We had a full and exciting day today. Of course, we had the Easter Bunny show up, although Austin was very worried because he didn't see the baskets when he woke up, so he climbed in bed with us telling us the Easter Bunny didn't come. We had shut the gate at the bottom of the stairs to keep them from getting to the baskets in the morning, and he didn't see that they were on the kitchen table. As we walked down to take another look once Caitlin was up, we saw that the kids could open the gate on their own...Who knew?
After checking out the Easter baskets, full of toys, a book, walkie talkies for them to talk to each other, and some candy, we all got ready for church. We hit the 9 a.m. service and as always it was thought provoking. Austin said that they learned that "He has risen." Pretty cute. They seem to really enjoy their time in their class. Seems like they do all kinds of stuff in there. Sing, dance, videos, play, hear stories...They always are really happy when we pick them up.
After church, we got home and colored eggs. We haven't been able to do it because I was out of town most of the week, and I didn't want to miss their first time. They had a great time and each did a great job. Once they learned they needed to GENTLY drop the eggs in the coloring they did great. It was actually not very messy. They took a nap while the eggs dried and then added some stickers to them in the afternoon.
Also in the afternoon, we did an easter egg hunt in the backyard. I put some coins and dollar bills in 20 eggs and hid them around the backyard. Austin wasn't too into it at first because he wanted to mow, but after Caitlin found the first one, he had to take the challenge. They found them all, and added some money to their piggy banks.
After the Easter egg hunt, Austin and I mowed while Kim and Caitlin played hopscotch and blew bubbles. That seems to be what Caitlin always wants to do while we mow. After mowing, Aunt Bubbles and Uncle John came over for dinner. They gave the kids some candy and small toys, and then we had the non traditional Easter dinner of roast beef, salad, veggies, and some great bread. Austin had some chicken on a stick and Caitlin ate some lettuce and then dipped green peppers in some ranch dip and ate that. She loves her veggies! After some play time with Bubs and John, they left, and the kids hit the hay. A pretty long and full day. We had a lot of fun and the kids were pretty funny all day.
A thanks to the Grandparents who sent stuff for the kids. It was very nice and they loved everything. They definitely love you all and talk about you regularly.
Below are some pictures from the past couple of days...the first ones are of them putting carrots out for the Easter Bunny, just for clarification...The rest are from today...
We hope you had a great Easter today!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Art Projects
Our home has become a great rotating art exhibit of the things the kids create either at home, school, or church. We thought it would be neat to share some of their latest creations with you. We have actually saved just about everything they have ever made in plastic bins. Hopefully, we can continue to do that. Enjoy the creations...My favorite are the astronauts! Also, notice the plants that they were growing (have recently bit the dust, however!)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Separation
Oh today is kind of a sad mommy day for me. We finally put the kids in their own rooms. They were both excited to have their own space for "privacy" but I could tell at bedtime they were trying very hard to be brave. They've never slept apart since Caitlin was released from the NICU...it's sad for me because they really aren't babies anymore. :( Once we did our routine tonight, Ryan & I came downstairs...I could hear Austin shooting hoops in his room :) but then he started crying. Right after that, Caitlin started crying. So Ryan went up and Caitlin asked if he went in Austin's room because he was crying (Ryan told me he didn't even hear Austin crying!)...so Ry went in there and Austin was sitting on the edge of his bed and asked if "Sissy could come into his room." They are definitely bonded in a spooky, loving twin way! I love that but times that they are separated are really difficult for them.
Anyway, enough of my blabbing sorrowfully about that! Now we can move on to the fun part of decorating 2 kids' rooms! We are going to paint Caitlin's room pale green and lavender with a butterfly/fairies/princess theme. Austin's room will be pale blue and he wants it decorated with "balls". That's all we know right now. We have a few jerseys that Ryan has been accumulating to hang on his walls so those will go up too. Mommy is picturing a ledge of some sort w/various signed bballs all around the top of the room...
Oh...we've got some travellers now....can't keep them away from each other! More later......
Anyway, enough of my blabbing sorrowfully about that! Now we can move on to the fun part of decorating 2 kids' rooms! We are going to paint Caitlin's room pale green and lavender with a butterfly/fairies/princess theme. Austin's room will be pale blue and he wants it decorated with "balls". That's all we know right now. We have a few jerseys that Ryan has been accumulating to hang on his walls so those will go up too. Mommy is picturing a ledge of some sort w/various signed bballs all around the top of the room...
Oh...we've got some travellers now....can't keep them away from each other! More later......
Saturday, April 4, 2009
sugar head?!
