Lazy Summer

Well, the Summer hasn't been lazy.. I have, with updating this beautiful blog.  So here we are again... another monster update that needs to happen.  We've had so much going on.  The girls are still learning things at an exponential rate.  Ella now walks EVERYWHERE, and the good news is - having two walkers is easier on me than one walking and one crawling.

Daniel loves to take the girls on little field trips after he picks them up from daycare.  Today's trip: Target!  And thanks for running into Nana and me asking for pictures every time, we have documentation :)

Ella is sideways, Daddy is snoozing, and Momma is (unfortunately) getting ready for work.  That was a fun night

On Tuesdays the girls have water play day at school.  So much fun, right?  The first morning of prepping for water play day was a disaster.  I had been stressing about the sun screen situation, and decided to help the teachers out by applying sunscreen myself.  Bad move, Kim - just let them apply sunscreen, you pay them enough money.  What happened while I was all by myself getting two girls ready, you ask?  Sunscreen, meet Ella's eyes.  Then wait... meet Sydney's eyes.

Ella isn't casually just drinking milk while laying on Momma.  She can't open her eyes.  And Sydney had to be on top of all the action.

poor thing :(

Fail.  Big fat fail.  Moving on.

Ella had a cough for a while, and we decided to take her to get it looked at (I'm a little paranoid post-RSV).  We packed up the troops and headed to Kid Med. 

baby chairs!

Sydney was so concerned about what was going on with her sister

Side note: she's fine.  Sent home with some breathing treatments to help :)

Daddy tip 101: how to contain two girls and buckle them into car seats after picking them up from daycare

Ella and Sydney really love the pool, so we try to go after work if we can, and especially if it's bath night.  This particular night, we were surprised to see swans so close to the gate!

cheers!

Ella has been a little bit... extra sensitive lately.  Exhibit A: a common scene at the Sink household

Exhibit A

So this is how we get things done... Ella hanging on Momma's hip

cute girls ready for water play day!  And do you see that... they are both STANDING for a picture.. what what!

they LOVE these stuffed animals... lots of hugs and kisses for them, mom and dad are chopped liver in comparison

who can't resist a baby with a soapy Mohawk!?

she's such a tiny bad ass

We recently got a Roomba-type of vacuum.  The night we tried it out, Sydney followed it around with her hands behind her back.  Cutest thing ever.  She looked so distinguished, and was a little miffed at the new thing invading her space.

who do we love more than anyone!?  Da-da!

Sometimes we do things that are crazy.  See below example: going out to eat then shopping with our twin BFFs.  You know what's awesome?  Doing crazy things, because we are bad asses.  Parenting multiples: 1, Sitting at home being boring: 0.

Mary-Grace, Hollis, Ella, and Sydney - ready to take on Babies R Us

Genius idea: taking a photo in front of their letters on the wall

Momma was flying solo one Friday night, and we desperately needed milk.  The Sink ladies take on Walmart

No, people of Walmart, they aren't twins.  Why in the world would you think that?  I know, I'm wayyyy too cynical about the twin comments, we just get it so often.



And when you're solo on a Friday night, you call in Nana to come help keep everyone company, and she even does laundry!  I hadn't seen her in way too long <3

happy girls on a Saturday morning playing nicely together

Ella needed extra snuggles

So of course, life with twins... Sydney needed more, too.  Love this full lap of mine <3

My childhood best friend, the person who I grew up with, Samantha, is marrying the man of her dreams!  Her grandma, Lona, babysat all of us, so we spent every.single.day together.  She was another sister of ours, and we love her (and her entire family) to pieces.

pretty girls all dressed up to celebrate Samantha & Marcus

at the rehearsal dinner - Samantha had her mom's wedding dress remade, so special

Sink family, dressed up with a gorgeous view

Daddy, S & E

the back of the dresses were just too pretty!

Sydney didn't love hanging out being quiet, so she and Daddy had to go on a walk.  Love these two

Children really shouldn't be at weddings.  Honestly.. there is no need for them to take away from the Bride and Groom.  Normally, that's our rule, but for the Godsey/Parr family we made an exception.  So here's super-dad.. feeding babies

such a pretty picture.  side note: they're trying to pick up and eat rocks

real, crazy life <3

And I forgot to mention, Abby was the flower girl!  So we had everyone together dressed up.  Hence the bazillion photos, sorry I'm not sorry.

I just love every bit of these four sweet, smiling faces <3

haha, Ella, put that dress down!

the Trevillian/Overstreet/Sink clan <3

with Mr. and Mrs. Rondeau

sisters <3

another fun part about taking babies to a wedding... getting them to sleep at bed time

my very own groom

I just had to snap this picture of Lona & Jimmy, looking on at the father/daughter dance.  So sweet!



oh, and THIS is where Ella started to really walk.  the trick: put a fancy dress on them, and BAM!  and who better to walk to than daddy?

look at those happy girls on a Sunday morning!  clearly the tickle monster is getting ready to attack!

