Sunday, July 31, 2011

Life with Two Toddlers...




includes many evenings of dance party and lots of creativity. Tonight the kids had a lot of energy so Daddy got up and danced with them. Cole proudly rolled around on the ground doing somersaults and looking like he was the king of break dancing. When he dances he always swings his right arm back and forth. Gwen was a little more reserved but she had fun spinning in circles and bopping around.

Then the kids discovered some large pieces of paper that had been used to wrap a custom frame. We had them lie down on it and traced their bodies. Afterwards, they used crayons to color themselves. Gwen has been getting much better with drawing recently. Tonight she gave herself "eyes, nose, ears, sticky up hair, shoes, belly button" etc. Cole hasn't quite gotten the hang of drawing at this point but he did have a blast coloring.

Visit with The McCaslin Family




On Saturday, 7/30/11, Chip, AnneMarie and Sean came to PA for a little visit. We enjoyed a weekend of fun and food together. We went to the farmers market, grilled out, and had fun at the Fish Hatchery. Gwen and Cole loved Chip and took to him immediately (see pics). Gwen enjoyed playing with Sean. At one point i asked her what she was doing and she said: "I play with the little boy".

Friday, July 29, 2011

We Learning to Eat the Rainbow!

Today we went to a local children's boutique to participate in storytime and talk about healthy eating. The kids enjoyed listening to the story and were excited for the interactive parts (holding up their fruit signs and placing plastic fruit/veggies on the colors of the rainbow). They had fun making Caterpillar hats and mommy was happy that they worked fairly independently with the glue and other materials. Pics to come.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Silly Toddler Quotes

Today Cole was frantically looking for the play oven mitt in the front room. Gwen and I were snacking in kitchen. I looked at her and asked: "Do you happen to know where the oven mitt might be?". She turned to me and said: "Mama, I don't remember EVERYTHING". heh.

The other day I asked Gwen a question and she went southern on me by answering: "Yes, Maam".

Cole has been refusing to nap recently. I have been standing strong that he needs to have quiet time in his room for a little while before he comes downstairs and that he does not get a special treat of watching TV while Gwen is asleep. Today he kept pestering me to watch his "digger movie" and I told him that when Gwen woke up they could watch it. As soon as he heard her peep upstairs he went running up. I heard him say: "Gwen, digger movie, wake up, hurry, digger movie. o-tay, o-tay, o-tay?".

This evening Gwen was in the coupe car pretending to go through the drive through to get her "medicine". She pulled up to me and told me her full name "Gwenie Pearl Stamps". I asked for her address and she said: "I live in my house" and then she pretended to pay me. As she was pulling away she said: "I have to concentrate to drive now". I wonder where she's heard that one! Oh and then Cole wanted to pretend to go through the drive through. When i asked him where he lived, he said: "On a farm". "Yes, Cole, sometimes i also feel like i live on a farm!"

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Sibling Hospital Tour





This morning I took Cole and Gwen to Lehigh Valley Hospital for a sibling tour of the mommy baby unit. We got there early and sat on the couches to eat a snack and watch the people go by. Cole was very excited to see the little "cars" and people rushing by. When there was a lull, he kept saying: "Mommy, no people coming now" and then would announce: "there someone is!" During the tour we met baby Alex and Gwen was glowing the entire time. She was SO excited to see a little baby up close and personal. She was not thrilled about the idea of leaving baby Alex at the hospital but perked up when the tour guide, Dawn, gave her a newborn diaper and infant hat for bunny/blankie. We shoved both of them in the diaper and tried to get the hat to fit the best we could. Cole was not thrilled about putting the hat or diaper on his special animal, Chickie, and refused to be in the picture with Chickie.

Monday, July 25, 2011

2 year olds are pretty fun...most of the time anyway!

Both kids have been talking more clearly recently.

Gwen has also been pretending more and Cole is picking up on it more and more each day. She takes her bunny everywhere she goes and often makes little beds for her. She loves pushing her in the shopping cart and feeding her pretend food. The other night she said: "Daddy, bunny do a flip" and she flipped bunny onto her shoulder like Andy does with her. One afternoon last week both kids were pretending together. They decided to pretend to go to the library. They would put all of their "library books" into our library bag and then carry them to the other room together to put in the "book drop". A few minutes later they both ran back to me holding new books and yelling: "we got new library books, mommy!"

Their little conversations are also getting easier for me to understand. Last night when they were lying in their nest, i heard them talking over the monitor. Gwen was saying: "Cole, you a boy. You have a penis" and Cole was saying: "Yes, Gwen, i have a penis penis penis". Then Gwen said: "I have a gina. You don't have one. You are a boy".

