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Avery and Emerson Are TWO!

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This weekend the girls celebrated their 2nd birthday.  It’s hard to believe that they are already 2!  It feels like I was just on bed rest getting ready to have these girls and here I am 38 weeks pregnant about to have another.  

Last year we had a big rubber duck theme 1st birthday party that I spent months in advance planning and buying rubber duck theme everything.   This year as much as I wanted to have a party for the girls, Justin and I decided it was probably not the best idea to have one incase I had the baby early or in the event I didn’t, I would be 38 weeks pregnant and even if I intended on a small party, we both knew I would end up going overboard.  So we decided we would just celebrate as a family.  UNTIL…a week before their birthday, I started feeling somewhat guilty and wishing that we were doing something SO 6 days before the Saturday of their birthday weekend, we invited 4 of our family friends with kids over for a low key brunch celebration.  Two of the families couldn’t attend so it ended up just being the Brophy’s and the Niday’s in addition to my parents and two elementary school aged girls from the neighborhood, which actually turned out great.  The Brophy’s were the first to arrive followed by the Nidays.  We took some pictures of the men followed by some pictures of the ladies. 

Followed by some family shots…YES, I AM HUGE…

We ate quiche from Pie Gourmet, chicken nuggets from Chic Fil A, and fruit salad made by mommy. Next we sang Happy Birthday and the girls blew out the candles on their princess cake.  

Then we opened presents.  They received princess dolls with matching princess outfits and play food for their kitchen, all of which they LOVED! 

Sunday was their actual birthday and we started the birthday celebration with gifts.  When the girls came down the stairs, their baby doll high chair and baby doll cradle (gifts from my parent’s awaited them). 

They had fun playing with them for a little bit before Emerson headed to the family room to get a new diaper when she noticed the tent and tunnel birthday present from Mommy and Daddy.  Avery was quick to follow in her direction and the both of them had a great time exploring their new tunnel and tent. 

After playing with our gifts for a little bit, the girls ate breakfast and got dressed, and then we headed to Kid Junction with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was like a mini version of the Children’s Museum in Baltimore. The girls first played in the Pizza Parlor. 

Next they made their way to the grocery store where they had a great time shopping!

Then they made their way to the slide area where first they were in the little kid play area but it wasn’t long before they wanted to check out the big slides so Daddy stepped up to the occasion and was chasing both the girls around the same time. 

Emerson also tried out one of the token rides and was petrified but she held on the entire ride and made it through without a tear.  Avery didn’t want any part of it. 

After spending a second round shopping in the grocery store, we took the girls to Bonefish Grill for lunch.  The girls were pretty tired and each one of them had to be taken out of the restaurant for a few minutes at one point during the lunch, which was actually a first for us. After lunch, the girls sat on the bench with grandma and grandpa and took a few pictures.

I think we all took a birthday nap when we got home and then when the girls woke we had round two of presents.  My parents gave the girls pots/pans and dishes for their play kitchen.  Justin and I gave the girls a doll doctor play kit and doll accessories.  Then we had our second cake for the weekend, an ice cream cake from Cold Stone. 

We really did celebrate all weekend long and Mommy even continued the celebration each night for a few days until the leftover Princess Cake was gone.  The girls really did have a great birthday weekend.  I still can’t believe their 2!  And to think next year, which will likely be here before we know it, will likely be a joint birthday party for two 3 year old and one 1 year old!

American Nystagmus Network Conference

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The weekend of July 12 Justin flew to Orlando, Florida to attend the American Nystagmus Network (ANN) Conference.  The conference is held in various locations every other year and a few months ago we decided Justin would attend solo this year on behalf of our family as I would be 8 months pregnant at the time.  Justin was only 1 of 3 attendees who attended solo and while he said there were some awkward moments, he definitely thought the conference was well worth it and came home feeling encouraged.  The conference started Friday evening with a breakout session.  Justin attended the one for parents of kids with nystagmus followed by a dinner event which was really just networking for a few hours.  Saturday morning started with Dr. Hertle as the Key Note speaker via Skype followed by three breakout sessions throughout the day and again a networking hour in the late afternoon.  The breakout sessions were all excellent topics and we wish Justin had been able to attend all of them.  However, choices had to be made so we decided it would be best for Justin to attend the Everyday Living With Nystagmus, Building Confidence in Children, and Teen Panel sessions.  Justin took good notes even though I wasn’t able to attend, I felt that our whole family did and really will benefit from Justin’s attendance at the conference.  Justin got a chance to meet others with nystagmus and parents of children with nystagmus.  He even came across two sets of twins where one twin had nystagmus and the other did not.  He got to hear first hand the personal experiences of children with nystagmus and their parents.  Justin was really encouraged to hear and see that most the children really did thrive.  Yes, nystagmus is a challenge but it is not a limitation, just a challenge and ALL kids have challenges in some shape or form.  

