Blueberries, Bananas and our new Kitten

A couple days ago, Keith and I took the girls to a local blueberry field where you pick your own blueberries. The girls each got their own bucket and off we went! Never in my life have I seen such humongous blueberries, and they were so delicious!

The girls had a blast filling their buckets, and doing taste tests along the way to make sure the blueberries were good. ;-) They each filled their bucket, and in all we brought home 4 pints of blueberries.

I got a little chuckle when Keith was talking to Kaylyn about how many blueberries were on the tree, and Kaylyn quickly corrected him and said "Daddy it is NOT a tree, it's a blueberry BUSH!".

Keith made a fabulous blueberry pie, and the rest of the berries were eaten up within 2 days. These girls could not get enough!!

In other news, both of the girls are back in panties and successfully using the potty!! What a roller coaster this whole potty training ordeal has been! It has now been over 2 weeks and they are both doing awesome! Let's hope that this is it this time, and we don't suffer any regression.

Last night Keith was cooking dinner and Kaylyn came out and told him that she pooped a Banana. Curious, Keith went into the bathroom to investigate. Sure enough she pooped a huge one shaped exactly like a banana. Go Kaylyn!!



About a week ago, we went to the animal shelter and adopted a new Kitten. The girls named him Bosco. We are still have no idea how they came up with that name, but that is what they picked and it stuck. He is just over 8 weeks old, and super tiny.

To say that the girls are enamored with this kitty is an understatement. They love him a lot. Maybe too much. Kylee totes him around, and he has quickly become her little side kick. Thankfully Bosco likes all the attention, and is very patient with them. They are a good team!

One on One Time

For a very long time now, Keith and I have been talking about taking the girls out individually to have a little one on one time with them. Yesterday we finally did it. I took Kaylyn for the day, and Keith had Kylee. Next time we will switch.

Kaylyn and I started off our day getting pedicure's. This was a first for her and she loved every second of it. She picked out her very own color (pink) and sat on my lap for the duration. She put her feet in the water, and we enjoyed some good girl talk. The nail lady tried to rub some lotion on her feet, but she wasn't too keen on that part and made me wipe it off. She walked around like the little princess that she is after it was all done. She could not have been happier.

After we got our toes done, I asked her what she wanted to do next. Without hesitation she told me she wanted to "Ride the Escalators like Corduroy the bear" (one of her favorite books), so off to the mall we went. We must have went up and down the escalators at least 30 times. We then took a break and played in the mall play area. At first she was a little aprehensive without her sidekick (Kylee), but after a few minutes she was off and running.

We finished off our adventure at Build-A-Bear. What a cool place that is!! Upon arrival they gave Kaylyn a very fashionable crown, which she absolutely loved. Kaylyn decided to Build a Puppy. She then maneuvered the pedal to help the lady stuff her puppy, gave the puppy a heart (but refused to kiss it), followed by giving her puppy a bath, and then on to find the puppy the perfect outfit. At the very end, she named her puppy "Flower" and we printed up a birth certificate for her.

The entire time we were gone Kaylyn was inquiring about where Kylee was and what she was doing. She was very concerned that Kylee's car seat was not in the car. It was obvious that she missed her sister, but I think this alone time is good for both of them.

When we got home Kaylyn immediately had to show off Flower, and lets just say that did not go over very well. Kylee was not happy that she didn't have one, and Kaylyn wasn't too inclined to share. After 10 minutes of being home, Kylee and Daddy were on their way to Build-A-Bear.

They returned a couple hours later, with "Sparkle" in tow and now all was right in the world. Keith said that Kylee had an awesome time as well!

Both Keith and I were in awe of how easy it was with only 1 kid! I felt like I could conquer the world. It was such a nice treat.

Overall, it was a great day for all of us and we plan on doing it more often. My only regret is that we didn't start it sooner. We will switch off each time who gets to go with Mommy and who gets to go with Daddy.

Potty Training Hiatus

No joke, after my last Potty Training blog post in March, the very next day both of the girls were back on Track with Potty Training. They were doing great, and accidents were very few and far between. This last for an entire month, and I was so relieved and thought the worst was behind us.

I was wrong.

Almost a month to the day, BOTH of the girls decided they were not going to use the potty any longer. They wanted nothing to do with it. And there was nothing that I could say or do to convince them otherwise. Accidents were occurring more often than success. They know how and when to use the potty. It was just becoming a battle of wills and I was losing.

I tried to ride it out in hopes that they would bounce back like they had in the past, but no such luck. My patience was wearing thin, and I finally decided that we ALL needed a break from this potty training business so I put them back in Pull ups.

I chose pull ups over diapers (despite the fact that they are much more expensive) so they could still use the potty if and when they felt the need to and they wouldn't be held back in anyway from making progress.

I am going to give them a month or so, and we will try again. I have done a lot of reading and talking to other parents, and apparently this is very normal, yet Frustrating nonetheless.

The girls are still very young. Most kids don't potty train until closer to 3 or later, so we still have time.

I am confident that one of these days we will truly be done with Diapers. Today is just not that day, and tomorrow isn't looking good either.

