Moving Forward

In case you're wondering what I've been up to all summer, I was off taking a few pictures of hummingbirds,

families other than my own,

and those monkeys of mine.

And thinking.

The twins are going to be in kindergarten this fall. Well, technically in August since we're in Colorado and we like sending our children into schools without air-conditioning when it's 106 degrees outside. (No joke - it's been incredibly hot this summer, with very little rain and the schools don't have A/C. Here's hoping they won't roast!) Clearly, I need to come up with a plan. What am I going to do with myself once the twins are in school full time? Other than run around, jump for joy and have a celebratory breakfast the day we drop them off?

I think I've been stuck on hover-mode recently.

Neither moving forward, nor backward. Stuck somewhere in the middle. I am not certain if I should go back to school or just get some job somewhere or the other to just make some cash. School clothes don't buy themselves, after all. If I do go back to school, what am I going for? What do I want to do? The age old question of "What do I want to be when I grow up?" is stuck reverberating around in my head. Again.

---- 

In the time it took me to get back to this post, all three children are well started into the school year. The twins are some of the youngest in their class, since they made the cut-off by three days this wasn't a big surprise to me. The fact that there are only 3 other kids right around their age did surprise me. Caitlin, our middle schooler, is having a great time. She now has to ride her bike ever-so-slightly downhill all the way to school and has done it willingly, compared to being completely unwilling to ride all the way uphill to elementary school. In her defense, it's a pretty hefty hill going up, but meh! She's OK now. Also, we're trying to turn her into Sporty Spice by signing her up for all manner of 4 and 6 week sports classes.

It's pretty amazing, actually. She leaves just after 8 am and doesn't get home until 5 pm. So far she's tried out volleyball, but that ends this week and then next week it's tennis! We're going to keep on throwing different sport "opportunities" at her until one sticks, dang it! We're also looking at signing her back up in skating lessons, since she really seemed to like those. The twins have also expressed an interest in learning how to skate after watching Caitlin do a performance, so that will be something new this fall.

All of this change is pretty exciting, actually.

The twins have scooter bikes without pedals that they were kind of iffy about, but over the course of the summer they've really taken to them. Now that they're in school, we have them ride their bikes home every day. They're at the point where they're able to glide and balance, so it's just a matter of time (Possibly even this weekend.) before we try them out on pedal bikes! They are loving being in kindergarten, love their teacher and classmates and are really enjoying the whole going to school process. I love all of the quiet that comes after dropping them off. I feel like I am regaining braincells and can occasionally maintain an entire thought process for minutes at a time!

I immediately started on a painting project in the basement that I then turned into a construction project for Eric. I'm awesome that way, you see. The Diderot Effect. I has it. It's just that after I had pulled all of the stuff out of the library/ex-plant nursery/out-of-sight-room-filled-with-crap and painted the walls, the giant purple paint stain on the 10 year old carpet was really bothersome. Since I'm turning it into a library/guestroom in an effort to lure friends and family members out to come see me, it only makes sense to replace the carpet with nice, new laminate flooring. Eric grudgingly agreed, so now we're at the demolition stage. How quickly I can go from a "quick" paint job to full on remodel I'll never quite understand, but apparently that's how I roll.

After he's done and we've pulled the room back together again, I'll post some pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have true Before and After photos because I didn't take any pictures of just what it looked like before I had cleared it out prior to my friend Val's visit. Oh, it was an eyesore. Instead, I have pics of what it looked like before I painted and removed the 17 year old bookshelves out. It should be pretty spiff when I'm done. Also, the books will be alphabetized again. Pet peeve. Gah!

Somewhere in here I'll start to seriously think about my future. Perhaps there's a book waiting inside me quietly trying to make its way out. Perhaps there are photos that need capturing. I know my garden needs serious attention after I ignored it all summer. Those 100+ degree days weren't my idea of gardening weather, so there's a lot of weedy neglect happening. Also, the front and back yards need a little more plant editing. As the summer finally cools off, I'll be out there again, ripping and shredding and revamping my beds.

I just wish I had as clear a plan for my own future as I do for the assorted rooms in my house. Ah well. I guess I'll just wait for my brain and creativity to wake back up and then I'll see.