Some of the children had had surgeries to correct their null point and dampen their nystagmus while others had not.  Some kids and parents felt that there was some improvement but overall nothing significant.  A lot of the kids who had surgeries to correct their null points had to have multiple surgeries.  And some kids eye movement was more noticeable than others.  Justin did hear that a lot of the kids nystagmus did dampen with time regardless of having surgery or not having surgery.  He also heard that a lot of the kids who had light sensitivity said that it got better over time.  Although many of the children’s experiences are similar (especially more so in the social area), I would say that each child’s experience is different (again medically, socially, emotionally).  Medically, Justin and I think the next logical step in the process is to take Avery to see Dr. Hertle, likely sometime in late Fall/early Winter.  We’re not sure at this time if we would have him do the surgery or not; however, we do think it is important to get his viewpoint on Avery’s particular case.  With regards to the social and emotional aspect, we’ll be constantly addressing them with Avery and others throughout her life and while it won’t be easy at times, I know we can handle it and I know Avery is going to be perfectly fine. Statistic say that 1 in 3000 persons have nystagmus, which is somewhat hard to believe considering I have never met anyone else with nystagmus and I had never heard of it before, and I would say that probably is the case for most.  Anyway, I do think that our family will attend future conferences as nystagmus not only affects Avery but our whole family and we are in this together as a family.

Justin took a bunch of good notes at the conference and I was going to include some of them, but after reviewing them I decided that it was more important to note here that we should go back and read not only Justin’s notes but the few material hand outs a few times a year so that we continually make sure we are putting them to practical use.  Note to self: the notes are in Avery’s medical binder notebook. 

First Dentist Visit!

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Today the girls had their first dentist appt.  Here we are on our way to the dentist!

Here we are playing in the wait area at the dentist!

Here we are in the dentist chair! 

It wasn’t so bad….I think the girls will be excited for their next appointment in 6 months!

Baltimore Vacation

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Our nanny Ana was off for two weeks starting June 24.  My mom watched the girls an extra day each week and Justin and I took off three days the first week and took the girls to Baltimore for a mini vacation.  Since we were already taking off, we wanted to go somewhere but being as far along as I was in the pregnancy, we didn’t want to go too far.  My dad’s friend owns a condo in Baltimore that he generously let us stay at twice a few years ago and he generously let us stay there again for three nights this time with the girls.  Even though we weren’t going away for very long and we weren’t very far, our car was still packed!  We certainly don’t travel lightly these days.

We arrived at the condo around lunch time Wednesday.  We didn’t have a real goal for Wednesday other than settling in which included unpacking and going to the grocery store.  When we first got there we quickly realized that while the place was overall “child friendly” in that there weren’t a lot of breakable items, we couldn’t take an eye of the girls for even a second.  It was the little things….the metal coming off the kitchen chairs on wheels, the cleaning supplies in the unlocked kitchen cabinets, or the front door without a deadbolt allowing the girls to let themselves out of the apartment. We chuckled at the same time we cried internally!  The picture below is a nighttime view from the condo. 

Wednesday evening we took the girls to a Mexican restaurant in Federal Hill.  The menu looked amazing and while the food wasn’t bad, it didn’t meet my expectations.  I think I was expecting some awesome Mexican food like what I would find in NY City based on the menu.  It was reasonably priced and it wasn’t bad, just not great.  The girls had a good time.  Avery LOVED the black beans and she ate them with her hands which created a huge mess, but all we could do was laugh.  Justin took a few pictures unfortunately they didn’t really capture just how messy she was.

Emerson on the other hand LOVED the chips.  She is such a dipper too.  They had three types of salsa and she had to dip just like Mommy and Daddy.  Hey, whatever keeps them entertained at a restaurant! 

Thursday morning we headed to the aquarium.  It cost $35 per person to get in; thank goodness the girls were under 2 and got in free.  We didn’t take the stroller because they weren’t allowed.  Emerson was fairly lazy much of the time we were there and wanted Justin to hold her quite a bit (or sit on the ground).

