#2

How's this for a double entendre:

Firstly, a funny story about going #2. Or more specifically, a post about how Linus is absolutely, positively in complete denial that someone as cute as him can actually go poop. He'll deny in every way possible that he has something in his diaper that needs to be changed. He'll run throughout the house to escape a clean diaper. He'll scream "No poop! No poop!" while frantically clutching his butt so I can't gain access.

Today he reached a new level in trying to express to me how clean his diaper is even though he suspiciously smelled like an open sewer. While trying to take a peek inside to inspect his diaper, he said to me:

"No poop! Mommy, Linus diaper clean as a whistle!"

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Until he realizes just how much better running around without a full diaper really is, we'll have to be content with Sadie reading him books on how to use the potty.

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Secondly, Brian got interview #2 this week - Johns Hopkins University!

Sweet.

Chatty Cathy and Bossy Betty

There was a time not so long ago when I was really worried about Sadie's speech. Linus had started saying a few words and mimicking, but Sadie was barely babbling. She was evaluated by a speech therapist who determined that she was indeed behind in her speech, and to top it off, her tongue and lip movements weren't normal probably due to all of the tubes she had in her mouth for the first few months of life. So, we accepted the fact that Linus would be the talker and Sadie would just need a little more time and effort to catch up.

Boy, what a difference a few months makes.

Now, a typical day consists of Sadie waking up and commenting on every single thing that is in her room. She points out all of the toys that have been thrown or dropped out of bed in the middle of the night. She tells you what color blankets are in the bed, what color pajamas she's wearing, what color pajamas I'm wearing, and the colors of any other objects she can see. And she makes sure that you know Linus is still sleeping. Why is he still sleeping? Linus should be up playing with Sadie. Wake up Linus. Sadie wants to play!

If I manage to get Sadie out of the room without waking Linus up, she continues to inform me that Linus is still sleeping while we're walking down the hall and into the family room. Eventually she'll comment on how the dogs aren't sleeping on the appropriate chairs, and that Canyon should be the one to sleep on the couch while Tyson should be on the red chair. And they need to move to their appropriate sleeping positions. Now! No Tyson, not blue chair, red chair. Move Tyson, move!

Then she'll remind me that Linus is still sleeping and that she wants to play. (Apparently, playing without Linus in the room just isn't going to happen).

So, with enough yelling, Linus wakes up and we go get him. And I kid you not, for the next 10 hours, Sadie bosses Linus around. And I don't mean yelling at him when he steals a toy, I mean she gives him stage directions the entire day. This could be anything from "Linus go to the chair. No, that chair" to "Linus, push Sadie on choo-choo train. No, not that way. Push Sadie in the hallway".

She tells him which cars he should have, which stuffed animals he should play with, which color tea cups he can drink from during their tea parties, which ball he should throw into the basketball hoop, where he should be playing, what he should be doing at all times, what he should be eating during meals...You name it, and Sadie is telling Linus what and how he should be doing it.

What is Linus' reaction?

He listens to everything she says.

I am positive this bossiness isn't going to go away any time soon, but I'm holding my breath for the day Linus decides he's had enough and wants to make his own decisions for a change.

I don't think Bossy Betty is going to take it well.

Despite all of this bossiness, I am floored at how well she is talking. Kids are absolutely amazing at how much they can learn in such a short period of time. Here I thought Linus would be the talker, and Sadie is by far the chattier one. I am trying hard to appreciate and remember her cute little voice now because I'm sure the demands won't be nearly as cute when she's a teenager.

Oh, the funny things kids say

I know it's been awhile since I last posted. Mainly it's because there haven't been any new revelations or huge milestones since the last post...just the same ol' same ol. But, let me clarify that the same ol' same ol' is absolutely, positively hysterical at times. And so comes my ever-expanding list of The Funny Things That Kids Say and Do:

1. Brian told Linus to "keep his eye on the ball" while playing catch, so he literally tried to hold the ball to his eyeballs while thinking of how in the world he was going to throw it.

2. Sadie likes to hide her arms and then ask, "Where did my arms go?" But, then she'll give you a hint and point, "Maybe over there?" and shove them back behind her back.

3. While going to sleep at night, Sadie will yell at Linus if he happens to fall asleep first, "Linus asleep. Wake up Linus!"

4. Sadie now calls her stroller "Grover" which is really confusing since there is a constant battle about who gets to hold the stuffed Grover doll in the car. She can say "st", "roll", and "er", but when you ask her to put it all together she'll still tell you "Grover".

5. Sadie pointed out the other day that a wedding picture we have on our shelf is a picture of us where "Daddy has beer. Mommy has no beer". (Do you think we need to cut down on the beer consumption at our house?)

