Dancing Queens

The girls are dancing to a Wiggles song..."Can You Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist." They love to sing and dance right now. You may have to turn your volume waaaay up to hear the music. :)

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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

Fun at the Park

Sharing some fun Jilly and Jenna had at the park. Other than a random pre-schooler saying "Hi" and Jenna shouting "Poo Poo" it is pretty self explanitory. :)

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Epic Fail

I know every parent has their Moment. You know what I am talking about, The Moment where you fail miserably. My Moment was today. I fear that because of my Moment, my poor Jillian may be frightened of snow for the rest of her life. Allow me to enlighten you:


So, it snowed today! Where we live we typically get just a handful of snow days in a year. Today was the first time it snowed for us this season. Last year the girls weren’t even walking during the winter, so the snow in our yard was sadly left pristine and untouched. Which is why I was so excited that it snowed today. It is Sunday, we are all home together, and there is snow on the ground begging to be played with. Now that the girls are old enough to play it I couldn’t wait to get them out in it.

After Jared and I got the girls bundled up we ventured out into the front yard (less dog poopie than the backyard). At first, the girls weren’t completely sure what to do with everything. Jillian did as she normally does and braved a walk out into the middle of the yard. Jenna stood still in the spot Jared set her down on and didn’t move for quite a while. So, Jillian and I are out walking around. I am trying to show her exactly how magical all the white stuff is and how exactly it works. You know, on second thought…I think the video can better describe it from here (sorry for the lack of sound, the video was actually shot by accident as Jared thought he was taking a picture and was in fact filming…but the volume on our camera doesn’t work. In any case, I highly doubt you need the sound, just imagine a lot of crying…and apologizing):

Yes, you saw right. I smashed Jillian in the face with a snowball. I absolutely promise with all of my heart that I was trying to aim for her tummy. Really and truly I was. And even tho it was a really soft toss, I don’t feel any less guilty that she had snow in her nose and mouth. ). Unfortunately, my aim (even from a VERY close distance) is unreliable at best. Just ask my co-workers who repeatedly witness my embarrassing attempts at tossing trash into the waste basket several times a day. I felt awful, apologized to Jillian over and over, and tried to explain that Momma made a “boo boo” and that snow really is fun. None of that worked tho and despite my very best efforts Jillian is not only petrified of snow (really….she won’t even walk in it now, only look at it from the safety of a window inside) but she has suddenly become a Daddy’s Girl (she has been permanently attached to my hip for the last month to two). Anyhoo, our first attempt at playing in the snow can officially be characterized as an Epic Fail.

In other news, we had a great Christmas. Busy as usual but the girls did well and even managed to open a present or two themselves on Christmas Day. ;) The Terrible Twos are continuing as well….just in case you are curious. The will of a two year old is a mysterious and mighty thing to behold; a little tiring as well. :)



More to Come,

PS: We are wishing all of our friends and family a wonderful 2011, filled with the love and peace that can only be found in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A Set of Twos

Look at that Slide Hair! So funny how both Katie and Jenna's hair stuck straight up!

Yumm-O. What could be better than a cupcake with pink glitter?



Proof that the cupcakes were good...at one point all of the little girls there were sitting on this curb eating cupcakes. It was adorable!



Jillian and Jenna got Pillow Pets for their birthday. They were very excited, as soon as they were opened Jenna shouted "Pill Pet, Pill Pet!"

Jillian playing with her balloon

Jillian had a great time at her party :)

And so did Jenna Bean

Jillian with Mom, Dad and Jenna

If the pictures of above aren't clear; let me make sure you understand: The girls are now 2...and they are everything you would expect a 2 year old to be. Other than being a bit small for their age still, Jillian and Jenna are pretty much caught up with other kids their age when you consider milestones; which can either be good or not so good...depending on the day. Allow me to exaggerate:


GOOD- Jillian can count to 5 with only the tiniest bit of help

NOT SO GOOD- Jillian throws tantrums almost every time her diaper has to be changed and about half the time when getting in her car seat

GOOD- Both Jillian and Jenna know their colors and like to tell you when they see colors they know (and they will continue to tell you the color they see until you acknowledge their accomplishment)

NOT SO GOOD- Both girls know how to say "No" in the right context and unfortunately like to say "No" a lot

GOOD- The girls pretty much know every animal sound there is to make, including a skunk. AND they know what Santa says...Ho Ho Ho. :)

NOT SO GOOD- I am seriously considering tearing down the Christmas Tree as I type on this 22nd night of December...3 days before Christmas...just because the girls won't leave it alone.

