Merry Christmas Papa Marty

Merry Christmas, Dad! I so wish you were here spending this holiday with us. We miss you very much. I hope this video will help (http://youtu.be/AfXdZWCnB7I ) on your end with missing us. It is definitely the girls at their fidgety finest. :) I am not sure why the sound is off, it drives me crazy... but I couldn't for the life of me get the girls to sit down and film another video. Wishing you the very merriest Christmas to you and Meyong Hee.

Love,

Jared, Jessica Jillian & Jenna

 

Big Girls

Oh my goodness...it has been so long since I've posted a real post...with words and stuff! The days seem to vanish now. Jillian and Jenna are SO busy lately that I can hard keep up. In fact, during nap and after bedtime I find myself more often than not in a total state of vegetation watching the most mindless show on TV available just so my brain can keep up with things. Really...it is sad how much I resemble a potato. :(



Jillian and Jenna with their lovies. We had to recover the lovies after almost 3 years of cuddles. Same lovie on the inside, new dress (picked by each girl) on the outside. It was a surprisingly smooth transition.



Jillian enjoying the sun

Jenna getting creative with their baby slide. :)

I walked in the playroom to find the girls "napping" on the floor with their pillow, blankets, and books. Jillian is "smiling." I can't get that child to smile with her eyes open for anything.

The phase the girls are in right now has been really fun, but also very complicated and stressful. They are typically happy as clams but HIGHLY emotional and dramatic. They have a short attention span, and the word "no" has completely escaped from their brains. I am convinced they longer understand what "no" means. For some reason (I've read it can be common) they've also become very fearful of lots of things. The tub drain, cars, vacuum, bugs (that's a big one), garage door, The Wiggles (I know!! They will still watch them though!), people....anything and everything is fair game for "Mommy I skeered."

Jillian's small moment of fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Pretty much how Jenna looked the entire time at the Pumpkin Patch

Jared...holding Jillian at the church festival.

Actually, the fear phase has gotten quite bad. Last year at the Pumpkin Patch the girls had a blast. They wanted to pick their "punkins," they wanted to try the bouncy house, hay ride, inflatable slide, kid rides, etc. This year at the Pumpkin Patch you would have thought we were torturing them...pulling them apart limb by limb. Seriously...it was that bad. I didn't even want to take a pumpkin home with us...no use remembering that field trip, right?! The festival at our church was only a tad better...but I had learned from the Pumpkin Patch....as long as the girls are being held, they are happy as clams. :/ Halloween was much the same, although they did warm up and walk up to the houses eventually. Jenna even said "Trick-er-Treat!" and "Thanks!" a few times. Jillian is for sure the shyer out of the two and I only got a coherent "Thank you" once.

Jillian, Katie, and Jenna right before Trick-or-Treating time. The girls were butterflies (their antennae didn't make it past the church festival) and Katie was a punk rock skeleton...type..of...thing. ;)

On the bright side, both Jillian and Jenna are hilarious. :) They sing, they dance, and they gallop and hop from place to place. They say funny things (like... Mommy, I have boogers) and sweet things (like...I miss you too Mommy, or this is MY sister). I would say their favorites right now are playing dress up, dancing/singing, and painting.

In Big Girl news they are both in a "toddler" bed right now (still in their crib with one side removed and only a bumper under the sheet). Big Girl beds are on the horizon. We are also in the middle of a trial period of trying to share rooms again. Back when we got rid of the pacifier we moved them into their own rooms because they were keeping each other awake...I am not confident our trial period will work. During this nap hour I can hear them from across the house NOT sleeping. Next week we plan on putting them through Potty Training Boot Camp...so we will see how that goes. :}Cross your fingers!!!

Jillian enjoying her Big Girl bed for the first time. Jenna has had much sucess with her bed and Jillian has only fallen out once...I think it was operator error though, the bumper was in wrong. Ooops...my bad. :( It was traumatic at 3am.

Love to all,

Jenna....A Movie Star in the Making...