Avery was a bit more adventurous and enjoyed climbing up to see the exhibits. 

At one point, Justin cut his finger and went to the bathroom to go clean it.  There was a little overlook of the harbor that was like a break room on each floor so me and the girls waited in there for Justin.  At one point Emerson started running away so I went to catch her and when I looked back at Avery she had gone from sitting by the window to standing up and hanging from the railing!  She is such my little daredevil…no fear whatsoever! 

During the rainforest exhibit there were some sort of cockroaches that two volunteers were holding and allowing people to touch.  Emerson wanted no part of it, but Avery went to reach for it.  I was holding Avery at the time and it scared the bejeezes out of me!  I screamed loud enough to scare her from continuing to touch it and for that I felt badly.

The girls were starting to get tired after a few hours so we stopped in the cafeteria and they sat down to have their snacks of raisons and agua.  We snapped a few pictures to capture the moment.

After snack time, we made our way to two interactive children’s exhibits and the girls had fun playing.

Next we made our way to the Dolphin show.  The show was relatively short and we arrived just before it started with the hope the girls would sit still long enough to see it.  Fortunately with the aid of pretzel sticks, the girls sat “still” enough for us to catch the show. 

When the Dolphin show was over, while we hadn’t seen every single exhibit (I think we missed the sting rays and the Australian Exhibit) we had been there 2 ½ hours and the girls couldn’t take a whole lot more.  Philips Seafood was right next door so we took the girls there for lunch.  After lunch, we walked back to the car where we headed back to the condo and put the girls down for a late afternoon nap. 

They had fallen asleep pretty immediately after getting in the car and they awoke by the time we got them up the elevator to the 23rd floor, so the afternoon nap went horribly!  Since we went out for a late lunch, we decided not to go out for dinner and eat some of the food we bought the day before at Harris Teeter for dinner. The girls had a normal dinner; Justin and mine’s dinner left much to be desired.  Since we stayed in that night we had plenty of time to give the girls a bath in the big tub.  It was so big that they really couldn’t go in it themselves, so Justin (with bathing suit onJ) went in with the girls.  I tried to capture a few pictures but my photography skills are pretty pitiful sometimes and I didn’t capture a single decent picture.

Friday morning we took the girls to The Children’s Museum.  We had originally planned on going to Annapolis for the day but we realized that the girls would have much more fun doing something that was interactive.  It was awesome.  There were several exhibits / rooms that were appropriate for their age.  We basically spent our time in three rooms.  The first was the Tot Trails Room where the girls explored mazes, funneled sand, played with lightboxes, and participated in story time “Mother Goose on The Loose”.  Emerson true to form sat on Justin’s lap most of storytime/songtime taking it all in while Avery sat on my lap for only a few minutes before getting up and exploring yet still listening to what was going on. 

After about an hour in that room, we made our way to Tiny Diner, which was this awesome little diner for kids. The girls had a great time in that room! 

Next we went to the Oasis room which was more of a “quiet” room meaning there were TONS of books, stuffed animals for lounging against, and a good amount of learning toys as well. 

The girls had fun exploring this room as well while mommy and daddy took turns testing out the comfort of the lounging stuffed animals. By the time we left this room, the girls were starting to get tired.  As much as we wanted to stay, we figured it was best to head out as the prior two days their naps went horribly wrong because they were overtired.  Our tickets were valid for the day so I had been hoping that if it worked out, we could swing bye again for the last hour before it closed before dinner time if we could find a street parking spot. Turns out the girls nap went well this day, which we were grateful for because Justin and I actually napped this day as well; however, the timing didn’t allow for us to make it back before closing time. 

This was our last night here and we decided to go to Little Italy for dinner.  We went to this place called Amici’s recommended by my dad and his friend.  My expectations weren’t that high from looking at the menu but we decided to try it anyway because there weren’t that many restaurants that appeared to be kid friendly and it was about $6 cheaper per entrée than most the other restaurants in Little Italy.  There are not many restaurants that Justin and I go to where we say we would go back, but this was one of them!  It by far exceeded expectations.  Justin and I split a house salad topped with fried calamari.  He had the chicken parm and I had the chicken parm/eggplant parm combo.  We both thought it was delicious!  For the girls, I ordered plain pasta and a side of peas as I figured they would be eating bread, their raisons and they would be trying our food as they wanted.  They devoured the pasta and peas and their raisins.  Avery even ate some bites of my chicken while Emerson had her first taste of spaghetti with sauce…she LOVED it as did her clothes!  Emerson was so stuffed that she didn’t have the energy to walk to the car afterwards and wanted Daddy to hold her.  Avery thankfully walked most the way back because Mommy didn’t have the energy to carry her the whole way.

