Now that the twins are mobile they seem to play more together. This is very cute, and we love to watch them seek the other out. They both seek Emily out, however Eli is the one who constantly follows Emily around and copies her every move. I love this first video because it not only shows Emily playing her favorite thing (she calls it "dance party" and it basically involves turning the music up and dancing around the living room as she sings in to a pretend microphone) but it also shows how sometimes having a twin can be troublesome.
Eli is definitely mobile. He is walking around everywhere. The biggest motivator to walk is that he can get to where he wants to go with the ball in his hand. He would get upset when he'd have to put his ball down to crawl. Now he is often found walking around with his ball. What a typical boy!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Kids live here
Today's been a lovely lazy day at our house. While our family is a family of "do-ers and go-ers" we also very much enjoy to just be home with each other. I love our home, and was thinking today about how a house reflects the interests of the occupiers. Several times today I caught myself admiring the evidence of our interests, and all I could think was, "Kids live here."
I noted some of my noticings below. Some are funny, others are odd, and some resulted in a mental cleaning list.
- I always wanted the T.V. to be in an armoire so it could be closed in and out of sight, so when we bought new livingroom furniture five years ago, we bought a big armoire to hold the T.V. with big doors that enclose it. Well, those doors now stay open, and are pulled all the way back on the hinge. This is for two reasons: 1.) When Emily is dancing around to music in the livingroom, she likes to see her reflection in the screen and 2.) Eli likes to wait for Elsie to stand in front of the T.V. and then close the doors on her head.
- Our eat-in kitchen is a toy/sitting room. Scott and I have two chairs in the corners, and toys line the walls in big toy furniture bins. This screams "kids live here."
- Smudges. There are smudges all over, and no matter how often I clean, they always return. Some smudges to note are the twins' mouth and nose smudges on both the storm door in the front, and the french doors to the backyard. Other smudges are the snot smudges that are smeared on the "time-out" wall. It took me forever to figure out where the glossy marks on the wall were coming from until one day when Emily was in time out. She was sitting cross-legged and rocking on her legs from side to side, wiping her snotty nose from one end to another. Gross? Yes. And certainly an indication that kids do in fact live here.
- The tub in the upstairs bathroom is full of toys. Never mind the giant giraffe painted on the wall.
- There is whole milk in the refrigerator. I don't know who else drinks this stuff. Nasty gross, but somehow my babies love it.
- In our backyard we have a swing set/structure with a slide, a trampoline, and baby ladder and slide, a water table, a sprinkler mat for the babies, a sandbox, and two plastic picnic tables. It looks like a Little Tykes Factory threw up back there, but our kids love it!
- There's a mini-van parked out in front.
- We have very little art hanging on the walls. Instead we have lots of pictures of our kids. We like it this way.
- Every cabinet requires a certain skill to open. Sometimes the potential opener has to press down on a hidden tab, and other times a magnet is required to retrieve the contents of the cabinet.
- And finally, you can tell kids live here because of the sounds. Sometimes its not good sounds, like crying, fussiness, or a parent at the end of a fuse. But most of the time its baby babble, giggling, or the days events being told by Emily. I think our house has good sounds. As I type right now I hear Scott through the baby monitor. Eli is talking babble to him, while Elsie fusses away. He is going back and forth between making silly sounds to Eli, and making comforting sounds to Elsie. Our house definitely indicates that kids live here.
I noted some of my noticings below. Some are funny, others are odd, and some resulted in a mental cleaning list.
- I always wanted the T.V. to be in an armoire so it could be closed in and out of sight, so when we bought new livingroom furniture five years ago, we bought a big armoire to hold the T.V. with big doors that enclose it. Well, those doors now stay open, and are pulled all the way back on the hinge. This is for two reasons: 1.) When Emily is dancing around to music in the livingroom, she likes to see her reflection in the screen and 2.) Eli likes to wait for Elsie to stand in front of the T.V. and then close the doors on her head.
- Our eat-in kitchen is a toy/sitting room. Scott and I have two chairs in the corners, and toys line the walls in big toy furniture bins. This screams "kids live here."
- Smudges. There are smudges all over, and no matter how often I clean, they always return. Some smudges to note are the twins' mouth and nose smudges on both the storm door in the front, and the french doors to the backyard. Other smudges are the snot smudges that are smeared on the "time-out" wall. It took me forever to figure out where the glossy marks on the wall were coming from until one day when Emily was in time out. She was sitting cross-legged and rocking on her legs from side to side, wiping her snotty nose from one end to another. Gross? Yes. And certainly an indication that kids do in fact live here.
- The tub in the upstairs bathroom is full of toys. Never mind the giant giraffe painted on the wall.
- There is whole milk in the refrigerator. I don't know who else drinks this stuff. Nasty gross, but somehow my babies love it.