LOL! I swear I didn't teach this to her, she came in the kitchen today wearing glasses she got from her Papaw saying she was a movie star and doing the pose. I was cracking up! Jared didn't teach it to her either, so we have no idea where she gets it from....other than the fact that she is my child. ;) 

Watch Out Jilly & Jenna: Momma Has it on Video!

I got it! I'm doing a victory dance! Why? Because I finally got a video of some of the funny things the girls do. You may see their sweet faces on camera and video and not think much about it, but in reality it is quite hard to get a decent picture of them (they are exceptionally wiggly) and even harder to get a video. They are much more interested in seeing what I see on my side...behind the camera type girls you could say.

Anyhoo, both girls have been really mimicking and copying others around them lately. They put each other in time out, they have "phone conversations," and they even check each other for dirty diapers. The later is what I have a video of.

Let me explain: The girls aren't potty trained yet. They are showing signs that they are ready; however, we haven't begun any actual *real* potty training, I've been waiting for this fall and a 4-5 day stretch at home to tackle the deed. We have been asking them to potty on the potty before bath and letting them sit on it when they want, but we haven't been focusing on it. Anyways, the girls have begun telling me when they go more than tinkle, for those with queasy stomachs we will simply call it Poo Poo. I know! That still isn't the best word but if you are going to watch the video you have to get used to it for now. :) Moving on, there are still times though that they don't tell me when they've gone Poo Poo, and I either catch Shelby furiously sniffing their backside or I catch a whiff of something unpleasant. Once that happens I do what we will call the "Mommy Peek and Check." I basically pull their diaper back, peek, pull farther if needed, and check for poo.

Well, it has become a game for them to mimic this Mommy Peek and Check routine we have. The other day I caught them taking turns telling each other they were "Poo Poo" and letting their sister peek and check. It really was hilarious. I tried to get a video but as soon as I pushed the button to record they were wanting to see what I was seeing and we all know that won't work. Well, lucky me they were back to playing this fabulously funny game last night.  So... pause the music (either at the bottom or to the right depending on your screen) and turn your volume up a tad and get ready to chuckle as Jenna plays Mommy and Jilly plays herself in the Mommy Peek and Check game (don't fret...no actual Poo Poo is seen on camera):

No worries, while Jillian was in fact Poo Poo (it isn't always the case when they play this game) I did change her

right after I stopped recording. :)  Therefore, no babies were forced to stay Poo Poo for longer than necessary. ;)

Not much more to report on our end. I am hoping to get a video of them singing some of their favorite songs soon. That has been a toughie to capture, especially since I am usually singing them with them.

Oh! CLICK HERE to see all the latest pictures. They start around the end of July and go up until now.

More to Come,

Carbon Copies

When Jared and I found out that we would be blessed with twins we both agreed that we wanted to give them the opportunity to be individuals; that was especially the case once we got the news we were expecting two babies of the same sex. All throughout the pregnancy I read books on carrying twins (pregnancy), raising twins, preparing for twins, etc, etc. I also watched all of the twin TV shows I could find...mostly Discovery Chanel things but occasionally a show or two starring twins. Anyhoo, here are two things that stick out the most in my mind from that time:

1. Twin siblings have a tendency to be extremely competitive with one another. More so than regular, non-twin, siblings.

2. Remember those cute little twins from that TV show Full House...Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen? Well, around that time they went through a whole thing where they didn't want to be Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen anymore. They wanted to be individuals and be called Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen. They are separate people ya know. ;)

So, before the girls were born I began making intentional decisions regarding their "twinness," if you will. Jared and I decided not to dress them exactly alike (although I will say they are easier on the eyes if their outfits don't clash). We decided we wouldn't ask for or buy two of every toy, we decided that if the girls showed separate interests then we would indulge those interests individually (not putting them both in dance if one would rather play soccer).

Anyhoo, you can officially throw all of those ideas and plans out the window. These days Jillian and Jenna desire to be exactly alike. They want to wear the same outfits, have their hair the same way, play with the exact same toys, hold the exact same babies, and participate in the same activities. They are reveling in their "twinness" so to speak. So now I am left to wonder if some day they are going to be those twins who still dress exactly alike even in their 40s (gag!).



