... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : Imaginations gone wild!

“I got nothing” is a phrase heard frequently around our house – usually said between the Hubby and I following several minutes of a child either screaming, crying, or repeating the same words to us over and over again to no avail. They love to talk and I love to listen, but understanding them is not always as easy. They have a WEALTH of words and they are learning new and important phrases daily, such as today when Riley informed me that I was making her “bery mad” when I did not give her the juice she desired. One must be very careful when speaking in front of toddlers as they will remember.

We are using sticker charts to track their “potty progress” and more than likely they have just as many stickers as they did when I wrote last month. Well, maybe a few more, but this is a battle I am losing. They do well somedays and want to sit on the potty and are successful and the next day they act like I am trying to kill them when I suggest we go to the bathroom. “I got nothing.” It will happen. I will just keep plugging away, hopefully without losing my mind, and one day it will click.

Usually when I write these blogs, I look back on some notes that I have kept throughout the month on things we have done or interesting things they have said. “I got nothing.” My brain has been in overdrive for the last month or so. I, with the support of the Hubby, have made the decision to enter back into the world of education. I will be completing the Nurse Aide program in December and am looking into furthering my education beyond that to an RN. I have been filling out applications and meeting with schools – all while keeping up with everything else – so I feel like I have been on overdrive lately! The Hubby has been and will be a major support during this process as we are already needing to rearrange schedules to get me to class on time in November. While overwhelmed, I am excited already!

Now, on to the kids… Riley is still a ball of energy. She has started taking a nap again which has helped. She still doesn’t nap a few days a week though, and those are some rough evenings as she is typically more defiant and crazy by the time bedtime rolls around! We did have a good time today playing with her puppies and giving them check-ups. She does love animals and I would not be surprised if she ended up with a career as a veterinarian. She has an amazingly vivid imagination when it comes to her animals as well. She is often walking her dogs (running away from us with her arm outstretched saying “woah” as they tug her away) or carrying a baby bunny (walking around with palm in air protectively). She likes to dress up as either a superhero or a princess. She likes to put together puzzles and play games, but she has a difficult time slowing down to learn the rules of the game or to put the puzzle piece in the direction. We officially started our homeschool program this month and if the project involves paint or glue she is totally ready for it… the messier the better. She is that way when it comes to food as well. We have to beg her to let us pull her hair up before she eats or she will end up with all sorts of food in her hair. She can often be found at the refrigerator getting out an apple or a snack pack or a cheese stick. Tonight it was the carton of cream cheese, which she began to suck out of the package before I could stop her.

Landon loves to make people laugh and loves to laugh in return. He just has that contagious smile – which can make life difficult when you are trying to be upset with him for his behavior. He too likes to dress up and typically will dress as a fireman or a policeman and make himself a car out of a chair. He goes as far as to open a pretend door every time he gets in or out of his car, so you know he takes his play seriously. He is content to play by himself as well and will go do the play room on his own and set up his village and make up some stories. Whenever we visit a friend of ours that has identical twin boys, Riley can be found playing outside with the boys and Landon will be alone in the playroom with all the new-to-him toys. He never leaves the house without a toy or two – usually a Rescue bot. He plays along with Riley’s pretend animals and has a bunny of his own when it is convenient for him, but he does not initiate that pretend play. He wants us to play pirates and draw maps and dig for treasure or rescue animals from trees or dive down in a submarine to see the fish. He likes to do worksheets when we have our school time and practices writing his letters with me. He has recently developed an affinity for the Leapfrog movies on Netflix and as a result is much better with his counting and numbers than in the past – no more 1, 2, 3, 9, 10. His main source of nutrition continues to be the PBJ sandwich, veggie chips, and milk. He has been known to venture a bit out of that comfort zone, but not much. He had oatmeal for dinner tonight as I just find it important for him to eat.

We had a few adventures this month. We went to the apple orchard and together we picked about 10 pounds of apples. Riley has loved having her own stash and purposefully picked some small ones, so she would have less waste as she never finishes a whole apple. They loved the adventure and seeing the animals on the farm. We took them to a concert at Holy Angels. They did fairly well while we were there – it was just a tough time of day as the concert started at 7pm. I want to make sure to expose them to all types of people and for them to be comfortable around persons in wheelchairs. We took them to Festival in the Park and they were able to try out their first fair type rides. Riley wanted to go a little more adventurous than we felt appropriate – like that giant swing ride – but she was willing to compromise on the child helicopter ride. We plan on taking them to the Cleveland County Fair this week, so that should be another interesting adventure.