Tuesday, May 31, 2011

A few updates...






1. Over Memorial Day weekend we potty trained Gwen. She took to it pretty quickly and was thrilled to wear her big girl underwear. Go Gwen! Mommy's little girl is growing up! The funniest part of training was when she decorated a box and filled it with diapers for her baby brother. She then played with the box by pushing it around with her animals on top. Finally, she started standing on it at the very second that she had her first accident. The box was covered with a puddle of pee and gwen said: "I very wet, mommy. Big puddle".

2. Cole has a new obsession with carrots. He hasn't been eating great over the past few weeks (he always says: "other snack, mama" "other food, mama") but the other day Andy asked him what he wated to eat and he said: "carrots". Cole then asked for a "bigger carrot" so Daddy let him pick his own. he chose 8 carrots and ate them and then wanted 2 more!

3. Cole has been very excited about his library books. He has to have them in his room when he sleeps and he always piles them up in a perfect little pile. His favorite books involve construction equipment, dinosaurs, and dump trucks. He knows every word in each book and can sit for hours reading by himself.

4. The kids helped daddy wash the cars the other day. They have been having such a fun time now that the weather is nice and they're old enough to enjoy the sprinkler, water table and hose. Cole often gets so cold that he is shivering but he still refuses to stop playing. Gwen enjoys making pretend ice cream sundaes and other random things with her buckets/shovels etc. Both kids scoop the water and water everything in our backyard from their sunflowers to the compost bin!

5. Over the weekend, Cole and Gwen had fun with Nana and Pap Pap while mommy and daddy went to IKEA to get some furniture for the new nursery.

6. We have been trying to spend more one on one time with the kids recently. Gwen and daddy ran errands on monday and mommy and Cole did the same. We also played at the playground separately. It is very nice and much easier to pay attention to one child's needs at a time :)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Mayfair 2011





Yesterday evening we decided to take the kids to Mayfair at Cedar Beach. We had never been but since Andy won a free ticket at work we decided to check it out. Cole and Gwen lit up as soon as we made it through the gate and saw a man handing out balloons. They were happy to stay in their stroller and look at all of the people and listen to the music. We went to the children's section and they danced around while listening to Miss Maggie.

A Day of Firsts

On Tuesday, 5/24/11, the kids experienced a few firsts. In the morning we went to a playdate and the kids had the opportunity to jump in a moon bounce for the first time. I was surprised that they hopped right in and bounced, giggled, etc. with mommy close by (Cole has been a mommy's boy recently and often doesn't want to leave my side especially in new environments). After bath I painted Gwen's toenails. She and I had gone to the store the other day and she chose a light lavender color for her first pedicure. She was SO excited about her pretty toes and was scared that she was going to hurt them that she refused to put socks on to sleep that night!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

News Flash: We Have Seen Some Sunlight!





This weekend the weather has been pretty nice. Yesterday we decided to head to Lone Lane playground in the morning and Cole and Gwen enjoyed climbing up the playground equipment and going down the "twisty slides" with Daddy. After naps, we moved all of the kids outdoor toys from the basement to the patio and they had a blast splashing in the water table, riding in the coupe car and exploring for "insects". Gwen seems to direct a lot of their play. She kept saying: "come Cole. Come sit here next to me" and "Let's make handprints". He usually follows right behind her when she asks him too (and sometimes when she does not ask).

Today (Sunday) we decided to explore a park in Macungie for the first time. The kids loved chasing rabbits and ducks. They also had fun looking for insects and running over the bridges. Almost all of the pictures that i took show animals being run off by our two little monsters! (Look carefully at the pics to see a scared bunny running away and a duck flying away)

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!






the kids have been singing this daily for the past week for a good reason-- the darn rain just will not let up! Some people may wonder how we manage to entertain two 2.5 year olds on rainy days... Let's just say there is been a lot of creative play. Cole started using his "super duper computer" to help him move his super letters on the fridge. We have played with all of his tools non-stop and have read books like Hush Little Digger until mommy could no longer read/sing. We've played many rounds of "Ring around the Rosy" and have made many trains out of pillows! We have also managed to go outside in our rain gear and jump in MANY puddles. One evening, daddy and i held umbrellas and stood on either side of a puddle in the road so the kids could jump, jump, jump and splash, splash, splash!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sometimes...



parenting involves laughing instead of crying! Last night Cole and Gwen decided to give us a run for our money. We got them all snuggled into their beds when they proudly announced: "Eat! hungry, mama!". At this point we looked at each other and knew that even though we didn't think they were actually hungry, we needed to feed them. Daddy brought pretzels up to the bathroom and instructed the kids to sit on their name stools to eat. Two toddlers cannot sit still long enough to eat an entire pretzel stick so they decided to play with the only things in the area-- the shower curtain and the bathtub! Mommy and daddy had to laugh even though we really just wanted some down time!

