more favorites

the other night, Ben and I sat and looked at some old posts- how happy I am that I started this blog! One of favorite things to keep up with are the various and random "favorite things" or "favorite words" posts. LOVE seeing how much our two little bugs are growing!
So, here's a new inventory:

Oliver's favorites:

• 
  
  all things cars, trucks, bikes, trains. You get the picture. He really loves the movie "Cars" still, with his two favorite characters being Mack and Frank. Luckily for Ollie, he has a supercool dad who can do ALL of the voices!
• 
  
  our hose. O likes to spray the flowers, the toys, the playset, his sister, himself. His latest favorite thing is to fill the whole toy bucket up with water and then climb in too. Very cute.
• 
  
  ketchup (Ollie pronunciation = ketchkup). On everything from french fries to pancakes. It's a vegetable, right?compliments.
• SUCH a budding politician! "Mama, I like your green shirt!"
• 
  
  the Philadelphia Flyers, particularly Danny Briere. Ben became a fan this year, and Ollie was right there by his side. On a completely selfish note, I'm also pleased with this newfound love because of this:

  

  me, baby Auntie Miss and my dad, wearing a Rick MacLeish jersey

Violet's favorites:

• 
  
  peanut butter and jelly and "snacks" (Vi pronunciation = pea-buh-jeh-snack). She loves PB&J sandwiches (it's a fruit, right?) served with these snacks (again, vegetable....). She dunks the snack into the jelly and eats it.
• 
  
  still, animals. CRAZY for animals. Right now, she adores horses, which I credit Bullseye with. He is the horse from Toy Story 2, and V loves pretending she's Jessie the cowgirl riding Bullseye the horse (again, Supercool daddy). "Yee-haw!"
• 
  
  gnomes. Or in Violet's mind, goblins (Violet says  = Gawflins). She saw a goblin on Little Bear (still #1, all time favorite show) and then saw the slightly scary-looking garden gnomes on sale at Target, and is now obsessed. I have one hidden at our local store until it goes on clearance to buy it for her (who knew how expensive gawflins were?).
• shoes, shoes and shoes. My girl loves shoes. She wears them morning until night, including naptime and pool time.

see that sweet boy in the window? how can I not love looking up at that?

beautiful baby girl cousins playing games. such love.

two are two

OK, finally getting around to writing about this! I can't believe my babies are two. SO bittersweet. On one hand, it seems they were just born yesterday; on the other, it's hard to imagine my life before they were here!

We celebrated this year with a small pizza and cupcake get-together at Grammy's house. The babies had a great time playing with their cousins and friends and eating their Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes!

The babies are BUSIER than ever! They are becoming very independent- wanting to do things for themselves BY themselves, which is exciting to watch. The best part is that I feel like they're really starting to understand me. Instead of a complete meltdown when it's time to get in the car seats, I can (sometimes) keep the cool by explaining in general terms where we're going, and they can figure out that they need to get in the car seat for that to happen. LOVE this age.

My favorite moments of the day now:

1. wake-up time. Violet is a little slow to get moving (much like her mama), so she and I snuggle on the couch with our respective morning beverages watching her favorite show Oobi. Oliver practically leaps out of his crib, bounces out of my arms and rediscovers his toys like they've all been replaced over night. Both are adorable to watch.

2. after dinner time: Both babies get a little surge of energy, and play the chase game. They're usually nearly-to-completely nude, as they are THE messiest eaters in the world, and giddy with late-night (um, for us) hijinx. Usually Violet runs from the kitchen to the living room, and Oliver takes this as an invitation and chases her. Sometimes he tags her, but usually once she sees he's chasing her, she turns around and runs back into the kitchen. This continues, and they laugh hysterically.

3. backyard time: Oliver has become Mark Spitz- LOVES his baby pool. Jumps in with his clothes on, bringing in his fire truck, boats, etc. So sweet. Violet loves drawing outside, and is very creative with it. Chalk is her medium of choice, but she's figured out that if she dunks the chalk in water (a la baby pool), she can practically paint on the patio with it! Genius!! Messy, but a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Tough times:

1. Still very tough times fighting over toys. Even when we have two of things (and we NEVER buy one of anything anymore...), they often just want the same exact thing. Oliver screams, Violet sobs, Oliver pushes and shoves, Violet bites. Ugh. I try to explain sharing and "trading", but it is TOUGH.

