Life with the Twinkies

Slumber Party

Since the girls started potty training I came up with the idea of rewarding them with a slumber party. No, not a slumber party with other kids but one with just me and them. I promised they could sleep in sleeing bags in mommy's scrapbook room and we could watch Toy Story (which they hadn't seen).

Well the time finally came which they were both pretty much completely potty trained with the exception of the occassional accident so I decided it was time. Last Friday after I picked them up from daycare we went and picked up one of their favorite meals affectionately called 'momma pasta'.  I just wanted to start our fun and special night with a meal I knew they wouldn't whine about it and it worked. We had a great dinner and then off to take baths and get ready for the slumber party.

In stead of sleeping on the floor we laid out the sleeping bags on the futon and got settled in to watch Toy Story.  It held their attention pretty well although at times Abby was more interested in the little back pack and flashlight that came with her sleeping bag. The three of us cuddled on the futon watching the movie having a girls night.

After the movie Megan was ready to fall asleep but not Abby. I let her watch a little Dora before lights out.  She finally feel asleep about 9:30 which I was hoping with mean a later wake up but no such luck they were both up bright and early.  Megan made it all worth while when the first thing she said that morning was 'that was the best slumber party ever'....so sweet!

Halloween

Halloween this year was  so different than the last two.  The girls are finally old enough to get excited about and get in the holiday spirit. We started talking about costumes weeks before and occassionally looked at the costumes in the mail order catalogs we had recieved.  When I asked the girls what they wanted to be they answered Little Bo Peep and a cowgirl.  I kept asking in hopes that they might change their mind and decide to be something easier but each time I asked they anserwed the same so off I went to search for costumes.  The girls were so excited when their costumes arrived and couldn't wait for Halloween!  I was just thankful they hadn't changed their minds in the time between me ordering the costumes and whent they finally came.

Halloween wasn't just a single night for the girls they dragged it on several days. It started the Friday before Halloween with Trick or Treating at a local mall.   It was so much fun to get them all dressed up and pumpkin/lamb treat baskets in hand.  I had no idea it was going to be as crowded as it was. It was crazy all for some free candy and little prizes.  I don't know if I would venture to take them again all a little too much I just wanted my girls to get to experience a little trick or treating. Of course as we left the mall the girls were already asking when they could trick or treat again.

That Thursday the girls had their party at their daycare which involved dressing up again, a costume parade, some songs/dance, a spider pinata and of course lots of yummy treats.  I was lucky enough to be able to attend and see their excitement.

The following night we took the girls trick or treating at their gram and pap's house.  Their gram had a big plastic pumpkin full of goodies for each of the girls.  It didn't take long for them to dig in.

Saturday night we took the girls to our community's children's Halloween party.  We met up with one of their friends from school and her mother while we were their.  They had some little Halloween themed games and treats.  In addition they had costume contests by age group and I am happy to report that our Little Bo Peep won.

Finally Halloween was here.  The girls had a fun day starting with baking Halloween cupcakes. Then we let the girls help with the pumpkins getting them ready for daddy to carve. Abby lost interest early on but Megan seemed to enjoy it.

That night their friend Charlotte came over with her mom to join us trick or treating. We took the girls to a few houses on our street and the next.  Unfortunately it was already getting cold out so we didn't stay out too long, just long enough for them to experience it. 

As a mother I enjoyed celebrating with my girls and reliving the excitement but by the time Sunday night was over I was ready to move on to the next holiday but not Abby.  Poor little Abby kept asking me about the next holiday or party and wanting to wear her costume again. She had school pictures this last week and told me she should wear her costume again and when I said no she said it 'made her so sad'.  As part of her costume I had her wear black mary jane shoes and we called them little bo peep shoes. Now her 'little bo peep' shoes are the only ones she wants to wear.  All she wants is for it to be Halloween again!

Life with the Girls

Just a quick update on the girls.  The first two years I was pretty good at documenting on their progress/changes but haven't been so lately.   Their little personalities continue to blossom each and every day!  Of course they still challenge us as most two, almost three year olds do. 

