Kiddie Jail

Well, we finally got the crib tents up this afternoon so I'm hoping they work like a charm. It's been such a battle to keep Jake in his crib, especially at nap times and in the mornings if he woke up early. Abby even picked up a few pointers and got out once.
We actually got them on Friday and set them up in the hall to let them air out and give the kids a chance to play around with them. They LOVED them! Especially Abby. They kept playing in them and couldn't stand to be in them without them zippered up.

We were so eager to put them on the cribs Saturday, but when we put the first one up it didn't fit! I knew we would have to do some modification since we don't have a "standard" crib, but it looked like we were going to have to do more than I thought. John put his thinking cap on and after a couple trips to Lowe's and Home Depot, plus a little creative engineering he finally got them up Sunday afternoon. Yeah!!!
Abby immediately wanted in them to play, but Jake was a little unsure now that it was on his crib. We just put them down for bed and so far so good. Jake cried a little and I'm expecting them to possibly cry in the middle of the night or early morning a bit as they get used to them. I'm sure it's a little scary waking up in a different place for them. I'm also happy that I can still see them with our video monitor. I thought I wouldn't be able to see them through the netting, but I can still see them for the most part. Yeah!!!

Railway Museum

It's exhausting trying to keep the kids off the coffee table, kitchen table and kitchen counter so I'm always looking for things to do out of the house so we don't spend all our time in time-out. This morning I decided to pack the kids up and head over to the Plano Railway Museum. It's not that far (downtown Plano) and it's free. They offer a story time and tour of the facility for kids on Friday mornings. We got there a bit after story time began, but that was okay. As soon as we walked up though, I saw a sign saying strollers had to be parked outside. What no strollers? Ugh! At least I brought the leashes with me. I unloaded the kids and got their packs on. We walked in and sat in back for the rest of story time. Abby loved the puppet that was telling the story (it was a dog -her favorite animal). After story time we wondered around the museum looking at toy trains and different parts they had on exhibit for the kids. We even got to go inside a train car and look around. This was the first time I had been out in public somewhere by myself with the kids out of the stroller and we all did really well. You can't be in a rush and must have a ton of patience. Don't expect to get from one point to the next fast with two 18 month olds. People always laugh when they see the leashes on the kids, but I really couldn't do it without them. They are the best thing. I can keep an eye on them both at all times and in an emergency, I can just "tug" them out of harms way. It's great!
I didn't get many pictures since the kids were walking out of the stroller, but I did manage to get a few. I should have brought our lunch though. There was a great park just outside the museum that a lot of the moms hung out at after the museum thing. I'll have to remember that next time we go.



The kids loved this model train. They would have sat their for an hour I think watching it if I would have let them.

Whoever, thought it was a good idea to put this in the middle of the museum didn't think about the kids. Those are real nails they used building the railroad, and yes, they are just sitting there so the kids can pick them up (they are still sharp) and run around with them. Not a good idea! My two also loved the rocks. Jake kept trying to eat them and Abby kept trying to steal them.

Going for a swim

Yesterday afternoon we were playing outside and Jake decided he wanted to take a swim, but I hadn't set the pool up. So, he decided he'd take a dip in the water table. Abby thought it looked like fun and joined in too! Of course, later on, they were both trying to get back in on the same side and tipped the table over. Abby thought it was funny, but Jake got very frustrated. He later climbed in, but there was no water left in the table and it wasn't as much fun. I think I'm going to turn our water table into a sand table for the winter. With fall coming I figured it's about time to put up all the summer water toys and this way they can keep one of their toys out. Not sure if it will work, but it's worth a try right?





(okay Jake's a shrimp, but not that much of one - the side Abby's on isn't as deep as the side Jake's on)

Where's Jake?

