Life with the Twinkies

I haven't had time it seems lately to post or much else. The girls have been keeping us busy along with the numerous trips to the pediatrician's office.  Two weeks ago we were finally able to get the girls in for their H1N1 vaccine.  The same morning we had our appointment Abby came down with pink eye so we were able to get her treated right away.  Luckily as of yet no one else has gotten. I tried to disinfect everything I could but you never know.  Abby ran a low fever the next two days which we expected and was fine by that Tuesday (had gotten shots on Saturday).  That Thursday night she woke up with a fever in the middle of the night and ran a 103 degree fever that Friday afternoon so without any other obvious symptoms we took her in that same day to be checked out to make sure it wasn't an ear infection and make sure we could rule out swine flu. The doctor didn't see anything and suggested it might just be some type of virus that needed to run its course so wait until Monday and if no change come back. Well Abby ran a fever the entire weekend with it going up to 104 at night. We were trying to do our best giving her tylenol to help keep her comfortable and lower the fever.  She just wasn't herself so we went back today to be checked out again.  They did full bloodwork on her for which she didn't even flinch and these took the blood samples.  I was pleasantly shocked as I was expecting the tears to flow. We waited until the results came back although they didn't help much in identifying what might be going on. They then sent us over to the hospital for a chest x-ray.  Abby did awesome and even managed to score a lollipop for her and her sister.  We waited until the results were ready and ended up talking to the doctor again to find out that it looks like she may have mild bronchitis. So the doctor went ahead and prescribed an antibiotic which she started tonight. I am waiting to find out if she is going to wake up in a few hours buring up or sleep comfortably. Keep your fingers crossed this does the trick because I really don't want to have to go back to the peds office again on Friday.  

I haven't had time it seems lately to post or much else. The girls have been keeping us busy along with the numerous trips to the pediatrician's office.  Two weeks ago we were finally able to get the girls in for their H1N1 vaccine.  The same morning we had our appointment Abby came down with pink eye so we were able to get her treated right away.  Luckily as of yet no one else has gotten. I tried to disinfect everything I could but you never know.  Abby ran a low fever the next two days which we expected and was fine by that Tuesday (had gotten shots on Saturday).  That Thursday night she woke up with a fever in the middle of the night and ran a 103 degree fever that Friday afternoon so without any other obvious symptoms we took her in that same day to be checked out to make sure it wasn't an ear infection and make sure we could rule out swine flu. The doctor didn't see anything and suggested it might just be some type of virus that needed to run its course so wait until Monday and if no change come back. Well Abby ran a fever the entire weekend with it going up to 104 at night. We were trying to do our best giving her tylenol to help keep her comfortable and lower the fever.  She just wasn't herself so we went back today to be checked out again.  They did full bloodwork on her for which she didn't even flinch and these took the blood samples.  I was pleasantly shocked as I was expecting the tears to flow. We waited until the results came back although they didn't help much in identifying what might be going on. They then sent us over to the hospital for a chest x-ray.  Abby did awesome and even managed to score a lollipop for her and her sister.  We waited until the results were ready and ended up talking to the doctor again to find out that it looks like she may have mild bronchitis. So the doctor went ahead and prescribed an antibiotic which she started tonight. I am waiting to find out if she is going to wake up in a few hours buring up or sleep comfortably. Keep your fingers crossed this does the trick because I really don't want to have to go back to the peds office again on Friday.  

Megan and I arrived back home from San Diego last night after spending almost a week out there.  The flights out there were pretty uneventful which is awesome with traveling with an almost two year old sitting on our lap for the 6 hours of flights.  Lucky for me she slept for most of the second flight which was the longest of the two from Chicago.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I spent my days working in the office and Megan stayed with Nana and Papa.  She loved following Nana around watching Nana use her embroidery machine to make Micky and Minnie Mouses or as Megan just called them 'mouse'.  She had lots of toys to keep her busy many of which were mine from childhood.  Megan also liked exploring the backyard looking for bunnies and picking flowers.

Monday, the first day we were there Nana and Papa had the unfortunate luck of having a water leak coming from under their concrete foundation. So the next three days were busy with carpets being pulled, bathrooms ripped apart, holes in walls,industrial fans blowing, jackhammers and all the other crazy stuff that comes along with it.  By Tuesday the hot water was back on which was a relief but it will probably be a while until everything is cosmetically repaired.

