Lil Dawgs Celebrate!

This past weekend we celebrated our first GA bulldog game. The game was a nice treat for Preston and I because it did not start until 8pm which meant that we were able to put the twins in bed and enjoy the game on our own. On Saturday we dressed the twins in their GA best and we went to a local playground where we fed ducks, played on the playground and just enjoyed being together as a family. I think about a dozen people stopped us to tell us how cute the twins looked in their GA best and it made a proud momma to have such cute lil Dawgs! The game was not the best as we were defeated but my heart was still happy at the end of the day because I knew Gracie and Bailey didn't know any different and that they had a fun day celebrating.

24 Month Check-Up

24 Months Old!

On the 8th of this month we went to our 24 month checkup. We had just had our fun Birthday weekend and my precious nieces, Molly Kay and Addie Mae decided to stay with us for awhile and so I had four kids for about a half of a week. The twins absolutely adore all of their older cousins so it did help to have them around but I had to learn that having two more kids added double time to our already doubled time if you know what I mean. The girls were sweet and patient to go with us to our appointment. At the appointment the nurse reviewed all of their developmental tasks and she took what I call as their statistics. Bailey weighed 27.6pds and was in the 50% for weight, he measured 35 inches in height and was in the 75th %. Gracie weighed 26.4 and was also in the 50% for weight and she was 34 inches in height and was in the 60% for height. The twins displayed their typical personalities at the appointment and Bailey was as good as gold as the doctor assessed him. Gracie of course acted like a drama queen and was a little more vocal in letting the doctor know that she did not want to be assessed. I was relieved that they only had to get one immunization and that it is the last one until they are 3! I hate watching my babies get shots. Dr. Cox described that he was very proud of their growth curve as they started out not even being on he chart and now they are in the 50%. Professionals have always told us that it would take the twins 2 years to catch up and I have to say that I think we have come a long way from our tiny 3pd start. Gracie and Bailey were so proud to count to ten for the doctor and they both really showed off their verbal skills as they would answer just about all the nurses questions that were directed at mommy and daddy! I was very proud of my Gracie and Bailey for being so brave and showing off all of our hard work in fattening them up!

Time to Party!

Gracie and Bailey have helped me to prepare for their party for about a month so they were so excited that it was time for their special day! They could name everyone that was coming to their party and when they asked what kind of party they would say "Mickey and Minnie." We have reservations to go to Disney in the Fall so thought that doing a Mickey and Minnie party would help to make them even more excited when we get to Disney. We had the party at our new favorite park, Gary Pirkle Park. We held our breaths as it rained just before and there were still hints of thunder but it seemed to hold off for the party. The kids had a blast playing on the pavilion covered playground. The celebration included pizza, cake and of course goody bags. Gracie and Bailey loved having all their cousins and friends in one place playing together. We continued the party back at our house and couldn't have been more blessed by the love of our family and friends celebrating Gracie and Bailey's special day.

Getting ready for our party.

Down the tunnel slide together!
Bailey and his lil buddy, Zack.

The Birthday princess and prince.

Friends celebrating togther.

Our Mickey and Minnie cake!

Time to blow out the candles.

Our BIG surprise

To keep celebrating our Birthday week we decided to go ahead and give Gracie and Bailey their "big surprise" a couple days before their party. They ran outside yelling "big car, big car" and were so excited to see their jeep for 2! It didn't take any time at all for them to learn how to hold their foot down on the pedal and off they went. Gracie seemed to take charge but Bailey did his fair share of driving. It took Gracie about an hour before she noticed the gear shift and then she thought it was so funny to drive the jeep backwards. They both were giggling while doing backwards circles in the backyard. Crazy Bailey decided that he would be a typical boy and he tried to hang off of the back of the jeep while his sister was driving but of course his mommy said "no way, get down." We compromised by letting him put his baseball bat in the back of jeep and he seemed happy. Since receiving the jeep they have spent numerous hours riding around the yard together. I love that the jeep allows them to ride together and share in the fun. I will never grow tired of watching my sweet Gracie and Bailey giggle together as they play.

