We did it!

We managed to wear the munchkins out today! It is almost 3:00 and the kids are both still napping - woohoo. We went to Gentry Farm, and despite the decidedly non-Fall like weather and fewer pumpkins than usual - we all (me, the kids and So-So and Ray-Ray) had a great time. Gentry Farm opens to the public the last weekend in September through October and offers a corn maze, farm animals, a hayride, and much more. The kids ran around and had so much fun and fell asleep shortly after we got home - which is rare these days, especially for Katie.

The kids were so excited to see So-So and Ray-Ray and I wouldn't have been able to keep up with the rascals (or wear them out nearly as much) without their help!

Getting a picture together is still hard - holding hands works!

Playing with the corn trough was probably their favorite activity. They really liked sitting with the "punkins" too!

We got to see baby calves born just this morning, on the hayride!
So So and Tyler looking intently at the goats.Riding on the tractor was a highlight for Katie until she spotted the slides!

We love Gentry Farm and can't wait to go back next year or maybe even in October!

Discipline

I admit it - when I thought about how Lance and I would parent I thought I would be the disciplinarian and Lance would be the pushover. In reality, it seems we are both pushovers! The difference is that it doesn't drive him crazy to hear or deal with the whining, "no mama" yelling, hitting, and complete obstinance whereas I am often on the verge of a complete breakdown mid tantrum. I know that a lot of it is just something that I need to deal with - mom guilt, competitive parenting, and all that jazz. I don't want bratty children, I want them to be safe and understand that when I say no I mean no (and usually for a very good reason), I want them to be fun and pleasant to be around - wah, wah, wah (I know). I realize that is what everyone wants, but I still can't stop myself from worrying that our inability to find a discipline technique that works now is setting us up for even bigger problems down the road. Yesterday's debacle is a good example. It is getting harder and harder to manage the kids leaving school on my own and I just can't think of a good solution. We left the classroom and there is a water fountain right by the door that the kids love. I told them before we left the class that we weren't getting water and that we had some in the car (I know from experience that it is a neverending cycle of Katie's turn, Tyler's turn, now Katie's turn, last time,etc). They said ok and then proceeded to jerk their hands away and race to the fountain the minute the door opened. They each got a turn and then I grabbed Katie's hand and had to pick up Tyler and was walking them toward the door when Katie threw herself down (and a meeting was going on with everyone watching) and yelled that she needed more water. Tyler then starting kicking and hitting me and I couldn't hold on to him anymore. When I finally got them to the door they asked if they could get down and since I have a really hard time holding them both I said yes, but you have to hold my hand and they both repeated it and seemed to understand. Well, we got out the door and Katie plopped down and started throwing her shoes and Tyler wrenched his arm out of my grasp and ran to the road. I left Katie sitting against the wall and went to grab Tyler and got down eye level and told him no. Went back to get Katie and finally got to the car to put Tyler in his seat and Katie was standing at my legs on the floor of the van. Tyler was fighting getting in his seat and I was virtually on top of him holding him down trying to get the straps on when Katie decided to climb away and got into the front seat. She grabbed the keys and was closing and locking the doors so I left Tyler just sitting in his seat unbuckled and went to get Katie. Same fight ensued with trying to get Katie to sit down and by this time Tyler was out of his seat and in the front seat. When I finally wrestled them in (and somehow managed not to have child services called on me for what looked and sounded like I was wrestling cats) and got in the car they were then in foul moods and whined and yelled the entire drive home. Nothing I said or did could get them to stop, but that is manageable - the parking lot shenanigans are not. The only thing I can think to do is to get those backpack leashes but that still doesn't get them in the carseats (at least it will keep them in reach in the very busy parking lot though). This scenario is played over and over again these days now that they have learned that while I am distracted with one the other can get away with a lot more. Time-outs, firm no, spankings, rewards and praise for good things - nothing seems to work. I think Tyler is cutting his molars which has made him a little grumpier, but he is also learning that he has definite opinions and only wants to do what he wants. It is so frustrating to not know what we are doing wrong - and if one more person tells me to just wait that it gets worse at 3 I think I am going to scream. I do recognize that one thing that I should not be doing is giving in (like with the water fountain), but I literally cannot keep them both away from it on my own and they are active little things who know how to maneuver out of holds and to slide into position when I pick up the other! I have read some books about it and everything says that time out works well right now, but not for my two. They usually laugh and talk while in there and then the other asks or puts themselves in time-out too. They don't have anything that they just love (still don't watch any particular dvd, no blankie that they carry around, etc.) that we can take away as a consequence. This kind of thing isn't happening all the time, or even as often as I think that it does with a lot of kids (and especially twins), but when they do it is what concerns me because I have no way to gain control or threaten to get them to behave when they are doing something unsafe! Sorry for the super long post if anyone got this far - it feels good to rant and I am sure Lance is sick of being the only one to hear me obsess about it! They had a sub teacher in their class the last two days and she said - those two sure are smart (I agree, of course), they are going to give you trouble - I guess that "trouble" has begun!

