Microblog Monday: A Celebration of Poop

We've been putting Rylee on the toilet after bath time for quite awhile now, and she usually goes potty.  It had become a race to get a diaper on her after baths, before she would pee all over, so we thought why not?  Well, last night she not only went potty, but she also POOPED!  In the toilet!  She had no reaction to it whatsoever, but Tony and I tried to make it a big deal and celebrated her being such a big girl.  She's still not really aware of what she is doing, so we haven't ventured any sort of potty training beyond this for now.  It's a start though!

Who knew that poop would become such a big deal?  We worry about poop when they get constipated.  We worry about poop when they get diarrhea.  Now we are celebrating poop. Haha!

As a side note, we also try to put Ayden on the potty after baths, but he really has no interest and doesn't last more than a few seconds, mayyyybeee a minute, before he's up and running.

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Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Life is full of adventure with Ayden and Rylee.  They keep us on our toes for sure with all the toddler shenanigans they get themselves into.  I have an unfortunate feeling that we may have many ER visits in our future....

We are still storing these couches for my in-laws.  If we put them against the wall like normal people would, Ayden crawls on the computer desk.  We can't afford to buy a new computer right now, so....

He LOVES climbing back and forth between the couches.
I don't know how he hasn't broken his neck yet.

He was a little too quiet the other day, so I went to find him.  He was having a grand ol' time lounging amongst the diapers and hats.  Of course he was eating the fuzz off the hats...  Sigh.

Just goofing around!

This girl LOVES to run!
And I love to hear her giggle and laugh while she's doing it.

This boy finds himself in all sorts of predicaments.  So much so, that I have started a special hashtag just for him on Facebook and Instagram: #TheManyAdventuresOfAyden.

He likes to put the bucket on his head, but this time he managed to get the handle stuck around his neck.  He didn't like that very much.  I didn't like it either, so now the bucket no longer has a handle.

Got himself stuck in the laundry basket. (Don't mind my toes!)

My two little "helpers" in the kitchen.

All About Rylee

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Oh how I love this little girl!  Anyone who meets her now would never even begin to imagine the struggles she had her first 3 months of life.  She has the best laugh that is unique to only her.  She doesn't always smile or laugh easily if she's in a new situation or environment, but once she warms up, she talks and smiles at everyone.

It's funny how her and Ayden tend to swap personalities sometimes.  Until a few weeks ago, she was so super easy going, always going with the flow of things.  He was the cranky one.  Lately, it's been Rylee's turn to whine and scream.  Oh the screaming!  She has taken it to a whole new level!  She definitely is not afraid to let us know when she is not happy with something.  This sweet little thing has a very big voice!  Or maybe I should call it a very loud screech....

She's yelling at me about something...

At their 18 month check up (almost a month ago!), Rylee weighed 23 lbs 4 oz, falling in the 59th percentile.  She is a full 2 inches shorter than her brother at 31 inches tall, which is the 23rd percentile.  Well, this explains why she has such a cute little belly!  I call it her milk belly because she LOVES, loves, loves her milk!  She guzzles it as if someone is going to come steal it from her, so she has to get every last drop as fast as she can.  The girl is short with a weight falling slightly above average.  Thus, the belly.  haha!  She has a big head like Ayden, but hers is at least not in jeopardy of going off the chart!  Rylee's head is at 83%.

Rylee is wearing mostly 18 month clothing, but still fits in 12 month pants.  She actually has one pair of shorts that she wore last fall as capris that are size 3-6 months, and she still wore them yesterday!  Clothing sizes continue to baffle me.  She is wearing size 4 diapers and is in a size 5 shoe.

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Rylee's finally starting to say a few words.  She knows exactly what a ball is and will declare it whenever she picks one up.  She's very proud of her knowledge of balls!  Last week she started saying baby in reference to stuffed animals and dolls.  She's said the word for quite sometime, but not with any meaning.  She says "hi" ALL the time!  She comes up to us randomly throughout the day and says hi, sometimes over and over.  Last week we were at Costco, and she said hi to anyone that walked by us.  We've been taking swimming lessons and she will holler out hi and wave to the lifeguard.  She says it in a really sing-songy voice and it is absolutely adorable!  She has just recently started saying "bye."  She tells her Daddy bye almost all morning until he walks out the front door to go to work, and then says it a few more times for extra credit.  Rylee says "Gah" for car, but then she also says the same thing for dog (or any other animal she sees!).  She is actually quite the little chatter box and talks all the time.  Her favorite thing to jibber jabber is "dubadubaduba."  She's even started trying to sing!  She loves "singing" E-I-E-I-O to Old McDonald.

