Merry Christmas!

We enjoyed a relaxed morning at home -- the kids loved opening their stockings (stuffed with play doh, cars and stickers -- some of their favorite things!) and a nice breakfast with the four of us.  This evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner with family and family friends.  The week has felt like a good combination of activities -- Scott's work party, church service, dinners, Peacock Lane (for the second time because it was such a hit!) balanced with good down time for the four of us.  Frank and Martha brought the kids over flashlights:  best gift idea ever for two year olds!  They've been making "moons!" on the walls and ceilings for the last three days.  Great-Grandma Edna make the kids dolls clothes for their cabbage patch dolls -- including diapers and onesies!  I'm always impressed by people who are so creative (and thoughtful).  Amelia loved getting to diaper her baby :)  I think potty training is quickly approaching this house!  Amelia informed me a few weeks ago that "Daddy poo-poos outside!"  Since Molly does, apparently in her mind, daddy should too!  Anyway, here are a few pictures from the last week or so.  Merry Christmas to you all!

Saying "Hi!" to their future friend :)  Danielle is due in April!

Dancing with the snowman at Scott's work party.

A great gift from Michelle!!

The easel has been a HUGE hit!

Luke will ask for "Art?  Colors?  More?"  Love it!

Snuggle time!

"Shhh!  Brother -- I'm trying to read!"

Let's play!

I always heard parents say that it just keeps getting better and I don't think I really believed them ... but it does.  I thought I was a baby person.  I still do love babies (what's not to love about snuggle time?) but I was so darn tired that I don't honestly remember a whole lot of the first year (sad but true).  But I've realized that I LOVE the toddler years.  I have so much fun with my kids!  (In between the tantrums that is ... On a side note, Amelia just loves going to Trader Joe's because she gets to push her own little cart.  I took her there today as our "date" while my mom had Luke and she had a great time until it was time to check out and she threw an all out FIT when she had to give back her cart ... Like down on the floor in the middle of the store. Yep, our kids keep us real, huh?). But usually I love watching them discover the world and taking trips to the library, OMSI, play dates ... Here are a couple quick videos from yesterday of two favorite things at our house:  dance parties and fort (which the kids call "fork!"  Makes me laugh every time to hear them yelling, "More!  More fork!  Fork!")

Lights!!

Christmas lights have been, by far, the best part of the season for these two little ones.  Every night when it starts to get dark Luke starts asking, "Lights?  Mama, lights?"  He wants me to turn on the lights on our outdoor tree.  They wait for Frank and Martha to turn on their Christmas tree lights across the street and then joyfully yell, "On!  On Mama!  Tree on!"  (Yes, they're getting very verbal!)  If only we were all so easily pleased :)
Happy 60th birthday to Grammy today!!!

No words ...

I'm not sure what to say about the fact that there were two terrible shootings this week.  One of them at a mall that I'd been Christmas shopping at two days before the shooting.  Sometimes in life there just aren't words that are right or adequate or could ever do justice to the amount of pain and grief that exist in this world.  Like most parents my gut reaction is to protect my kids.  I told Scott last night that I'd like to homeschool our kids and never let them go to shopping malls or movies or public gatherings.  Not realistic but true in that moment.  But I spent the last two days at work taking care of three amazing kids from three very beautiful families all of whom are dealing with devastating health issues.  These kids weren't victims of tragedy.  They just happened to get sick or be born with diseases that most of us have never even heard of.  I guess my point is that no matter what lengths we go to in protecting our children, it's not in our power to keep them totally safe.  We'd love to think it is.  We'd love to think that by buying the best car seats and picking the right schools we can have control.  To some degree that's true -- I'm certainly not saying that we have no influence over our children because we have a tremendous impact on who they become and it's a huge part of our role to keep them as safe as we can.  But it's a hard truth to swallow: we could outlive our children.  I've sat with enough parents who are watching their children die to realize that we shouldn't assume otherwise.  So today I will kiss my children more times than I can count and I will choose to believe that the One who made them is always present with them, no matter what comes.  I will hope and pray that my life and my parenting are marked by love and faith, not by fear.  My heart aches for the families who won't get to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones this year because of these senseless acts of violence.  I'll end with this picture ... My prayer ...

23 months

So I'm not sure exactly when people stop counting months and just start counting years but I think we're getting close to that point.  Hard to believe that these loves are almost TWO.  Here are their holiday pictures ...