Yup. I'll see.

The Start of a New School Year - for EVERYONE

It just so happens that we start the school year early, here in Colorado. While Eastern states wait until after Labor Day, we like to get our chilluns back in the trenches in the middle of August.

So when Monday of this week rolled around, we went school shopping and bought three sets of school supplies. On Tuesday, we took the twins up to meet their new kindergarten teacher. On Wednesday, we took Caitlin to her new middle school (Which she loves!).

She's so BIG!

And only slightly terrified.

At the end of the day, we even picked her back up again. We're good parents that way.

And took the twins up for an assessment at their new elementary school, while Caitlin was being educated. On Thursday, Caitlin rode her bike to school on her own.

And on Friday...

I'm in love.*

With kindergarten.

When you make the cut-off date for kindergarten by three whole days, chances are really good that you're going to be the youngest and shortest kids in the class. That's OK, though, because they've got each other. As a matter of fact, they weren't even separated, as I had thought they would be. Maybe it's because they aren't identical?

Caitlin came with us to see the twins off, since middle school (I'm still not over the concept yet.) doesn't start until later in the morning. It was pretty exciting to have us come full circle with Caitlin here, as the big sister, dropping off the twins on their very first day. When we dropped her off in kindergarten, we had no idea what was in store for us the very next year.

Logan blinked or made weird faces all through my shots. Sigh.

Lining up to go inside, Logan turned back to me and told me he loved me in the one piece of sign language he knows. Yeah, that's mah boy.

No, I didn't cry, but I do admit to a heart clenching moment when he did this. Verklempt. So sweet!

After they walked inside, we dropped Caitlin off at school

Apparently Fridays are "Crazy Hat Day". At least, that's what she said.

and ran away for a triumphant celebratory breakfast with our friend, B.

All.

By.

Ourselves.

And it was good.

I was reminded by a friend that I also needed to pick them up and that I didn't just get to leave them at school until another 6 years had passed. Since I figured that was probably true and that the phone calls would get annoying before the day was out we went to go pick them up by the end of the school day. Six whole hours later.

Six years from now, I'm going to be amazed just how small they are right here, in this shot.

Those ones! Over there! THEY DID THIS TO ME! Logan points out the Parental Units in a very accusatory way.

Daddy gets First Hugs, whilst Mommy photographs The Moment.

After Eric snagged all of the initial hugs, Logan ran over to me with intent eyes and gave me big hugs and squeezes and kisses. He's pretty darned cute, so I let him. Emma did too, but I can't shoot and hug and kiss all at the same time. I know, I need more arms.

Cominagetcha!**

Both of them were in a great mood and started telling us about their day while I tried to get a few more cute kindergartener pictures in.

Emma.

Logan.

Yeah, I'm in love with Friday. And with all of these school age children!

Wow! We survived! Um...now what do I do with all of this free time? Guess I'll have to write about it. On Monday. Or Tuesday, since Monday the twins don't have school, but they do on Tuesday! Squeeee!



* Yes, I'm a child of the 80's and here's the music video, because I know it's now stuck in your head, too.




** Just in case you need a second song to get the first song out of your head.

Caitlin Graduates

Another milestone has passed in Caitlin's childhood - she has graduated from elementary school.

A funny thing about endings and me: apparently I'm a sucker for them. I was ecstatic sending her off to kindergarten 6 years ago and yet immediately ready to cry the day of her graduation.

I know that everyone says time flies, and truly it does as you get older, but the proof is startling when you are suddenly faced with key milestones. That 5 year old turned into a 10 year old while I was watching, slowly but surely.

She's the same girl and yet not.

Tears started welling up in my eyes as soon as I read the opening poem in the program:

Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go! --Dr. Seuss

It is true that she has brains in her head. I tried to get to them, but apparently I needed to work harder at it.

The song they sang after entering the hall, the words from their teachers, walking across the stage, all of it had me verklempt. The best and worst was yet to come, in the form of the video slide show that one of the mother's put together as a memento. Set to music, they had images from picture day from kindergarten morphing into the 5th grade photo. It was a very dramatic change from cherub-like cheeks and smiling eyes to longer faces and serious expressions. My mother-in-law noted that it's a lot harder to get Caitlin to really smile in photos these days, I know all about it. I think it comes from the embarrassment of ever having relatives that want to photograph you...ever. The happiest and most relaxed photos are when she's with one of her best friends.

