playing in the leaves with Ruby!
sharing the excitement of walking Cappy!
loving Sadie
trying to get a group photo of all three kids in costume!
"excuse me, mama?"
Bobbo and Ollie
miss Potato head in her glassesI apologize for being so lax about updating the blog lately. What can I say? These toddlers keep me BUSY. I've always assumed that the parenting challenges I feel were because I had twins; now i'm starting to wonder if it's because I have very, very spirited children, who happen to be twins!
We now have literally NO seating in our home, other than our huge, L-shaped couch, as ANYTHING else can be dragged into the kitchen, providing Violet with easy access to the counters. I have converted one of the bedrooms on the third floor into a playroom of sorts, with a slide, ball pit and active stuff, so that as it gets colder, the babes will have a place to get some of their energy out. Going certain places has become easier, but many outings have become more difficult. Mostly, the twins have no desire to stay in their stroller, so unless we're going someplace where I can keep things moving, have nothing within their eyesight that would entice them, and keep the cupholders filled with veggie bootie, it's a tough trip. I caved and bought "leashes" for them, in hopes we could take some walks just the three of us, but it usually ends up being me standing with two heavy toddlers pulling in either direction until they fall over and lie on the ground.
Otherwise, I LOVE TWO! Such an amazing age.
I wanted to write about each of the babes, who they are now - and it's really incredibly hard. I don't even know where to begin. They're very complicated for not even being two years old.....
First up is Ollie.
Loves: THOMAS the train (and all of his friends), anything with wheels, being social, running, wresting (especially with Dada), jumping, dancing, playing drums, digging in the mud (preferably with his fingers), his pacifier (passy), .... pretty much everything.
Favorite Foods: donuts (he recognizes the Dunkin Donuts box... not good), hot dogs (actually turkey corn dogs in our house with TONS of ketchup), peaches, bananas, veggie booty, pizza ("pizza PIE!").... pretty much everything
Favorite TV Show: definitely Thomas, although the silly show is only seven minutes long, so for dinner-making or other times I need to keep them occupied, he loves Mickey Mouse and Little Bear
Favorite Place: loves going ANYWHERE. We've had major car seat battles lately, unless I can convince him we're going someplace that would be more fun for him than running down the street. He likes to go up on all the neighbors' porches (ah, rowhomes!), and stops to pick up pinecones, flowers, etc. His number one destination would be the Please Touch Museum, but only because they have a Thomas the Train Table set up (sensing a pattern here?)
Ollie loves his Mommy. He greets me every time I enter the room like he hasn't seen me in months, throws his arms around me and kisses me. He asks me "What you doing?", and has gotten SO good at communicating that we can have pretty long conversations. Oliver always loves to have his boo-boos kissed (even yesterday when he hurt his tooth!) and hates to have Mama out of his sight. I know it won't last forever, and I treasure every moment!!
His favorite thing is to play...wait for it...Thomas the Train with me. I've deduced (never having "played" trains in my life until now), that so far, it means just pushing the trains around the track, having simple conversations between the engines, and frequently putting them in perilous situations. It's a lot of "What you doing, Thomas?" "Oh, no! Thomas!" "Watch out, Thomas!". I love it.
He seems to be a better sleeper than his sister. He nearly ALWAYS naps, and falls asleep quickly at night. However, when he's up, he's UP, and you'd better get him quickly or he'll yell until he wakes everyone. Violet usually sings and talks herself down, talking to the stuffed animals in her crib, but when she's down, she's down, and she's a heavy sleeper.
He is my sweet, beautiful, goofy boy. He is my comedian and my little kind soul. My loving baby and busy toddler. My Eskimo kisser and my lightening-fast social butterfly.
He's my Oliver.
And he is perfect.
Violet:
Loves: animals (especially dogs and sea animals), her beloved blanket ("ganky"), coloring, building with blocks, ALL sorts of books and puzzles. Loves Ring-Around-the-Rosie and having her feet tickled.
Favorite Foods: macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and MILK. She's a milk fiend. In tough times, we still pull out the baba, and she ADORES it.
Also likes waffles, veggie booty and raisin toast. Definitely my pickier eater.
Neither twin is into sweets. They wanted nothing to do with the Halloween candy, nor cake or cookies in general, and when someone sneaks them a lollipop or something, they kind of toss it aside. Not sure how THAT happened while they were in MY womb, but, again, I'll take it as long as I can!
She is usually amazingly shy with everyone except Ben and I (and any stray animal that happens by). She is very smart, and can say and recognize all of her number and letters, colors and shapes, along with new things that I truly don't recall teaching her! She loves singing, although doesn't always seem to like it when Mama joins in!
Favorite TV Show: Little Bear, but also loves Baby Einstein still. Ok, let's be honest here: she loves ANY TV, in any form.
Favorite Place: The park or playground. Peanut Butter loves to climb, run, slide, and LOVES being outside! She has already climbed out of her crib (and did not cry....yikes!), and is constantly trying to climb the posts that hold up the roof of our porch. The only thing more enticing than a big open park would be a park JUST after a rainstorm- she LOVES puddles and getting wet!
Violet is so hard to sum up. Since the day she was born she has been our peanut, our little unique girl .
She has definite opinions on what she likes and doesn't like. She can be very affectionate and loves snuggling and hugs and kisses from Mama, Dada and occasionally Grammy, but only on her terms. She is amazingly independent and will take all afternoon to accomplish something on her own rather than let someone help her. She is a very good sharer (luckily for her brother, who often grabs from her), and seems to be a calm spirit for the most part.
She is SUCH an animal lover. She gets so excited over every animal she sees from a ladybug out back to our neighbor's cats to the otters at the zoo. Her favorite though is still dogs. Loves dogs, loves loves. Oliver enjoys animals, Violet is madly in love. We're seriously thinking of getting a dog, because it seems to light such a spark in our Peanut Butter!
She is my sweet, beautiful, loving girl. She is my tiny daredevil and my little brainiac. My sweet baby and stubborn toddler. My calm snuggler and hysterical crier. My angel girl, my puzzle.
My Violet, my Peanut Butter.
And she, too, is perfect.