The title is the current hilarious thing around here...one night Ryan was reading 'Angelina Ballerina' and instead of saying "shook her head" it came out as "sugar head". Now every time we get to that part, the kids say "sugar head" and laugh hysterically.
The other day Caitlin discovered her "cloth" (think security blanket on a smaller scale) had fallen under her bed. She told me she'd get it and proceeded to lay on her tummy, wiggle backwards, and then wiggled out from under the bed with her cloth secured between her monkey toes!
Also tonight, we were all watching the Final Four and Ryan said, "There's Magic and Cookie Johnson!" Caitlin thought it was sooooooo funny that the lady was named Cookie Johnson. She kept repeating "COOKIE JOHNSON?!" and giggled after each repetition. Funny stuff!
Austin LOVES watching "The Price Is Right". He claps and gets so excited when people win. We collaborate on the opening bids...I name a price and he tells me if he agrees. During the wheel he'll shout, "one dollar!" It's pretty cute...reminds me of when I was little and would watch that and all the other daily game shows with my gramma.
This week has been fairly uneventful...this was the last week of school & speech before spring break. UGH...next week is going to be loooooong!!! We are trying to arrange a play date with Kellen and on Thursday we are going to an Easter egg hunt at one of their school friends' house. Ryan leaves on a trip from Wednesday to Saturday. Friday Aunt Bubbles will watch them for a bit while I go to Good Friday service at church. It's supposed to be cold so I'm going to look up some new crafts that we can try.
They just brought home one of the cutest preschool crafts EVER...a cardboard cut-out silhoutte of a bunny that they painted with a combo of chocolate pudding & paste, decorated with sprinkles and one googly eye with a blue/pink bow around the necks!!! The point of the craft was to have it exactly model a chocolate bunny (which it does down to the SMELL of the darn thing!). Sooooooooooo cute!
On their last day of school, they had an Easter egg hunt. Each kiddo brought home 8 plastic eggs filled with little toys/non-food items. You would have thought each egg had a million dollars in it from Austin and Caitlin's reactions! Caitlin discovered 3 sticky creatures, a bunny tatoo, several stickers, a capsule that dissolved in water to "hatch" a bug sponge. Austin found a couple erasers, lots of stickers, a race car, a bracelet and a compass ring. He was most excited that one egg he found looked like a basketball.
Today we went to see the reveal of the Indy house that was chosen for "Extreme Makeover - Home Edition." Our view wasn't great, but we did get to see the bus and chant "MOVE THAT BUS!" and we saw Ty and one of the designers, Michael. The house looked great on the outside and they also built a library next to it because the man mentors kids. It was located on the East side of Indy which is about as bad as it gets around here. The show helped several home owners in the neighborhood by power washing & painting exteriors, replacing roofs & trim, and planting about a 1000 new trees. Hopefully this will be a turning point for the neighborhood. It was really cool to see how all of those volunteers worked together & produced something that is so beautiful and life changing for that family. Unfortunately, our kids didn't last until the family returned from their vacation (PARIS!!!) - so we had to leave before the most exciting part. We got there around 12:30 and as of 3:30 they still weren't done with the finishing touches for the reveal. Doubtful that they got any film of A & C but you never know...I think it airs on May 17th.
Oh yeah, we told the kids we were going to a TV show and Austin said, "We're going to a TV show?! I'm ready for my close-up!" :-)
I've been taking pictures so I hope Ryan will have a little time to post them before he leaves for his trip...
Less than 2 weeks till the newlyweds (Uncle Clint & AUNT Sarah) arrive! We are all excited!
Guess that's about all. Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing weekend!!
The other day Caitlin discovered her "cloth" (think security blanket on a smaller scale) had fallen under her bed. She told me she'd get it and proceeded to lay on her tummy, wiggle backwards, and then wiggled out from under the bed with her cloth secured between her monkey toes!
Also tonight, we were all watching the Final Four and Ryan said, "There's Magic and Cookie Johnson!" Caitlin thought it was sooooooo funny that the lady was named Cookie Johnson. She kept repeating "COOKIE JOHNSON?!" and giggled after each repetition. Funny stuff!
Austin LOVES watching "The Price Is Right". He claps and gets so excited when people win. We collaborate on the opening bids...I name a price and he tells me if he agrees. During the wheel he'll shout, "one dollar!" It's pretty cute...reminds me of when I was little and would watch that and all the other daily game shows with my gramma.
