... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : The beginning of the "Terrible Twos" :/

For the past two years, my life has been consumed by my little people. This right here has been my favorite age –it’s the age of exploration and intense learning. There is so much going on in their little world right now and it is incredible to watch. Admittedly it isn’t easy. With this intense learning comes the tantrums and the increased emotionality. I have to constantly remind myself of how much their little brains are trying to process and how confusing it all is for them. I would venture to say that we are learning together at this point.

I don’t even know where to begin with telling you about all the new “skills” we are working on at this point. New words stream out of their mouths as they continue to repeat what they here. They are reaching a point where we can have conversations with them and I love it! One of the biggest communication breakthroughs happened over the weekend. Landon was being extra cuddly- not that I minded that, but I know something was wrong – so I asked him what was wrong. He looked up at me and said “Mouth hurt mommy.” I felt a sense of relief as they are finally able to tell me if they are hurting! It is terrible to know something is wrong with your child and there is nothing you can do about it, or you can’t even figure out what is wrong. This part of the communication is going to be a major breakthrough and I am hoping it will help to alleviate some of the tantrums. The other major communication breakthrough has only happened one time – Landon said “Love you mommy” when I put him to bed. (Can you tell Landon is my emotional one? Haha) He has also started asking for a hug at night. I worked the other night and was able to skype with them to tell them goodnight and he “hugged” the phone and a little piece of me melted inside. Now don’t go thinking Riley is unemotional. She loves to hug and kiss and cuddle as well. Her thing is to take my hand and hold it up against her face. When she is sitting in my lap, she grabs my hands and will reposition them how she wants them – typically so I am holding her around the waist. They both often want to sit in my lap at the same time and it has led to a few disagreements, but we make it work. :)

So, they are officially two. I don’t have to count their age in months anymore and that is just fabulous with me. We had their doctor appointment earlier this week and they are doing great. She was amazed by their demeanor and how easily they let her complete the check up and followed the directions. (I had a total “mom moment” at the doctor’s office when they were getting antsy and remembered I had crayons in my bag and just so you know the paper on the table is like a never ending supply of entertainment.) As for their health, they are doing well overall. We did have some pink eye a few weeks ago and continue to deal with runny nose/allergy type issues. Still working on those two year molars so we are sitting at 16 teeth each right now. Riley got her haircut for the first time when we were back in Illinois recently and Landon got his cut again – both of them needed some help with getting their hair out of their eyes! They love to eat anything and everything – especially cheese. Sometimes I feel like they snack all day long and others they don’t seem to eat at all.

We have several new birthday toys that have become a huge hit. Landon is currently very much into fire trucks and he loves to play with all of the new tucks he got for his birthday. Riley got some new baby dolls and baby doll accessories. Always a good time when trying to travel around with two children, one carrying a fire truck half as big as he is and the other carrying a baby doll in baby carrier. I feel like a comedy show at times. They love bubbles and sidewalk chalk and anything outdoors- especially the water table. Water is a big hit all around. Several times a day I am pulling them away from the sink in the bathroom where they are filling up anything they can with water. Playdoh is a new addition to the toys as well that they are really enjoying. Of course, we still have all the staples for enjoyment – climbing, running, bowls on their heads, spoons and balls, mommy’s make up, putting on chapstick several 100 times a day, books, stealing toys from each other, cars, the dog bowls and dog toys, and pulling all the wipes out of the containers.

Stalling before the party. ;)

Surprised them with an anniversary party... I think they enjoyed it!

Needless to say, they keep us busy. We went back to Illinois for 1.5 weeks at the end of June and they did great on the car ride and during the trip- even with all the environmental and schedule changes. We have been to the children’s museums both in Charlotte and Galesburg, the aquarium, the park, walking around downtown, the 4^th of July festival in Huntersville, breweries, visited Railroad Days in Galesburg, the library reading programs, and runs through the neighborhood. We have done some baking and planting around the house and they have even become proficient with yard work and are excellent at dragging branches to the curb. I know we are entering a difficult time with the high levels of emotion and it is demonstrated to me daily with the tantrums. All I can do at this point is sit back and do my best to enjoy the ride…with these sweet faces. :)