The Culbertson Crew

Little Readers

2012-02-07T09:20:00.002-06:00

The girls have loved reading for a while now, and the latest way they love to read is to climb on our bed, lie down right next to each other, and listen to the other one "read." They also love to sit on the floor against the wall and read, or they'll ask to "sit by Mommy" while I'm reading and the three of us will read together while sitting on the floor.

Claire is very expressive when she reads, and often shouts words or phrases, much to Caroline's delight. Seems like I have a lot of pictures with Claire's mouth wide open!

Caroline's making sure Claire is reading the story correctly! Notice the sock on Caroline's hand- she takes her socks off all the time and then wears them as mittens. It's a constant battle!

Hey, I've got this down!

They love this certain Peek a Boo book and read it all the time!

Happy Second Birthday!

2012-01-09T09:49:00.004-06:00

Happy 2nd Birthday! Yesterday, the girls turned two, and we had a busy, fun-filled day from start to finish! We woke up, had waffles, and then headed to church. The girls sat at the dining room table since we had the house set up in party mode! Claire was ready for her big day!
Caroline was equally as excited!

After church, we set all the goodies out...this year, we delved into the art of homemade cakes and cupcakes, even down to the icing. We worked almost all day on Saturday, made good memories and some really good cake, but now I have a lot more respect for those in the bakery business. Decorating cakes is much harder than it seems! We made the girls a giant cupcake each, then mini cupcakes for all the guests.

We hoped the weather would cooperate for our party, and even though it rained about 30 minutes before the party, it cleared up just in time and we had a great time outside!

Enjoying some time with the girls at their party!

The girls received a bounce house as their big gift this year; we figured we'd get lots of years of use out of it, so we decided to buy one of our own. The kids loved it and it was a big hit!

Grammy even got in for some fun!

Getting ready to cut the cake!

After cutting the cake, Claire sat in her chair for probably 20 minutes, slowly taking bites and savoring each piece.

Caroline bouncing with her best friend, Sophia! They are only 5 months apart, and the greatest thing is her mom and I are best friends from high school!

Even little Emma bounced around with the big kids!

The girls having a turn of their own!

Winding down the party and enjoying time with Sophia!

Paul relaxing with Charles (Sophia's dad).

Opening presents after the guests had left!

The girls' favorite gift - glasses from Grammy! Claire's looking cool...

Caroline sporting her new glasses!

Overall, we had a great day, great party, and the girls didn't even have a meltdown of any kind! I'd say that was a great start to being two!

A New Table!

2012-01-04T17:22:00.002-06:00

The girls received a picnic table for their birthday (a little early), and have been enjoying using it to play with their Play-Doh. The table is really for outside, but we had it in our kitchen for a few days for them to play inside. I showed them how to make caterpillars and balls, and then they loved cutting out circles with cookie cutters. Caroline mostly liked to put the top on and off!
Claire gets very focused on any task she begins - she wouldn't look my way when I called her name for a picture. She's in her creative mode!

Caroline loves sitting at her new table!

Hard at work with that Play Doh!

Even though there are four sides to choose from, the girls inevitably ended up on the same side!

We hope to have many years of picnics, coloring, Play Doh, and lunches out of this table!

Cold Days...and Santa

2011-12-07T13:03:00.002-06:00

The last few days, it's finally dipped below 80 degrees, and we've had some nice, colder weather. We've been snuggling in front of the fire and reading, and the girls love just climbing up on our bed and reading together. This day, we planned to visit Santa, but they were enjoying the peace and calm beforehand. After making it to the mall, we waited in front of the fireplace, and this was pretty much how the rest of the "Santa visit" went. Both girls are going through a "Mommy attachment" phase right now, not even really letting Paul hold them that much. To make things worse, they both want me to hold them, which I can do for about 5 minutes, but holding 50 pounds at the same time is pretty hard without a break. Inevitably, the girl I put down bursts into tears and isn't satisfied until I pick her up again. It doesn't help for me to hold her hand, she has to be attached to me somehow. Cousin Emma came with us and everyone was excited for a picture before seeing Santa!

Needless to say, I have zero pictures of Santa...one, because the mall ladies wouldn't let me take pictures, and two, as soon as I put the girls on his lap, they reached out for me and screamed. Not happy campers! So, we just decided to ride the train instead and ended the mall visit much more happily than we started.

We love the train, but Santa...not so much.

A New Tradition

2011-11-28T12:17:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was full of family, food, and relaxation, but this year, we added a new tradition to the mix. On Wednesday afternoon, we took advantage of a coupon and decided to bring the girls to their first ever bowling outing! Paul and I had meant to use the coupon for a bowling date, but we ran out of time to use it, so we just figured we'd have fun with the girls and go as a family. Sure enough, our little bowlers had a great time! Caroline wanted to help get the balls for us, but they were a little too heavy this time!
Daddy going for his next strike!

Almost! Good job, Daddy!

Claire was our scorekeeper.

And our cheerleader!

Overall, we had a great time, and the girls had a lot of fun climbing on the chairs and holding their hands over the fans and just watching all the activity around. Maybe it's part of our new Thanksgiving tradition!

One Year Passed, How Many More to Go?

2011-11-18T13:22:00.003-06:00

It all started about 13.5 months ago. Yes, my friends, that is over a YEAR ago now that I have been hearing the bloodcurdling screams from little Claire's mouth. She first began it just to see how she sounded, but now it's evolved into screams of frustration, irritation, or annoyance, which for an almost two-year-old, can be quite often.
Thankfully, she doesn't scream when we are out running errands, eating at restaurants, going to church, or at friend's houses (most of the time). However, she does it mostly when we are at home, or even better, in the car. Nothing like a bloodcurdling scream held for five seconds inside a small space. Caroline has started telling her, "No," when she does that, but that only makes her scream more. I find that pretty amusing, and we have tried everything from ignoring her to disciplining her to blaring the radio to rolling down the window to taking away toys - nothing seems to work.

I have tried hard not to show her that it bothers me, but apparently, whenever I am present, she finds that screaming is her best friend. Somehow my attempts to ignore it have fueled her more. We've even tried setting up a screaming room for her, and she likes to go in there, but it doesn't stop her the next time. The other day she was staying at my mom's for a few hours, and about 30 seconds after I walked in the door, she resumed screaming (albeit at a lower volume, but still, it's the principle at this point). In her mind, Mom = screaming.

I googled "screaming in the car," and I saw many posts from moms who said their 3.5 year old screams in the car. I panicked at the thought that I could be in for 2 more YEARS of this? Good times, is all I can say.

Playing train

2011-11-13T13:48:00.002-06:00

The girls love their personal space - I guess that comes from having someone in their space all the time, but there are a few moments here and there where they will hug each other or play in each other's space or share without fussing. Today, the girls were playing train on Daddy, and Claire leaned back for a great picture with Caroline - these moments are very rare, but when they come, it's worth it!

Love you, sis!

This lasted about 2 minutes before someone started getting irritated! Oh well, we'll take what we can get!

Little Cowgirls

2011-11-06T20:30:00.004-06:00

Today, we had a super time at a friend's 3rd birthday party at a great outdoor restaurant near our home. The grounds include a feeding/petting zoo, giant sandbox, and pony rides for the kids. After we arrived at the party, we quickly headed over to the pony ring for the rides. I wasn't sure if the girls could even hold on to the saddle very well or if they would start crying, but they surprised me by latching on like they were pros! I was a little hesitant to let them go around the ring on their own, so I walked one lap with Claire, but she looked stable and calm, so I let her go the last few laps on her own. Claire couldn't stop smiling the whole time - she loved riding the pony! I couldn't believe my little girl was on such a big horse all by herself!

One more lap please?

Walking the first lap with Caroline - she didn't even look at me and sat up there like such a natural!

My little cowgirl!

What's next? We can't top the pony ride!

Claire peered up at the llama...

Here's another pony! How about the stick horse?

"Digging for gold" - a great game included at the party!

This pony is just my size!

I'm lovin' all this ridin'!

Caroline tries her hand at horseshoes!

Claire's a pro already.

A horseshoe necklace? Why not?

Waiting for cake!

So proud of my little cowgirls!

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-04T09:27:00.002-05:00

This year, the girls dressed up as little ladybugs, and we had a really fun time going to the houses on our street. We took a few pictures before heading out, and the girls are finally getting to the point where they will stand together and pose (sort of) for the camera.

I love your outfit!

Yours isn't too bad, either!

You might want to adjust your hat a bit!

I'm ready to go!

I'm sure this face will get lots of candy!

Our cousin Emma came over and completed the friendly bug ensemble! What a cute little bumblebee!

Ready to head out!

I wasn't sure if the girls would be scared to go up to the doors, but after a couple of houses, they quickly learned what to do and would walk right up. Caroline wasn't afraid to help herself to the candy - when offered one, she would reach into the bowl and grab a few more.

Sorting through all the loot! They sat on the floor and just sorted and resorted the candy. I don't think they knew it was food, but they had fun playing with the shiny packages and it kept them amused! Later, Mommy and Daddy divided up the candy for themselves!

In The Hood

2011-10-28T18:22:00.002-05:00

Last night, our first "real" cold front blew in, and so today, we played outside and enjoyed the brisk weather, but also took some breaks for some fun time indoors. The girls loved their hoodies, and did not take them off their head the entire day, except for naptime. People always stop me to comment on the girls when we run errands, but today, in these outfits, they received even more comments and compliments.
We're looking pretty cute today!

We broke out the Play-Doh today and the girls loved it! They have been playing with it at MDO, so they have seen it before.

I'm just a little dumpling!

I'm the other dumpling!

Oh yeah, I know it, too!

I actually caught one of these "twin moments" on camera! The girls always do actions at the same time and in the same direction, but I never can catch them at the right time.

Coloring away!

I think I just like flipping the pages more!

I made a pancake! Here's to the fall weather and a great weekend!

The Pumpkin Patch Farm

2011-10-24T21:28:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, we trekked up to the Dallas area to visit Uncle Ross and Aunt Jenny (Paul's brother and sister-in-law). We arrived late Friday night, just in time to bathe and put to bed the girls, but we woke up refreshed on Saturday, ready to hit the Pumpkin Patch Farm in Celina. After the girl's nap, we drove out to the country and arrived at this picturesque farm, complete with petting zoos with all types of farm animals, a real tractor hay ride, free hot dogs, a pumpkin patch, and as many pumpkin photo opportunities as any family wanted!

We began our afternoon adventure at the petting zoo, which was a great setup because the animals were behind the fences, but the farm owners gave all the guests feed to give the animals, so they were primed and ready to just come and take food out of our hands. Caroline was fearless - she loved handing the pellets to the animals, especially the cows. The goats were very friendly and she was excited to touch it up close!
Claire needed a little reassurance that the animals wouldn't also eat her hand, but she was thrilled to feed the goats once she got the hang of it.

This sweet brown cow was my favorite, and she kept coming up to the girls wanting more food.

Daddy shows us how it's done!

After feeding the animals (and using gobs of hand sanitizer), we took a break and ate our free hot dogs! Paul sat down with his, and Caroline reached over and snatched it from him and ate that like she hadn't eaten food in days. Someone may have a future in hot dog eating contests! We had never seen anyone take down a hot dog that fast.

Claire preferred to take her time, savoring each bite of her hot dog.

I'm lovin' this hot dog, Mama!

Lookin' cool in Mommy's sunglasses.

We love Uncle Ross and Aunt Jenny!

This is about as good as we got for our family of four picture...

Just look at these Lil' Pumpkins!

Another attempt at a cute picture in the pumpkin patch. Getting one to smile and pose is difficult, but try two at a time - it's impossible!

Nobody wants to sit and take pictures! I'm outta here!

There's the hayride in the distance...C'mon, let's go catch it!

We all had a great time at the pumpkin patch and petting zoo. We can't wait to visit our aunt and uncle again soon!

Daddy's Birthday Week

2011-10-10T13:47:00.002-05:00

At the Culbertson house, we love to celebrate birthdays, so we usually give the birthday girl or boy an entire "birthday week" full of fun and surprises! This Wednesday, the 12th, just happens to be Paul's birthday, so we are starting out Daddy's birthday week today! To kick off the week, the girls helped color Daddy's special birthday card and recorded a special message for him:

Two more days until Daddy's birthday! We can't wait!

Tag - You're It!

2011-09-21T12:29:00.003-05:00

Lately, the girls have been entertaining themselves by playing chase, but here it looks like they have lost track of each other:
Claire's after Caroline...Claire can hardly run when she plays chase because she starts belly laughing so hard that it makes her freeze.

Almost got you!

Safe - home base!

Now it's Caroline's turn to tag...it's like they already know the rules and change turns every time they play.

Wait a second...something's on my foot.

Here it is! Both girls are so helpful by finding miniscule hairs or crumbs on the floor, and they make it their job to point it out to me. No matter how many times I vacuum or sweep, I never can seem to get the floor clean enough to pass their inspection.

Ready for another game, Mommy?

20 Months, MDO, and Sitting Pretty

2011-09-09T13:05:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a big day for the girls - turning 20 months old (no more "teen" digits, sadly, and now 20 months just sounds so close to two!), and going for their first time to Mother's Day Out! Our church's program offers either one or two days a week, and for this year, I decided to send the girls just one day a week, so their day to go is Thursdays! The program lasts five hours, and they do all of their "learning" in the morning, followed by lunch and naptime. We had quite the load with us walking into church yesterday - two nap mats, two lunchbags, two backpacks, and two precious twins!!! Claire was excited to go for her first day of school!
Caroline just wanted to get in the car - no more pictures, please!