While in the condo over the course of the three days the girls had fun playing with one another.  It is really neat to see them truly start to play (and fightL) with one another. 

We enjoyed our mini vacation but I can’t exactly say that it was relaxing.  It is only going to get crazier with three kids but I’m hoping my lack of energy is truly related to being 8 months pregnant and that the older the girls get, the easier and more relaxing vacations will be.

Pool Time!

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We took the girls in the big pool for the first time a few weeks ago. They were a little hesitant at first but by the time we came out of the pool, Emerson loved it.  It took Avery about two times in the pool before she felt the same way.  I bought them little vests to wear and goggles.  They are good about wearing their vests and the vests certainly help keep them afloat; however, they still have to be held or on a float with an adult the entire time in the pool.  Avery is better about wearing her goggles than Emerson although she tends to wear the goggles more outside of the pool than inside. 

We also got them a new little pool this year.  We tried the mushroom pool that they used a whopping one time last year and once they got in it, we could see that they clearly had outgrown it.  Their new kiddie pool is bigger and doesn’t have a cover so it is less restrictive.  The girls like filling their cups with water and pouring the water on the chairs,  adults, or any other object outside the pool.

Emerson LOVES Avery

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It melts my heart how much Emerson loves Avery.  We decided to give the girls some one on one time this weekend with each of us.  Emerson got to go to the grocery store with daddy and Avery stayed home and played with mommy.  Justin said Emerson must have said Avery 50 times in the 50 minutes they were gone.  She enjoyed the trip especially considering daddy bought her an Avery a new red ball, but she dearly missed her Avery.  This past weekend instead of getting them out of their cribs at the same time, Justin got Emerson first and brought her in our room.  Emerson got upset that he was leaving Avery behind and she kept repeating “Avery, Avery”.    Sweet girl!

Meanwhile Avery is quite independent and as much as I hate to say it could care less if she is without Emerson.  She does care for her but she acts more like a bully towards her more than loving most times.  Even though we are at no shortage for toys or baby dolls, Avery always seems to want the one Emerson is playing with and will go as far as to tackle her just to get it.  Poor Emerson doesn’t really seem to understand why her Avery whom she loves so much does such things.  While Avery does have her bully moments, she can also be quite innocent and sweet.  She does try to give Emerson hugs sometimes but her hugs are so forceful she practically squeezes Emerson to the ground from behind.  At least the thought is there!  Avery also is a cuddler, especially after waking up in the morning and from naps.  She loves to sit on adults laps and snuggle.  She LOVES to give hugs and often gives them unsolicited….demanding actually sometimes that the adult sitting next to her lean down to get in hug range.  Sweet girl!

On an unrelated note, Avery went pee pee in the potty for the first time last night!  She was quite proud of herself as was mommy and daddy!  Way to go Avery!

My Pregnancies

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I have yet to really write about my pregnancy….either one of them for that matter.  As I am now in my 29th week of my second pregnancy (third daughter), I find that while I do try to compare this pregnancy to my first pregnancy, some comparisons are easier to remember than others.  This is my attempt to document my first and second pregnancy to date (an abbreviated version) so that years from now I can actually recall (or at least know where to find) the details.

With my first pregnancy my doctor basically told me that I was going to be high risk from the moment we found out we were expecting twins.  I knew from fairly early on that I was going to be put on preventive bed rest at some point.  I wanted to delay the inevitable as much as possible.  I also wanted to keep from getting as big as a house with twins so I really did things by the books when it came to eating, exercising, and other doctor’s orders.  Fortunately I had no cravings other than ice towards the end of my pregnancy so it made eating right fairly easy.  I also was really good at working out regularly (mostly walking and sometimes slow) until I was told I couldn’t (about 24/25 weeks).  I even made it to the gym regularly during my first trimester!  As for my first trimester, it was great.  There was maybe a week in a half at max where I thought I may have felt nauseous but it was so slight that I even questioned if it was morning sickness.  Looking back, I now know for certain it was but the fact that I wasn’t sure at the time goes to show how smooth my first trimester was.  The only hiccup was at 12 weeks when I had a little bit of spotting so I had to take it easy for the next two weeks.  I don’t recall how often I was at the doctor’s or how often I had a sonogram, but it was a lot.  At least every other week I had some appointment and each time I went to the doctor I was glad to walk out of the appointment knowing bed rest wouldn’t occur until at least my next appointment. 

