests. My husband did all the cooking (green chile cheesburgers for the adults, mac and cheese, per the kids' request, for the kids.) Which meant I was free to hang out with the kids...so nice...

A nice little mix of friends from the mom's group I'm part of, the library story hour we go to every week, a friend of my husband's from work and his wife and young son...I'm sensitive about posting pics of other people's kids on the internet, so no party guest pictures here...

And then, after dinner, the cake, which my mother-in-law made...she was bummed it wasn't perfect (it's the first thing like this she's done) but I think it's amazing and I LOVE that they got a home-made cake, and how cute is the little fox in the fire engine ladder bucket?!?

Love these pictures of our little family...

A couple of weeks before the party, we started talking with the kids about their birthday. Once we'd given them the run-down, we'd ask what was going to happen and they'd say, "Cake!" "And ice cream!" "And Grammy and Papa!" "And friends!" (All said at loud volume with great enthusiasm.) The cake and ice cream and grandparents and friends did not disappoint.

We opened presents at the end, which turned into total chaos with two two-year-olds...but what a lot of sweet and cool presents they got.

And I'm going to do a whole post on this playhouse that the kid's Me-Ma (Grandma) custom-made to fit over our dining room table...it's amazing...but for now, here's a little sneak peek:

So, great birthday all around. Took some energy and effort, but I had a ton of help as always, and it was really important to me to make it special. (And it was.)

XOXO

P.S. Special thanks to my mom for most of these photos...

Luke and Zo: 23 Months

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!

Luke and Zo's last month of being one-year-olds was pretty great, minus a few temper tantrums cropping up here and there and my overall exhaustion. (By the way, we really took it easy over the weekend, and yesterday was the first day I had some of my normal energy back, so I'm hopeful that things are getting somewhat back to normal.) 

Anyway, a few stories and pictures of the kids...

Here they are on the cement horses outside of Flying Star, one of our favorite places to go eat. Grammy and Papa were here visiting for their birthday for a few days...this was one of their first days here. Papa decided to walk home after dinner, after the kids were all strapped in their car seats, and Sissy got so upset, cried crocodile tears over her Papa leaving...it was all we could do to calm her down letting her know Papa would be back in time to give her a kiss goodnight before she went to bed.

We're getting into a lot of the kids wanting to do the same thing at the same time. We've been setting the timer for 5 minutes, after which it's the other kid's turn for the object of desire. Also been doing a lot of "eenie meenie minie mo" to decide who goes first.

Funny story: The kids are getting into super heros because, well, their dad is their dad. We got ONE stuffed Spider Man one day this past month, and there was a total meltdown at bedtime because both kids wanted Spider Man. I was telling my Dad about it the next day, and he said, "Well, that's a lesson for someone...either the kids about sharing or your husband about how many toys to buy." We went and got another the next day...mostly we just have one of each toy, but sometimes it makes sense (and saves our sanity) to have two. (We had the kids with us when we went to get another, and when Luke saw it he said, so excited, "DADDY GET MORE SPIDER MAN!" over and over, it was so cute. And it's funny, the Spider Men look exactly the same, but the kids can tell them apart. Sometimes I'll give one to Sis, for instance, and she'll say, "No, Luke's" and won't be satisfied until I find hers.

The occasional treat still happens at Satellite Coffee, another one of our favorite spots (although this happens a lot less often as my husband and I are trying to eat super healthy):

And always looking for birds in the morning...there are some that come to drink out of the dog's water bowl so there's usually one or two to see.

Speaking of dogs, there is still a lot of interest in where Dexter is. "Dexter come back!" Luke said to me this morning. 

And...what else...Luke is VERY cute with puzzles (and very good)...he tries each piece and says, "How about this one. No...... How about THIS one? No....... How about THIS one?" until he gets it right.

And the kids know their colors, and 1–10, and Luke the other day sang his ABCs start to finish and I was like, how in the heck do you know that? (It's their grandmother.) I'm not trying to brag about my kids, but I'm just amazed that any almost-two-year old can do this stuff. And I don't feel like we're trying that hard to teach them stuff...just integrating into our every day life, for example with colors, it's not a specific lesson, it's just me asking all the time, "What color is your juice?" (for example.) "What color is that car?" Etc.

Both kids are really, really into trucks.

Some cute things that Sissy says:

"Sissy happy!" (And Luke will say, "Luke happy too.")

"Sissy sad." (Luckily this is unusual.)

"Sissy busy!"

"Sissy by self!" 

This last one is her trying to do things like dress or eat all by herself. This gets said A LOT, as well as Luke with his version, which is, "My turn! My turn!" often said with a frustrated hand wave.

