Where do I Begin?!?

Life has gotten in the way of blogging lately:)  It's been over 2 months since my last post and there is so much to say!  We've been on vacation to the beach, done lots of fun day trips, been to birthday parties, and simply enjoyed our toddlers.  Yes, they certainly aren't our babies anymore!  They will be TWO in 5 days! It's a little sad to see them grow up so fast but they are at such a fun age these days:)

Paige is talking ALL THE TIME.  You really have to watch what you say around her because you hear it repeated two minutes later.  She loves her dolls and often feeds them, puts them to bed and pushes them around in their strollers.  Books are one of her favorite things and she has started to memorize a couple of her favorites.  We read them over and over and over:) Paige loves to jump, dance and sing.  She can count to ten and knows most of her ABCs.  We cannot believe how smart she is and what a joy she is be around.

Andrew makes us all laugh.  He truly loves life and is full of energy.  He is starting to talk more and more and is finally telling his sister what to do:)  He loves to dance and asks for music constantly.  You will often find him sitting behind our curtains, hiding, and "reading" his books.  He loves Elmo, Cookie Monster and Ernie and has stuffed animals that he rotates through as being his best friend.  He is the sweetest kid and is very affectionate with lots of hugs and kisses.  You can't help but smile when you see his big blue eyes and bright red hair:)

We're planning a big second birthday this weekend with friends and family.  It's themed after their favorite thing - Sesame Street!  They both have been asking every morning when they wake up if it's "Elmo Party Day" for weeks.  We're hoping it lives up to their high expectations:)  For now, here are some pictures to tell you about some of the last two months.  There are TONS more in the Picasa album (link below). And of course we'll post lots of birthday pictures next week.

Fun day with cousins. And yes, Paige is the only girl:)

Waving to the boats in Wilmington, NC!

Still not a huge fan of the ocean:)

First carousel rides!

Watch out, Paige! Andrew is driving!

Andrew pulling Paige all over the aquarium

Happy hour in the pool with Nana and Papa!

22 Months

Yummy Ice Cream!

Sesame Street Live - one of the highlights of the summer:)

"Abby, are you?" (Paige calling Abby Cadabby to come on stage during Sesame Street Live)

Bert and Ernie!

Zoo trips with family!

Paige's favorite food

Saturday morning play class!

Hot dogs at Oktoberfest:)

Walks with Kodi - a favorite evening activity:)

Pumpkin Festival - SO big!

23 Months

Picking our pumpkins!

Fun times!

Back to Normal

The kids had their first week at Nana and Papa's two weeks ago WITHOUT Mommy and Daddy! And we all survived:)  They had a great time swimming in the pool, going to indoor playgrounds, riding trains and hanging out with their cousin Meghan.  While we all had a good week, it was really good to get back to normal last week...

It is amazing how in just a week, they develop so much.  When they got home, they seemed so independent and Paige was probably saying 25 new words.  It seems like we're in such a rapid phase of development and its so much fun to watch.  They constantly make us laugh...even when they are being bad and we shouldn't! Paige has been our recent handful (although they switch roles on us frequently) and is quite outspoken.  Today, she was being especially difficult and I said "is someone being a brat."  She responded, "Yes. Andrew."  Poor Andrew gets blamed for everything right now.  Even when he's not even around! And Andrew's recent obsession is Kodi.  Kodi gets chased everywhere and gets lots of "hugs," which means he buries his head in her fur.  She has been a great sport so far.  I think she feels like the torture is worth it for all the extra food she receives...

We've had a great weekend so far and spent a couple hours at the Tot Park in Old Town this morning and then went for the first time to the Playseum downtown this afternoon.  The Playseum is an old house that has 18 rooms each themed with mock set-ups.  They had a grocery store, police station and jail, farm room, doll and dress up rooms, Dominos pizza shop, pet store, lots of craft rooms, kitchens, and more.  They had a blast!

Paige insisted on bringing her purse to the park. And then she posed for a pic before leaving. We are going to have our hands full!

Crashing cars at the Tot Lot

Grocery shopping at the Playseum

Working in the kitchen.

Taking orders at Dominos

Verifying with the kitchen

Playing house

Checking out the bunny in the Pet Store.  Paige cried leaving her.

Once we found the pink room, Paige refused to move for 30 minutes.

Dress up in the Pink Room. Paige was in heaven.

Cheeeese! In the farm room.

Working hard in the fields.

They wore us out today.  We're just hoping that all activity may get us an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning!

Finally some progress!

Paige and Andrew went in for their 18 month shots and well check last Friday.  Yes, the shots and visit were late.  But we did this on purpose because we had been there a ton around their 18 month birthday and wanted to give Andrew a little more time to grow.  Good news - we finally made a little progress!  He gained about 12 ounces and 3/4 of an inch over the last 5 weeks!  He is now on his chart!!!  Granted, he's at the way bottom. But he's plotting!  And we'll take any progress with his growth at this point:)

He is doing so well in every other area that it's so hard to believe that we are missing anything big with him. I just hope that this progress continues!

Our happy Nationals fan!

Helping his sister put her shoes on:)

Kissing his Nana over the phone!

Boycotting his nap to lick the beaters!

Paige also had a great visit and has grown close to 3 inches over the last 5 months!  She is about 3 inches taller than her brother but actually now weighs to 2 ounces less!  Our skinny minnie needs to bulk up a little bit:)  But overall, she's doing great!  Dr. Arnold couldn't have been happier with their progress and had great things to say.

Insisting on wearing dress up clothes at dinner:)

Sleeping beauty

Loving her ice cream!

And dancing with her new best friend and obsession - BARNEY!

We'll head back towards the end of September for growth measurements.  Keep those good growth thoughts and prayers coming! They seem to be working!

Role Reversal

Its funny how twins seem to have complete role reversal at different stages of development.  Our pediatrician swears that when they go to bed at night, they plot and agree to switch it up every now and switch roles on us.  We're starting to believe her. Andrew has turned into our sweet, compassionate little guy who loves to cuddle, sit on your lap and read, and give hugs and kisses. Don't get me wrong, he still has wild moments, but he has definitely been the easier one lately. Perfect Paige and has hardly been perfect!  She has hit the "terrible two's" a bit earlier it seems.  We have multiple meltdowns each day that usually occur when she doesn't get her way.  She loves timeout and will sometimes even purposely do something wrong and then tell us she's having a "seat" very excitedly.  Guess we need a new discipline plan!  She insists on picking out her clothes, has very specific preferences and is really starting to share them!

A couple weekends ago, we headed up to Pennsylvania for the day to see their great Aunt and Uncle and had a great day.

Dancing with her new cheerleader doll from Anne and Dave

Having fun in the pool!

Screaming with excitement as Daddy sprays him!

Drying off with Daddy

Ending out day with yummy ice cream sundaes!

Fourth of July was fairly uneventful since it was SO hot out but we did have fun outfits to celebrate:)

Festive clothes from Nana and Papa!

Wardrobe change before heading to a friend's cookout!

Paige's Natitude with her brother's hat (and pink cheeks from the heat!)

Daddy also had a BIG birthday which we celebrated last weekend:) The kids had a great time opening his presents.

Giving Daddy his presents

And modeling his new hats:)

SUPER excited about what's inside!

Checking out Daddy's "juice"

The next update deserves its own post - well check stats and update on Andrew's growth. Stay tuned!