Busy, Busy

I haven't meant to be neglectful about posting here, but being the new "kid" at work means that I have been pretty busy. This week, especially. I have had work events the last two evenings and haven't been home before the kids go to bed. Lance says that they say "mama tuck like rito?" over and over again, and ask for me to give kisses and read - they just don't understand why I am not there for the normal bedtime routine. Tucking them in "like a burrito" is a hold-over from when they were itty bitty. They would squeal and laugh, and back then would stay put - now they ask you to do it, lay there for a bit giggling and then jump up and want you to do it again :)! It makes me sad to have to leave them nowadays because they are so much better at expressing what they do and don't want. Yesterday, they were yelling and screaming as I walked out the door and Katie was saying - mama no go bye bye - no work, and Tyler was looking at Lance sincerely saying "mama have to work." Before their words were so good I could imagine that they were thinking that they didn't want to be left, but hearing it so clearly is heartbreaking. I recently read a blog where the mother of a two year old did a post of the words her child was saying at two - for posterity sake. I thought about doing that, but there are too many to list and think of so for future reference here is a list of their top ten favorite words!

Tyler - Donut, cereal bar, cheese, chocolate milk (he still thinks that is what he is drinking but he's not), more cookie (see a pattern here), Ray Ray, So So, see ya later ca co dile, what's that, and there it is (said in the cutest inflection that neither Lance or I can imitate). He also often says Katie mean (which we correct), and has definitely acquired a taste for the normal toddler words - no, mine, is Tyler's!

Funnily enough, Katie's teacher at school said that Katie is "short on words, but knows a lot." She told me a story of Katie resisting naptime (still and everyday) and while she lays on her mat she starts out by calling out to Tyler and when he doesn't respond she says the names of everyone else in the class. The teacher was amazed that she knew all of those names, because she apparently doesn't use them unless she wants something (like them to get up from nap and play with her). I think of Katie as a complete chatterbox so it was a bit surprising that she is considered quiet - she still does the cute thing where she says a whole bunch of jibberish framed by real words at the beginning and end but that is just because she truly thinks she is saying something that we can all understand and having a conversation just like us!

Her favorite (or most often said) ten words/phrases are: Bye-bye, Katie sit by you, Katie color, ice water, no mama, bumble bee (to get me to sing the song), ABC (again for the song), hot dog, mama/daddy read it, swing outside! They both have acquired a few new common phrases just because of our new school situation and everyday both say "mama have to work," "play outside," "school day," and "big hug" (when we get in the classroom and they have to say bye). They are doing so well at school, and having fun but it is still a little tough for them to be dropped off and the routine of saying those same things as we drive to work (along with oh-no traffic, which I am very glad is what came out of my mouth when we have been stuck on the interstate), and then doing the same things when we get in the room have really helped.

I have a lot I want to do this weekend and those coming up - The Arts and Crafts fair at Centennial is this weekend, it is Fall Harvest weekend at the zoo and Ghouls at Grassmere for Halloween starts the second weekend in October, Gentry Farms (the pumpkin, patch, hayride, maze, farm animals) opens this weekend and apparently it is less crowded now than it will be the next two weekends after this (which are supposed to be ridiculous), Yo Gabba Gabba is coming to town, etc., etc. So, I will hopefully have some new pictures after whichever of these adventures we make it to. Of course, I still don't realize how short weekends are because I also want to try to make it to the bachelorette party for Lance's brother's fiance (while he is at the Bachelor party so probably a no go), the Vandy football game in October, his brother's wedding, and then Lance's birthday has also snuck up on me and is next week! Sometimes I am sad that "mama has to work" too!