Cole has been very in tune to directions and destinations recently. If we go to a playground he finds the bench where we sat to eat snack the previous time and insists on sitting there to eat again. Sometimes he insists on having the SAME snack as we had last time. "Sorry, Cole man, mommy doesn't remember these things!" He also proudly announces when we are going to go by certain excavators/construction sites and sometimes gets upset when we go in the direction of the roller coasters but dont' actually go by them.

Cole seems more interested in baby Reid recently. He loves to sing pat a cake. He usually wants to sing the song once with a "G for Gwen", "C for Cole", "M for Mommy" and "D for Daddy". The other night when we were done with all of the usual verses, he said: "Now sing for baby Reid!". What a sweet big brother :)

Gwen is very excited about the baby. She enjoys helping me organize his clothing and other things in his room (although she takes all of his blankets and makes them her own!). She proudly announces several times a day: "We're having a baby!" and loves reading library books about babies and being a big sister. She insists that she is going to "carry baby Reid" and "I hold baby Reid". She also thinks about him often and wnats to know: "Baby play with this toy?". It seems like she's going to be mommy's little helper with her baby brother :)

Gwen has been very interested in peoples names recently. She is constantly asking "what his/her name is?" She seems to pick up on her friends' moms names quickly but always wants to know about their dads. The other night she was riding in the car and was talking to herself: "Madelyn's mommy is Kristin. Madelyn's daddy is Ryan. That nice name. I like name Ryan. Mommy, you like name Ryan?"


Both kids enjoy saying it is "X time". If they are ready to eat, they'll say: "It's eat time". If they are ready to go in the car, they'll announce: "It's car time".

Cole is obsessed with the alphabet these days. Andy says it is like he is living a musical because many times throughout the day, Cole will break into song. He especially enjoys singing the ABC's but also specializes in The Farmer in the Dell, 5 little (fill in the blank) Jumping on the Bed, Here Come the Dinosaurs




We've been spending a little more time around the house recently. Part of it is because Mommy has been nesting and trying to get things ready for the arrival of our little man and another part is because the kids are used to going somewhere EVERY morning and I want them to get used to being home more before baby arrives. On this morning, we decided to do a little art project. We talked about healthy eating and how we should eat a variety of foods in the rainbow. Then we fingerpainted. Gwen kept saying: "Dr. Rice happy when we eat good foods, Mama". Cole would respond with: "Dr. Rice happy, Gwen." So Cute!

Preschool Program at Science Center




The first Wed. of each month, the science center offers a preschool program. On July 6, 2011 we went for the first time and enjoyed a morning of learning about vibration and sound. I don't know how a single toddler who wouldn't want free reign to play instruments and make LOUD music. Needless to say, both kids jumped right in and mommy had a headache by the end of the morning!

Ice Cream in Sea Isle


Andy and I decided to take the kids out for ice cream while we were at the shore. We decided to get them a large kiddie sundae with lots of kid friendly toppings (animal crackers, gummy bears etc.). Cole took one look at it and decided he didn't want any. Instead he enjoyed trying to balance pebbles on the stroller wheels. Gwen, on the otherhand, gladly ate the ENTIRE sundae!

Sandy Playtime at the Beach






We spent several evenings on the beach. Gwen was thrilled to run and roll around in the sand. She wanted less to do with the ocean and one day had a huge temper tantrum because she didn't even want to go down on the beach. Cole also enjoyed the sand but he was extremely excited when he discovered a large sandcastle with a moat. He ended up walking in the moat and was wet up to his waist! He wanted to play in little splash pools of warmer ocean water and discover things that had been washed a shore.

Cape May Zoo Take 2






For 4th of July weekend we went back down the shore. Nana and Pap Pap joined us and we all visited the Cape May Zoo. The highlight of the trip was feeding the goats. Both kids had a blast and I could tell that they liked knowing what we were going to do at the zoo since we'd been there recently.

1st Visit to the Pool



On Wednesday, June 29, 2011, Aunt Erienne came to visit and we took Cole and Gwen to the Emmaus Pool for the first time. While it was A LOT of work getting everyone ready, the kids LOVED it. They were hesitant at first but as soon as they saw some of their friends in the baby pool, they went in and enjoyed splashing around. They also wanted to go in the big pool and enjoyed kicking and swimming.