When I dropped the girls off, most all of the kids in their room were crying, but they walked on in and didn't shed a tear. When I picked them up, they got an A+ for eating all their lunch, taking a nap, and playing well. Caroline was sitting at the table coloring when I got there, and Claire was sitting on Ms. Theresa's lap. They were pros already, and seemed to love their first day of school. When we got home, I proudly displayed the girls' first fridge art!

Later that afternoon, the girls wanted to sit on their ottomans and rest after such a full day of playing and learning! Claire can't wait to go back next week!

Caroline had so much fun coloring and playing!

What's next? We're ready for it!

Best of Friends

2011-09-06T16:22:00.002-05:00

Since birth, the girls have gotten along for the most part and have done everything together, from baths to bedtime to storytime to dinnertime to playing to field trips to brushing their teeth together. While they have peacefully coexisted, it hasn't been until very recently that they have actually initiated interaction with each other and tried to engage the other sister in play of some type.

Lately, both girls love to sort their shapes into those shape balls, and they have formed quite the team as Claire puts the pieces in and Caroline hands them to her, eliminating any need for Claire to pick up a piece off the floor. I told them that one day they'll beat the pants off their classmates in any game because they'll intuitively know what the other needs before they say it, plus they'll have all that time at home to practice. It looks like they are both tending towards being lefties (another twin trait apparently), so we're already getting them ready for some great athletic scholarships.

They typically sit beside the other when they're playing, even though they have an entire room or house to play elsewhere; they also love to do what the other is doing, especially Caroline. Claire, however, loves to touch Caroline's hair or face and just start giggling; I don't know if she sees herself, but I do wonder. The crazy thing is that both girls can pick themselves out of a family picture, which is crazy because most adults can't differentiate between them in pictures. I guess they somehow know who is whom. They have become really sweet to each other, and love to give "kisses," which really consist of them touching foreheads at this point. Thankfully, they seem pretty tolerant of each other while they poke and prod each other, choosing to laugh rather than complain.

Going in for the kiss...

Too funny, sis! Taking a break from all the silliness...Already telling secrets...

Best of friends!

A Makin' Pie Kind of Saturday

2011-09-03T20:44:00.006-05:00

The girls have started playing dress-up a little bit more, so I've been pulling out all the hats and purses and scarves and beads for them to use, and they're loving it. Claire was a natural as she slung that purse over her arm - it's like an inborn female trait - no true shopper has to be "taught" how to hold a purse. Caroline loves wearing hats and jewelry - she struts around and tosses her head like a natural. Of course now she loves wearing her beach hat at the end of summer; she wouldn't keep this hat on for two seconds back in June, but now she won't take it off!

I finally found some baby barrettes for the girls' hair - their hair is still pretty finely textured and so the barrettes won't stay in very well. It's not looking like they inherited their mommy's thick, textured hair; for sure I thought that would be a dominant trait, but I guess not! Claire looks like such a big girl now with her new barrette!

This morning, the girls helped Mommy make a homemade French silk pie - one of Mommy's favorites, but actually really easy to make. Although there wasn't much whipped cream on these beaters, I assured the girls that this would be their first among hundreds of times to lick the beaters because Mommy and Daddy love their desserts!

The finished product: French silk pie (a chocolate lover's favorite, complete with homemade crumb crust and whipped cream on top!)

Tonight, we had some new friends and their little boy Kade over for dinner, and it's always fun to see how the girls interact with different toddlers and babies. Most of the little friends they meet are girls - I think we know of one little boy, but that's about it, so I was excited for them to meet Kade tonight! He is not quite a year older than they are, but they could still all play together and they all got along really well. Kade enjoyed sharing and bringing the girls' cups to them and helping get them settled for dinner. In turn, the girls loved playing with Kade - Caroline followed him around everywhere and kept eyeing his Woody doll. It's always interesting to watch because sometimes Caroline can sometimes take a little while to "warm up" to new friends or faces, but tonight, she just stuck to Kade and his dad and loved playing with them.

She also didn't mind the free goldfish that Kade kept sharing with her. (Take a look at Kade's red, curly hair - what a doll!)

He had both girls eating out of his hands (literally)! What a sweet little boy and so much fun for the girls to have a new "boy" friend!

(Oh, and the pie turned out really well too - Kade took a handful and walked around outside with chocolate pie oozing from between his fingers! Yum!)

Open House!

2011-09-01T14:09:00.002-05:00

This school year, the girls are enrolled to attend one day a week at our church's Mother's Day Out program - mostly to give them some new experiences, social stimulation, and time to do some neat crafts that Mommy can't think up on her own. I'm not too sure what I'll do for the five hours every Thursday that the girls are gone - I usually stay on top of the cleaning/laundry pretty well during the week, so I may schedule lunches or dr. appts that are too hard to schedule while bringing the girls. But it will feel pretty empty and quiet here without them running around!

This morning was the "Mother's Day Out Open House," a chance for the girls to meet their teachers and for us to get a schedule for the day. Fortunately, one of their teachers, Miss Becky, was also their nursery teacher on Sunday mornings when they were about 8-14 months old, and she was thrilled to have them in her class, and I was just as thrilled that they would be in her class! The other teacher, Miss Theresa, had never met the girls, and as she was bending down to say hello to them, Claire walked straight over to her and gave her a hug, then kissed the elephant that Miss Theresa was holding in her hand. What a sweetheart, and I think Claire won Miss Theresa over already!
Caroline walked right over to the bookshelf (where else?), picked out a book, and started reading to Miss Theresa. She's ready to learn!

Their room is the same room where they attend nursery on Sunday mornings, so that will help them get used to the routine, but between all the crafts and other fun things they have planned, the day will fly by! There are eight other kids in their class, and five of the eight were also born in January of 2010, so that's pretty neat! Each week, the teacher will post pictures of their activities, so hopefully I can share some here on the blog to show what they are learning. I'm really excited that our church has such a great program and that the girls will be loved and challenged this year.

Sandwiches!

2011-08-30T20:39:00.003-05:00

Growing up, I loathed sandwiches in my lunchbox - the slather of way too much mayonnaise, the folded, slimy turkey, a thin slice of cheese made for many trades or trips to the trash. After graduating high school, I realized that I could have just told my mom that I HATE too much mayonnaise, I like my meat shredded into membrane-thin slices, and I would have liked some lettuce and tomato to kind of "block out" that deli meat taste. Nowadays, I really only eat lunchmeat if I can eat it within about 30 minutes of making the sandwich, or I'll just grab a sub from Jimmy John's and let it go at that. All that to say, I discovered in college that I LOVE peanut butter and jelly. It doesn't get that slimy, stale taste after 4 hours of being out of the refrigerator, it's cheap, easy to make, and just tastes good to me (especially with Doritos or Cheetos)! Fast forward to now...most days I eat a half pbj sandwich with a side of fruit and chips and I'm good to go.

I'm trying to help the girls along to new milestones, one including not cutting up their food into teeny tiny bites and maybe even graduating to eating sandwiches. I figure, they have all of their teeth and should be able to bite, but I've found that biting down is kind of a new concept for them. But, today, I thought I would jump right in, so I made them a very thin pbj sandwich so that the insides wouldn't ooze all over the place, and sure enough, they seemed to enjoy it. (I felt slightly guilty? bad? for introducing sandwiches at their age when they'll probably be eating them for a long time in the future, but that may also my own "sandwich phobia" that I've carried with me from grade school . Post traumatic sandwich syndrome.) Claire picked her square right up and took a real bite of her sandwich!
Caroline would bite down if I held the sandwich, but if she picked it up, she mostly just sucked on the pbj to draw it into her mouth. Whatever works! I don't know about these sandwiches, Mom!

Very interesting, this sandwich concept...I'll have to get back to you on this one.

We'll keep trying with the sandwiches, but the first day was a success as far as I'm concerned!

Mystery Solved!

2011-08-28T15:06:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, we had a playdate with a friend who owned the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Learning Home, and it was a big hit with the girls. My friend let us borrow hers while she went out of town, but I decided to splurge and find one on craigslist - not an easy task because they are apparently high in demand and very hard to find! I finally found one, and thankfully, the lady lived only a couple of miles away, so we drove back home the proud owners of our very own learning home! Since then, the girls love opening and closing the door, window, pushing the balls into the chute (or down the stairs if they are bored), and peeking through the mailbox.

During the last few weeks, I've happened upon Caroline clinging to the learning house as she shakes it back and forth...hmmm, Hurricane Caroline just might knock it over one day and then we'll really have a mess on our hands!
Playing peek-a-boo never was so fun before we had the learning home!

Lately, I've heard a thumping noise quite often, followed by hysterical giggles from both of the girls. As soon as I would come back into the room to find out what was so funny, they looked mischievously innocent and acted like nothing was new. They would resume the bumping and laughing for hours on end, and I kept trying to get to the bottom of the where the noise was coming from. It sounded like one of them was stomping on the floor, but not quite...

Well....Paul actually solved the great mystery. Apparently they sit against the wall and bump their heads, making the other sister laugh and laugh. And it's not just one of them...they both do it. My first thought was, "Great, all we need are more head injuries," but then I realized, "Well, as long as they are laughing, I guess they're okay!" So on with the head-banging and laughter for now!

Just Like Mommy

2011-08-26T08:40:00.006-05:00

The other night, I was telling Paul how the girls really aren't into cartoon characters or TV shows all that much; not for a lack of trying, but they just seem uninterested at this point. We also have toys galore, everything from sports to kitchen toys to dollhouses to puzzles. What do they love the most? Books and animals. As I was telling this to Paul, he quickly replied, "Well, that's just like you." I hadn't even seen the connection, and believe me, I do not push any certain type of toy on the girls, but clearly, they have gravitated toward two of my favorite things, too. The girls always sit side by side or directly across from each other and "read" their stories to each other. It sounds like they are speaking Chinese, and Claire particularly will nearly start yelling with each page as she tries to explain what she's reading.

Caroline loves those Berenstein Bears!

Claire has also developed a penchant for cleaning - she throws away her own diaper now in the trash, she picks up clothes and shoes and puts them away, and she makes sure any door is closed, whether that is the pantry, the closet, or the bedroom. Again, a little scary to see how much she has picked up from her neat freak mom, but I'm already hoping she'll be cooking dinner for us in the next year or so.

Books also make good hats!

Watching them grow and learn always brings to mind the old argument: nature vs. nurture. How much of what they do is just innate or inherited vs. learning and living in our particular household. I tend to think it's a mixture of both these days, but it's really uncanny and interesting to watch!

Always Together

2011-08-24T19:52:00.003-05:00

After a stressful and busy month, I decided to take a (permanent) break from blogging, only to discover that I missed taking pictures of the girls solely for the purpose of capturing those spontaneous, sometimes mundane, sometimes unseen, sometimes brilliant, moments of their young lives. I perused back through my pictures this month only to sadly discover that I was lacking in material - mainly because I had "turned off" the blogger in my head and I realized I needed to keep the blogger logged on so that I could remember these fleeting moments before they pass too quickly.

Lately, the girls have really enjoyed sitting side by side in various places around the house. I'll be cooking dinner in the kitchen, and I hear giggles trickling in from around the corner, and I peek around to see the girls sitting together reading, sipping their drinks, or laughing with (at) each other. Usually Claire sits down first, and Caroline follows her and sometimes sits so closely to her that their arms touch. Claire isn't sure why Caroline laughs at her so much - Caroline is so easily tickled that we all invent ways to get her rolling.One of my favorite pictures - it's hard to tell, but Claire is grinning right back at Caroline - what sweet sisters and a special bond they already share, despite the 63 times a day that Claire starts screaming only to make Caroline start crying. This pose makes them look so identical - our ob/gyn still pressures me to get them tested to find out for sure - are they identical or fraternal? We'll save up the $200 and do it someday... Okay, I've had enough bonding time for now...off to do more exploring! Thanks to all my readers for your patience the last few weeks! Life throws a few curveballs and makes things harder than they should be sometimes, but in the end, these little girls make everything better and I want to keep sharing glimpses of our lives that happen so quickly that they could be called insignificant, but in the end, they are momentous and worth remembering forever.

Okay, I Guess I'll Walk Now

2011-07-24T17:36:00.003-05:00

This weekend marked Caroline's official decision to walk everywhere instead of scooting, so we were excited to see how well she did. I think the last step was for her to figure out how to fall and catch herself, then push back up into a standing position without holding onto anything, so now that she has, she's all set! She seems to love her new-found freedom and is actually really sure-footed for just beginning.
Claire has been really cute - she walks alongside Caroline and sometimes looks at her like, "Wait, I thought I was the only one who could walk?"

Are you coming, sis?

I found what I was looking for! Donald Duck!

We love walking around together! Have a great week everyone!

Caught Her in the Act!

2011-07-22T18:10:00.003-05:00

Of course the one time I don't encourage/ask her to walk, she starts walking all over the place. Go Caroline!

Not Can I, but Will I?

2011-07-20T20:03:00.002-05:00

So apparently I've been asking Caroline the wrong question over the last couple of months. All this time, I didn't think she was able to walk, but this past weekend proved me wrong. I've been helping her and trying to push her to walk as much as she can, but when it comes down to it, she can, but she's just decided she won't.