6. Linus got out of the bath first and ran away with Sadie's towel before I could stop him. Sadie's response: "Linus has Sadie's towel...that stinker".

...Hmmm...Now I can't remember hardly any of them. I know there are so many more, but I need to write them down so I can add them to the list. Oh well.

In the meantime, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure from the past week:
(Our trip to the zoo with Grace and Vivian)


(Sadie reading Linus and the teddy bears a story)

I stand corrected

I really thought that in the last 5 years we've lived here, I had seen most of the major attractions that San Diego has to offer. But on Friday I was introduced to another fun one for the kids: the botanical gardens. I know what you're thinking...how much fun can kids possibly have with a bunch of plants? Well, let me tell you that they had a blast! I mean, what's not to love when there is a dinosaur archaeological dig to participate in, statues to climb,

a bubble station to play with, plants to pot (and then take home!), a playhouse complete with little kitchen, books and a pint-sized picnic table,

a little pond to "fish" in,

and a model train that goes through a tunnel.

My only piece of advice is to bring at least one change of clothes because by the end of the morning these guys were covered in water/bubbles/dirt from head to toe.


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Lately, Sadie has been really interested in the moms that we hang out with. Sometimes she even prefers to be with the other moms instead of me. For instance, when we were at the botanical gardens, she wanted Cherie to help her with the bubbles, and she wanted to show Cherie all of the plastic bugs that were hidden around the gardens. When I asked her about them she immediately wasn't interested anymore. Sadie also likes to hold hands with the other moms and she likes to "help" them push their strollers. Maybe I should feel a little abandoned by this new-found interest in other moms, but to be honest, it hasn't really bothered me yet. Maybe because she's the same as always when we're at home or out together without anyone else around. It also makes things a lot easier for me...harder for the other moms who have their own twins to deal with, but easier for me, especially since Linus has become a lot more needy and clingy. I've seen this happen with other kids too so I guess it's a stage (at least I'm telling myself that it is), and I'm sure she'll outgrow it soon enough. Until then it's just something else to write down. In the meantime we'll just spend a lot more time with our friends so that everyone is happy and having a good time.

Maybe Linus did it?

It doesn't matter what happened, where it happened, or to whom it happened, according to Sadie:

Maybe Linus did it?

If she's missing a toy that she just set down 2 seconds ago, but forgot where it was, then

Maybe Linus took it?

If she all of a sudden remembers playing with something 4 months ago that has been in the closet ever since, she'll say that

Maybe Linus put it in the playroom?

Even if Linus is sitting on my lap reading a book and she didn't bother to look in the next room for the stroller she wants to push around, she'll tell me that

Maybe Linus has it?

You can fill in the other variations yourself.

Linus hasn't done this yet, only Sadie. And she blames him for everything. Well, she suggests instead of blames since everything is "Maybe Linus..." as opposed to "Linus did...". This seems very familiar to a time not so long ago that Tyson and Canyon were causing all of the havoc in our house. Does this happen to anyone else?

It doesn't help that she's so darn cute and you can't help but laugh. Mental note: Laughing causes the aforementioned action to increase exponentially. Multiplied by 1000.

Life with two 2-yr olds

I always find it really funny when I am about to get on here to post something, and then I realize that one of my friends has just posted about the exact same thing happening to their twins. I just read Jessica's blog about taking her boys to the car show, and it totally cracked me up. Are all toddlers obsessed with cars and trucks? I joke about taking the kids to the dump so we can watch large trucks with scoops push around trash, but I bet they would really love it. Does taking your kid to a landfill for entertainment step over the boundaries of good parenting? Even if it involves trucks? Anyways, when given the choice, the kids these days will always vote for Legoland. Not for the rides mind you, but for Miniland. You know, where a bunch of cities are made out of legos.

Just a couple of days ago we watched a truck drive around in a circle for almost 20 minutes! To be fair, it did go through a tiny tunnel, but still...

But then we disovered that this yellow truck went around in a bigger circle, went through a slightly larger tunnel, under a monorail which was also moving, and was out of sync with the other moving cars so it kept crashing into the back of them. This mega-entertainment lasted almost an hour until I practically dragged the kids kicking and screaming to a table for lunch.

And with the extra bonus if buttons to push which spray water, play music, cause a Lego dog to run around in circles, and to start the volcano at the Legoland Mirage in Vegas, what's not to love?

If anyone cares to join us, I'm sure we'll be there tomorrow. And the next day.

