FaceBook Posts 2010 - Part 2

I post a lot of  snippets on FaceBook -- the Social Networking site.
I wanted to preserve those snippets here, so they'd be included in the book form of our blog that we're making for the girls.

Below are posts from 2010 (part 2):

October 9, 2010 1:17am "cakes are frosted. woohoo! and there's still some night time left for me to sleep :) :)

October 9, 2010 10:14am
"This girls are down for a nap. I can tell that Kayla is sleeping, and Megan is still awake. I know this because I can hear Megan saying, "Dah, dah, dah" over and over. That's how she says "Kayla", and she doesn't like it when Kayla is asleep and she's not. Hopefully she's not tossing dolls in at Kayla to wake her up, like she sometimes does..."           

October 10, 2010 12:01pm
"It's official. They're two years old, and mommy and daddy survived the first two years!"

October 16, 2010 11:49am
"My girls are supposed to be down for a nap. I can still here one -- I assume, Megan. Sing-song noises, "my doll", and just now, a Diego quote -- over and over -- "FREEZE BOBO""

October 17, 2010 2:39pm
"The only thing more sad than a sick little girl is TWO sick little girls :("

October 17, 2010 9:44pm
"It's official (as official as dr's office measurements can be). Kayla is 1 inch taller than Megan. (I get asked a lot because of how they look in pictures sometimes)"

October 24, 2010 7:26pm
"Had a great time with the girls at Applejack Pumpkin Patch! They got to see some animals, slide on slides, climb in the hay and see a lot of pumpkins up close and personal! (Which was pretty exciting for 2 year olds!)"

October 29, 2010 9:09pm
"Megan and Kayla are sleeping in each other's cribs.
It was Megan's idea.
Mike Vogts let them.
Yes, it was really her idea."

November 14, 2010 8:09pm
"Megan got up. I took her to the living room to rock her, and told her "Lay your head down on mommy's shoulder" and she said "no, i wanna watch football".
She's now sitting on daddy's lap, watching football."

November 19, 2010 8:47pm
"‎Ruth Evans Bingham and my daughters went to dinner tonight at Chilis.
The girls pointed out every "apple" they saw, starting with the big one over the door.
Mom was kind enough to share her dinner with Megan.
And Megan was kind enough to share her mandarin orange-dipped-in-ketchup with her grandma :)"

November 28, 2010 6:08pm
"Our girls have renamed us "mommydaddy" or "daddymommy". They appear to be interchangeable. So do we."

December 5, 2010 10:38am
"‎Mike Vogts is watching a Mickey show with the girls. They're all three in the recliner under several blankets. Soooo sweet!

I love listening to them as they have serious conversations about Mickey and Donald."

December 5, 2010 5:38pm
"We talked to Grandma Ruth Evans Bingham on the phone. We talked to Granny Cathy Vogtson the phone.

Then Kayla was playing with a phone, and announced she was talking to Kelli Martin. She said, "I ate hotdogs" into the phone. Just passing on the message. LOL"

December 7, 2010 7:09am
“Megan told me it was "time to go". I asked her  where she was going. Her answer? "the bus!" She confirmed that Daddy's car was the bus! I guess that means Miss Kelli's house is school? This 2-year-old thing is a fun! (Except when she was up at 1:30 am hollering for Mommy!)”

December 10, 2010 1:04pm
"When I was young, I wanted to be a nurse. My mom pointed out to me that most people dont want a nurse puking on them, which was likely given my low tolerance for gross things.

She never warned me that being a mommy involves a lot of gross things!!
Thank you, Mike Vogts , for taking the worst part of the clean-up effort from the over-night pukefest that occured in the girls' room."

December 22, 2010 5:44pm
"We took the girls to see Santa last night. Megan did great and sat on his lap. Kayla, not so much -- refused to sit on Santa's lap, so this year we have a picture of just Megan. Kayla did wave from a safe distance though!

Once we got home, they were BOTH excited about their trip to see Santa -- same thing today! You'd never know Kayla had thrown a fit about it the way her eyes light up when she grins and says she saw Santa!"

December 22, 2010 8:32pm
Earlier this week we took the girls to see Santa. Kayla wouldn't sit on his lap. Not. At. All. Mike Vogts took a picture of them while we were in line but I don't have it yet. Here's Megan, who DID sit on his lap. She wouldn't smile, but that's not surprising.

They BOTH smile when they tell us how they saw Santa! I guess Kayla forgot how she wailed "DAAAADDDDY!" when mommy tried to set her on Santa's lap.”

December 27, 2010 8:16pm
"All right, who turned the switch from "Sweet Little Girls" to "Fussy Tired w/Attitude"? Whoever did it needs to come tuck them in bed."

