Double Duty Mom

Halloween 2011

2011-12-08T21:54:00.005-05:00

Our Pumpkins

My Ariel and Lightning McQueen

They enjoyed trick or treating around our neighborhood. We have plenty of houses and tons of kids. It's a happening time around here. There was one house with a guy dressed up and acting like a gorilla that Kaylie did not like at all. Ryan was intrigued by him. Grandma and Pop Pop came to man the door while we TOTed. They had a party and parade with some songs at school too.

September 2011

2011-12-08T21:51:00.005-05:00

They started PreK this year. Their teacher is Mrs. Mazzucca. Here they are on the first day.

LBI Vacation 2011

2011-12-08T21:39:00.006-05:00

We headed to Long Beach Island for the third year in a row for our family vacation.
View from the deck

The house

The Get Along Gang

Top of the ferris wheel at Fantasy Island

First solo ride

Kaylie Bay

Kaylie in the ocean for the first time. Took her half the week to even go near the waves. Once she made up her mind, she went.

Kite flying

The Cousin Posse. Only kids with sunglasses allowed.

Old Barney

We had great weather all week. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and loved being at the beach. The kids are still talking about the sea lion that washed up on the beach, the rotting jetty, ice cream, cotton candy, rides, and elephant ears. A great time had by all.

July 2011

2011-10-22T21:10:00.009-04:00

We spent July 4th down at the shore.

Looking festive.

Patriotic

At the beach before dark to get a spot for fireworks. They loved them and had a really great day.

Someone is sleepy.

A few days later we hit the shore again. This time they had their first go at mini-golf. It was interesting to say the least. Cousin Hunter "teaching" them.

Ice cream afterwards on such a hot day was necessary.

It was one of those melted before you can even get it in your mouth kind of days.

Playground afterwards.

Then we went to our town fair. They had no rides this year, so it wasn't as exciting as in years past. They still got to ride a pony though.

We spent a lot of time at our development pool. They loved it. I saw them progress from being timid of the water to just jumping right in doing cannonballs by summer's end. They were still wearing a swim float this year. I hope to get them lessons next year and maybe ditch the swimmies. We'll see. This was the first year I was brave enough to take them to the pool myself too.

Trip to The Philadelphia Zoo

2011-10-22T21:02:00.006-04:00

We took their first trip the zoo. We went to The Philadelphia Zoo. What I remember most is that it was a really hot day.

Flamingos

Crazy bear that just walked back and forth a million times. Poor guy.

Rhino

Ry holding the map here. He became obsessed with knowing where we were on the map at all times.

Cheetahs

Monkeys

Lunch. We got attacked by geese while eating here. Apparently they must have been fed at one point and now they are all over the place. The kids were not happy with this, and neither was I!

Prairie dogs

It was a nice time at the zoo!

Fourth Birthday

2011-10-22T20:39:00.007-04:00

They turned 4 on May 30th. Hard to believe. I made Cinnamon muffins to celebrate on their actual birthday. They got scooters as their bigger gift. Ryan got a lot of Cars 2 toys and Kaylie got Princess stuff.

Listening to Happy Birthday sung by Mommy & Daddy.

Checking out her new scooter.

She likes it.

Where's your helmet buddy?

This was the day before their birthday. We went to the shore for the day. They also had another rendition of Happy Birthday sung to them. And add that to the birthday celebration at school.

Painting that fence again.

We had a small family party the following weekend. They got this bounce house from Grandma & Pop Pop. It was the hit of the party as everyone enjoyed it. Here they are jumping with Cousin Hunter.

Eating candy necklaces with the cousins.

Ry's oatmeal raisin cookie cake b/c he doesn't do cake.

Kaylie's Ariel cake

Yet another Happy Birthday song.

Did I forget to mention that Mommy & Daddy love this bounce house too? It can be used inside. So great for getting them tired on rainy and cold winter days!

My cute guy

May 2011

2011-09-23T21:39:00.004-04:00

May is always a busy month with tons of family birthdays and R & K's birthday too!

Pop Pop had a triple bypass surgery at the end of April, so the kids went to visit and make sure he was doing well. Here they are using the doctor kit to examine the patient. Thankfully Pop Pop is doing just fine.

Even an orange needs to have a check up.

Here everyone is celebrating MY 35th birthday. I think this was also Mother's Day. The kids let me sleep in, picked out their own cards ( I got a Rapunzel birthday card. My favorite.) and they helped Daddy make breakfast in bed for me.

May always brings trips to the shorehouse. Feeding the ducks never gets old.

The playground

The bay...

Just a fun licking the beater pic!

The kids had their end of year concert. Kaylie didn't sing a word, but did do some hand motions and shook her maracas. Ryan did some singing and instrument playing.

She found me

Ryan playing the triangle quite nicely

Everyone

Easter 2011

2011-09-23T21:28:00.003-04:00

We hosted Easter dinner at our house. It was a beautiful day which allowed us to have an outdoor Easter egg hunt. I'm not sure why I don't have any pics of it but oh well. There were lots of eggs to be found. Ryan & Kaylie enjoyed playing with their cousins Rachel, Emily, and Hunter (who I think walked in right after these pics were taken).

Typical 3 year olds not cooperating for a picture. This was the BEST one.

Happy with what the Easter Bunny left them...

April 2011

2011-09-23T21:17:00.007-04:00

April brought us warmer weather, a trike-a-thon, and some Easter preparations.

Egg dyeing

Kaylie made ALL of her eggs pink.

Decorate an Easter egg cookie...

At school, the kids participated in the St. Jude's Children's Hospital Trike-a-Thon. ROTC students from the high school created a road and the kids had to obey all signs. It was adorable. To see them ride these trikes makes me nostalgic. It wasn't that long ago, yet now they ride their "big kid bikes" like pros.

A trip to see the Easter Bunny

Do an egg hunt....

February-March 2011

2011-09-23T21:02:00.008-04:00

Yep, I know February comes before March but I uploaded the pics to Blogger and didn't feel like dealing with having to move them all around b/c they were out of order. So here is March first and then February.

March brought us a St. Patrick's Day celebration at school...

The kids writing their names...

March they got to get outside one or two warmer days to test out their bikes they got for Christmas.

February brought us Valentine's Day parties at school...

Lots of snow and a case of the crazies!

Cabin fever

Notice all of Kaylie's hair....unfortunately it won't be there next month and I haven't seen it since.

Hello? Is this thing on?

2011-08-10T21:06:00.004-04:00

Wow there are some major cobwebs around here, huh? And I think I hear an echo too.

Why start blogging again, you ask?

Lately people have told me they miss my blog. They still check it every day hoping for a new post. Just last week I was told this itty bitty thing has given comfort to a person who is having complications in their twin pregnancy, which is actually a reason I started blogging-- to help future MoMs get through it all. But the main reason I started this was to keep some sort of "baby book" for these kiddos of mine and I can't let them down. I guess all of these things have caused me to get back on the blogging bandwagon. The next few posts will mostly consist of pictures and a little commentary from me until we get caught up to the present.

In the words of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, "I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!"

Three and a Half"ish"

2011-01-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

We are in the midst of age three-okay slightly beyond but close enough...sort of. From my perspective it's both fun and challenging. They are just so cute when they are pretending. Kaylie is the boss. Ryan appeases her but has his moments of bucking the system so to speak. Some days they can go hours playing so nice with each other and some days it's fighting from the get go.

Ryan: Still loves cars and trucks. Loves his football. Gives hugs and kisses often. (Fun!) Likes his routines. He is a sensitive guy. Not always the best at listening. He can be stubborn when asked to clean up, take a bath, or ya know do something like pull his pants up and down when using the bathroom. He CAN do it but simply refuses to. He does it just fine at school and at random times does it on his own at home with no problem but often claims the words, "I can't," over and over. We've made some progress and he has been pulling them down a little more. I pull up sometimes and I see he is more willing to do it now but this has been a long fight. He gets happy when we praise him after doing it. You would think he would want to keep doing it. Nope. I don't get why he fights it so much. Sometimes it has literally taken 40 minutes of me asking/pleading/begging him to pull up his pants. He would rather walk around with the pants at his ankles. (Challenging!)

I have noticed that Ryan doesn't like to do things that involve fine motor skills (which is probably the underlying reason he doesn't like to do his pants) like coloring, drawing, doing puzzles, play doh, legos, and things like that. He lasts about a minute doing these activities because he finds them hard for him. I guess I have to keep pushing him before it becomes really obvious when he can't tie shoes or write.

Kaylie: Still feisty as ever! As much as she can be difficult she is also a good girl. Occasionally getting a time out here and there but generally listens. She definitely chooses when she doesn't listen. She often responds with an "I'm too tired," when asked to clean up. Yet, they do this task without incident at school! She gives hugs and wants to snuggle. She can be demanding. I would say most of the day is spent with her demanding things. She still has princesses as her number one favorite but has branched out into Barbie. She must sleep with a bunch of books, animals and any other trinkets she finds. She enjoys arts and crafts and really spends a lot of time doing all the activities that Ryan doesn't enjoy so much.

Mealtime: I HATE feeding my kids. Really it has become quite the task. First, they don't want to sit and eat. They would rather watch whatever is on TV or play. Second, they have very limited food that they will eat and of course some of those are not the same for both. I really want to get to the point where we all eat the same thing for dinner but I don't see that happening any time soon. Neither of us remember ever having a special dinner made for us when we were kids and I don't want to do it for them especially since they haven't been eating the special thing I make for them. I would really love it if they ate PB&J every day! Then I would know it would be something they'll eat. (They don't eat PB&J by the way.) It's very frustrating. Breakfast is okay but lunch and dinner-- forget about it!

School: Still good although Kaylie still doesn't talk to other kids. The thought of splitting them up next year has entered my mind even though I thought I would wait until kindergarten to do that. I don't know if it would be good for Kaylie or detrimental. I really want her to break out of this shell she is in. They behave at school at least. One of the parents who helps out in the class told me they are well behaved and listen. (Yep, a pat on the back there.) Unfortunately at home I feel I need Supernanny half the time. Conferences are next week so I will get more info then.

We've started playing board games and they do well taking turns. It's funny, at this point they don't care who wins. I was the worst at losing so I cannot wait for that to kick in. (insert eyeroll)

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff they are doing. This will have to do though.

It's Been a Year

2011-01-18T22:29:00.006-05:00

On January 12, 2010, it marked a year since I first found the quarter size bald patch on Kaylie's head. It was an emotional year for me. I cried a lot for about the first 6 months. A lot of people told me it was no big deal and things could be worse. I know they could be but I had the right to grieve didn't I? Sometime in the summer I gained some acceptance of it and resigned myself to the fact that she might be bald for the rest of her life. At that point, she had lost all the hair. I also stopped reading about alopecia and everyone's personal struggle with it. That probably stressed me out the most, hearing how everyone struggles with it and how I didn't want that to happen to my daughter. Then in July we spotted the fuzz growing back on the top of her hair and I gained some hope back. Slowly with her hair growing back, my hope keeps growing back too. I just hope it doesn't get crushed again.

So where are we a year later...here.

You can see hair is growing back on the top. Hair on the sides and back are taking their sweet old time. I spotted some fuzz on the side today so that is promising. You can still see circular spots a clear sign of the alopecia. But of course all of this new hair can fall out again and we start the cycle all over. The unknown is what gets you.

I stopped using the cream we were using. I wasn't seeing any reaction like it was supposed to cause so I figured what's the point? Her body clearly got used to it. Even without the cream, growth is happening. That's a good thing.

Kaylie knows her hair is short but she doesn't know that it's not supposed to be like that. She is not self conscious of it at all. I have told her she has something called alopecia where her hair doesn't grow but she doesn't quite "get it." She has never asked me why other people have long hair and she doesn't. It's funny b/c she plays with my hair from time to time pulling it back into a ponytail and messing it up but never asks for her hair to be put up. I actually have not put it up in pig tails since January 12th of last year. Kids in her class have never asked about it. I do see older kids--maybe age 7 and up looking at her trying to figure out just what was going on. No one has ever asked me about it either. Kind of strange I think. I don't know if they are just avoiding it or what but then again I probably would never go up to someone and ask either.

Oh and you know what? Her hair actually gets messed up now. I actually have to do her hair. I had many months of not having to do anything to her hair. It feels good but at the same time, man having no hair was so easy!

