5.9.11 ~ Tractor Fun

For Mother's Day this year I went to Oregon for a wine tasting weekend and left Dan to fend for himself with the girls. Of course he did an amazing job with them. One of their outings was to an antique tractor show in Lynden with Grandpa Steve. The girls had fun playing on the tractors and playing at the park. And I had a great time relaxing with some great ladies, drinking wine, and enjoying amazing food! 

4.30.11 ~ March for Babies and Pike Place

So this post is a little late...We participated in the March for Babies again this year to raise money and awareness for premature births. The girls did great in the stroller and as always they had tons of attention. The walk started at Seattle Center and went to about Pike Street and then turned around. We decided to take a short detour to Pike Place in the middle of the walk then joined back up with the other walkers and finished. The girls liked sticking their fingers in the Pike Pig's nose and playing at Seattle Center. 

4.29.11 ~ 22 months and Easter

The girls' second birthday is fast approaching. We went back and forth about what we want to do for a party for them. We decided (as of now) to just have a small family party like most normal people do. Sorry to anyone who was looking forward to seeing three cake-faced two year olds! I'll be sure to post pictures.
Notable milestones and achievements this month...Brelynn finally jumped and got a little air under those feet. Avery is inconsistently counting to 10; sometimes she'll get all the numbers but most of the time it's a lot of extra 6's until she gets to 9...10! All the girls are starting to put ending sounds on their words, especially Camille. We hear lots of two word combos and an occasional three word combo. Today Avery said, "momma...more bubble" when we were blowing bubbles outside. They can stack 8-10 little wooden blocks and have been able to do this for awhile now. I've mentioned before they are great at taking clothes off, but lately they're interested in trying to put them on. The girls can all get their pants on, just not pulled up over their diaper yet. Shirts can usually get over the head but they can't get the arms in yet. I think that's about all that's newsworthy.

We celebrated Easter with both sides of the family this year. Saturday with my family and Sunday with Dan's family. The girls had a wonderful time finding eggs and digging into the treats inside. They very quickly learned to put the eggs in their basket and find more eggs. It was cute. It's getting really hard to get a good photo of them together so here are some individual shots.

 

4.16.11 ~ UW Cherry Blossoms

We took the girls to visit their future school, the UW :) They had a great time playing in the cherry blossom petals on the ground and running around campus. They even learned how to say, "Go Huskies!"
 

 

3.29.11 ~ 21 months

The girls are really learning at an incredible rate. They understand hot/cold, in/out, on/off, open/close, clean/dirty, up/down, big/little, and I'm sure there are more. They are starting to answer yes/no questions now and actually getting the answer correct. It is still fun to say 'no' to mom and dad, but if they're motivated they'll say yes, too. All the girls are starting to count...maybe to 4, but I heard Avery get 6, 8, 9, 10 the other day on her own! I still can't believe it. They remember the stories we read to them and things that happen outside and are starting to tell us little details. Like playing with snails outside with daddy. They know most all their body parts and enjoy pointing out eyebrows, elbows, armpits, and belly buttons on just about everyone. The hokey pokey continues to be a favorite around here.

Other highlights...they are starting to show empathy and will bring their 'sissy' a toy or blanket if they are upset...or in time out. They can use a spoon and a fork but still prefer to use fingers most of the time. Avery and Camille can jump with their feet clearing the floor but that started awhile ago. The girls are still sleeping in their cribs from about 6:30pm-8:30am with one nap during the day which is anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours. They love exploring outside and going for walks when it's not raining here. I ordered them backpacks with a detachable leash so we can walk to the park without the stroller. It took some adjusting for all of us the first few trips out with them! The girls were like little puppies getting all tangled and twisted up in the leashes. Now they're pretty good about staying together and not getting tangled :)  They have access to potty chairs and ask to use them a few times a week, but they don't usually use them. I'm not pushing potty training yet since I'm working a little and they aren't having a lot of success just yet. Maybe this summer.

We're looking forward to nicer weather and trips to the zoo. I think they'll love the animals and actually seeing them in real life. We're also looking at a trip to a petting zoo to play with animals. What other fun things can we do with almost 2 year olds? We're still limiting exposure to groups of kids since we got a cold earlier this month. Camille still has a little bit of a cough but she's back to her happy self for the most part. Nicer weather will help a ton.

3.18.11 ~ Bribery

I'll admit it, I'm a fan of bribery. I bribe the girls all the time. Eat your hot dog and you can have more broccoli (no, I didn't write that backwards), use the potty and you get a mini marshmallow, keep your pants on during naps and you get an M&M. Brelynn and Camille figured out the pants on bribe really fast and they are getting lots of M&M's now. Poor Avery can't seem to figure that one out. She wants M&M's but always takes her pants off during naps and quiet times. And she takes off her one piece footed pajamas sometime before I get them up in the morning, too. She's a clothing Houdini. Such talent. I've resorted to posting a picture by her bed to help remind her to keep her pants on...let's hope it works!

3.2.11 ~ Here Daddy

The other night we were downstairs getting ready to put the girls to bed. Dan and I were changing their diapers and putting jammies on when Brelynn walked up to Dan and handed him something small. As he took it from her she said, "boog boog" and started giggling. Yep, it was a booger! She's such a comedian already!