Love Where We Live!

This afternoon I took the kids (after the big Vandy win - woohoo) to Centennial Park. They were having a free music event with a kids area that had sidewalk chalk, a little fishing pool for prizes, play-dough and coloring, and of course music to dance to. The kids had a blast, even though most of our time was spent in the wagon because I don't trust those little rascals to hold my hands in big crowds! This morning we went, with Ray Ray, to the State Fair where they had a ball even if they are too short to ride on any of the rides just yet. Last weekend we went to an awesome Fall Fest where the kids got to ride a train, jump and slide and play in the ball pit in the bouncy house made just for their size. We are lucky that most weekends there is something fun and relatively inexpensive to do like that, not to mention the great parks and playgrounds. I just started thinking this afternoon that most places don't have an abundance of unique and kid-friendly activities pretty much every weekend like we do and that it sure makes our life easier to have things to go and do that they kids really enjoy!

Here are some pictures from the Fair!

Katie feeeding the donkey. Tyler was a little wary - he would stand pretty far back and inevitably drop the carrot.

He loved sitting on the tractor though! Another tractor!
They, of course, found a slide they liked - they are all about slides! Still the only way to get a picture together is to ask them to hug.

Hola, Como Estas?

I don't know how to write in Spanish (with the accents on the correct letters), but the kids are learning to speak it! This morning on the way into school/work Katie was saying Hola repeatedly and then began to say Hola, Como Estas. I haven't taught her that and I haven't heard Dora asking how are you lately :). They must be working on it at school. I started singing numbers in Spanish and worked on Muy Bien as the answer to Como Estas and some of the Spanish numbers seemed to be familiar to them. I think it is fabulous that they are getting a little exposure to Spanish now when they are such sponges and think it is wonderful that they think it is fun to learn new words and languages. They are really learning so much - Tyler can sing almost all of Twinkle, Twinkle Little star, they are putting so many more words together and really speaking clear and long (for toddlers) sentences, and amaze us every day with a question or comment or pointing something out that we had no idea that they learned. I guess it isn't always great, though. This morning Katie looked right at me and said Shellie go to work and Tyler followed it up with Lance go to work. It is usually mama work and dada work but I guess they have made the connection that we have two names! It is too fun listening to them make all of these connections - like last night when I told Tyler he could take his pillow downstairs in the morning (because he wanted to do it at bedtime) and this morning he looked right at us and said, very sincerely, take pillow downstairs. I am really pleased with what they seem to be learning at school. There is an adjustment, for sure, but having the structured time to read and work on crafts, and have lessons about letters, numbers, words, etc. is fun for them and I think really beneficial for them too. The better their vocabularies and understanding of how to follow rules and listen, they less frustrated they are and we are which is always a good thing! Each day they have a different letter and word that they work on and the months are themed (this one is all about me) and I can tell that it is really working. Like when it was "A" day - I would have been happy with A is for Airplane but they learned that the airplane is up in the sky, drew a picture of an airplane, made airplanes to hang from the ceiling, read a book with airplanes in it, etc. I can already see that this makes a huge difference in them actually understanding what a word means, how to use it, and how it connects with other words they know - so good! They play hard at school too (and come home filthy) and that has been our saving grace on drop-offs which are still a challenge, because they are excited to play outside (I hope the weather stays nice for a while). Little Bug has learned to give me a hug and say bye mama but she still whimpers and cries a little even though she is trying to be so brave. Tyler clings and refuses to budge. I know though, that they have fun because they talk about going outside and playing with fun things on the way there - it is just the initial separation that gets them. Tyler has started not even wanting to leave so I am not too worried about the anxiety in the mornings. If I ever feel like they would be ok if they knew I worked here (still a secret to them for now) I will take some pictures of them at school!