How I'm handling it: I'm trying to be strong about it. I just tell her she is beautiful every day because she is! I need to build up her self confidence as much as I can. When she asks, I will tell her. I am hoping all the hair grows back before then. :)

A Short Catch Up Post

2011-01-18T20:44:00.008-05:00

Christmas was very nice. The kids were into the whole leaving cookies and reindeer food (oatmeal mixed with red sprinkles) out for Santa. They were not as excited on Christmas morning as I thought they would be. They took awhile to even begin to open gifts. Santa did not wrap his gifts and they did gravitate towards those first. I guess that's all they needed. I just expected some tearing into the gifts but didn't get that. That's okay though. I'm sure next year will be totally different. I have a skeptic on my hands. Ryan actually questioned whether Santa had really come. I reassured him that he did come and he seemed to accept that. We spent the day visiting family and they were whooped.

The day after Christmas we had a major snowstorm here that dropped two plus feet of snow and the drifts were so bad that we couldn't see out the front door at all. It was all mounded up in front like we have never seen. We seem to be getting hit every week with some sort of snowstorm. Today it was ice and school was cancelled. It's actually getting a bit old already. I can't wait for spring to hurry up and get here.

That's all that's been going on here. Snow, snow, and more snow.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T21:49:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

May your new year be filled with good health and happiness!

Christmas Preparations

2010-12-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

Christmas preparations were going on all month. Here's a rundown.

***Cookies with Santa at Grandma's work. They have Santa there and many crafts and games for the kids to do. They had a good time. No pics of Santa though. They had one taken with him but I haven't gotten it yet.

***Decorated the house and tree...check!

***Decorated our gingerbread village...check!

Next year I'm sticking with ONE house. This was a royal pain to build because they were miniature and not to mention the icing was terrible. They had fun anyway and that's the point.

***Put up exterior illumination...check! (Bob's job.)

***Went for a drive to look at lights...check!

Here'e the crazy house I talked about last year too. Still going strong. I found another house with about 40 blow ups all over their yard. No good pics though. I love riding around looking at lights.

***Baked cookies...check! No pics but a lot baking was done here.

***A thrilling visit with Santa...check!

Ryan asked for cars and trucks and Kaylie said princesses. No smiles for the camera however.
Again, I paid for this picture!! I think they were a bit confused and wondering who this guy was. We had gone to one mall to see Santa but the camera wasn't working. We waited an hour and then left. They were so excited to go too. The poor kids were let down. The lady there was rude and I wasn't thrilled with that Santa anyway. He had a shorter beard and was wearing a bluetooth!!! Ok I know it was before they were technically open but still. So then we went to another mall for pictures for our card and I took them to see this Santa. They were wondering why there was more than one Santa. I just told them they were helper Santas that go and tell the real Santa what they want. The web we weave.

Now just awaiting the excitement Christmas morning brings. I can't wait. They are super exciteed. They are even "playing Christmas." This means pretending to be sleeping and then they get up and find presents. The presents are just boxes they took from my wrapping stuff and put random stuff in. Of course we aren't focused on gifts, they are well aware that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus. They had a little celebration at school and I was providing the tablecloth, cups, napkins, and plates so we had to go buy them for the party. Kaylie asked if Baby Jesus was going to be at the party. :)

***Sorry for the spacing on this post. Blogger is a pain sometimes. ***

Move over Stripe....Meet Bee-Bee

2010-12-06T21:39:00.007-05:00

For a few months now, Ryan has become attached to this football.

He calls it Bee-Bee--that's the phonetic spelling, I'm not sure of the true spelling Ryan has decided on. (Wink) I suppose it could be B.B., BB, Be-Be, or maybe B-B.
I'm not sure how the love affair began or even when although I feel it was shortly after our summer vacation in August. I received this football at one of my baby showers when I was pregnant. Well technically at one of my showers I wasn't pregnant but I digress. I'm usually good about remembering who gives me things but I cannot remember who gave it to us. You just never know what they will get attached to.

If you remember he has a striped blanket, oddly enough called, Stripe, that used to be his lovey. Now Stripe just stays in bed and has to be draped over his pillow (that the does not use BTW) every night. Every now and then Stripe makes an appearance but Bee-Bee is IN. He hugs Bee-Bee and kisses and loves to rub it on his face. If he gets a boo-boo he rubs the football on his injury. If he is scared or worried he goes and gets Bee-Bee and nestles his head into it. Bee-Bee gets tossed A LOT. We've had a few near misses with it landing in the sink and it has been responsible for knocking a shelf off the wall. It is constantly being lost in the house. Ryan has allowed it to get washed. Thankfully Ty is a smart company and made a machine washable product although Bee-Bee is definitely showing wear and tear. Like Stripe, I find myself referring to it as a "him." It's adorable to see how much love he has for this thing. The other day we were listing who was in our family and Ryan added Bee-Bee to the list. See, it's so stinkin' cute.

***If interested in reading about Stripe, it can be found in the March 2010 archive. I for whatever reason have forgotten/don't know HTML programming/can't do etc. how to make the word into a link. I've done it before but can't now. A case of use it or lose it. Sorry!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-06T21:30:00.003-05:00

The kids had a Thanksgiving program at school. They sang a few songs for the audience. Well, my kids didn't sing. I thought they were going to because they were singing one of the songs at home. Oh well, we'll see what happens at the Christmas show.

The show was followed by a feast.

On Thanksgiving Day we stopped at Grandma & Pop-Pop's house to have a bit of their Thanksgiving feast and then headed over to Aunt Amy's house to eat again. Thankfully the meals were hours apart.

Halloween

2010-11-20T21:03:00.005-05:00

Halloween. Seems like a long time ago now. There they are a pirate and Sleeping Beauty. The kids had a parade at school and they sang a few Halloween songs. Kaylie just stood there and didn't sing. Ryan didn't sing either but he did do a few hand motions.

On Halloween we carved pumpkins. Kaylie wanted a ghost pumpkin and Ryan went with the more traditional jack-o-lantern directing me to cut circle eyes, a triangle nose, and mouth. Daddy carved the ghost pumpkin using his Dremel and template.

They liked scooping out the seeds. We roasted them in the oven and enjoyed them for snack.
Here are the finished pumpkins.

Our family pic for Halloween. We have one every year sitting in the same spot.

Waiting to go get the loot....

Score!

Ryan enjoyed ringing the doorbells and was actually disappointed if the people were sitting outside waiting to give the candy out. In our neighborhood we have a lot of houses and it kids from all over our town come to our neighborhood because the houses are close together so we get nearly 500 kids, maybe more. It's best to just sit and wait for the kids instead of hearing your doorbell ring a million times. Kaylie was loving it too, but could care less if she was the one to ring the bell or not.

Pop-Pop came to help man the door while we were out trick-or-treating. He got into the Halloween spirit with a grim reaper outfit. The kids also loved helping to hand out candy to their "customers" as they called the trick or treaters. A lot of candy was consumed by these two that night, thankfully no one threw up!

Just a fall fun picture!

Fall Fun- Pumpkin Picking

2010-10-21T21:31:00.006-04:00

We returned to Eastmont Orchards a few weeks after apple picking there to do some pumpkin picking. Again, the kids had a great time. They loved trying to lift the really big pumpkins to no avail! They would have picked every pumpkin there but in all we got two larger pumpkins and four smaller ones and a bunch of gourds. They fought over the gourds of course. I can't wait to carve them in 2 weeks! Any guesses at what their costumes are this year?

Fall Fun-Apple Picking

2010-10-21T21:24:00.006-04:00

We took the kids to local Eastmont Orchards for apple picking. They had a great time picking the apples. We went home with two full bags. That is after us putting an end to the apple picking. They would have picked all day.

Preschool!

2010-09-17T20:03:00.004-04:00

Here they are...my preschoolers. It's official. We have survived the first week without incident. There was no crying. They just went into the classroom, began exploring and kissed me goodbye each time. They go on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I am wondering what Tuesday will bring because there will be a 4 day break in there. I'm not really worried about it too much because I think they like it but you never know. Ryan likes the playground and said he had fun there. He has come home with an acorn each day. After the first day, I said, "You go to school tomorrow too." Ryan responded with, "We already went to school." He has no idea that life as he knows it is changed forever. He thought it was a one time thing like going to the zoo or something.

I have no idea if they behave or if they talk to other kids. I do know that they have at least talked to the teacher. She said Ryan talks to her more than Kaylie. It's like they have this other life now...without me. It felt weird the first day leaving them. Hello, I just left my kids in a strange place with "strangers." I wondered about what they were doing, how were they, etc..

I picked them up the first day and the teacher said they needed to practice drinking from open cups. I guess they drink from small Dixie cups at snack time. I'll admit I've only had them do that a handful of times and it's quite messy (x2 I'll add). I usually use straws or straw cups. So we practiced and the next day she said they did fine. There were no spills on the first day--I just think they didn't drink their juice because they couldn't/didn't want spill it. I'm not certain, but their clothes were not wet and I arrived to see them still sitting at the snack table with full cups of juice in front of them.

Trying to get from them what they did that day is hard. They say bits and pieces here and there and who knows if it's the truth. Every night before bed Bob asks them what we did that day and many times the things are made up! So I take what they say lightly. A positive is I am doing a coop with the school, where I will get to go and be the parent helper for the day. This is about once a month. At least I'll get to see a little bit of their "world."

Meet the Teacher

2010-09-13T21:56:00.001-04:00

We met their preschool teacher today. We had a short meet the teacher time scheduled with Mrs. Christensen. --a mouthful for the kids to say but we are working on it.

Neither of them greeted her with a hi or anything--more like who is this lady talking to me, I won't look, I won't look and maybe she will go away. Yep those are my kids. Kaylie grasped my hand each time she spoke to her--OY! They saw their names on the bulletin board in the hallway. Then they explored the classroom while I talked to the teacher. During this time they brought me a few things they found in the classroom to show me. They picked a color flower that they will be using in class to identify their name when they arrive at school. I think it is the teacher's way of taking attendance too. They will come in, unpack, and find their flower from the table. I assume whichever flowers are left are the ones who are absent--that's the inside track of being a teacher myself. They did both answer questions about color when asked. This blew me away that Kaylie actually answered.

Something surprising to me was that they actually cleaned up their mess--something I struggle getting them to do. That clean up song really doesn't work for my kids. What does work is me getting a garbage bag and putting their toys in it. Somehow they are more willing to help clean up when they see this coming. I can't do this all the time or the effectiveness will wear off but yep, I've done it when I've reached my limits.

Anyway, they did give her a hug good-bye when she asked for one. So that is my hope that tomorrow goes smoothly. Not the image I have in my head of Kaylie screaming her head off and clawing her way toward me as I walk away. I hope that image isn't a reality tomorrow. I REALLY hope not.

August Recap

2010-09-13T15:29:00.001-04:00

August continued with swimming, going to My Gym, and doing whatever it takes to keep two 3 year olds happy and entertained--that might also be read as Mommy forgets what we did.

I do know that we went to our town fair. We have gone three years now and every year we do something more each year. They did pony rides for the first time last year. This year we rode some of the rides. Of course we lament about how much more it costs us to go each year too!

Loving the cotton candy!!

Later in the month we headed for vacation. We went to Long Beach Island, NJ. We stayed at the same house we stayed at last year. It's right on the beach and so convenient to access the beach with kids and all the junk that comes along. If you have to go back to the house for something it really is no big deal. We all had a great time, despite some rainy days thrown into the mix. They especially liked playing with their cousins.

Full moon rising over the ocean.

Kaylie loved the sand. The ocean--not so much. We did get her to try it one of the days and I think she actually liked it but was still frightened at the same time if that makes sense.

Kaylie--"The Little Mermaid"

We had a few days of bad weather. So we had to make a road trip to a children's museum to pass the time. Although it was in a strange location, it kept them entertained and happy.

This picture might as well be a fake because we never got to go for our surrey ride. The bike had a flat tire and no other ones to rent!!! I was so disappointed. They didn't seem to mind that we didn't do it, but they were confused as to why they had to get off. They were all set to go. Maybe next year.

A sunrise--yep saw a lot of those with these early risers.

View from the deck

Snacks with Nana on the beach.

