Poop Balls

Ethan decided to take his diaper off when he was in his crib. Not a huge deal except that there were poop balls in his diaper. (It's pretty self-explanatory, but they're hard little balls of poop.) He had them all over his crib and he chucked a couple of them by Mia's crib. Thank God I caught it almost as soon as he took off his diaper. Who knows what he would have done? Little kids are so gross sometimes!

Random Pictures

I thought I would post some more pictures of the kids. Enjoy!

Being good for the picture!

Chilling.

Sitting with Dad.

Sitting with Dad.

Watching Ethan and Mia.

Sitting in the bumbo for the first time.

Mia playing with one of my dolls I had when I was little.

She LOVES my coffee cups.

Wearing Dad's gardening hat.

Happy kids...for the moment!

Being goofy.

They look guilty.

Hi!

Being goofy.

Mia loves to sit on your lap.

Being good...for the moment.

Chilling on the couch.

Photo shoot on the couch.

Ouch

I forgot to share this story when I wrote their 18 month update. I was playing with Ethan and Mia on the floor chasing them around. Ethan hopped on my back and then proceeded to bite the fleshy area on my back. It hurt SO bad that it almost brought tears to my eyes. He broke the skin and it was almost bleeding. He, of course, thought it was a big game! OUCH!

Another Tooth for Mia

Yey! She's up to six now! Her left upper tooth next to her big tooth came in!

This Weekend

We survived this past weekend. I had to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. My little sister, Sarah, and Mike's parents came down for the weekend to help out. Friday night was a little rough with Riley. She fought the bottle pretty hard but eventually gave in. Saturday and Sunday went a little smoother. I felt like a zombie the entire weekend! Sleeping during the day is hard for me to do. I'm thankful that I only have to do this every other weekend.

Riley has been sleeping through the night for the past week now. She falls asleep around 11pm and will sleep until 7 or 8am. It's so nice getting a chunk of sleep in a row!

18 Month Update

Ethan and Mia are officially 1 1/2 years old. This is both a fun and challenging age. Both kids are becoming more independent. They want to use adult forks to try and feed themselves. It takes them forever to get their food on their forks, but it's so funny to watch. They are so serious when they're doing it. They are starting to play more on their own and with each other a little bit. They make us smile and laugh every day! It's challenging because of all the temper tantrums. Neither one listens to us at all. They love to test us all of the time!

Ethan and Mia usually take one nap around noon. They sleep for about an hour. They have quiet time in their cribs around five for about 30 minutes. They usually don't fall asleep, but it's a nice time out for all of us! Both Ethan and Mia LOVE pestering our dog, Elsa, and our cat, Rusty. Both kids have been nipped at. Rusty doesn't have front claws, thank god, because Ethan and Mia would be all scratched up. This doesn't deter the two of them at all. You'd think Elsa and Rusty would hide from the two of them, but they don't.

Both kids have gotten picky when it comes to food. Ethan is definitely the worse of the two. He hardly eats anything. I'm surprised he's not skin and bones. He loves to eat oatmeal, cream of wheat, sometimes bananas, anything sweet, juice, peas, corn, and cheese puffcorn. Mia's favorite food, by far, is fruit. She would eat it all day every day! She also likes oatmeal, cream of wheat, sweets (but not as bad as Ethan), juice, peas, and cheese puffcorn.

Ethan is extremely active. He doesn't sit down from the second he wakes up until he goes to bed. The ONLY time he'll sit still is when he's tired and wants his feet or back rubbed. It's exhausting watching him! He loves playing with balls, tools, and his trucks. Every once in awhile, he'll play with one of Mia's dolls. I've caught him kissing them a few times. It makes me laugh! He would spend all day outside if I would let him. Every time we go outside, he pulls all of the solar lights off of our walkway. It gets a little old picking those up all of the time! He's started saying some new words. He says, "more" when he wants more to eat or drink. It's really funny because he almost yells it. I'm trying to teach him, "more please" but he hasn't caught on yet. He's also started saying "thank you".

Ethan is still really jealous of Riley. He'll hit her every chance he gets. He doesn't like it when I hold her at all! Ethan has started climbing on EVERYTHING. It's SO annoying. He can climb up on our kitchen chairs so I've caught him on my kitchen table and computer desk. The other day, he was on the kitchen table swinging my light fixture back and forth like a pendulum on a clock! He hasn't pushed the chairs over to the counter yet, but I'm sure that's coming. He also climbs up on the changing table and enjoys throwing all of the lotion and butt creams down. He messes with the blinds and has bent those all up. He can climb up on the toilet. He also climbs up on the top of the couch and stands up on it. He hasn't fallen off of the couch yet, but I know it's coming! He hurts himself all of the time. He has bruises everywhere! Ethan almost always wakes up crabby. It's as though he's mad he fell asleep!

Mia isn't as active as Ethan. She loves to sit and play with her dolls. She'll sit there with them for a good hour! She'll grab Riley's blanket or will find a pacifier to give her dolls. She kisses them and hugs them. She also likes playing with balls and tools, though. Mia would also spend all day outside if I let her. She's a little trickier to watch because she immediately goes for the road. She knows she's not supposed to do it because she turns around and makes sure I'm looking at her before she jets for the road. I have a feeling she thinks it's a game.