About three weeks ago, we went to go swimming with a friend of mine who has a highschool daughter, and while I was in the back changing Claire, I could hear the daughter encouraging Caroline to walk. I rushed back in there, and sure enough, she was walking all over the room with my friend's daughter. I missed her first steps, but as soon as she saw me, she sat back down again. Hmmmm...I wondered how long she had been able to do that, but just didn't choose to show me her ability. I think much of the time, she prefers to lounge around, but I know better - those legs work!
After we got home, I coaxed and coaxed her, but nothing. As soon as I would stand her up, she would just sit back down again and start whining. She's definitely got a little plotting up her sleeve!

Then, this past Saturday, I thought I'd try it again...well, she decides to walk all over the house for a good hour or two, happy with herself and so excited. She wasn't even wobbly; it was like she had been walking for weeks, and it wasn't even a few steps at a time - she was walking like she had a place to go. We did capture all of that on video just for proof, because sure enough, since Saturday, she REFUSES to walk. She prefers her tried and true method of scooting on the floor. I can't keep count now of how many shorts and onesies she's gotten a hole in because of all her scooting. I think she'll be scooting off to kindergarten soon enough.

Ultimately, this has been a "letting go" learning situation for Mommy, and hopefully one of these days, she'll decide she prefers walking to scooting. I guess that's how we all are - we don't like change, and we don't like to be uncomfortable. One of these days she'll decide she's ready,but I can't do a thing to change her mind earlier, so I'm just enjoying the last of her lounging days while I can!

A Visit to the Doctor

2011-07-14T13:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, the girls went to the doctor for their 18 month checkup, which went really well and while still small, they are growing well and doing just fine. From the time they were born, the girls have never weighed more than 2-3 ounces apart from each other. Same story yesterday: they were only one ounce apart, weighing 21 pounds, 13 ounces, and 21 pounds, 14 ounces, which even though is more than they weighed at 15 months, they've actually "lost" weight because they are more active now. We call them our little gymnasts!

Claire doesn't like to have her head measured, but for the rest of the visit, she didn't protest and seemed more "okay" with the doctor visit than the last two times. She is a very sweet and expressive girl and one of her big things right now is helping pick up - she loves to pick up clothes and put them in the hamper, pick up books and put them on the shelf, or pick up toys and put them up. The other thing is that she loves taking care of and nurturing - she loves petting Jack or she'll bring me Caroline's diaper or bend over and pat Caroline - I'm so happy to see them getting along so well and loving each other.

Caroline did amazingly well at the doctor - she just sits there so sweetly and everyone says how calm and compliant she is. She just looks at the nurses when they measure her head or take her temperature, and she is fine just sitting up on the table waiting patiently for the doctor. Even the doctor commented about both of the girls and how sweet and gentle they are. I've noticed that Caroline loves to do what Claire is doing, and I always find the girls doing the same thing or playing in the same area of the house. Although they aren't old enough to totally play together yet, they love playing next to each other and just being together.

Caroline's latest thing is that she loves to chatter and it sounds like she's having a complete converstaion (in Chinese) with either Claire or herself, and she has the sweetest expressions on her face. She laughs really hard at anything, and loves to be with people.

I'm so thankful for such sweet, amiable girls who (so far) get along well and can play with each other well. I'm also thankful for no more shots until they are four years old - that is a nice break!

The Many Faces of 18 Months

2011-07-08T09:21:00.003-05:00

Today, the girls turned 18 months old! I can't believe it's been this long, but some days, it feels much longer! They had a special breakfast and really enjoyed it. I just took some fun pictures of both girls.

Caroline loves being 18 months old!

Claire can't believe she's 18 months old now!

Happy Half Birthday, Caroline and Claire!

What's Mine is Yours

2011-07-01T13:16:00.002-05:00

Lately, once I put Claire down from her highchair after eating, she makes her way over to Caroline's chair to see if there are any tasty morsels left. She has no qualms about reaching up to the tray and helping herself to whatever food she likes. Caroline doesn't really seem too bothered by her, so I haven't really protested too much.

It's like a chain here - Claire takes off the tray, while Caroline feeds Jack on the floor.

She's still here? I'm not sure I want to be sharing so much of my food!

Well, I guess that's enough "seconds" for now...I'll leave the rest for Caroline!

These are the kinds of things I love about having twins!

The Children's Museum

2011-06-28T19:01:00.003-05:00

Today, the girls, my Mom (Grammy), and I headed to the Children's Museum for some fun indoors! They have a huge "tots" area just for kids under 3, and I was excited to see that most of the kids were right around the girls' age, so there weren't too many big kids running around. The sights and sounds were overwhelming, and so we began at the twirling flowers to see all the vibrant colors.
Next, the girls took a spin in their own roadster. I guess this is what I can look forward to in about 14 years!

Caroline just relaxed while Claire did all the driving. Looks like Caroline's ready for her own convertible and driver!

Caroline rests a bit after so much playtime!

Claire didn't really want to crawl through the tunnels - she preferred just sitting on top of them!

One of the few places Caroline would actually crawl, although she resorted to scooting halfway through the tunnel.

Claire loved speeding her way through the tunnel!

Claire loves the ball pit!

Caroline just kept tossing the balls around - at least she didn't throw them at me like these two other little girls did to their mom!

The best part about our trip into town today was our pit stop at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream on the way home before the girls conked out in the back seat. Can't beat that for a fun-filled day!

Around the House...

2011-06-24T12:07:00.002-05:00

Life with a larger, very active dog has been a little more work than I had originally thought, but after living with us for about six weeks now, Scarlett seems to be settling in and is learning the routines and what is expected of her. Overall, for coming from who knows where, she is VERY sweet and tame and really loves people. She is great with the girls and never bothers them at all, and she loves to play with Jack when he's in the mood. Seeing as how she's only 18 months old, she still has a lot of "puppy" in her, so that is something I try to keep in mind each day. We've all learned one big trick with her - as long as she goes on a good, long walk (or run) in the morning, she gets all that energy out and pretty much sleeps around for the rest of the day. So, every day now, we all head outside around 8am after the girls eat breakfast and walk around the neighborhood, often stopping off at the park to swing for a little while. It's good exercise for all of us, and it ensures that Scarlett is more mellow at home.
Little Jack will always be my first little buddy...but Scarlett is becoming my big girl, too!

In other news, have I mentioned Caroline's obsession with ducks? Specifically Donald Duck? It all began at Disneyland when we got our picture taken with him, and the picture was really cute, so I framed it. Well, she spotted him in that frame from across the room and darted over to his picture as fast as she could.

She even brought sister over to take a look!

I love Donald Duck! I'm so happy to have my picture with him!

Many times, we'll just hear Caroline giggling while she stands in front of this picture now. It's fun that she recognizes him and herself in the picture!

Caroline's New Love

2011-06-19T13:03:00.003-05:00

It's funny how the girls show different preferences and abilities as they reach each new milestone. When Claire was getting close to walking independently, I tried and tried to get her to use the walker, but after falling the first time she used it, she wouldn't touch it again. She obviously learned to walk on her own and did just fine without the walker.

The other night, Caroline just went over to the walker that has been sitting unused now for many months, pulled herself up on it, and wanted to start walking. She did fall once and wouldn't get back on it that night, but the next day, sure enough, she was ready to get up and go again! She spent probably 20 minutes last night just walking around upstairs with the walker and seems to really love it!
Look at me! I haven't quite figured out how to turn it around once I hit an obstacle, but that won't stop me!

The cutest thing was that last night, for the entire 20 minutes, Claire just followed right behind Caroline as if to cheer her on. Usually Claire plays independently and doesn't seem interested in what Caroline is doing, but last night, she tagged right behind the whole time, keeping step with little sister!

A Swimmin' Summer Saturday

2011-06-18T19:04:00.002-05:00

Despite the heat and drought here in Houston, we had a great summer Saturday full of typical outdoor activities. This morning, Paul took Scarlett on her first run of over two miles, and she did great! Even though I take her on a long walk each morning, it was nice that Paul took her on a run, because she has been sleeping the entire day long and has been super mellow. We call her our "mini lab," because she's always curling up into a little ball or trying to sit on our laps, and she really doesn't seem like she weighs 55 pounds!

This afternoon, we went to our neighborhood pool for the first time and tried out the new floats for the girls. They were easy to set up and use, and they even come with a great canopy that helped keep it shady for the girls! We always notice that Caroline is super laid back, and true to form, she just leaned back and put her head against the back of the float and let us just push her around the pool. She's ready for the good life!

Claire was full of energy, kicking around and wanting to swim around the whole pool!

Although it was hot, it was a great day for the pool and the water felt great! I will say for swimming weather, I much prefer the Texas heat over the cool California water!

Here's to many more Saturday outings in the pool this summer!

Chairs and such...

2011-06-14T11:37:00.002-05:00

Since it's so hot outside, we have been spending a lot more time inside than usual. We miss the perfect California weather, but we're making the best of the heat here! Lately, the girls have become very interested in reading - almost all the time now - which makes me very happy! They love to sit either on my lap (both of them - one on each leg), or they'll sit in their foam chairs. One of their favorites is Goodnight Moon, which Caroline is checking out:

Claire also loves to use her chair as a trampoline!

What's sister doing over here? They have started to show more interest in each other and what they other is doing.

Claire loves horses and goats...she carries this plastic horse around with her everywhere!

Apparently chairs can also be used for standing - Mommy's not loving this new trick so much!

Caroline especially points to everything and says, "That?" She is very curious and wants to know the names for everything she sees.

I can stand up, too! It's just taking me a bit longer to feel comfortable with walking around on my own.

Mommy and her girls! Having some fun after going on a walk to the park!

California, Here we Come!

2011-06-06T12:53:00.007-05:00

This past week, we packed up all of our gear and headed to San Diego and Orange County for some vacation time and family time with Paul's grandparents, aunt, and uncle. Our itinerary included flying in to San Diego and staying there for three days, then driving an hour or so up the coast to Orange County for the remaining eight days to visit with Paul's family. Traveling with two 16 month olds is a little daunting, but we all survived and made it there (and back) in one piece! We took two car seats, two pack and plays, two carry on bags, two umbrella strollers, one large suitcase, and one very large duffel bag. Here is all of our stuff as we waited for Daddy to get the rental car:

Driving to the hotel, already tired from so much traveling!

Arriving at the hotel, the girls loved the full-sized windows and the view of the bay in San Diego:

Claire modeling her new sun hat!

We tried to go swimming the next morning in the slightly heated pool, but that didnt' last long because it was 58 degrees outside!

Later that day, we tried visiting the beach, but it was still only around 60 and VERY windy, so poor Claire cried just about the whole time!

Caroline was a little more sedate, but notice her little red nose! So chilly!

Taking a warm bath back at the hotel - we love the deep soaking tub!

Heading to San Diego Zoo the next day...only the BEST zoo in the country - and their first zoo visit ever! Now we'll all be spoiled! Daddy and Claire are ready to go!

We discovered Claire's favorite animal was the goats - she attempted to climb on them several times. (That's one cute Daddy!)

Our last day in San Diego - making a morning out of visiting the park! There was this beautiful purple tree that kept dropping its flowers and the girls loved trying to catch them. It was like a purple carpet on the grass!

Caroline and Daddy...

Later that day, we popped in on Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma in Orange County! Claire loved riding on Grandpa's special reclining chair!

The next day, Daddy surprised us all with a visit to Disneyland! Just as we were about to take our picture with Mickey Mouse, they switched him out and we got Donald Duck...but, that worked out even better because Caroline has been absolutely obsessed with anything "duck" for the last few weeks...she was thrilled out of her mind to see a life-size duck standing before her!

Visiting the Magic Kingdom!

Caroline's first carousel ride - at Disneyland!

Posing in the Mad Hatter's tea cup!

Claire takes in all the sights at "It's a Small World After All."

Caroline listens to Grandpa tell a good story...

Claire gets a special kiss from Grandpa!

Mommy reads to her little angels...their favorite book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?"

Daddy tries body surfing and Uncle Glenn helps Claire and Daddy try out the chilly water!

This beach day went much better and the girls loved playing in the sand and in the water...no fear here!

Grandma gets on the floor to play with the girls...

Our last night in Orange County...the whole gang!

Just the two of us...it's funny how our other vacations are full of pictures of the two of us, but now that we have the girls, this is only one of two pictures we took of just the two of us!

As always, whenever I leave California, I always want to move there because it's just so gorgeous and the weather is absolutely perfect, but we were glad to get home and see our dogs and sleep in our own beds! Hopefully we'll be back soon - see you next time, California!

Tales from the Zoo

2011-05-24T12:32:00.004-05:00

For months, the girls would not get into any TV or videos - we've tried Barney, Sesame Street, Baby Einstein, Veggie Tales, Thomas the Train - you name it, we've tried it. They still do not like to watch any of the above mentioned shows, but after showing one particular video, they will watch most (but not all) of this one Baby Einstein video on "Neighborhood Animals." I think it's because the books we've been reading have a lot of animals in them, but I'm glad that they enjoy it so that I can prepare dinner and still watch the girls.

Of course they love to stand right up by the TV and march around while they are watching. Caroline is so happy she can join Claire now and stand up on her own!

Marching, marching...

The other two children...Scarlett takes it upon herself to "babysit" Jack and has to make sure he's doing what he should. She uses her nose as a prod and pokes him on the back to keep him in line.