This week has been fairly uneventful...this was the last week of school & speech before spring break. UGH...next week is going to be loooooong!!! We are trying to arrange a play date with Kellen and on Thursday we are going to an Easter egg hunt at one of their school friends' house. Ryan leaves on a trip from Wednesday to Saturday. Friday Aunt Bubbles will watch them for a bit while I go to Good Friday service at church. It's supposed to be cold so I'm going to look up some new crafts that we can try.
They just brought home one of the cutest preschool crafts EVER...a cardboard cut-out silhoutte of a bunny that they painted with a combo of chocolate pudding & paste, decorated with sprinkles and one googly eye with a blue/pink bow around the necks!!! The point of the craft was to have it exactly model a chocolate bunny (which it does down to the SMELL of the darn thing!). Sooooooooooo cute!
On their last day of school, they had an Easter egg hunt. Each kiddo brought home 8 plastic eggs filled with little toys/non-food items. You would have thought each egg had a million dollars in it from Austin and Caitlin's reactions! Caitlin discovered 3 sticky creatures, a bunny tatoo, several stickers, a capsule that dissolved in water to "hatch" a bug sponge. Austin found a couple erasers, lots of stickers, a race car, a bracelet and a compass ring. He was most excited that one egg he found looked like a basketball.
Today we went to see the reveal of the Indy house that was chosen for "Extreme Makeover - Home Edition." Our view wasn't great, but we did get to see the bus and chant "MOVE THAT BUS!" and we saw Ty and one of the designers, Michael. The house looked great on the outside and they also built a library next to it because the man mentors kids. It was located on the East side of Indy which is about as bad as it gets around here. The show helped several home owners in the neighborhood by power washing & painting exteriors, replacing roofs & trim, and planting about a 1000 new trees. Hopefully this will be a turning point for the neighborhood. It was really cool to see how all of those volunteers worked together & produced something that is so beautiful and life changing for that family. Unfortunately, our kids didn't last until the family returned from their vacation (PARIS!!!) - so we had to leave before the most exciting part. We got there around 12:30 and as of 3:30 they still weren't done with the finishing touches for the reveal. Doubtful that they got any film of A & C but you never know...I think it airs on May 17th.
Oh yeah, we told the kids we were going to a TV show and Austin said, "We're going to a TV show?! I'm ready for my close-up!" :-)
I've been taking pictures so I hope Ryan will have a little time to post them before he leaves for his trip...
Less than 2 weeks till the newlyweds (Uncle Clint & AUNT Sarah) arrive! We are all excited!
Guess that's about all. Hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing weekend!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
wow
Tonight was awesome. The kids played together sooooooo well! In the basement they ran around, played with the calendar, played bball & elefun together. Caitlin counts great...she is solid from 1-13...after 13 comes 18-29...after 29 is, OF COURSE, 20 10! Not right, but certainly logical to a 3 & 3/4 year old!!!
Then we came upstairs where we were "booby trapped" (said Austin) by Hoops in the office! We thought of numerous ideas to "escape"...the best one the kids came up with was to limbo under Hoops! Once we "escaped" (please note that no limboing was involved!) I pretended I was a laser beam and they ran all around me and tried to limbo under the laser beams. Whatever keeps 'em happy! I took some pictures of them and read a couple books and then they played on their own for the rest of the evening. They made a "camp out" in the living room and brought a bunch of stuffed animals. Then they pretended the animals were sick with the 'niffles and had to be given milk from Caitlin's cup.
Bedtime has been a nightmare with lights on, running around, jumping off of who-knows-what, crazy laughter, crazy tears....tonight I told them that if I had to come in there I was taking all of their undies out. A little unconventional, but when I did it, it was effective. Austin was crying and said, "I miss my undies!" I sat outside of their door for a bit and listened to Caitlin try to cajole Austin out of bed so he'd get busted. He wasn't having any of that and stayed put. The next thing to go would have been their copy of "Angelina Ballerina"...much too precious to risk losing. They finally fell asleep around 9:25....early for them lately.
I am hoping that sometime soon Ryan will be able to post a slideshow of the pix I took today...there is a doozy of Caitlin's self inflicted bang trim from yesterday. Thank goodness she left the top layer to cover up that disaster or we would be staying home until it grew out!
Now, I have some reading to catch up on....hoping to post more tomorrow!
Then we came upstairs where we were "booby trapped" (said Austin) by Hoops in the office! We thought of numerous ideas to "escape"...the best one the kids came up with was to limbo under Hoops! Once we "escaped" (please note that no limboing was involved!) I pretended I was a laser beam and they ran all around me and tried to limbo under the laser beams. Whatever keeps 'em happy! I took some pictures of them and read a couple books and then they played on their own for the rest of the evening. They made a "camp out" in the living room and brought a bunch of stuffed animals. Then they pretended the animals were sick with the 'niffles and had to be given milk from Caitlin's cup.