She has also learned a couple of new words. She says "all gone" and "thank you". Mia has gotten a lot better with Riley. She now kisses her quite a bit. Every once in awhile, she will try to hit her. Mia isn't interested in climbing on things. She really watches everything Ethan does. She's very observant. Mia is a little bit of a food hoarder. If I have a handful of crackers, she'll try to take every single one, where Ethan will take just one. Mia also tries to stuff them all in her mouth. She'll start choking on something and out falls 5 or 6 pieces of food. That's a lot of food to stick in a little mouth! Mia is really easy to watch. She likes to sit next to me on the couch or sit on my lap when I don't have Riley. She's never very far from me! She always wakes up in a good mood and with a smile on her face. She's a sweetie!

Taking a nap with Dad.

Playing at the water park. Neither one liked it that much, surprisingly.

Playing at the park.

Ethan loved the swing.

Mia did not like the swing!

Playing with the little tractor.

Sitting on my computer turning it on and off. He looks surprised that he got caught!

The kids love going downstairs, but Mike works during the day, so we baby gate them out. They'll sit by the gate like this a few times a day.

Wanting to go downstairs.

Playing out in the rain.

Swinging on the hammock.

Swinging on the hammock. Mia is asleep!

Playing with her dolls.

Climbing on their table.

Bugging Riley.

Goofing off.

It's Begun

Mia just brought me a potpourri ball I had on my kitchen table. The key word being ON my kitchen table. Ethan figured out how to push out our dining room chairs and can climb up on them now. Mike has gotten him off of my table now four times in 5 minutes. I remember being little and my mom had all of her dining room chairs tipped over because my little brother would push them around and climb on the counters. Are we going to have to do this?

I've also found him sitting on top of my computer in the living room. He can climb up on top of their changing table and on top of the toilet.

Riley is 3 Months Old!

Oh, how the time is flying by. Riley is smiling, laughing, and cooing a lot. She loves to lie on the floor and kick, but it can be tricky with Ethan and Mia. Once they notice she is on the floor, they're over there within seconds. Riley slept through the night for 3-4 days in a row. But then she semi-caught the cold that we all have and started waking up through the night again. Though, she's slept through the night for the past two nights, so I'm crossing my fingers! She takes little cat naps through the day but tends to wake up when I try to set her down. This can be challenging when Ethan and Mia need mommy time. Riley likes her baby bjorn, so we use that a lot. She will sit in the swing for 10-15 minutes and then wants out. She prefers to be carried around so she can look at things.

Her eyes are getting more blue. I'm guessing she's going to have blue eyes? Her hair is a blond-red color. Never in a million years did I think I was going to get two girls with light hair and blue eyes!

Grandma, Riley, and Mia

Grandma, Riley, Ethan, and Mia. Ethan and Mia are fighting over the red cell phone Mia has.

Mia giving Riley a kiss.

Trying to get a picture of Ethan and Riley. It didn't work out so well.

Hanging out on the couch.

Mia likes to bug Riley when she's kicking on the floor. She's nice to her most of the time, but I really have to watch her.

Checking out her cheeks.

My girls.

Hello.

Happy Girl!

Cheesing out!

Darn Colds

We're all sick with a nasty cold. I can't tell you how much fun it is having 2 sick toddlers and a semi-sick infant! Ethan and Mia have been coughing like crazy and their noses won't stop running (and I HATE boogers.) I feel so bad but there isn't anything I can do! Riley's nose is a little plugged up, but she isn't coughing, yet. They're all nice and crabby! Mike is almost over his cold, but mine is still here. I go back to work Friday, so I'm praying it's cleared up by then.

I can't believe I go back to work in a few days. My little sister was going to come and help out this weekend, but now it's looking like she can't. I'm not worried about the twins at all, but Riley can be pretty tough. She's a big mama's girl. The three of them put together can make for some frustrating moments. Mike's brother and cousin live in town, so if he starts getting overwhelmed, he can always ask them for help. Plus, I'll be at home but sleeping. He can also wake me up if Riley is having a meltdown. Wish us luck!

Cute Video of the Kids

Here's a video of Ethan trying to walk down the steps. Mia thinks it's pretty funny and is laughing at him the entire time.

Ethan is Going to be the Death of Me!

Well, I just got back from acute care with Ethan, AGAIN. Mike was spraying Round Up earlier in the day and left it by the front door. We went outside to check out Uncle Mark's new car, and of course, Ethan went straight for the Round Up. I took it and put it inside the garage. But, the stupid garage door was open, and within seconds, he ran straight for the Round Up. I was on the front step with Mia and didn't notice he was gone right away. I heard him crying from inside the garage. He had sprayed Round Up in his eyes, nose, and mouth. I swear, he is aging me by the second. I put him in the tub and flushed his eyes out as best as I could. The poor kid was screaming bloody murder. I guess I would be too if I were getting splashed in the face for 10 minutes. We took him into the doctor to be on the safe side. She checked him over and called poison control. She said it would have been worse if he had ingested it. Thank God he didn't do that!

My Sweet Babies

...have turned into temper-tantrum throwing little people. Hello terrible two's!

Not so Fond of the Bottle

I have to go back to work on June 19th, so we've been trying to get Riley to take a bottle. She absolutely hates the Dr. Brown's bottles and screams if we attempt to give it to her. I read that Avent is the most similar to breastfeeding, so we tried it. She actually took 4 ounces out of it tonight. She still prefers to breastfeed, but I feel relieved that she will take a bottle if needed!!

Mia and Her Dolls

Mia has really started playing with dolls in the last week. It's so cute. She carries around her cabbage patch doll and pink carrier. She'll kiss and hug her dolls. If she finds one of Riley's binkies, she'll try to give it to her doll. She'll also take Riley's blanket and put in on her doll. My girly girl!

Playing with her dolly.

Playing with her dolly.