My family of four...they don't call it a zoo for nothing!

What a pretty girl! This face makes it all worthwhile!

Catching Up...

2011-05-23T10:17:00.002-05:00

Caroline has been catching up really quickly to Claire's walking. Last week, she started walking around furniture on her own pretty steadily, then yesterday, she began pulling up to stand on her own. She's quite happy with her accomplishments!

Now if I can just see what's for dinner!

Wet 'N Wild Weekend Fun

2011-05-15T13:42:00.002-05:00

This weekend, we had gorgeous weather, so we decided to pull out the baby pool for a little swimming fun! Claire was much more excited this time since she can walk, and helped Daddy set up the pool.
Scarlett and Claire testing the water...

Caroline scooted up to see if the pool was ready to go.

Brrr...this water is COLD!

Enjoying our first popsicles...that didn't last long, however, because the water was really chilly and I think the popsicles were too cold for their liking...

The chilly water didn't stop Scarlett!

After claiming the pool as her own (and deflating it), swim time was over!

Moving on to the sprinklers...this seemed much more doable!

Claire really enjoyed walking around in the sprinklers this time!

Caroline and Mommy enjoying some shade on the patio!

We love summertime!

Peek-a-Boo!

2011-05-11T12:32:00.002-05:00

Claire loves making her way around the house now; she still crawls quite a bit, but every now and then, I'll turn around and see her walking my direction. I think the more she feels comfortable with walking, the more she'll do it, until one day, she'll be running around! She loves finding an item on the floor and then picking it up.

Look what I found!

Caroline, not to be outdone, always comes scooting in as fast as she can! She tries to catch up with Claire, and since Claire still takes her time while walking, Caroline can pretty much keep up with her.

Here I come!

Instead of turning around and looking for Caroline, Claire opts for a different approach:

Peek-a-Boo! The girls love playing this game for as long as they can until one of them starts swatting at the other, and then the fun quickly ends!

Mother's Day reflections

2011-05-09T12:26:00.003-05:00

Being a mother (of twins) is challenging, but any time I feel like complaining or I begin to feel overwhelmed, I just think back to all the years I spent as a single and all I wanted was a family. So, that quickly makes me put things into perspective, and I just can't really seem to form the words to complain anymore.

Yesterday in church, the girls made a little craft for me and Claire is examining hers to make sure it's just right to give to Mommy.

Caroline proudly holds up her "footprint" and poem that she made for Mommy. How did she know I loved poems so much?

Later that afternoon, Claire settled on Mommy's lap for storytime. Apparently Scarlett and Jack love storytime, too!

Being a mother requires grace, sacrifice, and unconditional love, and I'm thankful for wonderful friends and mother figures who have shown me those qualities and examples for me to emulate with my own girls as they grow and mature. I'm thankful for Mother's Day to remind me of the type of mother I would like to be, and I'm most grateful for my girls -for without them, I would not even have the opportunity to be a mother!

One Week Later...

2011-05-06T11:55:00.003-05:00

This last week, we've been spending a lot more time outside so that Scarlett can exercise and run around, so Caroline made herself right at home in the dirt. We've never been to a sandbox before, but I'm thinking she'll probably love it based on how she's covered herself with dirt. I'm glad my girls aren't afraid to get a little dirt on their hands, but I wasn't quite picturing dirt all over their bodies!
Scarlett is settling in nicely - we have training exercises we do twice a day, and we have started taking her on walks with us. We begin our group obedience classes tomorrow morning, so that should be fun (for her or for us???).

She's tuckered out from all the activities too!

Claire continues to try her hand at walking...she still prefers crawling because she's faster and it's easier for her, but she's pretty good about trying to walk as much as she can.

Jack and Caroline prefer to watch the action from the sidelines. It's been a crazy week, but we're slowly getting more used to the "new" routine and way of life with a younger, more active dog. She's come a long way in just a week!

What a Week!

2011-05-05T21:27:00.002-05:00

Between having Scarlett and going through some intense training with her, to managing the twins' schedule, to helping Claire make her way around the house, there's been enough going on this week to last me a good few months at least! I managed to capture Claire in action today - she's not walking all the time yet, but she does a little more each day.

Walkin' Around...

2011-05-02T21:05:00.002-05:00

On Friday afternoon, Claire finally let go and took several steps on her own. I kept trying to get her to do it again all weekend to show Paul, but finally today, she decided to take a little tour around the kitchen. With beads in hand, she started at the kitchen table, and walked to the fridge. It always helps to have a little prop!

Then she decided to walk across the kitchen to the dishwasher.

Here she comes!

Don't worry, sis, I've got this under control! I'll show you how it's done.

Look at me! I'm officially walking now and there's no going back!

New Routines and Accomplishments

2011-05-02T11:27:00.002-05:00

Now that we've had Scarlett a few days, she is slowly settling in to life in her new home, and she just can't get enough of her two admirers. The girls follow her around everywhere and when I tell them to go find Scarlett, they immediately go to her kennel and pet her. This morning, I found Claire standing up trying to stuff Caroline's duck into the kennel for Scarlett.

Claire loves to find Scarlett and tell her, "Good morning!"

Our other dog, Jack, seems unimpressed with Scarlett and barely notices her, but that's pretty typical of how he interacts with other dogs. She will try to engage him to play with her, but he'll have none of it. He's just an old man who can't be bothered with a young teenager!

In other news...this weekend, Claire decided to finally let go and took a good nine or ten steps on her own! Then last night, she walked from the coffee table to Scarlett's cage on her own. As Claire is getting closer and closer to taking off on her own, Caroline is quickly catching up and is now able to walk around furniture fairly well on her own. Although she has been a little more behind Claire physically, she does progress more quickly than Claire does, so she'll catch her soon enough!

Our Scarlett

2011-04-29T17:40:00.002-05:00

Introducing the newest member of the Culbertson family...Scarlett...

Once you hear the story of how we adopted her, I think you'll agree with me that Scarlett was a special gift from God just for our family...for years, I have DREAMED of owning a chocolate lab, but never pursued owning one because I worked all day or lived in a small space, so it just wasn't suitable for a lab.

To preface the story, I NEVER look on the the CAP (an animal shelter here in Houston) website, but on a whim, decided to browse the pictures two Fridays ago. I saw Scarlett's picture on there, and read the write-up that she had been found running along a highway (similar to how our other dog, Jack, was found), and she was in the care of a foster mom. I emailed the foster mom, and we ended up talking on the phone for nearly an hour.

The foster mom, PJ, is a big-time animal lover, and she nursed Scarlett back to health for over a week at the animal hospital, then because she was unable to keep her because she fosters other dogs, she has paid for Scarlett to stay at a really nice open kennel for many months while she looked for a home. PJ said she had been dreaming to find a family like ours - a stay-at-home mom with young kids.

Last weekend, PJ brought Scarlett by to meet us, and she was just as sweet as she is beautiful. She is a smaller lab, only about 50 pounds, and doesn't seem nearly as overwhelming as some labs I know. We all felt the meeting had gone well, but PJ just wanted to talk to some trainers to find out if they could help her with some of her rambunctious behaviors.

Since Scarlett had not lived with a family, PJ agreed to personally pay for an intensive training with a renowned trainer here in Houston. This past week, she went through that training, then the trainer himself came to our house this morning and gave us a firehose training on what to do. A bit overwhelmed, and feeling like we had just brought home a newborn, we began our first day alone with Scarlett.

One of the biggest areas the trainer worked with was teaching her to stay in her kennel and how to walk better on a leash. I wish this guy could move in with us for a while, but even today after just spending a few days with him, her behavior was much better and the tips he gave us are definitely working so far. It reminds me of when we put the girls on a schedule in the hospital - they got them started, then all we had to do was just continue the work once we got home. We are keeping her on a lead at all times right now until she learns to completely control herself, but it will pay off soon enough.

She just wants a home to be loved and cherished, and the fact that she came to us with superlative training (which we didn't have to pay for), and we found out that she was born the same month as the girls, made us want her to be part of the Culbertson family!

The girls already LOVE her and aren't scared of her size at all. Her kennel is in our den, so she'll be part of the action right now while she's being trained.

Already today, she laid down right in front of them and then just licked their hands when they reached out to pet her. She seems to love them as much as they love her!

I'm a big fan of adopting dogs and saving a life; I know that we didn't find Scarlett - she found us and will be a wonderful pet in our family for many years to come.

Our First Easter Egg Hunt!

2011-04-23T11:41:00.003-05:00

Braving the heat (why is it so hot and it's only April?) and the wind, we set out today for our very first Easter egg hunt! The girls put on their little sundresses and got their Easter baskets all ready, excited to find some eggs and candy! Caroline can't wait to get started, and practices by putting her duckie into her basket:

Claire is ready to go!

We got to the church early to help set up (basically toss thousands of eggs onto a grassy area), so the girls got a few eggs early since they were big helpers!

Claire never knew Easter egg hunting could be so much fun!

She knew to tuck that egg into her basket.

Having some snacks and hanging out with Daddy!

Caroline just takes it all in...

She kept standing alone all by herself. I don't know when she figured out how to do that, but this morning was the first time she did it!

One egg for each hand! My little Easter darling...

Showing the girls how to put the eggs in their baskets...by this time, it was getting pretty warm and they were tired from sitting out there for over an hour while we set up, so they quickly lost interest in the egg hunt and just wanted to sit down.

All the eggs were gone in under five minutes! I've never seen so many kiddos under age two move that quickly and make thousands of eggs disappear. We made off with about 5 eggs, but it was a good start for their first hunt! Happy Easter!

Some "Good Friday" Fun

2011-04-22T12:06:00.002-05:00

Today we are remembering "Good Friday" and all the blessings we have. Paul is off today, so we had a good time playing this morning with Daddy. Yesterday, we played at a church friend's house, and her little girls are 3 and 2, and they had these little bouncy balls that the girls loved. When I see a toy that they really latch onto, I go on a hunt for it! They won't watch TV at all, so I don't get much of a break during the day other than naptime.

Thanks to Target, we found some mini bouncy balls that the girls could pick up really easily and they love them! Claire especially loves hers; she carries it around with her and was laying her head on top of it all afternoon yesterday.

She even played catch with me yesterday, and rolled the ball to me on the floor - she's a quick learner! This is her "squinty" pose because she saw the flash going off.

Caroline loves her books - I think it's the action of getting them off the shelf that she enjoys most, but she'll just sit in a huge pile of books and chatter to herself for a while. She is also obsessed with this little duck that our aunt gave her - it's just a little beanie baby, but I think because it fits into her hand perfectly, she loves it! She carries it around with her everywhere, but the benefit is that now that we've said, "Duckie" so much, she can now point at a picture of a duck in the book and say, "Duckie!"

Just like her mommy - reading several books at one time!

My little Easter duckie - sweet Caroline!

Tomorrow morning is our big Easter egg hunt at our church, so more pictures to come!

Slowly but Surely

2011-04-19T21:46:00.004-05:00

Claire is quickly making her way around the house now - albeit holding onto the walls, but now, when I come back downstairs, she is standing at the staircase waiting for me.

She hates sitting, and will fuss until she can get to a wall or anything to pull herself up and stand. Today, she walked all the way from the staircase across the wall nearly into the kitchen. She reminds me of myself when I go ice skating - I make progress, but I have to cling to the wall the whole time!

Claire's characteristic trait is reaching towards anything and questioning, "Thaaat?" Her voice rises up the scale and she wants to know what "that" is. She often calls me "that," but I'm not offended. Lately, she has been using "mama" or "mommy, mommy," but she has yet to say it to my face after not seeing me for a while, so I'm not convinced she completely knows my name yet like she does Daddy's.

The rest of my day ended with our dog Jack pooping in the house (as if I don't clean up enough poop already), and Caroline helped herself to a piece for further examination. In the meantime, while trying to change Claire, I had to leave her there to wash Caroline's hands, and she crawled off without a diaper and peed on the floor. Good times here at the zoo!

Springtime in Dallas

2011-04-17T16:23:00.002-05:00

This weekend, we ventured up to Dallas to visit Paul's brother and sister-in-law, Ross and Jenny! We left late in the afternoon on Friday, arriving there around 9pm. On Saturday after lunch, we all packed up and headed to the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy the beautiful flowers and weather. It was perfect California weather - about 73 degrees, no humidity, and the flowers and scenery were just gorgeous - everything perfectly manicured, in bloom, and full of color. It was such a beautiful place that there were actually 2 weddings being held, as well as numerous photography sessions for children, engaged couples, and young kids. My favorite place was this large wooden trellis that had huge pink floral vines draping all across and down its pillars - absolutely stunning! The girls loved the grass- the short Bermuda grass was like a green carpet to them. Claire is getting so close to walking - she stood for a while on her own, and then...

Took two steps all by herself! Her confidence is gradually building, but it just takes time.

Claire loves to "run" with Daddy!

The girls loved the fountain! Caroline wanted to jump in and kept leaning over to touch the water.

Taking a break and having a snack!

This was one of my favorites...Claire made sure Daddy got a snack too. She got this intently serious look on her face and figured out that he must be hungry too.

So being the sweet sharing girl that she is, she reached in and grabbed a few Cheerios, and...

Made sure Daddy got plenty to eat! She took her job very seriously and we were all cracking up, but she didn't get distracted at all from her sharing.

On our way out, we took another little break in front of some large azalea bushes.

