... and babies make four: Our life with twins. : Sunshine in my pocket

I love Fall! It is my favorite time of year with the leaves changing and PUMPKIN EVERYTHING. The best part of this fall – I am not responsible for raking any leaves. We have been keeping busy with festivals and outdoor activities and running (for mommy). I think we have clearly made up for not having a very eventful summer.

Mommy did do something for herself recently and ran a half marathon. Honestly, the hardest part was finding the time to train. The plan I had in place involved running 4 times a week for 10 weeks. It honestly did not happen every week – most weeks I only got in three runs with a long run on the weekend. I am proud of the progress I made and that a 3 mile run now seems like “no big deal.” As for the actual half marathon, it went really well. The course was flat and beautiful and the weather was great! They predicted it would be hot, so I was prepared and drank water and Gatorade whenever offered. I tried to keep an even pace and picked out a few people that seemed to be running at my speed and ironically, I did end the race with a few of them! One woman and I hit it off for the last mile and we pushed each other through it and crossed the line together. I set a goal of 2 hours and 45 minutes and I completed the race in 2 hours and 39 minutes. I set several personal records for time and I would guess that I ran for 10-11 of the miles. I may do another one in the future, but it won’t be anytime soon. I am nursing a sore foot, most likely it is tendonitis, so I am going to take a little time off from running. Enough about me…

Riley keeps me on my toes. She has a wild spirit and doesn’t like to walk, so I feel like I am constantly 10 steps behind her- both literally and figuratively. She does still like to snuggle though and will run up to me with a blanket in her hand asking to “snuggle cuddle” and how would someone say no to that one?! She has developed an interest in drawing and coloring over the last few weeks and no piece of paper is safe. She is getting really good at stick figure people and showing a lot of improvement with staying in the lines! I have been doing some homeschool activities with them and have discovered the key to success with her is apparently a dry erase book and different colored markers. I found this great Pre-Kindergarten wipe clean work book that includes letters and numbers- she will even get the book out on her own. She gets frustrated with herself very easily and it becomes a test of my patients to help her with a puzzle or a task. She wants it done right quickly and the first time – this may be some more of my personality. She is strong and independent and wants to do more each day. She declares that she is “big enough” and will pull up a chair to help me wash dishes or make dinner. She is constantly singing a Daniel Tiger song and if there isn’t one that is situationally appropriate, she will make one up herself. She loves to have someone read to her and will then “read” the book to herself. She likes to read about animals and Princesses. She dressed up as Belle for Halloween, which came out of nowhere as she has never even seen the movie. She picked out a very glittery dress and we left a trail of glitter everywhere we went. She loves any kind of animal and Jasper is her best friend, whether he likes it or not. Curious George is still her favorite show and she asks to watch it daily. She will eat just about anything, especially if it involves cheese. She is still struggling some with her stomach and using the potty correctly. We will be seeing a pediatric GI specialist in the next few weeks to see if there is a culprit or if it is simply her stubbornness. Personally, I think it is a little bit of both.

Landon loves to learn and explore. He wants everyone to be his friend and struggles with understanding why not everyone wants to play with him. He is very kind hearted and gets his feeling hurt easily. Luckily, his sister is always by his side to play when I take them out. They may not always get along and there are daily battles at home over toys and games, mostly because they are both just as stubborn as I am. (I admit it.) He asks me to play with him all the time, but then he gets so involved in his imagination that he forgets I am there. He also loves to have books read to him and can be founding “reading” the books back to himself. He still likes to play with his Rescue Bots and Paw Patrol as well as anything with wheels. He likes to watch Daniel Tiger, Super Wings, and Blaze and the Monster Machines. He asked to dress up as AJ (Blaze’s driver) and to “wear Blaze” for Halloween. He never wavered from that idea, so I was able to make his costume and he loved it – until he could not reach the doorbell with the box around him. Also, he was pretty upset that most of the people were either sitting in their driveways or on their porch so he didn’t have to ring many doorbells anyway. He loves to take things apart and put them back together and explain the process to me as he does it. He likes to do crafts and activities and will do some coloring, but he doesn’t like to color as much as Riley. He prefers to use the scissors and glue. He likes to build race tracks and train tracks and follow maps. He does well with puzzles and games and craves the one on one attention. He LOVES to listen to music and dance. His current favorite song is the “Trolls Song” and he has an elaborate dance that he has developed for the song.

We are still living in the apartment and should be here for several more months. They are making progress on building the house though and the kids are enjoying watching the work happen! We have been busy this month with the traditional fall activities (pumpkin picking, trick or treat, and fall festivals) and I am excited to transition into the Christmas activities! It is the most wonderful time of the year. 😊