Happy Halloween!!

Chicken Progression

This weekend we headed to some dear friends' home in Big Rapids to hang out on "the farm." Before E2 came along I used to get up to Kim and Troy's every few months for a day or two. I couldn't believe as we pulled up that I had not been up since well before the babies were born. It was great to spend time with them and see their (nearly) completed new house which had only been framed inside the last time I was up. My favorite was seeing the kitchen Kim and I designed together and the guest room that has one of the best views in the house. While it's still tough to travel with two babies we had a great time and it was so fun to introduce Eli and Evie to all the great animal friends on the farm!

A more recent addition to the crew were some piggies and a flock of Orpington Chickens. Here is a great progression of pictures from this afternoon when Troy caught one of them so the kids could see and pet one up close:

Exhibit A: Orpington Chicken

Elijah meets his first chicken: "It won't bite me?"

"Can I trust this guy?"

"You sure?"

"I think I'll pass."

"Oh fine, but just one finger."

"Hm, he's kinda...fluffy. Hey Evelyn, check this thing out."

"No really, it's ok. I'm a pro now."

Big brothers gotta be there for their little sisters.

SO Not One of My Finer Moments As a Mother...

I can't share this on Facebook because it is simply too stomach-turning and there is no good way to make light of it in a status update, but since only people who love me and trust me and KNOW that I am not neglectful and generally capable of caring for my children read this blog...I just have to share one of my not-so-fine moments as a mother so far.

Yesterday my kids played with razorblades. I'm not kidding.
I was in the kitchen doing dishes (by hand, for the last time! Thank you hubby for fixing my dishwasher), and the kids were playing under the highchairs like they like to do after lunch. (They can push them around and they roll all over the dining room, it's kinda cute) After a couple minutes I realized it'd had suddenly gotten very quiet in my dining room so I went to investigate.
They were in the bathroom. In the "no-no" drawer that houses Daddy's replacement razors (they are all usually tucked neatly into little plastic cases...though this doesn't do much for my case I am sure). Evelyn was waving around an empty handle to a razor. Elijah was sucking. YES SUCKING on the head of a razor!! Words cannot express the drop of my stomach, the cold sweat that broke out all over my body, or how very much I did not want to look into my little boy's mouth at that moment.
Turns out, he had cut his tounge but it was pretty minimal. He actually protested when I took the stinking thing away!! He was oblivious to any sort of pain and while I debated giving him a sippy of milk or even tylenol (I was afraid they might make any cuts he had not noticed suddenly sting), all he wanted was his pacifier and he went right to sleep for his afternoon nap!
So needless to say I breathed a huge sigh of relief and the razors are finding an all-together new place to hang out. Uhg, I just cannot thinking about what that would feel like to run your tounge over a "Mach 5" razor...gives me shudders just thinking about it.

I'm an awesome mom...

A light? Or A Train?

We had our one-year check up today...

Everyone seems to be right now track as far as height/weight goes. Turns out Elijah is still less than 20lbs!! 19lbs 7oz (7th percentile) w/ a height of 30 3/4" (79%) and an average-sized head :) 46cm (44%). Evelyn is, as always, surpassing her brother in the height/weight department at 21lbs 9oz (58%), 30" high (78%), and slightly-larger-than-average head circ of 45cm (68%).

That might not seem "right on track" but since they are both following a nice curve on the graph over time, they are doing just fine.

While I tried to talk to our pediatrician the kids scrambled and climbed and stumbled all over the place. I liked that my Evelyn was climbing the step stool and standing on one foot while chewing on a tennis shoe the whole time he talked to me about baby-proofing and saying "the number of times your child is in the hospital for injuries over the next year will tell us how good you're doing with baby-proofing." Hm.

My second favorite moment was when he informed me that the 2nd year is going to be just as hard, if not harder than the first year with twins. He then turned to Elijah and said: "Just when Mommy thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel she's finding out it was actually a train coming at high speed!"

Thanks Dr. Mogul, that's why we like you: you're honest.

Now, because sitting down to blog is a luxury and I need to be as efficient as possible, here are a few "picks" from our recent trip to Sietsma's Apple Farm :)

Less interested in pumpkins, more interested in strands of grass.

Since Daddy does not understand that you really can find a flawless apple (he thinks one bruise is just fine), I had to teach Evie the perfect apple-picking skills. Here she is showing off.

After naps that day it was bottle time but Elijah wanted nothing to do with it...until found out that Sam makes a great spot to relax and eat.