I had my baby shower on June 11 (29 weeks) if my memory serves me correctly.  My closest friends and family attended; it was a great time, and Justin and I were showered with lots of love and gifts for our twin girls.  While I did take it easy, shortly after I got home, I felt lower pelvic pressure that I hadn’t previously felt.  After talking with my doctor the following week, I was put on modified bed rest which equated to me working from home and sitting and not doing much else but getting up to go to the bathroom.  A week later at 30 weeks I was put on complete bed rest at home where I remained until 35 ½ weeks where I remained on bed rest, only this time in the hospital, where I remained until delivery date at exactly 37 weeks!

Bed rest!  What was it like?  The first day was HORRIBLE!  I remember it vividly.  It was a weekend and I stayed in bed all day….BAD IDEA!  I think I may have cried that day thinking there was no way I would be able to do this for the remainder of my pregnancy.  Justin must have felt my pain because he went out and bought me an IPAD.  The next day I moved my “daytime home” from the bedroom to the living room couch.  The first three weeks I was on bed rest I was still working from home.  It wasn’t easy as I was supposed to be lying down as much as possible.  My mom and Justin alternated “babysitting” me and would have to bring me files and get documents off the printer.  I certainly wasn’t efficient, but I was still working and it kept me busy.  By 34 weeks, I had to go on disability.  It was becoming increasingly difficult to work and I had a few close calls where I landed up in the hospital for what turned out to be false labor contractions.   By this time I was having trouble sleeping and I stopped trying to go to bed at a decent hour.  I would sometimes stay up to 3:00 am or even later before I made my way to the bedroom.  I watched a lot of HGTV, So You Think You Can Dance and Master Chef on DVR and played A LOT of Solitaire during this time.  The good thing about going to bed so late was that I would sleep very late, which meant my “babysitter” wasn’t necessary until closer to lunchtime.  Justin would usually make my breakfast the night before and leave it in a cooler by my bed along with a huge thermos of water.  Usually I had fruit salad and some slices of cheese…there wasn’t a whole lot of extra room in my belly for food those days.   My mom worked a lot of weekends so that she had more time off in the week to “babysit” me.  Justin was still working in Reston at the time so he worked half days from home the afternoons that my mom didn’t have off.  For lunch I ate A LOT of egg salad sandwiches and sometimes the occasional Pot Belly’s chicken salad sandwich especially on days that I was coming from a doctor’s appointment.  For dinner sometimes mom would cook and other times dad would come over with take out…..Ledo’s, Reston Kabob, and Pei Wei definitely made an appearance in our condo on numerous occasions.  

While I was on bed rest I looked forward to taking showers, meals, going to the bathroom, and my weekly doctor’s visits as those were the only times I was able to not be lying down.  But even those things had time limits and while Justin might try to tell you I took advantage sometimes, I really didn’t.  Foot plays…Justin gave me INCREDIBLE foot plays while on bed rest and they were GLORIOUS!!!!!!!  To this day, I still crave them as they put me into a state of blissful peace!  I also had a handful of good friends come visit me while I was on bed rest and they brought me either lunch or dinner and their company also made the time more bearable.

By 35 ½ weeks I was HUGE; thankfully it was mostly all belly.  I had once again escaped being admitted to the hospital (my cervix had also been shortening for some time now in addition to the constant Braxton Hicks contractions) at early 35 weeks and when I called my doctor at 35 ½ weeks finally ready for these babies to come out of me she made a deal with me in that if she admitted me to the hospital for hospital bed rest, then she could likely make a case for delivery within a day or two.  I reluctantly agreed.  Well as it turns out a day or two turned into 10!  Every day my doctor would come to visit and be surprised at how well my body was holding up physically and each day she said maybe the next day.  I played A LOT of solitaire in the hospital as well.  I found a few lunch and dinner items on the hospital menu that weren’t bad (the veggie wrap and the veggie stir fry actually became desirable) and I ordered dessert with lunch and dinner every meal!  I had visitors every day…..mostly my parents and Justin but also a few friends.  The nursing staff was exceptional, and I did look forward to my daily monitoring.  I put on 1 -2 pounds each week the last few weeks and it was all going straight to my belly.  That was hard as I continued to watch my maternity tank tops no longer fit over my belly which made it easy to constantly take notice of my stretch marks.  I escaped a single stretchmark up to 34 weeks but at 34 weeks they started to appear and they had no mercy.  I still get upset about it especially as they get worse again as my stomach expands during this pregnancy.  Anyway, I had a feeling the girls were going to be big but I think they surprised everyone at just how big they were for twins!  In the end I am glad that I held out to 37 weeks as I delivered two healthy baby girls weighing 6.7 pounds each.