I love watching how their little minds work, how they piece things together and listen to the questions they come up with.  Megan always wants to be in the know. She is the one who will come up to Kenny/I talking and ask 'what are you talking about? or what did she say?'. She cracks up her teachers sometimes doing this.  They have even become our little back seat driver as today Abby told me to 'drive with both hands on the steering wheel'. You never know what is going to come out of those two little mouths.  We love our two little people!!!

The girls are so fun to watch interact. The fighting seems to have subsided some and the friendship seems to have grown. They do care for each other and show concern for how each other are feeling.  Not having a sister it has been fun to experience thru them.

We are looking forward to the holidays with the girls. Halloween has the girls really excited this year. The picked out their costumes this year.  I asked them back in September and neither has changed their mind.  Megan is going to be a cowgirl. She has been practing her 'giddy up' and 'ye haw'. Abby picked out Little Bo Peep.  She has been reciting the nursery rhyme over and over. Can't wait for the big night!

Will keep you posted!

Abby's Big Day

We decided tomorrow will be the big day for Abby. The big girl panties are coming out!!!  She has been doing such a great job potty training and it is time.  The back up of the pull ups has been a comfort to me but its time.  She was so excited tonight when we told her. The smile on her face was so cute.

The only thing we had been struggling with was whether we should have her wait until Megan was ready to avoid Megan being hurt or upset.  A few days agao I thought they were both ready but Megan seemed to lapse a little this weekend.  Finally I just felt that it wasn't fair to Abby so tomorrow is it.

In hopes of avoiding tears tomorrow morning I decided it would be best to forwarn Megan. So tonight I talked to her and the tears came. It was so sad to watch. I explained to her that if she did a really good job staying dry this week that next Saturday we would do our celebration slumber party and then she would get to wear hers too! The tears stopped and seemed to make her feel better.  Keeping my fingers crossed that next Monday will be a big day for Megan too!

 

Pumpkin Picking Playdate

What a fun weekend for the girls. Yesterday they had a fun playdate with three of their little friends fromtheir daycare.  Minutes away from us is a little farm market/nursery that hosts some fun fall activties this time of year.

The day started out with a hayride, a barrel train ride, a petting zoo, corn maze where we find pumpkins, a picnic lunch and all followed by mulitple trips down the homemade 75 foot slide!!!! Here are some fun pictures from the day.

Llama Llama Mad at Mama

Llama Llama Mad at Mama is one of the girls favorite books. So I was excited when Kenny told me we were invited to an Alpaca Farm. Ok I realize they are not exactly llamas, but close enough:)  One of Kenny's co-workers families have an alpaca farm and were holding big open house two weeks ago. The weather was perfect that weekend to spend outside. We enjoyed learning about the alpacas getting up and close. It was a good time.

This is a First

Woohoo!!! I had two little girls who both stayed dry all day!!!!  It is a small victory along our road to potty training.

Abby has been doing a great job and has been staying dry most days over the last two weeks or so. She had one accident the other night. She called me at almost midnight saying she had to go but by the time we got the potty she was already wet.  She then preceded to tell me it was an accident.  She really tried and seemed upset about it. A quick change and back to bed she went. I haven't transitioned her to big girl panties quite yet.  Mom just hasn't been ready. I appreciate the back up of a pull up for just a little longer.

Megan has been struggling a little with potty training. She seems to get so distracted or busy playing that she just doesn't want to take the time to go pee in the potty. When I ask her why she peed in her pull ups she just says 'because I wanted to'. She was probably 50/50 on staying dry. We have been using rewards with the girls during this process.  One of their most favorite rewards is a juice box. I had gotten a little lax and gave them more than I should and needed to go back and reinforce the system. Lets just say Megan was in tears as she watched Abby get a juice box for staying dry at dinner last night and she didn't.  Her daycare even started a special potty chart for her. Between those two things she stayed dry today!  We will she if she keeps it up.

Fingers crossed.