I could go through a whole list of GOOD/NOT SO GOOD things but I think you get the idea. We've entered the stage where the girls want to do things for themselves, have an idea of what they want to do and get really frustrated and angry when they can't voice it. Thus...we've entered the Terrible Twos. Hopefully this stage won't last as long as the teething has (one thing we are still behind on and currently working on).

Anyhoo...
We had a "Princess in the Park" party for the girls 2nd birthday party. Immediate family and a few of the girls' "friends" were invited. It was so much fun! We had pink and purple cupcakes, balloons, sippy cups and princess crowns (with their own names) for our young friends, and the all important snacks at the park. It was nice and sunny, even if it was a little chilly from a cold front that had just pushed through. After the park ended family went back to the house for pizza and presents. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed the girls didn't want to open any of their presents. I figured this year they would be all over unwrapping the gifts themselves. That SOOO didn't happen. I pretty much unwrapped all of them, except for a few Katie took of. Granted, there was a lot of excitement happening and a lot of people. But, I am keeping my fingers crossed they'll be into it a little more at Christmas. I will be sure to let you know how it goes.

Until Then....

PS: We wish all of our friends and family the most Merriest Christmas ever!! Be safe and we will see you in 2011!

Momma Bear Unleashed

Jenna feeding the duckies





Jillian loves to feed the ducks at the park!




Jillian modeling her new fall clothes, including boots!




We are still learning how to take turns :)




Jillian gives a big smile




Jenna smiles, too. These girls have cheesing down!




Peek-A-Boo Jenna!




Sweet Jillian





My husband, Jared, has a funny nickname for me: The Baby Whisperer. He calls me that for a number of reasons, but mostly because he thinks babies like me and I can *usually* get them to stop crying if they are upset. In the general sense, I would mostly agree. I love children, but young children especially bring me much joy and delight. I can relate to them, I have fun with them, they are honest, open, and in general I find communicating with them easy. In fact, sometimes I have an easier time communicating with a child vs. a grown adult. :) I don't think my "Baby Whispering" talents, so to speak, are noteworthy or impressive. I think it is just kids can feel that I am at ease with them and that I don't get easily stressed by their actions (unless they are the actions of my own children, of course!...Ha!).

This is why I was so surprised by the Momma Bear Instinct (you know what I mean... protective towards her cubs; prone to aggression when she feels her cubs are being threatened) I exhibited towards another child at our local story time at the library this past Saturday.  I shocked myself!! I have never before felt that fierce, protective, instinct on such a powerful level directed at such a young person. Sure, I've felt protective feelings before, but the emotions I felt behind this particular instance were much different. Allow me to explain:



Our library has several different types of story times available to the public. We usually try and go to the time geared towards toddlers (up to 36 months); however, for the past few months I've been participating in a Bible study during the times we would normally go. The girls love the story time (and know some of the moves to the songs!) and so I decided that we would go to the general story time this Saturday, for kiddos ages 1-5.

The story time was wonderful, as I expected. Afterwards, the libraries allow time for the kiddos to play together. The library we went to on Saturday has a super-fun play area with a fort-like hut, big, giant, stuffed animals to play with and sit on, chairs and tables to color or read books, etc. I hadn't been to this library in several years so I wasn't aware of how AWESOME their kids area was (or we would have been going a lot more often!!). The area is off limits to kids 10 and over; however, the area really should be off limits to 6 and above because the theme is much more suited for toddler and preschool aged children.



