Warm January Saturday...

Our after nap afternoon started with a little bit of ice cream shared between best friends.

We moved on to some trampoline time, which was fine with me.  Once I secure the zipper, it's like a super sized pack and play.  I don't have to worry about anyone escaping.

They love to run in circles on the trampoline. 

Over and over and over...

 

  

Just Call Me Peter...

 Aww... look at that sweet, innocent face...


Do not be fooled.

I walked away to put away their scooters and this is what I saw when I returned.

Busted!

"We got no pants on!"

Favorite Book of the Moment

"This is Apple Tree Farm.

This is Mrs. Boot, the farmer.  She has two children, Poppy and Sam and a dog named Rusty."

Every story in Farmyard Tales starts this way and the twins LOVE it.   It's so cute to hear them say the words before me when we read it.  During the day, I overhear them repeating those lines during their pretend play.  So adorable. 

Of course, finding the yellow ducky on each page brings on serious competition.

Obsessed... *Just a Little Bit*

 

Henry is obsessed with the Power Pangers (Rangers)!
Not with the show, but with the Power Ranger figures that we have at our home.

Every morning and several times during the day, he becomes completely panicked if he cannot find all of them.  So, then we all end up searching for the missing Power Ranger to stop the misery. 

 

Once he has them, he just carries them around or leaves them in a pile.  He rarely, if ever, actually plays pretend with them. 

As you can see, the Red one is missing a leg because someone ripped it off recently.  I tried to convince him to just throw him away because he kept lamenting his broken leg and wanted me to fix it, which is impossible.  I think he threw away the leg eventually. 

If you really want to see a show, let Jackson come in and inform Henry that those are actually HIS Power Rangers.  Good Grief.  Hysteria. 

My Shadow

Ever since Mary Catherine was sick, she has been stuck to me like crazy.
"Hold Me. Hold Me."

"I wanna go wif you."
"I wanna sit in yur yap."

 

Good Thing She's So Cute!

The Messiah...according to Henry...

The twinkies were up very early.  

We got out the animals to play with while the rest of the kiddos slept.

 Mommy Frog, Baby Jesus and Daddy Frog
(according to Henry)
How's that for application of knowledge?

Henry...
Hank the Tank...
Bubba...
Bubba-Roni..
Bubs

Our Christmas Tree

Mary Catherine...
Sissy...
Stink Bug...
(in bad lighting)

A big 'ole box of animals is definitely a necessity for hours of pretend play.  All of our children enjoy playing with these animals.  I love to hear them play and use their imaginations while they are setting up their piles.  

Can you see him saying, "Ooo-Ooo" just like a gorilla?

 Mary Catherine found a little something extra in the box.  I think she's missing her pacifiers...

Two and a Half Years Old

 Getting two 2.5 year olds to look at the camera at the same time is near impossible...

Asking them to both smile makes it officially impossible.

 

"Do you want to look away this time, or shall I?"

One out of two ain't bad

Mary Catherine

This shot makes me laugh because Henry appears completely 'checked out' and Mary Catherine appears to be telling him something important. 

~Classic male-female interaction~

 "Huh?  Are we still taking photos?"  "Fa-la-la-la-la  La-la-la-la"

 Oh, if only they were both looking at the camera...

 "Are we ever going to give in and look at the same time?"

 "Okay, but I won't smile."

Does Henry appear to be imitating a turtle?

My favorite shot of the bunch.  I wish I had not cut off their heads.  At this point I was just holding the camera and attempting to get their attention. Whew.  Glad that's over.

Laugh or Cry

Things that make me smile and sometimes laugh:

• Mary Catherine's manners:
• Me: "Mary Catherine, we need to wipe your face." 
• MC: "No thank you."
• When Henry says, "Wanna Knuckle Punch?" (his version of saying Do you want a knuckle sandwich?)
• When the twins 'whisper' in our ears.  "I wanna tell you a secret."  They get really close and then they are super loud and about bust our ear drums. 
• How the twins shush each other at odd times.  One twin says "Shh!" and the other twin says, "I wanna talk. No shush!"
• Whichever twin gets water/food always wants water/food to carry to the other one.  
• Listening to the twins talk to each other when they eat or play.  Hilarious. 
• MC's voice~ she's like a fairy. 
• Hearing Henry say, "I wuv you!" the intonation is superb. 

Things that drive me batty and sometimes want to cry

• The twins frantically screech, "I'm done! I'm done!" but when I drop everything to get them down from the table they refuse and scream, "I want to eat!" and start grabbing their food.
• Henry's inability to wait a nano-second for anything.  He goes from happy to hysterical faster than Kinsey did, and that's saying something.  
• Writing instruments + twins = misery for my home
• Buckling car seats, and especially buckling car seats with winter coats.