Neither kid likes their food cut up any more...I ask them, "Do you want this banana" (for instance) "cut up or whole?" And they always say, "whole." And if they ask me to cut it and I do there is total baby meltdown, especially on Luke's part...they don't get that you can't just put it back together.

Luke especially likes to come visit me while I'm working in my home office in the afternoons, and he's very polite about it, knocking on the door first. I keep him as long as I can until he gets too disruptive. One thing I'd really like to do is to have some toys and cool things in my office, that they can sit on the guest bed and play with and as long as they let me work, they can stay with me. Think that would be fun.

The kids have Ugly Dolls that they call Bat Bat (there's gray Bat Bat and Pink Bat Bat and Blue Bat Bat and Baby Bat Bat). One night after dinner there were Bat Bat Wars with Daddy, which involved the kids getting pelted with Ugly Dolls and running around laughing hysterically.

They have both outgrown most of their clothes. Eeking it out 'til spring/summer.

Luke especially loves to be outside. "Luke go outside and play ball!" he says every day. Sis is good if it's warn, but she doesn't like the cold, so often wants to come in when it's chilly out, which is challenging because Luke wants to be out and we need them together.

They like to eat their lunch outside too, which I also like because it minimizes the mess. Think there'll be a lot of outside meals with the warmer weather.

Sis has been making faces... "Sissy funny face!" she'll say and pull her mouth out at the sides and stick her tongue out. Or, "Happy face!" Or, "Cow face!" By the way, the kids aren't scared of cows any more. Or the big red bird at Red Robin, who used to make them cry.

Oh gosh, these kids are just an absolute delight. Love them so, so much. And this is changing the subject, but wish there were going to be more children for us, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. It's OK, I'm so, so, so very grateful I have Luke and Zo...

XOXO

A Day in the Life: Winter 2014 Edition

Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!

I took some pictures last week as we went about a pretty typical day. I wish I had more posts like this...things are always changing around here and it's fun to look back and see how our days unfolded.

This was a weekday...my weekdays usually involve a 4:30 AM wakeup to go to Crossfit with my husband, then coffee and as much work as I can squeeze in before the kiddos are ready to get up, somewhere between 7 and 8 (usually closer to 7 these days). They wake 6ish, but are usually pretty happy playing with each other for a while.

Here's how I found Miss Zo this particular morning:

Each kid gets some love and snuggles, and a diaper change. Luke's in a regular T-shirt as there was a diaper incident in the middle of the night and all his PJs are in the wash (there are a lot of nighttime diaper incidents lately for some reason.)

Then breakfast. They often share food. Sometimes they steal food from each other, when that happens I move their chairs far apart. But 95% of the time they're sweet to each other and I have them close together.

Sissy's always playing with her hair. And boy, does she ever love milk.

We've been having work done on our house and the kids love to see what's going on. "Watch men!" they say with great enthusiasm.

Then a reading session, usually involving library books.

And time with blocks. The pictures below...this is how their playroom usually looks, truth be told (I wish I kept it more organized). And they usually play as shown...same room, but doing their own thing...

Eventually everyone gets dressed. And brushes their teeth. Brushing their teeth in the shower seems to be the thing, I have no idea why, but don't see any reason to stop it.

Then, out for errands:

And lunch and some running around at the park:

Home for nap at 12. And then I sit down to work for the afternoon, although I'll often take a little break to get the kids up from their nap and give them a little snuggle. After that it's afternoon fun with "Me-Ma" (Grandma). They read and play outside, play with their toys, have a snack, sometimes help her cook something fun like banana bread. Here's Sis waking up from her nap...she doesn't wake up easy...

Afternoon snack:

The kids love it when Daddy gets home...they often snuggle with him in the bed for a little while, sometimes watching "Truck Beep" (You Tube videos of fire trucks driving down the road with sirens on...kids love it) or "Live Fox," ("What Does the Fox Say" on Jimmy Kimmel Live).

After Daddy time, dinner, which we all eat together (usually my husband or mother-in-law cooks, sometimes I do...I play with the kids during dinner prep). Then bath. Always bubbles in the bath. And toys. Kids are great about their bath.

And then PJs and tooth brushing, goodnight to Daddy and Me-Ma and then I rock them one at a time with just the nightlight in their room, Sissy first then Luke. I ask them what song they want me to sing and lately they both always say "Man in Moon" which is an old, old John Denver song, I think it's called "On the Road," where at the end it goes: "Go home, said the man in the moon, go home. Because it's getting sort of late, and I'll soon turn out my light..."

And then sleep for them, usually a little more work and getting everything ready for the morning for me and I try to be in bed by 8:30 or so because I never get enough sleep and I'm getting up so early these days.

