Playing Inside Cabinets

Caden comes up with all sorts of silly things to do. Recently, he decided to crawl into one of the cabinets in the play room. Here he is climbing in.
He made it all the way in and wanted the doors shut.
"Where's Caden?!?"
Caroline decided to get in on the action.
They love flinging the doors open.
Caden was very proud of his game.

Making Applesauce

Grammie and Poppa gave the twins multiple toys on the lines of this blender where the blender blows confetti around on the inside as it blends. The twins love these! Caden made applesauce for 45 minutes in this blender.

Here, is a picture of Caden pouring a batch into his and Caroline's bowls.

Climbing the Rope Ladder

Our swingset has a rope ladder. In the past, the twins had mostly ignored it. That changed all of a sudden. Caden decided he'd try to climb it.

Caden has no fear and made it all the way to the top by himself! And I mean, the TOP! As you can see, he straddled the 4x4 on top. I was below making sure he didn't fall but I didn't help him climb up at all.
I like this one because it looks like he is just out by himself. But don't worry, I was close enough to prevent him from falling.
Caden was extremely proud of what he accomplished. So was Daddy. Grandma, who was watching nearby, was relieved it was over.
After watching Caden, Caroline decided to give it a try.
Caroline -- "All done! Daddy, help! Caden's turn! All done!"
Caroline is a good climber and has the height advantage, but, unlike Caden, she has a little fear in her. I'm sure she'll get to the top soon enough.

Riding the Dallas Train

On the twins first "Leap Day" (February 29th), we had a bunch of other firsts.

The biggest and best was obviously the birth of Baby George. Here is the little guy on this three week birthday. (He should still be one week from his big jail break.)
Before we went to the hospital to visit, we stopped off at In 'N' Out Burger for lunch. Neither I or the kids had ever been. I've good things about the place for years and was happy when they finally made it to Dallas. I always wanted to check it out.
As I wrote about before, that night, Caroline slept in a big girl bed for the first time. Successfully, I might add.
After our first visit to the hospital and before Caroline went to bed, we rode the Dallas train for the first time. We used it to get from my mom's house to the hospital. There was a nearby train station that went directly to the hospital. The train ride was going to take 45 minutes...which might have been even faster than if we drove. It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to return from the hospital in the early afternoon.

Both kids were very excited when we told them we were going to ride a train. Here is Caroline waiting for the train to leave the station.
Caden was excited right up until we got on the train. Then, for some reason, he got nervous and wanted to get off. He did warm up to the ride after a few minutes (and pacifier) later.
Caroline, Mommy, and puppy, started out on one bench while Caden and I were on another.
But soon after we left the station, both twins ended up next to me. I thought that was great! Amy was also happy about the seating.
Caroline wanted to make sure her puppy got to see everything out the window. She was very concerned about that.
We were a little worried about taking the train but we loved it! If we lived in Dallas, we'd definitely use the train. We are already trying to think of reasons to take the train again. Like to the Dallas zoo. Austin should really take note. The train system here is mostly worthless.

Caroline's Big Girl Bed

When we made our unplanned visit to Dallas to visit the ahead of schedule Baby George, we realized that there was only one pack 'n' play at Grandma's forcing one of our kids to sleep in a real bed for the first time ever. It was a no brainer on who would get the bed...it had to be our champ sleeper, Caroline. Without the barriers, I can't imagine us keeping Caden in bed for more than two minutes.

Caroline was extremely proud her bed. This bed was my old bunk bed and will someday be Caden's. I put the guard rail up and stacked a few pillows to help keep Caroline from falling out. Caroline lined up the animals next to the railing.
When it was time to go to sleep, I told Caroline she couldn't get out of bed until mommy or I told her she could, and sure enough, she obeyed. Caroline stayed in bed all night and slept like her usual awesome sleeping self. In the morning, she played in her bed until I told her she could get out.

When we returned home, Amy convinced me to turn Caroline's crib into a toddler bed. I had been resisting this idea since I didn't want to mess up any of Caroline's good sleeping patterns. But after seeing how well Caroline did in Dallas, I finally conceded.

Caroline was super excited when she saw I "built her a new bed." She was very proud, thanked me, and said she loved it.
Caden was very excited for Caroline and wanted to try out her new bed.
Both kids played in the bed for awhile.
Since converting Caroline's crib to a toddler bed, Caroline has continued to sleep very well.

After going to bed, she has gotten up only two or three times within 45 minutes of going to bed and that was only to go potty. Immediately after finishing, she walks back to her room, closes her door, and tucks herself back in. (Funny thing, in each of these occasions, Caden was still awake hanging out with us. Thankfully, this did not seem to phase Caroline. We always wondered if she knew Caden's bedtime was later than her's.)

Once asleep, Caroline has never gotten out of the bed. She is so good, that in the morning, she lays in bed and waits for Amy or I to come tell her she can get up.

Now, we just need to get Caden into a big boy bed. Would it be frowned upon if I handcuffed him to the rail?

Cleaning the Potty

The other day, Amy walked into our bathroom and found Caroline thoroughly scrubbing her toilet bowl with Amy's toothbrush!
This is not the first toothbrush of Amy's the kids have ruined. Amy now tries to hide her toothbrushes.

This makes me wonder if incidents like this are like bugs...if you've seen one, numerous others have gone unseen. :)

"I'll Hold You, Caden"

The other day, Caden wasn't feeling all the great and was being very clingy to Amy. Amy told Caden she couldn't hold him so that she could go make lunch. Caroline quickly chimed in with, "I'll hold you Caden." and then she did!!!
How sweet is that!