Bedtime has been a nightmare with lights on, running around, jumping off of who-knows-what, crazy laughter, crazy tears....tonight I told them that if I had to come in there I was taking all of their undies out. A little unconventional, but when I did it, it was effective. Austin was crying and said, "I miss my undies!" I sat outside of their door for a bit and listened to Caitlin try to cajole Austin out of bed so he'd get busted. He wasn't having any of that and stayed put. The next thing to go would have been their copy of "Angelina Ballerina"...much too precious to risk losing. They finally fell asleep around 9:25....early for them lately.
I am hoping that sometime soon Ryan will be able to post a slideshow of the pix I took today...there is a doozy of Caitlin's self inflicted bang trim from yesterday. Thank goodness she left the top layer to cover up that disaster or we would be staying home until it grew out!
Now, I have some reading to catch up on....hoping to post more tomorrow!
Could they BE any FUNNIER???
Here are some of the gems the kids have come up in the past couple of days...
**I told Austin not to sit on Caitlin's legs because he could break them. She said, "Because they're made of plastic. Right mom?" This led to a loooooong discussion about bones and x-rays which was fun.
**Later we relayed the above story to Ryan. Caitlin asked him if her "leg was made of wood"! Our little pirate girl!
**This morning before school Ryan pointed out some flowers that were budding on our pear tree. Austin exclaimed, "I can't believe mine eyes!"
**Austin also told Ryan that something was "marvelous" this morning!
**Both kiddos love story time before bed. Every night we read Angelina Ballerina. It is fun to hear them finish the sentences on each page and throw out random quotes from books throughout the day.
**Last week Austin had a little haircutting incident...he snipped some layers into Caitlin's hair. Luckily he actually gave her some "face framing layers" on one side which look cute. Yesterday Caitlin decided to try it on herself. Thank goodness Austin hollered to me after the first snip! We are on a no scissors punishment for awhile.
The kids also have a "Job Jar" with little slips of paper with simple jobs written on them. They choose a paper, do the job, and get a sticker on their chart. Every third square on their chart has a $ and that means they get some money to put in their piggy bank. So far it has been going well. They like to choose jobs but sometimes say they don't want to do it, in which case they don't earn their sticker and can't "land on the money". Last night Caitlin shocked me and cleaned up the entire Hi Ho Cherry O game without being told to!! She got a bonus sticker on that one! :)
I'm sure more hilarity will ensue after naps...will try to post more at bedtime...
**I told Austin not to sit on Caitlin's legs because he could break them. She said, "Because they're made of plastic. Right mom?" This led to a loooooong discussion about bones and x-rays which was fun.
**Later we relayed the above story to Ryan. Caitlin asked him if her "leg was made of wood"! Our little pirate girl!
**This morning before school Ryan pointed out some flowers that were budding on our pear tree. Austin exclaimed, "I can't believe mine eyes!"
**Austin also told Ryan that something was "marvelous" this morning!
**Both kiddos love story time before bed. Every night we read Angelina Ballerina. It is fun to hear them finish the sentences on each page and throw out random quotes from books throughout the day.
**Last week Austin had a little haircutting incident...he snipped some layers into Caitlin's hair. Luckily he actually gave her some "face framing layers" on one side which look cute. Yesterday Caitlin decided to try it on herself. Thank goodness Austin hollered to me after the first snip! We are on a no scissors punishment for awhile.
The kids also have a "Job Jar" with little slips of paper with simple jobs written on them. They choose a paper, do the job, and get a sticker on their chart. Every third square on their chart has a $ and that means they get some money to put in their piggy bank. So far it has been going well. They like to choose jobs but sometimes say they don't want to do it, in which case they don't earn their sticker and can't "land on the money". Last night Caitlin shocked me and cleaned up the entire Hi Ho Cherry O game without being told to!! She got a bonus sticker on that one! :)
I'm sure more hilarity will ensue after naps...will try to post more at bedtime...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Finally - A Family Day!
Yesterday was such a fun day! We started with a trip to the zoo for PBS storytime featuring "Martha" the talking dog from the cartoon "Martha Speaks". The kids did not disappoint...there was no way they were going near the big Martha! (I think they felt ripped off b/c this Martha DIDN'T speak!) Austin made sure to tell us he liked the "little cartoon Martha" better. Funny. It was a little chilly out but we were able to go through the desert & oceans exhibits. Austin & Caitlin were pumped to show Daddy all the things in the desert (tortoise, snakes, and meerkats). They were equally excited to show him the shark touch tank...both of them are so brave! Then we watched the penguins hop from tank to tank. Caitlin wanted Ryan to see the seahorses too. They were so thrilled to be at the zoo with daddy this time! We got an up close & personal view of the walrus - he was HUGE and made the funniest noises. We let them each get a souvenir penny...Austin chose a shark and Caitlin chose a penguin. They loved their "special money".
