The month of February brought with it: lots of laughing and crawling babies everywhere, a romantic valentine's day accompanied by a stomach bug, and a fun taste of Spring.
I recently looked through some pictures on Daniel's phone, and found a few gems! They aren't very old, but I just had to share because they are awesome.
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| Sydney beating up on Ella - typical scenario |
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| momma and her happy ladies at Ella's check-up |
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| :) |
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| momma and her sick Sydney after she spiked a 104 fever fighting off that damn RSV |
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| Hey Elle, do you mind if I sit in your lap to play with this toy? Well, I don't care if you mind, because I'm doing it anyway |
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| Momma and Ella playing during our "field trip" during the hospital stay |
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| Ella has such an awesome Daddy - hanging out, working hard at feeling better |
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| Ella getting a breathing treatment when we had her ER visit |
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| because sometimes avacados for lunch means a mandatory bath-time |
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| happy momma on Christmas - sleeping Syd, happy Elle |
I dare you not to laugh at these next two pictures...
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| Daddy & Sydney selfie |
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| rub a dub dub, two babies in the tub |
Well that was, fun, wasn't it? Minus the RSV-flashbacks.
We had a little Groundhog Day photo shoot. You can't tell, but they're wearing fox outfits, and I'm probably the only one who thought that was funny.
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| Sydney thinks it's hilarious that she just stole Ella's shoes. |
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| this sums things up nicely: Ella gets excited and has to look away to smile, while Sydney is bat-shit crazy |
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| someone found her reflection in the mirror! |
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| happy Elle! |
There were a few days in a row that the girl's had some daycare-funnies. Daniel had to sign his first "incident report" - the girls were laying next to each other on the rug, and Sydney scratched Ella. I mean, at least she's bullying her own sister, right? Just kidding. She likes to crawl over to her friends during naptime and pull their hair. And then a few days later, she made two of the older babies cry because she pulled them down to the ground. Daniel & I keep calling her a bully, but Aunt Annabeth (the preschool hero) says she just wants to be like them and was trying to get up on their level. Okay, maybe I'll believe that. I still feel like I should go ahead and introduce myself to the elementary school principal, and maybe even butter him/her up with wine and Starbucks.
We recently started sending sippy cups to daycare so they can work on drinking out of them (because the big "1" is coming up soon!). I love that "Sydney was not feeling her cup today". She's always been such an easy-going baby when it comes to all things eating (eye roll), so I can imagine this transition away from bottles and onto cold milk will go over great with her. As you see in her note, she also doesn't like to eat anything cold. And in regards to Ella's notes about the bells, apparently the girls had a serious GIRL FIGHT over the bells the day before. You don't even have to guess, Sydney won. She has quite the reputation already.
I love peeking in on the girls and seeing that they can't quite get close enough when they're sleeping.
Reality: most of the time they are on opposite sides
The next two pictures also show Sydney's cute personality. And Ella's, too. Ella is either laying there asleep or is laughing at Sydney - not sure which one - but either option would be totally accurate.
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a) "wake up!! it's time to play!!"
b) you're in my way and I'd like to hop off this bed now |
I've always heard the saying "if it's too quiet, there's trouble". I present to you, Exhibit A, for the very first time.
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| Exhibit A: #doublesinks and the floor vent |
Sydney has decided at some point this month that when she hears music, her body just has to move along with the beat. She bounces up and down and gets jiggy with it. A-dor-a-ble.
You know that if there's something singleton that I can make way more fabulous with twins, I'm going to do it. Girlfriend, with twins, I plan on living it up as long as I can. I present to you our most adorable Valentine's - LO VE - spells the feeling we have all day every day over these sweet gals.
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| two clapping girls! |
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| sweet, sweet Syd |
We went over to my mom's for a little family dinner. So much fun, so much crazy, and so much love.
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| Seth loves Ella's tutu, and Ella has no concept of personal space |
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| haha, the look on his face |
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| {Ella} our lives have been turned upside down |
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| times two! {Sydney} |
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| Nana loves her two sweet girls |
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| happy as a peach! |
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| Sunday mornings.. lazying it up with happy girls in PJs |
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| love being covered in babies. love it. |
Sometimes, you just need to strip down to enjoy lunch. On the menu: tomato soup and grilled cheese! Can you even believe that we have TINY HUMANS eating REAL FOOD!?
Welcome to the new nap time aka play time. It seriously doesn't get any cuter than this.. they love to now pass pacifiers and night-nights back and forth and laugh and laugh. The best part? When one is tired, they just crawl away and sleep. It normally isn't a problem unless the sleeping baby has held all pacifiers hostage :)
You know I love a good footprint craft. Up on February's agenda: LOVE. This one was super easy, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say it looks dope. We should probably go ahead and make these as grandparent gifts because they are just that cute.
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Top: Abby's Valentine's footprint craft from 2013; she was almost 1 year old
Bottom: Ella & Sydney's Valentine's footprint craft from 2016; they were 10 months old
In summary: Abby had big feet. Or Ella & Sydney have small feet. |
This particular Sunday also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday! Of course, we had to get dressed up super cute in the only NFL gear we had: Steeler's! Despite them not playing in the Super Bowl.