I only have this picture of me and Sydney, but we spent the afternoon at our annual Moms of Multiples picnic.

Warning: extreme fun ahead

Daddy chucking Ella into the pillows

Sydney's turn!

Ya'll.  You have no idea how HARD the girls laughed when Daniel threw them across the bed.  SO.MUCH.FUN.

Daddy and his girls

Sydney stacked the canned goods all by herself

Every morning after I get the girls up and dressed for the day, we all come downstairs and they wobble on over to their "milk spot" for their morning sippy cup of moo-juice.  They aren't normally allowed off the milk spot, but occasionally they'll want to sit in our lap.  Of course, you've gotta make room for two.. when one wants to sit.. they both want to sit!

cheers!

I had Daniel snap this picture of my lap filled with babies... when they see the other one climbing on in, they get jealous and want a spot!

Ella's turn for a baby mohawk

At work one day, I won a free "floating" session.  It's the strangest thing ever - there's a pod filled with body-temperature salt water.  So much salt, in fact, that all you do is float.  I did it for an hour, and it was pretty cool, but had a hard time dealing with pure silence, no babies or technology for a full hour.

the float pod.

Remember our "we made a wish and two came true" announcement?  Look what we finally fit into!

the irony: there is no "copy and paste" likeness about our girls.  zilch.



things get weird sometimes

I can't get over precious Sydney and her bucket she's holding like a purse

We celebrated Seth turning ONE!  Hard to believe it's already been a year... it feels like we just took a picture of all the cousins on the hospital bed.  The girls had a blast in the baby pool, but it was quite challenging keeping everyone above water :)

Momma and her girls

the glee on Ella's face <3

watermelon cuties and their cute little ponies!

Daniel dropped the girls off at my work before he went off on a night out with some of his boy friends.  The girls were such a hit - so many people just gawking at them, haha.

And once again, Daddy out-does Momma.  On the way to taking the girls to daycare one morning (normally I do drop-off), he stopped by the new donut shop and had a Daddy-Daughter-Donut-Date.  Adorable <3

it's hard to tell if Ella likes donuts

Momma made fancy homemade "popsicles" aka glorified ice cubes with leftover fruit.  Our teething babes loved them

Daycare celebrated national ice cream day, so of course... we had to wear ice cream rompers, and take lots of pictures of the cuteness.

Sydney wearing Momma's shoes

multi-tasking: wearing Momma's shoes AND drinking milk

cute little ice cream cones

arms filled to the brim :)

eating ice cream at school with Daddy

new favorite activity: watching Minions

early-morning pacifier games

I had a stroke of genius, and I have to say I'm pretty proud.  Now that Ella is a full-blown walker, I can't just set her in the van while I unbuckle Sydney.  So I made her this contraption (ball + links), and she has to stand next to the van and hold onto the ball.  I'm trying to teach her, slowly.. lots of consistent reminders haha.

me and my girls

walking to our classroom

Ella and Sydney have really gotten along great... so much laughing.  This particular screen shot is from a video I took.  There's Ella, wearing a new pool float, taunting Sydney, who is naked, with a straw from Pepe's.  They were laughing HYSTERICALLY at each other.  Yeah, sometimes things get weird.  Embrace it.

Abby has been trying to learn to swim on a swim team.  At the last meet of the year, she had a chance to swim her first event, and it was an epic fail.  She didn't want so many people watching her (if you've ever been to a swim meet you know it's a pool deck filled with people, ha).  But hey, we tried to support her!

good luck high fives for Abby!

she jumped in and jumped right back out, lol

It was hot at the pool.  Miserable.  So we walked back to Nana and Papa's to play and watch Minions before heading home for the night.

Daddy's the best, he shares his French fries!

time for Minions

all four cousins have to watch Minions

Daniel picks up the girls from daycare each day, and he was able to get a picture of the girls walking + holding hands.  Stoppppp.  It doesn't last long, because Sydney is so much quicker than Ella that she pulls her to the ground.

Picture from daycare: Sydney stacking blocks

Picture from daycare: Ella playing during Water Play Day

our bestie, Aunt Susu, found this BEAUTIFUL picture when she was visiting Sydney, Australia.  Isn't that gorgeous?  Sydney thinks so, too!

Happiness is: a breakfast sandwich

Double happiness is: sharing a breakfast sandwich

We have a new addition to the playset outside - a slide!  We took the girls to dinner at Antonio's and rounded out the night on the new slide.  It didn't take them long to learn how to climb the stairs or go down the slide on their own, and they loved it.

haha, Ella

Sydney's turn!

double sliding

thankful for sisters who catch you before you crash

Please take a guess at the time at which the below photo was taken:

hint: Sydney is wearing a sleep sack and pajamas, Daniel is wearing boxers and has bed-head