Perhaps, like me, she has a height requirement for best friends? "You must be this tall to be my friend." It's not like we're short or anything. They are just tall! (You girlfriends know who I'm talkin' about!)

After the ceremony was over and my newly minted graduate was returned to me I squished her hard. I can't keep her from growing up, but I'll try like hell to pay close attention as she does so.

Looking for Advice: Boys and Potty Training

WARNING!

This entry will be filled with poop, not unlike Logan's underwear, so if you're easily offended you may want to read something else. Maybe about kitties?

I know they're 3 1/2 years old and you know they're 3 1/2 years old, but Logan has decided he's completely uninterested in pooping on the potty. As in, we know he can but he won't. We've asked, we've begged and pleaded, we've offered bribes of the chocolate variety and of the toy car variety, we've threatened, we've taken away toys. No dice.

That boy has no interest in pooping in or on the potty. He pees in one like a champ, unless he's playing outside in the yard. Somehow neither Logan nor Emma can remember that there are toilets inside the house if they are outside the house. Too distracted throwing sand around, I guess. Neither one of them wakes up dry, either, so they're still wearing the Bum Genius diapers at night*. Emma started to, but I think she backslid after watching Logan get away with peeing everywhere like a puppy.

Maybe I'm wrong, but there has got to be a way to get him to poop in the potty! Please help me! I'm really tired of having to wash soiled Pixar undies and have him freak out when he's all out of Lightning McQueen underwear. You know, because they are filled with poop.

What can I do?


* Yes, they really have been wearing the same reusable diapers for two years and nine months. How awesome is that? Freakin' incredibly awesome, that's how much! The velcro closures have taken a beating, but I've just been using a strip of velcro over top to hold them on. The diapers still look good and work great. Except that Logan pees like a racehorse, so he's always soggy in the morning. I'm starting to wonder if his bladder grows larger as he sleeps and sucks in the moisture from the air.

Potty Training Twins, Act II

I've been remiss and haven't told you about a few significant events that happened here at Chez Hatchet. My big sister, Dawn and her husband Matt, came to visit in October. I've got a few pictures of her pregnant self! Clan Hatchet went to the zoo with Grammy and I have some fun pictures of that visit (Oh, look! The lion is licking the lioness. He likes her! Oh...he really likes her....) and I'll get around to writing those up.

Any day now.

But we hit a major milestone. On October 30th, I declared Emma officially potty trained!

She went to bed in her undies on the 29th and woke up once or twice to pee in the potty in her room and yelled for help to get dressed again. Then she went back to bed and woke up dry. She hasn't worn a diaper since. Woo hoooo! Half my diaper laundry load just went POOF! We were all very happy and celebrated by buying her a big, foofy girl's dress. It's dark green and black with stylized roses all over it - it's one of those Christmas-y dresses. She loves it and wore it for days and days. Hurrah!

Now Logan, on the other hand...

Well, as I said before, he's just not into it. And by "just not into it", I mean he screams like you're trying to set his butt on fire every time we try to get him to sit on the potty. Bribes still don't work. Threatening is pointless. As is begging. We've offered cars, candy, muffins and sleepovers at Grammy and Grampy's house. No dice. Apparently he was attacked by a potty in a former life or something.

I can't figure it out. He knows what to do, but absolutely refuses to do it. He can get his clothes off. He can back up to the potty. We tried the Cheerios in the potty thing; watching Daddy; offered to let him pee standing up and we've just gotten melty, screamy Logan in return.

So we're backing off. According to our pediatrician, we should just leave him entirely alone about the topic. Don't even mention it. Just keep changing diapers and take the pressure off entirely for the next couple of months. Hopefully he'll suddenly want to be potty trained. We're thinking about putting just Emma into a kid's program at the local Y for a few hours, then letting him know that he can go, too, if he uses the potty.

We'll see how that goes.

