Seriously, how could you not love these guys?! It has been a year since I stopped working full time and it is still one of the best decisions I ever made. Sure, there have been some financial strains and we have had to make some decisions and some cut backs. Turns out you can survive without cable and eating out as much. I have become a slightly better cook. I am WAY more relaxed. I have been able to read more books. I have lost weight. Most importantly though, I have been able to watch my children learn and grow and develop on a daily basis.
They talk all day long. When Landon speaks, he will pause in the middle almost every time - as an example "Thanks (silent count 1,2,3) Mom." He is really good at saying "Thank you," but he struggles with the "please" and no amount of coaxing will get him to say please. Pretty sure he just does it to be obstinate and I have no idea who he gets that from. Tonight he tripped and I asked him if he was okay and he responded with "I'm fine." It stopped me in my tracks - they are such little adults now! They have full conversations with each other - I don't always know what they are saying, but they are definitely talking to each other. On a recent trip to Target they were separated for about 4 minutes for a diaper change. Upon seeing each other, they both yelled "I found you" and went running towards each other into a full body hug. You could see hearts melt all over the check out lines and several people even stopped to tell me how much they appreciated the sight. "I found you" is another catch phrase of the moment - I honestly had no idea I go missing as often as they make it seem. They also call for things/objects as if they can come to them. "Boppy, where are you boppy? Boppy?" I must laugh or smile a hundred times a day just listening to them.
We have had some adventures in the last month. Our first true Trick or Treat was probably the biggest adventure of them all. They had a practice night at Trunk or Treat where they figured out what to say in order to get the response of candy. They put it to practice the following night when we took them around a friends neighborhood where they plastered themselves against a few glass doors as people tried to open them. They would tag team it with "Hi" and "Trick or Treat" and then follow it up with "Bye" and "Thanks." They looked pretty cute if I do say so myself. We visited the pumpkin patch and checked out the animals. We carved pumpkins. We played at the park. We got our flu shots (which Riley took like a champ and did not even cry!). We fed the ducks at the boardwalk. (In case you didn't know ducks are responsive to the word "fetch") We went to Haunted Greenhouse at Holy Angels. We played at the play area at the mall where they "caught" each other at the bottom of the slides and laughed as they knocked each other over. We went to story time at the library every week. We even watched Daddy learn some curling.
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| Professor Wiseman and Curious George |
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| The Man in the Yellow Hat |
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| First house and they got it all figured out |
Landon has become a bit of a picky eater. He will eat pizza and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and snacks. They both will snack all morning long - especially on fruit snacks and fruit crisps. He likes his "popcorn" (imitation goldfish) and juice (just don't tell him that it is REALLY watered down). Landon loves to play with cars and trains and make the appropriate sounds as they "drive." He likes to read books and be read too as well. When he falls, I have to kiss his "boo boo" and it is instantly better. He likes to be hugged and kissed and will ask for more. He is my sensitive one and gets his feelings hurt very easily, yet he loves to run and play and tackle his sister. He has done well with taking the side rails off his crib and has only fallen out once. He did have a few rough nights of waking up in the middle of the night, but he was able to settle into our bed oh so conveniently. He loves watching the Preschool Prep videos and recently amazed me with knowing all of his shapes - even the octagon! Landon loves to dress up and his new favorite is to dress like a pirate. He runs around the house saying "Arrrr" and has turned my bed into a pirate ship on more than one occasion. He still likes to wear his pirate hat, which allowed me to catch the greatest picture of all time.
Riley is my morning snuggler. She seems to know I don't wake up very quickly... especially after working second shift and she will curl up on the couch with me and cover us with a blanket as I drink my morning coffee. She loves storytime at the library and would go everyday if it was offered. She loves to dance, sing, and clap along and has even stood up in the front next to the "teacher" a few times to "show" the group how it is done. At home, she plays with her blocks and climbs on everything. She is the first one to get the crayons or markers out. She loves to play with Playdoh and recently learned for herself (despite Mommy's warnings) that it tastes terrible. She also likes to do some dress up and pretend and especially likes to pretend to be a vet for her stuffed animals. She loves to read and can often be found with a book. We are studying our letters right now one at a time and she loves pointing our letters when she sees them. She surprised me with climbing out of her crib - which they both learned to do on the same day - as she threw out all of her pillows and stuffed toys to create a landing ground for herself before she attempted the climb. She is less of a picky eater, but she would eat yogurt three times a day or more if I would let her. She calls it "applesauce" though no matter how many times I tell her it is yogurt, even Landon tells her that it is yogurt now. Her other new habit is always pulling her pants up to her knees, must be a sensory thing. She has learned to undress herself also, but thankfully she only does it before bath!
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| A girl after my own heart |
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I am very excited for the upcoming holidays and starting some traditions with them. They have already started saying the word Santa and seem to be catching on - we will see how they do when they meet him though!
Excuse the pictures, they started lining up weird and I just gave up... ha ha.
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| Monkey meets baby |
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| Trying out a friend's costume |
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| We made some maracas |
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| Learning about stars and yellow |