Ryan loved the sand too but did not want anything to do with the ocean. Again, ONE day we were able to get him to dip his foot in, but he wasn't having any more of that. I guess I have a pair of landlubbers.

Our beach stakeout while we headed up for lunch.

Family pics on the beach. Bob has "the real ones" on his camera. The running joke is we'll get to see them next year.

Not our sandcastle, but it made a great addition to the pics!

A night at Fantasy Island Amusement park. They had a great time. Ryan even said, "That was fun!" after we left. He never does that.

A trip to Old Barney--Barnegat Lighthouse before we left to go home.

I Want to Remember This Before I Forget...

2010-09-12T20:53:00.003-04:00

The two of them said a cute thing yesterday. I had to go to a bridal shower so I was dressed nicely. They asked where I was going. I said a bridal shower and of course they wanted to come. I said there were no kids allowed. Ryan's incredulous response was, "Again?!?!" (A month or so before I went to dinner with some girlfriends and told him no kids were allowed. Apparently he remembered this.) Then Kaylie said, "We won't be loud." An obvious confusion of the language. It was so cute I wanted to remember the smile it brought to my face.

The Big Catch Up Post Part 2

2010-07-31T21:58:00.011-04:00

I've been really bad with taking pictures. I take one or two here or there but really haven't taken any GOOD pictures. I noticed that half my pictures have them not looking at the camera.

The kids have gotten quite good at using the iPhone and iPad. I think Kaylie self-taught herself. They love using the kid friendly apps.

Here they are at a place called Kidz Village in Kenilworth, NJ. A play place that had a theme set up for each room. They enjoyed the diner and food store the best--like I said in my previous post, pretend play has been kicked up a notch and I love to listen to what they are pretending. They really enjoyed it for the first hour or so and then a camp/daycare invaded and we had to leave. It got too chaotic. Again, not many pics taken.

Painting al fresco.

We went to our county fair and saw and fed some animals. They loved feeding the animals. Then we ate and we went on their first ferris wheel (Kaylie chose the ride) ride. Poor Kaylie is not 36 inches tall (I don't think Ryan is either--he's almost there) and that was a requirement for riding all the rides. Thankfully the guy let her go on because that is ALL she wanted to do. I mean come on it's a ferris wheel not a roller coaster--and we were with her.

Baby calf born in April. So cute...

Kaylie meeting her 'Prince'--that's the name of the horse if you can't see it on the hat. Yeah a horse with a hat right?? The things that make you scratch your head.

What else is going on:

I hired a mother's helper for two mornings a week allowing me to take them to some of these places and well just to give me a break too. I usually run errands, food shop, and have even gotten a few pedicures. Wahoo!

Kaylie has a poop issue--she holds it for 3-4 days! It gets so bad that she ends up just laying around on the couch. Of course the prod to go to the bathroom gets a resounding NO! She holds it until she literally can't hold it any longer. Now in the beginning of training, she was scared to even sit on the potty and then we progressed to me putting her on the seat without a fight when I saw her 'cues' --never once saying to me that she had to poop. Now she has been laying on the couch on day 3 or 4 of no pooping with a huge stomach. She has told me recently that she has to poop but she sits and then nothing. Then within the hour she poops her pants--sometimes I can get her rushed to the toilet but the last two times have been in the underwear. I mean I can't watch her face every second of the day. So on one hand I feel she made another progression by now saying she has to poop but why the heck won't she just go??? I have been giving her Benefiber too and that has helped with softer stools but the frequency is concerning--although to be honest she always was an every other day pooper. I just hope she gets over this fear of pooping. I'm thinking of asking for a laxative for her until she gets over this control issue. Once she goes, she bounces immediately back to herself. Thankfully no poop problems for Ryan.

My Gym: I'm really glad I signed up for this class. They have improved so much with listening skills--including following directions. It really has been good to get them ready for preschool and having a teacher to listen to, although Kaylie has taken to doing a lot of not listening there which drives me insane. Kaylie has taken 2 and half months to say her name and answer the question of the day however. I just about passed out when they asked her name and favorite color and she answered both about a week ago. She has even been taking part in the circle time warm up and doing the instructed activities. Ryan jumps right in and does most of the stuff but when he says his name/answer to question it's like a whisper to the group.

FIRST MOVIE: A week or so ago we took them to see Toy Story 3. This was their first time at the movie theater. They did really well. They were surprised at how dark it got in there and asked a million questions during the movie which would have been fine but they were loud about it. Oh well what are you gonna do? They are learning. To my surprise, no one needed the bathroom the whole time. They just sat (K on my lap) and watched.

I have to say that age three is challenging. I think, well I know, I might have said that for age two too but three is ROUGH! More and more tantrums and now I get a lot of "Go away Mommy," and just in general bossing me around which I don't stand for. Oh and the eating issues???? I think my kids exist on crackers. Their food repertoire has diminished to nada and they never want to sit at the table for any extended amount of time to eat. All I can think of is how did we get to this point? Someone please tell me they will eat a variety of food again. All of this makes for a frustrated mommy who dreads mealtimes. On the other hand, they are so cute trying to make sense of their world and the conversations are priceless.

The Big Catch Up Post

2010-07-31T21:11:00.006-04:00

We've been enjoying the summer so far. We've been to the beach, spraypark, pools, a farm, fairs, BBQs, library, playdates, and have gone outside every day that we can to enjoy summer. This is the first year I will say that it is easier to take them places. They know to stay near now and know not to run off. There were a few weeks here with unbearable weather so we have hit up a lot of indoor play places. That has also made me grateful for signing up for My Gym classes. At least it is an hour or two of air-conditioned fun.

Here are some pics. I don't think they are in any particular order. I wasn't about to mess with blogger.

All the toys to use at this indoor play place, called Party Gym, and they played with a wagon. We don't have a wagon but I'm certain if we did, it would never get used like it did this day.

Pretend play has really been kicked up a notch.

The only shore pic I have besides some dark/blurry ones taken at the beach during 4th of July. It was a seriously hot day at the beach--I'm talking burnt feet walking on the sand--I was in no mood to take pics. You couldn't leave the blanket. They enjoyed the kiddie pool and seeing their older cousin. The kids LOVED the fireworks but were up way past their bedtime.

The slip & slide, although they prefer to just squirt each other with the hoses.

We still have time to get into trouble though.....I literally left them for two minutes and they managed to get the box of Rice Krispies off the shelf, dump the entire box and eat them off the floor. Then there was some stomping of Rice Krispies following this picture.

These are from Historic Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, NJ.

Look for part two of this post.....right now it is time for bed.

New Growth

2010-07-15T20:52:00.004-04:00

I don't want to get ahead of myself but I noticed some peach fuzz on Kaylie's head tonight. It seems to be in patches and not all over but still, some growth is going on! I'm still praying every day that her hair returns.

We went to the dermatologist a few weeks ago and they recommended using the Dritho-Scalp treatment for 10 minutes every other day instead of the 5 minutes we were doing. In the first few weeks of using the cream Kaylie's scalp was showing signs of irritation and she was scratching it. Exactly the response it is supposed to cause, but then that all stopped like her skin/body was getting used to it, so we are trying the increased time to see what happens. So far, I haven't seen the same reaction like it caused before but I do see some growth.

Miss Teddy & Pink Blanket

2010-06-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

I did a post on Ryan's blanket, so I wanted to do a post on Kaylie's objects of attachment. She is no where near as attached to Miss Teddy and Pink Blanket as Ryan is to Stripe, but I think it would be a problem if they both weren't there at bedtime. Miss Teddy and Pink Blanket usually spend the day in the bed and only are brought downstairs when we read stories before going up to bed at night. Kaylie tends to bring something new into her bed every night. She sleeps with some random puzzle pieces, princesses, small toys, stickers., etc.....whatever strikes her fancy at that moment. She isn't showing the same attachment that Ryan does with having to have Stripe in sight most of the day, but still she snuggles with these two things each night.

The 3rd Birthday

2010-06-17T07:01:00.000-04:00

On their actual birthday, we took a day trip to Grandma & Pop-Pop's beach house. They spent the day splashing in the small pool, walking up to the beach, and celebrating with a cake. Kaylie was not into the cake because she wanted a Princess Castle cake. I kept telling her she was getting one at her party the following weekend. I think they enjoyed their day anyway.

Here they are on their actual birthday

The following weekend we had their party. It was Cars and Princess themed. Gotta love a clash of themes. I made Kaylie this Princess Castle cake she HAD TO have. Her cousin had one at her party a few weeks prior and her mind was set on that cake. Since Ryan does not like cake (what kid doesn't like cake or ice cream for that matter?!?!?!) I made him a sugar (he doesn't like chocolate either--weirdo!) cookie "cake" with a Lightning McQueen design. Here are a few pics of that.

Sitting at the dividing line of a decorated table for each theme. Kaylie wouldn't let go of her princess balloon. This was the first year they could blow out their candles.

Here they are opening some presents. They got lots of clothes, princesses, Buzz Lightyear, backpacks for school, beach totes and towels embroidered with their names, and money to be used for college savings. They also had a ball playing with their cousins in the sprinkler and slip and slide (although that popped pretty quickly and that was the end of that).

Big Kid Beds

2010-06-16T20:52:00.006-04:00

Last week, June 8th to be exact, we made the switch to big kid beds. They were more than ready and many people couldn't believe they were still in cribs at age 3. Never once did they try to climb out. If they had, I would have switched at that point but I just thought it was time--especially with being fully potty trained now. They need access to the bathroom if needed. Ryan was perfectly content in his crib and actually said he wanted to sleep in his crib and whimpered a bit while falling asleep for his first naptime in the bed and the first night he slept in the bed. The first few days they woke earlier than usual, but they have since gotten back on track. They also stay in their beds in the morning until I come get them. We'll see how long this lasts. I was worried about them wandering around or worse being woken up with one of them standing directly in front of my face.

Here they are the morning of the last night they slept in their cribs.

Now we are on to redecorating their rooms. Ryan's walls have been painted light and dark blue, but the trim still needs to be painted and he needs furniture. Kaylie will finally get her "girly" room. Her crib was just transplanted into our blue guest room when the two of them couldn't be in the same room anymore. She hasn't had a room to call her own, so she will get it now. We plan to paint it pink of course, put up wainscoting and crown moulding, and order her white furniture. Here are the comforter sets.

Kaylie refuses to get under the covers. I don't know how to get her to sleep under them. She won't even let me pull them down to sleep on the sheet! Oh and I have been busy painting their name in letters to match their bedding. Of course I'll show you pics when the job is completed...with Bob working on it, it could take awhile. No such thing as just painting a room in this house...it must turn into a project.

View Our Pictures

2010-06-15T07:39:00.003-04:00

If you remember we won the free photo session a few weeks ago. We had our photo shoot on the beach about 2 weeks ago. Our gallery is now up for viewing. Just wanted to share the beautiful pictures.

http://www.facebook.com/l/06839;silveirastouchphotography.com/Photography/Client-Proofing/KaylieRyan/12524553_BZHDV#898326550_xfgXH

The password is Beach (case sensitive)

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2010-05-30T05:12:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday to my favorite boy & girl in the whole world!

I'm so glad you are mine.

XOXO

Love,

Mommy

On Being 3

2010-05-29T16:03:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow Ryan & Kaylie will be turning 3! I seriously cannot believe it. I don't know where the time goes. They are a lot of fun now. I love the conversations most. Maybe because it took so long for them to speak and I can't believe about a year ago I was worried about it. Now I just worry because they don't use the language to speak to other people who are not family. They don't speak much when we are out-especially Miss K. They play better independently and with each other too. I am liking this age but also find it a challenge. I think the challenge mostly lies with their fight for independence--wanting to do things/having an opinion. In Kaylie's case, only wear/eat certain things and there is no budging on said independence. At times during the day they want to do things. I know it's just easier for me to do something and it will be the quickest way--but I find I have a hard time waiting for them to try to do something and then waiting AGAIN because the other one wants to do the same thing--could be anything such as putting caps back on the milk container, pressing the garage door buttons, you name it. It just doubly slows me down. My patience wears thin. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they want to do it and they should but for my personality it's not a good mesh. Something I think I get from my father. (Hi Dad!)

Anyway, what are they up to...

