Angle of Repose

I recently got the girls a Baby Einstein DVD. 

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Next, I think I’m going to have to get them a chiropractor. 

They refuse to watch the TV anywhere in the room except for inches from the screen.  They make my neck stiff just looking at them.  Each time I pull their reluctant bodies backwards to give them a better viewing angle, they simply walk forward and resume their front-row position.  I was tempted to turn it off tonight to give their necks a rest, but then I wouldn’t have been able to cook dinner without two extra appendages attached to my lower extremities.  I’d guess I’d rather hire a chiropractor in a few years than feed my family nothing but PB&J sandwiches, which is the only mildly nutritional meal I can make in under a minute with two children screaming at my feet.  Because then I’d probably have to hire a nutritionist anyway to fix the years of damage caused by habitual peanut butter overdoses.  I’ll go with the DVD and peace and quiet and healthy meal…and chiropractor. 

Muscles in the Making

The girls exercised some new muscles today, literally and figuratively. 

Literally, Becky demonstrated that she has immense jaw strength when she chomped down – hard – on Susie’s fingers (which were voluntarily in her Becky’s mouth, but that’s another story).  She didn’t break the skin, but she left deep teeth marks in her sister’s little sausage fingers, and poor Susie wailed as if Becky had just amputated her arm.  It was the first instance where the girls had caused each other real pain (other than the occasional head-whack, which I assume is more shocking than painful), but I know it won’t be the last.  I can only imagine the broken toys and broken hearts that await us in the future as the girls test the boundaries of their relationship. 

I do hope that every future transgression ends as peacefully as today’s did.  Not too long after the incident, when we were driving in the car, I heard delighted giggles in the back.  I turned around in my front passenger’s seat and watched as Susie withdrew a single Cheerio from her snack cup and passed it over to Becky’s eager hand.  Once Becky had brought the cherished morsel to her lips and reached her hand out again, Susie carefully handed her another Cheerio.  It was not only surprising to see the girls sharing without my prompting, but it was especially astonishing to see them sharing food.  My girls typically guard their cups of Cheerios like Fort Knox’s stash of gold, and never, ever willingly part with a single morsel.  I can only guess that Susie was flexing the newfound muscle of forgiveness, and was demonstrating in the boldest of toddler terms that she was not holding a grudge against her sister. 

Or maybe she was trying to tell Becky that the next time she feels like chomping on something, it better be on a Cheerio instead of Susie’s finger. 

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Susie: “It’s all good, Becky.  I feel much better now.”

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Becky: “I’ll bite my own finger, too, so I can feel your pain.  And make sure you’re not just a wimp.”   

Thanks for the Memories

Today was our first full day back home after our trip, and I really wish we were back in Arizona  – and it’s not just because I had to bundle the girls up for our outing this afternoon in fleece pants and winter coats.  We had a wonderful, fun and relaxing time with our family there, and I hate the fact that so many of our loved ones live across the country from  us.  I really wish the girls could grow up spending more time with their West coast cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents, but I suppose the geographic distance makes our times together that much more memorable and enjoyable.  If nothing else, the fact that we’re rarely all together encourages me to  take lots of pictures to capture the family fun.  Enjoy these Thanksgiving Day photos!

(Special thanks to my sister-in-law Julie for the beautiful matching dresses for the girls)

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Becky (on left): “Is there room for both of us to serenade everybody?”

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Susie (on right): “I’ll play the right hand notes and you play the left.”

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Becky: “I think I ate too much stuffing.”

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Becky: “Did you see that turkey?  It was THIS BIG!”

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Susie (far right): “Did someone say there’s a puppy out there?”

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Susie (far right): “There!  I see him!”

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Becky: “Whoa – that’s a jaw-droppingly large puppy.”

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Susie: “I think he likes me!”

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Susie: “There’s nothing better than a full tummy and my Daddy’s lap.”

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  Thanks be to God for His Son, and for the love of friends and family! 

Day at the Zoo

 

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Susie (in front): “Do you think those tortoises have longer necks than we do?”

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Becky (in back): “Mom, shouldn’t you be taking pictures of the wildlife?”

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Susie (far left): “Are we outside the exhibit or in it?” 

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Susie (far left): “Becky, make sure you watch your hands after touching that hairy thing.”