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This afternoon the kids were having a great time in their cribs laughing and talking to each other. After about 30 minutes I heard the dreaded thump followed by piercing screams. Apparently Sadie was done with her nap for the day and had managed to escape her crib. I am positive this happened because just the other night I was saying how lucky we are that Linus stopped trying to escape after his second attempt and that Sadie hadn't even tried yet. Talk about Karma.

Luckily she was fine - not even a bump - which is amazing since it was so, so loud. (And we have blankets under their cribs just for that reason). Another friend of mine heard the thump only to discover that her daughter had broken her collar bone. Can you imagine?

So tonight, I have a layer of pillows and another comforter down in case she tries it again. She repeatedly told me what had happened and even gave me a demonstration of how she did it, but I'm hopeful that she'll remember how much it hurt and doesn't do an encore performance tonight.

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Brian is officially 37 as of yesterday. Since I am such a winner wife, I even called our friends to come over for a BBQ last night. (I say that sarcastically since most of the time Brian plans his own parties...actually he planned this one too. But, I made the calls this time instead of making him do it. Baby steps).
The kids got along really well and we even pulled out the "kids table" for them to eat at, but I think only Jacob ingested any food. Sadie spent most of the time playing musical chairs and trying to shove carrots into Fieldin's mouth, but it was still neat to actually have a "kids table" instead of taking turns with the high chairs.

Our little kiddos are growing up.

Happy Birthday, sweetie. Who would have thought our lives would have gone from this:

to this:

to this:

Here's hoping you'll survive at least another 37...because you're not leaving me alone with these two. Love you.

Holiday review

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing holiday. We had a great time with my family who stayed with us for about a week. And in this past week, we have crammed in more activities than the last two Christmases (is that a word?) combined.

Actually, that's not saying much considering that the first Christmas home with the kids consisted of grabbing a kid and a bottle and playing musical chairs with 6 adults and 2 dogs in a very, very small house.

I don't think it was the most fun holiday my brothers had ever had.

Last year, we did manage to get out of the house with the kids, but they were still on 2 naps a day so our outings were pretty short.

However, this year I think we managed to go to almost every attraction in San Diego, and I'm pretty sure we were out of the house more often than we were sitting inside of it.

What a difference a year (or two) makes.

In the past week we baked and decorated cookies. For Grandpa.
That was only one of the 100 hundred edible items that we made. Saying that we like food and we like to eat is an understatement. The running joke with us is that we are always discussing the next meal while we are eating the current one. After pigging out for a week, Brian and I are too full to eat anything for several days after they leave. Apparently, the kids are exactly the opposite since they have eaten the best they have in a year. Next time they go on a hunger strike I'm buying them plane tickets and shipping them off to Virginia.

Right before my family arrived, I put away a lot of their old toys in anticipation of the new ones under the tree. I don't think it made a difference.
...And then the kids discovered where their old toys were. Toys that haven't been played with in 6 months were once again a big hit. Along with the new ones they just got. I guess Sadie's infatuation with organizing doesn't apply to toy clutter.

But, they did love their new presents. Here are the kids with their new pajamas and new bikes.

One of the biggest hits were cow and tiger flashlights from the McHugh's.

Little did we know that they would come in handy later in the week when Brian got stuck with a flat tire on the side of the road. This is when we also realized that these flashlights come with an automatic "off" feature so the light won't stay on for longer than a minute at a time. Apparently it takes longer than a minute to change a tire.

During the week I also got the bright idea that my mom and I could cut Linus' hair. I held him down while she cut. And she did a fantastic job until he started getting fussy at the very end. There were just a few pieces that needed to be cut, and I decided that I could do it faster so I took over. Big mistake. I was faster alright. So fast that I completely scalped him. Now he has the same haircut at Jim Carrey's character on Dumb & Dumber. Yep, my kid looks like a complete and total dork. (Here's a "Before" shot - I'm not about to post an "After" picture.)

Poor Linus. He had no idea he would need that hat for aesthetic reasons in addition to safety concerns.

In all fairness, my mom tried to salvage what I had completely ruined so he looks a little less dork-like. But, next time I'm going to suck it up and spend the $20.

Sadie has also become very particular about what she wears. If Brian or I pick out an outfit and she isn't happy with it, she will go right back to her drawer of clothes and pick out something else. Usually it's even cuter than what we originally had for her to wear, so we now have a fashion diva on our hands. Uncle Ryan will appreciate that this morning she insisted on wearing her Hokie socks in anticipation of the VT game.

We wish you all a happy, healthy, fashionable and stress-free 2008. Cheers!


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And a big Happy Birthday Grandma and Grandpa W!

We love you! And we're so glad you were able to spend the holiday with us.