I always envisioned that if my first pregnancy was only a singleton, I would have had such an easy pregnancy.  With the girls I gained 41 pounds total, which I was actually pretty happy with considering the last 10 pounds didn’t come on until the end of the pregnancy and I know it was all baby weight.  I was certain that I would have gained only 25 give or take a few with a singleton.  I was also convinced with a singleton my belly would be much smaller.  I also envisioned working out throughout my entire pregnancy and that I would have more energy.   Fast forward two years and all those things I envisioned proved false for me.  To start, I had morning sickness this time; from weeks 6 ½ to 14 weeks.  And while I wasn’t throwing up tons, I did throw up a handful of times, my gag reflux was horrible especially with dirty diapers, and I felt nauseous ALL the time.  The second trimester actually proved to be pretty good and I did get my energy back and felt like I could finally be a good mom again to Avery and Emerson.  But I certainly wasn’t working out as much as I envisioned myself doing with a singleton.  But I guess life is different now with two kids vice having no kids and the ability to go to the gym.  In terms of size though, I was BIG.  Again mostly belly but I was gaining weight at the same exact pace as I did with my first pregnancy and my stomach was nearly the same size in comparison to the same week in my first pregnancy. 

To date I am 29 weeks and I already started having Braxton Hicks contractions and lower pelvic pain over a week ago.  I think I overdid it during Memorial Day Weekend and based on doctor’s orders have been taking it easy the last 5 days.  Tests were done and it was confirmed that the contractions were inactive; so I got the okay to increase activity a little; however, I have to be smart about it.  I think my body is prone to Braxton Hick’s contractions and if I don’t minimize them, then I could land up on bed rest, which would be WAY worse than the first time considering I have two toddlers to take care of.  So here I am taking it easy….10 weeks to go…sometimes that seems like A LOT (especially when I see the size of my big belly) and other times seems like VERY LITTLE (especially when I think about the fact that in two months I am going to be a mother of three)!  With each pregnancy, comes the good and the bad, but the truth is I do like being pregnant.  I LOVE that I am carrying and nurturing a little being inside me and that little being is going to come out an innocent human being who is already so loved by her mommy, daddy, and big sisters!  We can’t wait to meet you in 10 weeks by baby girl!

Meadowlark – Memorial Day Weekend

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This year for Mother’s Day Justin and the girls got me a season family pass for Meadowlark Gardens.  Sunday of Memorial Day weekend was a beautiful day and we ventured there to start our weekend.  It was a little breezy, but the skies were sunny and beautiful.  Our first stop was the Kid’s Garden, where the girls enjoyed exploring and having a tea party with the insects.  

Next we strolled along the path to destination gazebo.  

I wanted to get a picture of the girls holding daddy’s hands at the same time, but they aren’t into sharing mommy and daddy.  While Emerson held Daddy’s hand, Avery was holding Mommy’s hand.

I was able to nudge Avery to go catch up with Daddy and Emerson for a brief moment, before she headed back my way….

When we first got to the gazebo the girls were a little hesitant, especially Avery. But by the time we were ready to leave, the girls did not want to leave.  We saw colorful fish and turtles. The girls really enjoyed it and it was so awesome just to see how “grown up” they are becoming.
We spotted some ducks along the pond after leaving the gazebo and stopped to look at them.  
The girls kept wanting to go after them though and considering they were far into the pond, we decided it wasn’t the safest place to stay.  After a few pictures the girls started to become cranky so we decided to call it a day at Meadowlark and save the rest of our energy for Viva Vienna later this afternoon!

The Small Things

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Sometimes it is all the little things that make up such great things!  I know I have already said recently how the girls are cognitively developing at such rapid paces these days and here I am saying it again!  It’s a good thing that I have kept my blog a “secret” because I think my followers would become sick of hearing the same things over again.  But I can’t stop thinking and talking about it because these little things bring Justin and I so much joy and happiness.  Our weekend started out Friday evening with a trip to Foster’s Grill for dinner.  We had no food in the house and we like taking the girls out.  They have been there a few times already and I always order them the chicken fingers and fries to share.  Avery is very particular some meals and basically only ate fries.  Emerson of course ate not only her fries but also her chicken and a few bites of mommy’s chocolate shake. 