Rylee got a referral for Early Intervention in regards to her delayed language skills, along with Ayden, but she's actually starting to say more and more all the time.  When the gal called from EI to assess, she said if it were just Rylee, they'd check back again at age 2 to re-screen.  However, since they will be coming out to evaluate Ayden because he is definitely behind, they might as well evaluate her too, since they will be here anyway.  For the record, I'm not real worried about their delay in communication, but I do want to stay on top of things just in case there does turn out to be a problem.  Besides, it's a free program, so why not?

Rylee absolutely loves to go to the park!  In fact, if we are out for a walk and we go past the park without stopping, she starts to cry.  This RARELY happens, since most of our walks are completely planned around park trips.  As I said, she's become quite vocal lately, and that includes letting us know that she wants to play at the park!  She has become a little pro at climbing the stairs of the playground equipment and her favorite thing is to go down the slide.  Rylee also really enjoys picking flowers, or weeds as most adults would call them.

I still haven't figured out what Rylee's favorite foods are, because she changes her mind all the time.  What she likes one day, she won't like the next and will just throw it all on the floor instead.  The one thing she will always eat for snack is a kids Clif bar.  She does typically enjoy fruits, her favorites being blueberries, watermelon, and strawberries.  She likes cheese on most days, and pasta is okay most of the time.  Rylee loves eating with a fork and spoon, although she isn't very good at it and always wants help.  But look out if you actually take the spoon away from her in your attempt to help!  The spoon must remain in this girl's hand the entire time.

Rylee has actually gone potty on the toilet a few times!  After getting a nighttime bath, it had been turning into a race to get a diaper on her before she would pee.  We finally decided that if she's going to pee every time, then why the heck don't we just put her on the toilet?  What do you know, now she goes potty on the toilet almost every time after getting a bath.  She doesn't know what she's doing yet, but it's at least a start.  We haven't started doing any official potty training, other than sitting them on the toilet after baths.

Rylee's favorite game is to run either away from us or toward us, whichever suits her fancy at the time.  She loves running to us for hugs, but she really, really enjoys being chased as well.  Especially if you say "I'm gonna get you!" while you are chasing after her.  This causes great big giggles and squeals of laughter.  It also means that when we want her to come to us to get her teeth brushed, or go in the highchair, or it's time for bed, she thinks it's a game and makes us chase after her.  She thinks she's soooo funny when she runs away from us!

Rylee might have recently become very opinionated and outspoken (i.e. cries, whines, throws fits), but she is also such a little sweetheart that loves to cuddle.  She's got a great big personality that tends to stay hidden if she doesn't know you, but once she lets loose, she has the most infectious smile and laughter you've ever heard.

Rylee's first cowgirl boots and "pony ride"

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Day in the Life: Summer 2015

I have been thinking it's almost time to do the summer edition of a Day in the Life.  I almost missed the deadline to do the link up with My Life in Transition, but I made it!

Tony: 42
Me: 40
Rylee: 18 months old
Ayden: 18 months old

5:23am - My MIL sends me a text.  The sound is turned off on my phone, but it's on vibrate and it wakes me up anyway.  Dammit.  I try to go back to sleep.

5:30 - Tony comes in the bedroom to put his workout clothes on.  He fell asleep watching t.v. on the couch last night.

5:43 - I decide I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep, so I respond to MIL's text.  I stayed in bed scrolling Facebook and took my Words with Friends turns.

6:30 - I can't believe Ayden and Rylee are still sleeping!!!  I also realize that neither of them cried out even once during the night, a first in quite some time.  I get up, pin my hair back, and go to the bathroom.

6:40 - I look out my bedroom window to see two deer munching away in my garden beds.  They run off when I lift the blinds.  So much for being able to eat this last round of strawberries!  Sigh.

6:47 - decide to get dressed.  I think this might be the only time in the last 18 months that I have had time to myself in the morning!  Usually, my alarm is one or both of the babies.

6:51 - Start to take pictures of shoes that Ayden and Rylee have grown out of so I can post them to a local Facebook for sale site.

6:54 - Picture taking is short lived.  Ayden wakes up.  I go in and open his curtains, remove his nightlight, and change his diaper.

7:00 - We sit down to read a book together, but Tony came home so there was hugs for Daddy instead.

7:05 - Tony goes in the bedroom to get ready for work.  I give Ayden his sippy cup of milk and we sit down to read again.

7:07 - Rylee wakes up.

7:10 - I go get Rylee, change her diaper, and give her a sippy cup of milk.  Ayden is walking around with the book, so then we all sit down to read it.

7:20 - They both get snack cups with Kix cereal.

7:38 - Tony leaves for work.  Rylee and Ayden are content playing by themselves for a bit, until I decide to take a picture of them.  Then I end up reading another book.

7:50 - I read Llama Llama Nighty-Night 5 times.  It is the new favorite book around here.

8:00 - Time for breakfast!  We have left over waffles from yesterday, ham, and blueberries.
Ayden decides his food doesn't need to stay on his plate and dumps it on his tray, throwing the plate on the floor.  While they are in their highchairs, I put a load of laundry in, take the clothes out of the dryer from the day before, finish loading the dishwasher and get it started.