Any ideas? Any tips you'd like to offer? I can't believe how easy Caitlin was in comparison, but I've been saying that since the twins were born. We had it easy and never knew it!

Figures!

Potty Training Twins

I won't lie to you: potty training twins is a pain in the...back.

Also, one twin is totally into it (Emma), while the other screams and has a fit if you even suggest he should sit on the potty (Logan). Bribes don't even work on Logan.

Guess who's farther along on the potty training spectrum? That's right! Emma!

When I ran off to Canada for a week, Eric decided to leap into the fray on the potty training angle and started working on Emma. She seemed a lot more receptive to the idea than Logan, so we both figured we'd better get her going. Even just getting down to only one child in diapers would be nice. Yes, they're still in cloth diapers, but even changing a pair of cloth diapers every day is icky in the long run. I'd be totally OK with outsourcing the potty training. Where's your mom when you need her?

Oh yeah, she's in Canada. Humpf.

Anyway! Emma has been easily bribed to sit on the potty. Then she started peeing and when somewhat constipated even pooped on the potty. Each production resulted in chocolate chips, a parade and a song and dance. Sometimes books were read while the queen held court on her throne. She's into it and now, more often than not, comes running to us when she wants to go instead of us checking in every 2.5 minutes.

"Do you want to go potty? Do you need to pee? Can you show me how to go potty?"

Asking her if she wants to go always results in her saying "No!", but if we yell "Time to go potty!" and grab her up and "fly" her to the bathroom, she'll go happily. And generally produce a little something for our efforts. It's so great!

Logan, on the other hand, could care less and is happy as a clam walking around and pissing in his pants like a drunken frat boy. The screaming fits he throws make it SO not worth it to make him sit on the potty that we just don't. We do, however, invite him in to come see Emma. We're hoping he does his usual skill gathering tactic, which is to wait until Emma has made headway into a new skill (e.g. stair climbing, sleeping through the night, talking, walking) and then will suddenly decide he's ready to do it too and then takes off running!

I'm not sure when this miracle of bodily control will take place, but I'm hoping it will occur within the next two months.

Why two months? Because we're now two months, minus two days until the twins turn three.

Sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

Aiee! Three year olds!

Wish us luck!

Two and a Half

Is messy.

And crazy.

And loud, Loud, LOUD!

Did I mention the messy part?

They can't ever be left alone with a pencil, crayon or (Heaven forbid!) a marker. In the time it took for me to walk down the stairs holding hands with Logan, pencil in hand, I dared to look down at my feet. In that split-freakin'-second, he wrote on the wall. They can't be left alone at the table for any length of time with food. In the time it took me to leave the table to go get Emma some milk, in the very next room, one or the other (sometimes both) will flip over their bowl or plate or cup and then I'm cleaning up crumbs/noodles/Cheerios. Again. You can't leave them alone in the bathtub (Not that I'd ever walk away, into the hallway and put laundry in the washing machine that's right IN FRONT of the bathroom door. Nuh uh. Not me.) or there'll be a bucketful of water all over the floor and toilet seat. Mind you, they don't have a bucket in the bathtub for that very reason, but four arms and four legs can move a lot of water when they want to.

They can't seem to remain seated and eat at the table. Thus the trail of crumbs everywhere. Honestly, we should have an entire army of mice living inside our house. It's completely astonishing to me that we don't.

They like to tear their room apart. That cute little nursery we put together? Now has tension rods holding the closet doors closed, the dresser is bolted to the wall with straps holding the dresser drawers shut when the safety latches weren't enough to keep them out. All of their toys and books have been removed from their room when ripping, tearing and shredding all occurred. Their doorknob has the spinny safety knob on it. As does my room, Caitlin's room, the hall bathroom and the linen closet. And there's a latch on the washer and dryer doors to keep them from pushing all of the buttons and washing/drying nothing or interrupting a wash load (or two, or three...). Basically, if there's a button on something, they want to push it. If it can be broken, they'll try to break it (Goodbye CD and DVD collection!). If it can be climbed, they will climb it. If there's stuff in it, they want to pull the stuff out and throw it around.

They talk a lot.

