26 Months

Okay, so it's time I do an update on the girls. SO much has happened since I last blogged. The girls turned two, Chad got a new job, we moved to Salt Lake, and countless other things!

But first, I want to write down a few things about the girlies.

Avery

• Still a stinker. She is hilarious though. She is so quirky and weird. And she has more energy in her tiny little pinky than Chad and I have combined
• Has to sleep with her Cabbage Patch baby doll, two lovies (she calls them her "ya ya's"), her little person baby, two binky's (yes they still have binky's leave me alone), three blankets, one stuffed Minnie Mouse doll, one Bitty Baby doll and one stuffed bear. Getting her ready for bed (feels like it) takes like an hour
• Loves to do the hot dog dance from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Loves to put on chapstick - she calls it "chap"
• Likes to put her baby in her shopping cart with, like, 50 blankets
• Favorite foods include anything dipped in ketchup, oranges, banana bread, rice crispy treats - she calls them "teats", toasted homemade bread, bananas, string cheese, peaches, and pizza
• Enjoys tormenting her sister
• Always has her baby and her purse with her
• Loves to color - she is always so concentrated as she scribbles
• Loves to listen to "ELSA!" which is "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" on YouTube. She's never seen the movie, but she loves that song
• Is always dancing and doing somersaults when she has an audience - she loves attention!
• LOVES her sleep! She's pretty much like her mama in every way
• Mama's girl
• Tiny little thing, weighing 22 pounds
• Wears size 4 shoes

Pretending to sleep on the stairs - she kept saying "night night mama!"

Harper

• Still my sweetheart. She has the kindest heart
• Also has a crazy nightly routine. She has her Cabbage Patch baby, two lovies (also called her "ya ya's"), one binky, two blankets, one stuffed Minnie Mouse doll, one Bitty Baby doll, and one stuffed bear
• Can navigate my phone like a pro. She knows how to get to Netflix and turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then she'll get bored so she'll go to YouTube and watch episodes of Doc McStuffins or scenes from Frozen. Then she'll go to my pictures and watch all my videos. Then she'll go to music and find Taylor Swift,  Katy Perry, or Megan Trainor
• LOVES Taylor Swift (she calls her "Tay Tay"). She knows certain words to almost every song from Taylor's new album (her favorite song is Bad Blood, which is mine too, so we listen to it all. the. time)
• Has no rhythm, bless her heart, but she loves to dance! 
• Always has her pants pushed up into capris. I don't know when or why this started, but she is insistent on it. I've tried rolling them up so they look cute, but that doesn't fly with her. It'll be nice when she can wear shorts this summer!
• Favorite foods include...everything except strawberries :)
• I have a feeling she's going to be our little tattletale - she's always telling me the naughty stuff Avery is doing!
• Girliest girl there ever was. She always has her high heels on and at least one purse
• Loves to be outside. She loves her plasma scooter (best thing ever) and wants to be completely independent when she's on it, which terrifies me!
• Obsessed with my mom
• Weighs around 28 pounds
• Wears size 5/6 shoes

This is how Harper looks...90% of the time.

Both girls are saying words and talking like crazy. Everyday they say something new. My favorite is "I luh you mama". I wake up every morning to them yelling into the monitor "I'm up! Mama. I'm up!" and I can't not smile! 

They go to bed around 7:30 or 8:00 and wake up around 8:00 which, I'm sure, will get earlier as summer comes. They go down for their nap around 12:30. Harper sleeps till around 2:00 and we have to wake Avery up around 3:00.

They love their cousins and aunts and uncles. It's so nice to be so close to family! 

When we lived in Boise, we never watched TV. Maybe once or twice a week would I put Daniel Tiger or Elmo on.  I just didn't want my kids to watch it so we would play and listen to the radio all day. But since moving here (where we have cable), they've gotten more exposed to TV and watch a couple shows a day. As mentioned above, they love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, and occasionally Elmo. Mostly they like to see Minnie, Daisy and "Goosey" (Goofy). 

Nursery has been...an adjustment. As soon as the girls were getting comfortable in our old ward, we moved. So either Chad or I need to stay in there for the full two hours. It hasn't been a problem because we don't have callings yet, but as soon as we do, it's going to get difficult!

We haven't started potty training yet. We talked about it a few months back, but with the move and all the changes, we didn't want to push the girls into something they weren't ready for. Avery wakes up dry a lot and likes to go on the potty, but it's hit and miss. I figure we'll try in the next couple weeks for three days and if we see no improvement, we'll hold off for a month or so and try again. 

Both girls really are so sweet. Of course they have their sassy moments and get on each others nerves, but seeing them hug or share with one another without having to be asked just melts my heart! They love each other so much and it's been so wonderful to watch them grow up. They are my besties!

17 Months

We have been pretty busy around here! We just got back from California yesterday, so I'll do a separate post about that. So much fun! Here's a little bit about our 17 month old cuties!

17 Months

(14 months adjusted)

Avery

• Crazy kid. She is everywhere and into everything! 
• Is learning to share. She understands when we ask her to give something to her sister or to us
• Still loves her binky. It's going to be a tough habit to break...we're going to try working on having it gone by the time she turns two 
• Loves stacking toys, putting toys in their bin, and playing with her Little People/toy house
• Has four teeth
• Is not particularly fond of water...only one time has she gotten into a pool and enjoyed it. We'll definitely be working on it this summer! 
• Likes to growl when we ask her what the lion says - she thinks it's absolutely hilarious

Here she is, putting her bows away like a big girl :)

First snow cone!