Valentine's Month Exclusive: Little Love Bug(s)
We did something SO fun at work to raise money: Martingrams! Think elementary-school-cheesy-valentine's. They were such a hit, we FAR exceeded our goal, and you could just feel the happiness oozing from all over.
Just when you get a little swagger back, and you're walking a little straighter you get pushed to the ground. The culprit: a stomach bug. Conveniently, Daniel had already scheduled an overnight boys trip to see a hockey game (and get a full night's sleep). So I called in reinforcements: Nana.
Fortunately, the majority of the puking happened the day before... and the entire NIGHT before. Sydney was sleeping on a towel in between Daniel and I... would puke/dry heave about every 20-30 minutes. After the 9th time, we quit counting. We changed her PJs and the towel so many times. And towards the end, we just started to fold the towel over so she could sleep on a clean part. [Insert parents of the year award here].
So my mom helped keep me company while the girls slept, went and got us Burger King for lunch (one of my guilty pleasures... don't judge), and held sick babes. She had put on her coat and was literally walking out the door when Ella puked everywhere (or was it Sydney...?). She helped me get everything cleaned up, and by the time she had gotten home, it happened again.
So here we are... hanging out with momma on her bed... on a beach towel, of course.. and don't worry, it was freshly laundered. Because we did about 100 loads of pukey laundry.
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| holding hands, chatting, and stealing pacifiers <3 |
Well, we survived the night sans Daddy. No puke incidents, thankfully. Saturday morning brought an early morning nap-sesh:
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| such a dramatic sleeper |
Sydney can't handle naptime, so she ended up with momma. I was stuck in bed watching TV... I had to make sure Sydney didn't roll off... life could be worse, right??
I had grand plans of a super cute "We LO-VE Daddy" Valentine's gift. Here's a hint, Kim: when you have grand plans, they will be spoiled. I had two sick babes trying to take a picture with sharp arrows. Not a good combo. They looked like little exorcists staring at the camera. But hey, it's real life.
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| real life: pictures with mobile twins |
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| Enough already! I can't handle the lime-light |
And this is what happens when your tummy hurts and you just can't go on...
Naturally, both girls wanted to be held on Saturday when I was by myself... not on Friday when Nana was around to help. So I tried my best to grow extra arms and a bigger lap, and soak up their snuggles. This was one of those times that having two is really very challenging, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
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| Sydney immediately fell asleep, holding onto Ella's pacifier <3 |
And finally... Daddy came home! I needed a break! After getting everyone settled, I went off to Target to walk around, very slowly. And what do you know... while I was walking around, my stomach started to hurt. When I asked for a break, I didn't ask to be completely incapacitated from puking. I just wanted to go to Target and lay in bed and watch trashy TV. It was too much to ask.
I spent all night throwing up. I was completely useless on Sunday. Again, not the type of break I wanted. And it just so happened to be Valentine's Day. How romantic. Nah, it's alright.. we don't really do much on Valentine's Day. I'd like to think we show love and affection most every other day of the year. And this year, we have the cutest little Valentine's. We are beyond lucky to have our hearts bursting with love thanks to them. I can't even begin to describe it. And I thought I loved Daniel before he became a dad... and now. Wow. That's all.
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| is that a hat, or a yamaka? |
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"Where are Ella and Sydney"? PEEKABOO!
yup, that's what our life has come to now |
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| Sydney doesn't seem to care that Ella is right there.. no concept of personal space, especially when there's a pacifier involved |
One evening when Daddy was out with some friends, we had a particularly fussy time. I discovered that the girls were enamored with the vacuum cleaner. So killing two birds with one stone: the girls were quiet and my entire downstairs were cleaned. Mom: 1, E&S: 0.
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| clean family room, check. |
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| clean playroom, check. |
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| oh hey syd! |
So our little tiny babies are learning and developing and turning into real people! They have learned so many things - clapping, kissing, crawling, eating real food. It's so cool to watch them learn. It's also a little bittersweet... but only a little, because as they learn something new, it seems as though our lives get a bit easier. In the wonderful world of multiples, when things get easier, it's a big deal. And this right here, it's a big deal. We've waited a LONG time for this:
That's right, TWO BABIES HOLDING THEIR OWN BOTTLES. I remember when Daniel and I would dream about this moment when they were itty bitty, and it was so far out of reach. And just like that, it's happened. Now, Ella has been holding her own bottle for a while now. She's such a champ. Sydney on the other hand... well, she wouldn't eat if you weren't holding her bottle (and if it was too cold, and if she wasn't hungry... I mean, whatever she wanted). And since she's so small, we did exactly what she wanted so she could eat. She had us eating out of her little hands. Well one night, I was incapacitated with a stomach bug, and Daniel was dealing with both girls screaming. He was feeding Sydney, and leaned over the crib to give Ella a pacifier when Sydney's bottle dropped on Ella's head... and you could imagine that didn't go over real well. So the next morning, he put Sydney through Daddy's Bottle Bootcamp, and by the end of the weekend, she was holding her own bottle full-time. Do I miss holding a baby and feeding them? Yes. And I still hold them, unless we have entirely too much going on. My mornings are WAY easier... I can fix them bottles, get them in their boppies and eating, and then I can fix my lunch and finish getting things ready to leave the house. So yes, this is a huge deal. Huge. Keep on getting better at life, girls.