Saturday morning Justin and I got up early and showered before the girls got up.  Granted they did not get up until 9:00 so it wasn’t like we got up at the crack of dawn, but nonetheless we got ready early because we wanted to get an early start on the day.  Our first destination was the Farmer’s Market in Reston.  This was our first trip of the season and while it was good to get there, the bulk of the summer fruits and vegetables had yet to arrive.  We did buy some delicious tomatoes though!  I gave the girls samples of cucumbers to try.  Emerson tried hers, while Avery sniffed and decided she wasn’t interested.  In the end Emerson wasn’t the biggest fan either, which doesn’t happen with too many foods.  Unfortunately the weather was somewhat rainy so the girls were forced to sit in their stroller and we didn’t stay as long as we would have liked.  We had originally planned on going to the Arts Festival at Reston Town Center (RTC) next but the rain became heavier so we were forced to come up with another plan.  The girls love being out and about and especially love being outside.  Within minutes of waking up each morning, the words “out” come out of their mouths.  Knowing that we couldn’t be outside and that we promised them they would get to go out, we decided to take them to the indoor playground in Dulles Town Center.  We had never been before and as Justin and I approached it we were intimated and sadly did a “stroll bye” before we decided to enter.  The girls were hesitant for two minutes max; however, after that they couldn’t get enough.  It was very busy and they were quite aware of all the other kids and did a pretty good job of “sharing” the slides so as not to get trampled or not to trample any other kid.  I continue to be quite impressed at how well Avery navigates new environments; however, there were a few times when she fell head first off of some stairs.  It didn’t seem to phase her and she did it at least two other times, which makes me wonder if it is more related to vision or related to her free spirit no fear attitude thinking it was funny as she never got hurt or cried. Emerson found this little girl that was probably about 4 years old that she became infatuated with. She kept following her around and wanted the little girl to play with her but I don’t think the girl was terribly interested.  The girls are lucky in that there are a lot of elementary school age children on our block and Ana takes them outside all the time.  All the young kids on the street know and like the girls from what I understand and I think Avery and Emerson enjoy playing and learning from the older kids.  Emerson just saw this girl as another one of the neighborhood girls and expected that she would play with her just like the neighborhood kids.  Speaking of playing in the neighborhood, the girls LOVE going for walks outside, playing in the driveway with the ball (my old deflated basketballs) and trying to shoot them in the hoop, and drawing with chalk on the driveway.  Emerson also wants a bike now.  She sees all the little kids riding their bikes and now she clearly says, “bike, me, bike, me” while pointing to herself.  It is the cutest thing EVER!  They also like to be helpers and pick bamboo in the background.  They know pandas eat bamboo as we went to the National Zoo last weekend and they both say “bamboo”…..that too is the cutest thing EVER!  Back to the indoor playground though, they had a great time and while Justin and I were up on our feet constantly tracking one of them as they were some of the younger aged kids playing, I couldn’t believe they had gotten to this point already and couldn’t help but think it wouldn’t be long before I was one of the parents sitting watching their child play.  While the girls didn’t want to leave they were pretty good troopers about it and we somewhat bribed them with the next activity….lunch at Red Robin!  Justin had never been to Red Robin; I think he only partially wanted to try it, but by the time we left the Dulles Town Center playground, I knew it would be too late to wait for them to eat until we got back to the house…plus this mama didn’t really feel like “cooking” or cleaning up.  So off to Red Robin we went! Once again I ordered the girls chicken fingers; this time with mandarin oranges on the side.  Justin had extra fries with his and I figured they would eat some of those as well. And once again Emerson ate decently including drinking almost an entire glass of water with a straw by herself; and Avery ate French fries and spilled water on herself as she refused to let anyone help her hold the cup so it wouldn’t tip.  Once we got home, it was nap time….nap time for the four of us!  The rest of the evening we spent indoors. Earlier in the day my mom had taken out the little play cradle of mine from my childhood.  The girls LOVE it.  They are very much into their babies right now….love to walk them in their stroller, feed their babies, change their diapers, and now rock them to sleep in the cradle.  Much of the evening was spent playing with their babies in the cradle.