December 31, 2010 8:37am
"If I give the girls 1/4 of a graham cracker, they'll say "I want a big one!""


To Be Continued....

FaceBook Posts 2010 - Part 1

I post a lot of  snippets on FaceBook -- the Social Networking site.
I wanted to preserve those snippets here, so they'd be included in the book form of our blog that we're making for the girls.

Below are posts from 2010 (part 1):

February 21, 2010  7:49pm
 "This girls spent the weekend with Granny and Grandpa. I missed them terribly! They all did fine and had a great time though!  Now one is asleep -- and one is fussing in bed. Mommy might have to snuggle with one! :) :)"

March 1, 2010 11:42pm
"Yay for measured feet and properly sized tie-on tennis shoes for 16 month olds! Boo for the fact that only a professional can get them on their feet."

March 1, 2010 1:15am
"My mother kept our dog for us for a few hours this weekend. She mentioned that she made him take a nap. I keep forgetting to ask her how she accomplished that one. I wish my mom would blog...."

March 15, 2010  7:15pm
"The sweetest thing to overhear.... "come here, Daddy will help you""

March 22, 20120 7:46am
"Putting eyedrops in an 18 month old's eyes is quite the challenge!"

April 5, 2010 12:18 am
"I guess the Easter Bunny should have come to our house later. Little Megan woke up and saw them already."

April 11, 2010 9:21am
"A glass of water too near the edge of a desk + quick little girl = first shower for Megan!"

May 9, 2010 10:32pm
A lot of Mother's Days came and went, reminding me of what I didn't have. I am blessed with my girls and treasure them more than words can say. A wonderful day with my girls and both sides of my family. I am truly blessed, this day and every day.

July 15, 2010 7:14pm
"My girls asked for french fries before bed. I didn't know they knew how to say "french fries". Now they're in bed, yelling for daddy. I guess maybe they think he'll give them french fries?"

August 7, 2010 10:10pm
"Megan and I got home from Grandma's a few minutes after Daddy put Kayla in bed.   We got Megan ready for bed, and Daddy carried her. In the hall, he explained Kayla was a sleep, we had to be quiet, and they both said "Shh Shh Shh" together.
 Daddy stepped up the door and before he could open it, Megan leaned forward and pounded on the door, yelling "knock! knock! knock!". So much for not waking Kayla!"

August 11, 2010 10:00pm
"It's cute when Megan says "I go" in the morning, because she wants to go to Miss Kelli's.
It's not so cute when I say "okay, give mommy a hug?" and she says "no, I go" because she wants to go to Miss Kelli's. At least hug mommy g'bye first! LOL"

August 25, 2010 7:05am
"I understand FB ads are tailored to you based on your interests as evidenced by your information.....but Minnesota Twins baseball is soooooo not the kind of "twins" that have my interest......and I refuse to by MLB custom M&M's for that team, just because my girls are twins."

September 21, 2010 8:47pm
“Our girls' latest trick --- laying their heads down and making fake snoring noises.
Where'd they learn that one :)”

September 26, 2010 10:32pm
"When little Megan cries when we put her in bed, it tugs the heartstrings. When she cries and wails "Mommy! Mommy!", though, it tugs the tear-duct strings.

Then there's little Kayla, who just lays down in her crib to go to sleep."




To Be Continued....

I did it

In Andover out on east Central there's a municipal park that I've taken the girls to a few times (though not as often as I should). Pretty standard stuff as far as city parks go: the two main features being a couple of jungle gyms. One is kind of roped based, with a plastic super-structure (thanks, Star Wars) filled with strategically placed holes and climbing hand-holds. The other is basically fort-themed, with a couple of slides, one straight and one "twisty" that is considerably higher up.

Each time we've gone, there's been a progression on what the girls are capable of doing. The first time, navigating the "swinging bridge" on the fort was the big achievement. It's one of those contraptions that is jointed several times over the length, and slopes down in the middle. The effect is a perpetually changing, uneven surface, and kids have to carefully navigate themselves over the bridge or risk getting stuck. That first time, the girls a couple of times did just that, getting a leg a bit out of place and not really knowing what to do next. But after a few tries and restarts, they were able to get from one end to the other, and this was a proud achievement.