Wow, they look so old to me!  The other day Luke woke up almost an hour earlier than Amelia from their naps.  I was excited to have some one-on-one time with him since that happens so rarely.  He did enjoy the extra snuggle time but at least once every five minutes he'd say, "Sissy?  Mama?  Sissy?"  These two are so connected it's amazing and it makes my heart happy to watch them play together.  The flip side to that is that they know how to push each other's buttons -- Amelia ended up in time out three times in five minutes today for hitting Luke.  Sigh.  It was a long afternoon!
This is what I want to remember about each of them at this phase ...
Amelia:  Amelia's mind works in ways that amaze me often.  She is very interested in patterns and puzzles and anything she can open/close, build, put together.  She is detail oriented and can play very independently.  Actually a lot of times she prefers to play independently.  She can entertain herself for hours with a box of legos!  But my sister pointed out something interesting after this last weekend together.  Just when you think Amelia isn't paying attention to the other things going on around her, one of the kids would drop their favorite toy and she would race over to grab it and bring it back to them.  She has such a sweet heart in that way and is always bringing Luke his snacks, trucks and favorite stuffed animals.  Nothing gets past that girl.  She loves to give kisses to anything and everything.  Every picture of a dog in a book gets a kiss ... or ten kisses.  Many times in a day she will walk over to one of us, kiss us on the head and walk off.  She doesn't usually want to snuggle because she's too busy doing something else but she loves the drive-by-kisses :)  Amelia doesn't go anywhere without her posse of animals/dolls.  We limit it to just "Baby" (the precious bear from Martha) for outings but at home the whole gang goes from room to room.  I feel like Amelia is coming out of her shell -- a few months ago I would have described her as a bit shy but I'm not sure that's true anymore.  It depends on the situation of course.   This girl has a serious sweet tooth (no idea where she got that from :)) and if she thinks she's missing out on a treat, she let's us know!!
Luke:  Luke is one of the snuggliest (pretty sure that's not a word) kids I've ever known.  That boy LOVES to be close.  I kind of have a theory that it's because he was shoved way down in the womb and had literally NO space in there.   His favorite place to be is on someone's lap, reading a book and covered up by his favorite blanket.  So sweet!   While Amelia will play more independently at this phase, Luke can be found wherever I am.  But he's not picky and will sit on any open lap!  A few weeks ago I wanted to see how many books in a row he'd let me read him ... I gave up after 23!  Seriously?!  He would have kept going all day long.  Luke is quicker to snuggle, but he's also quicker to throw a tantrum, and that boy can scream.  The time-out chair gets a lot of use in a house with two toddlers!  Luke's other love in life is trucks.  I'm planning a tour of the fire station for them and I can't wait to see his face light up when he sees all the trucks ... The joys of parenting!
Grammy and Gramps have been busy planning a second birthday party for these two ... It'll be fun to celebrate in Arizona with family and friends down there!

Balloons!

One of my favorite things about kids is how much JOY they can find in simple pleasures and how much FUN can be had with just about anything.  These balloons that Martha brought over for them this morning have already provided hours of entertainment!

I also had to add this video of Caroline kissing both Luke and Amelia.  They kids love playing in the basement :)

Randoms ...

Some of the random pictures after sorting through the last few weeks on iphoto ...

Play-doh is a new favorite activity around here!  Good for rainy days :)

Raking leaves with her daddy

Luke saying, "Whoah!" after his first Christmas tree sighting.  FYI the tree
only lasted a few hours.  2 toddlers + 1 Christmas tree = disaster!

Snuggle time with Auntie and Caroline

Makes my heart happy to see these two together!  Cousins!

Practices of Motherhood

I had to pass on this beautifully written series a writer and blogger named Sarah Bessey.  Her blog was recommended to me by another mama friend and I find that what she writes so often resonates with my own heart.  She puts into words so many of the thoughts I have about parenting.  Here is a link to her series about practices of mothering.  You can find it here.  Amelia told me that she loves me for the first time today and it was one of those amazing moments in parenting where you realize that there is no other way that you'd rather spend your days and your energy and your heart than investing in these precious little people.

Trucks and sneezes!

Yes, sometimes that is how random life with littles seems ... I tried to come up with a better title but that's all I've got :)  Here are two little "normal life" videos from the last few weeks.  My videos aren't as entertaining as Scott's!  Amelia has gotten very interested in things like yawns, sneezes and blowing her nose.  Every time Scott or I sneezed she started imitating us ... So cute!  Luke is basically obsessed with trucks.  From the moment he wakes up it's, "Trucks?  Mama, truck please!"  He would sit and play with these all.day.long. 