Dutch Wonderland

On Saturday we surprised the girls with a trip to Dutch Wonderland, an amusement park geared towards younger children in Lancaster, PA.  A co-worker of Kenny's was nice enough to give us tickets so we jumped at the chance to go.  We had it planned on our calendar for a while but decided not to tell the girls. By not telling them in advance we avoided the chance of having to disappoint in the case someone got sick or it was raining. These little girls remember everything so mum was the word until Saturday morning and they were excited!!!! Lucky for us it was a beautiful day out.

Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the rides. Megan was a little anxious when it came to having to stand in line and wait for the rides. A few times she was close to tears not understanding why we couldn't just get on the rides. It was a good lesson for her on patience for sure. Abby on the other hand was very patient and easy going.

The first ride they went on was a bee hive ride. It was Abby's favorite but not so much Megan's.

Daddy took both the girls on the Fun slide which they loved.

Of course no trip would be complete without ice cream:)

The girls loved seeing the Dutch Wonderland Princess.

I loved seeing the park thru their eyes!

On our way out we had some fun in the gift shop. The girls wanted everything they picked up of course. Megan told her not to worry about money because she had some and then took her imaginary money out to show daddy. When her daddy tried to explain that we needed real money to buy something and took a bill out of his pocket she took it from him and handed it back saying 'here' is my money. Surprisingly we managed to get out without buying anything and without tears. It was a great day with our little family.

Enjoying Fall

We are trying to enjoy the nice weather while we can. Tonight after dinner we took the girls out to ride their trikes. Neither has quite figured out/mastered the pedaling but have fun scooting around. I think Megan enjoyed it a little more than Abby but had fun anyway.

 

 

We have lots of fun things to look forward to this fall and will be sure to keep everyone posted on what we are up to.

Great Weekend with Great Friends

Note: Please forgive the formatting. Having just switched to TypePad I am still figuring things out.

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Just when I thought three day weekends couldn't get any better they do. My best friend Jen and her children came to visit us from Virginia. 

Abby and Megan had been looking forward to seeing Payton, Emory and Miss Jen for since I had first mentioned it to them a few weeks ago.  They were so excited! Every day last week when they would wake up they would ask if it was Friday yet. I must admit I did use it to my advantage to keep the girls on their best behavior pulling the 'I will call Miss Jen and tell her they can't come if you keep....". I was probably just as excited as the girls looking forward to spending time with Jen. Whenever we get together we usually plan some crafty time although truth be told me we end up just gabbing most of the time. This trip we did get Payton's bow holder made.

Friday was a low key afternoon/night at our house complete with pizza.  The kids loved playing together and got along great. Once Kenny broke out the xbox for Emory he was a happy camper.  Little Payton warmed up right away to Kenny.

Saturday morning we packed up all the girls and headed out to a local community garage sale to check things out.  We didn't find much but it was still fun to get out.  Later that afternoon we took all 4 kids over to a local business that was running some fun fall activities that included a hay ride, petting zoo, barrel train ride and corn maze.  The thought of chasing 4 kids thru a maze didn't sound super fun so we skipped that part.  The kids had a blast!

 

 

 

On Sunday we headed out to spend the afternoon at a local amusement park.  Of course this was a hit with the kiddos. Who wouldn't like fun rides and ice cream?  My girls did much better this trip with the rides.  Last trip we had some tears but I am happy to report this trip was tear-free other than Abby crying as she watched everyone else ride the carousel after she decided not to. Of course we let her get her turn too:)

 

 

For the last ride of the day we took the little train that runs along the outside of the park which the girls had enjoyed last time.  Abby remembered from our last trip that the train went thru a dark tunnel and that everyone yelled/screamed. So this time she was prepared and put her hands over her ears and joined in. Of course i did my best to capture it. 

 

By the time Sunday night came the kids were pretty worn out.  Unfortunately it was about 11:30 when Abby woke up with a 103 degree fever. My guess was it was an ear infection which was confirmed by a doctor yesterday. I was really hope we hadn't gotten Emory or Payton sick. Emory started first grade on Tuesday.

Jen and the kids packed up and headed out Monday morning. We all had a great time with them. The girls and I are already trying to plan our next trip down to see them.

Thanks for making the trip Jen, Payton and Emory!