Poop

It has happened, the day I have been dreading, the day one of my girls decides it is alright to smear poop on their bed. This happened earlier in the week and then again today. I went into the girls room after them waking up from a nap to find Lillian with poop on her hands on all over her sheets. Luckily it isn't mass amounts, but even a little is still too much.

For a few weeks now, Lillian will hook her finger to the inside of her diaper and sit there like that. I cringe every time I see her like that because I have known it would only be a matter of time before it is more then just a wet diaper. It doesn't matter if she is wearing a dress, shorts or a skirt, she will stick her fingers in her diaper. So in attempt from having dirty hands and sheets again in the morning, Lillian is sleeping in a onesie and cotton pants.

Please cross your fingers this is just a short phase she is in and it will pass soon. Oh and so we all know that my girls are not completely gross and icky, here are some great smiles from our spaghetti dinner tonight.

Yes, they are wearing a Halloween and Christmas bib.

Rub a Dub Dub

Rub a dub dub, two little girls in a tub.

Playing in a Field

As I mentioned previously, our friends Cory and Nicki got married a few weeks ago which was the start of our Minnesota trip. Since Josh was the best man and I was by myself with two wiggly girls during the ceremony, I did not get any pictures of that, but I did take some right after the ceremony of the girls running on the giant field of grass. I can put my girls in a dress, but I sure cannot make them act like little ladies as they run into the woods and dirt. I had to chase them out of the woods and while they came out unharmed, I did get a few scratches myself.

Lillian

Claire

Home

Last night we arrived home from an 11 day trip to Minnesota to visit some great friends. I have pictures and stories to share, but this evening was spent playing catch-up on everything that was waiting for us when we got home. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the time to upload some pictures and let everyone know about all the new things the girls are doing. Until then, here is one family photo that my friend Lauren took of us at Cory's wedding on July 17th.

A Week Away

This week the girls and I will be in Minnesota visiting friends. Josh is back at home working and getting things done around the house, but we get to play! I will be sure to give many updates and share a ton of pictures after we get back next week.

On a side note, it was two years ago today (July 18, 2008) that we found out were were expecting twins and today I was chasing them around constantly answering the question, "dat?" These past two years have been an amazing ride and I can't wait to see what the years to come will bring.

Reclaiming the Livingroom

While the girls were napping on Sunday, I decided it was time to get my living room back. I got ride of a baby gate, put the coffee table back where it belongs and unloaded a few toys to the playroom. I now love walking into the living room and have it look more like a grown up space shared with kids, then a kids spaced shared with grown ups.
In doing this transformation, I have also taken some of their books down off the shelf and have them down lower where they can read them throughout the day. I had them up high before because they were constantly chewing in the cardboard pages and destroying them. Now the books are getting worn out from being read 20 times a day. The hardly touch any of their toys anymore because they are wanting to read their books. I think it is time to go shopping for some new ones so I don't have to read "Eight Silly Monkey's" 5 times in twenty minutes. Although, it is cute watching the girls shaking their finger and saying "no, no" when mama calls the doctor.

Little Friend

Yesterday Claire was in her regular perching spot on the back of the couch when she noticed a little friend on the other side of the glass. This little friend is black and has eight legs, we'll call him Spidey. She sat there and watched him walk all over the screen for awhile before Lillian came over and joined her. If Spidey were on the inside of the glass he would have been squished pretty quickly, so if he knows what is good for him he will stay outside.

He is that little black spot right above Claire's finger.

Swimming Saturday

Today it was just the girls and I, Josh is having some training during the day for the next couple days. Since the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect, after breakfast I decided to put Lillian and Claire in their swimsuits and head outside. I filled the pool while they were eating and by the time we went out, the water warmed up a bit. Once outside, both girls went straight to the pool and started to play. They each took a turn doing a belly flop while tripping on the edge, but they both laughed and got right back up. Before heading inside we went on the deck to play with the water table. I went and got the hose to put some fresh water in the table, but they both kept grabbing the hose to spray themselves. They had very little interest in the sprinkler today (expect when Claire would stand or sit on the picnic table and let the water hit her) but they laughed so hard when I sprayed them with the hose. Crazy girls.
We stayed outside for about 45 minutes and when it was time to go inside neither of them seemed ready, by that, I am mean they both threw a fit.

Snack Cups

Early this week I went to Target to pick a few things up, but as usual, I left with way so much more then what was on my list. Can you ever go into Target and stick to the list? I had to get more plastic plates for the girls since the pack we bought only came with 5 and well that wont get us through a day without having to wash. While in the baby feeding aisle I spotted some awesome snack cups that have a slitted opening that allows the girls to carry them around, but not let their snack fall all over the floor. Genius!
This afternoon I put some raisins, cereal and oyster crackers in their new cups for snack and they were so confused with those trickly slits on top. They both stood there poking a finger through the hole. I then showed them how to reach in and grab the food, so they stuck their one finger a little bit further. After a few minutes they finally got the hang of it and were so proud sitting with their new cups. Lillian was thristy so she ran over to get her water, this was the start of a problem though. She held her water cup in one hand and snack cup in the other, now she didn't have a hand to reach into the cup. She solved that by setting her snack up on the table so she could reach her hand in, problem was, her hand didn't come back out. She looked to me for help, so I held her snack up and she was able to take her hand out of the cup. This went on for almost the remainder up her snack because she refused to set her water cup down.

