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LOVE

 I feel like a walking dichotomy at the moment.  I googled the definition just to be certain and here is what I found: "A division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different."  Pretty accurate and here is why...I have never been a toddler person.  By that I of course mean other people's toddlers because I've never had any of my own until now.  I love other people's babies (although the infant stage was hard for me as mom with two to care for, I still LOVE a good baby snuggle), but once they hit toddler hood I've always been kind of hands-off.  Even with my own nieces, nephews, and friends' kids...I love them, in the way that you love family and friends, but from about 2-4 years old I have just always felt this disconnect.
Additionally, while I am still SO THANKFUL to be done with 3-a-day naps, bottles, up-all-night crying, and babies that cannot communicate, toddler-hood (and the "terrible twos") have officially descended upon our household and are rearing their ugly heads.  (I feel like I need to add at this point too however that we are not done having children, just that in the future we hope to have them one at a time;)...

 Here's where the disconnect comes in...I am LOVING this stage way more than I ever thought I would!  I'm exhausted, I feel like my brain is on planning overload most of the time, I sometimes talk in toddlereese, I'm occasionally desperate for adult company, and of course I still feel like I'm losing my mind on a regular basis, BUT...the personalities, interaction, and just all-out craziness emerging from my two year olds right now is SUCH A BLAST.  We had such a fun day yesterday.  It started out with the Grand Rapids Jaycees Santa Parade in downtown GR.  I'd wanted to go last year but we missed it, which honestly is probably not a bad thing considering how well the twinners sat through...anything....last year.  But this year was perfect, even better than the parades we attended earlier this summer, they seemed to really get it and we just really had fun.

 Don't let Elijah's stoicism fool you...he had fun, but about halfway through I think he just got a little overwhelmed and tired.  He was content to be held or sit quietly on the curb and take it all in.  Near the end of the parade the Davenport University Rugby Team came by and were asking for a little boy who would hug the rugby ball for a picture.  None of the other kids were stepping up so I sent Eli up there and he happily hugged the ball for a picture.  The best part was- they let him keep the ball!  They just walked away leaving him with this giant red/white/black ball!  It's been a hit ever since, he loves to carry it around or sit in his carseat with it on his lap beating it like a drum.  Pretty sweet if you ask me, I searched all over Daveport's website to see if they'd posted the pic anywhere but I haven't seen it.

 Evelyn met and made friends with "Gracie" the big, beautiful Bernese Mountain Dog (I hope to have one of these one day!).  I just love this picture, Evelyn must seen Santa coming and Gracie is obviously hoping Santa has dog treats.

 And there he is!  After almost two hours of parade he was there!  In his bright red sleigh with 8 tiny reindeer :)

 We finished up the day with dinner and games at The Tallman's house with all of our great church friends: The Paarlbergs, Westhouses, and Shelley's.  Six toddlers, all within 9 months of eachother- lots of fun!  Spaghetti was a hit, and a big thank you to Jessica and Rebecca for watching the kids so the parents could play :)

Cheeseball loves to smile for the camera in between slurping spaghetti noodles!

Halloween 2012

Halloween, love it or hate it, it's so much fun with little ones!  This year we had a little "pack" of monsters.  The two girls- Evelyn and Molly were both Sully from Monster's Inc (Though Molly was much fluffier as I had to wash Evelyn's costume and made the mistake of putting it in the dryer- doh!), and Elijah was a cuddly little green, furry, horned monster with no specific name. 
They melted my hearts as they bravely walked up to each door saying "Hawoween!"  or "Twick oh Tweet!" and following it up with "See you soon!" as they departed for the next house.  The twins got to hitch a ride with uncle Brad on the sit n stand, which was really nice as short little legs can make it a slooooow process.
Much to my chagrin though, they are still subject to picking the prettiest, most eye catching packaging rather than the boring brown (chocloate!) packages which often contain the yummier candy.  Twice they each chose a butterscotch disk, mini reeces cup, or rootbeer barrel when other, more enticing (bigger!) candies were right on top of the same bowl.  Sigh.  We'll have to work on that for next year....

Happy Halloween from our 2 Little Monsters!

Time for "Two"

I don't do it often enough so allow me to take this opportunity to record what is going on right now with our TWO, TWO year olds!