Yesterday at our check-up, the pedi mentioned that when they kids can crawl in or out of their crib it's time to move them to a bed. I mentioned that they can climb into their crib, but they've never tried to climb out. We had one scare with Abby a few weeks back where she tried to climb out while I was in there, but nothing since. None of us is ready to move the twins to beds and that's just a battle I'm so not ready to deal with yet. So I told him we'd invest in crib tents.
Well, our little babies have such good listen skills I guess because this morning at 7:30 I hear Jake crying in his room. It wasn't an abnormal cry so I took my time checking the monitor. But when I flipped it on, he wasn't in his crib! I looked in all the corners, even flipped over to Abby's and checked her bed. Nothing. Where was Jake!?! I ran into his room expecting to find him crying on the floor, but he wasn't there either. It took a second but I finally spotted him wedged between his crib and Abby's. His head was the only thing holding him between the beds! I grabbed him out from between the beds and checked him over. I think he's just fine, although he'll probably have some bruises on his chest, but at least he didn't fall onto the floor. I brought both kids to our bed for some family time and told John it was time to by the crib tents. He would rather just move them to beds, but he's not the one who will have to deal with that move. I'm so not ready to do that and am planning on keeping them in cribs until they're 3! If we had extra room, I might consider putting them in beds if I could separate them. I'm thinking that might be easier, but who knows.
So this morning I ordered two crib tents. They should be here in a few days and we'll try to assemble them best we can. Hopefully the kids aren't terrified of them. I have a feeling they might be a bit claustrophobic. Hopefully not! Once we get them set up, I'll take a few pictures of the kids in kiddie jail!

18 months old!

I can't believe the twins are 18 months old already! They are growing up so fast and doing so many new things (or really, getting into so many new things). We had our 18 month check up today and everybody looked good. The twins are about 6 or 7 months ahead developmentally which the doctor said explains some of the reason why they're getting into more things than some of their little friends the same age (Jake managed to climb on top of the stroller canopy while in the doctors office!). He said it's common for kids to go through a spurt like that and jump ahead on the charts, then they'll plateau for a while, letting everyone catch up I guess. Bad thing is though that their little brains aren't developing that much...at least the reason/logic part of the brain. The pedi just laughed and said 3 is the magic age. Everything starts to click at that age and a lot of the developmental frustrations go away. While they're learning cause and effect, they can't grasp that when they jump off a table, they'll get hurt, they only remember they have fun falling. Even if they got hurt 2 seconds ago, they will do it again and again. Ugh!
The kids did great for the doc and we only had to get 2 shots today. I even walked out of there with 1 shot (flu shot)!!! The nurses of course did me first to try and show the kids it was okay, but Abby started crying even when I got a shot! Oh what fun.
The doc is finally switching Jake to soy since he's starting to have issues with cheese and said at 2 we can try to add milk back in. Yeah! No more formula!!! We got some soy cheese last week and it tastes horrible, but I'm hoping that if it's mixed in with stuff he'll still eat it. Cheese is one of the few things he'll eat and he needs it for the protein.
The pedi is also putting Jake on Claritin for allergies. We talk about putting him on something at every visit, but I just haven't wanted to put him on the meds yet, especially after the big recall last year with cold/cough/allergy medicine for kids. He said he's getting old enough and he's starting to get lots of coughs/runny noses. Since it's prime allergy season he wants him on it for a few days to help get things cleared up and then we'll only use it as needed.
Abby is still the bigger of the two; Jake just sits at the low end of the scale. Although he does have a bigger head!
Abby - 23 lbs 2 oz / 32"
Jake - 20 lbs 10 oz / 31"

Today was a good day!