I had taken one day off of work and ended up going to the zoo with Megan, Nana and Papa. I was so excited to take her there and see her reaction. I was expecting to get a big reaction from seeing the monkeys but it was the hippos, or habus as she would say, that got her the most excited. I spent most of my time trying to see her reaction to everything. She seemed to enjoy it all but eventually fell asleep for a quick nap, but was ready to go again.  We ended our visit with a stop in the petting zoo area which Megan absolutely loved.  The only thing that would have been better was to have had both girls there. 

We were also able to spend some time with a few friends while we were there. We managed to make it out to dinner with Cheryl one night and spend some time with Abby and her baby Ainsley. Megan seemed to like baby Ainsley but was probably more interested in all her fun toys. Once they get a little older they will be able to enjoy playing together more.

The day before we left we were able to hang out with family. My brothers and their families came over to visit. We also celebrated my nephew's birthday with some infamous 'brownie cake' of which Megan got her first taste.

While I traveled with Megan, Abby stayed with her daddy who took good care of her while we were gone. On his way to work he took her to daycare and picked her up on his way home.  I knew she would be occupied during the day and get daddy's attention at night.  As much as I don't like splitting the girls up it is nice to get to have one-on-one time with them from time to time.  Even this trip was harder than when I took Abby to San Diego last March.  When I was packing and putting Megan's snugglie (toy giraffe) in the bag Abby brought me her monkey. The poor thing didn't understand that only Megan was going this time. The drop off at the airport was hard. Abby just cried and cried when we got out. Kenny had to stop on the way home to try and calm her down.  After that intial event she did fine the rest of the time.  Kenny was there at the airport with Abby to pick us up. Abby gave me the biggest best hug which melted me.  She kept hugging me and wanted to stay with me.  Neither girl seemed too excited to see each other, that is until after we were home and they started chasing each other giggling and tackling each other. 

Well that is about it for our trip. Overall it was great, now time to unpack the bags and get back to our routine. 

Today is the girls Halloween party at school. The fact this is their first party makes it even more exciting. The girls were excited to put on their costumes this morning but trying to get a picture of the two of them together smiling was even more difficult.  I finally got one of them kind of smiling once we got to school although neither wanted to put up their hoods.  They are probably having their party now as I post this. When I dropped them off all the kids had their costumes on and were excited. Our neighborhood is also having their trick or treat night tonight so I am sure we will take the girls out to a few neighbors houses.

Megan has become quite the talker. I am always surprised each time she uses a new word.  Abby started talking first by Megan seems to have more words as of recently. This weekend she surprised me by saying 'french fries' and of course i thought she sounded so cute I had to try and capture it to share. Don't worry the oven door is heat resistant and not hot (the girls love to watch what is baking). Hope you enjoy.

She also enjoys calling our dog Callie, although she calls her Cayie.  She even ratted Callie out yesterday for stealing a crayon. The girls were sitting at the table coloring when a crayon dropped and all I hear is Cayie, Cayie, Cayie! and of course Callie had tried to sneak off with the crayon.   Thanks to Megan I got to Callie before she chewed it all up.  She also likes to say 'poop' a lot, I think she is a little confused and uses it when she pees, poops or passes gas. We will work on that.  Both girls like to say 'up' a lot to me usually while they are tugging at my arm to go where they want to go. As soon as I sit down I have two little ones saying 'up, up, up' until I get up and go with them or get them what they want.  They don't do this with Kenny they are smart enough to know they can only get mommy to get up at their beckon call.

My girls had their first school pictures done at the end of September at their daycare/preschool facility. It seems strange that my girls are old enough to have a 'class' picture and school pictures in general. We will probably still do our own 2 year old pictures in the next couple of months but who could not order school pictures.

That morning was a crazy morning with the toddler room.  The photographers were a little late in getting set up and the teachers were doing their best to keep all the little ones looking good till picture time.  I stayed a little bit to try and help but had to leave just before they started. 

I returned later that afternoon and asked how it went.  They told me Abby who they thought they would have a hard time with did great and Megan who is usually all smiles didn't want anything to do with it.  They did all they could to try and get a smile finally resorting to trying to use their beloved monkey and giraffe but no such luck.  Poor Megan looks so sad and in the picture of them together even has a tear running down her face.

The girls are 21 months old in the pictures below:

It has been a while since I last posted. We have done some fun stuff with the girls the past couple of weeks including taking them to a fair, had a visit from my friend Jen with her daughter Payton, getting over colds and having fun playing at home. 

I love my girls more and more each day.  They constantly amaze me and make me smile.  Both girls started talking later than most, Megan later than Abby, so I love to hear the new words they pick up on and hear them use it correctly.  Last night Megan kept calling for Abby... So sweet and simple yet it melted my heart. She probably said it 15 times before I went to get my camera.