Just hangin' out by the garbage can. It's the cool thing to do. 

Harper

• My little dancer! She loves to wave her arms around and shake her booty like nobody's business the second she hears music
• Sings! She'll walk around the house singing "da da da da" when she's happy
• Also learning to share. But most of the time she doesn't need to be told to do it. If Avery is crying or upset, she'll hand her a binky or a toy to play with. She has such a sensitive little heart
• Loves to talk all day long (as long as she's home)
• Still quite a mama's girl
• Has five teeth

Always pushing her stroller around

Making a mess in my bathroom in Christmas jammies and wearing Chad's lanyard as a necklace. Adorable.

The girls have begun talking to each other! Like, if Harper is in another room, Avery will yell out "ba? ba?" and Harper will respond with some sort of jabber and come to Avery. They'll talk talk talk all day to each other. It's adorable! It's amazing to see how they are completely understanding of what's going on and know what we mean when we ask them to do (or not do) something. You wouldn't think a 14 month old would be that aware but they're much smarter than we give them credit for! I love seeing their little personalities forming and the love they have for one another. It is the sweetest sight for a mom.

Classic Avery, pushing Harper over ;)

They love playing in their fort!

Playing with their older cousins! 

16 Months!

So...Picasa sucks and deleted all my photos from my ENTIRE blog, except a few. I am so upset! I have the originals, but it's going to take some time getting everything back in order. I did do a new blog header, though! Snazzy, eh? 
Because of all the craziness of basically re-creating my entire blog, I haven't posted in a while. SO much has happened with the girls these last few months! 

16 Months

(13 months adjusted)

Avery

• Fastest walker you ever did see! She pretty much runs everywhere she goes
• So busy! Honestly, she never. stops. moving
• Doesn't have any specific toys she particularly loves, she just loves everything
• Loves to be outside! She'll grab my hand and walk me to the door about 50 times a day. It's going to be hard this summer while it's hot outside!
• Still has quite the attitude. And the tantrums have begun! If she doesn't get something she wants (usually whatever Harper has), she'll throw herself on her stomach, bury her head into the ground and let out a good [loud] cry. It takes every ounce of me not to laugh because it is so hilarious, but I just let her have her moment :)
• Can say "mama" "dada" "papa" "hi" and [sometimes] "bye bye"
• Has three teeth, with a fourth on the way. Two anterior bottoms and one (and a half) on top
• Tiny girl! She still hasn't reached 20 pounds and I don't see it happening for a few months!
• A good little eater! Her favorites are: GRAPES, avocado, chicken, peas, eggs, homemade bread and mandarin oranges. She doesn't love carrots or pasta

"I'M SO SAD!" (Cutest face ever)

"All better"

Harper

• Also a great little walker! She's not as fast as Avery, but she still manages to get into as much trouble ;)
• LOVES books. She will come sit on my lap and bring a book to read and we'll read it over and over and over. Her favorites are The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss and Goodnight Moon
• SUCH a girly girl. She has a little purse that came with a bracelet and cell phone and she'll put on the bracelet and carry that purse everywhere. She'll pick up her bows or whatever little toys she can find and put them in her purse. It is the sweetest! 
• Also loves to be outside with her sister. She loves pushing their stroller around
• Is pretty protective of me, which sounds weird...but if Chad wrestles with me or tickles me and I yell out, she'll cry and run to me and give Chad the dirtiest look! Then she'll give me a big snuggle and hang out with me for a few minutes. She doesn't quite get that we're just playing, but it is so sweet
• She also does NOT like if Avery sits on my lap. She'll come up and push Avery off or just squeeze in so Avery has to move
• Loves music! She will dance like there's no tomorrow, that girl. And she'll sing! Oh, it's the cutest thing ever
• Can say "mama" "papa" "dada" and "happy"
• Has five teeth - three anterior bottoms, and two uppers. She'll have quite the gap on top, unfortunately. Just like her mama had! Poor girl...
• Still loves food! Her favorites are: peanut butter sandwiches, mandarin oranges, chicken, mango, homemade bread, crackers, green beans and Cheerios. She doesn't love peas, carrots, avocado, or grapes 

Breakfast at Kneaders! I'm thinking she liked it.

She loves drinking from my water jug. Forget sippy cups.

They are good sleepers, lately (knock on wood). They wake up around 6:30-7:00am, drink some milk, and go back to sleep (if we're lucky) till about 7:30am. They nap from noon to about 3:00pm (SO nice!), then go to bed around 7:00pm.

They are still wearing size 4 diapers, and are in 12-18 month clothes. 

They love watching the clothes in the washer/dryer!

With their BFF/next door neighbor, Ellie!

I love how happy Harper is in this picture :)

We've tried staying at church longer, but it is darn near impossible. They're at the stage where they want to be independent so they won't just sit on our laps. So, we spend most of the time in the foyer...or empty rooms...or halls... ;) These girls are keeping me very busy. I'll admit, it's exhausting! But, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love how much they make me laugh and the fun we have with each other every day. It is such a blessing!