2. I often feel guilty that I can't DO more with them, physically. We have great playgrounds and parks around us, but I just can't do it alone. The babies love to slide, play, go in the sand, climb, but most of all, they love to RUN. They are fast and they rarely run in the same direction. On my last trip alone to the Please Touch Museum, by the end of our visit (um, an hour) Violet was shoulder-deep in the water table, Oliver was trying to crawl backwards down the stairs, and I was a ball of sweat, trying to figure out who to grab first. Just dangerous! I hope they aren't missing out on too much, being twins.


Finally, my new favorite show: "Raising Sextuplets". This woman is amazing!! She has SIX babies (about O and V's age), and is so calm, relaxed and grateful for everything. She is my new inspiration. If she can do it and stay cool with six (and train for a triathlon?!), and I can SURELY do it with two. Minus the exercise, thanks.

we survived!

Well, knock on wood, we are all healthy again, after the WORST stomach bug ever! We are so grateful to be feeling good again, and that no one had to get treated for dehydration. The babies are back to normal, and funnier than ever. I think they are going through a big mental growth spurt- suddenly so smart and into learning anything they can absorb! I LOVE watching it and encouraging it. The best thing that happened this week was on the first day they felt a lot better. Oliver was crying about something- often when he stumbles, I try to give him a few seconds to work it out on his own and recover. I ask him if he's ok and offer him a hug if he'd like to come to me. Anyhow, on this day, he tripped a little, and started crying. He looked up at me, but before I could say anything, Violet was there, wrapping her arms around him and saying, "ok? ok?" (actually it was "k? k?"). I'm telling you, I felt like my heart would explode!!!! However, it was not what Ollie was hoping for and he shoved her off....Since then it's happened twice more, and the last time, he begrudgingly hugged her back. Unbelievably cute.

A few other things:

*Violet is amazingly skilled in animals all of a sudden! Naming them, making their sounds, and matching the sound up with the correct animal. One day, the TV was on and we heard "baa!baa!". She looked at me and said "sheep!" (really more like "sheeeeee"). She loves walking around with her little animals, playing with them, kissing them, and handing them up for me to kiss.

*Oliver is loving hats, or anything that goes on your head or face; sunglasses, headbands, etc. If he finds a hat, he brings it over to us and angles his head so we'll put it on, and says, "hat!". He'll wear it for hours....too cute.

*Oliver now loves corn dogs.

*Violet is learning her ABC's. She likes to "sing" the song along with me, and also will point out letters wherever she sees them. In a book, on a soup label; she points to them and sings the song.

*Violet's language skills are skyrocketing. She will repeat anything (and I mean, anything!) you say to her, and she remembers it! She can read two of her little books after memorizing the words. Oliver is a little more solely comprehensive. He still babbles a ton, but isn't into repeating things. However, if you ask him to go into the kitchen and get the book about Charlie Parker and give it to Grammy, he'll do it.


















Oliver, trying to engage in a little post-bath chat. Violet would rather read, thank you.

apples, carrots and prunes...oh my!

The photos below are what every meal looks like in our house. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I need to either find a few full-body bibs or start having naked mealtime. I wish I could tell you how Oliver manages to get carrots in his eyelashes, or how Violet is able to use prunes as a pomade, but it all happens so quickly that it's a blur.
Ben started his new job this week, so the babes and I have been on our own for a few long days. We've actually done really, really well. We gotten out every day and they've been very happy. The end of the day is the toughest, since the three of us are all tired. Tonight will be the first time I have to bathe and put the twins down alone...yikes!
In this final month of their first year (sniff!), I thought I'd write out some of their favorite and least favorite things. I realized I've been using this almost as a journal of the babies' days, and that this would be a good thing to remember. So, here goes:

Oliver
likes:
jumping
wheels
anything that makes noise when he shakes it
biting (esp mommy or his sister)
Mr. Noodle from Sesame Street
his pacifiers
watermelon
the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!"
his new wagon
the dishwasher
when Daddy laughs like Ernie
the guitar

dislikes:
getting his diaper changed (or any other activity which requires holding still)
water in his eyes/getting his hair washed
the blender
Simon and Garfunkle (especially "Still Crazy after all these Years")

Violet
likes:
animals (especially dogs!)
strings, shoelaces and ties
hugs
Teletubbies (groan...)
bubbles
magazines or newspapers (preferably in small pieces in her mouth)
mommy's cell phone
the book "The Wide-Mouthed Frog"
Peek-a-boo
Gnarls Barkley (especially "Don't be Surprised")
her toes
knocking over towers of blocks

dislikes:
sheep and roosters
bibs
strangers
cereal