Well..."they" is mostly Emma. Logan mostly screams. And sort of mumbles and grumps semi-intelligibly. He'll say "Peeeese!", if you force him to and will tell you "Want pep-puh." pretty regularly, but three words together? That's about two words too many. Emma says "please" and "thank you" and "bless you" and "That's so pretty!", all on her own. As well as about a million other things. She only stops when she gets shy. Logan is a boy of few words, but many sounds. Mostly they sound like "Ap-pull! Ap-pull!" at midnight. He knows a lot of food words, but doesn't generally ask for anything in full sentences. Emma is a champion, full sentence user. Of course, you don't necessarily want to hear all of her sentences..."Dat's MINE! Give it back to ME!" or "No! YOU stop it!" are two of my least favorite, but they seem to come with the precocious 2.5 year old territory.

Don't get me wrong: these two are as cute as the Mother Effin' Dickens (The Dickens are Very Cute, indeed.), but they are so much work that many days it's hard to be happy for the cute when the messy and the destructive take up so much of my day and night. Yelling at two and a half year olds to Sit Down! and Eat Your Dinner! With a FORK! were not how I planned to spend my 40s.

Yes. I do yell at my kids. (As for the folks in the NY Times that say that Yelling is the New Spanking, I would agree. However, they can BITE ME if they think I'm not gonna yell, when yellin' is called for. I'm not a friggin' saint.) I don't want to, but Logical and Calm Mommy hits the road when Squealy and Smashy come to play in my house for extended periods of time and the sleep deprivation fiends aren't kept at bay. Short of duct taping them to their chairs, I don't know how to get them to stay in their seats while I get up for the umpteenth time to fetch more milk, apple, noodles.

Let's just say that I'm looking forward to the Looking Back On All This and Laughing years. Totally.

In the cuteness department, they're total champs. Logan's hair is getting longer (Note to self: needs another trim!), so now he peeps up at you under his bangs with his trademarked Charming Smile. They love to wear our shoes around the house and go clomp-clomp-clomping around. Mine, Eric's, Caitlin's. They don't care. Big shoes, much clomping. They love to dance on my feet, ride around horsie or piggie style. They love to be chased around during diaper changes with me hollering "Nakey butt!" after them.

Yes, yes they do.

They turn into splashy fishes in the bathtub and while they can't make fish faces themselves, they do try and love to be kissed by a fish faced mom or dad. Logan still hates having his hair washed, but is getting better about turning his face up to the ceiling and not screaming about it anymore.

Emma has come all over girly suddenly and has Opinions about her clothing. She absolutely refuses to wear certain shirts (Sorry Janet, your blue shirt with words on it has been rejected repeatedly.) because there are no flowers on them. Or they're the wrong color (i.e. blue). Fortunately for me, she loves to wear jeans because if she went through an All Dresses stage, we'd be in trouble. She has, however, figured out how to take off all of her clothes which has led to little "surprises" after nap time. Naked baby over here. Poopie diaper over there. And...there. Ugh. And...there? Arrrrgh!

Both babies like to be flung through the air, flipped upside down and spun around madly. Perhaps they'll join the Cirque du Soleil when they're older? Emma, especially, loves to be spun around until fall-down-dizzy. Logan loves to be tickled.

As far as photographs go, I don't have any for this post...yet. They're down to only one nap a day, so considering that it took me all day to write this and it's already a week late...photos will have to wait. I just wanted to get this out there and let you know they're still breathing.

And probably breaking something.

Emma's First Lie

Certainly not her last and likely to be a pattern.

When asked who broke the dresser drawers (They ripped the metal wheels off of two of the drawers and snapped the rail off two others - these two are destructive!), Emma answered "Yogan did it!".

When asked, "Who made this mess?" (any mess, anywhere in the house, any day, any time): "Yogan did it!"

When asked, "Just you just make a stinky?": "Yogan did it!"

Logan is doomed.

On the bright side, whenever he doesn't want to eat something, she helpfully pipes up with "I eat it!" and then grabs the food off his plate. Very helpful, she is.

Just don't ask her about who did anything naughty.

Potty Training Twins: Notes from the bathroom floor

We've finally broken down and started potty training the twins.