Real life ... With toddlers!

So I came across this cartoon the other day on Facebook and it had me laughing all day long ...

Seriously!  Isn't that the truth?!  I gave up day time showers when the kids arrived and now only shower at night after everyone is asleep.  As I was uploading and looking through pictures from the last few weeks I came across a few pictures that portray what our home really looks like most days.  The first is a picture that was taken post-bath one night.  I was feeling ambitious enough to make muffins (we've been making some changes to Amelia's diet, more on that later) so I've been experimenting with recipes.  Scott was picking up after baths and when he found the three of us in the kitchen he starting laughing at the scene.  Luke had pulled out every single ziplock bag he could find and Amelia had emptied the snack shelf of EVERYTHING.  They were content and happy playing so I kept doing my mixing and didn't think anything of it until Scott found us in a state of semi-disaster :)  The second picture is of our living room now that the kids have decided that the couch cushions look better on the floor (and make for easier fort building and jumping!)  After almost two years of motherhood (certainly nowhere near long enough to be offering any advice) I've decided that for us it's all about balance.  Most things in life are.  If I tried to keep everything tidy and orderly I'd make myself crazy and be so much less present with my little ones.  Their childhood is going too fast as it is!  But I'm also a type-A person (like it or not) and it's hard for me to have things in a state of total chaos for too long.  It's a balancing act between what needs to get done and what I need to let go of.  I'll let you know when I figure out how to do that.  Don't expect an update any time soon!
I've been thinking a lot about creating rhythms in our home.  Life with littles is monotonous (which I think parents have more trouble with than kids!) -- most days look pretty much like the day before did and the next one will.  It's easier now that they're getting older to get out more and we've been enjoy trips to the library, park, play dates.  But more often than not, our days and our routines run together in my mind.  I've decided that's okay.  The kids THRIVE on routine -- they crave it, they love it, they need it. What an opportunity for us, as parents, to create rhythms that are sacred.  Rhythms of prayer and worship and relationship.  Okay, enough of my random ramblings and current thoughts on motherhood ...
Happy Thanksgiving!  We went to our annual Sunday-before-Thanksgiving dinner tonight.  My parents have had this dinner every year for 43 years now (speaking of traditions and routines!) They rent a place and have a potluck style dinner with probably 75-100 people.  Yes, my parents have more energy at 60 than I have in my 20's.  No joke!  It was so fun to see the kids racing around and laughing and playing at the same dinner that I grew up going to.  I love how much joy and life children add to gatherings.  I didn't take a single picture there since I was too busy chasing them :)

leashes!

Yes, it's true.  Last night we took the kids to Target and bought them ... leashes!  They love taking walks around the neighborhood but they are definitely not into the stroller anymore since they hate being strapped down.  I reserve stroller time for days when I really want to go jogging and even then I have to bribe them the whole time with Lara Bars and fruit leathers (special sweet snacks!). I just don't feel comfortable waking alone since they both tend to be runners -- usually in opposite directions, of course.  Pretty sure that it's a law of nature that twins will run in opposite directions :)  Our walk this morning went really well until Luke tried to walk Amelia (little Miss Independent) and she was not a happy camper.  We recovered though when the garbage trucks provided a nice distraction!  I got a few funny looks but it's better than the alternative which is being cooped up for days on end (due to the rain) with two toddlers.  Fresh air improves all of our moods!

Halloween!

There are some moments with your kids that you want to make sure you don't forget.  Amelia on Halloween night is one of them.  Oh my, watching her march around in her elephant costume and ladybug boots, holding her daddy's hand and yelling, "Hi!  Hi!" to everyone we passed around the neighborhood (rare for this often more shy girl) was so sweet.  Luke, who is usually in bed by 7pm, was not feeling the whole trick-or-treat thing.  He just wanted me to hold him (he's in a very mama-oriented phase right now, which I'm not complaining about) so we got to snuggle most of the night.  This time of year will always remind me a bit of bed rest and living in room 303 at the hospital.  Since we spent Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years in that room, I think I will always be thankful for holidays not spent in the hospital and more mindful of families that are spending them there for whatever reason.

Who knew?

Who knew that curtains could be so much fun?  I love seeing life through the eyes of my kids and to them most things are seen as an opportunity to explore and a chance to have fun.  When they get restless and are stuck in the house due to the rain, we let them play in our bedroom ... They love it!