The second (or maybe third) time was the twisty slide. Daddy said no the first couple of times we went, as the top of this slide is about 20 feet in the air, and all kinds of horrible scenes of little girls flying off into a random direction while daddy desperately tries to run and catch them fill your mind. Absurd in retrospect, of course. There's got to be at least a 2 foot groove in the slide at the top; you literally can barely see the top of their head as they begin sliding down. The sides are curved inward as well, almost to the point where it's completely enclosed. I should have of course known that designers and lawyers had long ago performed a strange dance that lead to this incredibly safe piece of playground equipment, but understand, the last time I spent significant time on a playground, the infamous "bump" slide at the Canton Grade School still existed, where the "side" was about an inch high, and the "jungle gym" was just a bunch of pipes welded together in a cube-like pattern.

They handled the "big kid slide" without issue of course, loving every minute of it. Kayla also surprised by easily handling a set of circular climbing stairs that, likewise, takes her up at least 10 feet to the safety of the fort, which she found the best way to head toward the slide again. Again, Daddy was a bit nervous about this, but her footing was sure, and even if Megan was still content to run around the long and safer way to get back into the fort, it was clearly another day of big achievement.

Then this Sunday, we decided to attack the rope gym. This one is definitely made for bigger kids, as to get on it properly requires risking an unsteady "web" of rope suspended semi-horizontally, which itself requires being able to sort of leap out onto it, as there's a good 2 foot gap between where the ropes are anchored to the structure and the web structure begins. They tried this but were not ready for it, as they kept getting high centered on the initial connecting rope, not stable or sure enough to make it out to the web.

However, the back side of the structure also contains a multi-layer climbing activity, which if you make it to the top, puts you a good 10 feet above the ground, sitting on the crest of the up-sloping web. This is also something we've tried before, but have never defeated, getting scared when faced with open air on the third level.

Not this time. Megan was the first to reach the summit, surprisingly. She hoisted her leg up further than I would have though possible, allowing herself to leave the comfort of "ground" and hang momentarily until she could pull her self up through the hole and onto the third landing. Kayla had one false start where she chickened out, but I think couldn't stand the thought of Megan being able to do it and not her, and similarly made it through on the second try. The pride on their faces was so evident; I tried to photograph them both, but the sun was in a bad position to get a clear shot. "I did it" and "I did it too", however, are exact quotes, uttered by both girls at the moment of their triumph.

As I thought about this later when posting the photos from my phone, it occurred to me that "I did it" might be the greatest thing you will ever hear your child say. There's a balance there to figure out. Be there, be helpful, but make sure you're not doing it for them. She has to figure out she can lift that foot off the second landing and hang on with only her hands. You did it, big girls.

Twin Challenge

Good luck with this one!

Language

Do you want to learn to speak 3 year old? Sure, we all do. But who has time for boring drills or memorization? With Rosetta Stone: 3 Year Old, however, on your first day you'll be saying words like:

- Old McDonald's: Any fast food restaurant, whether it is actually McDonalds or not
- Forsmithias: Any yellow flower, except dandelions
- Last Morning: An indeterminate amount of time usually - but not necessarily - in the past. Can refer to any hour of the day as well, from actual morning to the dead of night

Stressful week at home this past. Thanks to a project at work I spent what seemed like about 80 hours in the office getting some servers rebuilt, while Jenn took care of the girls almost exclusively while battling a cold/fever as well. Get's better to, as I'm in KC this weekend for training. Jenn, the girs and I are going to be taking a mini vacation up here to KC at the end of May, though, so some relaxation coming up. Well, as much relaxation as you can get with two 3 year olds at least.

Girls for their part are continuing to grow and develop like weeds. Probably 99% potty trained at this point. Sometimes the pooey thing is a bit of a problem, and there is an accident every once in a while, but more often than not they're running off to the bathroom on their own, with a shout of intent. We don't really do a good job of keeping track of their height or anything, but every once in a while I'll be struck at how tall they look or how heavy they feel.

Kayla continues to be the one most concerned about what she's wearing. Usually wants to be in a dress, always very concerned about being in a skirt or having the right shirt. Not uncommon for her to change clothes 2 or 3 times in the evenings. Once she learns about clothes matching and styles it'll be all over. Seems like she might have a Daddy's Girl streak in her too; always quick to say that she liked basketball/football/Jupiter/whatever boring program Daddy watches those rare times he commandeers the TV. Favorite TV right now: Doc McStuffins.

Megan cares about fashion sometimes, but not nearly as much as Kayla. Flat refused every dress Mommy offered the other day in favor of a long-sleeve KU shirt and grey pants. Likes the iPad/laptops more than Kayla, though both girls have cooled on the iPad somewhat lately. She likes rough-housing more than Kayla, and is always ready to be thrown around or "get" Daddy. Favorite TV right now: Little Einsteins.

Plum Tuckered Out

Kayla and Megan were playing around a lot in their room before FINALLY collapsing and going to sleep.