Why? Well, I hate to say it, but it all started because my kid sister told me that Natasha, my niece, was working on potty training and learning quickly. Deep in my heart, the competitive part of me said, "No way! She's three months younger than the twins!". Clearly, I needed to get a move on in the training department.

You know what, though? Twins are harder to train than a singleton.

Yup. You're stunned, aren't you? Yeah, two butts to chase around naked and two voices yelling "NO!" when you ask them the perennial question: "Do you want to sit on the potty?"

It gets old pretty fast.

I'm hoping I get them trained before pre-school, which will happen either when they're 3 or when they're potty trained, whichever comes first. Since Caitlin was done a month and a half before her 3rd birthday, I'm hoping to beat that date. We'll see. The twins seem to have come in the Extra Obstinate model. Lucky me.

My observations, thus far:

• After asking nicely, begging and pleading, have been reduced to outright bribery just to get the twins to sit on the potty. Now there is 1 M&M for sitting. More are promised on actual production*, if you know what I mean (And I think that you do!).
• Logan doesn't seem to understand If/Then statements. As in, "If you sit on the potty I will give you a chocolate. If you make a pee-pee or a poopy**, then I will give you more chocolate." Afraid his future career as a programmer is in doubt.
• Emma has successfully made two deposits*** in the potty so far. Much applause and squealing followed on my part. Applied two mini chocolate bars leftover from Halloween. She approved.
• Had to apply half of one bar to Logan who objected to being left out of the chocolate fest. Half a bar for potty cheering?
• Is continual chocolate applications in the potty going to have an odd long term effect on children? Future Emma/Logan: "Strangely, I always get a craving for chocolate when I'm using the bathroom. Isn't that odd, mom? Mom? I said, 'Isn't that odd?' Mom...?"
  
• Emma likes reading potty books in the potty. Need to invest in more potty-oriented reading material. Suspect that buying used potty books would be gross.
  
• Logan supremely uninterested in potty training, but very interested in chocolate. Crying ensues after lack of production means lack of further chocolate. May have put self in for repeated crying jags.
• Am spending an awful lot of time sitting on bathroom floor. May need to actually clean it more while cheerleading current occupant.
• One day...this will all be over.No more diapers for me!
  

Updated to add: Logan just peed in the potty for the very first time! Aieee! (Start the parade!)

* Look at me, being all "delicate". I'm sparing your sensibilities here!
** Sorry about that. So much for delicacy....
*** On either side of Eric's birthday. Happy birthday, Daddy! Still trying to be polite. Really. I'm only doing this for you.

Ms. Manners

Emma has become Little Ms. Manners.

Anytime I sneeze, I hear a tiny "Bess you, Mommy!". If she needs to get past you in a tight spot, "Excoose me! Scoose me!". If she wants something, "Peese!" and if you give it to her, "Tank you!".

I hardly know what to think other than "Hot damn! The manners are working on someone!"

And that makes me very happy, indeed.

Now if we could just get her to stop flipping her bowls of food upside down onto the table when she's "done" with them, or chewing up apples and spitting out the skin everywhere...ahhhh! That would be living'!

We're Doomed!

Emma figured out how to open her bedroom door today.

I watched as she turned the knob and opened the door, then closed it and opened it again. She did this about six times, just checking to make sure that she really could.

Now we're clearly doomed. If they decide they don't want to nap anymore, she's gonna be the one to open the door and let the screaming mini-horde out!

Aieee!

First Haircuts!

Oh no you didn't!

Oh yes I did!

Mr. Scruffy

Mr. Scruffy didn't appreciate the cape at all until it was pointed out that Mater and Lightning McQueen were on it, then he let it stay. Grudgingly. He chose a car to sit in, of course. I distracted him with views of the pictures in my camera.

Making a ponytail.

Sniiip!

I almost missed this part. Good thing the stylist asked if I was ready!

Ka-chop!

There go all of those luscious curls! *sniffle* I almost cried, but then I decided that it's just hair and if I really missed it, it was OK since it can all grow back again. Lookit me being all adult!

Wow!

Suddenly you can see his face!

Who IS this?!

He looks just like his cousins, Max and Axl. Probably Daniel, too.