Ryan:

Loves the outdoors and anything to do with that. He has grown an interest in cars & trucks. He loves the Disney movie Cars. He still loves to listen to music and watch TV. Max & Ruby is a favorite and he often pretends/acts out what he sees. One day he was pushing his shopping cart with K and said they missed the bus and had to check the schedule. For a second I was like, "How does he know that word and that buses run on schedules?" and then it hit me that he had seen that on the show. He's done other things that amaze me and I think, "Where did he learn that?" It's amazing what sponges they are. I DO have a smart kid--he knows how to count to 20 and his letters and colors. He has a great memory. He loves to read books about cars and trucks and the book "Quarterboy" (known to you as Corduroy) is a favorite.

He of course still has "his friend" Stripe and now tells us if Stripe is hot/cold or tired. It cracks me up. Oh I should probably tell you that I love Ebay. I found a back up Stripe on there. It came on a day where I had to make Stripe "all fresh & clean" so I made the transition to give the new one a little wear & tear and he didn't notice. Hee-Hee. Just recently he has started singing--I don't know if it was because of the lack of speech or not but my kids never would sing with me. They would supply a word here or there at the end of a sentence but not join in and sing it. Ryan does have a bit of a temper and screams as soon as he is mad. We're working on that. He has some quirks--like repeatedly pushing buttons/switches/opening/closing doors (he gets this from his father-wants to know how things work) and having to do the same routines when going to nap/sleep. You can't skip any part of the LONG process. He can be a bit stubborn too (I'll admit he probably gets this from me.) He is not easily convinced to do something you need him to do--like get dressed, go to the table to eat, pick up the mess, etc. This tires Mommy out. Ryan loves hugs and kisses--although he just tilts his forehead toward you for kisses but just last week wanted to use his lips so we are progressing. He loves his Mommy and I love him.

Kaylie:
Kaylie is a true toddler--although maybe we are a bit beyond that word now. She loves to drive me crazy with her schizophrenic behavior. Says she wants one thing one minute and the next it's something else and the tantrum goes right along with it. Phew...look out...she can throw a tantrum along with the best of them. And she DOESN'T GIVE UP.

So in the next minute after she is throwing the tantrum, she is asking for me to sit with her and read or play princesses. She enjoys MY one-on-one attention and frequently tells Ryan, "This is MY mommy." Of course I follow that up with how I am both of their mommies and I love them BOTH the same. When she is not being Feisty, she is a great little girl.

She loves princesses and anything art related. Her imagination is in full swing. I love listening to them pretend. Pink is her favorite color. She is a pretty picky eater now. She still loves books and doing puzzles. Kaylie enjoys helping me garden. She can also count to about 12 with accuracy, knows her letters, colors, and just amazes me with what she knows. She always makes connections with things. She definitely is a watcher and takes in what is going on around her.

She has lost almost all her hair now. I would say 10% or less remains. We are trying a cream called Drithro-Scalp but I don't see anything happening and it's been a month now. I know it is making her itch her scalp and as a result she has some scabs here and there. Poor girl. Yet, she doesn't even know she looks different and says she looks pretty whenever she has a dress on--which is EVERY DAY. She refuses to wear anything else and I'm not sure why I bothered buying a wardrobe that includes shorts. Let's not forget all the cute hats I have bought for her and she only will wear this one white baseball cap with a butterfly on it. I think I got it for $1.99 when she was an infant. Just another aspect of her strong personality.

I don't think people believe me when I say she is different at home. When we are places she is quiet and won't ever respond to someone talking to her. She refuses to make eye contact even. I really worry for when preschool starts in September. I know there will be tears and screaming and maybe even phone calls to come pick her up early. I think it is going to be THAT brutal. I am hoping that Ryan being there will help. I don't think she likes to have the spotlight on her but at home you wouldn't know that. At home, she is the leader. She can be loud, demanding, and is always telling Ryan what to do. Of course she has her sweet and nurturing moments as well and they make up for all the feistiness. Kaylie is my little girl and I love her to the moon and back!

Thank You

2010-05-28T14:22:00.005-04:00

A little late with this....okay A LOT late

On April 26th, I took part in the March of Dimes Walk for Babies. I raised $900, surpassing my goal of $500. It was a rainy and cold day. Thankfully they shortened the walk. Here I am attempting to show off my new MOD t-shirt. Thank you to all my friends and family who donated to this important organization.

Easter

2010-05-06T10:00:00.001-04:00

yeah, a month later...an Easter write up....

Here are some pictures from Easter. The night before they left out their baskets and a carrot. They woke to find their baskets filled and the carrot mostly eaten. They looked through their basket (while eating a marshmallow Peep) and then they said, "Thank you Easter Bunny!" out the front door. This is a tradition in Bob's family so we are continuing it. The video below shows them doing this with some prompting.

We hosted Easter at our house and had our annual egg hunt outside. It was a pretty warm day here, hovering at or near 83 degrees--very unusual weather for this time of year. Ryan needed to change into a short sleeved shirt. They liked looking for eggs. Ryan didn't get the concept that he should find as many as he could in as little time as possible. He would find an egg and immediately open it and then move on to the next. I'm guessing next year will be different.

We won!

2010-05-04T13:35:00.001-04:00

Thank you for the votes...we WON the photo session! Of course you will all get to see the pictures when they are done.

About Kaylie

2010-04-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

This is hard to write...

Since January, Kaylie has been losing her hair. She has Alopecia Areata. It's when your immune system starts attacking your hair follicles and the hair doesn't grow. For some it may just be a patch or two, but for others it can be the entire head. It's true Kaylie never had thick hair. It was always wispy and on the thin side, but she had hair all over.

I first noticed the bald spot on January 12. It was the size of a quarter on her left side. I was in denial. I thought it would grow back, so we played the wait and see game. I thought she had maybe bumped her head when she had a pigtail in and it pulled some hair out. Then that spot doubled in size by February. Well, by early March, her hair was thinning out and another patch had developed. We had her tested for things like vitamin deficiencies, autoimmune disorders, and thyroid. All blood work came back fine. So this is where we are at--alopecia. There is no known cure for it and they really don't know what causes the onset either. She may continue to lose all her hair and be that way forever, or it may grow back and if it does grow back, it can happen again. It's a very unpredictable disease. In all honesty, I believe when she had a virus in December that lowered her white blood count level to 2.1 (very low), it triggered something to make her immune system start to attack her hair follicles but I am no doctor. Or else, she just has bad genes (which I feel guilt about).

The reality is that Kaylie shouldn't even be here with us--she beat the odds. I am eternally grateful to have her in my life. I know she could have a life-threatening disease like cancer or something and I am so thankful she doesn't. But on the other hand, I'm so saddened by the fact that she may have to go through life being bald and DIFFERENT. I'm so worried about what this is going to do for her self-esteem. I'm worried about how this is going to change her. Right now she has no idea that she is beginning to look different. We are almost at the point where we need to shave it off completely because she basically is bald on one side of her head and it looks a little silly. I'm just waiting for the day when she asks me where her hair is. It breaks my heart. Bob has made me see that WE are the ones that are going to have to help her get through this and become a self-confident individual. The question of HOW remains.

In the grand scheme of things this is trivial, but I am mourning the fact that I won't be able to brush and braid my little girl's hair. A mother's dream gone. I have read that when people (or parents of kids who) are diagnosed with this disease (or any for that matter) later in life, they go through the five stages of grief--denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I'm not at the acceptance stage yet. I'm happy that Kaylie won't have to go through these stages--or maybe she will at some point, some level, I don't know.

I do know that Kaylie is one tough girl--she's been through so much already. One thing is for sure---she is a fighter. We will try to do our best to raise her with self-confidence.

Meanwhile, I pray everyday that my beautiful daughter will get her hair back.

Please Vote for Ryan & Kaylie!

2010-04-26T22:03:00.001-04:00

I entered into a contest to win a free photoshoot on the beach. It's for multiples only. Please take one second to vote for Ryan & Kaylie at the link below!! Thank you so much!

http://silveirastouch.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/contest-give-away/

Potty Progress!

2010-04-11T21:10:00.003-04:00

Kaylie pooped on the potty today! If the pooping continues I will consider her trained. It's been 4 days and no accidents. She tells us when she has to go. She has even pulled her own pants down, peed, and then dumped her pee and flushed all by herself! Way to go Kaylie!

Prelude to Easter

2010-04-10T21:41:00.001-04:00

In the weeks leading up to Easter, the kids attended an Easter egg hunt at Grandma's work. They posed for a picture with the Easter Bunny--just standing next to him. They didn't want to get on his lap and as usual didn't want to smile either. After, we visited with Grandma & Pop Pop and played in their yard.

We also dyed Easter eggs for the first time. They were really into it and loved watching them turn colors. I should have boiled more than a dozen eggs, but no one in our house eats them so I didn't want to waste them. They didn't even want to try a taste.

I love how you can see Ryan's excitement as he drops an egg into the dye.

Ok and this has nothing to do with Easter, but it happened last month. Since they love her music so much, we took them to The Laurie Berkner Band Birthday concert. We saw them last year as well. Our seats were great--4th row & center! Ryan sat mesmerized by the lights and instruments for most of the concert. Kaylie seemed to enjoy it too although she didn't do any singing or dancing. She gets super quiet when we are in places with a lot of action going on--or anywhere for that matter. She is the shyest girl ever!

Potty Training Update II

2010-04-10T20:36:00.006-04:00

I will warn you: If you aren't into the whole potty training experience you might "glaze over" reading this novel. :) I wrote it mostly for other moms out there who are looking for potty training stories.

Well, since my last update about potty training, which you can read here, we have made leaps and bounds and we are almost fully trained. I say almost, because the pooping part is not coming-- well sort of.

I made the switch to pull-ups a few weeks ago, but they just used those as diapers, so the week before Easter I had them in a pull up in the morning and underwear for the afternoon. I'm not sure why I didn't go to full on underwear but I didn't. Maybe it was the fact that I had two kids to watch and bug about going to the bathroom. I don't know. This week, I just said, heck with it, we are going to wear underwear all day except for nap & nighttime. There were accidents, and some resistance to going (mostly by Ryan). But as each day went on, there were less & less, especially for Kaylie. She started telling me when she had to go by the end of the week and hasn't had an accident for two days now. Ryan still has at least one accident (maybe 2 if I forget to stay on top of him) a day, but that has come a long way from the 4-5 he was having. He seems to pee more often than Kaylie too. He still isn't waking up dry in the morning, unlike Kaylie. I see Kaylie being able to sleep in underwear long before him.

We have had two outings this week, other than playing outside (where I bring the potty out into the garage), where they wore underwear. A playdate and a birthday party. They did great at the playdate ( I had brought along our potty). They did great at the party too. It was at a banquet hall so they had a restroom. They were VERY interested in the restroom because for them it was the first time seeing a bathroom outside of a home. Ryan of course had to open and close the stall door a thousand times. He requested going to pee quite a few times I think just to check things out. Kaylie sat on the toilet a few times, but wouldn't do anything. She liked to visit often as well. The little stinker ended up holding her pee for 4 hours until we got home! I was sure she would pee in the car but nope! So that is the long winded way of saying they are doing well with peeing.

Now onto the pooping issue: Kaylie WILL NOT POOP! She is holding it for days and then goes in her underwear but she won't let you even try to put her on the toilet so I don't know what to do for her. M&M's are good motivators for her to pee, but nothing has worked for poops. I mean I'm ready to buy her first car and she won't bite. :) Ryan was resistant all week until TODAY! He pooped once a few weeks ago in my last update, but went again today. I think the key for him right now, is to let him go without underwear at the times he may poop. I know when he is going to go because he leaves the room like he wants privacy. I have to watch him like a hawk now and see if I can catch him. I figure the more I can catch him, the more he will get used to going on the toilet. But let me tell you, poop in the underwear is NO FUN to clean up! I hope Kaylie will try to poop on the potty once she sees Ryan doing it more. We shall see...

So we are almost there and I see the light at the end of this tunnel.

Meet Stripe

2010-03-21T21:47:00.007-04:00

Stripe is Ryan's blankie. He is attached to it big time. This little love affair began around September. I never gave them blankets until we went on vacation at the end of August. There was a pack of two fleece blankets--a light blue one and Stripe. I only took the blue one on vacation and I saw that he really liked the feel of the fleece. When we got home I put both in the crib. So from then on he has grown a love for Stripe, while still sleeping with the blue blanket as well. Sometimes both come out of the crib. He lets Kaylie have the blue one, but Stripe is THE ONE! THE ONE that he cries for. THE ONE that Kaylie can't touch. I do not want to find out what happens when we don't have Stripe for sleeping time. Thus my rule that Stripe does not leave the house.