Monday, May 16, 2011

We Bought a New Car...




or shall we say 'minivan'? AND...gwen assumed that it was coming complete with a baby since we had told them that we were getting a new car so the baby would fit! Thankfully she wasn't too upset that her baby brother wasn't here yet. Instead she, and Coleman, had fun jumping around in the backseats and opening/closing the sliders. They also had fun sitting in their carseats inside the house while daddy was cleaning all of the crumbs out of the old car.

Big Kid Beds



On 5/7/11, we took the fronts off the kids cribs to change them into big kid beds. When Cole and Gwen first saw them, they ran over, hopped in and jumped and jumped and jumped! They love that they can just hop in and out and have been enjoying putting lots of blankets and stuffed animals in and out of their beds. Both kids stay in their beds at night but are ready to get up around 6:45. One morning, mommy and daddy heard the nursery gate open and then what sounded like a herd of animals running into our room! Since then we've made sure to clamp the gate tighter ;)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Cole: (while running up to Gwen) "Hi, Shoopa!"
Gwen: "I not Shoopa. I Gwen. I GWEN. I GWEN, Cole!"

Friday, May 6, 2011

Delaware Visit 4/24/11-4/26/11





Gwen, Cole and I had a lot of fun with Nana and Pap Pap over the Easter holiday. On sunday we went down to the Riverfront and Cole had a blast looking at the cranes and sea gulls while Gwen enjoyed putting her hands in puddles and making handprints on the pavement. Both kids loved wearing their rain boots and jumped...and jumped...and jumped in puddles. Cole then got upset because he was so wet. Cole found a worm on the ground and picked it up to show everyone :) Then the kids tried clown sundaes for the first time. Gwen ate the majority of hers and cole took a few bites and then was done. Gwen has a little sweet tooth and she definitely takes advantage of her few opportunities to enjoy sugary snacks. We also dyed easter eggs which was quite an experience. The kids didn't want to use the wire gadget and instead chose to reach their hands into the cups to retrieve the dyed eggs! We also had an outdoor easter egg hunt and visited the Brandywine Zoo with Nana and Aunt Erienne where the kids got to go in the goat cage and jump in more puddles.

Easter 2011






On Saturday, 4/23/11, the Easter Bunny came to our house. Cole and Gwen were thrilled to find some goodies when they got up in the morning. Cole had fun playing with his new loader and Gwen enjoyed dressing up her mommy, daddy and baby bears. They also had fun searching for eggs. They are becoming experts! In the afternoon we went to Reading to celebrate Easter with our family. Cole refused to wear his Easter shirt but Pap Pap convinced him to put it on in the car when we arrived at Melanie's house. Both kids noticed some of the "hidden" easter eggs and were dying to start their egg hunt. Afterwards, Mommy, Cole and Gwen went to Delaware with Nana and Pap Pap.

The Stamps Family Visit



On 4/14/11-4/18/11, Tim and Sharon came up for a visit. On Saturday we took Gwen and Cole for the Air Products Easter Egg hunt. Gwen went right after the eggs and Cole had much more fun checking out the construction equipment. Thankfully the rain held off so the kids could finish their egg hunting. On Sunday, we walked for the second time in the March of Dimes March for Babies. Since we were the ambassador family, Gwen and Cole's poster was up for everyone to enjoy.

Divinci Science Center




On Tuesday, 4/12/11, the kids and I went to the Science Center. They both love exploring and on this particular day they had A LOT of energy. They especially enjoyed jumping on the large blocks and measuring how tall they were (see pics)

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I have some catching up to do...

I only have a few minutes but i wanted to write down a few new tricks/stories that the kids have been up to the last few weeks:

1. They officially sing the ABC's by themselves at random times
2. Gwen loves teasing Cole. She insists that the construction cones are "RED" and enjoys hearing him argue back and forth that "NO, Gwen, Construction cones ORANGE".
3. Yesterday we got a new package of checks in the mail. The kids started chanting "Chex" and insisted on opening the box. We told them numerous times that they were not food chex but checks for mommy and daddy to pay bills. Needless to say, they were extremely upset when they finally opened the package and discovered there was no food inside!
4. Cole has been having fun learning the names of more animals. His newest thrill is finding "robin red breasts" in the yard.
5. Both kids now insist that their baby brother's name is "Shoopa". They have been saying this slang word for awhile and now every time we ask about the baby, they say "baby Shoopa". Hum...Shoopa Stamps does have an interesting ring!! The other day in the car Gwen started saying: "Daddy no like name Shoopa. Gwen like Shoopa. Cole like Shoopa. Daddy no like Shoopa". So cute!!!
6. When Cole is getting on Gwen's nerves she has started saying: "No like that game, Cole. No like that game!"