Kayla apparently didn't make it into bed....

Wordless Wednesday - Kayla's Dance

Twin Challenge - Answer

(If, on the last post, you guessed Kayla on the left and Megan on the right -- you were correct!)

 

Twin Challenge

As the girls grow up, they look different and their different personalities really show.  But I see them all the time.  I'm not sure if they look as alike to people who don't see them all the time like I do!

Can you tell who's who?

Wordless Wednesday - Megan's Ice Cream

What it's like to be a parent

The whole bedtime/wakeup thing is always an adventure for us. Kayla and Megan usually get put to bed by 7:30 or 8, but when they actually go to sleep tends to vary, depending on how much tired energy they have. Usually it's by 8:30 but often it can stretch to 9:30 or beyond, which can make for some rough mornings.

On weekends they'll naturally wake up around 7:30 or 8, and be happy as clams, but on weekdays I have to get them up by 6:30 or so, to have time to get us all ready and out the door. That extra hour makes a world of difference; they're almost never ready to get up, and are usually pretty grumpy about it. A ritual of sorts has been established, a small little play that is acted out every morning.

IGNORE ME!: Daddy comes in to wake us up, to stunning indifference. If they are not already, both girls will quickly cover themselves with whatever blanket or pillow is near to hide from the sudden light, while Daddy gently prompts that it's time to get up, usually while killing time playing Words with Friends. Any suggestion of getting up, going potty, getting dressed, or any other activity is met with grunts of discord from beneath the covers. This is just the warm up; I know better than to rip off blankets or scoop them out of bed so soon, as this will just lead to Grumpy.

It's Fun Game Time!: Sometimes hiding beneath covers will lead to a game of hide and seek or peek-a-boo, which, if we're awake enough, will elicit some smiles and laughter. Once in a while the girls completely hide themselves beneath the covers, at which point they magically transform into "lumpy blankets" that can be playfully probed by Daddy. Sometimes Mommy is able to execute The Scoop Maneuver with minimal collateral damage. Occasionally there is some success with suggesting that someone can "win" the race to get potty'd and dressed first, or perhaps promises of breakfast if we happen to be really hungry. Grumpy slowly begins to melt away. This phase is of course pleasant and enjoyable, as playing with your children is pretty much why anyone becomes a parent in the first place. However caution must be exercised, because we are entering the...



Danger Zone!: We reach the critical phase, Grumpy Defcon 4. Fun Game Time will usually result in an awake and happy child, who will be glad to trundle off to the bathroom to begin her morning routine. However, if you push the issue too fast, or don't engage in the appropriate amount of Fun Game Time (which is unknown, of course), we immediately enter Condition Grumpy, resulting in a refusal to go potty, disapproval of any and all clothes suggestions, and a generally cantankerous attitude at least until we've been able to absorb 5 minutes of Dora. Losing the battle at this stage is heartbreaking, because it's one of those situations where you instantly know when you've misstepped, but you also know there's no chance at recovery.The magical wake-up script has been broken, and there's nothing to do but grin and bear it.

Rinse, lather, and repeat every weekday for the next 15 years.

Dang, I don't even want to go back and look how long it's been since I made a post. I know it was well before Christmas. If only there had recently (ha!) been a holiday that, via tradition, would have encouraged me to resolve to do better at posting regularly. Oh well.

Despite the lack of documentation, we do continue to thrive here. Girls are continually getting bigger and smarter. Potty training is *this* close. Kayla considers herself trained it seems; though of course there are still accidents, she will mostly go when we prompt and occasionally on her own as needed. Megan is tailing a bit in this area, but it hopefully won't be long now. In fact Mommy and Kayla are out and about right now, having a day of shopping at "special" stores, which of course will coincidentally be wherever Jenn wants or needs to go. Megan had to settle for Best Buy with Daddy.

Our biggest challenge as of late is dealing with little girls who still need to learn a few rules about how it's acceptable to act. We're not taking the word "No" very well lately, resulting in some spontaneous crying fits, or more humorously, Megan crossing her arms in a huff, wrapped around her torso about as far as possible, looking very much like the worlds cutest gansta rapper. I imagine it's poor discipline theory for me to laugh at it, but sometimes these things cannot be helped.

But overall they're both slowly becoming fully functional humans. Letters and numbers are recognized; Megan could tell we were in Lane 5 at Best Buy today. We want to read books as often as possible, do puzzles quite a bit. One of the more popular games is "Mommy", where one girl will pretend to be a baby (human, puppy, kitty, cow, whatever), and the other will care for her.