Elijah-  One thing is clear, he is a quick learner, a mind like a steel trap.  I would not be surprised to find out one day that this kid has a photographic memory.  We have books that he can basically read to me, and while a lot of this is due to repetition, there are some that I swear we don't read often enough or simply have too many words for him to know so well!  He's smart as a whip and very much like his Daddy in the way he zones in and focuses on one. thing. at. a. time.  Sometimes I have to work my way around this- like acknowledging the thing that has his attention so firmly before I can get him to move on to the next thing.  For example, if he sees a green car and wants me to know about it, he will say it over and over and over and over well past when the car is out of sight and until I say back to him "yes, a green car!"  Another option is to break his line of sight and make him look at me, instead of in the direction of the green car that is no longer there, but even then I may just get a louder "Green Car!" shouted in my face...He's nothing if not insistent.  Also like his daddy is the way he sleeps.  While he struggles to fall asleep some places (not like Daddy), he also seems to pass out in the strangest positions and often mid-activity.  While it's been awhile since we found him on the floor, when he first figured out how to get out of his crib he would often turn off his white noise and lay next to the door so he could peer out and listen to us as he fell asleep.  Also like Andy is WHEN he sleeps best- given a choice he is an early riser and a long napper.  While he's struggled with sleep off and on throughout the last two years this has really always been a pattern once he settles into a good sleep routine.  In fact it was part of the reason the two can no longer share a room- Evelyn would much rather sleep in late in the morning and take a shorter nap while Elijah would prefer to wake up early and nap longer.  It ended up with both of them being consistently short on sleep so for now, seperate rooms is a must for our little twinners.
Now that he has a big boy haircut, I hardly recognize the little curly-haired munchkin from pictures past, though he's still skinny as a rail and only getting taller.  He's in a big boy bed- has been for several months, and loves to ask us to "lay by you" at night, which actually means "lay by me" and sing songs/read books for a few minutes before he goes to sleep.  His favorite is "Pooh," but Mommy also insists on singing "Jesus Loves Me" and he's usually game for that one as well.  He is always excited to see "Puppy," his little beanie-baby-like dog, and MUST have at least 2 but preferably 3 or 4 "boos" (binkies) to sleep with.  Before I leave the room I ask him if I should make his airplanes go (his airplane mobile) and I know he'll go right to sleep if he says yes.
Favorite foods are...hit and miss.  He will always eat toast, yogurt, pizza, and usually bananas.  Cereal w/ milk is a current fave, but even those classic kids foods like hot dogs and chicken nuggets are awesome one day and completely repulsive the next.  I am thankful for Carnation Instant Breakfast and children's vitamins right now, as both things, in moderation, give him some of the nutrition I'm afraid he misses in his chosen diet.  I'm also thankful that subtle forms of bribery and just good old fashioned discipline are beginning to work.  I can get him to try things by withholding favorite foods until he does, or telling him that he can be "all done WHEN" he eats whatever it is I'm trying to coax down his throat.
At the moment we oscillate between loving baths and being terrified that bath toys are going to drown or disappear.  He is obsessed with cars/trucks/trains, animals of all kinds, balloons, bikes, and above all- Mickey Mouse.  Favorite books are "Old Hat, New Hat," "Gossie," (I LOVE hearing him say "gosling."), "Peedie," and "Shake a Leg."  With each book comes specific things he must point out or say during each reading (I'm afraid he may have some of mama's OCD ;)  He is such a joy to us, always ready with hugs and kisses, quick to please, and even though he's our early riser, he is generally content to watch cartoons and let whichever parent is up with him snooze on the couch while getting great Elijah cuddles. 

Evelyn- While her brother is quick to dissolve into tears and terrible sadness, this girl can hold her own in a battle of wills.  She makes us work for our kisses, withholding them until she gets sad faces all around.  Her tantrums are epic (I'm not sure I'll ever forget the 15-minute-long episodes we've seen over too-tight footy pajamas and her 2-year checkup), but she can turn around and melt our hearts with a well-placed "wuv you" and huge, gap-toothed grin.
This girl pretty much embodies a love of life.  She's a thrill-seeker- loving playing "Dip!" with Daddy (when she suddenly throws herself backward and Daddy catches her before she hits the floor...oye), and "Cowboy" on our knees.  She'd swing and slide at the playground all day if she could and often runs in circles with excitement when people she loves (or has just met) stop by for a visit.
It must be said that she LOVES her Papa, getting a huge smile and yelling his name anytime she gets a glimpse of his picture or he drops by to visit (sorry Nana and Grandma, this girl just loves her some Papa!).  But she is also a Daddy's girl through and through.  When Andy returns home from work late at night he always goes in her room to get a quick kiss and "ni-night Daddy" before she drifts back  to sleep, and she often goes to bed asking for a kiss from Daddy when he is not home at bedtime.
She has a hard time sitting still and shows how many calories she must burn by being a fantastic eater.  While she isn't a kid who will eat everything, she is willing to try just about anything and for the most part seems to enjoy what she tries.  Her favorites are fruit snacks, pretzels, hot dogs, mac n cheese, soup, and french fries, and she's the perfect yin to Eli's yang as she loves the ice cream while he loves the cake.  One of her cutest quirks is getting oh-so-excited when the song "Happy Birthday" is sung that she runs around looking for candles to blow out.  Even scented jar candles will do, she simply sees it as a must.
Her best phrase at the moment is "Evie got it" which means: "leave me alone I'm going to do it myself."  I know she learned this from me as I often tell the kids: "Mama's got it"-awesome grammer, I know- when they try to do something themselves that I'd rather they let me do for them (like zipping up coats, putting on shoes, or turning every light switch in the house on and off).  In the speech department she has always been a bit behind Elijah but is quickly catching up.  In the last couple of months she's learned new words in spades and while he is putting together sentences with 4-5 words she is not far behind with 3-4.  She has a bit of a lisp that I'm sure will go away soon but is exaggerated by how pitch-perfect Elijah is with his pronunciation.  However, I really love hearing her raspy little baby words for things, particularly when she calls an orange an "onch."  Good grief it is too stinkin' cute.  By far my favorite sentence she uses frequently is "tay-too mama" (thank you mama), which she uses for everything from a meal placed in front of her to a change of diaper, to getting her hair combed, or even buckled into her seat...I love how thankful this girl is!
Evelyn's favorite books are still flip books, she loves to sing the ABC's, and while in the past she's never been big on playing with toys she is starting to finally show some interest in---baby dolls!  I've never seen her play with one real toy for so long and I must say I am SO thankful.  She pushes them around in her stroller, wraps and rewraps them in everything from a washcloth to an old t-shirt, feeds them bottles, and walks around with them up on her shoulder, patting their backs saying "shhh."  She also loves it when I help her "wock" (rock) them, and has a fascination with watching real moms nurse their babies (sigh...I'm just waiting for the day she starts feeding her own baby dolls this way;).  She's a great little caretaker with a tender heart, even for all her busy, fearless, bruiser ways.
She melts our hearts (and all our defenses) every day...we LOVE this sweet little girl!