Baby dolls!

This week the kids got their first dolls ... Thanks to Grammy and Gramps!  They're a hit :)  Amelia kisses them all day long and this morning (a rainy, cozy day) Luke wanted to be covered with a blanket and snuggle with them both :)

Shadows

Last week the sun was shining (gasp!) enough for the kids to get interested in the shadows that were forming on the living room wall.  I had to post this video because Luke is just SO cute saying "Hi!  Hi!" to his own shadow.  There are so many moments throughout the day where I just stop and am amazed by the simple pleasures that come along with watching kids learn and grow and play.  This is one of those moments.

Round two ...

Of the pumpkin patch!  Scott wished he'd been able to make it last time (and the fact that he loves things like taking the kids to the pumpkin patch makes me smile) and since it was a crisp and beautiful fall morning ... Why not?!

Love languages.

My children have different love languages.  Different than my own and different than each other.  Of course, this should be no surprise to me, I certainly didn't expect them to be the same (or even similar) type of person.  But it scares me that I won't know how to love them in the ways that they will understand.  A book became very popular when I was in college called The Five Love Languages about how people give and receive love in different ways, some through gift giving, some through quality time or words of affirmation or touch or acts of service.  I've heard that there's a similar book about understanding the love languages of children.  I'll have to start reading!  Until recently, Luke and Amelia's needs have been so basic -- healthy food, shelter, touch ... Maslow's hierarchy.  I can do that.  They are showing us new sides of themselves all the time now which is mostly exciting but quickly making me realize just how different they are.  I read today that, "We are students of our children – they don’t all need the same thing." (From a great blog called Chattingatthesky.com).  
 Last night I went to a mom's prayer group that was held in the prayer chapel.  A space that is beautiful and quiet and calm.  All the things (except the beauty ... life with kids is extra beautiful) that life with two toddlers is not.  The lady leading the group gave us the word "comfort" and then gave us a hour to pray about comfort for our children and to write our children letters.  In silence.  I used to love silence, I still do.  But the longer I've been a mom, the more it scares me.  There is a lot of space in silence.  And our house is anything but silent!  But "comfort" brought to mind the idea of "presence" ... How comforted I am by God's presence, how comforted our children are by our presence.  How I may not know how to love them perfectly but if I keep showing up and keep praying and keep loving ... they will get it.  They will know just how deeply they are loved.

What a ham!

It's official, Luke is a HAM!  He is such an animated and active boy.  It's so fun to watch his personality emerging more and more.  Since I was painfully shy for at least the first half of my life, I think I can be pretty sure that this part of him came from Scott's side :)  This week we got a fun package from Grammy and Gramps full of fall goodies -- Halloween decorations, rain boots (which we put to good use already since the Oregon rain has come back!) ... Luke had so much fun opening the package and playing with the box.  Here he is ...

Beep beep!

Amelia just cracks me up!  She is a kid who will do things on her own schedule and in her own way, thank you very much!  I've been trying to get the kids to say, "Beep beep!" when they're crashing their bikes and cars into each other in the yard.  Neither of them had said it yet until Amelia is driving right at me and says with a total straight face, "Beep beep!"  Scott brought this Quad riding toy into the house one night and the kids loved it!  (On a side note, I've been noticing my trim is always chipped ... hmmm ... maybe the two toddlers have something to do with that?!)

21 months!

Happy 21 months dear Luke and Amelia!  This week you ...

... Played dress up with Caroline in practice for Halloween!   Here's Caroline the flower,
Amelia the elephant and Luke the Dinosaur!

... Had a blast playing with Auntie Elizabeth and John, Hava and David!

... Figured out how to open the top dresser drawer and pull out every hair bow, lotion, etc.  Here is A offering
L an open tub of vasoline.  Perfect.  And I thought they were so nicely talking quietly to each other
bright and early in the morning!  Not so much!

Loved your new table!  It was Grammy and Great-Aunt Linda's when they were little!

21 months is getting so close to TWO ... We love you both so much!

Let the Fall fun begin ...

Fall is here!  My favorite time of year!  Bring on the cider, pumpkin patch, beautiful leaves and crisp mornings ... we're ready!  It was probably a bit early to head to the pumpkin patch (the kids were HOT since it was 80+ this afternoon) but we had a great time with my mom, great aunt Bernie, Michala, Caroline, childhood friend, Nina and her two girls.  I'm sure we'll be making quite a few trips to the pumpkin patch this year ... the kids loved it!