18 Month Check Up

We had out 18 month check up today (only a few weeks late) and everything went great, well, kinda. The girls had so much fun playing in the waiting room, looking at the fish, and chatting with everyone. As soon as we walk into the exam room they both start screaming and cling tightly to us. It was torture trying to get them to sit on the scale, but the worst was head measurements. They didn't wiggle too much when we measure their length, but that doesn't mean they were happy about it. Thankfully they didn't need any shots today otherwise it would have been a real scream fest. Once the nurse was all done taking their stats and she left the room they were fine. They waved to the door and said bye bye wanting to leave. They always do great with their pediatrician and gave him high fives. They had so much fun running around to the different colored square tiles and chasing each other around the exam room, but were more then happy to leave when it was time.

Alright, now the important stuff.

Lillian:
22lb 4oz (20%)
32.5" long (70%)

Claire:
23lb 11oz (40%)
32" long (60%)

Everything looks great, but it made my heart skip a beat when he said we don't need to come back until their 2 year appointment in 5 months. Really, my girls are only 5 months from being 2? I am not ready for that!

Pretty Flowers

Do you remember these flower heads from last March? Don't they look like they are being tortured?
Well, they found the headbands in their room and they have recently become a favorite accessory of theirs. They put them on their own heads and Claire loves to stack them and wear them as a necklace. When they have them on, they walk around with such pride and have the biggest smile on their faces.

Oh and I picked up some new toys for the water table the other day, since it has been raining all week they have been playing with them inside. Well, Claire thinks it is necessary to carry as much in her hands as possible.

We're Going to the Zoo

Saturday morning after breakfast we loaded the girls up and headed out to the zoo. Once we got there we signed up for a zoo membership so we can go whenever we want and not have to worry about standing in line and buying tickets. I love it, because we can also get into various zoos around the nation for free or discounted price and we love the zoo! Since it was so hot out we didn't walk the whole zoo, but we did make our way around Asia, Australia, the rain forest, checked out the sea lions and Josh visited the snakes without us. Ick! We also visited the bird atrium and discovery farm Next trip we will make the giant Africa loop.

They were so excited to see the carousel and loved watching the kids wave and hearing the music. I am thinking the next trip we need to test this out, however, I am terrified they are going to scream the whole time on there like they do on elevators (a fear for both of them).

I love how all of the exhibits are open so kids in strollers can see and not a stone wall or something similar that obstructs their view. Here the are checking out the Macaws.

Don't forget their friend Billy the Goat.

We headed home shortly after lunch in hopes for a great nap time for everyone. Lillian and Claire had other plans and they both fell asleep before we even got on the highway in the car. This results in them only napping for about 20 minutes and then jumping in their crib their whole nap time. You would think after no morning nap, spending the morning at the zoo and only sleeping for 20 minutes in the car they would be tired, but would be wrong.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone. I hope you all are able to enjoy this holiday with your family and friends. Josh has been working all day so today is a girls day, but we sported the red, white and blue. We have been hearing people in the neighborhood shooting off fireworks all day and surprisingly, the sound make the girls laugh.
Yesterday Josh had off work, so we had a fun filled family day then. We spent the morning at the zoo, came home for naps, went out for pizza then play time at the park. The weather was hot, but we didn't let that slow us down. We signed up for a zoo membership and we are excited to take many more trips with the girls this summer. I cannot find my camera I took with me to the zoo, but once I find it, I will add pictures. Until then, here are pictures from today on my old camera.

Nosey Neighbors

Lately this is the spot where both girls like to spend a lot of their time, sitting or standing on the back of the couch with their noses pushed against the window.

Freeze Pops

What is better then a freeze pop on a hot day? Nothing really. Every few days or so after dinner I will cut one freeze pop in half and give a half to Lillian and Claire. So far the only flavor they have not enjoyed is the green ones, but I don't blame them. They are so funny to see how differently they eat them. Lillian tends to squeeze the whole pop out of the plastic wrapper, watch any remaining juice drip all over her tray and then put large chunks of the pop in her mouth and let it melt. Claire on the other hand takes big bites of the pop while still in the plastic and uses her teeth to help drag it out of the opening. She does this until she can no longer bite it. Once she hits that point she will hold her pop out to us to have us help her push the remaining up to the top. Oh and she chews the chunks and eats very quickly.

Painting a Masterpiece

The other night after dinner I washed the girls trays, tapes some paper down and added paint. It has been several months since the last time they finger painted and they have become much more interested in painting then eating the paint. They both started by using just one finger and by the time I took their trays away they were two hands deep into the paint letting it squish between their fingers. Neither of them we too happy when I took the trays away, they have become professional fit throwers lately, but got over it pretty quickly. I should buy some new colors since most of their artwork is purple, orange and/or green.

Lillian

Claire