Dandelions and Snow

Maya in the freshly fallen snow (yes, on April 29th)


Kate

Kate inspects a dandelion

Kate jumps for joy - winter is almost over!

Hey, mom, I picked you a dandelion

Food Fights and Stories

I decided early on in the girls' eating lives that I would try to never comment on what they are eating - never cajole, nudge or otherwise try to get them to eat when they don't want to.  I kind of figure that if they are hungry they will eat.  I do provide a bunch of healthy foods at each meal and if they just want to eat the pasta and not the broccoli or carrots, then that's just fine.

Maya is a great eater - she loves all fruits, veggies, meat - well pretty much anything.  Food  - even something as simple as a carrot stick - seems to bring her a lot of joy - so, I'm happy about that.  Kate on the other hand is probably a more typical toddler and goes through phases where she doesn't want to eat - she'll skip meals sometimes, will occasionally chose to only eat starches and dairy.  I don't think she's voluntarily and knowingly eaten a vegetable in a month or two (I do sneak them in when I can).  However, we've pretty much stuck to our original strategy and I never comment on Kate not eating or encourage her to eat her veggies.  I do put them on her plate and she'll usually hand them right back to me (or throw them on the floor).    I figure when she's ready and hungry enough, she'll eat them - and if we try to force her to eat something she doesn't want it will just turn food into a power struggle.

Anyways, Maya apparently hasn't gotten the message about our food strategy and today was trying to shove carrots into Kate's mouth.  Kate thought it was kind of funny and actually ate a tiny bit of carrot.  So, maybe if your twin sister is cajoling you into eating something it's okay.

Oh, and since this is my blog I figure I can brag a little about how smart my children are.  (I know, I know, pride is one of the seven deadly sins,  but maybe this don't apply to mommy blogs.)  The girls just turned 18 months yesterday and are talking up a storm.  According to BabyCenter.com, the average 18 month old speaks 12 words.  Well, while I was watching TV last night, I wrote down all the words I can think of that Maya speaks and I got to 120 until I got bored and decided it was kind of a silly exercise.  I think Kate is pretty close to that number, too.  So, like the kids in Garrison Keillor's world I suppose our kids are "above average" ("where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average").

Even better than our children being potential verbal geniuses is that the girls are now kind of interested in books with actual story lines.  Now instead of just looking at a book and pointing out all the objects, I can read a book with a real story and they'll follow along.  Their favorite book right now is "Biscuit Goes to School" - I think I read this at least 30 times a day and the girls are starting to have it memorized.  They'll sometimes "read along" and say the words before I do.  Now if I could only get them interested in a story that doesn't involve a dog and a school bus.

What a great weekend!  We went to two Earth Day celebrations, went out to dinner with our good friends (the ones with a daughter the same age as Kate and Maya), had an old friend visit for the first time in years, visited with my cousin and her boyfriend - and the weather was awesome to boot.  Now it's Monday and the girls are off with the babysitter and I kind of miss them - even though it's nice to have some time to work,  vacuum and post pictures.

Even though it's supposed to snow again tomorrow, I'm thinking that it's really finally spring time.  Note the short sleeve shirts in this group of pictures - I think this is the first time since we got back from Hawaii that the girls have been outside in short sleeve shirts!  Now we just need to get our backyard landscaping done.  As soon as the snow storm stop rolling through we're doing a big landscaping project complete with watering system, grass, trees and a level spot for a jungle gym.  I can't wait - I'm planning on spending every afternoon this summer lounging in the backyard with the girls!

Almost 18 months and...

I've been asking almost every other twin parent I meet since the girls were born "when does it get easier".  The general consensus has been that it gets easier when the twins hit four or five.  This was just not the right answer for me because that would be another four years!  I finally met a dad of 4.5 year old twins who said for him 18 months was a big turning point and that things got a lot better and easier after that.  Finally - the answer I was looking for!  I have to say that this might be a big turning point for us, too, as things have gotten a lot easier and a lot more fun recently.  It's still a boatload of work (the laundry! the cooking! the diapers! the  cleaning of partially chewed food that's been flung across the room and landed on the couch!) - but there is so much less screaming and whining and a lot more chatting, giggling and playing.

