Kicking off 2018

Hey 2018 - you aren't so bad, so far ;)  I always aim to do better with my updates, and REALLY like to do them at least once per month... but now we have moved to a "first quarter 2018" update.

No small talk, let's do this...

Chef Ella needed a potty and book break with Brown Bear

bundled up and out the door for school!

We had a few snow falls to enjoy... we loved seeing the girls squeal at the sight of the white stuff covering everything!

Daniel was playing with his drone and got a pretty shot of our house covered in snow

pretty selfie with Ella

We had enough to take the girls sledding... Sydney loved it.  Ella had pink eye and wasn't really feeling it.

they REALLY liked eating it

twin snow angels

i love a good lazy snow day

seriously doesn't get any more comfy than that

Kim & Jeff came to visit

in order to get drops in Ella's eyes, they had to practice on each other

I took Ella to the store with me to grab a few things... she was a true person of Walmart, she was wearing PJs and boots

i can't get enough of these three

Ella & Sydney helped momma with a little work project... aren't they just the cutest

family painting party

we had the most glorious weekend... loved not leaving the house or getting out of PJs

our daily trekk down the stairs to go sit on the "milk spot" to wait for shoes and socks... look at those cute little piggy tails

pockets!

they love watching a movie in the big bed

During naptime, I noticed Ella's legs were poked right through her crib slats, so I snuck up to help a sister out.  I couldn't help but take a few pictures of those gorgeous sleeping faces.

"Yook at my tongue!"

We had some more snow to enjoy.  Since we were newly potty trained, we only snuck outside for a quick walk and to taste a few snowflakes.

such sweet snow angels

#lifewithtwintoddlers

these two couldn't be any happier - tutu dresses and rain boots on a sunny day

Daniel decided that one-week into potty training, that going to Snowshoe for a snowboarding trip with the guys was perfect timing.  Eye roll.

Anyway, it was just me and the girls and we had a gorgeous Sunday!  We took a quick walk, and then I was brave enough to take them to the park.  Taking toddlers to the park solo is hard enough, let alone the newly-potty-trained-situation, but hey... we don't do things easy around here.

double sliding

double swinging

double pottying 

snack time

They really did great.  The park was crowded, so that's stressful, but I came prepared to potty in the van and they even enjoyed a snack.

they ran around like this for the majority of the night, ha

The next day I was exhausted.  We had done so much on Sunday (not pictured: gourmet meal, bath, etc), that I just couldn't be much of an adult on Monday.  On the way home from picking them up from school, I asked them what they wanted for dinner.  They said "oatmeal with blueberries and sprinkles".  After they barely ate the Sunday-night-gourmet-meal, I said fuck it.  So they had oatmeal with blueberries and sprinkles.

The next night I stepped up my game a little bit and they made their own english muffin pizzas.

A few days after Daniel's snowboarding trip, the girl's called me in the car on the way home from school like they normally do.  I was busy at work, and didn't answer.  Daniel told me their conversation went like this:
*didn't answer phone*
Sydney: Momma's busy
Ella: she's probably snowboarding

this kind of sums up our lives... weird

pretty girls at CMoR

when it's bath time and both monsters need to potty

tutu, "farkly shoes", and princess obsessed

Ella is irritating Sydney by sitting on top of her and squeezing her tight, and that ornery girl is loving it.

cutest little bears in all the world

to celebrate the Super Bowl, it was football attire day at school... and naturally, we only represent the Hokies

at least she isn't pooping in the tub

Their new favorite books are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  We read them A LOT.  The other day, I caught Ella READING it... by memory.  It was amazing.  So we spent about an hour just listening to them read it back and forth.

"Go under my tunnel"

Valentine's Day was coming up, so we had to rock out some love outfits!

Love you more, sweet girls.

We went to the Courington's to watch the Super Bowl.  The girls enjoyed their dinner with Daisy... could have cared less about the game or commercials :)

I'm a sucker for love

down the stairs, holding hands... getting ready to load up for school

two little monkeys

happy Momma

headed off to Nana's house for the night!

being adults with craft beer and Rose cider

we enjoyed a (wet) afternoon on a Richmond Food Tour

and naturally, what else should we do with no kids?  go furniture shopping, of course!  we are such an exciting couple

Love birds

taking a snooze with her monkey and all of the Valentine's she got at school

they love to dress up like princesses

We've been making more of an effort to spend time with the girls separately.  Daniel took Ella to Target to pick up some goodies - she loved eating popcorn and picking out flowers and clearance Valentine's gifts for Syd!