Love our little routine...

XOXO

22 Months

Hi Everyone!

Kids turned 22 months last week.

This past month has been so fun. Winter has been so mild here, makes it easy to get out, like a little trip we took to the zoo last Saturday:

Sissy's hair has been crazy...she doesn't really like things done with it (she'll let me put it up, and then pulls it out), but it hangs in her face if I do nothing. We've tried all sorts of different things, from pigtails (my favorite) to tons of braids (don't like it...won't do that again). Also, she tangles it up in her sleep (witness the epic bed-head in the second picture below). We'll figure it out. In the meantime, how cute is this picture of her fixing her teddy's hair?

Luke and Zo are really affectionate with each other. Most of the time. Like at the library today, where they'd go their own ways to play but come back to each other at intervals and give a hug or a pat on the back. Or like here in the bath:

Zo always takes the elephant towel after bath, and Luke the shark. Funny how attached they are to their particular animal:

Lots of days at the playground, too. The kids run and climb and slide...I try to give them space and not hover too close:

Oh, and Daddy's been giving the kids gingersnaps as a treat. Luke crams them whole into his mouth in 3 seconds flat. Zo breaks hers into little pieces and takes her time...

Jumping in the crib in the morning is a new fun activity. As is throwing all the stuffies and blankets onto the floor. They'll often play for an hour or so in their cribs after waking, though, happy as clams, so I can't complain about the mess on the floor. :)

The kids also really like to cuddle in bed with us. Under the covers is key. We don't do a lot of screen time with them, but "What Does the Fox Say" is still in heavy rotation around here. Also "Truck Beep!" which is videos of fire engines responding, leaving the firehouse with their sirens going. For some reason that is ENDLESSLY fascinating.

A few more shots from the botanic gardens and the zoo. Saturday the kids had their first chocolate milk ever. Instant love.

 

And let's see...what else has been going on in the past month...

The affection the kids show for each other sometimes goes a little far, with Luke especially who likes to play a game I call "Tackle Tackle Sissy," where he wrestles her to the ground and she ends up crying. "You have to ASK Sissy if she wants to play Tackle Tackle before you do it," I keep saying to him.

The kids are talking like crazy, will repeat anything you say, three and four word sentences and lots of pleases to get what they want. And they are starting to learn colors and numbers. Usually when you ask what color something is they say "Blue!" but they are getting other colors as well.

When you ask Luke how many fingers you are holding up he always says "Two!" or "Six!" Two and six are his favorite numbers. Sometimes things get confused and you say "How many fingers am I holding up?" and he'll say "Blue!" But hey, they're not even two. I'm not worried. Animals...they can also identify a ton of animals, and what sounds they make.

Luke asked to go to the potty yesterday and then peed instead of peeing in his diaper. Yay Luke! We are not pushing potty training, but Luke's definitely interested. Sissy could still care less but that is fine. She went through a phase where I would find her naked in the crib in the mornings, but we changed from footie PJs to 2 pieces without feet and that seems to have taken care of that for whatever reason.

Sissy has a new favorite monster book called "Monster Mess," she wants to read it all the time but needs to snuggle to feel safe while doing it. The fear of cows seems to be disappearing a little, but today at story hour there was a story where there was mooing the entire way through and Sis had to snuggle with me to feel safe. Also if you ask her where a cow is, like in a picture book, she says "Hiding!" (Meaning she doesn't want to see it.) Or if you ask "What does a cow say?" she'll say "Bye Bye!" and wave goodbye.

Both kids like to brush their teeth in the glassed in shower (sans water)...and I figure, why not?

The kids do a lot with me errand and chore wise--the car wash is a hit, and at dinner they will spin the lettuce in the salad spinner for almost as long as it takes me to put something quick together. (Although Sis has been known to fling lettuce all over the kitchen, so the salad spinner is kind of a risky proposition.)

We have two different kinds of bubble bath and Luke likes just the right ratio--a little of this one, a little of that. He's very meticulous about it. And Sis is that way about her clothes sometimes. The other day everything had to be blue. And she got pink sparkle cowboy boots for Xmas and every morning she says "Cow Boots!"

They're both such happy and energetic kids. There are lots of "Hi!"s and "Hey!"s. (Everything they say they say as an exclamation, it seems.) There are high fives and fist bumps. There is "Roly Poly," where I put Luke on my chest and roll back and forth to either side of the floor while he laughs and laughs. There is tickling. There is chasing babies. There is vacuuming and sweeping with their new Xmas toys and they will take laundry to the laundry room and every night I rock them to sleep, each getting a turn, they both want me to sing "Teddy Bear Picnic" and nothing else and Luke always says "Hair Away" so I'll put my hair up because he doesn't like it in his face. And sometimes one or both of them want their fuzzy polka dot blankets wrapped around them while we rock and the one whose not being rocked will go get the blanket for the other twin. And we read on the couch in jammies curled up in those blankets in the early morning...it is bliss.