We are 2!

Gracie and Bailey turned two on 8/02/11. We had been talking about their birthday for some time and so they were very excited on their "special day." I was working at the Hospice inpatient unit this week and so I was feeling some mommy guilt for not being with my babies on their special day. Since mommy was feeling a little guilty, the twins really got spoiled all day with their Granny at home to care for them. They awoke to chocolate sprinkled covered doughnuts and their "big surprise" wasn't in yet so they opened a basketball goal which kept them busy playing out in the sun with Granny. When I got home I brought the birthday girl and boy each their own special Birthday balloon. With Gracie and Bailey having to share a Birthday I feel like I have to try extra hard to really make the day special and unique for both of them. Bailey got a Thomas the Train balloon and Gracie's balloon was Disney Princesses. When I got home from work we headed to Chuckee Cheese to meet Daddy for a special Birthday dinner. Granny of course joined us since she was staying with us and Grammy and Daddy Bob came to celebrate with us. The twins had never been to Chuckee Cheese before but it didn't take any time for them to fall in love with the place. They rode rides, ate pizza and had birthday cupcakes. The day was perfect for celebrating my two miracles.

Gracie and Bailey's Birthday Breakfast

Gracie loved the merry go round
Bailey asked to ride again and again!

Gracie's favorite ride was the pony.

I loved that each of my babies got spoiled individually by their Grammy and Granny!

Getting Creative!

Being a stay at home mom of two almost two year old twins is honestly one of the hardest jobs that I have ever had. Not to complain but when it gets simply almost too hot to go outside then our house can become a disaster within a matter of minutes if I do not keep Gracie and Bailey busy, which is hard to do because their attention spans are only a couple of minutes long. This month I have tried to become more creative in thinking of new things for us do to at home. We put together an art station that has lots of fun art supplies and we have started using new things like glue sticks, puffy balls and stickers. In the play room we try to change the train table up into a zoo and we put all of our Noah's ark animals and little people animals on it for the day. The twins love helping throw the train tracks in the basket and love helping to gather all the animals. We also have started make believing out story books and trying to do more "role play." Just yesterday I asked Gracie if she was ready to take her bath and she said "no mom, a shower." I held my mouth open in shock as my not even two year old little girl just told me she was going to take a shower but I thought why not and into the shower they went. Needless to say, they loved it as they played in the "rain." One of my girlfriends died laughing when I told her that I sat on my bathroom floor and enjoyed a book as they played in the shower but a mom has to do what a mom has to do to get a little peace. I am looking forward to the fall when more of our structured activities start back but for now my creative wheels will have to keep spinning!

Role playing "The Three Little Pigs" Bailey loves to huff and puff!

Playing in the "rain" can be so much fun

Big Kid Room!

On July 9th we decided to transition Gracie and Bailey's room into a big kid room. We already had the mattresses and bedding but we had been waiting until just the right time. We kept going back and forth on whether or not they were "ready" but we decided to cave in and just go ahead and do it. It was emotionally hard to say good bye to their nursery that I loved so much but I kept telling myself to concentrate on the positives and the blessing of having two healthy big kids now! We had prepared ourselves for the worst on the first night after hearing horror stories from other moms in my twin club but our babies "oops I mean big kids" surprised us and they did great. They both stayed in their beds all night and have done super ever since. Gracie just recently did discover that she can get out of her bed and help herself to books in the middle of the night but we are hoping that this will pass once her two year molar breaks through and doesn't wake her up at night. The big kid status has really seemed to help their self esteem and I am so proud that they are doing so good. Bailey has train sheets on his bed and Gracie has pink birdies on her sheets. They love to count their trains and birdies as they doze off to sleep. I am looking forward to adding some big kid decor to their room but with twins everything is doubly expensive so we have to do a little bit at time!