The girls did really well in the stroller, mostly because we were outdoors! They had a great time at the arboretum and we did too! We are thankful to have such sweet relatives to host us and show us a fabulous time in Dallas!

15 Months Old!

2011-04-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we visited the doctor for the girls' 15 month wellness checkup. Daddy came along and helped, and I'm so glad he did! Usually Aunt Cassie would help, but she's busy now with her own baby Emma! With two, the visit lasted nearly an hour and a half, and I love that our doctor spends so much time talking with us and answering all of our questions. She has 3 kids of her own, so she's right there with us! A few highlights from the visit, included their weight coming in at: Claire: 21 lbs, 0 oz. Caroline: 20 lbs, 15 oz. So, just one ounce apart...pretty much their entire life has been that way, no more than about 3 ounces away from each other. They are both right around 30 inches as well (we had to remeasure a few times, so I'm not totally sure the exact number they wrote in their charts). Again, more indications that they are identical...right now, we are not paying $200 for a DNA test to find out for sure. We can always do that later. We talked about sweet Caroline's inclination to swat Claire and how to help her realize this is not how to show love to her sister. She is also going to "nap boot camp," and Mommy is going to let her cry it out and not randomly pick her up because that is just reinforcing her behavior. I love our doctor and all the research she knows!

Both girls are doing well, and I'm excited because this is the last visit for a while where they got three shots all at one time. That was not too fun for any of us!

Next visit...18 months!

Sprinklers

2011-04-13T13:22:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, it was time to get the girls all dressed up in their swimsuits and head outside for some sprinkler/baby pool time! The water turned out to be a little colder than I thought it would be, so it was a short-lived session. Caroline isn't too excited about having to pose in her bathing suit: Claire was fascinated by the sprinkler...when it was off, of course. (See below)

If you can't tell from the picture, Caroline is loving the water, but Claire is all curled up and screaming. She loves bathtime and splashing, so I'm not sure if it was the temperature of the water or the actual sprinkler itself. It might be a long summer!

Caroline wanted to just jump in if she could!

Notice Claire isn't in the baby pool - yes, she thought it was too cold and screamed until I got her out. Caroline still splashed around and had some fun!

I guess we'll wait another few weeks for the water to warm up a little more before trying again! We have a bigger baby pool that will fit both of them a lot better and has water shooting across it, so hopefully Claire will get over her sprinkler phobia soon!

Some Cousin Time!

2011-04-07T20:59:00.003-05:00

Earlier this week, we got all the cousins together to play. The girls have been around their cousin Emma about 2-3 other times, but haven't really seemed to notice her too much, maybe because she was asleep or in the swing. This time, however, they watched her constantly, and any noise she made, they looked over at her to make sure she was okay. They were very sweet with her and didn't even try to touch her - they were just happy to watch her! Caroline, in particular, seemed really interested in Emma and kind of positioned herself right next to her like a little guardian. Both girls peered in at sweet Emma!

Caroline could have spent all day watching Emma.

I'll just hold onto her seat so she won't blow away!

Claire kept wanting to move the handle on the infant seat.

Now that's a lot of babies!!! At one point, I was holding Emma, Claire crawled into my lap, Caroline laid her head on my knee, and Jack (the dog) rubbed on the side of my leg. It was like having 4 babies at once!!!

Tuckered Out

2011-04-06T14:19:00.002-05:00

Lately, both Mommy and Claire have been tuckered out. Why? Well, Claire has decided to start sleeping in a semi-sitting position, then she cries because she wants to lie back down. She is perfectly capable of lying down herself, but somehow she forgets this at two in the morning. In addition to waking up several times in the night, she now wakes up around 6:30am and just whines, and I go in there to find her sitting up in her crib, ready to start the day. Problem is, Mommy is not ready to start her day, so I usually just try to hold her for at least 30 minutes until it's 7am. The other day, I just prayed at 6:25am that she would sleep until 7am so I could just rest in bed, and thankfully, she began whining right at 7:01am. As if this wasn't enough to make her tired, she also isn't napping very well - maybe an hour here or there. Yesterday, it finally caught up with her, and after putting some clothes away in the closet, I came back out to the playroom to find Claire like this: She had fallen asleep right in the middle of playing, on top of her favorite learning puppy. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and she was good to go. She actually slept like that for more than 30 minutes, giving Mommy a nice little break (at least from one, since Caroline was awake of course). Today, she's napping a solid two hours, first time in a week, so I'm actually having some time to update my blog and check email! Of course Caroline slept only an hour, so I'm still waiting for the day when I can have a solid two hours to myself. Maybe next year!

Where's your Head?

2011-04-01T16:29:00.003-05:00

This last week, somehow I figured out that Claire could point out her head. I guess it was when all the trauma happened that maybe it clicked where her head was located. Sometimes when I ask her where her nose is, she puts her hand on her head. Either way, she's doing really well and tries so hard to walk on her own. It's a constant battle because I'm more cautious with her since she is operating with a skull fracture, but I don't want to baby her and fuss too much when she falls. She lets go of things all the time now and thinks she can just start walking off on her own. The other day I was out of the room a second and went in to find her lying on top of Caroline, both crying because apparently a domino effect had happened when I stepped out for a second. She loves sitting up in her crib now and I find her in there laughing a lot early in the morning or during nap time. She grabs her dolly now and calls her "Da," and she says, "Daddy" a lot as well. Not sure where the "Mommy" figures in, but we're working on it. She's independent and carefree, but she has a sweet personality and doesn't seem to get ruffled easily. Caroline will swat at her and push on her and she doesn't really get too bothered, which is a blessing. She seems just very happy and easygoing, but at the same time, can have a will of her own. She's my sunshine and smiles a lot; she makes me laugh because she is goofy and sweet at the same time. She loves to clap and sing and discover all things new. Caroline, too, has discovered her head and also loves showing her tummy. They have both learned that word this week as well. She shrieks in excitement when we go to the park and she sees the swingset and other kids and loves to watch people. She does this little dance where she rotates her hands and feet in double time to show she is happy or excited.

She's got a little mischievous streak - she has always been the "toy snatcher" and if Claire has something she wants, she thinks nothing of scooting right on over and snatching it from her. We've been working on that a little bit, and she's eager to please and really tries to control her little habit. She knows when she is misbehaving and often looks at me with this little grin before I have to even correct her. She constantly chatters to herself in this little high-pitched voice, and says, "That" a lot and points to objects.

Both girls seem like they are getting along more and more each day, and love to make each other laugh, so that in turn makes me laugh. This age is probably my favorite so far, and I'm sure it only gets better!

Spaghetti Time!

2011-03-27T13:08:00.003-05:00

One of the girls' favorite meals is spaghetti...not the canned kind, but good, old-fashioned homemade spaghetti with meat sauce. In fact, they love any kind of ground meat dish - lasagna, tacos, hamburgers...so I try to plan one meal a week with ground meat so they can have all the leftovers. I think spaghetti was one of the first real "meals" I ever fed them, and they would just nearly gorge themselves on it if I let them. It's funny to watch how differently they approach their trays of spaghetti - Caroline picks up one noodle at a time, and delicately places it into her mouth. The mound of spaghetti doesn't take much of a dent at this rate!

I usually have to get out the fork and help her get a little more in each mouthful or we'd all be sitting around for hours eating spaghetti!

Claire, on the other hand, picks up fistfuls of spaghetti and stuffs it into her mouth. The bib does nothing much, it's mostly a decoration while eating spaghetti!

Claire will have noodles down her arm, but that doesn't stop her! She just goes ahead and licks her arm - no sweat!

However she can get the most spaghetti into her mouth at one time, she will. No time wasted here!

I love me some spaghetti!

In Her Own Words...

2011-03-25T17:40:00.003-05:00

Claire shares about her accident last weekend (excuse my incessant questioning!)...

Baby Dolly

2011-03-23T22:01:00.003-05:00

The girls' favorite toy/sleep friend is their "Dolly," a German plush doll with a rattle inside, but the attraction of this doll is her braids. They LOVE to carry her around by the braid and then they wrap the braid around their finger and suck their thumb to go to sleep. Usually I keep Dolly in their cribs, but when I get Dolly out, they love carrying her around. Since Claire had a rough weekend, I've been a little indulgent and have let her carry Dolly around all week.

Caroline was such a good sister that she, too, has gotten to carry around her Dolly all week. They are exactly the same, but I put a black dot on Caroline's to tell them apart.

Since the girls have turned 14 months, I have noticed a big change in their abilities and personalities, and even more of an inclination to start playing with each other. Now that they are mobile, this corner of the house is their favorite place to play. They go around this corner and hide and squeal when the other pokes her head around. If I'm on the computer and one of them spots me, she screams and starts laughing and gives away her position.

Yesterday, I turned around for maybe 3 minutes to reply to an email, and when I turned back around, the sweet sisters had decided to do a little cleaning for me using the wipes.

Huh? There's nothing going on here...

We're still keeping Claire in close proximity, but happy to report that she's doing very well this week. It will just take some time for all of us to adjust to letting her get back to normal.

Not Your Typical Sunday

2011-03-22T13:21:00.004-05:00

This past Sunday, right after feeding the girls their lunch, Paul and I decided to eat later, so like we always do, we strapped Claire into her booster seat. These seats are very secure - as you can see, attached to the chair in two places, and they have the option of either having the tray attached, or just using the adult table as the eating surface. No differently then usual, we took the tray off and scooted Claire right up to the table to sit with us while we ate.

Not five seconds later, as I was going outside to get Caroline to put her in her chair, and as Paul was finishing putting together his sandwich, we both hear a loud crash, and immediately in the back of my mind, I instinctively knew what had happened, though hoping it was not so. I ran back into the house just as Paul was running towards Claire, only to find that Claire had pushed off the edge of the table and completely toppled herself strapped into the chair backwards onto the tile. When we raced in, we see the chair like this, only with Claire in it and her head resting on the tile. We do believe that the seat saved her life because had she fallen out of it without being strapped in, she may have hurt her neck or spinal cord.

Thankfully, she began screaming, but about five minutes later, became limp and turned white. At that point, I began racing out to the car as Paul loaded up Caroline. We raced to the nearest ER, but the drive there was the worst part of the day. Claire kept fading in and out of consciousness, and I thought many times that we were losing her. Once we finally arrived at the ER, they checked her over and did a CT scan on her head. After a few minutes, the doctor peeked into our room to let us know that she had indeed fractured her skull and an ambulance was going to take her to Texas Children's in the Medical Center.

Obviously I didn't have (or really want) my camera at this point, but the saddest and scariest thing I've ever seen was my own daughter sitting in her car seat strapped to a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance. That is NOT a sight I ever want to see again. I rode with her, nearly throwing up myself because I was so upset and nauseated, and we finally arrived at the hospital.

After a while of waiting and seeing the ER doctor, we finally saw the neurologist, only to have him tell us that the fracture was very tiny and she would be just fine. He said that it takes about 2-3 months to heal, so we have to be very careful with her while it's healing, but told us we could go home that night. I was paranoid to have her sleep that night because I didn't want her slipping into unconsciousness again, but God saw her through the night and we all woke up much happier.

Claire is doing very well now - it doesn't seem like anything even happened, and she's not even fazed by sitting in her chair again. She has a nice bump on the back left side of her head, but there is no bleeding or even bruising at this time.

We are so thankful for our Claire - there is nothing like a hospital visit to the ER to put your priorities into perspective. I thank God for my girls every day, but now, I'm more thankful than ever. Claire is my sunshine and I'm so happy that God has taken care of her.

Hide and Seek

2011-03-17T19:07:00.002-05:00

In the midst of trying to recuperate, the girls have been creating some fun of their own now that Claire can crawl and Caroline scoots along. Typically, they will be in separate rooms, but figure out where the other one is, so they both start heading towards each other. Once they meet at a corner, they play "peek-a-boo" and scream and laugh. Claire loves to hide her head behind the wall from either Caroline or me.

Caroline will "give up" and turn around, only to have Claire reveal her location and squeal!

Peek-a-boo!

This is where the games can go south pretty quickly. Caroline will purposefully scoot up to Claire and not let her pass, and then they will both swat at each other. Today, I was out of the room a second, and when I came back, they both had their hands at each other's throats. Neither one was fussing, but they both looked guilty as sin when I caught them. I'm noticing that there is not a pushover between the two of them - they seem very evenly matched as far as their aggressive streak goes (they definitely did not get that from Paul!).

At least Claire can move a little more quickly than Caroline and get away from her -but I'm sure that won't be lasting too much longer!

Colds at the Culbertsons

2011-03-17T09:58:00.003-05:00

The last week has been a tough one for us Culbertsons. Last Tuesday (over a week ago), Claire started feeling a little feverish and lethargic, then a runny nose ensued. By Thursday, she wasn't getting any better and her eyes started leaking this horrible gunk - make that gushing...her eyes were all swollen and looked like she had been in a fight, then would get stuck shut when she slept.

Meanwhile, being in close proximity, Caroline starts exhibiting the same symptoms, but isn't far enough along for a doctor's visit. Claire visits the doctor on Thursday to find out that she has an ear infection plus conjunctivitis. We start her on amoxicillin and eyedrops (which cost $80 for a half ounce - the bottle is the size of a quarter).

