Life with the Twinkies

Day In Our Life

Life is  going so fast I am afraid I am going to forget what these days are like.  I feel like I was really good the first year/two at documenting their lives and have gotten away from it more than I would like.  Wish I could say I had a great memory to always remember these days, but honestly I seem to forget so fast! So this post is for me as a quick snapshot of today.

For the past couple of months since the girls started in the preschool room we have been working on learning and recognizing both letters and numbers. For the letters we have a leap frog alphabet set on the fridge we use to 'quiz' the girls. Their reward is usually a single m&m which they are thrilled with. They asked to be quizzed morning and night.  Lately we have been focusing on recognizing numbers. They girls have their own classroom like calendar that we use everyday to work on numbers.  We also use pictures to highlight upcoming special days like birthday parties so they can visually see how many more days till.  Writing their names is something else we are also working on. Both can do a pretty good job so far but we will keep working on it. 

Bedtimes continue to get easier without the numerous calls in for mommy/daddy or waking up too early. This week I resorted to a reward chart for the girls to earn a slumber where they can lay in my bed and watch movies.  Such a big deal for them:)

The girls are both such good helpers, always looking for something they can help me with. Although it is usually easier if I do something myself I am making a better effor to allow them to help, I just have to make sure if I have something for one of them to do  I  better have something for the other:)

When the girls do watch tv they still love Mickey, Dora and now the Bernstein Bears. Playing dress up is still a favorite thing to do along with playing with their babies and dollhouse.  They still play with each other most of the time.

The girls love to be together but still find lots of reasons to fight or tattle, we are working on that:)

When asked what they want to do when they group up, Abby always responds she wants to be a mommy and Megan lately says she wants to be an animal doctor or maybe cowgirl:)

They still say the cutest and sweetest things.  Abby continues to tell me she wants to live with me forever and Megan still thinks I am the best.

I love my girls!

 

April Showers

April was a busy month for the girls.  The month started with a fun trip to a local kids dinner theatre to see Pinkalicious with two of their good friends to celebrate a birthday. The girls had been looking forward to it for probably close to two months  up to the big day.  Unfortunately early on in the day Abby vomitting.  Not sure if it was the sugary pop tart I gave her for breakfast or she was sick, I opted to let her go.  Unfortunately she has a weak stomach in the car so it made for an interesting day.  We     all had a lot of fun and of course everyone had to wear pink!

Getting ready for Easter was so much fun this year with the girls. We did some crafts and of course decorated eggs which they were pretty much able to do all by themselves which I wasn't expecting.

Easter weekend was fun filled for us. That Friday since the girls daycare was closed and Kenny was working I decided to surprise the girls and take them to a movie.  We went and saw Rio. Such big girls to sit so good thru a movie. I was so proud! The next day we had a Easter get together with Kenny's family at which of course the girls were showered with Easter baskets and goodies along with an egg hunt.  That night the girls put their carrots out for the Easter bunny. He made a stop at our house:)

 

Trip to San Diego

In March the girls and I traveled out to San Diego for a week and a half. This was the first time I traveled both ways with them by myself.  They each had a little packback (thanks Auntie Cheryl:) filled with toys and snacks to keep them busy along with a portable DVD players with some new DVDS for the trip. They did a great job. The biggest dilema I had was managing both of them along with our double wide stroller in and out of the bathrooms.  It was a long travel when factoring in the layover in Chicago.  All in all in went better than I had expected.

It didn't take the girls long to warm up to family and friends. Although I was busy with work several of the days we did manage to fit in some fun.  The girls and I took a trip to the zoo with their nana and cousin Jake. The zoo is always a favorite!

We even fit in a visit to Aunt DeeDee's for some painting!

We were able to visit with friends.

Before heading home we even made a special trip to Legoland. Neither the girls or I had been there before. It is a great place for little ones with so much to do. I wasn't sure how adventurous the girls would be with rides but they loved them!