Two Year Stats

The kids went to their two year appointment and got measured, and weighed, and the best news is that they got their last shots (other than flu) until they are 5!!! They are, not surprisingly, still short little things. Katie is 32.5 inches and 24.8 pounds. You are supposed to be able to predict their future height at 2 years old and for little Bug it says 4' 11"! I don't think she will be that short, but I am guessing that she will be significantly shorter than me. Her feet still haven't grown (good for us buying shoes, not so good for our budding shoe fashionista) and she is still wearing shoes designed for children at about 18 months old! Tyler was taller and heavier than her at 34 inches and 26 pounds - our little meatball. The predictor says Bear will be about 5' 8" which is probably a good guess - old wives tales say that boys are taller than their mothers most of the time so hopefully he will be about average. I especially hope that since he keeps telling me he wants to play football! We pass tennis courts on golf courses on our way home and to school and he says Tyler play tennis, Tyler play golf and always Tyler play football even though we never see football players. Luckily I have some time to convince him that football may not be the best sport for him without telling him that it scares mom silly to think of her little boy getting tackled, since that will probably mean he wants to play for sure. Tyler's head is a lot bigger than Katie's - she is in the 5th percentile and he is in about the 50th. Tyler is 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for length and Katie is the opposite - 25th for length and 50th for weight! The doctor wasn't concerned at all about anything, though, and thought their BMI's were good and that there was no reason to change anything about the way they are eating (i.e. going to skim milk). It was a good appointment - they are on track with their developmental milestones. They are supposed to be saying fifty words, able to remove one article of clothing, jump, play pretend, and point to three body parts - we were able to check all of those off with no doubt. They are doing so good with their sleeping that the doctor agreed that it is scary to change to toddler beds, but he recommended we do it sooner rather than later. They are getting so big that parks are becoming a lot of fun for them! They are now able to climb all over everything and go down big slides and run around like banshees. We went to Bowie Park yesterday with So-So and Ray-Ray and the kids showed off their climbing, sliding, and duck recognizing skills to them!

Talking about the ducks they were watching.

They had so much fun on the big slides.

I was scared to let them go down the tunnel slide by themselves!

Tyler was just the right height for the lobster cut-out. Katie coerced So-So into swinging her - that girl LOVES to swing and she usually wants to go "faster" - I'm betting she will be my roller coaster partner while Tyler and Dad hang out playing skee-ball or something :)!

Birthday Party!

We had a little family birthday party for the kids on Sunday and they had a blast. The ever-continuing struggle with trying to find gender neutral birthday themes (I imagine this is the last year we can do one for both - in the future it will be divided I'm sure) resulted in Thomas the Train. The kids are still talking about the train that they got off the cake and the big Thomas balloon is being carried around so I guess it was a success. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone and the kids racked up - they have been playing non-stop with their new stuff! Some pics of their 2nd birthday party!

Katie managed to get almost as dirty on her 2nd birthday as she did on the 1st!

Tyler was still more tentative about digging in - funny how their cake eating personalities are so similar to what they were on their 1st Birthday!

They definitely had a better idea about how to open presents this year - they were excited about opening gifts! Katie was all about balloons. Poor Tyler let go of his balloon early and it went to the highest part of the ceiling where it couldn't be retrieved. He didn't get over it for about 30 minutes so he kind of had a love/hate relationship with the other balloons. Like mother, like son - though. A good book and good company can always put you in a better mood :).

Happy Birthday to Bug and Bear!

Well, Tyler and Katie are two today!!! I left the camera at work so their first pictures today are really bad since they were taken with the camera phone. They were sung the birthday song this morning, dad made them waffles (and they got the cereal bars they demand), they will have cupcakes at school, and they are telling everyone Happy Birfday. Tyler prefers to say Happy Birthday Ray Ray (he remembers that from a couple of months ago) and Happy Birthday Dada (guess he know it is coming up). Poor Tyler still has the rash and is a little swollen looking, but he seems to feel fine and they said that we didn't need to do breathing treatments (woohoo).

Some pictures from the morning of their 2nd birthday!!!

Katie is glad to have Tyler back with her at school and gave him a Happy Birthday hug on the way out the door. Really, though, she had her best day at school ever yesterday without Tyler there - figures. Katie has her blanket and a cereal bar and she is content!