The girls had a lot of fun playing with Payton this past weekend. They got a long great. It was fun to see our little girls playing together. We hung out at the house and ventured to a huge craft fair with the girls. I miss Jen so it was fun to catch up.  It was a great weekend Megan has also taken a big interest in 'helping'  which is very cute. Whenever I tell her I am going to do something like wash dishes, etc she says 'help, help' so I make an effort to let her when I can. Her favorite so far seems to be washing dishes.
Fall is here and Halloween is just around the corner. This week the girls have their first little field trip with their daycare for a hay ride, corn maze and pumpkin patch. It should be fun. We have Halloween costumes picked out (lady bug and bumble bee) which I am hoping will still fit them in another two weeks.  I couldn't resist these little witch hats courtesy of the dollar bins at Target.
 

My two little monkeys are awesome these days despite what seems like runny nose after runny nose.  The only things that seem to hold their attention these days are a few Wiggles DVD we have available thru Netflix on-demand feature.  One of these dvd is called 'Going Bananas' and it has a few songs about monkeys and now both girls when prompted will start acting like little monkeys with sounds and arms up in the air. I will have to see if I can catch and record it one of these days.  They love dancing and skipping around to all the songs, Megan especially.

Both girls' vocabularies have grown so much.  Abby has even started putting two words together. About a week and a half ago we were on our way home from daycare and I was talking to the girls and telling them I loved them when Abby responded back 'I know'. It cracked me up.  She has also said 'I love you' and 'my mommy'.  Megan is using single words and is the repeater of the two. She is more like to repeat words you say and then not use them again.  The one word she does use a lot is 'puppy' which is usually followed by her barking and woofing like a dog.

We have also adopted a little bunny that hangs out in our yard and named him 'Hoppy', I know not too creative there.  The rabbit is outside our windows daily eating the grass and the girls enjoy watching him. All I have to say is I see Hoppy and off to the windows or sliding glass door they go.

Since starting daycare the girls have been so much more independent and want to do things themselves. They both do pretty good with spoons, although Abby still tends to get everything all over including in the hair. Megan on the other hand is very precise and gets bothered when she has food on her hands or something has spilled on her tray.

There is a lot of giggling and dancing in our house but we also have our share of tears. Right now we seem to have issues with them hitting or pushing each other over toys or nothing at all.  Abby likes to go up to Megan and just push her or hit her with whatever she has in her hand. Poor Megan. Abby seems to think it is a game and even going in time outs in her pack n play in the other room don't seem to help.  We probably have a long road ahead of us.

The girls have become much more interested in what I am doing. They love to sit and watch/help me bake cookies. They will both help put things away or help me do something when asked. I am trying to make more of an effort to enovlve them in my activities to keep them entertained. 

Our sleep has gotten so much better, hold on...had to go knock on some wood.. The girls are sleeping in till 7!!!!!  I didn't think that day would come but it has.  It is actually a great wake up time to be able to get out of the door to daycare by a decent time. They take one nap at daycare but usually only sleep 1-1.5 hours and we go up for baths at 7:15 and they usually got to bed a little before 8.  Normally someone will wake up at least once but sometimes it is before I go to bed so occassionally I get uninterupted sleep!!!!!

Overall life is going great.  Transitioning the girls to daycare turned out better than we had hoped and it is allowing me to get more work done during the day versus having to works most nights to make up for it.  Having my nights free after the girls go to bed has been awesome. I have been able to do more of the things I enjoy and have a little 'me' time to do what I want whether it is something crafty or just organizing something.  I needed that.

Ever since the girls were probably 9 months old I have been wanting to make them tutus to use for dress up and play in.  What little girl couldn't use a tutu right?  I bought my supplies hoping I would have them made for their first birthday, well the girls are now 20 months old and I just got to finally making them. Tonight I let the girls play with them and I think they liked them. They were busy twirling and dancing all over the family room.  We have now officially started our collection of dress up clothes.

Yes it finally happened to us...the infamous poop in the tub. Last night we had gotten home from a birthday party and the girls were getting a bath a little later than normal. All was going well until I got up went to the sink came back and something caught my eye...yes it was poop and not just one piece.  Luckily Kenny was up in the bedroom to help me get the girls ready for bed so bath we got the girls out immediately.  While I took care of the girls Kenny had the job and removal and disinfecting. It was totally gross but what are you going to do? Who did it?  Honestly I don't know which of the them was the culprit, no one is fessing up :)