My train conductor and bumblebee

We are so funny...
Lift on three...
Cheese!
walking together
hold my hand...

This morning I got a few pictures of our train conductor and bumblebee. These kids are so fun. It was hard to get Drew to stand still for a single shot so we will try tomorrow.

Boring mom stuff

We are taking a fabulous Bible study called Growing Kids God's Way. We had to miss last week because we had a puker but, they talked about structure in the home. I know some people thrive on it and some don't. The teacher in me loves structure and my little Type A child, Charis, loves it as well. Drew, bless him, just lives in the moment and for caca(outside) and Dada. I don't think he even knows we went to Colorado for 3 days. I want to remember what we do when I look back one day so I am putting it below. I know some people start all this in the first year of their child's life but, I was still surviving so this schedule has only been introduced in the last 6 months.

Since I came home from the hospital with two little mouths to feed, bottoms to wipe, and babies to get to sleep we had to have a routine. It worked so well for us. They have always done very well eating at the same time and we have only had minor hiccups in getting them to nap at the same time. As they get older our routine has changed.

My kids have an "independent" playtime in the morning. I use quotes because at this time it is independent of me but they are twins and play in the same room. My goal is to add an afternoon time that is truly independent with them in separate rooms. Being a twin is strange to me. I guess because I am only child but the fact they have NEVER been alone is weird to me. I know they are fine either way but, I want them to have truly independent play time because I want them to learn how to be alone and not depend on the other without even knowing they are. We do blanket time after nap and they enjoy it. Charis loves it because she is type A and feels very good about herself after she accomplishes her blanket time. We do some structured play stuff too. Drew is fine but, his language is a tad behind. He is more physical than verbal. So we have started working on some things together. I am not worried about him but, I am home so I thought we might as well work on it.

I would love to know what activities, games, etc other moms do. We do the typical dry pasta, playdough, water stuff but, I have heard of some pretty creative moms. If you have a fun tip please pass it on. I am just doing some verses with them that I did with my kindergarteners but I would love any recommendations on Bible memory products or cards. I heard there is an ABC verse kit. Does anyone know about that? Okay, that is all the riveting stuff I had to talk about. I am such a party animal, huh?!

Now hiring

Today I am tired and so I decided I need someone to follow me around and be my backbone. They can remind me that it is okay if my children cry. It is not my job to keep/ make them happy. They need to say "you are the parent". It sounds so simple. I think I will refresh during nap time and then with a prayer I can remember these things.

Our week- 22 months

The kids are about 22 months old. They are growing so much and learning something new all the time. While we were in Colorado Honey pointed out the airplanes to the kids and told them that Mama and Dada were flying on a plane. So now Charis is really into airplanes. She calls them "airs" and always signs and tells me "more airs". I love that she thinks I have such power in this world that I can command the planes to fly over on her beckon call. I wish I could do that because I have never seen such joy as when she sees a plane.

Drew is really into unscrewing things. Stephen told me Drew unscrewed something on a Mercedes hubcap the other day. He unscrewed our faucets, too. One day I put pasta into different containers that screwed closed and he spent a glorious 30 minutes unscrewing each, pouring the pasta and starting over.

One day I told Charis I loved her and asked "do you know how much I love you?" and she very confidently answered "lots". I was shocked because I first of all didn't know she understood all I was saying and second, didn't know she would answer me. So now she answers who loves her and how much. She says Jesus loves her lots.

Granddaddy came over and read to the kids this week. They love when he comes by. They put on quite a show and think his beard is neat.

I love all these kids. This is Charis with her BFF, Katie, and Drew. Katie is such a cutie. She is a happy girl. They are only 6 months apart so they will be in school together.

I took Drew to the allergist this week and in 14 days we should have more answers about his allergies, especially his peanut allergy. I loved the allergist and she said that in a few years they should be able to start desensitizing kids to peanuts, so maybe Drew could get over this one day! I pray so because he needs to know the joy of a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. He didn't cry at all when took 3 vials of blood. I chickened out and had Stephen take him because I was scared he would freak.

Books

I have heard about the Hunger Games trilogy for a while but I finally just read the first book. It was great! I thought they were Christian fiction but they aren't. They are great though. The books are set in the future which normally would turn me off but, it was very engaging and the world isn't depicted all robotish and stuff. So I recommend the Hunger Games.

My next pick is a little treasure that I picked up at Half Price Books when I was looking for a potty training book to help teach the kids. The book is called The Gas We Pass. It is both entertaining and informative. It is not kid appropriate because it is very crass but I, apparently, have the humor of a seventh grader. I included a few pictures of the pages below...

People fart too. Bubbles rise... plip, plip, plip

The illustrations are so bizarre.

When you begin to fart after an operation, it means your intestines have started working again.

That is true. I love the man celebrating with his arms up.

Colorado

Stephen and I tool our first trip from the kids. We went to Colorado. Stephen had a conference there and so we went early and made a vacation out of it. It was so great to be able to spend time together with no schedule. Colorado is really beautiful and hippie. We spent al lot of time in Boulder which is probably the "Austin" of Colorado. It is small but a college town and very "granola" with a side of left wing politics. They are known as a foodie town and we ate some great food.

On Sunday we took a hike. The hike was labelled strenuous but we made it. It was beautiful and the people in the trail were very friendly. Stephen and I took our time going up because the altitude made it hard and it was great to stop and see the gorgeous mountains. The way down was fast.

On Monday Stephen had to work and so I just shopped a bit and read. Monday night we had a client dinner.

Saturday and Sunday I was with Stephen and busy so I was fine being away from the kids but by Monday I was ready to hug them. The feeling wasn't mutual. We got the cold shoulder when we got home. Oh well. They had a great time with grandparents. We are thankful for the babysitting so we could go. We are blessed with great families. Drew and Charis had a blast.