This morning I got up early and made John get up early too. He complained and grumbled the entire time. I didn't let him get me down though, today was a good day. Today we were getting a house keeper again and she was coming to do a deep clean of the entire house. She would be here at 8:30 (I picked the time) and I couldn't be happier. I was packing a lunch for the kids and planning an outing so she would have plenty of uninterrupted time to clean our house.
We managed 3 months without a housekeeper before John said we should bring one back. At first I was offended, then totally lost all motivation to keep my house clean so I decided to start looking for a house cleaner. This time I wanted an individual vs. a cleaning service so I could have the same person each time and set a time for them to come vs. them give me a window of 8 - 5. I finally found someone I liked but she was a bit more than expected. John worked our budget over and found a way for us to work her in (thanks!!!).
Two girls cleaned our house for 5 hours today!!! It looks great and I couldn't be happier. She's really sweet and is a stickler for satisfaction. If you want something done a certain way, she'll do it. Each house is different and each customer likes things done a little differently. She gets that. This is just her first cleaning so we'll see how things go each week, but I'm really happy and holding high expectations.
Thanks honey for making this happen!!!!

A Family Filled Friday: Part 2

After naps, we decided to head out to the Plano Balloon Festival. We thought the kids would get a kick out of seeing the balloons - especially our balloon obsessed Abby. It opened at 4 and we were there about 4:30. Another friend of mine who had been in the past with twins recommended we pay for the prime parking and boy was it worth it. Since we got there so early, the VIP lot, reserved for vendors, volunteers, and staff, was still open and the attendant told us we could park where ever we wanted so we decided to park right next to the gate in the VIP lot. Everyone else had special VIP hang tags, but we kept saying the attendant said we could park anywhere. We decided to chance it.
We loaded the kids up in the stroller and headed off to the park. The balloon launch was at 6 so we decided to look around at all the activities first before camping out on the hill to watch the balloons. I of course had to get some shaved ice and a funnel cake immediately. What festival/fair isn't complete without that! It was great and the kids couldn't get enough of the shaved ice. Especially Abby. She kept throwing a fit for more. There was a pretty good kids zone, but our guys were still a little young. They had a rock wall, lots of bounce houses and plenty of arts and crafts. Maybe next year they can try some of the things. It was getting close to 6 so we decided to head back up the hill to find a good spot to watch the balloon launch. John had the privilege of pushing the stroller (with kids) up the grass hill and I was so thankful he did it without complaining. The hill was uneven and steep. It was tough to push that stroller up the hill. Thank you honey!!!
I packed a dinner for us to enjoy and Abby immediately dove in. Jake decided to explore the surroundings a bit first and then came to eat. Of course, when he came to eat, Abby decided to explore so John ran around the entire time.
It's time! First up, skydivers! They had a few skydivers before the balloon launch and Jake loved watching them. He loves airplanes and points them out every time he hears one. He has the best ears for airplanes and can even hear them when we're inside or in the car. He watched in amazement the entire time. Abby however, wouldn't look in the sky at first. I finally picked her up as the skydivers were getting closer to the ground and then she saw them. She oood and awed as they came down.





John was taking pictures at first, but he was having difficulties with the camera so he was put on kid duty and I was back on the camera for the balloons. Abby LOVED the balloons and would say "Oooo" or "Wow" at each balloon. John finally took her down to the launch site for a close-up view.

They had some pretty cool characters this year like this pirate.



We tried to get a family shot, but the kids wouldn't look at the camera for anything. They were to awe-struck by the balloons behind us. So, we just have the back of their heads in this shot.

After the balloons, "Elvis" came out for some entertainment. Abby really got into it and was dancing up a storm.


After Elvis, we ventured back down hill to grab some dinner for John and I and get a closer view of the balloons that were getting ready for the night display. They had some great balloons like a monster, tree, and sunflower. It was really neat to see them up close. John wanted to take the kids on a ride, but fortunately they have a height requirement! Could you imagine taking those kids up in a balloon ride! They'd be strapped to the basket for sure. With as squirmy as they are I just know one would fall over board!!!!

They lit the balloons up to music at the end of the night. It was really neat to see them glow. At first we thought they might launch again, but it was just the music/light show.

We all had a blast and the kids did really good. They didn't get to bed until 9 Friday night (an hour and a half past their normal bedtime). Although Abby lost her paci at the festival so she was a bit cranky on the ride home.

Thanks for taking the day off John! We all had a blast!!!!!

