Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!!! This year, the twins were dressed as Cookies and Milk. We envisioned Caroline being the cookies because she loves her sweets and Caden as milk because he really loves his milk. It turns out, both kids wanted to be the milk. :)

We went to a Halloween party with our small group where all the kids dressed up. Here are some pics of our kids in their costumes.

Here is our little milk carton, Caroline. I love how she pokes her head out the front of this costume.
Caden as a cookie.
We even managed to get a couple pictures of them together.
Caden was ready to take off the cookie costume and try on the milk costume.
Now it is Caden's turn to be the milk.
And Caroline was the cookie.

Birthday Tire Swing

For the twins first birthday, I built the twins a swing set. This year, I didn't do any where near as much. Instead, Amy and I bought them a tire swing. I designed the swing set to accommodate a tire swing underneath the tower and was looking forward to eventually getting one.

Amy and I got a good deal on a tire swing from a Toys 'R' Us that was moving. The rope was too long and it was designed to be hung like a traditional swing from two points but I thought I could make it work. I shorted the rope and bought some stuff from Home Depot so I could hang the swing from one point in a way where it could spin. I also needed to reinforce the floor boards to hold the tire swing.

Here is the new tire swing before either kid ever saw it.
Caroline was immediately interested in the tire swing. She was so cute holding on tightly. After getting on, she right away started saying, "Caden, sit there" referring to the seat opposite of her.
Caden was happy to get onto the swing with Caroline.
They both wanted me to sit on their with them but I told them I was too big and the tire swing is just for kids.
I pushed the twins all around spinning them quite a bit. They loved it and held on very tight.
After I got them off the swing, they were both a little dizzy. Caden actually fell over several times trying to walk. He found this hilarious.

Now, when I take the kids out to play on the swing set, they first want to swing on the normal swing. After awhile, they want to climb on the tower and go down the slide. And after doing that a few times, they always want to play on the tire swing.

Second Birthday Presents

We are way behind on the blog. I have a number of blog entries planned before I get caught up.

The twins turned two about a month ago. They got all sorts of great presents and one obnoxious present (thanks Grandpa). We opened presents from family one night and then from their friends after their birthday party.

Here are a few pictures of the present opening festivities.

Unlikely last year, both kids definitely understand opening and getting presents now. They had a lot of fun. Caden did something that reminded us of his cousin Will. Anytime a present contained clothes, Caden would toss them over his head and immediately continue looking for something good. :)
My mom and sister got the kids a great train table. Right before we started opening presents, we took the kids to our room and then brought the table out (which I had assembled and hid).
Caroline was very excited when she first saw the table. I didn't get a good picture of Caden's reaction but he was even more excited.
The twins played with the table immediately.
Caroline playing with an interactive Thomas the Train book.
Caden patiently waiting for Poppa to open his new car transporter.
Grammie and Poppa gave Caden a guitar. He had been wanting a guitar for awhile and was ecstatic to finally get one.
This guitar is cool because it has a keyboard and has a motion sensor to detect when it is being strummed.
We should have opened this a little later because it was hard to get Caden to open any more presents after he got this guitar.
Grammie and Poppa also gave the twins a couple of big wheels/tricycles. They are not quite tall enough to turn the pedals but I'm sure they'll be able to do so soon. Despite that, the kids can move around using their legs.
Here is the obnoxious present from Grandpa. Mimi told him it was annoying but he insisted. What makes this toy annoying is it has a motion sensor and anytime it seems something move, it giggles loudly. Caroline loves it! Thankfully, Amy found out it has an off switch hidden under the pajamas. Un-thankfully, Caroline saw Amy find the switch and knows how to turn it back on. :)
Caden and Caroline didn't even know Curious George came in book form. They love watching George on TV.
The twins also got a cool easel. One side has a dry erase board and the other side has a chalk board. Caroline is our little artist and immediately made like 20-30 pages of art. She would draw on a page, then lift it up and get under so she could draw on another page.
Caroline drew on so many pages so quickly that we decided to take away the book of paper. :) Now, we keep a few pages up there at all times and replenish as necessary.
The kids got all sorts of great stuff for their birthday. All the great stuff should keep them entertained for a long time.

Two Year Checkup

The twins had their two year checkup and everything is going well.

The kids were really good this appointment. They were friendly and happy (right up until the vaccines came). While we were talking to the doctor, Caden opened the door and took off running with Caroline right behind. Both kids were only wearing diapers for their jailbreak. Before I could catch them, they both made their way to the waiting room with the toys.

When the doctor was leaving, Caden gave her a big hug and a kiss. The doctor turned her head so Caden kissed her cheek and not the mouth she was going for. We thought it was very sweet.

Both kids went up in percentiles across the board. Before the appointment, we were a little worried that Caden hadn't been gaining enough weight since he feels so much lighter than Caroline. Turns out, he is light but still within his growth curve.

Here are the twins measurements from this appointment.