A Glimpse, However Small...

 Look what I found when I went into the living room.

 Is that my two little toddlers playing sweetly? 

 They spent quite a while setting up some 'extras' to their Little People Manger.

It brought me such a joy to see them playing pretend so nicely.


But then...

Less than ten minutes later, when my battery for my camera was charging so I couldn't take pictures for documentation, I walked into a huge mess.  They had wrecked all they set up and wrecked the larger, nicer manger behind it.  Somehow in those few minutes they figured out how to scrape nearly every stitch of moss off that manger.
 

Should be fun to 're-moss'... not likely...

I really, really don't want to call the twins "Destruct and Destroy", 

but they leave me no other option.

A Breather...

Just want to take a moment before I embark on potty training Mary Catherine next week to write that things here are going very well.  Considering potty training is my LEAST favorite thing to do as a parent I might not be in such a thankful mood this time next week.  Let's hope I overcome my attitude.  I remember a certain curly haired friend of mine that said she loved potty training her children and they bonded during that time.  I love my friend, but that is just crazy talk. 

We traveled out of town this past week and it went the smoothest it ever has with five children.  Cracker Barrel was a joy.  I didn't have to spend my time thinking of a dozen ways to keep two toddlers from scaling out of their boosters, stop any screaming, or deal with any spillage issues. 

The twins are (and have been) understanding consequences more and more each day.  For instance, if we are traveling in the car and one of them starts whining, they understand, "If you don't stop, I am going to take your magna doodle." 

Of course, we aren't afraid to invoke some Biblical discipline too, if you catch my drift, but one of my sweet little twinkies just likes to take a lickin' and keep on tickin' so it doesn't always have the effect that I would like it to in a pinch. 

I'm thankful that the twins are understanding more and more, but I do miss those baby days a little bit too, at least the days I can remember.  Most of the first year is a haze filled with crying and exhaustion, mostly my crying, but don't judge.  If you don't have twins, you cannot understand.

A Little After Nap Smack

Picture this, if you can...

Mary Catherine wakes from her nap and cracks open my bedroom door.  Henry hears the door and races up to her with puppy dog enthusiasm. 

Squealing, "Mary Cafrin! Mary Cafrin! Mary Cafrin's awake!" as he approaches her in the doorway. 

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! 

Mary Catherine smacks Henry three times in the face while screaming at him. 

Poor boy. 

I bet he's not excited to see her anymore. 

I Miss Bubba

Tonight Mary Catherine went to the grocery store with me because she had slept for four hours during her nap time and I knew that she was not going to bed any time soon. 

I like to try to take the children out one on one when I can, even if it's just to the store.  It's a small sacrifice because when they are alone with me they talk and talk and talk because there isn't anyone to interrupt.  Even though I like my quiet alone shopping time, it's worth to be with them and hear their funny stuff.


As we shopped the aisles of Walmart it was so precious to me how often she discussed Henry. 

The sweetest moment was when she got a cookie and said, "Bubba did not get one. I miss Bubba." 

We Wuv Coco

Our poor cat. 

Coconut is our long haired white outdoor, sometimes indoor, cat, who is the object of the twins' obsession. 

They claim to love her. 

"We wuv her."
"She is nice to me."
"Coco need somfin to eat."
"Coco not bite me."
"Coco is soft."
"I pet her."

They chase her all over the house and throw balls at her, all while wondering why she won't let them pet her for longer than 5 seconds.

If you can picture the old Looney Tunes cartoon, "I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him.." it's a little bit like that...

Surprisingly, she is very, very good with them.  When she gets really irritated she will give them a warning swat, but has never used her claws, yet.

Poor Coconut.

"I not crying."

Lately, when one of the twins is crying (or fussin' as I call it when it's not because of pain) the other twin feels compelled to inform me,

"Mommy, I not crying!"

as if to say, "See mom!  I am the sweet one!"  Of course, that same sweet one will be crying in just a few minutes about something, don't you fret!

Another cute thing that they are doing is telling me who are their best friends and what are their favorite songs all throughout the day. 

Mary Catherine usually starts the conversation and Henry follows suit. 

"Mommy, Bubba is my best friend." 
"Mommy, Sissy is my best friend." 

Other cute stuff that they say which is way cuter in person...

"Bubba, BE nice to me!"
"I LOVE it!"
"Coconut is nice. I wuv her.  I be nice to her." WHAM!

I will never figure her out...

Earlier today, I told Mary Catherine that she was going to have to nap upstairs with Henry b/c I needed to clean my room and her response me was, "I need my crib."  Well, the pack and play is set up in my room for her naptime because I could not get her to settle down for naps without at least an hour of discipline intervention, which was driving us both crazy. 