And Dexter, our dog who we will probably lose in the coming months, lays with us while we read, like he is listening to the stories. And lays in the hall in from of the kids bedroom door while they nap. It's the sweetest. 

These are some of the things I want to remember from this time. We're having such a good time...

XOXO

Luke and Zo: 20 Months

 Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!

Luke and Zo's latest month has involved first pigtails for Zo, Lasik (and Lasik-like) surgery for Mommy and Daddy (hence Luke's eye goggles), beautiful fall leaves and weather warm enough to still have flowers in the yard. Also lots going on with the kiddos. Some highlights:

• We are starting to allow VERY LIMITED TV (or "PB" as Zo calls it). For the most part Infinite Teddies and What Does the Fox Say, both just a few minutes long. Warning: watch Infinite Teddies by yourself before you show kids...not necessarily appropriate but the kids love cars and birds and teddies...
• Sissy is very interested in dressing and undressing herself, and is working on speaking in full sentences
• Luke is all about potty training (Sis could care less), not really pushed by us either. But we're so proud of him! :) (My husband reminds me at this age it's potty encouraging, not potty training...)
• We call Luke and Zo Sissy and Bubba or Bubs or Bubba Bear a lot and they have started calling each other those names. With Luke it was interesting, at first he was calling Sis Bubba...I wonder if he sees the two of them as one?
• Bubble baths are the best...
• There has been some biting on Zo's part and Sumo wrestling tackles on Bub's part lately...Sis will say, "Sissy bite!" before she does it though, and actually it's been about a week since an incident
• The kids are also sharing food most meals and laughing and playing together...so cute...
• Another interesting thing...they are starting to make associations like Luke has a stuffed bear with a zebra sweatshirt and when he saw a picture of a zebra he said "Teddy," which at first I thought was a mistake, but he does have a zebra teddy. Or their bubble bath has Hello Kitty on it and Luke say a sweatshirt with Hello Kitty on it and said "Bubbles." It's so cool to watch their little minds working
• Both Luke and Zo, but Luke a little more at this point, are starting to get a little bit of a toddler attitude, eg when he doesn't want to get dressed or go in his car seat he'll let you know
• Sis loves having a napkin in her lap while eating. And wipes her face and hands. And has started to feed her stuffed animals
• Luke has to check his shoes to make sure they don't have rocks in them before he puts them on
• Both kids love, love, love to cook. I try to let them help, especially if I'm putting dinner together in the morning, when there's more time
• And trips to the library...I let them check in the books, pick out new ones (putting them in a bag until the bag is full) and then do self checkout, where Luke scans the books and Zo puts them back in the bag
• Please has entered the vocabulary. Pretty hard to say no to any request that includes please
• Luke is super lovely and he loves babies. Loves, loves, loves them. He's got this move where he lays his head against people he likes to show affection...it's adorable
• Since the pumpkin patch, they are TERRIFIED of cows. If their daddy moos they burst into tears... (which their daddy thinks is funny, and it is, but also you can't torture your children)...

Whew...lots going on these days. This time is so precious...I am just loving it...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We've got a houseful of company and I'm checking out for the week.

XOXO

Pumpkin Patch

We all went to the pumpkin patch up in Corrales a little while ago. Corrales is a super cute little village just north of ABQ. There were pumpkins (of course) and a petting zoo and a corn maze and a tractor to sit on and a hay ride. It was a beautiful sunny warm afternoon--oh how I love fall.

Everyone had a great time, except for when the cow mooed. Even from a distance the kids were scared...

Bubs with his Grandma...he sure loves his Grandma...

There was also this great sandbox-like thing ringed with hay bales and filled with corn that the kids could have played in for hours. We were picking corn kernels out of stuff for a week. :)

The pumpkins are looking great on our dining room table, and will be so cool to carve at the pumpkin party/carving contest we are going to this weekend.

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

Luke and Zo: 19 Months

Hi Everyone! Happy Monday!

Luke and Zo turned 19 months last week. Seriously, where does the time go?

A few pictures from the past month...a month filled with time outside, reading in the beanbag, Sunday brunch at Flying Star (a new family tradition), playing in the (perpetually messy) playroom, helping in the kitchen, trying on Daddy's shoes for size, dancing around the living room (spinning in circles is a favorite activity of Zo's). Also (not pictured): Baths full of bubbles every night (which the kids love), "beanbag splashdown," where the kids jump from the coffee table into the beanbag (for Luke, the beanbag must be fluffed to just the right fluffiness...he uses his hands to show you how to do it until you've got it just right), pillow fights with Dad, a visit from Grammy and Grandpa, and what feels like a million new words. 