We left the zoo around 11:45'ish and took the kids to the "milkshake restaurant" (Steak-n-Shake). They were soooooo good there! It was nice to have a meal together! Caitlin ordered her own shake (in the quietest voice she's ever used, naturally)..."I'd like a swirl milkshake please." Austin ordered chicken tenders and fries and ate a ton - a big shock as he usually likes to order and NOT eat a thing. Caitlin ate spaghetti noodles w/butter and then ate some of my fries w/"sauce" (ketchup). They got these cute cardboard mustangs that helped keep them occupied as well.
After that we headed home for naps...for ALL of us! Then we went to church. During service the fire alarm started going off! It was completely bizarre and a false alarm...but it was when the band was playing & there was a dance performance/drama and the band didn't hear it b/c of their earpieces. Sooooo they kept playing and we all just sat there not wanting to be rude. I thought that was a little funny...had it been real, we would all burn so we weren't being rude! ;) Finally everybody got up and tried to leave. Then a pastor got up and announced it was a false alarm...one of the little kids pulled the fire alarm. So the service finished up and we went to get the kids...we heard on the way that it was a little one in the Colt's room. Ryan and I looked at each other with wide eyes...Austin and Caitlin are Colts!!! We were like, "Man, I hope it wasn't one of ours!" Ryan said to me, "We don't want to forever be known as the couple with THAT kid." WHEW...it wasn't our kids! Upon pick-up Austin informed us that they "had an "emergency" and the teacher told them to sit on the stage and he put his fingers in his ears because it was too loud and the firemans came." He was very informative.
On the way home we stopped at Subway and then both kids wanted cheeseburgers (only from Wendy's)...we got home and had a picnic in the living room. Austin ate most of his burger, Caitlin ate the cheese off of hers & had some leftover fries & sauce and then some peanut butter. She also ate some potato chips dipped in ketchup (EW).
Finally it was bedtime! They were up and at 'em (fighting with each other) at 6:45 this morning! Then they brought the fight into our room at 7:00. Not a great start! We will have a very low key jammie day today...
Hope your weekend has been fun too!!!!!!!!!!
We left the zoo around 11:45'ish and took the kids to the "milkshake restaurant" (Steak-n-Shake). They were soooooo good there! It was nice to have a meal together! Caitlin ordered her own shake (in the quietest voice she's ever used, naturally)..."I'd like a swirl milkshake please." Austin ordered chicken tenders and fries and ate a ton - a big shock as he usually likes to order and NOT eat a thing. Caitlin ate spaghetti noodles w/butter and then ate some of my fries w/"sauce" (ketchup). They got these cute cardboard mustangs that helped keep them occupied as well.
After that we headed home for naps...for ALL of us! Then we went to church. During service the fire alarm started going off! It was completely bizarre and a false alarm...but it was when the band was playing & there was a dance performance/drama and the band didn't hear it b/c of their earpieces. Sooooo they kept playing and we all just sat there not wanting to be rude. I thought that was a little funny...had it been real, we would all burn so we weren't being rude! ;) Finally everybody got up and tried to leave. Then a pastor got up and announced it was a false alarm...one of the little kids pulled the fire alarm. So the service finished up and we went to get the kids...we heard on the way that it was a little one in the Colt's room. Ryan and I looked at each other with wide eyes...Austin and Caitlin are Colts!!! We were like, "Man, I hope it wasn't one of ours!" Ryan said to me, "We don't want to forever be known as the couple with THAT kid." WHEW...it wasn't our kids! Upon pick-up Austin informed us that they "had an "emergency" and the teacher told them to sit on the stage and he put his fingers in his ears because it was too loud and the firemans came." He was very informative.
On the way home we stopped at Subway and then both kids wanted cheeseburgers (only from Wendy's)...we got home and had a picnic in the living room. Austin ate most of his burger, Caitlin ate the cheese off of hers & had some leftover fries & sauce and then some peanut butter. She also ate some potato chips dipped in ketchup (EW).
Finally it was bedtime! They were up and at 'em (fighting with each other) at 6:45 this morning! Then they brought the fight into our room at 7:00. Not a great start! We will have a very low key jammie day today...
Hope your weekend has been fun too!!!!!!!!!!
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