In her bedroom she has a 'big girl bed' that she sleeps in every night.  So, in an effort to meet her halfway, I asked her if she wanted me to set up another crib in her room to which she emphatically replied , "YES!" 

So, I did and I put it right back in the spot her other crib used to be before we bought her the new bed. 

During her naptime I checked on her and she had climbed out and gotten a puzzle.  However, she ran into an issue trying to climb back in the crib so she had moved the box I keep diapers and wipes in over next to her crib to use as a stool. 

Shortly after I took the puzzle, she fell asleep.  I do find it odd that she wants to be in a pack and play.  At least she's a peanut so she can still fit!

Bubba is my friend...

Mary Catherine was pretending to talk on the phone... "Dis is Mary Caffren. Bubba is my friend." 

So sweet! 

Of course, Henry wanted a turn too.   However, Mary Catherine was not happy at all when he just jibber-jabbered about other things.  Indignantly she exclaimed, "He say Mary Caffren is my friend!!!"  (as in, he's supposed to say I'm his friend b/c that is what I said about him!) 

Isn't that such a girl thing? 

Earplugs...

I thought I would update a few things that are going on around here before they change or I forget them. 

• naptime is still horrific... i've tried everything that i know, everything that i've read, everything that has been suggested, but the twins are still winning out on a daily basis.  it takes over an hour to get them to actually nap, and sometimes it never happens at all.  my favorite time of day is now my most miserable. 
  
  
• henry is talking ALL of the time now.  it really has helped with his frustration, but it's not completely eradicated. he's had a language 'explosion' as we like to say around here.  henry's favorite topic is colors.  he likes to tell us the color of everything around us at all times.  tediously, he will say it over and over again until you say it back to him.  all of my children have gone through this stage so i know it will end, but oh my... 
  
  
• Mary Catherine is as dramatic as ever.  Seriously, the adjective 'diva' could not be more fitting.  Clearly, she is the queen bee (in her eyes) and the rest of us need to shape up if we want to stay.  I'm sure it's our fault.  We just cannot help but dote on her because she's so stinkin' cute and funny. 
  
  
• The twins love to watch Dora and Blue's Clues.  I try to push Diego more because there's something about my son running around wanting to watch Dora that just doesn't sit right with me.  They have a scheduled tv time right before their nap each day, if needed.  
  
  
• When they are not watching that glorious 22 minutes of tv before their naptime they are successfully destroying my house in the process of playing.  Usually this involves Mr. Potato Head, plastic animals or cooking supplies.  Oh, let's not forget about blocks.  Some of those blocks get made into a tower, but most of them are strewn around the room in record time. 
  
  
• The toilet is still a fascination of Mary Catherine's, but we try to keep the door locked.  Washing her lovies over and over all day is not fun.
  
  
• "I love..." is another favorite game here.  The twins each take turns saying all of the people they love.  It's very sweet. 
  
  
• Our day is never boring, never quiet, never neat, and I wouldn't have it any other way, although I do wish I had some good earplugs sometimes...
  
  

Clueless...

i'm already beginning to prepare myself for the snickers behind my back.  in a few years Mary Catherine will be more than I can handle unless the Holy Spirit intervenes quickly.  I pray she gets saved at a very early age. 

She is absolutely, without question, the most stubborn/strong willed child that we have ever had.  Along with that stubbornness comes an unbelievable charm.  Half of the time I don't know whether to laugh or cry.  In the midst of disciplining her she just smiles and laughs and shakes those curls.  UGH. 

I suppose the Lord puts charming and stubborn together so that we don't give our children away with the trash on Monday mornings.  *kidding*

So, if you must judge me and talk about my ill behaved child please do it behind my back and if you could, please fix her. 

Monkey See Monkey Do...

monkey does the same as you...

Mary Catherine and Henry were playing with this bucket on the beach.  Mary Catherine piped up and said, "I want hair wet!" and proceeded to stick her head in the bucket. 

 So, then, of course, Henry had to follow suit...

I would've gotten after shots, but I was laughing too hard...

Too Early! Too Fussy!

Henry's new found wake up time is absolutely driving me crazy.  Today he woke everyone in his room as well.  I'm so grouchy. 

Between Jackson's incessant "What? I didn't do anything!" with guilt ridden eyes and the twins' high pitched angry shrills every two minutes, I'm going to book myself into the Funny Farm. 

Stop the screaming.  Stop the crying.  Just hush.  Play nicely.  Eat without whining.  For Pete's Sake, give me a few minutes of happy noise. 

Changes...

The babies woke up today and started playing in their room instead of coming to the top of the stairs and screeching, "EAT! EAT! EAT!" incessantly like a bunch of pelicans in Finding Nemo. 

It's amazing how the little things bring me joy.

Nevermind... they escaped as I was writing this...