Sunday morning’s weather started off misty but by lunch time, the clouds had cleared, and the sky turned sunny.  We dressed the girls in their pink Naartjie outfilts and set out to RTC.  Emerson was having a great hair day and her Shirley Temple curls were in full force!  And with the humid weather even Avery’s short hair was curly.  We let them walk for the most part and heads turned everywhere we went.   I think the curls combined with the cute outfits and of course the fact that there were two of them grabs the attention of so many. I know I am biased but they really did look so darn cute.  I am still kicking myself for not getting their picture together.  Justin took a couple with his iphone but the truth is getting a picture of them together is so much easier said than done because they are constantly on the go…in different directions!  We were at RTC during the girls snack time in which I brought raisons.  We were sitting in the pavilion with Panera right across from us so I ran in to get the girls milk.  They each had their own milk straight from the box with a straw.  So there they were with their milk and raison box.  I can’t get the image out of my head….I think because it just shows how big they are getting…crazy!  Emerson isn’t the biggest fan of milk but she LOVES drinking from a straw so she drank all her milk with only a few spills here and there.  Avery didn’t get the hang of the milk as well as Emerson.  She got really excited with the music that was being played and went to clap with the milk carton still in her hand = spilled milkL.

After the Town Center we stopped by the Reston Library for a few.  Our goal was to read a few books to the girls and check out some books to take home.  The girls enjoyed picking out books and constantly wanted yet another book to read so we never actually had a chance to read a book.  They had fun though and we weren’t bothering anyone so again it brought a smile to my face that our little ladies were actually old enough to hang out at the library!

Last but certainly not least the girls continue to talk more and more each day.  Both girls can say Avery, not very clearly, but clear enough to know that is what they are saying. Emerson’s name is definitely harder to say and Justin and I may need to take that into account with naming this next baby girl!  Anyway, we tried to see if the girls could say “Eme” for short and they both not only can but they both say it SO clearly.  Yesterday when I got home from work the girls were still napping.  A few minutes later when I walked upstairs to my room to change, I heard Avery wake up happy and talking. Then she started to say Eme, Eme, Eme.  It was the sweetest sound.  Emerson was still sleeping and Avery was trying to get her attention.  On a funny note, Emerson had been saying fork pretty well.  She uses one very well and defintely likes to say the word quite a bit.  This weekend, “fork” somehow turned into “f**k”.  We tried hard not to laugh out loud; like I said it is ALL the little things that make being a mommy to these two little girls the greatest gift ever!

Potty Training

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Exciting news in the Maddy household!  The girls have just started potty training!  My goal was for them to be potty trained by their second birthday so I wasn’t going to start the training just yet; however, they were interested on their own so a couple times last week I sat them on the potty (the regular potty because I didn’t even have any little potty’s yet) and they both wanted turns. Avery even told us one day last week when she was about to make a poo poo!  Holding them up on the regular toilet was a bit much especially considering whichever girl was not on the potty wanted her turn at the same time as well.  So I bought one little potty and one potty cover for the regular potty.  I figured I would have to get a second little potty if they fought over who got which one, but I wanted to make sure I was happy with my purchase first.  I honestly haven’t read up very much on potty training and I don’t plan to go about it cold turkey because again I think they are somewhat on the young side; however, I do plan to encourage it as much as possible every day and I truly think that they will be potty trained in no time…at least for during the day hours.  I think the fact that they are twins and the “peer pressure” actually makes the process easier because they each want to be doing what the other is and they both love sitting on the potty.  Emerson did make pee pee in the little potty for the first time a few nights ago.  I was so excited…Justin had been in the bathroom with us as well since it is hard to manage two of them by oneself…but he stepped out for a moment, and it was that moment that my little girl made pee pee in her little potty for the first time!  I called out to Justin in excitement….I think I scared Emerson.  She saw the pee pee in the toilet and got a little upset by it.  She likes things to be in order and clean so I had to explain that the pee pee in the toilet was okay and that was what it was supposed to look like.  Yesterday afternoon I put the girls on their potties again…Emerson tends to “use” the potty cover on the regular potty more and Avery tends to “use” the little potty more. They both like to get fully undressed when sitting on the potty and they like to read their sticker book!  I SO wish I had my camera yesterday when they were both on the potty naked reading.  Seriously, I don’t know where they learned it from.  Daddy would have been so proud….where was the camera when I needed it!  Yesterday evening my mom and the girls went to Michaels I bought sticker books and poster board and I plan on making a reward chart for each of them to encourage sitting and actually using the potty!  Wish us luck!