- In our backyard we have a swing set/structure with a slide, a trampoline, and baby ladder and slide, a water table, a sprinkler mat for the babies, a sandbox, and two plastic picnic tables. It looks like a Little Tykes Factory threw up back there, but our kids love it!
- There's a mini-van parked out in front.
- We have very little art hanging on the walls. Instead we have lots of pictures of our kids. We like it this way.
- Every cabinet requires a certain skill to open. Sometimes the potential opener has to press down on a hidden tab, and other times a magnet is required to retrieve the contents of the cabinet.
- And finally, you can tell kids live here because of the sounds. Sometimes its not good sounds, like crying, fussiness, or a parent at the end of a fuse. But most of the time its baby babble, giggling, or the days events being told by Emily. I think our house has good sounds. As I type right now I hear Scott through the baby monitor. Eli is talking babble to him, while Elsie fusses away. He is going back and forth between making silly sounds to Eli, and making comforting sounds to Elsie. Our house definitely indicates that kids live here.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sleepy Babies
We had a play date with friends last week. By the time our little friends left, the twins were too tired for lunch. Luckily, I had my iPod handy and caught Elsie before she drifted off to sleep!
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
My Funny Kid
So this morning Emily was really in rare form. The make-believe play was fabulous, and I was cracking up all morning. Not only was pretending to be "She-Ra, the secret agent from Romania," but then she was pretending to be "Caroline, the poor mother of sixteen children without any food."
When she was "Caroline" she walked in wearing one of Scott's old ratty t-shirts over her clothes, and a dish towel wrapped around her head. She told me she was "gleaning" the fields. I wondered if perhaps she'd been taught the story of Ruth in Sunday school the other day, because that's really what she looked like, except "Caroline" had sixteen children, who were all hungry.
My little Old Testament character and I had a wonderful little conversation that made me giggle. I thought I would share.
Emily, uh, I mean Caroline came in to the room and said:
Caroline: Oh poor me. I am just so hungry, and I don't know what to do about feeding my sixteen children.
Me: Oh, you poor old lady. Do you need some help?
Caroline: Well, its just that we have such a long journey ahead of us, and not a camel is to spare. And my kids are so hungry.
Me: I don't have a camel to give you, but I can give you some fresh spinach and carrots to help feed your children.
Caroline: None of my children like carrots or spinach. Do you have any cheeseburgers?
Me: Nope. I only have fresh veggies.
Caroline: My kids don't like most fresh veggies. They only like fresh asparagus sauteed with mustard. Do you have any of that?
Me: Sounds like your children are picky eaters who must not be too hungry! Sorry, I have no asparagus or mustard.
Caroline: (deep sigh) Well, I guess we'll be on our way. We have to get on a boat for 62 days and we will have no food. (deep sigh)
When she was "Caroline" she walked in wearing one of Scott's old ratty t-shirts over her clothes, and a dish towel wrapped around her head. She told me she was "gleaning" the fields. I wondered if perhaps she'd been taught the story of Ruth in Sunday school the other day, because that's really what she looked like, except "Caroline" had sixteen children, who were all hungry.
My little Old Testament character and I had a wonderful little conversation that made me giggle. I thought I would share.
Emily, uh, I mean Caroline came in to the room and said:
Caroline: Oh poor me. I am just so hungry, and I don't know what to do about feeding my sixteen children.
Me: Oh, you poor old lady. Do you need some help?
Caroline: Well, its just that we have such a long journey ahead of us, and not a camel is to spare. And my kids are so hungry.
Me: I don't have a camel to give you, but I can give you some fresh spinach and carrots to help feed your children.
Caroline: None of my children like carrots or spinach. Do you have any cheeseburgers?
Me: Nope. I only have fresh veggies.
Caroline: My kids don't like most fresh veggies. They only like fresh asparagus sauteed with mustard. Do you have any of that?
Me: Sounds like your children are picky eaters who must not be too hungry! Sorry, I have no asparagus or mustard.
Caroline: (deep sigh) Well, I guess we'll be on our way. We have to get on a boat for 62 days and we will have no food. (deep sigh)
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Scott's Beingnets
This morning when I woke up to a fabulous smell. When I walked downstairs I saw Scott standing in the kitchen over a plate of these warm wonderful beignets. The twins woke early this morning and since Scott was already up, he decided to make them from scratch.
I came and took a seat in my chair, and Scott quickly brought me a plate with a hot cup of coffee. He was anxious to see what I thought, and I was anxious to take a bite. They were wonderful!
I came and took a seat in my chair, and Scott quickly brought me a plate with a hot cup of coffee. He was anxious to see what I thought, and I was anxious to take a bite. They were wonderful!