So ready to be outta there!

He was so ready to get down, he wouldn't even let me get a good final shot. Stinker!

And then it was Emma's turn. She was a lot more sanguine about the cape and seemed to enjoy watching in the mirror.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

"What is that lady doin' to mah hair?!"

A little off the bottom.

A little off the top.

At this point Emma decided she needed to switch from the hippo seat to the snail seat and nothing we could do would change her mind. Fortunately, they're professionals, so we all we just slid over and everyone was happy. Both of the twins were remarkably mellow throughout the whole process with very little head twisting or wriggling.

Look at those curls!

One day, if she gains more volume, we might just try cutting it in layers to see if it will all curl. Eeee!

Time for a fancy 'do.

Eric reads to Emma to keep her in the chair. New 'do is almost complete!

Then, suddenly, it was all over. Painless and pretty.

It is a pretty serious change, to look at Logan now. We'll probably keep doing double-takes when we look at him, for awhile!

"Got mah cell phone. Gonna call mah boyz."

Emma sits, enthralled with a book and her pretty new hairdo.

Surprised?

Not everyone likes snow

We had another snow day (although since it happened on a weekend, no schools were closed this time) and since I finally had snow boots for the twins, clearly an outing in the snow was required.

Did you know that it takes about twenty minutes to dress a pair of twins in snowsuits, coats, gloves (one refused), hats and boots? Yup. And then you have to say a little prayer to the Powers That Be that neither twin decides, once they are fully dressed, that they suddenly need a diaper change.

So, 20 minutes after my fantastic! idea to take them outside into the snow to mess around for a bit, I popped them onto the deck. The snow came up to their knees. They stood there and stared.

Dis stuff iz code.

They were stuck. I had to kick a pathway in the snow for them, in order to get them down into the yard. Then they stopped and stared again. Then, overloaded by hats, gloves, boots, snowsuits and coats, they fell over one by one, like toddler sized dominoes.

Seriously unhappy snow covered, dominoes.

"Hep me!"

Logan refused to wear gloves, so of course, he started screaming about his cold-pained hands.

"Aaaaaaiieeeeeee!"

Yes, I photographed them screaming in the snow. Why? Because after 20 minutes of wrestling toddlers into snowsuits I'd better get something out of this than just soggy, screamy toddlers!

Now that it's been a few days and the snow is melting, the twins like it a lot better. Puddles are clearly meant to be jumped in. Puddles are fun.

Snow isn't. At least, not yet.

Maybe next year.

Twenty Three Months

The twins want you to know that they plan on partying hard in just 26 more days. Yes, indeed.

Since they survived their wild attempt at mountaineering in their bedroom, I thought you could use a few photos. Also? I'm late on the 23 month update. Surprise!

Emma stares deeply into your soul. "Cookie?"

Emma wants you to know that in addition to her fabulous verbal skills (Chatter! Chatter! Chatter!), she's also a great mimic. She's taken to imitating Caitlin, at Caitlin's worst, to me. As in, the other day she turned to me and folded her little arms together: harrumph! And then grinned. See? It's cute when you're small, but not when you're 8.

The food thing is still and on-again, off-again issue. Some days it seems like they won't eat anything but carbs and then other days, they chow down on coconut curry chicken soup.

"Yum!" Logan has the best grin.

That was my soup, just so you know. They won't eat on their trays, but pop them in your lap and poof! All of your food disappears. I dislike it when it appears all over the floor but am OK with it going into their tummies.

While the twins still are madly in love with having baths, they don't really like being told that it's bedtime, unless there's a lot of this going on:

So tired!

In which case, they'll happy climb the stairs lickety-split and head to bed.

Up the stairs! Up the stairs!

It seems like they're just a little bit away from walking up the steps like big kids. Just a little...bit...more. I'm not in a hurry, though. Logan will occasionally practice going down the stairs by holding onto the bannister, it's very cute. They'll also hold your hand and walk down the "normal" way, as well as up, but they'd really prefer that you carry them.

Emma, aren't you coming?

As has been the trend all along, Emma continues to be taller than Logan. I point this out because it's really obvious in the next picture.

"You ready yet? You so SLOW!"