A Family Filled Friday: Part 1

John took Friday off this week and decided to spend it with the family. Yeah!!!
We don't do many family outings, mostly I take the kids during the week to different places and then we spend time together at home on the weekend. But this week I asked John if he could take the morning off to go to the Heard Museum with me and the kids. We were going with some other PAMOM friends, but I really wanted to let the kids walk vs. take the stroller (and it's best to have one adult to one kid when they're walking in public - they always go in different directions!). He surprised me and the kids by saying he was going to take the whole day off and so we started our family fun day by heading off to the Heard Museum to see some dinosaurs, butterflies and other wild animals.
We got there about 9:30 and it was already getting hot. The kids immediately jumped out of the car and began running through the gardens. Pointing and looking at each tree, plant, flower and rock along the way. I joked with the attendant inside as we were buying our tickets that it took forever for us to get here. She asked where we came from and I said the parking lot. With two 18 month olds, we have to stop and investigate EVERYTHING! They were so cute though and very excited about the adventures ahead.
We had the butterfly farm in mind as our first stop and headed off in that direction, but before the butterflies was a petting zoo. I didn't think the kids were old enough for that (plus could you imagine the fear on those animals faces when they saw 16+ twins all between 18 months and 3 years old coming towards them!) so we opted to stay outside the fence. That worked well for the kids. They could still pet the animals and explore all they wanted with a bit of safety between them and the animals. Although Jake almost got his finger bit by a donkey. He was of course sticking his finger in the donkey's nose and apparently donkey's don't like that. We were wearing the leashes though so as soon as I saw the teeth come out and around his little finger, I yanked on the leash a bit and pulled Jake out of harms way. Whew! First catastrophe of the morning avoided!

After the petting zoo we continued on our way to the butterfly farm, but found a lot of "wild" animals along the way. They had lemurs, mongooses, monkeys, even a couple of kangaroos! Abby & Jake loved the fact that they had short fences that marked the path. They thought they made great ladders to get a more up close view of the animals.

After making our way through the wild animals, we finally arrived at the butterfly house. It was really neat and the kids enjoyed seeing all the plants. Abby really got into the butterflies, but Jake was really more interested in the rocks and dirt. Such a boy!

After the butterflies, they had a dinosaur exhibit that was really the main attraction. It was a half a mile walk to see all the dinosaurs and I didn't know if we'd make it or not, but we gave it a shot. We actually started at the end and worked backwards (we never do things the typical way). The first dinosaur was a large t-rex that moved and made loud sounds. Jake was really unsure and wanted to be held at that point. Abby was really intrigued and wanted a closer look.

But, by our fourth dinosaur, both started getting scared and started to cry. We decided to turn back since we weren't that far in to the walk yet. We really didn't want to walk half a mile carrying the kids on a gravel path in the heat! I tried to get a shot of me and the kids at the fourth dino, but it kept roaring and they wouldn't look at the camera for anything. They were also really scared and didn't trust that thing behind them!

We cut across to the picnic areas where they had toy dinosaurs the kids could sit on and play in sand. They still weren't amused.

We finally headed indoors where they had a small exhibit and some more hands on dinosaur stuff. They kids liked playing in the sand with the toys.

We had a really fun morning with dad, and the day wasn't over! We headed out to eat pizza and then it was back home for our nap! What would the afternoon bring?

A battle of wills

Well, today the kids finally figured out how to climb on all the couches and coffee table without a step up (in the past they had just pushed a toy to what they wanted to climb on and then used that as a ladder). Our couches are higher than most and so we've enjoyed not having to battle them on the couch. Ours our such wild monkeys that I new it would be exhausting to chase them off the couches. And it was!!!! First they climbed onto my big chair and then proceeded to climb up to the kitchen cabinet to play with the faucet and phone. Then they climbed up the coffee table. They love to stand on that and run around. Then it was off to the couch against the wall to play with the blinds. If they'd just sit it wouldn't be bad, but mine climb all over everything (and fall all the time). I'm hoping it will take only a week of non-stop removal from the couches to break them of this. John thinks I'm being optimistic and it will take years! I sure hope I'm right. Right now, they do it constantly so I can't get anything done and basically just have to sit on the couch to monitor them. When I'm on the couch, they quickly become bored and run off to play. But the second I get up, they're back on the couch.
It's truly going to be a battle of the wills and I hope I win. Lord please help us all. We all know I'll need the strength and persistence to keep up with these two!!!