So, Jenna and Jillian are playing in the area. They are a little timid so I walk them over to the fort where the fun is happening. They are shy so I hang out at one of the tables just a few feet away. Offering encouragement to join in the fun but trying not to hover.  Jillian decides she doesn't much like the fort now that she has seen it up close and she comes over to my table and is content to color. Jenna is still deciding what she wants to do but stays near the fort. The kids are starting to thin out as more parents are taking their kids home. So I am sitting, watching both girls and during one of the times that I am helping Jilly with a new color or commenting on what she is creating, Jenna starts to cry. I look over and she is on the floor in tears. No big deal, Jenna is a tad on the klutzy side and she falls down a lot. I assume it was her mistake, so I go over and encourage her to get back up and continue playing. She does and I go sit down again. I am watching more closely though and within a few seconds of her calming down and going back in the fort I see this big boy (I am absolutely sure his name is Bully Bob and he was probably 5 or 6) push Jenna! It wasn't a little push either, it was a big ol' shove!! She falls forward onto the ground and immediately starts to cry...again!



I can tell you right now that the desire to pop that kid upside the head was strong!  Did you just push MY child? I don't think so, sir! Hands off you little varmint! I got up quickly, going to Jenna and in doing so I am talking very firmly to the boy. "No, no. We don't push." "We keep our hands to our self..." that sort of thing, basically trying to exhibit an enormous amount of control over my tongue as my mind was waging war. Anyways, since I am talking to Bully Bob in a firm manner (not loud, just assertive) his Mom comes over and asks "did he just push her?" Uh, yup lady...he sure did! After Bully Bob apologizes, his Mom takes him out and they leave.  One of the Dads sitting near me tells me about how Bully Bob had already pushed Jenna once (the first time she fell) and had pushed his kid as well. He was complaining that the boy's parent should have removed him several minutes ago. I agreed and wanted to ask why he didn't confront the boy or his mother when his own kid was pushed but I thought better of it.

I think I was most taken aback by my own reactions because in my mind, for that instant, Bully Bob was no longer a little kid.  He was an enemy; someone I needed to protect my child from. And while I am on one hand, pleasantly surprised by protective instincts (as a first time parent you always wonder how you will react if____ ), I am also a little bit apprehensive about what that means down the road. Jenna isn't even 2...she hasn't attended school/daycare yet....and the only bullying she has endured thus far is from her two-minute-older sister. If this is how I feel now...how am I going to feel when in elementary school she gets teased, or her best friend spreads a rumor in middle school, or her boyfriend dumps her when she is 16 (all of these are hypothetical that, by the way, I hope NEVER happen....but I'm not naive either)? All of the sudden the road ahead looks long and very much like a battlefield. I guess only time (and experiences) will tell how I handle future situations. But in all fairness I am warning you now: Bully Bob....don't you ever touch my kid again!

:)



PS: thanks for the welcome back sentiments everyone. It feels nice to be well received. :)





The Blog is Back!

It has been 6 months and 14 days...28 weeks...197 days...4,278 hours....However you add it, it has been too long. Taking time off from The Blog has been a much needed break; however, I have found that at times I dearly miss posting the comings & goings, milestones, and hilarities caused by my children. The blog was a great way to share information and an even better way to be reminded that my parental mishaps or groanings (if you will) aren't new to the "motherhood" community.  Several times now there have been stories I wanted to share via blog but felt that I couldn't or didn't want to get back into the habit of having to post consistently.

You see, The Blog began to feel like more of an obligation than a blessing. A nuisance instead of a ingenious way to share. Always living up to my "Type A" personality, I felt if I was going to have a blog that I needed to "do it right." In my mind that meant posting as much as possible, even if there was nothing to post....if there was nothing I needed to create something to post.  I forgot that the beauty of having a blog is that I GET TO CHOOSE how to write it. I can update it as often or infrequently as I feel.

So that is what I going to do. I've revamped The Blog, cleaned house (did you notice the CUTE decorations??) and committed to myself that I won't feel guilty if I don't have time to post this week (or for the next five weeks). I guess you could say that this time The Blog will be as much for others as it will be for me. :)

Until Next Time....

PS: Another obstacle in keeping the blog was going to be lack of Internet at the house. While the Internet we have is usually unreliable, Jared was able to figure out a way to get something. I will write my posts in a word document and then copy and paste to a post on days our Internet is feeling agreeable. :) Like they always say, "Something is better than nothing..."