We've also got some pumpkin patch and Balloon Fiesta picutres to share later this week.

Hope your Monday's a good one!

XOXO

"All the pleasures of Autumn..."

"...all the pleasures of autumn--hiking under deep blue skies...and the chance for a few last dips in the pool..."

--Vogue, September 2013

Fall is my favorite time of year in the West. Things are going OK around here...trying to focus on the good, as always.

XOXO

Half Birthday

"The kids are going to be 18 months old this weekend," I said to my husband. "What do you think about celebrating their half birthday? It doesn't have to be anything big..."

"I think it's ridiculous," he said.

"I know, but it would be fun, and why not make it special for them, you know?"

"You really need this, don't you?" he said.

"Yeah."

"OK then, let's do it."

So we had balloons and cupcakes and legos, lots of legos (their first, and they love them) to celebrate Luke and Zo turning 1 1/2.

We might not do half birthdays every year, but this year, with all the sadness in our house, having a little celebration was the right thing to do.

XOXO 

Luke and Zoey: Months 16 and 17

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!

I haven't done an update on the kids in a couple months, being on vacation and with everything that's happened with Hunter. I haven't been as present as usual in my life and with the kids--and I'm sad about that, but it is what it is--but wanted to share some pictures and stories.

Summertime, and lots of time outside. That's their grandmother's garden in the background...the kids have especially loved the cherry tomatoes (in fact, Sissy is eating a green one in this picture)...hard to keep them out of them...

Luke especially is such a helper...in the garden, with cooking...if you tell him to take his dirty clothes to the laundry hamper he even does that. :)

My dad was here for a few days before we all drove to Colorado...here he is with Sissy in the park...

One of the things the kids like to do on the banquette in our kitchen is balance like this...we always say, "London Bridge! Yay!" The other thing they really like is to bend over and stick one leg up in the air, to which we say, "Ballet! Swan Lake! Beautiful!"

Reading is a big activity at our house...here's Sissy with "Dinosaur vs Bedtime," one of their all-time favorites. The dinosaur in the book goes, "Roar! Roar! Roar." The kids' dad has a variation on that, where he'll sneak up on the kids and go, "Rar!" They run to me laughing for protection, more for show than for really being scared. It's super cute. Sometimes, Daddy will go, "Rar!" to Zo and she'll go "Rar! back to him in the sweetest, softest little "Rar!" you've ever heard...

This is the day after we lost Hunter...boy, did I need hugs from my kids...and they were happy to oblige... Hard to look at this picture, knowing how much pain I was in...

Cottage cheese. Definitely a favorite. (And one of the messiest meals, unfortunately.) Oh, and speaking of eating, we are trying to teach the kids to use a fork and spoon, but often they end up getting used like swords, battling Mommy and Daddy. "Fork Wars," we call it...

We got the kids a beanbag a few weeks ago...one of the best purchases ever. The rabbit with Sissy in this picture is called "Mimi" (Sissy came up with the name)...her other rabbit that she carries with her everywhere she named "Rock."

Mommy's sun hat...

We've had some rain and cooler weather...it's been nice. It's so rare here...

Bubs lounging on the beanbag... Sometimes they lounge with their dad and watch a short video (5 minutes or so) of a car or a truck doing something...both kids love that time with their dad.

And the kids dressed for the cooler weather...

Oh and the kids are talking up a storm, both of them, Sissy more than Bubs, but that's pretty typical. Some random new words include "neck" and "knee" and "sock" and "shoe" (and they are starting to be kind of interested in dressing themselves, by the way.) Oh and a very popular word that started with Zo but is used by both kids now is "gug-y gug-y," which means "pig." They've also learned "uh-oh," and how to use it. And Zo's first sentence happened last week. We were all having dinner together and Zo's Daddy was trying to be funny, dripping drops of water from her sippy cup into her hair. Zo looked and me and said, "Mommy. Daddy. Uh-oh." We could not stop laughing...

I cannot believe my babies are a year and a half! Time is going by so fast. And always but especially now after what happened with Hunter, I am doing all I can to soak up every minute, to spend as much time as I can with these little ones because this time is so fleeting and although I don't know for sure yet I have a feeling I am never going to have kids this age again...

XOXO

Summer in Colorado: Part 2

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday!

Posting these pics of the trip Luke and Zo and I took to visit my parents last month (my husband stayed behind and worked only because he was saving all his vacation for a paternity leave)...posting these pictures--especially the ones with me in them--is kind of bittersweet for me...it's like I was talking about the other day, I only have a few more pictures of me pregnant with Hunter, and it's like once they are posted, she is really gone. (Even though I know she is gone already.)