The last thing we did before leaving Legoland was having the girls drive the little cars.  We waited in line for quite a while.  The girls were super excited to get in the cars. This was the first time they had a steering wheel and gas pedal and weren't quite sure what to do.  It wasn't long before they were on their way, they didn't quite make it all the way around the track before their turn was up. They loved it and were so proud of their paper drivers license.

Valetines Day

The girls were lucky enough this year to have two Valentines parties at school now that they are in the preschool room. Before the party the girls and I had an assignment to make their Valentines boxes for their party.  I love that the girls love to craft with me.

Here are the girls on Valentines Day.

With two parties the girls ended up with so many treats and Valentines. They had a blast going thru their goodies!

We Are Back!

I am so embarrassed its been almost four months since my last post.  Working mother of two active litte girls keeps me busy. When not busy I have been trying to fit in some craft or tv watching, two things I really enjoy.  Tonights goal is to catch up on some posts and share what we have been up to!

Preschool

The girls have now officially transitioned from the toddler room to the daycare room. So far the move has been very smooth. They are excited to go each day and seem to be bubbling over with excitement when we pick them up. The girls spell their names and are working on writing them now. It won't be long before they can do it by themselves.

For me the hardest thing about the transition has been watching them go from a small classroom with much younger children to a much larger classroom with the older kids.  I wasn't prepared when Megan came home and told me one of the boys called her stupid.  My mommy defenses went up, how could anyone say such a thing to my sweet Megan.  It had caught me off gaurd but yet I know it happens with kids. We talked about the incident and I reassured her he was wrong to do that and she was very smart. She went on to tell me that no one should call anyone stupid but if he wanted to call himself stupid that would be okay.   I did talk to the director and there were aware of this issue with this child and are actively working on it so hopefully it will get better. She now knows if that happens again she needs to tell the teachers right away so it can be corrected.  She came home a few days later and told me that the same boy didn't call anyone stupid that day.  That same day she told me another boy said he liked her and that she was smart which made me smile.

Abby has been making comments about people laughing at her and that she doesn't have friends which I don't believe since I always see her playing with other kids.  She couldn't give me details and started smiling when I asked her. I talked to the director and thought she might be making it up. I will keep my eye on her and make sure she gets lots of attention.

It is fun to hear what they are learning about. I feel like they are on track for where they should be at this point. I am trying to make more of an effort to spend time on writing skills with them at night and weekends.

Despite being three we still have issues with the girls, Megan especially, calling us in a few times after we tuck them in for the night.  Sometimes it is for more hugs and kisses, to say prayers if we forgot, to discuss what they are going to dream about that night, to talk about purple cupcakes (Megan did this the other night) or to tattle tale on something Abby said.  Tonight was the first night they didn't call us back in so tomorrow I will have to reward them with something special. Hopefully it will be the first night of many.

Your Are the Bestest

Might as well have documentation of this beacause I know one day they won't feel this way.  Megan has been telling me 'You are the bestest mommy ever'. My heart melts when she says it.  So sweet.

She has also been know to tell me 'that was the bestest dinner ever' when I have fed her macaroni and cheese and hotdogs.  In her eyes it probably was the best.  Its so nice to be on her pedestal and be loved so much.

Most of the time Megan is sincere although she does now how to play us sometime. Lately it is as soon as she realizes she is getting in trouble it turns to 'I love you' and hugs and kisses for her defense. She has figured out it is hard to be so upset when she is so lovey. I think will be have our hands full with her.

Tonight she did say daddy was her best friend, as much as she loves me she truly is a daddy's girl.  Abby is fine with that so she can be my girl!

My Babies are Turning Three!!!!

Its true, on New Year's Eve my little girls will be turning three!!!! The girls are so excited to celebrate their birthday tomorrow.  As Megan went to sleep tonight she said 'now you and daddy can decorate, I can't wait to see it in the morning'. Luckily I had some streamers and could do some light decorating so she wouldn't be disappointed.