Caroline

two year:
weight: 27 lbs 4 ounces and 60th percentile
height: 36 inches and greater than 95th percentile
head circumference: 50 cm and 95th percentile

eighteen month:
weight: 23 lbs 12 ounces and 48th percentile
height: 33 1/4 inches and 94th percentile
head circumference: 47.9 cm and 80th percentile

fifteen month:
weight: 20 lbs 3 ounces and 20th percentile
height: 31 3/4 inches and 90th percentile
head circumference: 46.5 cm and 70th percentile

twelve month:
weight: 20 lbs 1 ounces and 30th percentile
height: 30 inches and 76th percentile
head circumference: 46.4 cm and 75th percentile

nine month:
weight: 18 lbs 7 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 28 inches and 70th percentile
head circumference: 45 cm and 65th percentile

six month:
weight: 15 lbs 15 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 27 inches and 90th percentile
head circumference: 43 cm and 52nd percentile

four month:
weight: 13 lbs 6 ounces and 45th percentile
height: 25 inches and 75th percentile
head circumference: 41.3 cm and 50th percentile

two month:
weight: 11 lbs 12 ounces and 75th percentile
height: 23 inches and 75th percentile
head circumference: 39.4 cm and 53rd percentile

one month:
weight: 9 lbs 1 ounces and 50th percentile
height: 20.5 inches and 30th percentile
head circumference: 36.5 cm and 25th percentile

two week:
weight: 7 lbs 10 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 20 inches and 50th percentile
head circumference: 35.4 cm and 25th percentile

birth:
weight: 7 lbs
height: 19.375 inches
head circumference: 34 cm and 25th percentile


Caden

two year:
weight: 23 lbs 13 ounces and 5 to 10th percentile
height: 34.5 inches and 60th percentile
head circumference: 49.5 cm and 75th percentile

eighteen month:
weight: 21 lbs 4 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 32 inches and 50th percentile
head circumference: 47.5 cm and 40th percentile

fifteen month:
weight: 19 lbs 1 ounces and less than 5th percentile
height: 31 inches and 55th percentile
head circumference: 46.5 cm and 28th percentile

twelve month:
weight: 18 lbs 5 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 29 inches and 25th percentile
head circumference: 46 cm and 30th percentile

nine month:
weight: 17 lbs 8 ounces and 10th percentile
height: 27 inches and 10th percentile
head circumference: 44.5 cm and 25th percentile

six month:
weight: 14 lbs 15 ounces and 8th percentile
height: 25 1/4 inches and 10th percentile
head circumference: 43cm and 25th percentile

four month:
weight: 12 lbs 11 ounces and 10th percentile
height: 24 inches and 25th percentile
head circumference: 41cm and 20th percentile

two month:
weight: 10 lbs 4 ounces and 25th percentile
height: 22 1/4 inches and 25th percentile
head circumference: 38.2 cm and 12th percentile

one month:
weight: 7 lbs 13 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 20 inches and 5th percentile
head circumference: 35.8 cm and 6th percentile

two week:
weight: 6 lbs 4 ounces and 5th percentile
height: 19 inches and 6th percentile
head circumference: 33.9 cm and 5th percentile

birth:
weight: 5 lbs 10 ounces
height: 18.125 inches
head circumference: 32.3cm and 5th percentile

Conversation with Caroline After Party

Here is a conversation I had with Caroline when I was putting her to bed the night after her birthday party.

Jason: "Did you have fun today?"
Caroline: "Yes"
Jason: "What was your favorite thing you did today? Was it sliding down the water slide?"
Caroline: [Nothing]
Jason: "Was it opening presents?"
Caroline: [Nothing]
Jason: "Was it eating your birthday cookie?"
Caroline: "Yes. Cookie."
Jason: [Laugh]

Second Birthday Party

Our kids recently turned two. We had their birthday party at a really cool splash park near our house.
The party favors were buckets and beach balls that the kids could start playing with at the party.
Caroline likes the small fountains the best. When you step on them, they will actually shoot water further than the larger fountains. Nearby adults need to be careful.
Caden exploring with Grammie wondering when the water was going to come back.Here are some of their friends exploring the splash park.
Grandma and Caroline having some fun.
Once again, Caroline likes the small fountains the best.
Caroline hanging out with Grammie.
One of the cool features of this splash park is the water slide. The kids went down this numerous times.
Caden likes going down close to the edge.Even some adults enjoyed going down the water slide.After all the playing, it was time for some lunch. Amy used buckets to hold the food and shovels to serve it.
Caroline was very interested at the food while Mimi was making sure she didn't fall or stick her hands directly into a bucket of food.Mmmmmmmmmm, Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets. Even the adults enjoy these.
We had two types of sweets for people to choose from. We had these cool fish cookies from Target.
And Amy made some gluten free cupcakes.It was a a little windy so we attempted to use a towel to keep the wind from blowing out the candles. It didn't work but the kids didn't mind.After everyone finished singing happy birthday, Caden cheered and clapped. This reaction was way better than at their first birthday party where Caden cried.
For some reason, Caroline did not immediately dig into her cookie. Instead, she wanted to share my cookie. She ended up eating three quarters of my cookie!
Later, Caroline told Grammie that, "Daddy ate Caroline's cookie." Grammie made it right by giving her another cookie. Our sneaky little girl had one and three quarter cookies! We didn't figure that out until later. :)Their friends enjoyed the sweets as well...though I think Caroline was the only one to get more than one.
After a hard day of playing, some of us needed a nap.
After we were done with the water part, Caden and Caroline enjoyed exploring the surrounding area. They gathered a lot of rocks and checked out a bunch of stuff.
I think Caden was singing songs with Grandma here.
The party was over, so it was time for some hugs. Caden loves hugging people. Caroline was content watching the hugs.
The last thing Caroline did at her party was get a ride on the cooler from Grandpa. I'm sure Caden was jealous.
We had a lot of fun at the twins second birthday party. I can't believe two years have already passed us by. Caden and Caroline are so sweet and so fun that they made the time just fly by.