Horsin' Around

Roll the Ball

After morning naps yesterday & while Addie was still at school, the little girls & I walked down to a grassy park near our house.

They ate a snack, stood up next to the wagon, crawled all over me...

...and rolled/threw the ball to each other.

Although not quite as "organized-playing-together" as earlier, I thought they were still super cute rolling/tossing/dropping the ball to each other.

It's never to early to start practicing for those athletic scholarships...is it? (I kid, but there's always wishful thinking, right?)

Happy Friday!



Ps: all of this was done on my iPhone...so please excuse any glitches/cut off heads due to another baby crawling on me & the all around quality of this video production!

Flashback Friday

I picked up this toy at a yard sale almost 3 years ago...for $5. One of the best spent $5 if I might say.

This is Addie...at about 2 and a half months.

She had so much fun making this toy go by kicking her sweet tiny feet!

See that smile!

Although a few months later (after playing with the same great toy at our friends the Lewis'), we remembered to pull it out for the babies! (check out Addie hanging onto the crib wearing her raincoat after playing outside in the cool weather!)

They had SO much fun...and even held hands :)

But all good things must come to an end. And with twins, well, babies in general, it tends to end like this.

But it was still fun! :)

Musical Motion Activity Jumper

With a name like that, you'd think this contraption could change diapers, wash clothes, teach Addie to read AND entertain the twins.

Not so much, but all three of our girls think it's pretty {swanky}.

There wasn't much, gear wise, that we had to purchase for having twins.

Well, {except} a double stroller, a double jogger, a second crib, another bouncy seat...oh never mind!

But ever since Addie enjoyed this {jumper} at our friend Julie, John, Savannah (and now baby David's) house, I've had my eye on it.

(Addie at 5 months!)

I mean...wouldn't you want something this fun?

I just wasn't willing to pay for it.

Even the used ones were expensive.

So when my mom and I found this brand new {display} model almost 50% off at Sam's...there was no passing it up.

And after a thorough decontamination, it's been {hiding} behind the twin's bed!

That is until the little girls started getting stronger...

...more alert

...and older.

Anne Perry was the first to try it out, and she still seems to be the bigger fan of it.

She discovered her tongue weeks ago, and I'm not sure it's stayed in her mouth much since then!

But Audrey Kate was not about to be left behind!

And her Derek Zoolander face was in all actuality enabling her to concentrate on spinning the green frog!

You know.

Because as Addie would agree,

This contraption may not change diapers, wash clothes or teach her to read...

But it's already provided many hours minutes of entertainment and fun for all of our girls!

Seriously!

So...

I heard my sisters got their very own post together the other day.

That's ok. Because today it's all about {me}! 

I might not have been the first of us twins to smile, but I was the first to {reach out} and grab my toys! 

And ya wanna know my new {trick}? 

I don't just grab and swat at them now, I can {wriggle} them right off their rings and hold them all on my own! 

See...?

Yeah, I guess it surprised me a little too!

But it does makes me {smile}.

And I'm pretty sure it makes my mama and daddy smile too!

Who Says Mothering Isn't Instinctual

Ok. So I'm not here for a debate. At all.

I'm not being sexist (or genderist?).

I know there are plenty of mothers who don't mother well for whatever reason. And then there are plenty of mothers who are nurturing, loving, and caring! And there are plenty of fathers who are both of the above as well!

Just go with me on this though:

Addie hasn't really shown an interest in dolls. It's been books, instruments, blocks, little people, and music. We haven't encouraged her or discouraged her either way. However, we have started talking about the babies in mommy's tummy and how to love on her babies. Clearly we need to work on this to help her understand how to treat babies. She's fascinated with them, which we hope will help. And we're really counting on the time we get to spend with Kira, Addie's little cousin, during Thanksgiving and Christmas to give her an opportunity to gently love and care for younger children.

The cat has not been (or has been) so fortunate. Even with all claws and teeth intact, our cat has patiently just screamed at Addie to leave her alone. And at other times, she just tolerates the pats and soft rubs ripping of fur!

Until recently:

And then the true test occurred:

Sweet and gentle!

So the other day, she puts one of her lovies over her Elm0 doll to cover him up. And then she wanted him wrapped in it. Given the size limitations, we went and got one of her blankets and swaddled Elm0 for her.