The girls daycare was closed all this week for the holidays so the girls celebrated with their friends at school with cupcakes and party hats last week. I figured this would probably be the last small birthday before we venture out to holding kids birthday parties for all their friends.  I wanted to do soemthing or go somewhere for their birthday this year. To celebrate we are taking the girls to see their first movie in a movie theatre. We will be seeing 'Tangled'. Fingers crossed it goes well and they can sit still for an hour and a half.  They both know that you have to sit still and can't talk because it disturbs other so we will see how they do. They are both really excited about it. Then tomorrow night we have the girls' gram and pap coming over for cake and ice cream. The girls picked out a fun Dora cake at the bakery.

On Monday when the girls return to daycare they will be moving from the toddler room out to the preschool room. On one hand I am so proud of them and happy they are ready but I know they miss their little friends they have grown to love over the last year and a half.  Luckily their friends will be transitioning over the next couple of months so it won't be long until they are together again.

Looking back I didn't feel like we went thru the notorious terrible twos. That being said I am a little worried about the threes.  The girls have been testing the waters lately, Abby especially.  Each day seems to bring more joy and new challenges.

Happy Birthday Abby and Megan!

 

 

Getting Ready for the Holidays

The holidays have definitely changed this year now that the girls are almost 3 years old. I love that are so excited about Christmas and their upcoming birthday.  Experiencing the excitement thru their eyes is priceless.  The simplest of things lit their faces up. When the first lights went up in the neighborhood they were in awe.

This was the first year we have done an advent calendar for the girls. I didn't want to just fill it with candy so I borrowed an idea from a friend Lisa who filled her son's pockets with fun daily activites centered around the holidays.  So for the girls some days are activities, some are small gifts and of course a few pieces of candy here and there.  Of course Callie isn't left out either, she has her our Christmas countdown to look forward to everyday.

This year the girls also had a visit from their very own shelf on the elf.  Of course when it came to naming the elf they wanted 'elf, frosty the snowman' so we went from Eflie to Alfie. Each day they look forward to finding where he is. They had a little skepticisim the first day or so with comments like 'that is just a pretend elf' or 'daddy must have moved him' but have now gotten the hang of it. Tonight when Megan got in trouble for sticking her tongue out at me Abby kept saying Alfie saw that and she is going to be on the naughty list. We have also had Abby wake up a few times in the middle of the night crying because she doesn't want to be on the naughty list.

In just a few weeks the girls will be turning three.  They are super excited! Poor little Megan asks almost every day if its her birthday yet. They seem most excited about party hats and sharing treats with their friends at school.  Along with turing three comes a transition to the preschool room at school. The girls have started the transition and seem to like it especially when they found out they get apple juice at snack (not hard to sway them).  I think we waded our way thru the terrible twos pertty well but I suspect three is going to be a hard year given the recent events.  The worst was Abby told me last week that she wanted a new family...can't wait to hear what comes out next:)

 

What Are We Thankful For?

With Halloween behind us its time to turn to Thanksgiving. I wanted to do something to get the girls thinking about things they are grateful for.  My first thought was that we would write soemthing down every day but after I had already missed the first couple of days decided to move on to plan B.

Last Sunday I had the girls sit down with me at the table and tried to explain what it ment to be thankful for something and told them we were going to write what were thankful for on the different colored leaves I had on the table.  The answers were sweet, sincere and sometimes just silly.  Top of the list was mommy, daddy, grandparents, friends and Callie.  Abby was thankful for shopping, going out to eat and that she had been a baby. Megan was thankful for her costumes, school and toys.  By the time we got the later leaves I think they just started naming stuff they saw like the baby gate, a window and a light.  The activity did have some teachable moments as I wrote I was thankfulf for our health, a house for us to live in and food for us to eat and explained that not everyone had those.  We hung the leaves up on our day in the kitchen so we can see them everyday and be reminded. I would like to continue to do something along these lines every year for all of us.