Friday, July 02, 2010
Carolina/Clemson Rivalry
College sports in our town are huge. We live in the South Carolina where every citizen cheers for one of two teams: the USC Gamecocks, or the Clemson Tigers. During football season cars go down the interstate with decals, stickers, magnets and flags shouting their allegiance to their team. Our PTO meetings at school are planned around home games. And restaurants advertise their "tale-gating specials" as the entire city seems to tale gate beginning hours before a game. The rivalry between the two teams is huge. One of my friends is engaged to a man who went to Clemson. She is a Carolina (USC) grad. Before every rivalry game, the two bet against each other's team. The loser has to sport a sticker from the opposing team on their car for three weeks. This is just an example of the fun rivalry in our state.
Scott and I are not big football fans, but I enjoy watching a good football or baseball game. We claim to be Gamecock fans, just because we pay Scott's doctoral tuition to the school, and we might as well enjoy the fun that comes with following a college team. Of course this last week the Gamecocks won the college world series. This was a huge feat, and a major celebration in our town. Not only did over 14,000 fans welcome the team as they returned to town, but our governor ordered the Gamecock flag to be flown above the statehouse. And of course a parade is being scheduled.
But one picture I saw really made me giggle as I considered the rivalry between the two schools. Carolina beat Clemson earlier in the series. I thought this was fun to share!
Scott and I are not big football fans, but I enjoy watching a good football or baseball game. We claim to be Gamecock fans, just because we pay Scott's doctoral tuition to the school, and we might as well enjoy the fun that comes with following a college team. Of course this last week the Gamecocks won the college world series. This was a huge feat, and a major celebration in our town. Not only did over 14,000 fans welcome the team as they returned to town, but our governor ordered the Gamecock flag to be flown above the statehouse. And of course a parade is being scheduled.
But one picture I saw really made me giggle as I considered the rivalry between the two schools. Carolina beat Clemson earlier in the series. I thought this was fun to share!
Blueberry Picking
Fruit picking has quickly become one our family traditions... Strawberries in the spring, blueberries in the summer, and apples in the fall. This morning we headed out to Lexington to pick blueberries. Grammy got to go pick apples with us a couple years ago, and this was the first time she was in town to pick blueberries with us.
We had a great time, broken leg and all. We learned from yesterday's shopping experience and brought a beach chair with us. Grammy pulled the wagon with the twins, and Scott carried all our gear. Once we found a great picking spot, he put my chair down and I was in charge of picking the low blueberries. The system worked out great, and we ended up with nearly 8lbs!
Eli and Elsie quickly figured out that the green blueberries don't taste as fabulous as the deep blue ones. We put bibs on them and let them eat them straight from the bushes. They thought this was fabulous!
They were much more interested in what was going on than last year! What change a year can bring!
eI'm sure we will have several blueberry recipes to come, however I know my family looks forward to our favorite blueberry buckle recipe!
What a fun day!
P.S. Daddy was with us too, however Scott was very much interested in picking as many blueberries as possible. I guess he realized that with a five year old, twins, and a mommy with a broken leg our blueberry picking potential was minimal.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Today's adventures with Grammy
Today we decided to go out and do a few things. You may be surprised to know everything we did, and when I tell you, you may wonder how in the world we did it all with my broken leg. Let me just say this: I'm glad we all had a sense of humor about it all. But I will get to that in a minute.
First of all we decided to go and get Eli's hair cut for the first time. We took him to this awesome place in Forrest Acres called Hair Doodles. I have to say I was a little nervous that he would throw a huge fit. However, the lady that cut his hair did an awesome job. First of all, she had a special seat for him. She got him all strapped in and then she gave him a small cup of animal cookies. She also gave him a toy with buttons. Eli loves buttons. How could he not have a great time? Cookies and a toy and he was ready to go! I have to say that Jenny from Hair Doodles did a magnificent job. And Eli did a magnificent job at staying still... or as still as a fourteen month old little boy can manage. Looks pretty good, don't you think?
Next we went to Chipotle. This is the only Chipotle anywhere near us, so whenever we trek out to Forrest Acres, Chipotle is always the lunch spot of choice. The babies and Emily ate quesadillas, and the rest of us had burritos. It was fabulous as always.
After that we drove back to our side of town to do some shopping. We went in to Kohl's to look for some baby things for Miss Elsie Faith. We thought she would stay in her twelve month clothes a little longer, but her rolly polly legs didn't allow for it. She is officially in 18 month clothes. We also wanted to get Emily some new "First Day of Kindergarten" outfits.
Well, here is where we run in to the problem. I have no problem going in to Chipotle, and other places and soon finding a seat. Getting from point A to point B doesn't bother me. But when I'm standing around on my crutches for a long time, my one leg gets tired.
