20 months (almost)

So wow. I have not posted in FOREVER! I'd like to give a shout out to my father-in-law Larry Chaplin for impressing upon me the importance of keeping up this blog;) Mainly I think he just wants to see pictures of the girls, but that's ok I guess.....hahaha.

The twins will be 20 months old on December 5. I can hardly believe it! Time really is flying now. I can't say the same for last year at this time though haha. Its funny though, because I can't really remember much of last year. I think thats how it is for the first year with twins. When people ask me how it is having twins I say "easier now." But honestly you couldn't pay me enough to redo that first year. Unless of course it was enough money to hire a full time nanny!  We made it though, and are finally getting to the part where twins are fun, as so many people had promised us.

Gosh, I don't even know where to start! Its been almost a year since my last post!

Miss Norah is in preschool now. She goes to Holy Trinity Catholic School's 3 year old preschool program. She absolutely loves it and so do we! She has a small class of 9 kids and a really great teacher. She has blossomed socially since she started going and easily makes friends with kids. She used to be pretty shy around people she didn't know. When we go to the mall play place or the park she is generally the one leading around a small group of kids. That's my girl ;) She turned 4 October 29 and has the attitude to prove it. Wow does the girl have spirit! But I love that about her, it makes her who she is and she will do great things some day. She is an excellent big sister...for the most part ;) We have to do a lot of reminding to be gentle and to play nice and to not yell at her sisters. But she has taught them so many things. I honestly don't think they would be where they are without her influence. They absolutely love her and look to her to direct their play. Almost all day they pretend different things...usually they are all puppies. Or Norah is the kid, Vivian is the dad and Mary is the mom. Mary also likes to pretend to be an angry kitten. Its funny how the second/third kids start pretending so much earlier because of the older siblings example. Norah didn't start pretend play until 2.5-3 if I remember right, which I probably don't haha. Norah can also tell the twins apart now. She says "just look at their faces!" Katie was babysitting them the other day and she was getting who she thought was Mary out of the bathtub but Norah said no, that's Vivian! And turns out she was right. She knows I think because they spend so much time together playing. She also told Bekah she can tell them apart because Vivian is "the mean one who yells all the time." Which is partially true lol.

The feisty pirate princess

Speaking of Vivian Lee, she is so hilarious. I feel like she will be the one who will be in plays and  drama/acting. She LOVES to get a laugh and you can tell when she knows she is getting attention because she will stick out her tongue and smile and keep looking over her shoulder. She also gets more mad than sad. Mary just gets sad and cries but if things don't go Vivian's way she gets MAD. She will scream and lay on the floor and have a little tantrum. She will also hold a grudge for quite a long time for a 20 month old! Her and Norah tend to fight more than Norah and Mary. And in a twin fight Vivian usually comes out on top. Mary just seems to want to get along and tries to talk to Vivian but most times Vivian doesn't want anything to do with it. They are starting to have more sweet twin connections but for the most part its a lot of yelling and tears. They fight over me all the time, and who gets to sit on my lap. But if they are both sitting there they get annoyed with the other one and start pushing each other. Its pretty hilarious but I try not to encourage it as I'm sure it won't be cute for much longer ;) The other day though another baby (Isaac, I'm looking at you!) took a toy from Mary and she got sad and started crying. Vivian was watching the whole thing and first offered her pizza crust to Mary and then walked over and got down in her face and babbled something that I think was supposed to be comforting. It was pretty adorable.

Cheesy face Vivs

Vivian is a very good eater. She will eat pretty much whatever I give her. Which is probably why she outweighs Mary by a pound now! And is also slightly taller. She has always been the bigger of the two but it is becoming more apparent now. I don't know their exact weights but I'm guessing Vivian is around 19 pounds and Mary is around 18 pounds.