Ryan gives Stripe hugs, kisses and pets it. He says he loves Stripe and says that Stripe is nice. He loves the "shiny side" and it has to be facing up when he gets covered with it. Ryan is also known for whipping it around and hitting people too--oops! (Sometimes Stripe gets taken away because of this and you can imagine the tears). There have been some tug-o-wars with this blanket as well. I have actually caught myself calling this blanket a "him." Saying things like, "Where is he?" as we are searching all over the house before bed and naptime. Washing Stripe is difficult. It has to be done with stealth and a lot of prayer that "he" (did that accidentally so I left it) isn't missed. This means that unfortunately it doesn't get washed too often. I dread the day when it falls apart and cannot be repaired. I'm curious to see how long he will have this infatuation with Stripe. For now, it's the cutest thing in the world to see Ryan snuggle with his lovey.

February Happenings

2010-03-07T13:45:00.002-05:00

Aside from the snow we had this month we've been doing our best to survive winter. We do our usual weekly trips to the library, continuing speech sessions, errands, and we finally had a few playdates this month!

The kids are officially enrolled in Nursery School. I don't know what else to say about it. Obviously I have the feeling of "My babies are growing up" and then I have the feeling--well I will finally get some time for just ME! I hope that doesn't sound selfish but I don't get much time for myself and I am looking forward to finding Liz again. We are still waiting to find out if they qualify for the public school preschool program due to their speech delay but in the meantime I needed to secure a spot for them elsewhere.

As for their speech delay, we have made leaps and bounds. They may not even qualify for services after their March review which is scheduled for this week. So we shall see. I will say that this month I found them having more and more conversations with each other. It's really cute.

Here they are baking cookies. They love to help, but they HATE waiting for them to bake. Don't we all? My kids pretty much think every cookie we make HAS TO have sprinkles on it. Here are chocolate chip cookies getting topped with sprinkles.

I actually haven't taken too many pictures this month.

March for Babies

2010-03-07T13:29:00.003-05:00

I am participating in the annual March of Dimes March for Babies fundraising walk. March of Dimes is an organization dedicated to fighting to make sure all babies are born healthy. It's a cause that hits close to home obviously. If you would like to help me reach my fundraising goal, then just click on the purple rectangle to the right. All donations are appreciated!!

Here I am after last year's walk:

Snow!

2010-02-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

New Jersey has gotten a lot of snow this winter. We recently had two storms come through dumping a minimum of a foot on us each time and we are currently having a "Snowicane" which is supposed to drop another foot. This is the most snow I have ever seen. We took advantage and tested out their new sled and built our first snowman. Kaylie really got into building the snowman, but Ryan could have cared less. He was ready to go back inside at that point.

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Enjoy this little video of them being accidentally dumped off the sled by Daddy, which happened twice and then they were pretty much done with the sled.

Potty Training Update

2010-02-21T09:21:00.004-05:00

On the potty training front: I think it's going pretty well. I often think to myself, "Why can't they just come trained already?" It's not an easy process--just imagine it doubled. I have to say they are making progress, but they are not yet trained.

I started just by having them try at night before bath. Ryan was consistent with that but Kaylie wasn't doing much. Then I started having them go first thing in the morning. Again, Ryan showed more of an interest so I stepped it up with him and we would try before nap. I asked him to go a few times throughout the day and he goes. Sometimes he tells me no, he doesn't want to go. He still doesn't TELL ME he has to go. That has only happened a few times, so I'm not sure what that means. He does say, "Want to try potty," which I think means the same thing as, "I have to go potty." Today we had a MAJOR breakthrough. Ryan POOPED for the first time!!! I can always tell when he is pooping because he goes into the other room. So this time, Bob caught him and took him to the potty. He did just the littlest thing, and said he was done. Clearly he was not since he didn't poop the day before. He got off and less than a minute later he yelled, "Have to go pee-pee!" (I'm ignoring the fact that he thought he was peeing and he really pooped.) and ran to the toilet. Ok yeah I know that was too much information for a lot of you. Sorry!

For a few weeks there, Kaylie refused to even sit on it. But she has come around since and has peed more. We of course have to do the Pee Pee Dance and give high fives and even an M&M here and there. She gets excited after she goes and is proud. So I am just encouraging that. I think she is deathly afraid of pooping on the potty, besides that fact that she stands up to poop and it takes her 15 minutes--or at least she doesn't move for that long. I'm not sure how to get her to poop. She was afraid of peeing at first.

This week I switched over to pull-ups but to be quite honest, they just treat those like diapers too. Although Kaylie is really into not letting the picture on the front disappear (it disappears if they pee in it). At times I just let them hang out in underwear. They like this but I am constantly worried about the couch! Ultimately, I think I'm going to just have to do the underwear thing and clean up the accidents. Hopefully it will only take a few and then they will get it. But for now, I will say that they are progressing nicely.

January in a Nutshell

2010-02-10T22:30:00.000-05:00

The kids had colds on/off all month. It seemed to be one right after the other. We would get a few days reprieve and then the wiping started again. We went to a few birthday parties this month and have been trying to make the best of winter.

Something I wanted to blog about was something Ryan did. One day he was in the basement with Bob. I was upstairs with Kaylie. He came upstairs and said, "Daddy hit head. Sleeping." At first I didn't understand what he said so I asked again. He repeated it. I yell out to Bob. No answer. Now I panic and go flying down the stairs only to find Bob on the floor (perfectly fine BTW). Turns out Ryan had thrown a Thomas train and it did hit Bob in the head. Bob laid on the floor, probably exaggerating the pain as he is known to do, but he wasn't saying or doing anything. I guess Ryan had thought he was truly hurt and came up the stairs to tell me. I was so proud of him for doing that, although Bob thought he just left him for dead. LOL. It's good to know he knew enough to tell someone what happened. My hero!

Some pics from January:

Here they are at a place called R Bounce. We were there for a party. It was a fun place and they had a great time jumping on the inflatables there. I got quite a workout myself taking the kids through the obstacle course and down the huge slide. The kids were too cute in the "jousting" area.

A way to amuse a 2 year old (& develop fine motor skills): BUBBLE WRAP!!

Happy girl

At another birthday party. This place was called Let's Pretend. It had different rooms set up in different themes like, school, beach, beauty parlor/dress up, music, etc and a jumping inflatable. They had fun! I hope I am able to save the picture of Kaylie "teaching." Maybe she will follow my footsteps one day and become a teacher, although I hope she goes into an occupation that makes more money.

The Holidays

2010-02-10T21:27:00.000-05:00

My apologies to anyone who has me in their blogroll and had to look at Merry Christmas for over a month! I'm really slipping with this blog thing. First, I was waiting for my husband to get the pictures off his camera and fix them up. Then I started doing Wii Fit during naptime so there went some of my free time. Then there is the just plain old tired excuse.

Anyway, for posterity's sake, our holidays were nice. The kids 'got it' this year. They left milk and cookies for Santa and woke up to a slew of presents. They enjoyed visiting family and of course opening more presents. Some of their favorite gifts were dress up clothes, remote control cars, toy laptops, a piano/guitar and a train set. I'm sure some of the details have faded already and I am kicking myself for waiting so long to write this. It was a very nice Christmas and they still mention the things that Santa gave them. I'm sure next year will be different, but this year we had to coax them into opening the other gifts. They were happy playing with their first gift.

Pictures may be added at a different time. Sorry.

Next post: January Recap

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T00:01:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! Enjoy time spent with your loved ones.

Getting into the Spirit Part 2---NO!

2009-12-22T20:15:00.007-05:00

Ok, I'll just go ahead and post two posts in one night!!

Last weekend we had a huge snowstorm here. We got 22.5 inches (official report) of "no" (AKA snow--still working our s blends here)!!! The kids helped shovel and really liked finding "noballs" AKA huge chunks of snow. We didn't get to do any sledding because they are getting a sled for Christmas and I was scared to lose them in the 22 inches or at the very least have their boots come off. Imagine the tears. They did not like getting snowflakes in their eyes at all! We had enough tears between that and the frustration of trying to use mittens and the shovel. I'm inventing mittens with grippers on them---probably already invented but now I'm on the search for them.

Anyway, all this snow has helped get me into the holiday spirit. Baking is done. Buying is done. Just have a bit of wrapping left to do and then I can relax and enjoy Christmas through my kid's eyes. I can't wait for their reactions!!

"No!"

Bundled and ready to go.

Getting into the Spirit

2009-12-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hey there! Miss us????

A month almost gone already.....We've had a few illnesses this month, but I think we are on the mend now. We'll know for sure tomorrow. One of the viruses Kaylie had pushed her white blood count really low, so we are having a recheck tomorrow to see if they have gone up. Googling low white blood count is not comforting but I am sure it has gone back up because she is acting herself again. Aside from that we've been getting into the holiday spirit around here.

They had a visit with Santa...they didn't cry but they didn't smile either...no surprise there. I can't believe I paid money for this picture with a crooked belted Santa and non smiling/looking kids.

Helped daddy hang the lights...

Made a gingerbread house,

Helped Mommy bake. Ryan was more interested in eating the cookies than decorating.

Decorated the tree, which they were really into helping with. After one day of constantly touching it, they have left it alone for the most part.

and had their holiday picture taken.

This didn't go over so well. Kaylie cried as usual (in her defense she was at the start of her virus fighting) and refused to get up on the platform. Whenever we have tried to go to a photo studio this is what happens so we have invested in our own camera/studio equipment. Bob just didn't have the time to do it this year so it is what it is. Just an okay picture. Note: Don't try to print this picture. It is a picture of a picture--not good quality.

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-02T14:40:00.006-05:00

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. We stopped at Grandma & Pop-Pop's house to visit with them and have a little to eat. We saw cousin Hunter, Aunt Cindy, & Uncle Frank too. Then we headed over to Aunt Amy's for a delicious dinner and dessert. They played the day away with their cousins and managed to get through it without a nap. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures that day and those I did take came out blurry. I'm very thankful for the family we have.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

Wishing everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Before I Forget

2009-11-21T21:35:00.004-05:00

Before I forget, I want to remember that Ryan peed on the potty last night for the first time and he did it again tonight! The first time, he did jump off after starting like he didn't know what was going on and then finished peeing on the floor. He was so cute and even clapped for himself. Tonight it was in the bowl. No such luck for Kaylie, but she really wants to. We'll just keep trying but I was sure it would be the other way around.
I've just been putting them on the potty right before bathtime to see what happens. So far 2 for 2 with Ryan. Maybe it's the wrong time for Kaylie. I figure they are naked already and they can go right into the tub after. My kids just want to run around naked at any other time I try and then it is a battle getting them dressed again so I've taken a baby step here. We'll see what develops.

On Being Almost 2 1/2

2009-11-05T22:04:00.004-05:00

We are 3 weeks away from turning 2 1/2...

In some ways it has gotten easier--they play by themselves more which allows me to get some things done. They also have started playing WITH each other. This of course leads to MANY, MANY fights that have to be broken up/settled by me. I must admit I lose my patience with this very quickly. Why is it that when I was teaching I had all the patience in the world, but with my two children that patience flies out the window as soon as the fighting starts? I know they are toddlers and have a lot to learn about the world and it is my job to teach/model how to share and take turns. It's not so easy to do with 2 toddlers screaming, "Me! Me! Me! It's all about me!" from every pore in their body. There is no reasoning to be had.

I think things have gotten a bit better because they have started speaking more too. And yes, I have even seen more sharing and I praise that like it's nobody's business believe me. They are beginning to put together 3-4 word phrases now. I see their vocabulary growing by the day and I just love how they pronounce words. No matter how many times you might say it to them the correct way, blankets were still "mankets" according to Ryan. But we have now graduated to "bankets"--some progress. Magnets=maggots, DV=TV, and I won't bother going into what fork sounds like. I just love the way they pronounce things.

