snow

Friday, April 4, 2014

Buckle Up!

I better buckle up because I feel as though the girls have entered a new phase.... investigation. The weather really hasn't warmed up and we are still stuck inside our house for the majority of the day (partially because venturing outside with a gang of girls is a lot of work when it's not something we have to do!). Both the twins are quite steady on their feet and they've tired of their toys, even though I rotate them all the time. Because of that, they are entertaining themselves in other ways.

So, here are some new things Hadley and Cecilia have taught themselves:

1. Hadley can undress herself. It's not a problem if we are changing out of pajamas into our clothes but it's a problem if she chooses to do this during naptime or night time. But on the bright side, maybe she will be interested in dressing herself when she's older!
Hadley 15 months

2. Cecilia likes to climb. When I say she's likes to climb, I mean she loves to climb. Elise never went through a climbing stage so this is totally new for us and a bit scary. A helmet would relieve some of our worries!
At first Ceci would climb up on stools.
And then Ceci taught her sister to climb up the fireplace hearth.They know they shouldn't stand up but most of the times they throw us a smile and then proudly stand.... as if to say 'What are you going to do now?!'.
Luckily, climbing the glass coffee table was short lived and wasn't as exciting as she thought it would be.

Then Ceci discovered if she put the window seat cushions on the floor, she could use them to climb up.
But, Hadley was upset because she couldn't do it....
Not to worry, because she figured it out and I had to raise up the blinds.
I won't even mention the time that Ceci brought a box up on the window seat
and attempted to use it as a stool to scale the shelves...

3. Naptimes sometimes mean naptime. Naptimes can also mean party time... as in let's throw everything out of our cribs, scale the curtains and babble up a storm! 'Hey mom, we need some music in here!'

4. 'Gates? You can't contain us!'
We have the largest gate known to mankind between our kitchen and family room area. It's annoying to jump over the gate a zillion times for each meal but it saved us from actually having to baby proof every kitchen cabinet. It (so far) works like a dream but I won't be sad when the day comes when we can take it down! Ok, so there was that one time when Ceci did get her arm stuck..... but I digress.

At the door between the family room and dining room, we had a small gate. One day when I was doing dishes, I heard little babies running up and down the hallway behind me. Had I left the gate open?! I rounded them up and went back to the dishes. Seconds later, it was the same thing! Ceci was now playing in the dog water bowl and Hadley was making a break for the living room. Again, I rounded them up and was ready for what happened next....

Now the gate is zip tied close.


But it's not always crazy at our house (ok, that's just what I tell myself for a pep talk from time to time). Our little monkeys are actually sweet, funny and entertaining. Really, who needs to run to the grocery store, or make dinner, or go to the bathroom when you get to have a show 24/7 ?!?
Hadley has turned into a face of expressions. She's so animated and is quite the hugger. She's always saying 'Ah Oooh' with her little lips in a big 'O'. My favorite is when she tries to act like she accidentally drops something from her high chair by saying 'Ah Oooh' before she drops a green bean to the dog.

Hadley loves to play chase, has the biggest laugh and loves pretty sparkly things. She thinks that Elise is so cool and loves to snuggle with the dogs, especially Demi.
Hadley and Demi

Cecilia is the quieter of the two but she isn't a pushover! She's been known to steal a pacifier right out of Hadley's mouth a run away like she didn't even do it. But when she speaks, it's sweet and quiet. She loves to say 'Mom'. Actually it probably sounds more like 'Mom?'.... like it's a question. She loves when I look at her and say, 'Yes?'. She has an infectious smile.
Cecilia is usually our sleeper and eater. She isn't afraid to take a break from the action to lay down and rest and is usually up for a nap. When I sit on the floor, she's the first to back into my lap with a book as if to say 'Time to read! Glad you are here!'. 
But our Elise has grown the most. It's been a hard road with sharing the spotlight with 2 little twins but she is rising to the occasion!
Elise loves to feed the little girls. She's even sharing some of her prized possessions all on her own. It's not uncommon nowadays for her to bring out her fairies to share. The other day she came out of her room with 3 capes. One for each girl. It was funny to see them playing in their capes.. as if it was something we always do!

Our little Elise has come so far from a year ago. It's funny to say that she doesn't even remember a time without the twins.


'Our family'... plus Elise's favorite babysitter  Sarah.


Funny how life has changed from a few years ago... a time when I had room in my cart for groceries...
... A time when we didn't have to share the couch
... A time when I didn't drive an awesome, cool minivan


But look what we had been missing.....


We were missing the other piece of our hearts.



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