It Happened

They gave each other Haircuts!!

I am not naive enough to believe that this could never happen. I am well aware of the fact that it happens often, almost like a milestone of sorts. However, I did not think that I would have to deal with this at 2! I thought I had a couple years, at least.

You are probably wondering how and why 2 year old's even have access to scissors, right?

The simple answer to that question, is that Keith innocently enough, left a pair of scissors on our bathroom counter. The girls are not typically in our bathroom, so he probably was not a vigilant as he could have been.

Keith and I were in our bedroom putting some laundry away and Kylee walked up to us with something in her hand. Keith asked her what it was, to which she promptly replied, "It's Kylee Hair!".

I had to have Keith assess the damage because I was literally sick to my stomach. Their hair was finally long enough for me to put back in a ponytail! Gah!!!

It turns out, Kaylyn got a nice chunk of her bags cut out. I of course was in the process of growing their bangs out (which is no east feat), so back to square one with that one. Kylee had 4 or 5 chunks cut out throughout her head (thankfully, all on the under side) to her scalp. Most of the chunks were on either side of her head, leaving the back of her hair to look rat tail-esque.

I took them in to the professional's where they trimmed their bangs, and cut about 2" off the back to even it out. It's not as bad as it could have been I guess, but I'm still sad. I won't be able to pull Kylee's hair back for quite a while.

It will grow back. It will grow back. It will grow back.....

Easter at the River

Every year Keith's parents host a huge pig Roast at the River, and it is always so fun and so Yummy!! This year was no different.

Keith was able to trade a couple of shifts, so we could spend 5 whole days down at the River. I have to say that this was one of the best River trips ever with the girls. They could not have been happier enjoying everything the River has to offer. They went Kayaking, went on Jeep Rides, Flew Kites, played in the dirt, swam in their pool, rode their quads, and much more. They played hard, and loved every second of it!

Happy Half Birthday Kylee and Kaylyn!!

I can't believe that the girls are already 2 1/2!! The girls are doing so well and are so much fun! They are always on the go, and definitely keep me on my toes.

A lot of times people try to bestow sympathy upon me for having twin toddlers, and I just don't get it. In so many ways, I think have 2 toddlers, the same age, is way easier than having one. They always have a playmate, and they keep each other busy. Watching them interact, and seeing the bond that they have is amazing! They use their imaginations to go on adventure's together, and find all kind of fun things to do. It's awesome!

Speaking of their imagination's, its by far one of my favorite things to watch them explore. They are constantly going on Space Ship Rides, Driving in the Car, Role Playing, pretending, and going on countless adventures. I have no idea where they come up with some of this stuff but they are having a blast doing it!

My little girls aren't so little anymore. They are both 39" tall (97th percentile +)!! Kylee weighs 32lbs, and Kaylyn weighs 34lbs. I went from barely having 5lbs of baby when they were born to almost 70lbs at 30 months! Unbelievable!

Hopefully the next 6 months go a little slower than the last 6 months have!

Kaylyn's Surgery

Today Kaylyn had her scheduled surgery at Children's hospital to scope her Airway to find out why she was getting croup so often and so severely.

It seems as though every time Kaylyn so much as gets a runny nose, within hours we are off to the ER to get her medicine to open up her airway so she can breath. After several episodes within a short period of a few months, her ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) Dr. recommended that we have her scoped to see what was going on.

So today was the day. Her surgery was not scheduled until 4pm, which made for a very long day of her not eating or drinking anything prior to the surgery. We thought it was cruel for her to see Kylee eat anything, so Keith took Kylee out to get her some food, and I kept Kaylyn busy. Although she did very well throughout the morning, and was in very good spirits, by early afternoon she knew she was hungry and was asking for food. It is awful to have to tell your hungry child that she cannot have anything to eat.

We had to get there by 2 to get checked in. By 3 we met with the Dr's and anesthesiologist and they took her back. Within 10 minutes the Dr came back with a picture and told us that they found multiple cysts in her airway (the culprit of the croup!), and they wanted our consent to take care of them. Of course we consented. The Dr explained that they scrape them off, and suck them out. There were 4 in all. The entire procedure lasted a little over an hour, and the Dr came out and talked with us when it was over to reassure us that everything went great.

The Dr explained to us that there is a possibility that the cysts can return, so she will have to follow up with her again in May to check her progress and we may have to repeat this surgical procedure up to 3 times. More than likely the cysts are a result of Kaylyn being intubated for 2 weeks when she was born.

Kaylyn spent about an hour in recovery. She was a little grumpy at first (understandably so), but as soon as they brought her a Popsicle she cheered up quite a bit. We were then clear to go home. More than anything I think she was happy to be reunited with Kylee!

As scary as it was to have Kaylyn go through this procedure, it is very comforting to finally have some answers. We have been dealing with Croup for almost a year and a half now and instead of it getting better, it was seemingly getting worse. Hopefully this will solve that problem, and we have seen the last of the croup!!

Here is a picture of her Airway. Those Bumps that you see are the Cysts, and have since been removed.