For Grandpa Marty

Jenna (L) and Jillian Praying Before Breakfast. Jenna Looks Serious Because She is the One Praying. They Initiated This All On Their Own By Their Way. I Was Just Fortunate Enough to Have My Phone Nearby to Snap a Picture.

Jillian (L) and Jenna. They Were Caught Sitting on the Table, Which is a "No, No." :)

Jillian Enjoying Some Strawberry Limeaid Ice Cream :)



Jenna Doing EXACTLY the Same Thing!

There are days when I sit back and stare at Jillian and Jenna thinking, "Good Gravy!! There really are two of them!" The fact that I have twins can still blow my mind even to this day. A lot of strangers we meet think they have unique wit when they label my girls "double trouble." The response in my head (the one I would like to give but withhold due to manners) involves lots of eye rolling and letting them know just how many times I've heard that...which is to say I've heard it A LOT! P.S: It gets more annoying each time people say that. No, the response I give them is merely a polite correction, "No, not double trouble. Double blessings, " and we move along encouraging the girls to wave "Bye Bye" as we go.

These days we truly are in a phase of double blessings. Now that Jillian and Jenna (and depending upon the day, Shelby) are BFFs (best friends forever), everything is truly in twos. Seriously, if I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Jillian, I also read it to Jenna. If Jenna gets a horsey ride, Jillian does, too. If Jillian gets tickled, Jenna is right there as well. If Jenna is upset, so is Jillian. It seems like all of these twinkee-isms happened overnight. The girls have always played near each other but up until recently they played side by side but separately. Not engaging each other but rather observing one another. Now, they play together all the time, very rarely playing on their own. Which brings me to something I've been longing to brag about....for the first time ever in my child rearing days I can safely say that there are times (which is to say about 5-10 minutes here and there) when having twins is sooo much easier than having a single baby.



Jillian Sitting in Her Baby Doll's Stroller



Jenna Sitting in Her Baby Doll's Stroller, Too

So now that the girls can entertain each other, I am left to simply observe and oversee. Acting as a referee, if will, of "who had that toy first." Anyhoo, now that I have all of this extra time on my hands (enter sarcasm here) I've made one other observation I feel obligated to share. It isn't just any observation either, I find it somewhat frightening and disgusting all at the same time.... I am noticing more and more how teething toddlers can sometimes be compared to puppies.

Here me out now: In my home I have a husband, two toddlers, an overly excitable dog, and myself. I am quite certain that Jared and I aren't the culprits of what I am about to reveal; and while I do admit Shelby is a dog with "issues" she is far beyond her puppy hood days of chewing things up and destroying household items (with her teeth, not her fur and slobber, Jared). After all, Shelby did turn 6 this year so we are safely in the adulthood phase of her life. So riddle me this: Why then, am I finding household items, like books and remote controls, with gooey teeth marks all over them? I'm just sayin'....all other culprits have been ruled out.



The Evidence: You Can Clearly See the Bite Marks on the Bottom Controller on the Left Side. The Top Controller Hasn't Been Eaten Yet. The Controllers are Exactly the Same, Except the Rubber Overlay Has Been Stripped Off the Bottom Remote After a Little Some One's Teeth Shredded it to Pieces. That is Why the Bottom Remote is so Much More Shiny.



Another Angle of the Damage

Anyhoo, I will leave you to make your own judgement on the puppy comparison. I did want to post the below video for my Dad though (taken tonight during bath time). One of the things I remember most about my Dad was being tickled by him all the time. I smile looking back on those times. My sister and I would pester my Dad until he started his tickling shenanigans, we would keep coming back for more and more until we were both in tears looking for Mom to report Dad's harassment to. Dad's classic response to us while we were ratting him out? "If you mess with the bulls you get the horns!" Tee Hee...I am laughing just thinking of it. Anyhoo, there was always a certain "way" Dad tickled and a lot of times it was the "Roly Poly Way." If I am not mistaken, my Grandma (Dad's Momma) did Roly Poly to Dad, Dad did it to Teri and me, and now, I do it to the girls (even Jared gets in on the fun!). Roly Poly tickle was a simple rhyme but with a menacing finger spiraling above your head and making a slow decent throughout the rhyme towards the middle of your ribs or back:

Roly Poly Shot a Bear

Where'd She Get Her?

RIGHT IN THERE!!!

You knew the closer Dad got to "Right in There!!" the sooner the tickles would be upon you. Crazy fun and good times. It would be neat for the pattern to continue. Clearly in the video the girls already Roly Poly each other...I wonder if perhaps in many, many years to come when Jilly and Jenna have their own kids if they will carry on the Roly Poly tradition?

Until Then....

P.S: I love you Dad. Sometimes Korea is too far. XOXO