1:30am people.  That's Ella getting a bath.  Why?  Because she puked.  All.over.her.crib.  The story behind it was that Sydney started crying.  We tried to let her fuss for a little, but she wasn't giving up.  Daniel went in to check on her, and immediately smelled a throw-up stench and called me in for back-up.  He was undressing Sydney (the suspected culprit), when I noticed Ella sitting there at the edge of her crib staring at me.  I said "Daniel, you're triaging the wrong patient".  It was Ella.  So he gave her a bath, while Sydney watched on, and I cleaned up the mess.  I had to laugh when I walked by one time, so of course I took a picture.  Anyway, she was fine.. no more puke, so it must have been something that upset her tummy.

we played for a while before going back to sleep

With so much going on with Daniel's dad and our night-time puking escapades, we spent some time snuggling babies that seemed to be extra clingy.

sweet Sydney

Ella girl



Nana and Papa came over to sit-on-twins, so Daniel and I could visit his dad and have some alone time.  We made sure to look for his newest obsession: vinyl records

Then we enjoyed a quiet dinner, alone, at a table, on real plates, without anyone begging for food.

Real men make twins.  How did I get so lucky?

We went to the pool with my family, and some of Daniel's.  I love how much the girls love the water.

Nana and Sydney

Ella jumping to Grandma Georgia

all four kiddos - Seth, Sydney, Ella, and Jacob

Grandma Georgia and her grands

Ella's first time going off the diving board

And Sydney's first time going off the diving board

Uncle Daniel/Daddy splashing Jacob and the twins

Ella Bear

The pool must have really worn Sydney out.  We were eating dinner at my parent's house when we look over and catch Sydney SLEEPING AND EATING DINNER.  Seriously, doesn't get much funnier than that.  We laughed soooo hard.

ya'll go ahead with your meal, I'll just snooze right here

Then she woke up....

haha

I guess her meal-time cat-nap threw her off, because she needed some extra snuggles while momma was watching tv

Sydney amazes us... a lot.  She likes to carry things around, but this was the biggest yet.  We are letting our friend Evelyn borrow some of our smaller baby toys, and while Darryl was loading up the exersaucer, Sydney carried the play table right to the front door!


here you go, Evelyn!

We were eating dessert at Grandma Georgia's one night, while also playing with forks.  

happy girl Syd

"oh hey, what's this hiding in my bib?"

Happy girl Elle

I'm all finished, good thing this high chair doubles as a recliner

<3 <3

We did some funeral planning at Georgia's after dinner

the boys

and girls!

Momma, Aunt Julie, and boys came over to help watch the girls so we could do some family shiz.

Nana is still good at a pony tail!

haha

Aunt Julie brought us construction hats to wear!

I've said for nearly a year now the girls are teething.  Crying?  Teeth.  Drooling?  Teeth.  Can't sleep?  Teeth.  Sydney finally popped them around 13/14 months.  And finally, FINALLY, at the ripe old age of 16 months, ELLA HAS HER FIRST TOOTH!  She isn't handling it well, unfortunately.  She must think her life is ending, because every day she seems to be extra fussy + clingy.  Those mean teeth.

Ella just can't deal

speaking of teeth... Ella was brushing teeth at daycare!  Look how happy she is

And while the girls were practicing good hygiene at school, Daniel and I snuck away for a nice, quiet breakfast.  A perfect time-out in the middle of the sad time after his dad died.

cute pool puppies

We had some friends come over and bring lots and lots of food and fun.  We are infinitely lucky.

my love

boy friends + cigars + pizza + beer

haha, just made me laugh.. and you can't tell, but Ella is cracking up

Thanks to our fabulous neighbors, the girls got in a good nap and snack and were dressed up for an appearance at the visitation.  It was perfect timing - close to the end, just enough to bring smiles to gloomy faces!

pretty girls, handsome dad

Oh my word, this girl

cousins

It was hot for the visitation and funeral.  Miserable, sticky, classic Virginia summer.  Perfect for Daniel's dad - he must have ordered the weather because he was alwaysssss cold.  After the visitation, we all enjoyed a fabulous Italian feast at Georgia's, and even the "great-grands" were too hot for clothes.

Birth order: Jacob, Macon, Ella, Sydney, Caroline

sweet girls, snuggled close watching a movie

bath time!  I'm coming, Syd!

the prettiest little monogrammed booties

Jacob was a little jealous that his cousins took over his bath space

Aunt Kelly kept the girls during the funeral, so they could eat and nap and have things normal (and besides, a funeral is no place for children).  When they woke up and it was snack time, we had a feeding frenzy! haha

playing Left-Right-Center

Uncle Mop is the best!

because what else do you do to a sleeping baby...

Daddy was a little bit exhausted

While going through Daniel's dad's kitchen, we found some old school Razor flip phones... perfect for grandchildren to inherit!

oh you know, just chatting on our cell phones and hanging out in our bean bag

Ella is a master on the phone and Sydney was using the tissue to wipe up her nose

Another favorite activity: putting our sippy cups of milk in the fridge.  We'll say "time to put our milk in the fridge!" and they walk on over, hand us their cup, and one (or both) will shut the door.  They both clap and cheer - it's hilarious, and is always good for a smile.

ending this marathon post with a pretty selfie of Ella