They know their shapes, colors, and we are almost counting to 10 correctly. They can identify letters and numbers. How proud was I when Kaylie pointed to a stop sign and said, "Stop." I know I sound like that Noggin (now known as Nick Jr.) commercial but it's true! Noggin is a kid's TV channel for those that don't know and the parent on there says that her daughter pointed to a stop sign and said octagon. I've one upped you lady---my child can read! Just kidding, although we think Kaylie recognizes her name and Ryan's when written on the Magnadoodle.

They love to ask for something and then change their mind and then change their mind back to the original thing they ask for and then switch again. You get the picture. Again, my patience is tried.

Kaylie loves to do anything art related. She loves Dora, dolls, puzzles, and playing dress up. They enjoy the crafts they do at story time.

Ryan has gotten into cars and trains little bit. He likes running them down the car ramp. He will now play with his Thomas set for some time without dismantling it in .2 seconds.

They still enjoy playing outside, going to the playground and walks. I am dreading the colder months when we are cooped up.

They climb into their carseats and booster seats now. We are a lot better on stairs but I still like to shadow them. We have had a few tumbles.

They can jump and actually "get air."

They've become pretty picky eaters and aren't willing to try new things if it doesn't fit the bill. One area we need to work on.

I am liking this stage now that they are talking. There is a little give and take now. One of the first conversations that I can remember having with Ryan went like this:

Me: What do you want for dinner?
Ryan: Waffles!
Me: Waffles?! Really, for dinner?
Ryan: Yes, (then thinks). How 'bout chicken nug-gets?
Me: Ok
Ryan: (tilts head and thinks) How 'bout bacon?
Ryan: (tilts head) How 'bout crackers?
Ryan: (tilts head) How 'bout 'ghetti?
Ryan: (tilts head) How 'bout apples?

You get the idea. Cutest. thing. ever.

2 1/2 is challenging and just plain enjoyable at the same time. I am trying to enjoy every minute, even through the tough days. I know I am blessed to have two healthy babies and I treasure each day.

Fall Things

2009-11-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how fast time is going.

We've still been enjoying getting outside to play as much as we can despite the weather getting colder. I have some good neighbors. Two different ones gave us a Fisher Price Power Wheels ride on. Come to find out these things sell for $75 each. SCORE! Ryan had a hard time figuring out that he has to keep the button pushed in to go. He wanted to get off and just push the thing.

The kids helped me bake chocolate chip cookies for the first time. It actually wasn't too bad. But if I wasn't right on top of them, the dough would have been flying. Our ideas of keeping the stuff in the bowl is not the same.

The kids decorated a Rice Krispies haunted house. This was the first year I saw something like this in the store. I thought it was a cute thing to do, but honestly the marshmallow stuff they included was super sweet. I would have preferred to use marshmallows in the bag. I ended up throwing the thing out after one taste. Next year, I will just make it from scratch. The kids really liked decorating their houses and I have already picked up a gingerbread house kit for Christmas. Can't wait.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T12:56:00.010-05:00

Kaylie and Ryan went trick or treating as Tinkerbell & Peter Pan this year. I have to say I think they were the cutest Tinkerbell and Peter Pan ever! We lucked out and had decent weather in our neck of the woods, while the rest of the state pretty much had rain. The rain didn't come to us until dinner time so we got a few hours outside. They did great going from house to house. At the first house, the people were outside so they just took a piece from the bucket but were apprehensive about it. The next house, we rang the bell and Ryan walked right into the house. It was so funny. By the next house, they got the hang of it and Ryan wanted to ring the doorbells after that. We just did our block and took care of the trick or treaters that came to our house. We get a lot of kids in our neighborhood and it is always nice to see all the creative costumes. The only downside is that the kids know what candy is now. I mean they have had some here and there but now I am having battles with Kaylie who wants to eat candy for breakfast. It seems her sweet tooth has been turned on.

Grandma came to help.

On their way to get candy.

I also took them to Bob's work the day before.

ETA(Edited to add): I made Ryan's hat. I do not remember anything from 7th & 8th grade Home Ec. so using a sewing machine was out of the question. It was stapled and the feather and flaps were hot glued. Hey, it worked and maybe some day I will learn how to use the machine I have collecting dust in the basement.

Pictures! Pictures!

2009-10-23T14:01:00.000-04:00

Some pictures of things we have done this month.

Painting pumpkins on a really windy day= an activity that did not last long at all! And using washable paint means that the rain will wash it off too.

Princess in training-- although I think her training phase is complete! :)

I took out this old floor mat I used to have around when they were rolling and cruising around. They loved it! They loved pulling the pieces out and putting them back in. It was a new found toy.

Crib visit by Kaylie. She loves when I let her put all the stuffed animals they own in Ryan's crib. Ryan not so much. He was like, "What are you doing to MY crib?"

Picking pinecones in our backyard. Yeah, this was a mess. Who would have thought? Turns out the pinecones were sticky, sticky, sticky! BTW, baby oil helps get it off of skin and hand sanitizer helped get it out of their fleece jackets. Some good tips to remember there!

We've been going to the library for story time. They have it two days a week and have been making crafts. This made me realize that we need more practice using glue. I suppose learning to cut with (VERY DULL) scissors is in the near future for them too. Ryan has a hard time sitting at story time and this story time is interspersed with songs and movement too. It's not like they have to sit the whole time. He would rather wander around. Thankfully it is an enclosed room. We are working on it. Some days are better than others. Kaylie is the shyest girl you have ever seen. She takes a long time to warm up. I'm actually beginning to worry about what she will be like when it is time to leave me for preschool. It will just break my heart.

Mommy has gotten brave and started taking them to playgrounds that aren't fenced in! Can you believe it? The ones we have gone to have been very far from the road and lots of space to run around and next to no one there. That helps a lot! They pretty much just climb the play structure anyway. Now getting them back in the car when it is time to go is another whole issue.

In one of my posts I was hoping to take them on the carousel myself. Well, I did that too! No pictures of it but I did it and it went just fine. They did give me a frequent carousel rider card so I guess that means I have to do it again.

Well that's all I can think of for now. Looking forward to Halloween.

Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-18T21:51:00.008-04:00

A few weeks ago, (yes it's been that long...I am sadly losing steam with this blogging thing) we took Ryan & Kaylie to Burjan's Farm for pumpkin picking. It has become a tradition now. They have gone for the last 3 years. This year they enjoyed their first hayride and got to pick their very own pumpkin. They enjoyed the toddler maze and sitting on the old tractor. It was a great day to go and I am glad we decided to go when we did, because we have been having horrible weather here.

Looking at all the pre-picked pumpkins.

On the old time tractor

In the toddler maze

On the hayride

Kaylie with Mommy

Ryan protected by his older cousin.

Oh, ok I'll slide over here.

In the patch, they kept tripping over all the vines. Every few steps, Ryan especially, was down and crying. Oh joy!

Back with the pumpkins. (They got 3 little ones. They had to be able to carry them.)

Here we are in 2007

2008

This year....and still no one looks or smiles.

They're creepy and they're croupy...

2009-09-30T08:12:00.004-04:00

They're altogether goopy...

Yes, that's Ryan and Kaylie I'm talking about folks. We have croup in the house. It started with Kaylie and now it is on to Ryan. Recognizable by the fever and barking cough that goes with it. Lots of tissues being used. Lots of Tylenol and Motrin. Humidifiers. Ryan is very phlegmy but doesn't quite have the barking cough (yet!) so maybe not croup for him, but a bad cold nonetheless. This makes for some pretty grumpy kids and one worn out mommy. To top it off I wasn't feeling too hot either but I muddled through. Hope we get through this fast!

On Being Two

2009-09-27T22:02:00.000-04:00

This was something I wrote up on August 3rd...I don't think I ever quite finished it. I wish I had. I was going to do another write up about what they are up to now so I figured I better just publish this one, seeing that this is my only vehicle for preserving my memories of them for them. I can see so many changes already, especially with speech.

Kaylie: Kaylie has really blossomed in the speech area. We are hearing a lot more mimicking and her vocab has grown. She's become quite a drama queen around the house demanding she gets what she wants. Sometimes I give in and sometimes I don't. Pick your battles right? Everyone I tell this to doesn't believe it because she looks so sweet and innocent. In fact Kaylie can be quite bossy, pushy, and DOES NOT share well at all!!! We have also entered a phase most kids go through. One minute I have to do something and the next minute Daddy HAS TO be the one to do it. At the same time she is quite a helpful and loving girl.

Likes: Dora, coloring, playdoh, chalk, dressing up, playing with dolls.
Dislikes: real cars/trucks/loud sounds, the ocean

Ryan: has also blossomed in speech this past month. He started shaking his head yes and has picked up mimicking and will fill in words that I leave out of a song. I just discovered this a few days ago. Who knows how long he could do it. His word list is growing by the day. For this, I am grateful.
Ryan likes anything he can manipulate--puzzles with hinged doors, trains, toys that light up and make noise/music. He loves to open and close things and try to figure out how they work. He enjoys being chased and tickled. He loves books and just started showing a real interest in coloring. Before that he would just eat the crayons or last about 30 seconds. He likes being outside. Jumping on the couch is a favorite too. He loves TV and demands that it be turned on. Again, sometimes I give in and other times no.

Dislikes: being told no, vegetables, ocean,

Potty Training 101

2009-09-13T20:52:00.001-04:00

Well the first attempt at introducing the potty didn't go over so well. Try, try again.

Here's Ryan's reaction to the potty.

Ok, just kidding...but it was close. He would just sit and get up, take the bowl out, move potty, put bowl back in, repeat over and over. He of course wanted to be naked, but no real interest in the potty.

Kaylie had interest. She sat for a bit, then would get up and move the potty and do the same over and over like Ryan but she had a genuine interest. Nothing happened on the potty for either of them. Someone peed on one of their books but I don't know who. I am thinking it was Kaylie because it was a perfect circle and not sprayed everywhere. We watched Once Upon a Potty at least a dozen times and read through a few potty books. Hey, it's a start.

Then Kaylie thought this toilet ring made a good pool or hot tub I guess.

I think I need to wait a little bit more. Not all the readiness signs are there yet. I think I am going to focus on Kaylie first though. It's hard because Ryan wants to be in on the action too. Training two at the same time is a lot to handle. Have any of my readers with boy/girl twins potty trained before? Leave a comment with some tips PLEASE!

Brighton Beach Memoirs

2009-09-08T13:48:00.001-04:00

We were on a family vacation last week. We rented a beachfront house at Brighton Beach on Long Beach Island, NJ. We stayed with Nana and Pop-Pop, Aunt Amy & Uncle Steve, and cousins, Rachel & Emily.

The weather was great until Friday and Saturday. We were able to enjoy the beach each day. Ryan and Kaylie did not like the ocean at all! They wouldn't even go halfway to it. By Thursday we were able to carry Kaylie and let the water hit our legs, but she wouldn't let us put her down. Maybe next year. They preferred the pool and playing in the sand. Throwing things in the garbage can was high on the list of things to do at the beach--go figure!

We had a first on this vacation, although I have no pictures of it. Kaylie and Ryan slept in twin beds! I bought bedrails and was really nervous about how it would go. I wondered if they would stay in them and if they would sleep well, etc. etc. As usual, worry for nothing. They did great! They never tried to get out and slept well. (One night Kaylie woke up, but otherwise was fine.) I'm not ready to make the switch at home however. In the cribs they stay until they are ready.

One evening we went to Fantasy Island Amusement Park in Beach Haven. The kids got to enjoy the carousel, a train ride, and a bumble bee ride. They had some cotton candy and a funnel cake. Daddy won them some stuffed animals.

We went to see Barnegat lighthouse. It's also called Old Barney. We took some family pictures there. It's not so easy to get toddlers to sit still for the camera and smile. Trying to get all 4 kids to look at the same time is even harder! (Those pics will come in a later post since Bob is still figuring out how best to "develop" them!)

On Friday, it was an overcast day, but we were able to go to the beach before the rain hit to fly a kite. The orange kite was not a success, although it looks like way in the pictures. It was not. We had purchased a striped one at a shop and that was more successful. I don't think Ryan & Kaylie cared too much about it. Maybe next year.

It was a nice, relaxing vacation. They really enjoyed playing with their cousins and being spoiled by Nana. When not at the beach they were painting shells, coloring, playing princesses/mermaids, and eating elephant ears among other junk.