But I need...I know I need to focus on Luke and Zo, and what a lovely time we had in Colorado, visiting Grammy and Grandpa. It's weird to say this I know, but I also feel lucky that Hunter got to have this visit too...this was her one trip...

And so...

My dad flew down to do the drive there and back with us, as I wasn't sure how it was going to be with the twins. Thank you, Dad! The trip was about 8-ish hours with 2 stops...my dad has a talent for finding the best roadside stopping places...this was the first one just outside Durango, CO...we'd get out and give the kids something to snack on and let them and our two boxers (who we brought on vacation too) run around. Worked out great.

Highway 550 out of Durango is really treacherous...big dropoffs, no guard-rails...and made 100 times worse with a crazy hailstorm. My dad drove, we went slowly, we made it...

There's a great playground/sandbox area at the church my mom goes to...we had such fun taking the kids there:

And grass...how I miss grass (there is so much Xeriscaping in New Mexico, including our house), and my parent's property has big swaths of it. We spent lots of time playing on the grass. Buckets of water and measuring cups were also a big hit with the kids...

It was an interesting trip and one where we just needed to be adaptable in that I'd been sick right before, as had the kids...Luke was still sick the first few days and then my dad got sick and then my mom, and the kids were teething and sooooooo fussy (maybe due to being in a different environment as well)...we still had a great vacation, but a lot of allowances had to be made... (plus I was pregnant and not feeling well just from that...)

Grammy got books from the library...lots of time reading...

So fun to play with Grammy!

And Grammy's garden is soooooooooo beautiful. My mother is amazing! One of the most special things for me this trip was she would take one of the kids down to the garden with her each day, and they (the kids) would come back with a flower in their hand, outstretched to give it to me. I collected all the flowers in a little glass over the time we were there...it was so sweet.

This is my mom and my Uncle David, who along with my mother taught me my outdoors skills and is just such a cool guy (my first memories of him are him living in a real teepee.) His daughter and her husband and son came and spent a couple days, too...it was so fun to see them!

Luke and Zo LOVED playing my mom's piano...

Luke used his paci a lot this trip...he so wasn't feeling well, poor thing...

We went downtown one day to Kairos, which is the coolest kid's store. The kids got hats...this pink one on Sissy, and a brown one just like it for Luke...too cute!

And a trip to the water park...Sissy especially loved the fountain...

I've always felt like going to visit my parents is like going to a spa...the setting is so lush and peaceful, my mom makes these amazing and healthy meals with produce from her garden, usually we're going on hikes all the time (although not this trip). I love these pictures of Sissy because they capture that serene feeling...

Good meals three times a day in the sunroom...

And then one afternoon, Grammy set the kids up with chocolate pudding...so fun! :)

More grass time...and oh, those kids love their grandpa! :)

The last weekend we were there was the Palisade Peach Festival, a big annual event. My brother and his family came out and we started with the pancake breakfast (the kids are crazy about pancakes...they ate 6 pancakes between them!), followed by the parade and the car show and the festival itself with peaches of course and booths with food and crafts. 

Too. Many. Pancakes.

(Sissy is in love with her stuffies, by the way...)

Love to see that girl laughing...

And love to see Luke and Zo interact...they have their moments, but for the most part they are so sweet with each other...

Me and Zo and Luke and Hunter...

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

It's raining like crazy here, but if it lets up, we are going to try to get out to the state fair...fun. :)

XOXO

Thank You! And...Summer in Colorado: Part 1

Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!

First of all, I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has reached out to me in the wake of the terrible thing that has happened to our precious daughter. Especailly those of you who sent me emails after I put up a post and took it down last week...means a lot.

I think this blog is going to be kind of schizophrenic for a while, as I try to come to terms with what happened with our baby girl...and also, I don't want to stop writing about the joy that Luke and Zo bring into our lives...it's really important for me not to push that aside as I deal with what is turning out to be some pretty overwhelming grief (more on that later in the week, I'm sure...)

To that end, I want to catch up on posting pictures...I'm so behind and I don't want these memories to get lost.

First up: the birthday trip (for my birthday) we took to Colorado a little over a month ago, just over the New Mexico border outside a town called Antonito. What a beautiful part of the state (and that Northern part of New Mexico...so beautiful as well). My parents got us cabins and my brother and his family came down too. We stayed at a place called Mogote Meadows, wich wasn't fancy, but so pretty, lush and green and the cabins were super cute and spotlessly clean.