More recently (7/17/11), Andy and I took them to another pool. Cole wanted to jump in over and over to Mommy while Gwen was a little more hesitant. She warmed up towards the end but does not seem to be a major waterbug like her brother.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Twins Love To Snuggle



Since we switched Cole and Gwen to big kid beds, Cole has consistently slept on the floor in his "nest" and Gwen switches back and forth between the nest and one of the beds. I couldn't resist taking these pics when we found them snuggled face to face and side by side on boppies in the nest a few weeks ago.

First Movie Experience


On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 I took the kids to their first movie- Yogi Bear. It was playing at the Rave theatre as part of their free summer kids series. I talked them ahead of time about movies and theaters and we even watched a few clips of Yogi Bear online. I thought i had prepared them well...until we were met by someone dressed up as a cow on the way into the building. Both kids immediately wanted to be picked up. So...i lugged my bag and a kid under each arm inside. Thankfully they both walked once we were past the cow....that is until we got into the actual theater and cole got scared. He wanted me to pick him up and all of his crying caused gwen to react and by the time we got to the seats, they were both crying. Cole was VERY upset. He was on my lap sideways and clinging to my shirt...actually gnawing on my shirt. Gwen settled down a little bit as i pointed out all of the other kids and the lights etc. I kept telling myself that as soon as the movie came on they would understand and perk up. Well...the movie came on with a bang and at that point they were both running for the door screaming: "no, no scary movie". Then i carried my bag and two kids out of the building and that was that. Then what is this cute picture above, you may ask? That is of them eating a snack and watching the fountains WELL after all of the movie commotion.



We went to feed the ducks...

and ended up feeding the geese. On Sunday, 6/26/11, we went to a park in Emmaus to feed the ducks. As we were getting out of the van, the geese started toward the parking lot to meet us. Daddy encouraged Cole and Gwen to not keep the food in their hands for long and to throw it as far as possible. Mommy was worried that the geese were so close and at eye level with the twins. After we ran out of food, we took a little stroll and played on the playground.




Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Fathers Day 2011


On Sunday 6/19/11 we went to the Fish Hatchery to feed the fish and to celebrate Fathers Day. The kids now know the deal-- they want to take the money to the cashier so that they each can have their own bag of fish food. Gwen often sprinkles her fish food but at times she pours it in to make sure the "fishes bellies are full". Cole usually grabs handfuls and likes to move to a different section of the hatchery for every fist full.

More Sand Play at the Beach





Both kids loved playing in the sand so we went back for some more sandy fun...

We had fun on the boardwalk...





On Saturday evening, we went to the boardwalk to eat junk (Mack and Manco pizza and Kohrs Ice cream). The kids enjoyed learning how to blow the wrapper off of a straw at the pizza joint. They also liked people watching and checking out the scenery on the boardwalk. We took them to ride the merry go round but they did not want anything to do with it (not too surprising after our experience last year). We walked around at the ride pier for a little while and cole spotted a thomas train and circled the pier. He decided that he wanted to ride it with mommy and then again with daddy. Gwen refused to go but finally gave in and went on a flying elephant ride with Nana while Cole rode with daddy.

1st Shore Trip of the Season!!!!

The weekend of June 12th we packed up and took the kids down the shore. They were very excited to stay at "Aunt Terrie and Uncle Milk's house". They were also happy to hear that Nana, Pap Pap, Mimi and Grandpa would all be there to play with them. On Friday we went to the Cape May Zoo. Both kids had fun on the beach. Gwen really liked playing in the sand. She was rolling around in it and putting it on her legs. Both kids were excited when they saw the ocean but Cole got knocked over by a small wave and then Gwen got so upset when she saw cole go down that she ran back towards shore and ran right into a strange man. Needless to say they weren't too thrilled about going in the water after that!

Haircut and Fountain Fun





On 6/7/11, I took the kids over to the Promenade to get Cole's haircut. While he doesn't love going to the salon, he certainly tolerates it especially when I hold him on my lap and he doesn't have to wear the cape. Gwen is always very patient and just kind of watches and hangs out near us. She always looks forward to the end when the stylist sprays sparkles in her hair. This time she had a fun surprise and got a star and a heart painted on her face instead. The look on her face was priceless :) Afterwards, I decided to put the kids in their swim gear and let them run through the fountains. They had a blast and were so much more into it than they were last year.

Alburtis Fitness Academy- 6/4/11





We checked out the Fitness Academy with some of our multiples friends this Saturday morning. Gwen and Cole LOVED bouncing on the large trampoline and playing in the ball pit. On a side note, Daddy also had a blast on the trampoline ;) Gwen also enjoyed walking across the balance beam and Cole had fun riding the small "roller coaster". It was a wonderful morning of family fun and the kids took excellent naps when we got home :)