By Friday, Caroline's eyes start oozing, then I feel like I'm getting a sore throat, typically the start to symptoms of a cold. Over the weekend, I take Caroline to the urgent care clinic, where they find out she just has a cold and slight conjunctivities, but no ear infection. Eye drops follow.

Meanwhile, I'm hanging in there, but Paul starts getting a sore throat around Saturday or so. The girls are still fighting their infections, not doing that great, and by Sunday, we are all four just sitting around. By this time, I'm usually feeling a little better, but when I wake up on Monday, I'm worse, and Paul is worse. He goes to the doctor and starts a Z-pack, and I just think in my mind, "Well, I usually have 1-2 really bad days w/a cold, so I'll just wait it out." Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....no changes. By Wednesday, I'm feeling like I have the flu - achy, chills, feverish, congested, headache...so I finally go to the doctor and start my Z-pack.

I finally slept through the night last night (thanks to Claire crying about every two hours the last 4-5 nights because she sits up and then gets "stuck" and can't lie back down), but didn't wake up as refreshed as I'd hoped. I'm just praying that Z-pack kicks in today. I don't think I've ever had a sinus infection that has dragged on this long. I feel like we've all been slammed with the cold tsunami and we're just trying to survive!

Moving Right Along...

2011-03-14T10:00:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, Claire officially started crawling, and while she isn't super fast yet, she definitely cruises around and has figured out that she can make her own decisions about where to go. Caroline follows her around by scooting, and she's really almost as fast as Claire is.

Jack is not too sure about having two babies who can chase him around now!

Here I come!

This is fun! Why didn't I do this sooner?

Whatever room I go to, they crawl/scoot to be with me; it's cute and I'm glad they can get around now on their own. We spent the weekend childproofing a lot of things - not a moment too soon!

The Center of Attention

2011-03-11T17:51:00.003-06:00

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but last week, I experienced the "perfect" situation to give my post some meaning and substance. Let me start off by saying that I'm not the type of person who enjoys the spotlight or people "noticing" things about me. When I get a haircut or a new outfit, and I know that people will notice, I semi-dread going to places where I know friends who will comment on that. I typically downplay anything new I buy or don't even talk about it because I just don't like the attention. Don't ask me why - just the way I am!

So, I guess God knew that He wanted to stretch me in this area by giving me twins...we literally cannot go anywhere without people commenting on them or asking questions about them. Just a few from the litany of questions I get EVERYWHERE we go...Are they twins? (my personal favorite, and the most common - now I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from answering sarcastically) Are they identical? Do twins run in your family? Are they girls? (another personal favorite since I dress them in pink about 95% of the time) Is it harder than just one? (come on people, are you really that naive?) I'm sure you have help, right? (Uh, right)

Then, I'll get a few comments as well...Oh look, twins...Double trouble...You have a lot on your hands...Those sure are handsome boys (I actually get this a lot - just because babies don't have much hair doesn't make them boys! On a side note, I was at a toy store and bought pink toys and the salesman, looking at my cute little "boys," was like, "Um, do you know that those are pink? (basically doubting that I know what gender my own children are!)

Most of the time, I just answer politely and move on...however, last week, a lady basically accosted me (or rather, my stroller) while asking about the twins. Here is how the conversation went:

Lady: Oh look, twins!
Me: Yes (politely saying nothing and walking quickly towards the checkout line at Target)
Lady: Are they fraternal? (as I'm turning the stroller away from her)
Me: No, they're identical (still walking quickly to the line)
Lady: Really?
Me: Yes, they are identical.
Lady: Hey, wait a minute...(at this point, she GRABS my stroller and starts to turn it back around, acting like she's the mother and I'm making it up)
Me: They are identical. (Said in quite a firm voice as I make my getaway, thinking, Lady, get your hand off my stroller!)

It doesn't matter where we go, whether it's Target, the mall, the park, church, anywhere. I know twins are not the norm, but it's not like they are unusual or warrant this much attention. I guess I (and they) are going to have to endure this for the rest of our lives! Now I know why Michael Jackson covered his kids with a blanket for so long...I don't agree with who he was, but I might have to borrow that blanket idea sometime soon.

Two x Three = Six

2011-03-09T12:30:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, two friends of mine (and their babies) all got together for a playdate...six kiddos under the age of two! This is when I'm actually glad I have twins, and NOT multiples of a higher number. How in the world do people manage?

Since we've moved to our house, we've been meeting more and more friends with babies the girls' age, and getting together with friends we already knew who happened to live in our area. It's been fun to have a change in our day and hang out with some friends for all of us!

Speedy Scooter at 14 Months!

2011-03-08T14:31:00.003-06:00

Who knew scooting around could make someone go so fast? Well, apparently Caroline has figured out the trick, because just in the last few days, she is scooting around very quickly. She's been scooting around for a while now, but now she seems to have an agenda and very specific places to go now, and she does this at a very determined pace.

Her favorite destination right now seems to be Jack's water bowl, which she loves to push around and spill constantly. This morning, it was the printer paper under our bed, which I found spread all over our room in about 100 sheets. Around lunch, it was the top to the can of stain I was using, so Little Bit made handprints of dark wood stain on the tile floor in about two seconds before I could turn around. Thank goodness it wasn't on the carpet or the rug!

Yesterday, she scooted over and figured out that the gate was at the top of the stairs (which we just installed on Saturday - not a day too soon!).

Hey Mom! Just hanging out up here!

As soon as I put her down, off she scoots...she's not crawling, but she's almost as fast and I'm having to watch her constantly! At least Claire hasn't caught on quite yet - she's trying to advance to pulling up on furniture and crawling more traditionally on her knees. My days are about to get really crazy!

Caught in the Act...

2011-03-02T12:47:00.002-06:00

The latest mischief that Caroline likes to create is scooting right next to Claire and snatching her toys or grabbing her clothes or scratching her arm. I place them as far apart as I can, but inevitably, Caroline inches closer and closer. If I step out of the room or act like I'm not there, she pursues Claire even more and then as soon as I make my presence known, she turns around and smiles and drops her hands like she was doing nothing wrong. She definitely knows exactly what she's doing!
Claire does seem very interested in Jack and whatever he's doing. She loves to hug him or push him away if he's in her space. Today she discovered his water bowl and thought it was fascinating that he could drink out of it that way. I'm just waiting until she wants to try that same trick.

Temptations, temptations!

Keeping the girls busy doesn't seem to be a problem - the problem is trying to make my day less busy!

Swinging into Spring!

2011-02-27T21:09:00.004-06:00

We're all so excited that the cold has gone away and we can enjoy the outdoors now! Lately, every afternoon, I spread out a beach towel in the backyard and dump a bunch of toys and just let the girls play around in the grass and have a great time. They love watching the birds fly overhead and hear all the outdoors noises - dogs barking, traffic rushing, birds singing, and the occasional airplane that we'll hear flying over the area.

Caroline loves throwing her toys in the grass and scooting around to get them. She just gets so excited about the little things - it makes ME so excited about showing her all the sights and sounds.

I can't have much more fun than this!

Claire loves reaching and grabbing for things - this time it's the cord hanging off the camera.

I love sitting outside!

Here Mom, this one's for you!

Now that the girls are scooting around more quickly, they inevitably end up right next to each other, which does not always end so happily. Caroline has been a "toy snatcher" from day one, but if Claire doesn't have a toy, she will just grab Claire's hand or clothes and make a determined face and hold on (this definitely does not make Claire's list of her favorite things). I'm having to watch them much more closely now so that they "play nicely."

See, that's a flower!

Even Daddy joined in the fun today and helped Mommy so that she could make dinner! Thank you, Daddy, for helping so much and knowing exactly when to give Mommy a little break!

Road Trip!

2011-02-20T19:15:00.002-06:00

Armed with our two pack and plays (one hand-me-down, one bought off craigslist), two duffel bags of clothes and toys, the double stroller, and a whole lot more, we headed to San Antonio this weekend to visit a few friends and some family. We are hoping to take a few short trips this spring since the girls are a little older and can ride in the car for a bit longer now, so this was the first one this spring. We like driving to San Antonio to visit because it's not too far with little ones in tow, and there are many people to see there that we know and love!

Our first stop was to visit my best friend Jentry and her family. Her son, Jack, is three, and was also born in January, so he's exactly two years older than the twins. He brought the twins all kinds of toys to play with and talked to them all the time. They LOVED him and were just enthralled with him the whole time. Claire was just beside herself that she got to spend so much time with her new (boy)friend!

Claire is mesmerized by her "Superman" Jack!

Our new best friend! Watching a little Scooby Doo together.

The car ride went well overall - we did endure a bit of choral screaming before the girls nodded off, but they did a great job and loved riding in their new "big girl" car seats! Caroline is just chillin' in her seat...

At one point, she took her sock off and began sucking on it, and when I turned around to check on her, she was starting to nod off, with the sock in her mouth!

An hour later, sound asleep, still with the sock...gives a new meaning to, "Stuff a sock in it!"

Claire loves riding in her seat and anytime we go in the car now, as soon as I open the door and show her the car seat, she grins and reaches for it. I think she would be happy sitting in it all day long!

She, too, discovered her sock and is examining it a little more closely here.

Not sure what it is, but those socks sure are tasty! (And yes, both of them still love flapping their arms wildly!)

On The Go...

2011-02-15T09:49:00.002-06:00

Lately, the girls seem to prefer "scooting" as their method of transportation, and love to get off the rug onto the tile so they can move more quickly. However, this does not make Mommy so excited because that tile is HARD and does not give if they happen to fall back or forward. So, it's a constant watching game, and they aren't even walking and bumping into things yet.

Caroline is just a very content baby; she is happy to stay in one place for a while as long as she has her toys.

She loves her blocks and "talks" to them and her favorite game is to throw them on the tile and then scoot on her rear to go get them.

I think she's content to let others move for her right now...we're working with her and encouraging her as much as we can to walk, but I guess she will get there at her own pace.

Just this week, Claire is getting much closer to crawling and can rock on her hands and knees now. She practices it all the time now and I have to watch her because she face plants constantly. This morning, she was face down in her crib, lying perpendicular with her face in the bumper - not a great position to be stuck in!

She loves standing and holding onto the coffee table, and has just begun to slowly make her way around the side of it, step by step.

For a few weeks now, Claire has been getting faster and stronger while she holds our hands and walks, so I thought I would try to get the walker out and see how she did with that. She was a little unsteady and fell a few times, but she was able to understand the concept of pushing and walking and she was able to push it all by herself for the first time!

Watch out everybody; here I come!

Dinner Time = Fun Time!

2011-02-12T08:54:00.003-06:00

The girls are doing a great job of feeding themselves (finally!) all kinds of foods - last night we had a smorgasbord of fruit - blueberries, strawberries, and grapes. I'm so excited about the upcoming spring and summer fruit season - so many great choices to give the girls! During dinner, the girls have a really fun time, but they do a good job of still eating and behaving well, so a little fun never hurt anyone!

Claire's latest "thing" is that she makes fists with her hands and starts madly waving her arms up and down...basically she looks like a bird about to take off. If you mirror her and wave your arms too, she loves that and it makes her wave them faster. She also shuts her eyes when I take pictures now, so she looks like she is concentrating on something here in this picture:

Wait a minute! There's something in my bib!

Back to the flapping...

Taking a break from all the flying to eat a blueberry...

And back to flying...it's just too much fun!

Come on, everyone join in!

Caroline usually watches Claire in amusement, but as soon as Claire starts flapping, Caroline bobs her head up and down really quickly, but it was kind of hard to get a picture of that!

Dinnertime is just TOO much fun!

All this laughing has done me in!

Meeting our New Cousin

2011-02-09T08:36:00.002-06:00

On little Emma Kate's three-week birthday, we got all the cousins together for a play date! Well, Emma Kate just slept in my arms, but the twins sure were excited to meet their new cousin! Actually, they seemed pretty oblivious to her, and only really looked at her when she made little grunting noises. Claire just stared at me like, "Wait, I'm the baby here!"

Caroline was just obsessed with Emma Kate's basket and that kept her busy the whole time...Claire showed off her walking skills with Aunt Cassie, while I held Emma Kate!

At the rate the twins are going, I guess they'll be walking by the time Emma Kate can interact, so that should be perfect timing! They can teach EKG all the ropes and she'll have two instant playmates and cousins! Only one year and ten days apart - can't beat that!

Looking forward to many more play dates in the coming months!

Little Scooters

2011-02-08T09:28:00.002-06:00

Happy 13 months! The girls are doing really well and are finally moving around - mostly scooting around or pushing themselves around backwards, but it's at a slow pace. In our den, we have a rug that I usually start them out on, but I'll turn my back for just a few minutes and they have already moved to the tile. They love throwing their toys onto the tile and then going to get them.

Caroline especially loves her baby. She knows the word now and when I ask her to get it, she will. She also loves the game, "Give it to me." Both she and Claire will put whatever item they are holding into my palm when I say, "Give it to me," and they grin really big and think it's so much fun.
Caroline has also discovered how to open the TV stand door, a trick that is not so cute. Their play kitchen has an oven door that says, "Open" or "Close" depending on what you do, so she loves opening and closing doors of any type now. The play kitchen also has an "On" and "Off" water spout, so as soon as I sit her up on the counter to brush her teeth, she turns the water on.

She says, "Bop" or "Bob" a lot, as well as "Dada" or "Dap." She doesn't seem in any hurry to start walking yet, but she can stand well on her own while holding onto a surface. She does like to "crawl" on her stomach now, basically pushing herself around backwards on the floor, and she grins when I ask her if she wants to crawl.