Sydney got to stay home and play with Momma.

she got to wear an apron and help momma fix lunch

that tongue

They really enjoyed spending one-on-one time, so we need to make an effort to do it more.  When they are back together, they were non-stop chatting about what they did apart.

pretty girls

a rare sight... twin tots not strapped into a grocery cart.  they loved it, and Ella sang "we're gonna get some food, we're gonna get some food... high ho the dairy-o, we're gonna get some food"

"hold hands"

I wish my lap was big enough for them both, but this is how we have to do it :)

Tea for Two in the tub

such a sweet girl, and those gorgeous curls

Daniel went to Raleigh for an overnight trip to watch the Pens play.  So we got fresh and clean in the tub and put on tutu dresses and jellies for a nice walk :)

Ella jumps

and Sydney jumps

Syd sticking the landing

holding hands to cross the street, and carrying a prized possession - leaves

racing

Don't just fly, soar.

Uncle Mop came to visit!
From college bars to play-doh

child slave labor

bed time story - special guest reader

<3

this picture is hilarious... Sydney, and Ella's side-eye

Ella and her eyes crack me up

We celebrated Dr Seuss' birthday at school with adorable Cat in the Hat dresses

You have brains in your head
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose

Cubby peek-a-boo

took them into CVS to grab a quick prescription.  they won me over and got lollipops, but look how cute.  they had the cutest pep in their step

Sydney decided she was scared of Kylo Ren... Daniel had to fix that quickly.  Look at her face

getting a head start on their third birthday party!  sprinkles!

they were doing such a great job of playing separately, yet together

Ella is reading her favorite Hockey book while Sydney is playing hockey in the background

Spirit Week Day 1: crazy sock day

Spirit Week Day 2: Wacky Wednesday

milk mustaches 

all three Sink ladies got hair cuts!

Spirit Week Day 3: Favorite Character Day

These things will not bite you
They want to have fun
Then out of the box
Came Thing Two and Thing One

I'm brave... princesses are helping me fix quesadillas

Spirit Week Day 4: pajama day
This is like the absolute essence of our mornings.  Although every.single.day Ella wants to wear PJs, she's still grumpy even on PJ day.  Sydney is such a happy girl in the mornings!

baking cookies with Daddy

love this view... little girls playing fairies

And we had one last snow for the year... and one more chance to catch snowflakes.

getting snuggles in before I head to Seattle for work!

they are cleaning the wall... okay, i'll take it.

pretty girls all dressed up to head to church for Blakely's baptism.

with their Daddy

how Ella does church

Sydney and Grandma Georgia playing with money

sharing snacks

Ella doing some dishes

lollipops in the tub... they pretended they were light sabers

"Cheers!"

Sydney was having a hard time sleeping, so we happily snuggled in front of the fire

fruit snacks and waiting patiently to head out the door

I was dropping the girls off at school one morning, and Ms. Karlene was kind enough to bring in her baby chicks from her farm!  The girls were SO excited

Daniel went to a cigar event, so I took the girls to the store to pick out a birthday card for him.

They picked out a "You're 7" Kylo Ren birthday card that talked when you opened it.  And when I tried to steer them in a different direction, they refused, hahaha.
We grabbed lunchables for them and a salad for me from the salad bar and ate in the store.  Of course, Ella HAD to go to the bathroom while we were in the middle of eating.  So I quickly scooped them up and ran to the bathroom.  I hate having potty trained kids, diapers are soooo much easier.

big kid chairs
big kid cups
not a relaxing dinner for momma

That's a biiiig bite

then we were tired, so we snuggled

raise them up right... helping Momma & Daddy with yard work, and surprisingly, they did a great job

"we are sweeping"
(just like Cinderella)

the girls went to my mom's for the night, so we could celebrate Daniel's birthday!
some friends came over to help pregame, and build us half of our bench/picnic table!

the birthday boy has lots of helpers

I took the girls to the grocery store so they could pick out balloons and cupcakes for Daniel.  We had him hide upstairs and I had them waiting downstairs with the balloons to sing him Happy Birthday, but then the balloons started popping and they started freaking out, so Daniel had to run down and help, haha!  But they were super excited to give him the You're 7 Kylo Ren card they picked out.

Happiest of birthdays to the greatest dad and husband on the planet

our neighbors came over for dessert and bourbon!

That's a wrap for the first quarter of 2018
Cheers to a good year!

#lifewithtwintoddlers

For some reason, I never posted this photo.  It's from a day that I felt like a total twin-mom-bad-ass.  I had to take the girls into Walmart for like 2 things, and didn't have a stroller with me.  I got creative and used the little contraption I made when we switched the girls to big-girl-carseats (another awesome mom moment).  I had to come up with a way to keep Ella safe while I was loading/unloading Sydney, and I attached links to a ball and trained her to hold onto the ball (sit tight while I brush my shoulders off).  Anyway, I used it as a leash of sorts for our Walmart trip.  I got a lot of head-nods, like I was smart and a total BA, so naturally I felt good about myself.

Most days it's hard to manage two little ones.  Getting out of the house can be hard and unpredictable.  But some days, we just grit our teeth and do it :)

January --> The Beach, #lifewithtoddlers

Ella and Sydney got themselves dressed up, and walked in the room and Ella announced
"I'm going to the beach with my sister!"

Well, that sums up our lives - hilarious, unpredictable, and unreasonable.

