We blinked and the holidays came and went, and we were ringing in a new decade.
First things first - let's get our almost-five-year-olds out of their toddler beds and into bunks! Daniel and I have dreamed about doing bunks since we found out we were having twins. We opted for smaller and less expensive cribs knowing that we'd want to do something fun when they could actually remember it. Surprisingly, these have lasted us a lot longer than we though they would, and the only reason we've decided to make the switch is... well, just because it was time!
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One last picture of their sweet little crib beds before the big (unknowing) change!
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| I was cleaning up their toys, and realized I wanted to capture a few of my favorites. The monkeys were personalized by Robin for their second birthday (monkey see monkey do theme), and the giraffe was from our Baby Sink. My sister had bought us that stuffed animal, and though the girls have no clue, I love that the giraffe stays nestled into their room. |
My parents' gift to us when we were pregnant were the cribs. Since we decided against the huge convertible cribs, and saved that for the bunk beds, they were part of this surprise, too! We decided to send them away overnight, so not only could we have a kid-free evening, but we had plenty of time to make their new room perfect.
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| if your marriage can survive an Ikea build, you're golden |
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Ok, this is how we survived it - our neighbors came over to help, and I hung out with Kim in the hallway while Jeff helped Daniel
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adding curtain holders!
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New and improved room, complete with a brand new bookshelf made by my dad!
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the other half - love it!!
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a close up of the sweet parade border
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And then my parents delivered them home for the big reveal. They had no idea and were sooo excited!
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their first night!
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So the biggest question we get is... do they fight over the top? Ironically, they don't fight over the top, they fight over the bottom. So after a few weeks of switching every-other-night, we now have a custody arrangement of them switch every-other-week.
So I did cry a little bit, because it's one of many changes we've had lately. They've graduated out of booster seats at the table, they are 100% done with pull ups, and for the most part, they get themselves dressed and ready in the morning. I decided that 2020 would be a year for me, and I joined a gym (and got a housecleaner!). Because of this new gym routine, they wake up with their light and get dressed, and about that time, I'm done myself and get their teeth and hair brushed. So many changes from little toddlers to amazing little girls.
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teeth check-up!
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hanging out on their favorite gift - the trampoline!
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a fun little Mexican lunch with Nana and Papa
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double kisses for nana
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sushi night! Sydney likes it more than Ella....
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.... but she tries it!
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And I love, love, love that they call chopsticks "chomper sticks"
And the new year brought with it a brand new niece!
Kinley Grace Fields arrived on
We spent an afternoon eating burgers and milkshakes and then off to the Science museum (tickets courtesy of The Martin Agency ;)! So much fun.
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the famous Foucault Pendulum
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there was a really cool bug exhibit
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they ate chocolate covered bugs during one of the cooking exhibits
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they aren't at all tired....
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Headed off to a birthday party...
I had a bad day at work. You know those days when... well, nothing quite goes right? While I was talking to a coworker friend (and crying), she said "you won't be any use the rest of the day... you should just leave!". So I scooped up my sweet girls, and off to get ice cream we went! Such great advice... sometimes you just have to stop what you're doing and give yourself a pick-me-up.
For Christmas with my sister and Derek, we decided against buying gifts and would spend the money on a fun night out. So we dropped off all the kiddos at my parents (for the first time), and went out bowling.
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meanwhile with the grandparents....
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we came home to this sweet scene
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Grandma Georgia invited us to a Sunday brunch at The Boathouse!
Wearing pretty dresses and tights are two of their favorite things!
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of course you have to lick the spoon after you make brownies!
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same, Syd, same
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we went to the trampoline park for a birthday party for our new neighbor, Jaxon!
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and they had almost as much fun as we did!
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Kisses to you on Valentine's Day from our Valen-twins
Valentine's Day was spent with at dance class and our usual Friday night with the Eckert family.
The very best kind of Valentine's Day... spent with friends who are like family with dance parties in the kitchen
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Ella drew this Elsa at school and I thought it was so adorable and needed to be documented!
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We had so much fun at Disney on Ice, that when they came close-ish to Richmond, we bought tickets with the Eckert's and Malady's and made an entire fun weekend out of it! We rented a house in DC, one that was right across from a park and a quick bus ride to the Disney on Ice arena. So loud, chaotic, wonderful, and exhausting.
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an attempt at sleeping in the same bed (spoiler alert: they suck at it)
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Sydney, Archer, Amelia, Huxley, Ella, and Evelyn
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getting ready for the main event - hair, makeup, and manicures (the littlest ones + Huxley were napping)
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time for hair and make-up!
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Our seat location wasn't nearly as good, but worth it nonetheless.
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trying to keep all of these heathens accounted for while waiting on the bus was one of the hardest things we've ever done.
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And on the way back home, we all went to the DC zoo.
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...and finally back home! After a weekend around so many other people, they needed some time for their twin bond to recharge.
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making valentine's candy bracelets for our park visit with Blakely
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| I came upstairs to this adorable scene |
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we had to snag a quick pic for Robin's clothing business... but also, I'm a lucky mama
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They have both become quite the artists, but Ella has really impressed me lately! She drew the camera on her drawing board
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Daddy went out of town snowboarding, so it was just us girls! They used their new crafting skills on fun little paintings:
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| Sydney in Daddy's snowboarding helmet, she's so freaking adorable |
Right when Daniel was gone, my grandma fell. So as soon as he got home, I left him in charge so I could go for a visit. I couldn't help but notice how much my mom looks like my grandma, and had to sneak a few pictures.
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two Cat in the Hats getting ready for school
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“These things will not bite you
They want to have fun
Then, out of the box
Came Thing Two and Thing One”
{and our lives have never been the same since
}
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They were pumped to sit in the front seat while we waited for Evelyn to get to her house for our Friday night post-dance date
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"Sydney I'm going to take your picture of your outfit like Ms Caiti"
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quick run to the store with this silly girl wearing earmuffs on a warm-ish day. There was something called the coronavirus coming and people were hoarding food from the store like it was a snow storm or hurricane on steroids...
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loved snuggling with this beautiful baby girl
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Sink Sunday afternoon fun!
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holding baby Kinley
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...and then Annabeth found this picture of Sydney holding Blakely in the same spot and in the same pajamas as Kinley
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"Sydney, who is this a picture of?"
"Me!!"
Wrong - that's Aunt Annabeth!!
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....and then as these last sets of pictures were taken, the Coronavirus took over the world. We had no idea what was about to hit....