Jump, Jump, Jump!

This Monday I took the kids to a bounce house place. PAMOM had reserved the facility for a few hours and I thought the kids would have fun. It was for kids 4 and under so I was really happy about that. The last time we took the kids to a bounce house place was for Noah's birthday in April and even five year old kids were too rambunctious for my guys.
The place was awesome and for about $5 the kids got to run around wild for an hour and a half.

When we first got there they headed straight for the cars. Throughout our time there, they kept hogging the cars. They'd play in them, then run around a bit, then come back to the cars. If another poor kid was in them, they'd either push the kid out, or stare them down.



They had a fun obstacle course for the youngest crowd. My guys ran all through this and really enjoyed the little slide. They'd climb up and slide head first over and over.





Then they saw the giant slide and wanted to do that. The first few times we went down it together, but then they took off on their own and actually came down on their own. See Jake at the very top? Abby was on the other side sliding down too, but I didn't get a picture of her...she was too fast!

Spill proof cups...HA!

Okay, whoever invented the spill proof snack bowls obviously did not test them with actual children. These things are a joke! I got them as my two like their independence and that means they get to run around with snacks. I know I should limit snacks to their high chairs, but sometimes they want to snack and play at the same time and if I put them in their chairs to snack they scream and throw the food on the floor so I thought snack bowls would be perfect. Well, the first time they used them it was great. After that, they became the main piece of a crazy little game.


What happened! Those are supposed to be spill proof. I don't think there's anything left in the bowl!


Oh no...it's the start of the crazy game. Hold the flaps open and shake, shake, shake!


The dogs LOVE this game. I actually think they are in on the game with the kids.


In theory, the child sticks their hand through the flapped opening pulling out what they want. Obviously mine didn't get the memo on that.

Jake and his trio

Well, I posted earlier about how Abby has tons of babies and loves them all. She likes to sleep with them and carry them everywhere. Well, Jake has "babies" too, sort of. It's really his trio of paci's. When the kids were super little, we got them WubbaNubs to help them sleep...they're pacifiers with stuffed toys attached. The weight of the toy is supposed to help the paci stay in their mouth better. They worked pretty well and Jake grew especially fond of them. As the kids got older and more mobile in their cribs, we got extra paci's to put in the crib so they could find a paci where ever they rolled. Jake obviously doesn't need that now, he can sit up and look for his paci, grab it, then lay back down, but we've created a little monster. He now has to have all three! One for his mouth and one in each hand. If he's really upset, he needs all three...there's something about having them in his hands that feels comforting to him. Once we break him of his paci's, I think we're probably going to have to do it one at a time!


They like to put their toys in the dog bowls and then carry them around. I've even caught them trying to pick their toys up with their mouths...imitating the dogs!


Jake takes a quick break...this morning Abby got up at 7:30 and normally they sleep in till 8. I don't think Jake was really quite ready to get up.

Happy Grandparent's Day!

Okay - I couldn't decide between these two and did both.


Jake and Abby are really lucky and have the best grandparents in the world. They love hanging out with everyone and we really couldn't ask for anything more. We have all loved this past year and can't wait to see what this next year brings. Especially with a new little one on the way, I'm thinking there will be lots of trips to grandparents the kids will go on! Boy will they have a rude awakening in another 6 months! They've lead a very calm, structured life thus far, but I have a feeling change will be the norm soon. Poor things will need lots of love from their grandparents!