21 Months and Other Celebrations

Hi All,
Drew and Bree are 21 months old today. In addition, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jim's side and our nephew Conner's sixth birthday. I love the picture above. They look like quite a pair, don't they? Unfortunately, most of our attempts to get a nice side by side shot of the twins turned out like this....

And this....

A little bit of cooperation from the guy with crayon on his lip....

And very little from this girl....

But hugs always seem to be the answer!

Drew and Bree weighed in at 29 and 24.5 pounds respectively.

And now, for a few shots of the six year old. Love, love, love the orange pop mustache!

Something tells me he is going to like this gift! :) Happy birthday Conner!

Turkey Day

Hi All,
Here are some shots from our Turkey Day celebration at my parents' home.

It appears the tryptophan has kicked in!

Drew and Auntie after a very satisfying feast!

Lounging in front of the tube is essential on Thanksgiving. Except where is the Lions game???

Bree trying to ride off that extra serving of stuffing and pumpkin pie.

Cuspid Times Three

Hi All,
Sure enough, Drew has another cuspid in sight! It's the lower right one. I wouldn't doubt #4 is lurking in there too. But it's not easy to get a good view of the inside of his mouth these days - too wiggly! With fifteen teeth in total, it's feeling like we are in the home stretch on the teething front for Drew. Hooray!

Fall Family Pics

Hi All,
Well, we are a little late to the punch, but we finally got around to Drew and Bree's 18 months pictures (at 20 months!) Better late than never, right?!?
We decided to combine the photo shoot with a family shoot outside in the fall colors. And, once again, our amazing photographer, Katie, worked her magic.

Here is a link to our entire shoot:
http://katiedeboer.smugmug.com/Client-Proofing/2010-10-29-Manning/14690107_ivtrH

And here are some of my personal favorites -

Thank you Katie - you are awesome!

Cuspids with an "S"

Hi All,
Well, it's not just one, but two cuspids that Drew is sporting! His lower left is also peeking out. This makes 14 teeth in total for Drew.

Cuspid

Hi All,
Drew has his first cuspid peeking through his gums! It's the upper left cuspid. At almost 21 months, he was due for some. He's handling it great. I'm so glad he's not uncomfortable with it!

Day with Grandma

Hi All,

Grandma paid us a visit today. We had fun just hanging out at home.

We caught Bree ready to pose...

More than once!

And, you can never go wrong with story time!

Oh Crap!

Hi All,
Well I suppose Bree could not be outdone by her brother for too long. So this week on Monday she also decided to use the potty. She followed me into the bathroom and seemed to want to sit on the potty. Sure enough, she agreed to do so and was able to get a little something out. Truth be told, much of it started out on the floor. And then all of it ended up on the floor when Bree stood up, grabbed the pan and turned it upside down. That's a kink in the training plan that we'll have to work out! But nonetheless I was proud of her efforts.
Then on Tuesday, another amazing thing happened. It's usually quite apparent when Drew needs to "do some business" because he typically fights it every step of the way, ever since a bout with constipation. He tenses and strains to keep it from happening, which is not at all pleasant. I was worried this would present a big problem in the potty training department. But quite the opposite seems to be happening. I caught him tensing up on Tuesday and suggested he try to use the potty. He agreed to sit down, and I think the sitting position actually helped him relieve himself of the dreaded number two!

There was no tensing for a few days after, because he got a little help with the constipation in the form of Milk of Magnesia. But sure enough, we had a repeat episode on the potty on Saturday, with excellent results!

Way to go, Drew and Bree! They are off to a great start.

Oma's Day

Hi All,
We celebrated my mother in law's birthday today (Oma to Drew and Bree). We had a nice dinner (compliments of Jim), presents, and of course, cake. I experimented with a homemade vanilla cake with an Italian meringue frosting. It called for lemon curd in between the layers - first time I've ever used that! Very tasty!
Here are Oma and Drew preparing to blow out the candles. I think Oma is on to the fact that these candles are not going down without a fight. Happy birthday Oma!!!

Candid Take #2

Hi All,
Well I guess you could call this a continuation of the last "candid" post - same location, different day.

Here is my little fashionista wondering if she should have gone with the pink or the white shoes today. And seriously, is that a Dallas Cowboys hat on my dad's head???

