Costumes

This year I decided to make the girls’ Halloween costumes again.  They were invited to a princess birthday party, so I decided to make a costume that included a cute tutu and some princess accessories.

First, I took the girls ‘trick or treating’ at Joe’s office and many times it turned into ‘self service trick or treating’.  They really don’t know what candy is, except the gummy bears I used to bribe them during potty training, so they just had fun filling their buckets with all the fun colored stuff. Chloe did especially like the juice box she got from a favorite babysitter of hers and drank it in about 3 seconds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, while I was away at a women’s retreat enjoying some time away and the great water slides, my wonderful husband took the girls to the princess birthday party.  He’s definitely a great man to take two girls to a total girly girl party!

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch this fall and oddly enough the girls had a lot more fun seeing everything but the pumpkin patch.  The girls thoroughly enjoyed playing in the truck and boat, but weren’t that excited about walking around in the mud to pick out a pumpkin. Although the car and truck are really fun for the kids to play on, I still don’t get why you would put them on your farm? Anyway, it’s a bit of an odd place so we might pick a different one next year.

“Why? Why is there all this dirt on my hands??”

Patience and Reliance

Patience is what I have learned recently and am sure will continue to learn in this process called potty training. When you attempt to take on the huge task of potty training twin girls at the same time, patience is a must. A definite. A have to. You cannot survive the long days of taking 500 trips to the bathroom without it! Thankfully, I know that God gave me an extra dose of patience along with a friend named Audrey who was willing to endure this task with me while training her daughter Nora as well.  A ‘Potty Party’ we called it, complete with lots of juice and candy for bribery…ah, I mean rewards…or, ah, positive reinforcement.  After an intensive 3 days of juice drinking and candy eating, the girls were on their way to catching on and realizing diapers were a thing of the past no matter how much they wanted them.  It really wasn’t until day 4 that the girls had almost totally figured it out and I knew this training might actually work.  As the trials of each day came, I really just wanted an escape or something to turn to as a method of coping. With really whiney girls who were protesting using the potty, I became weary and just wanted something to help me get through. So I thought of all the things I could get to help me cope…dark chocolate, a cup of chai, watching a tv show.  Knowing deep down these things would only make me happy for a little while and take my mind off the challenges I was facing, I knew I needed something more enduring and redeeming.  I knew I needed to pray to God for patience.  So I did, many, many times.  And he answered those prayers and each time I felt an extra dose of patience and a calmness that quieted my heart.

So I’m learning more and more to pray during those extra challenging times and to ask God for what I need in that moment rather than just looking to something else to meet my needs.

 

Loving the New Camera

We recently replaced our camera and have a a great time taking pictures of the girls.  After a great salmon dinner that we were fortunate enough to eat outside during this totally unpredictable Seattle summer, Joe took pictures of the girls while I chased them around the yard.  And the next day it poured rain. Of course.

New Things

A few weekends ago, we took a little trip to Port Orchard to pick up our 1/4 of a cow we had been waiting for months to be ready. We also visited Piper Bliss Farm to meet the family that raised our beef.  For our trip home we decided to drive up to Kingston and take the girls on their first ferry ride.  They loved being on the ferry and we were quite impressed with Brynn’s skills to make interesting faces.

We’ve had many opportunities to eat our grass fed beef and really love it.  We’ve bbq’d hamburgers and can’t get enough of Chloe saying her word for hamburgers- hakameeners. Yes, hakameeners. She has the best vocabulary!!

Recently the girls were given their first bikes by the Brown family.  Their twin girls had outgrown the bikes and wanted to pass them on.  Although they are still too short to move the pedals, they still like riding on them.

A Little Catching Up

Joe and I have really enjoyed taking the girls out for ‘dates’-our time to hang out with just one of the girls at a time. This was taken in late June when I took Chloe to the beach. Unfortunately summer still hadn’t come, but we still enjoyed walking along the beach looking for little crabs and fish and then getting hot chocolate to warm back up.

We have also really loved having play dates with Evie and Beck.  The girls have started to play with each other which is really fun to see and having baby Beck around is great since he gives the best smiles.

Summer finally came near the beginning of July and we decided to have a pool party play date.  This is the same pool they had last year, which as you can see they have totally outgrown. Last year they all were able to fit in it!

Last weekend the girls and I were really blessed to have the McFarlanes invite us to spend a few days at their family cabin on Cypress Island.  Brynn loved playing in the water and throwing rocks, but unfortunately Chloe is still getting over the fear of, well, everything so she stuck by my side the whole time we were near the water. We had great weather and everyday when the girls were napping, Emilie and I went kayaking which was a lot of fun.

The girls had fun hanging out with Charlie and Della. This was taken the morning we were leaving and as you can tell from Brynn’s face, we were all sad to leave.

Captain Charlie with Brett loading up the boat.

Brynn loved the boat ride home (though this isn’t the best photo to show it!) and when we got to the marina she kept saying,”Again? Again?” So thankful for friends and for living in the Northwest.

Backeys and FeeFees

It seems as if almost overnight the girls have really started using a lot of words. Joe and I are constantly amazed at how much they are picking up and what new words are used each day. Here’s a sample of their vocabulary:
backey- the monkey magnet on the refrigerator
bapple- apple, avocado, orange, or any round fruit
Bippo- their stuffed hippo
feefee- Brynn’s word for a hair clip
nak- snack
fitch- fish
bee- airplane
chee- cheek or cheese
fower- flower
sire- fire
dakum- Brynn’s word for ‘here you go’ or ‘thank you’ (still not quite sure what she means by it!)
der go- there you go (We are realizing we say this a lot to them!)

They both love to sing along with Old MacDonald and to copy the chorus they like to sing, “Ahh E Ahh E” instead of “E I E I OOOOO”. They are very proud of themselves when they sing it! Chloe has also started counting and at first she would count, “One, Shoe, Fak”. I have no idea how she came up with that! Now she counts saying, “One, Shoe, Weeee”.

$2 Camera App for iPhone = Awesome!

Bought the Hipstamatic iPhone app to snap some shots on date night recently and have been taking more pictures than ever. Here are the highlights.

In order, left to right, top to bottom:
lamp shade, surprise visit from Uncle Ben, Audrey and her 300 year old cello, Joe playing guitar, Brynn & Chloe posing, Chloe laying down sucking her thumb, Joe & the face we never see Brynn make in real life, Brynn + heart, Sipping a milk shake on date night…at Denny’s!, Jentry thru an empty beer, Said beers before consumption, The first picture taken with our hipstamatic…Joe driving

Fun Times

We trade babysitting with another couple and this was one afternoon we were hanging out in the backyard with Nora.  She is just 2 months younger than the girls and they have a great time playing together.

We’ve really enjoyed playing in the yard with all the sunny weather we have had (thankfully).  They had a good time practicing for Easter!

Brynn enjoyed playing on the pirate ship at a small park and then we enjoyed an afternoon at the zoo with Joe.  She was kind of excited about being on the tractor.

First Haircut

As many of you know, the girls have had mullets for quite some time. A friend of mine, who also has twins, told me about a salon in Edmonds that gives children’s haircuts for a dollar an age. So, I jumped on that opportunity and you can see how well it went.

Yes, I am holding her back from launching forward. Huge, huge tears!

More huge, huge tears

I am sure it is an experience they won’t forget any time soon.  Not too bad for $2-I did tip her well though. After we left I decided to take them out for another ‘first’-hot chocolate.  I was surprised that they weren’t totally into it.  I’m thinking that’s a good thing!

Yes, she did eventually get the straw into her mouth.