Happy Birthday to my babies!

Happy Birthday to my babies.

Two years ago, on this day,
my life was changed forever.
I became the mother of Twins.


Ava and Alex are such blessings.
And proof that I can handle anything!

God Bless you both on your 2nd Birthday.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mommy, Daddy and Robert

Backwards: the new black.

Robert has been doing a great job dressing himself. Sometimes backwards and sometimes inside out, as long as it's on, it's all good. It's all all about independence here.

Last week when I dropped him off at child care at the gym, I removed his coat and noticed his shirt was on backwards. I mentioned it out loud and then looked down to see that his pants were backwards too. Anxious to play, he ran away from me and I shrugged my shoulders at the women who worked there with a 'Whatever."
When I picked him up, his clothes had been turned around. I suddenly felt like "That bad Mom." But only for a second. You see, once you have 3 kids (and 2 at once!), you just don't care about things the way you used to.

On Saturday, I took Robert to a birthday party at ChuckECheese, aka Hell. (deserves a separate blog post) As we were getting acquainted, I took notice of one of Robert's friends standing next to his dad. His corduroys were not only backwards, but unzipped and unbuttoned! I cant be positive, but I think his shoes might have been on the wrong feet, too!

Phew. Glad to know we're normal. Well, maybe not, but at least we've come a long way from this.

Bad kid or Bad mom?

Every family has a 'bad kid,' right? Please tell me it's true. Alex is my 'bad one' and I am already filled with excitement for the days when he's grown and I get to tell him just how bad he was.
Alex will be two on Saturday. I know boys can be curious and tend to look for trouble at this age, but really, this kid gives new meaning to the phrase "Terrible Twos." Let me explain:

We must now keep ALL doors locked - both upstairs and downstairs, bedrooms and bathrooms. This is because once Alex enters a room, there is no way of knowing what he will destroy.

He has recently become obsessed with water and will do anything to get some. This includes scooping it from the toilet. So, the bathroom doors will remain locked until further notice.(which has birthed a new problem - Robert, who often waits too long until he decides he has to go potty, now has to wait an extra minute until the door is unlocked.)

Along the line of water and locking things, Alex watches us when we use the water dispenser on the refrigerator in hopes that we might forget to lock it and he'll have an opportunity to score more of the wet stuff. Even better, he can get it in ice form, which he considers the perfect snack.

Last week, both Alex and Ava were stricken with a terrible stomach virus. Ava had it first. Alex was enamored by Ava's "spitting" in a bucket, and decided it would be fun to take a swig and then spit the contents of his sippy cup into any vessel he could find. We found juice in many places last week, including the kitchen sink of the play kitchen, which he managed to fill completely. That must have been hard work!

All dishes must now be washed by hand. Alex has learned to unlock and remove all dishes from the dishwasher. He uses said dishes to collect water. He also favors silverware and tupperware.

All remote controls and toys which contain batteries must be out of reach. Alex likes to open the backs, remove the batteries and then break the clips that allow the back to stay on. Most of our remotes are taped up now.

Last week, Alex unplugged a laptop computer that sat on the kitchen island. He tried to plug it back in, and electrocuted himself in the process. All outlets are covered (they usually are anyway, but we have to take special care to make sure we re-cover any that we remove) Also, this is another good reason to wash all silverware by hand.

Alex has always been a climber. He pushes chairs across the room to get stuff from the cabinets or to climb on to the counters (to reach the high cabinets) He will stack toy bins or other toys to reach whatever it is that he wants.
He used the "Grabby Grab Game" to reach Robert's flashlight which sat high on a bookshelf in his room. He then disassembled the flashlight and ate the light bulb. I am still frightened about it. He will eat anything that is small enough to fit in his mouth and will bite you - hard - when you try to scoop it out.
If you remember, he tends to pass things rather easily, so I'm not sure why I am so bothered by this.

I'm not sure what else he will manage to get himself into, as everyday is a new surprise for us. But I've learned that he is capable of anything... and we probably should sign him up to be a tester for child safety products.

Wordless Wednesday

Robert

Robert is a tiny version of his dad.
He has just discovered the computer and the magic that is noggin.com. He taught himself how to navigate the site (with the mouse-r) and it keeps him entertained for hours.
Robert can dress himself - often inside out and backwards, but that's okay.