We're already looking forward to next year, talking about things we want to do with the kids, like renting a 4 person bike, and possibly going for two weeks!

Here is the house:

Here is the view from the deck and the sunrises that greeted us each morning.

Oops!

2009-08-31T20:35:00.006-04:00

Sorry for anyone who is a follower and was looking for the post, "Brighton Beach Memoirs," I accidentally hit publish. It's coming. I'm working on that post from our vacation last week, but it requires getting some pictures. In the meantime we went to the playground today and had a hair-raising experience!

They got brave and tackled the sprial slide today for the first time.

Why must all kids do this?

Town Fair --Year 2

2009-08-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

We went to our annual town fair last night. We took the kids last year (see here) but there wasn't much for them to do. This year we did a little more and I'm sure next year will be even better.

We grabbed some dinner. Kaylie tasted lemonade for the first time. She likes!

The kids had their first pony rides! They were so cute riding. But what a rip-off--$5 (each) to ride twice around the thing that wasn't very big. Couldn't we go at least 3 times?

We of course had to have a funnel cake. We also bought a bag of cotton candy. Their first taste. Ryan really liked it but Kaylie wanted nothing to do with it. Wouldn't even put it to her lips. You can see her disgust in the pic below. LOL

Until we got home.... Then she tried it and couldn't get enough. We didn't give her much fearing what would happen if she had pure sugar a half hour before bedtime.

August Pictures

2009-08-20T21:15:00.003-04:00

So I had a lack of posts this month and also a lack of picture taking too! I better get back on the wagon.

I tried markers for the first time. We've done the Crayola Color Wonder ones already and they love them as do I since they don't make marks on anything but the special paper! These are Crayola Beginnings Washable Triangular Markers. Real markers!! I would recommend them as first markers. They are triangular shaped to help them learn the pencil grip and the point isn't really a point at all. It's more of an ink pad, so they can't bend it. They washed off easily even though they didn't get that much on them.

Two things that I have seen lately that makes me see them growing up. First, Kaylie making and feeding her dolls food. Yeah I have seen this but it is happening A LOT more.

Kaylie has been laying like this to do things--also picture with her legs bent and feet in the air. Here she happens to be watching TV, but she has done it to play with her Dora house, read, and color on the floor. For some reason, it just reminds me of how older kids sit/lay when they play. Sniff, sniff she is growing up!

Bob and I attended a wedding earlier in the month. We got to dress up! I haven't done that in a long time. While Grandma babysat, I redeemed my gift certificate for the spa that I got for Mother's Day TWO years ago! Man that was a nice day!

Sprayground

2009-08-20T21:02:00.003-04:00

Ok so my last blog entry was August 3rd (my 300th post BTW) and it is now the 20th. Again, I seem to have fallen into a blogging funk. I'm not sure why. Let's blame the heat and not my sheer laziness okay?

One day my friend, Deana, came down and we took the kids to the sprayground near me. While the place is fenced in, there is no way I could keep an eye on the two of them. It gets really crowded. Kaylie didn't move an inch. She was busy people watching. Ryan covered every square inch of the place, barely stopping in one place for a minute. I think they had fun. I know I enjoy going.
Ryan running....
and running.

Here's Dean with Kaylie. Pretty much where they were the entire time.

Pics of the Week

2009-08-03T07:01:00.001-04:00

Some random pics over the last week.

The Little Mermaid

Does this not remind you of Ryan & Kaylie?? Come on!!

Trying on Daddy's shoes.

They played in the play area at the mall. In the third picture you can sort of see a carousel behind it. This is going to be my next M.O.M. accomplishment--to take them on the carousel myself. I was contemplating it while we were there (no one was around) and when I finally got up the nerve to do it, the ticket lady wasn't in the booth! I couldn't wait b/c I had two unleashed/unstrollered toddlers who were not waiting for anything!

Kaylie mostly spends her time sitting on this horse people watching. This time she actually did other stuff but the few other times we have been, she was on the horse watching.

Pool Time

2009-08-02T21:33:00.003-04:00

We took them to the pool in our development. There is a small baby pool only 1 ft deep. We were there for a few minutes and I started to feel particularly overconfident in my M.O.M abilities. I said to Bob, "I think I can handle this on my own." Sure enough, in the next moment, down goes Ryan and at one point they both took a dive under at the same time. I quickly changed my tune and said, "Maybe not!" They both had fun splashing anyway.

Went to the Animal Fair

2009-07-29T14:29:00.005-04:00

We took the kids to the county fair this past weekend. They loved seeing the animals and getting to pet them. We let them out of the stroller and used their safety harnesses AKA leashes. This gave them some freedom that they enjoyed as well. It is definitely hard to keep them from getting tangled up. We had some dinner there and followed that with funnel cake!!

Ryan petting the goats while Kaylie waits.

Giddy up!

Kaylie apparently could care less about the calf.

Why are these bars constantly in my line of sight?!?!?!

Me too Kaylie, me too!

Scenes From a Yard

2009-07-23T21:36:00.005-04:00

Most of the time when we are outside they are happy to just ride in their cars/trikes, push their bubble mowers and sweep the driveway among other activities. Sidewalk chalk is a big hit too.

Here's Kaylie, the Director. She tells me what to draw basically. "Let me think, Mommy."

I've gotten really good at drawing Dora and all her friends. Dora is the favorite at the moment, although I think princesses will be making a move to first position soon. So here's some of my "work." Keep in mind it is all from memory and well some details are fuzzy but I think you get the idea.

Swiper

Diego, Baby Jaguar, and Benny the Bull

Dora, with a little help from Kaylie

Tico, Isa, and Boots (not so good)

Jack, Mary & Mel from Jack's Big Music Show which they also like.

Then there are the neighbor's rocks. They love to go over to the tree and pick out a rock and come show it to me. Then they bring it back and go get another one. REPEAT.

Which one should we get?

Ryan likes this particular rock and will get every time. I have to agree it is a cool one. It is totally flat on one side like it was sliced off another.

Kaylie likes the BIG ones. She actually started saying this word while doing this activity.

6 Years Today!

2009-07-17T22:03:00.004-04:00

I've been married to my best friend for six years today! We celebrated last night with dinner and a movie--something we don't get to do. Love you!

Finger Painting

2009-07-16T20:04:00.006-04:00

Eh, our first finger painting session didn't go over too big. They lasted about two minutes. You can see from the pictures that they don't like having paint all over their hands. I guess they aren't used to it, so I will have to try again.

"Umm yeah, there's stuff all over my hands Mommy."

What happened to my hands?

Kaylie investigating but Ryan is getting outta there!

After, I just had them jump into the pool to wash off. Easy clean up!

Sprinkler Fun!

2009-07-15T19:50:00.000-04:00

We tested out a lawn sprinkler. It was a hit for about 15 minutes. Note that it takes much longer to get them dressed and get the sprinkler set up than actual play time. :) Not to mention the half hour spent undressing and getting them back into dry clothes when all they want to do is run around naked. Ultimate wrestling at its finest. Yes, I think we are entering a stage I feared. They now will tear their diapers off at any chance they get. I think this is one of those readiness signs for potty training. I'm thinking that is right around the corner. I just want them to be able to talk and tell me they went. That's not happening yet. Anyone ever potty train a speech delayed child? I've been reading up on it. Supposedly it can be done, but for now I am waiting. I do dread the whole potty training process. Still wondering how you train two different sexes how to use the potty. Wow, I sort of went off on a tangent didn't I?

Here are some pics. Not great ones, since I didn't want to get the camera wet.

4th of July Weekend Recap (Late I know)

2009-07-14T20:45:00.000-04:00

We headed down the shore for the 4th. We went to Grandma & Pop-Pop's shorehouse. In the morning we did some pool time and we went to the playground at the bay. After a brief nap, Ryan & Kaylie went up to the beach. Kaylie DID NOT like the ocean one bit. Ryan let the water get him one time and then was forever scared of it each time a wave washed up. He was intrigued by it but scared at the same time. They did like the sand so they spent most of the time playing in that.

The next day we went to Aunt Amy & Uncle Steve's for a BBQ. Ryan & Kaylie went swimming in a big pool for the first time actually. We only did the baby pool last year. Kaylie really enjoyed it and didn't want to get out, while Ryan was a little apprehensive about it. I would have bet the opposite. Kids--they fool you every time. It could have been due to all the gear I had for them. First we tried life vests, but they just seemed to tip forward. Then we had vests on and put them in the floaty thing, still not thrilled. Then we tried just arm swimmies and they liked this the best. Since then, we have gone again and they both enjoy the pool now.

We made another trip down the shore on the following Tuesday. We did some more pool time and went to the boardwalk. This was their first time at the boardwalk. We did the usual boardwalk stuff: walked around, ate greasy food, went on rides, and purchased junk. We had fun.

Here they are on the train. They loved it and again didn't want to get off.

Ryan with Aunt Cindy and Cousin Hunter whom he adores.
Kaylie unhappy that Dora was left in the stroller.

Ahhh, we have Dora with us now. Life is good.

Eating greasy food with sugar. :) Ryan thought dipping his lollipop in ketchup tasted so good. He was loving every second of it. Note to self: don't EVER get them those lollipops again! Oh the sticky mess!

Our purchased junk: pinwheels and Dora and Diego blow up dolls. Kaylie shouted, "Dora! Dora!" as soon as she laid eyes on her. Grandma was a sucker :)

Walking around:

Playground Fun

2009-06-30T07:15:00.000-04:00

We tried out a new (to us) playground over the weekend. It was pretty hot without shade so our stay was shortened by this. I'm still happy to have this weather over the rain we've gotten the last month. The kids had fun despite.

Curvy slides are fun.

Sometimes this happens...

I'll still do it again though.

Pics of the Week

2009-06-29T13:40:00.007-04:00

Finally getting some nice weather here. We've brought out the pool and water table. They love them, although Ryan would just prefer to be squirted by the hose.

"We are the dinosaurs marching, marching...."

Ryan loving the mist feature on our hose nozzle.

What happens if I turn my ear?

Another smilin' Ryan pic

Not sure how she got herself in.

A First For Me!

2009-06-29T09:09:00.005-04:00

The following is a video of me cutting the grass for the first time IN MY LIFE! I had an instruction session by Bob before going out. I was told that you cut grass in rows and being careful to overlap the mower on each row. Well, I tried to follow this instruction. I sort of had my own method. He calls my method the Vacuum Method. Also, I cannot start the mower to save my life. I don't know what I do wrong. I particularly like my leg action as I attempt to start the darn thing. I ended up needing Bob to start it.

Overall, it wasn't too bad for my first time. I did end up going in rows in the back yard and some in the front too! Bob says he can see tufts of grass sticking up in rows from where I missed. I haven't a clue as to what he is talking about. LOL! Next up: the weed whacker. That could be dangerous.

BTW- Bob edited this video and had to learn how to add the "Vacuum Method" animation!

What's Going On?

2009-06-23T13:46:00.007-04:00

The weather here in New Jersey has been awful this month....rain, rain, and more rain!
It's made for some hairy days, but I think we may be coming out of this weather pattern. I hope to return to the great outdoors with the kids. We were able to do that this afternoon.

Bob had a hernia surgery so he is recovering from that. As a result, there is no lifting of the kids for a few weeks. The saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone," rings true here. Yeah, my help is gone--it's all me now. Bob does what he can though. I had Nana and Grandma here for a few days so that helped, but they can't be here all the time. Doing their nighttime routine is the hardest part of it all.

We're still having speech therapy. Kaylie is mimicking a lot more and has really exploded in the speech area. Ryan, not so much. A few words here and there but not much progress YET. I think if Kaylie starts talking Ryan will follow. I just cannot wait for it.

Some pictures from June...

A smile caught on camera from Ryan. I think he is finally starting to become a ham for the camera.

Kaylie's new trick (I think she learned it from O'Nani)...attempting somersaults where she basically gets in this position and falls to the side. Fun to watch!

Then there's this balancing pillow act....

There was ONE nice day in June where we used our water table.

I Love My Cleaning Crew

2009-06-23T13:34:00.002-04:00

The kids just recently got these vacuums. They love them and believe it or not still fight over whose is whose. They are identical but somehow they know which is theirs. The best part is that they actually pick up--not a lot but I will take it.

Egads!

