... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : Tell me about helicopters...

Future home... for now it is just grass,but we are excited to watch the process!

Well, we are officially without a house and the amount of relief I feel is palpable! We ended up closing last Friday and I walked in with mixed emotions. In some ways I was sad as it was our first home and we brought the babies back there, but then I would remind myself of the work involved and all the work that still needed to be done and I felt better. Handing over the keys to your house is a bit like dropping your kid off at their first day of school – you feel like there is so much you want to tell them that you have learned, but you just don’t know what to say or how to say it. We learned a couple things about the house the hard way- and quickly- after moving in when the garage and basement flooded, but if you keep the grates in the driveway clear you won’t have the flooding issues. I guess that is all just part of the home ownership experience that he will learn on his own – although I hope it does not happen to him. Overall, despite all the issues we had with the process, I feel like it was meant to work out this way. The man that purchased the house was our first showing and the first offer we received and he also wrote us a letter about how much he loved the house. The letter tugged at my heart from the beginning and deep down I hoped we would be able to sell to him all along, so things have a “funny” way of working out sometimes.

Apartment life has been fun so far. The kids LOVE the pool. Landon was scared about the “tall water” at first, but in our short time here he has grown to love swimming and will climb in and out of the pool on his own without any help. Riley has no fear of the water and jumps in and out a million times a night, Landon is still working on the courage to jump in the water. We also have access to two different playgrounds, nature trails, and a direct path to the Harris Teeter. We may end up a little spoiled. 😉

Unfortunately, with putting the house on the market and everything involved with that I feel like we “lost” most of our summer. I am excited for fall and to be able to attend fall festivals and breweries without worrying about the yard work at home. Our first adventure will be to travel back to Illinois in a few days for both Riley and I to be in my friend Sara’s wedding. She is pretty excited to wear her fancy dress. 😊 I personally love Fall and the holidays. I won’t be able to decorate as much as in the past due to space constraints, but we will make the most of it! I am working on developing a plan for the kids to do some homeschooling again- starting when we get back from our trip. I also plan to look into preschool and sports programs in the Mount Holly area, so they can start once we move. See, I can still manage to be busy without a house to take care of!

Riley is increasingly theatrical. She throws her hands and arms around when she is speaking. She says “cheese” every time she sees my camera come out. She runs through life with her arms open wide – dancing and singing along. She loves to smile and will give me a big smile every time she catches my eye. Jasper, and frankly any animal, are her best friends. We are very lucky that he is such an easy going dog as she lays on him all day long. She “swims” like a fish and loves the water, so the pool has been great for her – also helps to get out some of her energy! She “grrr”s at me when she does not like my answer to her questions. For example, Riley – “Can I have cheese?” Mommy – “Not right now.” Riley –“Grrr” while crossing arms and stomping away, sometimes even shutting her bedroom door. She may have gone straight from 3 to a teenager… She loves to play with her dolls and Princess Barbies, which all seem to end up naked – I am told this is normal. She loves to paint and color, but does not really have the patience to do an educational activity for too long. She will sit down and count with me or try and draw shapes, but only for a few minutes at a time. I have to keep her actively engaged to get any learning done. She loves to eat - yogurt, cheese, and fruit mostly. Her favorite TV show is still Curious George and she has probably seen every episode 10 times. She likes to sit in my lap and be read too, especially if the book is about a princess or an animal or a UNICORN (the newest obsession). She loves her “buddy” and wants him to do everything she does and will try and show him how and/or wait for him if she needs too. She seems like she is going to be a very protective sister. She LOVES Band-aids and “needs” several of them a day for her various “injuries.”

Landon continues to amaze me with his perceptions. Today I accidently stepped on one of his toys and I started to apologize because I thought I broke it and he said, “It’s okay mommy, accidents happen.” He is constantly asking me how things work or explaining them to me. Did you know when you put the sun visor up in the window of your car you are returning the sun to the sun? Yeah, neither did I until he told me- but it makes perfect sense. As I write this he is sitting next to me fascinated by my typing and how the letters end up on the screen. I hope he never loses this sense of wonder and learning. After watching videos about how things work, his next favorite thing to do is get out his Leapfrog Epic in “video mode” (he says the word “mode -for everything –“on mode”, “off mode”) and interview me about things. There is currently a video on there of me discussing helicopters while doing the laundry. Landon will sit with me and work on his letters. He recognizes his name and all the letters in his name and is able to spell it out with the use of a puzzle. He is amazing at puzzles. He has an infectious laugh. He does have a very kind heart – yesterday when Riley said she wasn’t feeling well and laying in bed, he put all of her stuffed animals around her to make her feel better. He is a bit more of a picky eater, but has discovered a love for chocolate and if given options on anything he will choose chocolate. He still loves his milk! We have had a few instances with his acid reflux during the moving process, but admittedly we weren’t the greatest with meals as well tried to get everything settled. I am back on track with keeping a menu and he has been doing great since.

Loving the pool

They are becoming much more independent. They are able to pick out their own clothes and put them on – with some assistance on the socks. They put their own toothpaste on and brush their teeth. They are getting their own snacks out of the drawer and throwing wrappers away – which has been a huge help cleaning up. Riley has pretty much taken over feeding the dog and makes sure his bowl is always full. Seems like my job here is done. 😉