I think part of the reason things are so much easier now is that Maya is on her way to becoming fluent in English. I swear she says 500 words already and is starting to say sentences.  The most useful phrase she's learned recently is  "help me".   When she needs help instead of grunting, screaming or crying she now just says "help me" (sometimes over and over again until someone helps her).  What a revelation!  Kate is still working on this and still grunts a lot when she needs or wants something, but at least I now only have one kid grunting at me instead of two.

It's also exciting that the winter may almost finally be over.  The weather has been horrible the past month - cold, snowy and overcast.  Today was still a little chilly but warm and sunny enough for us to go outside and play for a bit in the afternoon.  I was just going to take the girls for a walk in the stroller on the street, but discovered that the trail at the end of our street was melted off enough for all of us to take a walk.  The girls walked almost 1/4 mile while discovering all sorts of interesting things like mud, rocks, sticks and even a few wildflowers.  Toddlers belong outside - too bad we live in a climate where winter starts in lasts nine months of the year!

Another reason to have a twin sister

This morning I left the girls in our bedroom for a moment and when I came back into the bedroom Maya was playing in a desk drawer that she knows she is not supposed to get into.  When I asked her what she was doing she looked a little guilty and then pointed at Kate and said "KATE!".  Kind of like - well, Kate made me do it.  She probably won't get away with that one once Kate wises up and realizes that her sister is trying to pin things on her.

I'm all packed and ready to head out of town by myself and with no children!  I'm leaving Josh alone with the girls and a daytime babysitter for two days while I visit a friend.  I'm excited to be on my own for a few days but am also a little nervous.  I'm sure everything will be fine - but I'm worried that things will either go so smoothly that Josh and the girls will wonder if they really need me anymore or that things won't go well at all and I'll feel guilty for leaving.  We'll see!

Table Manners

You'd think that after a year of eating solid foods that mealtime would be getting a little less messy and a little more civilized.  In fact, however, I'd say that meals are messier than ever and the mess is getting more and more widespread as the girls get more and more coordinated and their throwing arms get better.

Each girl has their own messy eating issues.  Maya is actually fairly neat while she's eating but as soon as she's full she thinks it's great to see how far she can throw her food - or even more fun - see how long she can pelt me with her food until I notice.  Today we were almost done with dinner and we weren't paying Maya much mind because she seemed calmly and peacefully occupied with her food when I  noticed bits of pear flying across the table and landing several feet away.  She got at least five feet of distance on her pear throwing today - Josh was so proud.  

Kate has a whole host of messy eating issues - so many that I mostly just give up and let her do whatever she wants to with the food because  it seems hopeless at the moment to try to get her to be less messy.  Thankfully we have laminate flooring and a very hungry dog - so cleanup is generally not so bad.  Her current most disgusting and disturbing habit is to begin to chew a mouthful of food and then see something else that she'd rather eat (or decide she doesn't want to eat what she has in her mouth after all), spit out what she has in her mouth and use her fingers to wipe her mouth clean.  ICK!  She also likes to dump all her food on the floor, dump her water out of her cup, mix it with food and then splash in it (we've learned to remove laptops and other things we don't want covered in slime from the dinner table when Kate is eating)  and occasionally she'll even dump things on her head.   

Despite all this, they are making some progress.  Maya is getting good at saying "more pwees" instead of just shouting "MORE! MORE! MORE!" when she wants something and Kate is getting really good at using a spoon and fork.    

Cute things my children have done recently...

This might be the world's most boring blog entry unless you are directly related (as in grandmother) to Kate and Maya. So, Grammy and Nana this one is for you...

• I took the girls out to their music class this afternoon in blizzard (we were the only ones who showed up!) and didn't want to deal with the double stroller in the six+ inches of slush in the parking lot.  So, I just pulled both girls out and decided to carry them into class.  I ended up having to hold both them in one arm (that's almost 50 pounds of baby in one arm) while I locked the car.  The girls thought this was funny and were laughing and giggling.  I guess don't know why I thought this was so cute but we must have made quite a sight. Good thing I have long arms!
• When I bring Kate down from a nap and Maya is already awake Maya says "KATE!".  (Kind of like the people did on "Cheers" when Norm walked in - wow, did I just date myself or what?). 
• Kate will give Maya a little push when she's on the slide (see below video).
• This morning I babysat a friend's kid, "A", who is exactly the same age as Kate and Maya.  When A's mom left and she was crying, both Kate and Maya walked up to her to give her a kiss and pat her on the head.  I'm not sure if "A" appreciated this, but it was a very sweet gesture.  

Sliding