Claire, on the other hand, loves walking around with help. She can bounce up and down while she is standing and holding onto something, and she's getting faster and more sturdy while she walks and I hold her hands. She is not interested in crawling at all and cries if I put her on her stomach. I think she will just skip that phase altogether and just start walking.

She's very expressive and gets really excited about little things. We have discovered, and other nursery workers have told us, that she loves when we (or others) sing to her. She gets a big grin on her face and sometimes tilts her head and looks "bashful," but she just lights up and thinks that is the best thing ever.

Claire loves to try to keep up with Jack, and she will scoot on the floor to try to reach him. I can tell she wants to move around so badly, but just hasn't quite figured out how to do that on her own yet.

Claire's favorite word is "Boots." She says it all the time and laughs when we say it back to her. I guess she is a Texas girl after all!

New piano...$5000; Family piano - priceless

2011-02-03T10:54:00.004-06:00

Growing up, I took years upon years of piano lessons - I stuck with it not only because my parents wanted me to, but I also have a hard time quitting something once I've started. Call it stubborness or perseverance, but either way, it can be a good trait in most situations, but can also land me in some trouble if I don't know when to say when. In any case, sticking with piano lessons was one decision I'm glad I made - through the years it's come in handy when I want to just relieve some stress, entertain family, or play songs on Christmas morning. In highschool, one time I even played at a neighbor's Christmas party and earned a little extra spending money!

Over the last few months, since Paul and I have moved into our house and actually have room for a piano, we had talked on and off about buying a used one to use in the house. I really want the girls to grow up around music, and even though I can't play by ear and am not a professional by any means, at least they can discover music in this way and see how much value there is in being able to play an instrument.

When I mentioned buying a piano to my Mom the other day, she actually offered our family's upright piano to us. This piano is very special to me for many reasons: it was actually my Grandma's piano that she passed on to my Mom, but most of all, it was the piano I learned to play on and spent probably thousands of hours practicing while growing up. So to inherit this piano is more than amazing to me - it probably ranks up there with getting an engagement ring or buying our first house. It also means that this is the first time since I was 17 years old (not really saying how long ago that was!) that I will have a piano under the same roof where I'm living, and can play any old time I want!

We placed the piano in our front room, so you can see it from the front door and it will always be directly across from where we put our Christmas tree, so there couldn't have been a better spot for the piano. It even matched our wood floors perfectly, so it was like it was meant to be!

On top of the piano, I have framed one of my all-time favorite pictures...it's of my Dad at this very same piano, holding my sister Cassie on his lap, while I'm sitting next to him watching him play. I don't remember him playing at all, so maybe he was just playing chopsticks or something, but this picture is priceless and now it is in its proper place atop the very piano where we all sat over 30 years ago.

Hopefully, one day one of the girls will want this piano and I will be able to pass it along to them as my Mom did for me. These kinds of family heirlooms are priceless and could never be valued at a particular cost - just the treasure of so many memories and moments through the years.

Our First Photo Shoot!

2011-02-01T15:23:00.005-06:00

Just a week ago, we took our first "real" family portraits with a photographer, and we were very pleased with the results! She suggested a little park in West University area called "Helen's Park," which I highly recommend. It's a small space, but it has a really pretty waterfall, bridge, overhead wooden roof structure with greenery, and my favorite, the wooden arch door with the ivy wall. It's a perfect spot for traditional pictures with options for some creativity as well. Apparently, in spring, the entire park is covered in flowers, so we'll be heading back there soon once the weather warms up.

The day of the photo shoot was picture-perfect weather, with the exception of one little detail: it was about 40 degrees outside and I had bought a little three-quarter sleeve shirt for the girls to wear, so we did the best we could and just wrapped them in blankets in between poses. Also, the shoot was scheduled right during their morning naptime (but when is it NOT naptime?), so they hung in there for a good 30 minutes before melting down. Overall, I was super pleased with the pictures and the backgrounds and hope to use her again next year!

I've included just a few of my favorite pictures from last Saturday:

LOVE these: the wooden door was my favorite!!

My favorite family picture:

Caroline waiting patiently while Mommy and Daddy got their pictures made:

Poor little Claire needed a nap right about now!

Paul and I haven't had professional pictures taken of us since our WEDDING, almost four years ago, so it was about time!

Overall, I was very pleased to have gotten several "framers" from the session, and look forward to next year's shoot in much warmer weather!

Let's Table the Issue...

2011-01-30T21:03:00.003-06:00

Last week was my unofficial "Take a Week off of Blogging," so now I'm back in business! For the girls' first birthday, Aunt Cassie gave them a really cute Fisher Price dollhouse that comes with a Mommy, Daddy, baby, and a few items of furniture including a mini table and chairs, a kitchen set, and a little toilet.

Last week, I noticed that Claire continually kept picking up the pink table to play with it. She is now pretty much obsessed with this pink table. Last Friday, she picked it up at 9am, took it into her crib with her and held onto it the entire time she was napping, put it down for lunch, then picked it back up again and held it the whole way in the car to the store, then continued holding it in the store and on the way home in the car. I finally took it away during bathtime, so that eventually she wouldn't take it in her crib at night. She loves this table!

Yeah, so, what's the big deal about that?

I finally figured out the fascination - she can put her thumb all the way into the base of the table, so for some reason, she is enthralled with that and as soon as she spots that table in the morning, in pops her thumb and it stays and stays and stays until I take it away.

Please, just a few more minutes with my table!

(I guess I should be glad she isn't fascinated with the play toilet - that would be a sight to see if she wouldn't let that go!)

Murphy's Law...at the Mall

2011-01-20T14:22:00.003-06:00

First off, I didn't bring my camera to document today's mishaps at the mall, so you'll just have to imagine the scenario in your head. To provide a little background: on Saturday, we are taking some family pictures with a photographer, and of course I'm trying to find the perfect coordinating outfits for all of us to wear. Normally, I would NOT be waiting until the last minute, but we were having a hard time getting in touch with the photographer, and finally, Tuesday night, she emails back (after I sent her about four emails, getting slightly more "stalker"-ish with each email.).

Since she had not gotten back with me earlier, I was sort of thinking that maybe the photo shoot was off and I was so concentrated on the birthday hoopla, shopping for outfits got pushed to the back burner. Well, here it is, two days before the shoot, and I'm frantically trying to find something cute to wear! I know that we will all wear jeans, so that's settled, and I found a cute little top for the girls that I really liked; Paul is no problem because he can wear pretty much any color to coordinate with all of us.

Today, I set out to the mall to find something to wear. Well, five minutes out of the car, both girls started slightly fussing and wiggling in their stroller. No fear! Handing their sippy cups to them, I figured I had at least another 30 minutes before trying to figure out another distraction. Oh no, that was not in the cards for today. About 3 minutes later, the fussing turns into crying. I'm like, "Seriously, I JUST got to the mall after a 20 minute drive; give me a chance to even WALK into a store!" Where was Daddy when we needed him?

I started scrambling around, did manage to try on a couple of tops at one store, but between the crying and throwing of toys/keys/clothes/cell phone/jewelry (basically whatever I could distract them with), it wasn't too easy to see if I really liked the top or not. Growing more and more frustrated by the minute (I think all of us were at this point!), I start power-walking around the mall, zipping into stores and trying to find something that might work. This little sweetie (Claire) was egging on the other little sweetie, making it a super fun day for Mommy!

As the crying escalated and stares started coming my way, I just gave a huge, "Humph!" and stormed out! Of course, as I'm making my way out of the doors, we all get hit in the face with an arctic wind that must have blown in while we were inside, making the whole excursion even more perfect because we all had jeans and just a longsleeve shirt on - no jackets in sight. So I start running with the stroller into the wind, almost sink into a deep puddle of water, and finally get the girls loaded in the car. I'm sure I was making people chuckle if they saw me.

The next chapter to this story is that I'm heading back out tonight ALONE.

You can call me Auntie...

2011-01-18T20:53:00.002-06:00

I'm officially an aunt today, as of 4:55pm on Tuesday, January 18, 2011! Our precious niece, Emma Kate Griffin, is just gorgeous and weighed 7lbs, 3oz, and was 20 inches long. Cassie is doing really well and looks about like I did three days after I delivered the twins! She was already able to walk around just three hours after giving birth, unlike me, who walked like three DAYS after giving birth! Two very different experiences, but in the end, this baby is all that matters! Little Emma Kate just peacefully sleeping in her bed:

Proud Daddy and Mommy!

Little Emma not so happy about getting her picture made. Little does she know that Aunt Karie will be blogging about her and needing lots of pics to do so!

Okay, I'm better now!

I love this pose...already contemplating how she ended up here after a crazy day! Welcome to our family, little Emma Kate! We love you, and your two cousins are SO excited to meet you very soon! Only one year and ten days apart - how great is that?

Give me some space...

2011-01-16T13:36:00.002-06:00

During the last few days, it's been really cold outside and not really worth taking any excursions outdoors. Bundling up two little ones, loading them into the stroller, and trying to run errands is not too easy anyways, let alone on a freezing cold day!

So, we've been spending a lot of time "reading" at home - I try to read out loud to the girls a little each day, but I also give them a lot of books to let them look at. They love those "touch and feel" books, but more than that, they just love turning pages constantly. I hope that they will love reading as they get older since I think it's the most valuable hobby in the world!

Now that the girls are a little older, they have been doing a great job "sharing" their toys and playing nicely. The only time where they have a little friction is when they get in each other's spaces. In the stroller the other day, Claire started playing footsie with Caroline and was cracking up, but Caroline didn't think it was so funny and started "fake" crying.

Both of them have perfected the art of the "fake" cry now, but I just look the other way when they do it. I will do anything NOT to encourage any more drama than necessary. Caroline is showing her demonstration of that here since Claire is kind of in her space. Poor Claire doesn't really know what to think!

One Year Stats...

2011-01-13T09:48:00.003-06:00

On Monday, the girls had their big one-year checkup, and it's always interesting to see what they weigh or how much they've grown. After nine months, their growth starts to flatten out, so I wasn't too surprised to see that they hadn't put on a lot more weight since our last appointment.

Claire at one year:

Height: 29.75 in (38%)
Weight: 19lb, 11oz (43%)
Head circumference: 17 in (7%)

Caroline at one year:

Height: 29 in (30%)
Weight: 19lb, 13oz (48%)
Head circumference: 17 in (7%)

Our "little" girls are doing great, especially for being preemies! It does look like they'll be wearing the 12 month size for a while since that goes up to like 24 pounds. They are still coming in about a month behind developmentally, but that will even out as they get older.

My favorite story about the girls is about weaning them off the bottle this week. For months, I was looking forward to getting rid of the bottle, and hating to wash so many of them each day, so I had started weaning them off a couple of feedings a few weeks ago, using a sippy cup instead. We were still feeding them with the bottle at nighttime, so I was a little worried about letting go of that last feeding. I asked the doctor, and she said that it would probably be 3-4 nights of h**l to get them off the bottle, so I was prepared Monday night for the transition. However, true to form, the girls did not even cry and went to bed perfectly without the bottle. Every night since then, it's like they didn't even miss it and they are doing just fine! So thanks again to my very, very easy babies for letting me off the hook on this one!

Probably my favorite thing about the girls' turning one so far is this:

NO MORE expensive formula or time-consuming breastmilk! Plus, it's SO easy to just pour the milk right out of the carton into their cups. I'm loving it!

Little Mommies

2011-01-12T12:45:00.002-06:00

For the girls' birthday, our "big" present was a doll and umbrella stroller. It was tough finding a small baby doll who didn't make noises (I knew that would have driven me nuts), but we finally did find one! The bonus was that they made the same doll with two different outfits, so we got one with pink stripes for Caroline, and one with pink polka dots for Claire.

So far, they have enjoyed playing with their new babies. Caroline definitely seems more interested and will grab her baby from the stroller and really look at it and hug her close.

She also thinks her bow is quite tasty!

Claire isn't as excited to play with her baby, she kind of holds her at arm's length trying to figure out who or what this is.

Most of the time, she pushes the baby away onto the tile and tries to see how far she will go.

I think being a new mommy takes time to get used to, and in the end, she is ready to embrace her new role!

One Year Birthday Madness!

2011-01-10T12:38:00.005-06:00

Saturday was the long-awaited girls' first birthday! It just so happened that their actual birthday also happened to be on the same day as their party, so we really lucked out for this first year. It was a pretty crazy busy last few weeks - hosting Christmas and making dinner, then New Year's, then one week later, the girls' birthday! I realized it will be like this every year, so I better get used to it!

I wanted to make their first birthday party extra special, and even though they won't remember it, hopefully they can look back at the pictures and see how we all celebrated!

Getting all dressed up for their "pink" birthday party! I didn't choose a theme because they really aren't into any TV characters (since they don't watch TV!) or other themes, so we just went with pink everything! My little princesses all dressed up...they weren't digging that tulle very much!

Still not crawling...but oh so close!

Content to just sit and take it all in...

They love standing up and looking into their toy box...Claire was looking out the window to see what a beautiful day it turned out to be!

Getting the food all ready...we went with mostly sweets, since it was a birthday party!

Homemade pink and white iced cupcakes!

The two special birthday girl's cupcakes.

The party food table - all ready to go!

Another angle of the table...plenty of food!