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| Bottle Bootcamp includes weight-training |
Daniel has been working like crazy lately. He gets up before the sun, works after the girls go to bed, and even on the weekends. He's been kicking ass, so I'm super proud of him. But also, sometimes I get lonely (and a little overwhelmed), but hey - we gotta do what we gotta do. We have hospital bills to pay, and also a kick-ass new screened in porch that's being built. So anywho, I decided that I would brave the grocery store all by myself one Saturday morning. Am I crazy? Yes. But I was determined to do it so we didn't take anymore time away from our family when Daniel wasn't working. So here I am, documenting the moment when I felt like a total badass. I did major grocery shopping during naptime. I drove around until the girls fell asleep, and tackled Walmart (and lots of comments from other shoppers), and Ella only started to get fussy right when I was getting loaded up. So here I am, gloating, that I did it. Boom.
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| two babies and a cart full of groceries |
We had some EXTREMELY nice weather, so we decided to try out the park for the first time! Unfortunately, the park down the street doesn't have any swings, so we had to venture out to find some. The girls loved it. I mean, so much laughter, smiles, and happy noises. And Daniel and I had so much fun watching them! We found a new fun activity (that doesn't cost a cent!), and I'm thrilled.
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| Sink family selfie at the park |
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| couldn't resist a quick kiss from the best daddy in the world! |
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| Sydney is one happy, swinging girl! |
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| and just look at how happy Ella is! |
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| two babies in one swing - a must-do if you have twins! |
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| the swings were just about the only activity we could do, but we did manage to get some sliding in... not as fun as the swings |
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| Sydney and momma |
Later that evening, we had pizza and celebrated Abby turning FOUR!
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| Ella and Sydney were so interested in watching cousin Abby open her gifts... thankfully Daddy provided a road block so Abby could open her gifts without any help |
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| not eating pizza |
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| Sydney's dinner looks so much better... |
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| I have two cute helpers unloading the dishwasher... if I play this parenting thing the right way, they will always be so willing as to help me out with the dishes |
The park was so much fun... we went two days in a row!
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| E |
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| S |
After a very fun and eventful weekend, the girls snuggled up with Daddy to watch a movie
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| containing two: twins in a laundry basket |
Most every morning, I wake the girls up and get them dressed and fed for the day. If Daniel is at home, he'll help me with feeding them. I don't really mind, because waking up two smiling babies starts my day out right. And getting them changed and dressed is just a deja-vu operation. But some mornings, you just want to sleep a little bit longer. So Daniel helped me out, and I had to snap a picture of the insane cuteness happening. God, I love that man. And those girls are so lucky.
And while we are on the topic of that amazing dad, I have a story that's been on my "to blog about list" for a while. It's kind of old, but something I definitely want to remember. And want my girls to read about how lucky they are. Back in October or November, Daniel's best friend living in Colorado came into town and his whole family got together at Ceasar's for dinner. I was working and had to meet them at the restaurant. Now.. I try not to be too vain, but I do like it when the girls match and dress for the occassion... especially if they are meeting close friends for the first time! When they come home from daycare, you never know what to expect... looking just like they did when I dropped them off, or hot mess express. I'm not knocking daycare, but sometimes they spit up, take off their bibs mid-meal, or the person changing their clothes neglects to notice the outfits I fold together. Anyways, I showed up at the dinner, the girls are wearing cute coordinating outfits (fortunately what I had sent them to daycare in), and their amazing daddy found two bows that matched their outfits perfectly. He had to locate different colored bands and bows to match. I walked into the room, noticed it instantly, and my heart smiled. Now you're probably thinking "that's not a very good story", but for some reason it really struck a chord with me. And just like in the picture above: he does a fabulous job of getting them changed and dressed. He takes the time to make sure they are looking fly, and puts up with me when I have outfit requests. And for their monthly pictures, he puts on their tutus and hairbows - fluffing their tutus, making sure the diaper doesn't show, and gets the hairbow just right. He's such a keeper, and I can't believe he's mine. I can't wait for the day that he has a little girl sitting in front of him while he combs her hair and fixes it just right. I hope one day they find someone as caring as he is, and don't settle for anything less.
"They said you have me wrapped around your finger
Like the ribbons that you wear in your hair
Maybe 'cause when I see your little fingers holdin' onto mine
I don't have a care
You've got me buyin' you bows and dresses
Oh, what a beautiful mess that this is
I think I'm in love
She's two foot three
Eyes blue and green
I just can't get enough
She got my heels over my head
Or better yet, she got me movin' to the beat of her drum
And if love were time, I would spend all mine
Just livin' inside her world
'cause she's daddy's baby girl"
