Adventures with Olive and Georgia

SNOW WEEK!  I've spent the past week cooped up, cuddling, playing, and thinking about what makes these cuties tick. Here is our week in photos. Getting bundled up to go outside was not Olive's favorite part of the day. Georgia thought she was overreacting though. Last year's snow day compared to this year. They enjoyed the snow much less this year.  Mommy and Georgia Daddy and Olive They much preferred reading in a cozy fort. They watched Beauty and The Beast and A Bug's Life with all their friends. We had some fun with this little contraption until they realized they could just rip it off the wall. Daddy makes the best breakfast! So I decided to clean out the toy closet, not because it was messy (although you can see it was).  I've been watching Super Nanny and trying to figure out how to cool down the heated 4:00PM-bedtime meltdowns. I decided organizing the toys and the day might help.  Now th...

 It’s a snow day, finally! On this cold, cooped up pajama day, I am spending time watching the girls and thinking about how many new things they do everyday. I am terrible at remembering this stuff, and almost as terrible at writing it down. So, I decided to make an update blog that I can look back at, and anyone who is interested can check out to keep up with the current events with G and O. They are petite little ladies, with their 18 month pants falling to the floor. Georgia is doing all kinds of talking. She likes to repeat EVERYTHING, even “Nien, nien, NIEN!” from the Turbo Tax commercial. Olive tries to make us think that she can’t talk as much as Georgia, but we catch her slipping sometimes with some very well annunciated words including “TONY!”. They can say just about any word, if you can get them to participate and mimic you. They seem to understand just about everything we say, which is kind of scary! Here are some of their favorite sentences: “Wo...

At school, my students researched Christmas traditions and beliefs in other cultures. In Switzerland, they have a parade to chase Santa to the Rhine and the children believe Baby Jesus brings their gifts. In Italy, they leave their shoes under the tree to be filled with treats. Learning about these customs makes me think about my own. What’s with putting a tree in the house? Why Santa? Why is Christmas such a big deal any way? It’s making me even think about my beliefs around the holiday all together.   I’ve been in church since my own December birth, so that makes 28 times I’ve heard the story, been to the service, seen (or been in) the programs, etc. But this year, I’m seeing it differently. In my Bible, the first chapter of John starts with bold lettering “ God becomes human ”.   Why a baby though? Couldn’t he have just shown up as a miracle working man? He may have actually gotten more appreciation that way. He wouldn’t have been seen as that poor kid from Nazareth tr...

With most circumstances, I've learned to deal with life like any first time mom, not considering the doubling of the work. However, sometimes I think that this has to be way harder, more exhausting, frustrating, but also more rewarding, sweet and funny than having a singleton. Here are some wonderful and/or horrendous things I am learning about raising “Double Trouble”. Bathing. Sometimes when Tony works in the evenings, I have to give a bath on my own. No big deal, right? Well, it’s not a big deal until it’s time to get them out. Two opposite of potty-trained kids running around naked… Tonight, Olive squatted and pooped on Little Golden Book while I was dressing Georgia. She then pointed at it and laughed until I cleaned it up. Poop. I changed 8 poopie diapers today, not counting the book. I thought that number might decrease more by this time. Nope. They are still the poopingest kids around. Food. It is extremely difficult to grocery shop for a todd...

   Adulthood is so far away for my 16 month old girls, but I pray for that distant future, and I wonder… What might they be? -------------------------------- Olive is so loving and affectionate. Maybe she will be a missionary (I’m hoping that she will so she can take me along J ), spreading God’s love that spills through her life.   She is also quite an adventurous dare-devil. Maybe she will be the youngest American Ninja Warrior. I joked the other day that she should have been born in the early 70s so she could have been on American Gladiators. Her Gladiator name (given by Tony) is Ice Chip. She is also incredibly strong, pushing around tables and carrying bags, pumpkins, anything that she can grip with her chubby little hands. Maybe she’ll be a fitness guru. She is now taking on clients as a Baby Cross Fit trainer. She is optimistic and peaceful…usually.   She brushes off just about everything and trucks on.   She will have joy in wh...

This is my adaptation to the duck, fox, corn riddle. I feel like I’m trying to solve a similar version of it all day long. -You have a toddler who is walking but not in any directed manner. -You have a second toddler who is also walking but falling down quite a bit still. -You have a giant bag that includes all of your baby needs and maybe your wallet and sunglasses if you are lucky. -You have a destination (mini-van/stroller/store/house/anywhere you need to go). -You can only take one of your three things to this destination at a time, leaving two together.   -The problem is… *If left together, Baby A will bite Baby B and then run away. Baby B will cry and attempt to strangle Baby A. *If left with the bag, Baby B will dump it out and break your sunglasses. She will then drag the extra clothes across the room and lay them on the dog. *If left with the bag, Baby A will climb into it and poop.   She will then try to get out, but trip on ...