This was the face I got when I told Tyler to smile. You can tell his face is swollen and red here, but it shows the shirt he is wearing for his birthday. I tried to be crafty mom and make them Birthday shirts, but the simple iron-on project was a little much for me :). I wanted them to wear their names for school - but the Mary/Katie situation is taken care of anyway. They have a policy against nicknames at their school, and try to teach them the name that they will write, etc. and thought Katie was a nickname and Mary would be the name she was using. Once I explained that we have just made Katie's life difficult and she will actually be using Katie and have to tell every teacher that her name is not Mary, they understood and will start calling her Katie from now on.

Happy Birthday to my sweet babies, who I guess can't be called babies anymore! It is just so hard to believe that they are already two!!!

Mine and No!

Well, the kids definitely have a new favorite word - mine! This morning we woke up to them arguing (heard in the monitor) over "my daddy," "No Katie, my dada!" They do it worse with an actual object and I swear Katie would be a fantastic wrestler because she has perfected the take-down move on Tyler whenever he has something she wants or thinks is hers! They are all about the word "no" these days too. Usually it is to each other - No K -tee, no Tyla, and they like to put each other in time-out. The hitting is escalating too and we are trying to nip that in the bud, but it seems like a natural instinct when they get frustrated with each other. They seem to be doing pretty good in separate classes, but do miss each other. Today Tyler had to stay home with a rash and slight fever and the whole way to school Katie said bye to Tyler, talked about his seat, and said "luv you Tylie." So sweet. They are doing a bit better at school - what really helps is that the weather has been nice and they have been playing outside when we arrive in the mornings which they both love. If they are outside both of them run out and don't give me a second glance. The challenge on those days is just convincing them to get in the door without me having to pick them up and force them inside. I do think they are learning so much - Katie is constantly singing her ABC's and doing better with the order and how many she knows and they are both counting and tell us repeatedly when they have two of something (our little hoarder - Tyler - really loves it when he has even more than two). They are learning new songs and starting to talk about people (I don't know if they are in books or people in their classes), but they aren't quite clear enough for me to figure out exactly what they are trying to sing or tell me. They are doing really well with their words (when they aren't whining), and starting to understand emotion. They still fight me to get dressed in the mornings, but my sweet boy will come immediately and put his clothes on if I tell him that mommy is sad that he won't get dressed :)!

I can't believe that on this day two years ago I went to the hospital thinking that it was the first of many visits as is common in a twin pregnancy, only to find out that we would meet K&T the following day. We haven't done much at all for their birthday, but hopefully they won't remember and I am sure when they get old enough to know what birthdays and parties are all about they will make-up for a low-key one this time! We are planning to take them to Chuck E Cheese tomorrow night since they love pizza and games. We are going to take some cupcakes into their class and then just do a little cake party on Sunday afternoon. I was going to try my hand at making these Elmo cupcakes that were recommended to me (they LOVE Elmo), but I attempted to make them birthday shirts that didn't work out so well so I am probably not going try to force a creative side that just isn't there in the baking realm! All of these plans, of course, depend on Tyler being ok. He hasn't required a breathing treatment in months, but it sounds like it might be necessary this time. He has an odd rash that is all over his body and face and is just a little fussy - but overall we would probably not even be taking him to the doctor if we didn't want to make sure that the rash is viral rather than an allergic reaction to something that he may be newly in contact with at school. We'll see and hope that all is A - OK and we can proceed with birthday plans as intended. Thomas the Train is in town this weekend and Yo Gabba Gabba is coming in a couple of months (although the show is at 7:00 oddly for preschoolers) so we may do one of those things to "celebrate" their birthday a little late since they are all about Thomas and Brobee too!

No pictures - but I will definitely take some tomorrow (so you can all see the debacle that I am calling t-shirts that I tried to make). Sorry I have been lax in updating here. I am settling in to the new job and getting used to being with the kids 24-7 with no time to really get anything done unless I want to wrangle them both for errands after work, and I think I am getting a better handle on time and expectations, etc. As far as what we are working on or considering right now - stay tuned for updates on our toddler bed adventures (we still need to do that soon and I intend to get some bedding for them in the next couple of weeks and convert the beds), and potty training progress!