There's a really cool train in Antonito that I'd love to take the kids on someday, but this trip, a visit to the train yard had to suffice:

Cousins: :)

After naps, my mom and the kids and I went to the river and spent a couple hours throwing rocks in...the kids had such a good time...

Grandpa spent a lot of time with the kids playing "Say Goodbye," which entails the kids getting turned upside down...they love it.

My brother made mango salsa as an appetizer, and fish tacos for dinner. Luke could not get enough of the salsa:

After the kids went to bed, we had a fire in the fire ring right behind our cabin, and had cake and ice cream and smores and presents for me. Love this picture of me below...lovely to be so happy on my birthday...

The next day, we all hung out together at camp unitl after lunch...so nice. So great to see everyone...we had such a wonderful weekend...Thanks Mom and Dad for making my birthday so special!!!

 

Zoey's Diary: 15 Months

Hi Hi Hi!

Zoey here, to tell you all about us being 15 months old!

First of all, Uncle Ben and his family came to visit! So exciting! We looooove our Uncle Ben...he is the best!

Also, lots of pool time, especially on the weekends. I was always pretty gung-ho about the pool from the start, but Bubs was a little scared at first, but he's totally come around. We like to get in and out of the pool, while Mommy and Daddy stay in and watch us, but they've got to be ready for us because when we're ready to get back in we're READY...we just turn around and shimmy in feet first and trust that there's someone there to catch us (which there always is).

We are totally into getting behind the couch cushions lately...Mommy calls it playing in our secret fort. 

Mommy is all about pool safety, which is why we wear our safety turtles (the green bracelets you see) when we are not swimming. We really like them. If Mommy says "turtle" we touch our wrists whether the bracelets are on or not. And when she's ready to put on the turtles, we are happy to hold out our wrists and get them on. 

Daddy is so great to hang out with. Lately he's been teaching Bubs how to play Farkle (like Yatzee) on the iPAD.

And me, given the choice, I always want my Daddy holding me.

We get outside every day...Mommy says she's not sure what she's going to do with herself once winter hits...although she does say that winter is mild in New Mexico, so I say put coats on us and we can go out and play just like we always do.

Ice cream + Bubs = a match made in heaven.

What else...let's see...we are talking like mad. Here is a list of some of my words:

Milk (pronounced "nk")

Ball

Truck

Mama

Daddy

Teddy (which can sound a lot like Daddy...sometimes you need to take the context into consideration)

Roar

I always look so proud of myself when I say something and people understand.

Here are some of Bubs' words:

Teddy

Plane

Car

Bird

Ball

Hot

Roar

Speaking of cars, Bubs has gone crazy for cars all of a sudden. He wakes up in the morning going "car, car, car, car," and any time we are out he has to touch all the cars we walk past. And Daddy got him some Hot Wheels...Bubs was so happy! 

And...we are super splash-happy in the bath lately, or at least that's what Mommy says. Sometimes she closes the curtain and says "splash zone" and lets us go to town.

What else...I love to spin in circles. Sometimes Daddy will spin me and then I'll stagger off...Mommy and Daddy think it's hilarious. And both me and Bubs have started to bounce. And if Daddy says "shimmy" I'll move my shoulders with the music that's playing...that's my way of dancing. And we love to sit in Mommy's lap, both of us, for stories. We can literally sit and be read to for an hour...we are just crazy about books, both of us. And we love it when we can sit with Mommy and share a morning snack (she feeds it to us)...our favorite is strawberries and cottage cheese...

So that's about it...summer fun around here and we are loving it!

Love,

Zoey

Zoey's Diary: Teddy Bear Picnic

Hi! Hi! Hi!

Zoey here. So Mommy said July 10 is Teddy Bear Picnic Day, and that we should do something since I am CRAZY about teddies! She said it was OK to do the picnic on the weekend, though, and not on the actual date of July 10. So last Sunday, we got a bunch of my teddies together (plus my pirate dog. And Luke's fuzzy bunny.) and went to the park. Mommy originally wanted to go to Arroyo del Oso park, because oso means bear in Spanish, but there's not much shade there in the afternoon and we definitely needed shade. Se we went to the other little park close to our house. 

Here are all the teddies, and the teddy bear sandwiches our grandma made. They had cream cheese and other yummy stuff inside...there were three different kinds, and they were soooooooo delicious!

Mommy brought apple juice and a bowl full of ice to keep the drinks cool:

Grandma came with us...we were so happy to have her along!

Oh, and the bowl of ice...fun to play in and it helped to keep us cool. (Mommy said she thought that might be the case.)

Oh, and then we had Teddy Grahams for dessert...we barely ever get sweets so we were excited! Bubs tried to eat them by the handful. I just did one at a time. Bubs thought we should eat the whole container but I thought and Mommy agreed that we should take some home to Daddy, so he could have a little part of our picnic.