At least 50 times each day he says "Mommy, I love you." I want to save them all up for when he is a teenager and tells me that hates me.

Robert eats 4 things. Cereal (Life or Rice Krispies), Peanut Butter and Jelly, Grilled Cheese and chicken nuggets. He will eat pasta, but it must have just the right amount of red gravy. Spaghetti is not pasta, it's spaghetti. And Pasta must be straight lines (Penne) PB&J must be cut in Square or rectangles (no crust) and Grilled Cheese is cut in triangles.
His most favorite drink is Orange Juice. He drinks it all day long. He never gets sick.

Robert's best friends at school at Mikey and TJ. His teachers call them the 3 musketeers. To me, the three of them together are trouble.
Most school days, Robert brings home drawings on green construction paper. One day, he brought home a drawing on yellow paper - they ran out of green. For months, I thought his school only provided green paper for the children to draw on. I was wrong. Robert loves all things green. And the number 3 - "because I'm 3 years old."

For Christmas, Santa brought Robert a bike, but he hasn't figured out how to pedal yet. We're working on it.
He just figured out how to work the remote control, which has been a time saver for us!

Robert loves his brother and sister. He corrects you if you call them "the babies" and politely says "they're toddlers." He and Ava are always hugging and the three of them play together so nicely.

He's the big brother that any kids would want.
And I couldn't have asked for a better kid either.

Ava

Ava is sassy these days. I find myself not knowing which Ava will wake up from nap - the sassy diva or the sweet innocent little girl. I love them both.
She is tough with her brothers. She totally stands her ground and will always get what she wants. (hmm, wonder where she gets that from) Still, she is, and always will be, Daddy's girl.

Ava is saying more words, but mostly she just points and says "Eh." She knows the color purple and thinks every color is purple. She plays nicely alone - loves her kitchen set and her baby dolls - oh and her dress ups, too. She has been known to wear 2 tu-tus at once, while sporting her pink barbie high heels. She loves shoes and wears her pink mammoth crocs to bed whenever she can get away with it. Last night at Grandmom's she saw all the shoeboxes in her closet and simply said "Wow." She's way more girly than I ever was. But she can still beat up her brothers.

She loves Blues Clues and Little Bear. She likes to eat salad and drink chocolate milk. She will claim to be finished eating and upon leaving the table, she'll grab a fist full of food 'for the road.'

She gives the best hugs - and taps her fingers on my neck as she pulls me close. She'll blow you away with the kisses she throws. She does it to me every night.

She is a monster outside of the house - hates the shopping cart and loves to make a scene. She absolutely hates when anyone sings and will scream at the top of her lungs until it ceases. Happy Birthday will be fun this year.

A Sasssy Diva indeed - no matter how much I deny it.

Alex

Alex has a word he uses when he doesn't know what something is called. The word is "CatPee." Yes, Catpee.

He is talking more and more. He can make a few sentences and says "Robert" as clear as day. He even says "I'm a mess." which is very appropriate about 90% of the time.

Alex goes through an average of 3 outfits each day. He always managing to spill something, sit on something or step on something. He really should just wear a smock. Or better yet, just a diaper. Although when he does not have a onesie on, he has been known to strip down completely.

Alex has started a new habit. He puts the silverware back in the drawer when he is finished eating. For days I have been finding dirty silverware thrown randomly into the drawer. He is shorter than the drawer so he must toss it over his head.
The reason I haven't been able to prevent this from happening? Alex is ALWAYS the last one left at the table at dinner. He finishes off what is on everyone else's plate while the rest of us have moved on, playing, or in my case cleaning up the dinner mess. I suppose putting the silverware "away" is his contribution to cleaning the kitchen.

He is my domestic boy. He loves the vacuum cleaner and once took a nap with a few of the attachments. He likes to use the swiffer and the dust buster too. And if he gets his hands on some wipes, hell start cleaning anything he can find.

He is still my Momma's Boy. I love to take him out - just me and him. I can let him walk and he won't stray too far. He says "hi" to anyone who walks by and he is such a pleasure to be around.

Meanwhile, at home he is a different creature...