2009-06-12T13:39:00.007-04:00

So it's been awhile. Originally I was waiting for Bob to get the pictures off his camera from the party so that could be my next post---well I am still waiting (hint, hint, Sweetie).

Then there's the "I don't have much to blog about" excuse. I could blog about all the tantrums that have been going on, but I'm not sure anyone wants to read about that or hear my complaining. It has been rough around here. I'll leave it at that. It also hasn't helped that the weather has been the pits for a week and the week before that. It seems Saturdays are the only nice days anymore. There's only so many tricks in my bag. Which gives me an idea--what do you do on a rainy day? Leave me a comment. I would love to hear ideas. We still managed a play date, weekly trips to the library and a visit to the mall play area.

Then I could blog about the recent resurfacing guilt about their speech delay that I harbor. But again, no one wants to read that either. I know some would say that it's crazy to have guilt over that because there are many full term babies with speech delays too. It's just too darn hard not to.

So I will leave you with some pictures.

Would we cause trouble???

Round two of "Paint the Fence" last weekend.
On to the playground...

Comparing their first tattoos.

Party Time

2009-06-02T20:06:00.009-04:00

We had Ryan & Kaylie's 2nd birthday party this past weekend. It was wonderful! The weather was great for an outdoor party. We had a lot of food, cake and lots of activities. They had a wonderful time playing the afternoon away. Kaylie didn't want people to leave at the end. They got a lot of nice presents that they weren't into opening. I was kind of surprised by this, but I think they were more interested in playing. I really didn't get too many good pictures. I regret not taking any pics as a family or even one of me and Ryan. I did get one of Kaylie and me though. Mental note: take the time to take pictures. I'm still waiting for Bob to get pictures off his camera. Maybe there will be a good one in there. It was an Elmo & Abby Cadabby themed party.

The Jumpolene that occupied them all day.

They got new tricycles. Kaylie was testing hers out.

The cake. Cookies were made by my sister ( & very yummy!)

They had individual cakes with same design on them. Ryan was concerned about the rubber band on the hat. In most pictures he has his hands up touching it.

Two is Coming...

2009-05-29T00:02:00.000-04:00

In ONE day to be exact!

Wow, another year almost gone. I swear it went by in the blink of an eye. I don't find myself constantly saying well they aren't exactly two yet like I did when they turned one. Maybe that is a sign of NICU/preemie life fading into the dark. They have grown a lot in this last year. We may not be "caught up" (my most dreaded preemie term) yet but we have made great strides.

I find myself now comparing what they are doing now to what they were doing a year ago. This toddlerhood business (mostly speaking about tantrums here) is so hard, especially with two. There are days when I want to go to work and let someone else deal and then there are days when I absolutely love it (not the tantrums--the cute stuff they do). Seriously, where did my babies go? They now climb into their booster seats and want to walk up and down the stairs all the time now instead of wanting/needing to be carried. They are growing up right before my eyes. I just have to enjoy each and every day and try my best to hold onto the memories.

I've Got Some Catching Up to Do Part 2

2009-05-26T13:05:00.002-04:00

We attended a get together for Moms of Multiples this past weekend at my friend Linda's house. There were about 10 families there-all had twins ranging in ages from 4 months on up to 2. We had a great time. It was nice to be in the company of others in your same situation. The kids enjoyed playing with the other kids, playing with chalk, eating ice cream and just being able to run all over the place. Thank goodness for a fenced in yard! Our yard is not fenced in so I am constantly running and yelling after these two to stay by me. They have gotten better but still it's not fun for me to be out there. Anyway, it was a great time had by all!! Thanks Linda, for hosting.

Some pics...not of all the kids unfortunately.

I've Got Some Catching Up to Do Part 1

2009-05-25T20:37:00.006-04:00

Sorry I have neglected the blog for a bit. I should say that we are all healthy again and have been for a week or so now. Life is so much better with healthy kids let me tell you. The weather has been nice so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Ryan and Kaylie are about to turn two on the 30th so I am getting ready for their party.

We went down the shore this weekend to Grandma and Pop Pop's shorehouse. We took a walk over to the bay and played on the playground.

Through the tunnel.

On the swings....their favorite at the moment.

For nostalgia sake. This picture was taken Memorial Day last year. They both fit on one swing! The difference a year makes!

How do you keep two toddlers and a six year old busy? Why you have them "paint" the fence with water. Guaranteed fun for a half hour minimum! I know you are all going to try it aren't you? They loved it and yours will too.

Taking a break from painting.

Week In Review

2009-05-17T16:39:00.005-04:00

So we have had a house of sick kids this week. Ryan went to the doctor Wednesday with an ear infection and fever. He's on antibiotics and doing much better. Kaylie started running a fever Friday night and all day Saturday. It finally broke Saturday night. Despite the fever, she still acted normal--although on the quiet side.

We did drag her to the birthday party of her cousin, Rachel. It is Rachel's 3rd birthday--unlike the card I mistakenly picked out that had a 2 on it. Hey, it had a princess on it and that's what I was going for. She'll forgive me.

Playing with the playhouse and chalk eggs.

Lucky Rachel got this new car and took them for a (scary) ride. She needs some practice driving. LOL

Rachel blowing out her candles.

Quick! Take a Look

2009-05-17T14:58:00.003-04:00

I finally was allowed to put pigtails in Kaylie's hair. They didn't last long but I got to snap this picture. I'll have to keep trying.

Pics of the Week

2009-05-12T21:15:00.001-04:00

Ryan & Kaylie got this climber from their older cousin who has long outgrown it. THEY LOVE IT! They say "Wheee!" as they go down the slide. "Whee!" was something they picked up during speech therapy so maybe, just maybe, it's working. Kaylie started calling Ryan by name this week-"Ay-Ay" (pronounced eye-eye). She has said his name earlier when asked to but this was the first time she called for him.

Ryan's turn with the help of Kaylie, the assistant.

Kaylie's turn.

We got a new stroller--this one is an all-terrain Baby Jogger City Elite. I LOVE IT! It is on the heavy side but pushes like a dream thanks to the air filled tires. Ryan & Kaylie felt it was a good spot to read while Daddy filled the tires with air. I think they spent a good hour just sitting in it the morning we got it.

Anyone reminded of Tom Cruise in Risky Business? I had to take a picture although he is missing the sunglasses.

Celebratory Weekend

2009-05-10T21:59:00.007-04:00

This past weekend I celebrated my 33rd birthday and second Mother's Day! It was a low key morning but then we went to my in-laws for a delicious birthday dinner in my honor. I got a new purse, lots of gift cards and money. I'm looking forward to going shopping soon.

Kaylie exploring with cousin Emily
Ryan taking a rest from climbing the deck stairs. He must have climbed them about 500 times--and has the bruises to prove it.
Ryan playing ball with Rachel

Mother's Day was really nice. I got to "sleep in" while Bob had the kids. This means I laid in bed until get this...7:30! Our usual get up time is between 6:30 and 7:00. Heaven! I got some flowers and had breakfast made for me. I planted flowers and we took the kids to the park. I got kisses from both kids. Ryan is really stingy with his kisses but I got one right before bedtime. It made my day.

Pics from the park.

Humor Me

2009-05-07T14:59:00.002-04:00

I don't know why, but I felt this picture needed a caption of some sort. Hope it made you laugh anyway. I need it after all the rain we have been getting. Being cooped up is getting old.

Photo Shoot

2009-05-03T20:33:00.008-04:00

We had a photo shoot at home today. Ryan was in a 'hamming it up' mood, but Kaylie (usually the cooperative one) wasn't. We did okay despite. These are the highlights.

Happy 23 Months!

2009-04-30T13:43:00.002-04:00

One month to go.....yikes!

Pics of the Week

2009-04-27T14:01:00.004-04:00

Just a few pictures from the weekend...

Smilin' Ry for a change.

What do you mean they don't fit?

I call this one Should We or Shouldn't We?
They are about to take the step from driveway to street (which is a HUGE No-No!!) They actually didn't for a change.

Budding Picassos
What I find amazing is that they don't put the chalk in their mouths like they do crayons.

March For Babies 2009

2009-04-26T20:08:00.003-04:00

I took part in the March of Dimes March for Babies 5 mile walk today. It was a sunny, 85+ degree day--very unusual weather for April---but I was glad it wasn't raining. Fortunately, there was a small breeze as the walk was held down the shore. I initially was going to be walking alone, but my local M.O.M. club had a group there so I introduced myself and walked with them. This was much better than walking alone as I had people to talk to. I felt a little bad that I didn't bring the kids, but there was no way Ryan would have sat in the stroller for as long as the walk took. We would have had to stop a million times. I think they will be ready next year to tag along. I now know they have some kid-friendly activities for them to do.

This was the view of most of my scenery until the crowds showed up and then there was barely a spot to be had on the beach.

The start of our walk.

Me. (post walk)

My grand total fundraising efforts reached $1,100!!!! This was, again, more than I ever expected to raise. Thank you to all of you who supported me!

Weekend In Review

2009-04-19T21:22:00.005-04:00

Saturday we attended The Laurie Berkner Band concert in Toms River, NJ with their cousins. The kids (and me & I think Daddy too) LOVE Laurie's music. She can often be seen on their favorite show, Jack's Big Music Show (which unfortunately is not in production anymore but you can still DVR it. It's on at 11:00 PM EST.)

I didn't get great pictures at all. Sadly, this is the best one. The concert was about an hour and twenty minutes long and the kids did great! I was so worried about Ryan wanting to run everywhere and not wanting to sit still. I brought some snacks and that seemed to be all they needed. They listened to the music, tuning out every now and then, but a favorite song would bring back their interest. We'd ask them, "Where's Laurie?" and they would point up to the stage. By the end, they were tired and ready to go.

After a nap, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. My sister gave me my nephew's Little Tikes Cozy Coupe car. Well, WWIII broked out over it. Needless to say, we headed over to Toys R Us to purchase another car. It was not pretty. Kaylie couldn't wait to get in it while Daddy put it together.

They dined outside on their picnic table (another hand me down).
Sunday, we just hung around at home and got to get outside again.
Do I look like some crazy driver to you?

This is a car jacking in progress, before it turned ugly. Despite getting the new car, we still can't seem to make up our minds about which car we want.

I'm ONE.

A HUGE Thank You!

2009-04-18T21:09:00.004-04:00

(Horns sounding....) I am happy to say that I have met and exceeded my fund-raising goal for the March for Babies walk. All thanks to many generous donations from friends and family. If you contributed, THANK YOU!!!! I set a goal of $500 and I am currently at $990! This is way more than I expected to raise so I am grateful for the donations. Anyone want to make it an even $1000? (Hint, Hint.)

I'll be walking next Sunday. I am hoping the weather is as good as it was today! 70 degrees baby!! The walk is held on a boardwalk so I will have some excellent scenery as I walk. I'm looking forward to it.

Easter 2009

2009-04-18T20:59:00.000-04:00

I guess I should blog about Easter huh? Just a tad late.

We hosted Easter dinner at our home. I guess it has become a tradition at this point. I think this was our fourth year. Despite it being April, it was pretty cold here that day.

Here are Kaylie & Ryan in their Easter outfits.

We had an egg hunt with the cousins. Ryan & Kaylie only found a few eggs but they enjoyed it. They would have been happy with one egg. My 6 year old nephew thought it would be fun to see who could find the eggs the fastest. Guess who won? Needless to say toddlers move quick but they have nothing on a 6 year old.

They received a few Easter presents. Here they are thoroughly enjoying the Easter baskets given to them by Nana. Does that grass stuff just multiply or what? It is endless when trying to clean up.

Still Waiting...

2009-04-15T13:57:00.002-04:00

I'm still waiting for some Easter pictures...so in the meantime I leave you with this.

Does this outfit scream 1980's to anyone else or is it just me? Must be the bow.

Won't You Help?

2009-04-15T13:48:00.003-04:00

The March of Dimes walk is only 2 weeks away. I am still in need of some donations to help reach my fundraising goal. Won't you help? The March of Dimes is a group that helped save Ryan & Kaylie's lives through their prior research. That is why I am getting involved, so that future babies will have a chance at life. Thank you to those who have already donated.

It's easy and the best part is a donation of as little as $5 goes a long way! Just click right where it says March of Dimes to the right and support me. Thank you!!!