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Jonathan: “Good thing there’s a man around to show the girls how to fix a tractor.”  

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Becky (far left): “We’ve worked up appetites walking around the zoo like big kids.” 

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Jonathan: “Stick with me, Susie – I’ll teach you how to drive.”

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Becky: “ALRIGHT!  Let’s go see some monkeys!” 

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Monkey: “These kids are wearing me out!” 

For the Birds

We went to a park this afternoon to feed the birds, but we ended up feeding the kids more than the birds.  Every time I handed the girls a chunk of bread to toss, they put it directly in their mouths.  I guess they didn’t want all that carbohydrate goodness to go to waste! 

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Susie (far left): “I think the birds missed a piece.  I’ll go get it.”

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Kaitlyn: “Babies are more fun to feed than the birds.”

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Susie: “Do you think birds like to eat little girls?”

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Susie: “No birds can get me up here!”

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Susie: “Now these are what I call Big Birds.”

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Becky (on right): “Birds, WAIT!  I promise I’ll give you the next piece of bread!” 

Big Girls

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Becky and Susie: "We think we’re big girls now that we’ve been hanging around our big cousins.”

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Susie: “I’m a really big girl, since I’m helping Daddy with his computer.” 

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Becky: “I’m an even bigger girl, since I’m driving a car.”

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Kaitlyn (on right): “I’m a very big girl, since I know where all the good toys are!”

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Allison: “I’m the biggest girl, because I have to change all the other girls’ diapers!”

Fun in the Sun

We’ve made it safe and sound and sane to Arizona.  The trip was surprisingly smooth; we had the entire bulkhead row of six seats to ourselves, and the girls were amused by smiling at the flight attendants and fellow passengers.  Despite the entire duffel bag of snacks and new toys I had packed, Susie found the most entertainment in a package of Kleenex.  At the end of the flight, Jim announced that he prefers traveling with “infants in arms” over solo traveling, since we always end up with better seats.  He said this as I was wrestling a wriggly child into her socks and shoes while fishing mushy cheerios out of the seat cushions.  If I hadn’t been so busy also whispering “Itsy Bitsy Spider” into the child’s ear, I would have told him he was welcome to fly with the kids and the good seats next time – I’ll take the middle-seat, squished-knee solo flight!   

The girls have thoroughly enjoyed playing with their cousins.  They love everything about them – their energy, agility, and especially their hair.  There have been a million adorable photo ops, but I was too busy enjoying watching the kids play to retrieve the camera from my suitcase.  I finally grabbed the camera at bath time tonight, but it was especially difficult to get four soapy wet children to pose for a picture.  Big Tub + Big Bubbles + Big Cousins = Big Fun!

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Good Intentions

I really intended for this year to be different.   I wanted to have my fall decorations out by Halloween, the majority of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving, and some holiday baking done by the time we left for Arizona.  Well, as of right now, my house has zero seasonal decorations, I have purchased two measly Christmas gifts, and my baking pans have only been used as toddler distractions:

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Oh well, maybe next year! 

But at least I’m packed for our trip to Arizona tomorrow.  I don’t know whether or not I’ll be blogging much during our time away.  I guess it depends on how exhausting it is keeping my twins from grabbing all the toys away from their twin cousins.  There’s sure to be chaos, squeals and laughter – I can’t wait!  I’m especially excited to spend time with my sister-in-law and eldest niece while the four young kids entertain each other (or tackle each other, as the case may be).  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Trials and Smiles

I’m a bit short on time and inspiration these days, as we’re packing for a week-long trip to visit family in Arizona.  We leave Thursday, but I’m already frantic about how I’m going to fit all our stuff into two suitcases.  I’m not the world’s most efficient packer.  And I’m nervous about flying with two fifteen-month olds.  So instead of treating you to my panicked ruminations about how on earth I’m going to keep the girls entertained on the flight, I’ll leave you with this sunny salute from Becky.  Hopefully she’ll be just as joyful after six hours on a plane! 

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Trickster

What a difference a day makes!  I’m glad to report that Susie woke up this morning with no fever or other symptoms.  She seems to be back to her old tricks. 

Speaking of tricks, here’s her two-handed-plus-mouth carrying system:

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And here’s her climbing into the toy box and grinning at her own cleverness:

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Yup!  Our old Susie is back, and we’re loving every minute of it!