A Preview

On The Eve of "One"

For some reason I feel compelled to get the "We Are Turning One!" post just right, I want to touch on what I've learned this year and do justice to both the ups and the downs of life with twin babies. For tonight though, on the eve of their first birthday, I think I'll just jot down some haphazard notes on Thing 1 and Thing 2. That well-worded post about what life looks like for us right now can come later :)

A little bit about Elijah:
Eli, 'Lijers, LieLie, Lijah, we're a fan of nicknames around here and I'm afraid poor Elijah might be known as "Lie" from here on out...It's just what comes out of my mouth! He is the definition of "such a sweet boy," he has time for cuddles, plays great on his own with just a couple of toys, and offers up the greatest smiles and giggles. He has three "words" that come out repeatedly but I'm afraid are rarely used properly: "Mama," "Dada," and "Nana." He loves to repeat the wrong one back at us when we tell him to say one. ie. "Elijah, say "Mama." ......."Nana." :) He's not a temper-tantrum thrower, rather when he doesn't get his way he places his head on the floor and gives the most heart-wrenching cries you've ever heard from a little boy, complete with crocodile tears and big gulps for air. The best is when he does this from a standing position and ends up like a little pyramid in the middle of a room. He's walking (started at a little over 11 months), is great at shape-sorting, and loves LOVES to walk around with something stick-like in each hand with which to bang on things. At church nursery he heads straight for the little play structure where he can drop balls in and watch them travel through the toy and come out at the bottom. He likes to tackle his sister now that he can walk, and does so with all the intensity of a true wrestler (hands around the neck!), perhaps he's found his sport of choice. He's a total binky-baby with at least one in his hands and one in his mouth at night, more if you'll allow him. He even sucks on his sister's binkies- upside down. Elijah is a picky eater (his chosen diet is short enough to list: sausage, hot dogs, bread, blueberries, yogurt, granola bars, and cereal) thankfully he'll take any veggie pureed on a spoon so I try to pump those into him as much as possible. He's not that big a fan of the sippy but often pushes the bottle away too. The kid lives on air and carbs...we are working on this. Praise Baby is still a great distraction, especially if he's tired- he plants himself as close to the tv as he can get and just sits there with same game-face his daddy got when he used to play xbox. Another thing to note is that he is drawn to light like a wayward mosquito. Once he learned that pulling the little cord on the fan makes the light go on and off he literally climbs whoever is holding him to reach for it, straining with all his might with the biggest smile and widest eyes you've ever seen. Balloons get the same reaction and I just love his little head full 'o staticky curls. He is totally Mommy's little man.

Evelyn...Evie, Evs, Evie-Lyn, Evlyns...this girl has a got a lot of names as well. She is pretty much anti-talking right now, though she loves to use all kinds of inflection in her voice when she babbles (usually "Ba ba ba ba"). She can kill ya with a smile, open-mouthed and almost toothless (she has two bottom teeth). She is a seasoned walker (started at about 10 months), but look out if you get in her way- she is a temper tantrum thrower and loves to throw them when she gets underfoot and falls down. She has an ear-splitting cry when she's mad and often gives herself the hiccups because of it. Thankfully her redeeming qualities are plentiful- she's a pretty good sleeper, though every night we get a wake-up call at 11pm- just a couple whimpers and she's done -she eats like a champ (her diet is a bit more extensive but her favorites are: hot dogs, canned green beans and carrots, peas, cheese, lunch meat, strawberries, grapes, and today she ate a giant mushroom off my pizza). She too loves her binkies but is not as attached as her brother. She loves to lift heavy things, it's sometimes a bit shocking what she thinks she can carry around (the top of Nana's activity table? tipping over a huge laundry basket full of clothing to get at a pop can? no problem), and rarely plays with toys. Give this girl a spoon and the lid to a jar and she's content to walk the house just lookin around. Evelyn is truly glued to mommy's side, or rather, calf, and if I'm gone from a room more than 27 seconds she'll set out to find me. She also thinks she's a big kid and loves following the hoard of neighborhood kids up and down the block- no looking back at mom, off she goes the moment her little fat feet hit the concrete. I am slightly afraid of what adolescence will bring us with this little girl. She's a smarty pants, and already cops a little 'tude when we tell her what to do. While her brother can sit entranced by Praise Baby for the full 45 minutes, she lasts about 2 minutes before finding something else to do. She is a Daddy's girl all the way :)

Things I'm enjoying right now:
They love the dog, Elijah especially enjoys lounging on him, and Evelyn prefers to stand next to him and pat, pat, pat him on the neck. They both like to kiss and snuggle him.

While the past month has been extremely trying for me with this transition into the fall schedule, new nap schedule, and the occasional pop-up cold, I'm loving that we really are more flexible now adays. We have more things to distract us than ever before if we need to be out and about when one or both of them would prefer to nap: people are more interesting, food is a good option, even just a sippy of water can earn me minutes of calm.

Finally it feels like we can begin to enjoy those things that are supposed to be fun with kids- playdates, the park, holidays and outings, while we are still a long way from getting the most out of these activities it is so much fun to see them interact with their surroundings and the excitement at new things!

We're just loving our two little one-year-olds, despite the trials and tribulations of every-day life with two infant/toddlers, they are such a blessing and so much fun!

One More Day of "0"

I don't think I can begin to summarize my feelings on the past twelve months...I think it's a post I may work on for awhile so that I can get it just right.

Today however, we're in the throws of "the fall cold," nap transitioning, and the busyness of preparing for a birthday party so I guess I'll just do my best to enjoy this one last day of "no years old" and try to find a way to blog about it later :)