Two princess, two princess dresses, two night caps. Go figure. :)



Jenna laying on the floor in the kitchen with a blanket (we only have one basketball)

 

Jillian laying on the floor in the kitchen with a blanket



Two girls. Two pairs of plaid pants. Two moose shirts.  



 



Two girls.Two moose shirts...Jillian's pants got juice on them so we took them off. Jenna had to have hers off too.



There has been an unexpected positive outcome from girls' decision. I hardly get asked anymore "Are they twins?" Uh...yes. They are both girls, both the same height, hair color, eye color, weight, etc. Plus they look pretty much identical. DUH! Yes, they are both twins. You can see the feelings I have from that question.... Just for the record though, if Jillian and Jenna Winter decide later on to be Jillian Winter and Jenna Winter again, I would happily answer the "Are they twins" question just for them. :)

I'll leave you with my Bean...



My sweet Jenna Bean, who can resist a sleeping baby? :)



A Glimpse

Just a glimpse into the world of sweet yet sassy toddlers. Starring Jenna and Daddy. :)

We're Melting

Oh my jeez... In all my years I don't remember a summer that has been this hot for so long. Today is something like our 20th day in a row with triple digit heat. We haven't had rain in FOREVER. Jared, the girls and I have literally melted into our coach cushions just trying to keep cool.  And since the computer is in a different room I've had a hard time peeling myself away to post anything. It is good for you the girls woke up over an hour early from their nap so that it would motivate me to leave them in my bed with the TV while I sit and type without any two year olds around. :)


Anyhoo...


We've been trying to keep busy in other ways. The girls and I found a really awesome city pool (not in our city) that is only about 10 minutes from the house. I am not revealing the name because I would like it to stay one of the best kept secrets around. They have a mini lazy river, a pre-school aged pool with water guns, fountains and slide, and three different sprinkler/spray ground areas. The best thing? It is only $3 to get it...for all of us. :) The girls are free! Can you say, pool please? The girls do...everyday. :) Lucky for us they have a blow up pool in the backyard from Aunt Anne so that they can splash whenever they please. I mean...we can't go to the city pool every day. :p


The girls really do love swimming though, especially at the city pool. Even though it takes Jenna a bit to warm up each time we go. She is going through a "Mommy I'm skeered (scared)" phase that is honestly driving me bonkers. She is scared of everything for some reason right now.


Jared and the girls also joined me for the day at Six Flags when the summer program at my job was there. The girls had an absolute blast! They rode some many rides, I was so proud! They rode most of the rides without us by the way....many of them Jared and I wouldn't fit on. :) There was only one ride that was a bit too much. Jilly probably wouldn't ride again but clearly didn't enjoy it. Jenna screamed at the top of her lungs until it stopped, and come to think it...that is when that whole "Mommy I'm skeered" bit started happening. Whoops, my bad. :( Perhaps I should have put my foot down on that ride even though Jenna asked to ride it. Hmmm....

Jilly and Jenna giving the Tea Cups a try at Six Flags

They loved it! In fact, each time a ride they liked stopped they would start to cry.



Grandpa Winter will be proud the girls liked riding in the airplanes so much. They couldn't figure out how to use the stick to get the plane in the air but that was okay with Mommy and Daddy. :)



The swings were next and Jenna and Jilly LOVED them



See?
































Daddy and Jilly on the BIG ride together

 

Jenna decides to ride with Aunt Anne (mostly because Mommy was too scared to ride the kiddy ride)



Going Up....


 


And not so much...

 

Jilly didn't seem to mind :)

Whoops...perhaps 2 is a little young for thrill rides

Anyhoo, not much else to report. The girls are talking in sentences. They like to sing. Caillou is their favorite show followed by Toy Story 3 and then The Princess and the Frog. Jillian has started to casually use the potty before bath time. I am hoping to potty train in September!!  Other than that it is regular routine in our house...and you know we are home because the instant you step outside you get smothered in what feels like nuclear heat.