They both sleep really well. Down around 730 PM and up around 830 AM. No more night wakings to nurse!! I am feeling SO AMAZING with all the sleep I've been getting. So good in fact that I have been sacrificing sleep time for kid free time and staying up late. No regrets...the peace and quiet is WORTH IT. No one asking for snacks or fighting, or asking me to "read a buhhp (book)!" They also take a 1.5-2 hour nap daily. Love them for that haha. They do like their sleep. Still separate cribs in the same room. They usually talk/laugh for awhile before falling asleep and talk when they wake up in the morning. I just started putting blankets in their cribs a month or so ago and they love them. I had nothing in there for the longest time because I was so paranoid about SIDS. They just cuddle right up. But they do have a specific way they like to be tucked in and this is what happened the first time daddy put them to bed with their blankets....

I'm supposed to be on my tummy daddy....V

And what is this baby doing on my chest!?!?! M

Mary Ivory is a lot more sensitive than Vivian. She notices more things and is WAY more attached to mama. They both love me of course, but Mary notices when I leave especially when we are in a new place. She just wants to get along with people. She is more apt than Vivian to go along with whatever Norah wants to do. But don't let that fool you, she does have a quiet stubbornness about her...I blame it on her daddy who is the most stubborn person I've ever met;) She loves to give Vivian kisses and I think she wishes they talked more. She gets sad when Vivian takes something from her but doesn't get mad like Vivian does. They do have some pretty good fights though. She is straight up the pickiest eater ever! She makes me so crazy! I try everything. But she will study it and then look at me and say "no." Very distinctly. She also tells me every time she poops ("poop, poop, mama, poop") and is very upset about it until I change her. I'm so happy about that...because as soon as they turn 2 I'm gonna potty train them. Norah was an absolute nightmare to potty train and so I'm determined to do better with the twins! Vivian will sometimes tell me if she's poopy but she is definitely not as reliable as Mary. Its funny though because they will tell me they have poop and then I say oh you have poop? And they say no, no poop. But they really are. Silly girls. Their fave thing to say while changing their diapers is "no poop!" if there is none and "all gone poop!" if there was some.

Sweet Mary Ivory

They are still nursing 3 times per day. I have limited it to before bed, when they wake up in the morning and before their nap. Because it turns into a WWE match if they are too awake for it! They push, shove, kick, try to steal each other's side, you name it. Nursing twin toddlers is not as sweet and relaxing as nursing one toddler haha. I would nurse them separately but that is not allowed...what one twin does the other must do as well.

They absolutely love Kyle. When he comes home they both run to the door yelling "daddy daddy daddy dada dada" and cry if he doesn't pick them up right away. Which he definitely does not mind. Vivian will go to him or me interchangeably. Mary still prefers me.

They love their baths and are always asking for "bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!"

Their current musical obsession is the Okee Dokee brothers. They could watch their music vids on  youtube all day. Its the magic cure to whatever is making them sad. And I actually love the music too so its a win win for all!

They call Norah "Norna," and that is the first thing they say when they wake up in the morning or from their nap. They get sad when she is at school. They call Java "good girl." Never Java, just good girl. Its adorable.

Favorite foods include clif bars, chicken (preferably from chick fil a), yogurt, frozen peas, any kind of fruit, and of course BREAD. What is it with kids and bread.

Vivian the pumpkin, Mary the monkey, Norah the pirate princess

In other unrelated to children news...Kyle and I went away at the end of October for the first time since the twins! We had a great weekend in Minneapolis/St Paul hanging out with friends and enjoying the adult life without children ;)

We look pretty darn good for having 3 kids, right? Right?!?!?!

Also in other news I am starting a new job tomorrow! I took at job at Wesley Acres working on their skilled unit. I am very sad to leave hospice, but was needing more hours than were available there. I am still staying at Taylor House PRN and hope to pick up a shift at least once a month! I will be working every other weekend at Wesley Acres as well as some extra evening shifts during the week. I think it will be good for all of us, especially me and my sanity ;) I have found that I am a much better mom when I can get out and be an adult from time to time!

Well, I hope that covers it...I mean it really probably barely scratches the surface of the past 11 months but there is a quick snapshot! 

Wishing everyone peace joy and love this holiday season!!

I wish Kyle was in this picture too...:( Also I'll be honest and say I'm not completely certain which twin is which. Oops;)