ArtPrize #3

For the first ArtPrize I was approx 37 weeks pregnant.

For the second ArtPrize we had curious one-year-olds.

For the third ArtPrize we have hot-dog-lovin' crazy, still curious, tantrum-throwing almost-two-year olds.

I think I may always see ArtPrize as a milestone of sorts.  They certainly fill up their strollers much more than they did last year.  They are easier to feed, just as uninterested in riding along rather than walking as they were...So this year we added shoulder rides to our modes of transport.

Evelyn's "handle bars" were not prompted in any way.  This is simply how she chose to hold on.

 T-Rex!

Pretty cool.

Family portrait on the bridge.  I see that a combinations of summer, the end of Body by Vi, and the energy-suck that two two-year-olds provide has made it high time mommy steps back on the treadmill...   :(

Tubtime Terror

What does the sum of the above three images represent?.........................................................................
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Elijah's new Worst Nightmare

Yet another thing to record for posterity to share with him when he gets older- we have entered the age of irrational fears.
I was warned of this by Nana and Andy but last night got to experience it for myself.
Elijah is absolutely terrified that his bathtoys are going to drown, at least, this is our best guess.
It began last night when we entered the bathroom to start the tub; all of the bathtoys were scattered across the bottom of the bathtub and Elijah began to point and scream.  Tears followed.  I turned on the water and the screaming got louder.  Andy suggested I pick up all the toys and put them in our toy basket.  As the last toy was deposited in the basket- the screaming stopped but Eli continued to sniffle until I hung it on the hook safely out of harm's way.

Upon getting the kids in the tub I tried to offer them a few toys and the screaming began again as he scrambled about trying to pick up every toy and rescue it.  I swear I've never seen him so distressed!  Apparently he is afraid that any of the toys he cannot hold onto will either disappear down the drain or drown. 
We finally settled at a cup and scoop for Evelyn and a boat and spongy star for Elijah.  As long as all the toys were in someone's hands Elijah was fine but the minute Evelyn let go of the cup, Elijah began to yell: "Evie, cup!  Evie, cup!" as he tried to pick it up while holding the boat and star under one arm.  When a washcloth was added it could. not. be. set. down.  Otherwise I got a soaking wet washcloth whipped at me by a frantic Elijah.

Thankfully this seems to be "normal."  I had heard of such things (remember my fear of Jack Frost mom?), but goggled it anyway and found that other kids his age have such weird fears as "buildings with high ceilings" (one mom said anytime they went somewhere new her son would ask if it had high ceilings), a sibling's striped shirt, round food (plate, peas, nuggets), cake being squashed (another mom said it happens a lot in cartoons and her daughter runs from the room as soon as she realizes the cake is doomed), flies (Evie had a momentary problem with them as well: "Bugk!  Bugk!"), and my personal favorite: the song "to market to market to buy a fat pig" because the child insisted the pig did not want to go home, it wanted to go to the sand pit...

While it's a bit inconvenient and makes me sad because I wish I could help him not be so terrified, it's also very cute in it's own way and will hopefully pass quickly.  I only wish I could figure out what the trigger was...did he sit on a toy and it hurt so he doesn't like not being able to see them under the bubbles?  Did he lose one down the overflow tube?  I know a couple have dissappeared down there...I doubt we will ever know.
Oh toddler-hood, what a trip!