One thing lately that has been interesting to me: You can see the bond between the twins..."deteriorating" is not the right word, perhaps "getting some slack". There was a time when one girls going to daycare without the other (because of sickness) was a very distressing event. Tears from the girl that had to stay home, confusion for the girl going on the car ride over ("Where's Megan/Kayla?"), and reports of the girl at daycare "not being herself" when we picked her up. Kayla stayed home with both me and Jenn a couple days last week though with a cold/sinus infection, while Megan was sniffling but well enough to go to Miss Kelli's, and it wasn't nearly the problem it once was. Again today, Mommy took Kayla out to celebrate her being a "big girls", and while there were some tears from Megan initially, they were because she didn't get to do something special too, not because Kayla would be away. We went out to Best Buy real quick, came home and ate some lunch, watched Team Umizoomi, read some books and laid down for a nap, no big deal. Only a couple of mentions of Mommy and Kayla being home soon.

Expected of course, but still fascinating to watch. They continue to develop their own personalities. Kayla will often want to change clothes as soon as she gets home from daycare, because Mommy and Daddy will typically ditch their work shirt and put on some shorts or sweats in the evenings; most of the time Megan couldn't care less. Megan though seems to have much more patience with using the iPad, figuring out how to get it to do something, etc.

Rock Chalk Jayhawks - A Shout Out to Granny and Grandpa

Both girls were battling colds at the time of this video.
(Taken on an iPod Touch, so please excuse the quality and shakiness.)

Christmas Memories

Indulge me for a moment if you will, as I take a little stroll down memory lane.  Now that I'm a mommy, with girls old enough to "get it" at Christmas and have that wonder and excitement of the holiday shine in their eyes, I can't help but think about when I was a child at Christmas.

My own daddy passed away before I even met my husband.  He was a good dad and I miss him.  Mom and dad made sacrifices for us kids all the time -- more than we ever knew.  I remember the year that mom was in the hospital over New Years.  What I didn't know was that she was supposed to be in the hospital over Christmas -- but didn't want us girls to have that memory of Christmas.  Years later when I learned about it, I appreciated it.  Now that I'm a mommy, I understand it even more.

I remember every Christmas, getting our picture taken, in our jammies and housecoats, taking down our Christmas stockings.  That was before digital cameras, of course.
My stocking had a bit of green along the cuff.  My sister's did not.  Dad's was a larger one.  The dog's was a little white stocking with a red cuff.  There was always one missing -- no stocking for my mom.

As kids, we didn't notice.  For years, we didn't notice that mom didn't have a stocking.

I remember the year we did notice.  We were hanging stockings, and I realized we didn't have one to hang for mom.  I asked mom why she didn't have a stocking -- and she smiled and said, "I don't know -- daddy?"
He said he didn't know -- but that we'd better get her one!.   We got her a white one.

So why, for so many years, didn't she say anything about not having a stocking?  Didn't it upset her? I didn't understand that part for a long time.  How come she wasn't upset and didn't feel left out?  Because she knew then, what I learned as I grew older.  Christmas isn't about getting, it's about giving.  It started with God giving  His Son for man.

Mom knew the joy I know now when I watch my girls at Christmas.  They get so excited about seeing Christmas lights and decorations.  Watching Kayla run up to Santa and hug him was indescribable; especially when she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek spontaneously.  Listening to them sing Christmas songs makes my heart happy.  Their eyes get so big when they get excited about a present.  Watching them share their new toys makes me smile. Their joy shows in their faces as they rip the paper off each present.  The ear-to-ear grins and gasps of delight when they find what Santa left for them delight me, too.

I told them to get their stockings from the fireplace, and they squealed when they saw there was a stocking for each of them full of goodies.

And just like when I was young -- I doubt they noticed if mommy had a stocking or not.

Balloon Clown at Farmer's Market

We went to the Farmer's Market one Saturday morning.  The girls wanted balloons from the clown.  They watched intently while waiting in line.  When it was their turn, the clown asked what balloon they wanted.  Megan didn't hesitate at all -- she wanted a bunny rabbit!  I don't know where that came from -- no one ahead of us had gotten one!  He made her a purple bunny rabbit.

Kayla and Megan with her bunny rabbit balloon

When it was Kayla's turn, she said she wanted a bunny rabbit, too.  Taking a cue from their clothes, the clown asked if she wanted a pink one.  She nodded, and he went to work!

Troubles the Clown, making Kayla's pink bunny rabbit

They were shy, but still thanked him for the balloons, and were happy with their bunny rabbits!

After wards, we went to lunch.  The always like going to a "rest-au-rant".  It's always a long three-syllable word when they say it.

Megan carefully dipping her french fry

Megan, with Kayla eating her french fry