Potty Training: twin two year olds

There are a lot of things I would rather do than potty train twins - eat black licorice, drive cross country without a radio, gouge out my eyeballs with a dull knife.  I mean, do you feel me?  For the last 34 months, we have had babies who have exclusively used diapers, and now, in about 72 hours, we are supposed to teach them to use the bathroom in a potty in a specific room??  Girl, please.  This shit isn't at all exciting.  Literally.

But we got to a point that Ella was ready.  I mean, really ready.  She would go on the potty each morning, then got good at going before bath time and bed time.  She would accurately tell us if she had to go, and at daycare, she was staying dry between diaper changes and going on the potty.  Yeah, she was ready.

So, reluctantly, I jumped off the "diapers-forever" train, and decided our three-day-MLK-weekend was potty boot camp.  We knew Ella was ready, and we weren't too sure about Sydney, but I'm not going to attempt only one kid, so we gave it a go with both.  (Don't worry, I'm still riding the "cribs-forever" train, and I'm not hopping off that one so easily ;) )

And... they did amazing.  I mean, really amazing.  We started on Saturday morning, they chugged water and juice like it was their job.... and.... peed on the floor.  But, surprisingly, they kind of got it.  And Sunday right before lunch was the last time someone peed on the floor.  Sydney had a hard time figuring out HOW to go, but once she did, she was a champ!  By Monday, we were wearing pants, and I felt confident about the week ahead at school :)

28 pairs of Frozen & Minnie panties
Minnie Mouse juice cups, so we could chug chug chug
New Minnie sweatshirt
Let's do this

cute small fries pumped about their new cups

in order to pee a lot, you gotta drink a lot

they wanted to watch something on their tablet, but had to protect our floors with a towel

when you have a twin, you always have someone to potty with... and entertainment when you get bored

Thankfully, we didn't really need to bribe them to potty train.  Honestly, I'm of the belief that if your child is ready to potty train, that you should have the expectation that they can do it without a bribe.  Children are way more capable than we give them credit for, but alas, I digress.  Anyway, it's impossible with multiples.  One gets a reward, but the other one is confused on why she can't also have a reward.  It's just too much to manage.  SO... when Ella was going on the potty before we trained, we would make a HUGE deal out of it (I know, being a parent is gross).  We would cheer and clap and be super excited.  And that's all they knew - being excited, and not getting a bribe.

While we were in the thick of it, we would let them have peanuts randomly if we asked if they were dry and they were, or sometimes after they had gone.  So it wasn't consistent, but it was something fun for them.  They liked to "turn da key" and their peanuts would spill out.


Ella's turn to "turn da key"

Daniel received this Hockey book for Christmas, and funny enough, it's Ella's favorite, haha

Sydney's problem was she didn't know HOW to go.  She would run in circles from the dining room through the foyer and around the kitchen, which was our cue that she had to pee.  Then she would sit and not go.  Despite all that she was drinking, she literally went all morning without peeing.  And then finally, when we almost threw in the towel because we didn't think she was ready and it was too unhealthy to hold it so long, it clicked.  And alongside her, was her biggest cheerleader, more excited out of all of us to see her pee pee in the potty.  Twins, man, such a special bond... even when it's weird.

"You are going pee pee, sissy"

I'm telling you, this parenting thing is weird.

we graduated to warm sweatshirts... reading to our babies

And then Monday came, and we were so impressed, that they got to wear pants!

they often times have to go at the same time.. and our small bathroom becomes a crowded space



two sweet little princesses playing so nicely in their castle... a momma's dream

ending our weekend with two favorite books - The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Chika Chika Boom Boom
Sydney's face is hilarious and so, so cute

So all in all, now that we're on the other side of this, the actually training wasn't so bad.  We were pretty tired and grumpy by the end of each day, but children in general are so amazing.  They adapt and listen and can do more than we give them credit for.  I will say the major downfall to potty training is that it's now hard to go places (again).  When they were first born, we were in twin-newborn-hell.  And leaving the house was a monumental task that we avoided at all possible.  Then, it slowly got easier and we fell into a routine when we would take them out together.  And we were finally at a point that we would take them places solo.  Now, I feel a little bit defeated because it feels like we're back at square one.  Going out is hard again.  You have to make sure you know where the bathrooms are, and be prepared to have to book it to the bathroom in the middle of shopping or eating.  Oh, and not one has to go, but the second one decides she has to go, too.  And bathrooms are nasty.  I'm trying to manage getting one on the potty while keeping the other one from touching anything.  It's hard and exhausting and gross, so we have just found that it's easier to stay home.  And I know, their bladders will get stronger and we will get better at this whole thing, but for now, it's back to being hard.


One morning a few weeks ago, the girls were wearing dresses with pockets in them, and Sydney was standing up on the stool to get her hair done and teeth brushed, and she said "we don't pee pee in our pockets".  No, no we certainly do not.

See, they're learning :)