Friday Fun

This week, the girls have figured out they can pick up Minnie, so every time I turn around, they are trying to pick her up.  Caroline, especially, loves to pick her up, and does a pretty good job of making sure she doesn't fall.

 Poor Minnie - she's wanting a rescue from this situation!

 Minnie mostly just slides out of Claire's arms when she tries to hold her, so she's still working on her technique a bit.

 "Hey, little cutie!"  The girls say this to Minnie all the time.

 Minnie's response - Help me!!!

 Yesterday, I came into our room and saw Minnie up on the bed.  Hmmmm....

 Ah ha!  The culprits - they lifted her up there and then began climbing up to be with her.

 What will they think of next?

Let's Get Together

I've mentioned recently that the girls have shifted from competitive to cooperative in their playtime - something I had heard was a huge bonus with having twins, but had not seen too often in the girls' two and half years together.  Everyone asks if the girls have a special "twin language" or if I've noticed a "twin bond" between them, and I always had to shake my head no.  However, in the last couple of months, I have seen more of a change in that - they look for each other all the time now, they say the same phrases at the same time, they love doing the same activities together, and they just seem to think about the same things simultaneously.  It's really interesting (and fun) to watch, and I'm sure they will continue to be more in tune with each other as they age. 

As soon as one of the girls starts an activity, the other just joins in - they don't have to speak any words; they just seem to know what to do! 

The girls love reading and they love stacking, organizing, and making long lines with their toys...Claire especially loves this, and usually initiates the activity, sometime with Caroline assisting, other times with her as observer.

Where's Caroline?

There she is!

Examining her work to make sure it looks just right...

For Christmas, the girls received an easel from Grammy, and we've just lately been getting it out to play.  Their favorite thing to do is erase!!  I have only one eraser, but looks like I'll be going to the store to get a second soon.

 

Caroline tries out the white board.

Claire loved using the chalk board side; thankfully, the board is different from the way it was when I was younger - it doesn't produce all that chalk dust and is much easier to clean.

The other day, I was cleaning house and it seemed really quiet, so I happened upon the girls like this: 

Claire loves her sissy!  They used to be annoyed by having anyone in their personal space, but they have really enjoyed sharing chairs and giving hugs now, and apparently Claire is holding Caroline like she's her baby. 

 I remember watching Parent Trap when I was younger and wishing I had an identical twin sister who would get my every thought and action; while I didn't get my wish, I do get to watch that unfold right before me every day. I'm just waiting until they start directing their "twinness" towards me; I'm not sure I'll be ready to take on this duo when they get going together.

Some Minnie Moments...

We're all settling in well with our new little addition, Minnie.  She is probably one of the easiest puppies I've been around, as far as sleeping and housetraining.  She was crate-trained and nearly housetrained at the breeders, so as long as we take her outside periodically, she does just fine and hasn't had one accident (I think that's unheard of with a puppy!).  She hardly cried at all the first night we brought her home, and has transitioned amazingly well into using her crate.  In fact, she goes in there a lot now during the day just to nap - I think she likes her own space. 

Mostly, she LOVES Jack, and desperately wants to play, but seeing as how he's so old, she mostly just ends up jumping all over him and pulling on his collar and his ears, so we have to monitor her pretty closely with him.  He has always been fine around other dogs, and he's been good about defending himself when he was younger, but now he just doesn't have the energy anymore to do that, so we have to help him out a bit.  Every time she takes a nap, she curls up next to him (or on his tail or paw) and wants to be with him - she loves her big brother!

 She loves to be with the girls, and they love her when she is sleeping or groggy, but if she's in her puppy mode (aka running around the house or pulling on their toys), she is not the favorite so much.  She does have some great moments with the girls, especially when we're outside running and chasing balls - that's been a lot of fun!

 The girls do constantly ask about her and when we're driving, they always ask to go back home and see "Baby Minnie," or the "New Baby Puppy." 

 We try to encourage her to chew on her toys, but our "toys" are much more exciting to her, but thankfully she's not that big to cause much damage.

 Her favorite position to sleep is on her back - and she usually holds a stuffed animal or has one paw draped over it - so cute!

 Caroline is so sweet and still remembers to give Jack lots of love and attention - he's being so patient and sweet to Minnie and we are so glad that he is still with us.  He'll always be my first baby, no matter what!

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Yesterday, Paul and I celebrated our fifth anniversary!  I can remember our wedding day very vividly, and we reminisced about our special day, and how many major life changes we've experienced since our marriage - moving three times, the last time to a new city, the birth of twin girls, major job changes for both of us, and that's just the big stuff! 

Paul made our day very special - starting out with some beautiful roses and lilies that have made the house smell so wonderful.

 Then, because we just moved here and have unsuccessfully tried to get a babysitter in just a short month or so, we stayed in, but Paul brought the fancy restaurant to our house!  He spent about four hours cooking an amazing meal, starting with a candied pecan and pear salad, complete with homemade dressing.

 Next, we splurged and bought some great steaks, and he made rosemary broccoli (using freshly cut rosemary from our plant outside our door), and amazing mashed potatoes and crusty sourdough bread.  I selected the filet mignon, my favorite cut of meat, and it melted in my mouth - cooked to perfection.

 Paul selected a ribeye for his special meal.

 What's a good dinner without an even better dessert?  We got to enjoy a homemade pound cake that was topped with ice cream. 

 But, to make our anniversary and celebration incredibly memorable, Paul walked through the door with my dream come true - a tiny baby black Pug puppy!  We're calling her Minnie, and she is like a little doll.  I mean, look at that perfectly curled little tail - she is like a little piglet - just the cutest thing you've ever seen.  Now I understand why people want to dress up their dogs and carry them around with them everywhere - I think I've fallen in love all over again! 

Happy Half-Birthday!

I believe I've written before about our family celebrating half-birthdays - it's just another excuse for a party!  Anyways, the girls celebrated their half birthday on Sunday, and are doing well and really enjoying so many activities.  We are having some nighttime/naptime battles, making us all feel like we have a newborn in the house again, but we're (slowly) making progress and trying to hang in there!

Just in the last month or two, I've noticed a big change in how the girls play.  They really seem to enjoy playing together now, and while they might have the occasional squabble over a toy, they love playing chase and reading books together and making each other laugh all the time.   They copy each other constantly, which is really fun to watch, and they actually don't get annoyed with each other - it just makes them laugh harder.

 Happy Half Birthday, twin sissies!