She's got at least 2 inches on him and uses it to her advantage. She gets on and off chairs, sofas, boxes, bookshelves...you name it, she climbs it. She's been trying to climb in to the cribs and can so long as the side of the crib is down. Luckily, she hasn't tried to climb out yet. I'm not quite sure how we're going to handle the transition to regular twin beds yet. There are no other rooms for them to sleep in, so they'll still have to share a room, but I'm not certain how much sleeping will take place once they can actively get in and out of their own beds.

Note that they haven't figured out how to open doors yet, so we're safe from that skill for a little while longer.

"You ready for night diapah, yet? I hep you get ready."

Their language skills have taken a big jump this last month. They are saying many different words, bunches of them are quite clear, too. Emma said "Monkeys!" very clearly today in response to a picture. They make many different animal noises, with a nice roar being the clear favorite. They also listen pretty well to direction. Especially when you say something like "Get him!" This is the result:

Strange blue tones are from bouncing the flash off the very blue ceiling. Whoops!

Looks like a hug...


No! It's a take down!
Emma drags Logan down, giggling.

"You OK, right?"

But she also checks to make sure that he's OK.

They really like to tickle one another and chase each other around screaming. Chase games are even more fun if Caitlin and I are involved. Of course, the volume goes way up if that's the case.

There are still plenty of hugs

Squishes!

and kisses

Mmm-wah!

going around, but you never know when it's going to go from gleeful hugging

into a wrestling match,

complete with hair pulling.

Good thing Logan thinks it's still funny.

Recently, Logan has been waking up in the middle of the night and screaming his tiny head off. I'm not sure if it's teething (they're still getting teeth in) or if it's because someone didn't eat enough at dinner, but it's no fun. He squeals like a stuck pig. LOUDLY. Then there's all the guilt from hearing him call your name over and over again. If you go in, he calms down, but only as long as you're in there. As soon as you leave, he screams louder.

Somehow, Caitlin sleeps through all of this. It's amazing.

Last night I went in armed with water and a muffin and after he'd calmed down, fed him the muffin and water. Eventually he let me leave without too much additional screaming. Emma woke up and stood up in her crib. Since it was pitch black, I couldn't tell for certain but I'd swear that she fell asleep again standing up next to me. After putting Logan back in his crib, I picked her up and laid her down. Not a peep out of her. Poor, tired monkey!

They love going 'side (outside) and will open the back door, if you leave it unlocked, and wander out. The only problem is that they're not safe in the backyard.

Or, rather, the yard isn't safe from them. They rip green tomatoes off, willy-nilly. Rip flower heads off with great abandon and make mommy cry. It's bad enough when the mice do it. So it's become impossible to garden with them in the garden, which means my garden currently looks like hell. During the day, it's too hot to weed and at night, while there's still light out, I'm busy making dinner. Sigh. Maybe in the fall?

The twins have discovered a great love for the playground where Logan will fling himself down the slides like a maniac. Emma follows, but at a much slower pace. She's more than willing to climb to the very top of the structure, but is less willing to just go down the slide once she gets there. Both of them have an unnerving tendency to change their minds and suddenly want off the level they're currently on and will back out over space. You have to be ready to grab them at a moment's notice. Park trips aren't easy with only one parent.

Logan's favorite vehicle is currently the plane. Whenever (and I mean whenever!) he hears one flying overhead he will start yelling "Fly! Fly! Fly!" until you acknowledge the fantastic sound of jets flying over.

Oh and he wants you to know that any round, reddish fruit is an apple. Even if it's a peach. It gets called an apple. You can insist all you want, he doesn't care.

On the potty training front, I haven't even tried, yet. If you have any recommendations on how to do it for twins, let me know in the comments. I'm worn out before breakfast is over. Having to stop and try to get them to sit on the potty? Not happening. Yet. Maybe we'll try a crazy weekend approach. I don't know, but I'm willing to listen to suggestions!

That's it for now. Now for a quick quiz. Which baby is which in the following picture without scrolling back up?

They look most like twins from back here. Can you tell which is which?

Make your guesses in the comments! The winner gets a warm feeling of satisfaction from being right. You know you want it!