The Not-So-Terrible Twos

Anyone that has children can relate to the range of emotions you face on a daily basis, especially in the toddler years. I've been honest about how this age has been challenging for me, but the positives far exceed the negatives. It's amazing to watch Ryan and Reese develop their different personalities and talk about everything they are learning. They are little sponges, learning new vocab everyday. I can tell that Cory is just loving this stage and just when you think it can't get any better, they do something new and amazing that blows your mind. These pictures feature some of our new bday presents: new Dora beanies that are a hit w/ the girls since Dora is their new BFF and the new paint/marker set that Reese decided to use on her face instead of the coloring book. I guess it got boring coloring on the pages, so she found a way to make it more interesting. The box of markers advertises "no mess, easy to clean up, washable, perfect for little artists". They've never met anyone like Reese.

Special Mimi time

My mom picked up Ryan today because she wasn't napping and Reese was sound asleep.  I needed a break so I called in Mimi to the rescue.  Here's her recap: 

When I picked Ryan up, she had her babies and her stroller and Lisa buckled her up in the back seat.  When we took off Ryan said, “Peesy seepy.  WyWy up.  Wywy Mimi house.”  Translation:  ‘Reesie is sleeping.  Ryan is up.  Ryan is going to Mimi’s house.’  Then, she just babbled about everything.  We walked to Audrey’s house with her stroller and she was saying, “Coming, Gammie!”
 

Happy Birthday R&R

Reese & Ryan celebrated their 2nd birthday on Nov. 15th. It was a great weekend with friends and family and lots of cake and ice cream. We had 2 parties, a Dora themed party at Rolly Pollies for R&R's little toddler friends, and another party at home for family. It was so much fun, but also so exhausting. I must admit, I love parties. I've always believed "the more, the merrier" & "bigger is better" when it comes to parties. It sounds obnoxious, but I just love getting everyone together to have a great time. When I was a kid and turning 10, I asked my mom to rope off our cul-de-sac and rent a pony & bounce house (dead serious). The answer was no and I settled for a rented clown. I hope that R&R will share my love for parties, but on a much smaller scale :)

To our little Reese & Ryan,

We love you so much and are so grateful for the past two years we've shared with you. What a miracle and joy you are in our lives. We are so abundantly blessed to have you as our daughters. We love you so much!!

XOXO Mom & Dad

La princesas

Grandma & Grandpa got R&R an entire princess package for their bday. They love it. Here they are trying on their crowns that light up. Haley is the original princess. I think she's so gorgeous in this photo. The girls ADORE her and love to follow her around like little ducklings. It's the cutest thing to watch! I can only hope they grow up to be as sweet and beautiful as she is.

Mimi & Papa

I LOVE being a mom, but I think about what it will be like to be a grandma someday. I know it will be amazing. When R&R were born my mom said it was so wonderful to see her baby become a mother. I know I'll feel that way too. Reese & Ryan love both sets of granparents SO much and we are so blessed that they all live so close to us.

Scuba Reese

I love this age :) This is what a tantrum looks like in our house. It starts after bath time where Reese refuses to put a diaper & PJs on for over an hour. I say "Reese, do you want to put on your PJ top or diaper first? What would work best for you?" "NO MAMA!!". She then finds her blue goggles that have been floating around since summer and puts them on. It's hard to see everything through the blue tint, so she steps on our dogs, they freak out, and then she freaks out. This is the photo of her next to the stuffed dog. She then proceeds to drag the dog down the hallway. Finally, she snaps back to happiness in 2.2 seconds and I'm standing there wondering what changed. They say 3 is worse than 2. Brace yourself!

Be still my heart

I love Taco Bell. I think it is the best fast food EVER!! It runs in the family. My mom worked there when she was 15 and tells stories about how she locked the place up at night and came home smelling like beans. Yum! So I can't deny my heritage and have passed the TBell love on down to our girls. The bean burritos w/ green sauce and cheezy rollups are the fave right now. I know what you're thinking. I have to say we really eat healthy 95% of the time and I cook a lot, but you can bet that if I'm hungry and only have $5 in my wallet, then we're making a run for the border. We have the girls' 2 year appt. next week and I'm sure she'll ask what kind of food the girls like to eat. I haven't decided if I'll tell the pediatrician that Reese and Ryan love Taco Bell and have been able to hold a bean burrito since they were 17 mos. old. Some things are better left unsaid.

This Real Estate Market

It gets brought up every day--how bad our economy is and how much this market sucks. I talk about it waaaay more than I would like to, but it seems that it is affecting everyone. It's a trickle down effect, a domino effect, whatever, it's bad. I always try to stay opitimistic about things, but there are days when it seems pretty bleak. The question I get asked the most is "When will it turn around?". If only we knew. I predict it will be a few years and I'm not sure how many people can weather the storm. I'm so grateful that Cory & I get to work under my dad at a great company like Remax. We have good months and then there are bad months. If I don't budget our money, I may end up looking like my Aunt Carol on Halloween, only not dressing up :) Seriously though, it could always be worse. We have a wonderful family and we're all healthy and happy. Those are the things that we need to focus on when times are so bad.

Our new Chuck Taylors

We got some new shoes yesterday and they're about a size too big, but who cares? Could you die at how cute they are?!?

That's Ry on the right. What a poser!

Now I lay me down to sleep

This age (2 year old toddlers) is tough for me and I find myself doing things I never thought I would do as a parent. ( ie: sleeping in our bed or wherever they may fall, watching episodes of Dora back to back, eating candy on Halloween and staying up until midnight) These are just a few of the lovely things I've been letting our children do the past week. Check out naptime today in our bed.

Two 2 year olds

These are a few photos of their recent 2 year photo session.

Fall Fun

This fall has been busy for us--we had my 30th bday party a few weeks ago, the girls' 2 year bday is approaching next week, we went away as a family to Rocky Point, and I left town 2 weeks ago to visit Dana in NYC. Craziness! It's been fun couple of months and we've been totally enjoying watching the girls grow & change right before our eyes. It seems everyday they are saying new words and phrases. We are constantly trying to decipher the toddler speak. Today at the park, my mom and I were playing with R&R and Ryan ran toward my mom and said, "Coming Mimi!" It's so cute to hear those words. I'm always amazed at how much their little brains are absorbing right now.