We first walked in to Kohl's and I automatically began thinking, "Wow. This store is much bigger than I remember." I guess everything seems bigger and farther away when you have to rely on crutches. After just a little while standing around and shopping for baby clothes, my leg began to hurt because it was so tired. I kept trying to mentally chant to myself, "You are a flamingo. Think like a flamingo." But it just didn't work. Finally I told my mom that I would just wait in the car. I didn't want to ruin everybody else's fun and make them leave, so I thought waiting in the car was a good solution.
But Grammy didn't agree one little bit.
She told me no, that waiting in the car would not work, and she immediately got that "I'm thinking of a plan" look on her face. I started to object, but she put up her finger to remind me once again that she would not take no for an answer. The next thing I know she tells me to "wait right here" and she took off in the opposite direction.
We already went by customer service and found they had no accommodations to help a one-legged mommy shop, so I couldn't figure out what in the world Grammy was up to. The next thing I know she returns holding one of these:
That's right. Grammy went to the outdoor furniture section and found a chair for me to sit in. After we finished in one section of the store, Scott would wheel the babies in the stroller over to the new section, I would crutch myself behind, and Grammy was followed, dragging the outdoor lounge chair behind her.
Yep. That's our Grammy. She doesn't take "no" for an answer.
The best part about this story was telling my dad. I told him the entire story and as he cracked up in the phone, he said, "Yep. We're from Taft!" Hysterical. Absolutely hysterical!
The final part of our day was when we stopped for ice cream. Marble Slab is one of my favorites. Its like Cold Stone, but local, and much better. Scott stayed in the car with the twins while we went in and ordered our ice cream. When we returned to the car Scott mentioned that the twins were getting pretty fussy. Once again Grammy had the situation under control. Don't you like how she handled it?
First of all we decided to go and get Eli's hair cut for the first time. We took him to this awesome place in Forrest Acres called Hair Doodles. I have to say I was a little nervous that he would throw a huge fit. However, the lady that cut his hair did an awesome job. First of all, she had a special seat for him. She got him all strapped in and then she gave him a small cup of animal cookies. She also gave him a toy with buttons. Eli loves buttons. How could he not have a great time? Cookies and a toy and he was ready to go! I have to say that Jenny from Hair Doodles did a magnificent job. And Eli did a magnificent job at staying still... or as still as a fourteen month old little boy can manage. Looks pretty good, don't you think?
Next we went to Chipotle. This is the only Chipotle anywhere near us, so whenever we trek out to Forrest Acres, Chipotle is always the lunch spot of choice. The babies and Emily ate quesadillas, and the rest of us had burritos. It was fabulous as always.
After that we drove back to our side of town to do some shopping. We went in to Kohl's to look for some baby things for Miss Elsie Faith. We thought she would stay in her twelve month clothes a little longer, but her rolly polly legs didn't allow for it. She is officially in 18 month clothes. We also wanted to get Emily some new "First Day of Kindergarten" outfits.
Well, here is where we run in to the problem. I have no problem going in to Chipotle, and other places and soon finding a seat. Getting from point A to point B doesn't bother me. But when I'm standing around on my crutches for a long time, my one leg gets tired.
We first walked in to Kohl's and I automatically began thinking, "Wow. This store is much bigger than I remember." I guess everything seems bigger and farther away when you have to rely on crutches. After just a little while standing around and shopping for baby clothes, my leg began to hurt because it was so tired. I kept trying to mentally chant to myself, "You are a flamingo. Think like a flamingo." But it just didn't work. Finally I told my mom that I would just wait in the car. I didn't want to ruin everybody else's fun and make them leave, so I thought waiting in the car was a good solution.
But Grammy didn't agree one little bit.
She told me no, that waiting in the car would not work, and she immediately got that "I'm thinking of a plan" look on her face. I started to object, but she put up her finger to remind me once again that she would not take no for an answer. The next thing I know she tells me to "wait right here" and she took off in the opposite direction.
We already went by customer service and found they had no accommodations to help a one-legged mommy shop, so I couldn't figure out what in the world Grammy was up to. The next thing I know she returns holding one of these:
That's right. Grammy went to the outdoor furniture section and found a chair for me to sit in. After we finished in one section of the store, Scott would wheel the babies in the stroller over to the new section, I would crutch myself behind, and Grammy was followed, dragging the outdoor lounge chair behind her.
Yep. That's our Grammy. She doesn't take "no" for an answer.
The best part about this story was telling my dad. I told him the entire story and as he cracked up in the phone, he said, "Yep. We're from Taft!" Hysterical. Absolutely hysterical!
The final part of our day was when we stopped for ice cream. Marble Slab is one of my favorites. Its like Cold Stone, but local, and much better. Scott stayed in the car with the twins while we went in and ordered our ice cream. When we returned to the car Scott mentioned that the twins were getting pretty fussy. Once again Grammy had the situation under control. Don't you like how she handled it?
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