So that's it! It was so fun! Mommy said we can do a Teddy Bear Picnic every year...can't wait for the next one!

Love,

Zo-Zo

Zoey's Diary: 15 Months

Hi! Hi! Hi!

Zoey here, to tell you all about the past month!

Mommy doesn't have a lot of pictures this time, because she was feeling really sick and also her camera wasn't working, but there are some good ones of Grandpa visiting us, even if a few of them are blurry, you can see how much we love him (and how much he loves us)! He is sooooooooo good with us. He read us tons of stories and he even gave me my first milkshake! We love it when Grandpa visits. Grammy visited us too, just a little while ago, but Mommy's camera REALLY wasn't working by then so she doesn't have any pictures. We had soooooooooo much fun with Grammy though! We can't wait until July when Mommy says we are all going to get together in Colorado...it's going to be so much fun!

We're doing lots of cool stuff these days, lounging and playing. We love outside and water, the pool but also Mommy fills up a little container on the patio and we splash in it...so fun. And Mommy says Luke is into EVERYTHING these days...she says she feels bad because sometimes all she says all day is no no no. I'm pretty mellow at the moment...Luke gets into enough stuff for the both of us, I figure.

Mommy still reads to us tons. We both plop ourselves down in her lap for stories, side by side. It's the best.

Oh and we are both starting to talk, me and Bubs. We've been saying mama and daddy, but I've also started saying teddy and nana for banana and Bubs says bird and we both say ball and face parts like ear and nose and mouth. Oh, and rock was one of the first words for both of us...Mommy says clearly we are New Mexico. :) 

And also, we are getting more and more affectionate with each other, me and Bubs, giving each other hugs or just laying our head against one or the other. There is a bit of roughness too but it's not intentional...we're just learning how to be with other people. I also always make sure Bubs has a beeper (paci) when he needs it (I'll go looking for one if he's fussing, bring it back to him). And he's always bringing me teddies because he knows how much I love them.

So that's it. We are loving life around here!

Love,

Zoey-kins

Lukes Diary: 14 Months

Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!

We turned 14 months old a little while ago, and I wanted to tell you about our past month!

Our Grammy came to visit us! We love it when we get to see her!

And, Grandma Charlotte was planting things in the garden, so we got to spend a lot of time outside. I loooooooove being outside. I would spend all day outside if I could, and so would Sissy.

We've always liked books, but lately it's been all about board books, so we can hold them and chew on them and throw them at people so they will read them to us. "The Hungry Little Caterpillar" is a perennial favorite (you should hear Daddy's rendition, with the caterpillar in training for an eating contest), but this month we have especially loved "Go Dog, Go!" which our Grammy gave us. We're happiest if someone is reading it to us 10 times in a row.

I like my paci (which Daddy also calls my Beeper...actually Mommy has started calling me Beeper sometimes, or Beep). Mommy and Daddy are OK with it. Often, Mommy asks if she can have it and I'll usually hand it over and she'll put it in her pocket and tell me to let her know if I need it. Sometimes I don't want to give it up, though, and that's OK too.

Me and Sissy are interacting a lot more these days. She comes up and gives me a hug and I do the same to her. She also brings me a pacifier if she finds one lying around the house...she'll put it in my mouth and everything. Sometimes I'll chase Sissy and tackle her, but she doesn't seem to mind. I've also been known to find her teddies laying around and bring them to her...

Zoey's been waving a lot. And I've been talking up a storm, Mommy says, and I've started to throw kisses, too, like Sissy.

We gave up all our bottles except the evening one this past month...it was no big deal. And we are still napping 1 1/2 to 2 hours morning and afternoon. We are great sleepers!

Mommy's been taking us to parks to play in the grass (she says she really misses grass) and/or to play on the playground stuff. It's so fun!

In the evenings Mommy (and sometimes Daddy) takes us into our room after our bath and plays "Mommy Monster," where we don't have to get diapers on or lotion or PJs unless she can catch us. It's super fun. Daddy plays "Daddy Monster" around the house too all day, where he chases after us with his arms up and fingers curled like claws. Sometimes Sissy will put her arms up too and run around like Daddy. It's hil-arious.

So that's it! Another good month! Catch you later!

Love,

Luke

Twins Are Amazing

Hi Everyone! Happy Friday! 

Today I wanted to share a couple short videos of my twins interacting.

First, a French toast breakfast in which they feed each other:

Then, playing together in the playroom, Luke putting balls into the dinosaur, Zo pushing them back out:

Twins are amazing! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Thanks for spending some time here this week!

XOXO