(please excuse the red-eye and the use of a flash. i havent used one in so long that i cant remember how!)

And so she immediately went and rocked Elm0, loving and cuddling him...

..until she'd had a enough!

And who says some mothering isn't instinctual!

Coloring

We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box. ~Robert Fulghum

I love crayons. I love all the colors. I love how they ever so slightly stick to the paper. I don't like their smell right now. I don't like how they get everywhere when they get wet. And I sure don't like how easily they break! But that's beside the point.

We let Addie try out crayons a few months ago. Too early. She ate the point of at least three, dropped them all on the floor, and had not a clue what to do with them. Besides that, they were way too small for her tiny hands. Ironic.

While out shopping one day, I found these (along with finger paints, but we're definitely not there yet!):

Made especially for little hands.

I pulled them out this past weekend. They work great. Mostly.

Addie had a ball.

I was a tad concerned about the toxicity of the nontoxic crayons. I had good reason to be!

She was not.

You see, because now:

One of these things is not like the others,

One of these things just doesn't belong,

Can you tell which thing is not like the others

By the time I finish my song?

You see the difference in these two crayons? Yeah. Little Bit decided not only to stick the blue one in her mouth but to bite it right off! It ended up all in her mouth, all over her mouth, and on her shirt.

Bottom line: she did a great job coloring, had fun, and has begged to do it again! I'd call that quite a success!

"Touchdown...

...Georgia!"

Wait...

I mean: "YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! I have the coolest kitchen ever!"

The Swedish Chef

You might remember this crazy character from the Muppets:

Well I think we've got our own {toned down} version of a Swedish Chef around these parts...and clearly much cuter!

I happened to randomly mention to my friend Diane (known around here as DiDi) that I was looking for a little kitchen for Addie. Do you know how expensive some of those things are? Just take my word on it, especially the wooden ones! Fine. Go ahead, stop by P0ttery Barn Kids and check them out for yourself! Leave it to Didi to find the absolute best deal anywhere, and then refuse to let me pay her for it! Don't worry...I'll find a way!

It was pouring down rain yesterday afternoon when we got home. Miserably pouring. Addie had taken a long nap before we picked up Paul and was raring to go when we got home. Perfect time to pull out the new kitchen.

(I'm warning you...these pictures are really grainy/noisy. There wasn't much light, and I refuse to use the on camera flash. Think I might need to invest in another one...me too!)

I put the whole thing together and realized I needed to put batteries in it. So I craned my neck, reached inside the oven, and carefully unscrewed the battery compartment. Totally worth it!

She had a blast!

The little sink makes a running water noise:

And the burners crackle with flames:

Can you hear them?

I wish I could have gotten a better angle on this picture, but you take what you can get with an almost 18 month old! Every time she'd make the water run she'd look up at Paul with this super surprised look! Priceless!

see the resemblance...at least in the expression...to this:

I think I was younger than Addie is now in this picture...I guess that's why I didn't have my curls yet. Oh well. She may be a Daddy's girl, but I'm not letting her eyes and hair go!

Oh...and I can assure you that our child wears clothes, just not when she eats her Daddy's BBQ pizza for dinner!

Thanks for the fun kitchen Didi!

Kangaroos & Sheep

Kangaroo climbing and sheep counting, that is. Just a few more recent pictures of more recent happenings than what you've been seeing.

Wordless Wednesday

Stand, Sit, Crawl

...and play! That's what we pretty much do all day! Although these pictures are a few weeks old, I still wanted to post them. Kat and John came over after Christmas, and Kat took some pictures while Addie and I played.

goldfish...yummy! More!


it's amazing how quickly she can go from this...


...to this! she bomped her head on the book :(
So sad!


even after I scooped her up, got her lovie and paci, and snuggled for a few...she still had some mighty sad tears!


in her "baby jail" (as Daddy calls it)


Addie loves to hold her paci like this! I think she's getting some teeth and it feels good on her gums.

On a more recent note...she's still coughing a lot and now she's actually pulling at her ears pretty frequently. We're doing Motrin and antibiotic, and I'm really hoping she'll be feeling better tomorrow!