Here the kiddos are getting a wagon ride, as if the stroller wasn't enough!

And this just cracks me up - Drew is helping Uncle Darren collect apples I believe. He looks so busy here!

"Don't bother me now, Uncle D. I'll let you know when I'm ready to inspect your work."

"Let's see our take. If there's enough, I may give Uncle D a break."

And a little more bonding time for Drew and Darren. I made this one extra large so you could see the little smirk Drew is giving his uncle - precious!

Candid

Hi All,
We got some good impromptu candid shots outside at my parents' house this week. This is good because the kids are way too busy to stop and pose for anyone or anything these days!

Drew and Bree were in awe of all the pumpkins and leaves in my parents' yard

Bree looks like such a little lady in her snow white coat

Both running around the yard - what fun!

Looks like Papa is telling Bree stories again!

"Papa, I'm not sure which is sillier - you trying to jump on this trampoline or me in this tasseled hat!"

Me and my little hip rider

Baby Love

Hi All,
Bree's number one baby is of course, her Santa doll. But she has taken an interest in some of her other babies as of late also. She likes to give them stroller rides and feed them. One baby we have makes a sucking noise when a bottle or pacifier is placed in it's mouth. She finds that one particularly entertaining. Her are some pics of little momma Bree feeding the baby.....

And apparently the little bottle wasn't cutting it, so Bree is offering up her sippy cup!

Potty Training - Beginnings

Hi All,
We purchased potty chairs for Drew and Bree about a month or so ago. I have had discussions with the kiddos about what they are and how exciting it will be to use them. (Well, it's exciting for me anyway!) But, they hadn't taken the least bit of interest in them. I don't push it, because I want it to be a positive experience and something they look forward to doing. So the potty chairs sit in the living room and bathroom, hoping they will get some inspiration to try them out. Well, Drew did just that today. He was squatting after his bath, so I  asked it he would like to sit on the potty. He agreed and to my amazement sat down and did his thing! I'm sure it's a bit of a fluke, being after the bath and all. But I gave him lots of encouragement, so hopefully he will look forward to trying it more in the future. He also seems to enjoy flushing the toilet. So of course I let him flush after we dumped his pan. It's the little things in life, right?!?

Friendly Visit

Hi All,
We had a fun two plus days with our friends Scott, Tracy, Evan and Rowan. Drew, Bree, and I traveled to their home for a visit while Jim was working out of town. It was great to see the whole bunch interact, as Evan and Rowan are 6 months older than Drew and Bree. And it's always nice to to catch up my good friend Tracy (and Scott, too). It turned cool outside this week, so we spent our time inside. But we weren't lacking for entertainment! Drew and Bree got to experience some new things that we don't have or do at home. For instance, they LOVED Evan and Rowan's big kid beds and their plethora of toys that were all new to them. We also got some exposure to the stairs, as their home has several half flights. To be sure, Drew and Bree both took a tumble or two. But it was a good experience for them nonetheless - gotta learn sometime! As far as Evan and Rowan (along with their parents), they were perfect hosts. Rowan was talking up a storm, and was incredibly polite about sharing most toys, even when they were impolitely grabbed from her hands. Evan, in true boy form, said everything with an exclamation point. :) Thanks to our friends for having us. We can't wait for the next visit!

Evan agreed to pose for me, but not smile!

Scott jumped in on playtime as soon as he arrived home.

Drew was a huge fan of the rocking horse. This was one item that did invoke a squabble or two between all the avid riders......

Rowan being very gracious standing by and watching as Drew and Bree enjoy her big girl bed....

Here are Drew and Bree hoping that big kid beds are in their near future.....

The coloring squad in action. I think Bree missed the mark a bit here and is actually coloring on the floor!

This is Rowan insisting she doesn't need an afternoon nap, at least not in her bed anyway!

Here is Drew in toy euphoria - so many new toys, so little time!

And story time for the whole crew....

Boy in the Box

Hi All,
For whatever reason, I often find Drew in the toy box. And it always makes me smile!

I think I recently mentioned that Bree is starting to allow barrettes and other things in her hair. Well, as you'll see below, it's still a little hit or miss.

Hiding.... Shhh! Don't tell Bree!

"Here I am!"

And here's Miss Shaggy, oops I mean Bree....