Daddy with Claire! All excited about her big day!

Look at all those presents!

Hanging outside during the festivities!

Uncle Ross and Aunt Jenny (Paul's brother and his wife) came to the party all the way from Dallas! We don't get to see them a lot, but the girls sure love them when they come!

Most of the whole crew...minus John (taking the picture), Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, and my cousin Lynda who came a little later. It was a great family gathering and the girls got so many nice gifts and surprises from everyone!

After looking through my pictures, I realized that everyone else took pictures of the girls opening presents and eating their cupcakes (so we do have those pictures, just not on my camera), but I had forgotten to delegate that job to someone since I was helping them eat and opening most of the presents myself! We did get a lot of videos of all that fun, so I'll try to post one of those...there was so much to remember to do and it all happened so quickly, so this was about as good as it got!

We are enjoying the girls' being one year old now and know this year will be full of changes as last year was. At least this year we get to start out sleeping through the night unlike this time last year! Very thankful for that change!

It's the Little Things...

2011-01-06T14:11:00.002-06:00

I'm sure every parent says this, but it's funny to see how out of the blue, one day one of the girls just starts developing a little trait or habit that I know I didn't teach them, but they somehow just figured out how to do it. Of course, it is always the cutest thing to see, and so I'm sure the more I praise them for doing it, the more they are motivated to continue the behavior!

Lately, Caroline has started clasping her hands above her head, and now she'll do it if I prompt her. Many times, she'll raise a toy above her head or hide one eye behind the toy to play a game with me. I've noticed, though, that just in the last month, they really seem like they are conversing with me, just without words!
Claire's latest thing is that she'll reach towards me all the time - while she's eating, sitting, playing, or even lying down. She will grab whatever she can - my arm, my leg, and squeeze it to her and kind of pinch my clothes with her hands. I guess that is her way of giving me a hug, but it's the sweetest thing ever. Just in the last day or so, while she's reaching towards me, she makes this little, "unh, unh, unh," noise that shows me that she wants something. Like I said, they can't talk, but they sure can communicate with me now!

Before and After...

2011-01-04T13:03:00.008-06:00

This time last year, I was only a few days away from delivering our precious girls. On Friday, January 8, 2010, they were delivered at 5:42pm, weighing four pounds, 15 ounces exactly. We all had a rough first week after the delivery, but finally, a week later, we were all doing much better. Our new family...January 15, 2011...one week after the girls were born.

Tuesday, January 19th, finally able to take the girls home (they weighed right at five pounds here and were about the size of a baby doll - I could easily hold both of them at the same time):

Now check us out! Nearly a year later...how much things have changed...eleven months old!

We're looking forward to Saturday - officially one year old! More to come from our birthday post!

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T12:03:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe another new year is here. This time last year, I was eagerly anticipating the birth of the girls. Little did I know they would arrive just seven days later!

Last night, we took the opportunity to go out for dinner and a movie, and it was a fun, low-key night, a great chance to celebrate the new year just the two of us!

Excited to get a date night out!

This morning, we woke up to a beautiful, sunny day just in time to welcome the new year. Claire got out her maracas to celebrate!

Caroline, too, is excited about the new year! Lots of great things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.

Now we are in the birthday countdown mode. Only one more week until the girls' first birthday! They are ready to celebrate!

Christmas Fun 2010

2010-12-27T09:50:00.007-06:00

Christmas was a dream come true this year...I do agree that kids make the day SO much more fun and memorable. We'd been working on this day for weeks getting ready, and it definitely did not disappoint. In honor of our special day, this blog post is full of pics and tells the story of our day.

On Christmas Eve, we got all dressed up and went to the service at 5pm. The girls did a great job of sitting through the service as well as they could for eleven month olds. We tried to get some dinner on the way home, but the pouring rain just made it really hard, so we ended up just ordering pizza. I could eat pizza every day, so it was fine with me!

Christmas morning - look what Santa brought!

Opening our stocking gifts...

Claire isn't sure about all these socks that Daddy got from Mrs. Claus...

Caroline is excited about the UT Christmas gnome ornament that Daddy got!

We're ready for Christmas! Taking in the wonder of it all...

Maybe Jack can help me open this gift from Ross and Jenny!

Oooh! It's an ornament with my name engraved on it!

This bag is bigger than I am! I wonder what's inside...

Thank you, Aunt Nancy! It's a fun musical zoo toy!

Claire got a tractor from Aunt Nancy!

I'm not too sure if I should touch this one...

I just like the ribbon!

It's a See 'n Say!!

Look at me on my new ride toy! Might be a few months before I can use it, but I still like it!

The big gift that Santa brought - a Radio Flyer rocking horse!

Getting ready to enjoy our Christmas dinner with Cassie and John!

A nice dinner for Christmas...

More presents! Aunt Cassie and Uncle John got us the cozy coupe! Can't wait to use it! Notice Caroline is still sitting on her pony. She pretty much sat there all afternoon. She's a little Christmas cowgirl!

Opening presents with Cassie and John...

Grammy came for dessert and bought a learning kitchen for the girls!

Our whole family - Christmas 2010! What a blessed day!

Playing with our new kitchen!

Our big gift from Grammy - a new Radio Flyer red wagon! Mommy can't wait for hours of fun with this one!

Brrr....it was a chilly day, but a perfect way to end our first Christmas! We had a great day and can't wait for next year!

4 More Days!

2010-12-21T11:14:00.002-06:00

Only four more days 'til Christmas! I'm so excited for the girls to celebrate their first Christmas, and they have been getting into the spirit and searching everywhere for signs of Santa and his reindeer.

Is he under here?
I'll just show Santa that I've been a very good girl this year!

Don't forget me too! I've been such a good girl for Mommy this year. It makes me grin just thinking about it.

Candy Cane Lane 2010

2010-12-18T14:13:00.003-06:00

Today, our church held the annual "Candy Cane Lane" for kids at the main campus. The weather turned out to be gorgeous, and we enjoyed walking around with the stroller and seeing friends and meeting some new kiddos and their parents. Basically, Candy Cand Lane is just a fun-filled zone of moonwalks, rock walls, train rides, pony rides, indoor crafts, and all things kids. About the only thing the girls could really enjoy at their age was the petting zoo. Being an animal lover, I was pretty pumped about showing the girls their first real up-close look at some animals.

It was a challenge to take pictures because we each had one of the girls in our arms while trying to take a picture with the other hand. But, we managed to capture a few fun moments in spite of the juggling. Caroline was pretty unsure about all those goats roaming around, but I do think it helped that they have been around Jack (our dog) so much and are at least used to animals in general. She wasn't too eager to reach out and touch them at first, but warmed up after being there for a little while.

Claire, on the other hand, reached out and wanted to touch the goats, the deer, the sheep, and especially the llama. It was pretty tall, but just her size when I held her.

It really made a difference that they could stand and see the animals at eye level. Claire couldn't believe all the goats!

Last but not least, my FAVORITE part of the day was the tiny piglet. For years I have had a love affair with little piglets, and even wanted to own one for a long time. Even our dog looks kind of like a pig, and this one was just pint-size and the cutest thing you've ever seen (well, next to the girls). I did get a little reprimand for picking it up (apparently I wasn't supposed to), but it was worth it! It did quite a bit of oinking when I picked it up, but it was so cute and just made the trip up there completely worth it. If anyone needs a Christmas gift idea for me, now you know.

A Special Holiday Visitor

2010-12-17T09:41:00.002-06:00

Before heading out to Atlanta to spend Christmas with family, my aunt Nancy (my dad's sister), came over and spent the day with us yesterday. She lives on the other side of town, so it was quite a drive for her, but I appreciated her taking the time to come out and see our house and visit with the girls.
Nancy decided to help Claire to play the maracas - Claire is obsessed with these and is quite the master. After lunch at home, we walked to the park and played on the swings and enjoyed the warm weather. Thanks for coming to visit us, Aunt Nancy!

Playing outside

2010-12-15T13:48:00.002-06:00

In between the humid or windy weather, we have been enjoying the cool, crisp snaps that have been staying for a day or two this December. I'm so thankful to have a backyard where the girls can sit and play, and look forward to many more hours outside as they get older.

I usually just bring a big beach towel outside and let them sit on it and play with their toys. Lately, I have been trying to sneak in a few minutes of reading time while the girls are playing. Claire loves her set of keys; she always shakes them and smiles.

Her other favorite activity is banging two blocks together. She can do that for a very long time and not get bored!

Caroline loves to give me cheesy smiles; she has started squinting her eyes when she smiles now and it makes me laugh so hard. She's a little ham!

She, too, loves the blocks!

Even Jack jumps in and enjoys the fun. The girls love to watch him and they all three just sit and play so well together. Jack never bothers the girls, and the girls really just turn around occasionally to check that he's still there, and give him a little pat. They are all very gentle with each other (so far).

Daddy's Little Girl

2010-12-13T10:48:00.002-06:00

From the beginning, Claire has really turned out to be "Daddy's little girl." It's not that she doesn't want me to hold her or smile with me, but when her Daddy comes through that door, her face lights up in a way that I can't duplicate. At night, when I'm busy getting dinner ready or cleaning up, she loves to snuggle with her Daddy and they have fun little games they play that I've never played with her - it's like their little secret. I can just see them having a very special bond as Claire gets older.
Paul started this game where he'll lay Claire back on the blanket and covers her face and she just laughs and laughs.Never happier than when she's with her Daddy.

At night, especially when she's sleepy, Claire will turn towards Paul and lay her head on his chest over and over. She never does that with me!

She loves laying her head on Daddy. Again, never does that with me! It's so funny to me how she develops separate little habits with both of us.

I'm so thankful for the bond I had with my Dad...he always made me laugh and feel loved, so I'm just so happy to see that same bond forming between both my girls and Paul. Some guys are just made to be dads of little girls, and I knew even before I was ever pregnant that Paul was one of those guys. The girls just light up when they see Paul, but Claire especially loves to be her Daddy's little girl.

The Toy Box - Celebrating 11 Months Old!

2010-12-09T09:49:00.003-06:00

When it comes to finding great buys, I'm pretty much a craigslist addict. I love finding used items for less than half the price, and frankly, the items are basically in brand new condition, so why pay full price? It's like an online garage sale, and I've discovered that I'm kind of a closet garage sale addict. So I love finding great buys online and selling items that we really don't use anymore. It's just like a bartering system in my mind.

So, the latest "need" I was looking for was a toy box for the girls. Now that we have a playroom, it made sense to me to have one central place where I could dump all of their toys and where they can find them when they are old enough to lift the lid. Little did I know when I brought this toy box home last weekend, it would end up serving as a practice bar for my new little standers! I knew that Claire could stand up pretty well on her own:

But I was excited to find that Caroline, too, has really gained strength just in the last few weeks and could also stand on her own! They have been mesmerized by the toys and love just standing and peering into the box. They cry when I take them away from the edge - I don't know if it's the toys or the standing, but it's proven to provide hours of entertainment in the last few days.

They love looking at each other as if to say, "Look what we can do now!" They love to stand on their tiptoes and try to reach into the box, but as you can see, it's a little deep for them. Funny thing is, they still aren't crawling, but I guess they figured that's for babies and they just want to skip ahead to standing and walking. Happy Eleven Months, my big girls!

Christmas Cuties

2010-12-03T13:46:00.003-06:00

After another busy day preparing for the holidays, the girls and I had some downtime at home just before dinner and Paul got home. Since I'm usually the one taking the pictures, I decided I would do a little picture-taking of my own while holding my Christmas cuties. Caroline is much more of a snuggler than Claire; she loves to be hugged tightly, but Claire usually pushes me away and seems to need her "personal space" a little more. Caroline is all smiles when she sits on Mommy's lap:

My little sweetheart...wonder where she got those big brown eyes!

Claire's expression pretty much sums it all up: "It's you again? Seriously, not another picture!"

Okay, I guess I'll let you take one picture with me, but I'm still not too happy about it.

Little sweetheart #2...she loves scratching at my freckles; I guess she thinks they will come off if she works at it long enough.

This week has been a busy, but fun one! We're ready to begin a great weekend full of Christmas cheer!

Santa Claus: One Thumbs Up, One Thumbs Down

2010-12-01T21:48:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week, we set out for the annual visit to see Santa Claus: our first ever! The girls got all dressed up in their Christmas best, ready to tell Santa exactly what they wanted for Christmas this year. We drove over to the mall, anticipating a long line, but thankfully, there was none! We sat and waited on a chair for Aunt CC to come help us see Santa - all is calm, all is bright in the forecast so far...

This Santa was the real thing...even came with a real beard! Caroline was enthralled with his fuzzy beard and glasses, and just stared longingly at Santa the whole time. Meanwhile, Claire (on the left), wasn't so sure why she was sitting on a big red lap with a white glove restraining her.

Claire seemed to calm down a bit just in time for us to snap a few pictures, while Caroline still couldn't believe she was surrounded by so much white fuzz.

Well, it was fun while it lasted...I guess Santa told Claire that she couldn't have what she really wanted this year...There's always next year, little Claire.

We took Claire off Santa's lap before she caused him to have a heart attack, and poor Caroline is left wondering, "Now why did you leave me on this old fuzzy guy's lap? What's wrong with this picture?"

I'm sure the stats show that 9 out of 10 babies cry on Santa's lap, so I'm just relieved that all of the fuss wasn't for nothing! Merry Christmas and yes, I DO still believe!