8:29 - Get Ayden and Rylee cleaned up, as well as the floor.  Then I get them both dressed for the day, changing poopy diapers in the process.

8:55 - We put the clothes from the washer into the dryer.  They both love to help!  I set the wet clothes on the dryer door and they push it in.  Ayden's favorite part is slamming the dryer door shut!  Then we go into my bedroom where I fold the laundry I took out earlier and they proceed to destroy the room.

9:15 - We put their shoes on.  Then I sneak into the bathroom to pee in privacy.  I quickly brush my teeth and pull my hair into a ponytail.  I can hear Ayden and Rylee giggling and playing in the other room.

9:25 - I put Rylee's shoes on again, because of course she took them off while I was in the other room.  Then we load up in the stroller and head to the park to meet our twin friends.

As we leave, I get a text from the twin mom friend that we need to switch parks.  She got to the park we usually meet at and there were teenagers there smoking pot.  Lovely.  Things like this make me sad for the world we live in and scared for Ayden and Rylee's future.

9:34 - We arrive to the other park.  The other twins are only four months older than Ayden and Rylee.  It's so nice to have made new friends here!

They give me heart attacks climbing on the play structures!

Stealing snacks from the other twins

Exploring!  Ayden is carrying a stick across his shoulders.

10:45 - We load up in the stroller and walk back home.

10:56 - We arrive home and they play while I sit for a few minutes and check my email.

11:10 - Lunch time!  It's PB&J with peas on the side, along with milk.  Rylee eats most of her peas, but barely touches her sandwich.  I think she maybe took one bite.  Ayden ate a little bit of both, but a lot of it ended up on the floor.  It's usually Rylee that throws her food on the floor.  Apparently they've decided to switch it up today.  Exasperating.

11:40 - Clean up lunch.  I sing the alphabet song while cleaning up Rylee, hoping to distract her from screaming while I wipe her down.  It works when I terribly rap the alphabet. I change their diapers, and brush their teeth.  (I did wash my hands before brushing their teeth!)

12:00pm - Ayden and Rylee go down for nap.  I sit down to eat my own lunch, Greek Garbanzo Bean Salad.

12:08 - Rylee is screaming.  She's been doing a lot of that lately.  Ugh.  I check on her to make sure she hasn't pooped.  Nope.  So I cuddle her a few minutes and then put her back down.  Screaming continues, but thankfully is short lived.  Ayden is busy talking to himself. I sit down at the computer to balance my checkbook and pay bills.  Once I finish that, I log into blogger and start this post!  The deadline is tomorrow, so I've got to do it while I can in case they don't nap well!  Who knows how much time I will have tomorrow!

Finally crashed

12:43 - I think Ayden has finally fallen asleep too.  I'm not taking a chance of being wrong by going in to check on him and get a picture!  Usually they go to sleep easier than they did today for nap time.

1:45 - I eat a bowl of ice cream and sit down to catch up on Facebook, Instagram, and reading blogs.  Is it any wonder I haven't lost my baby weight???

2:00 - I hear Ayden start crying.  Crap.  So much for catching up on all my social media!  Phew.  He actually goes back to sleep.

2:33 - Ayden wakes up again.  This time he also wakes up Rylee.

2:45 - Apparently they aren't going back to sleep this time.  Nap time is officially over!

2:50 -  They get some veggie stix for snack.

Ayden decides he has to have Rylee's snack cup too, fighting ensues.  The veggie stix end up getting dumped all over the floor.  Ayden steps on one, turning it into crumbs.  I get out the dust buster and vacuum it up.  Ayden decides he doesn't like the sound for some reason today (he usually loves it and laughs!) and starts crying.  I give him hugs, then pull out my camera to take selfies to cheer him up.

From sad to happy in seconds!

Rylee has to get in on the selfie action as well.

3:17 - I get both their diapers changed and put on their shoes.

3:25 - I change Ayden's diaper again, because of course he had to poop in his fresh diaper I just put on him.  Never fails.

3:33 - I grab the diaper bag and my purse, then herd the two rugrats out of the house.  I throw Ayden in his car seat and shut his door.  Then I go round up Rylee who is trying to escape the yard.  I get her buckled into her car seat, then start the car to get the AC running.  Finally, I get Ayden buckled in and we are off to Eugene.

4:00 - I meet a gal who is interested in buying a pair of Rylee's shoes that she has grown out of.  Score!  I just made $11!

Adorable pink Robeez!

4:07 - Drive to the bank and make a deposit.  (Not for the $11.  haha!)

4:25 - Head back home.  We pass an accident on the way that appears to have happened just a few minutes prior.  We have to pull over 4 different times on the rest of the trip home for emergency vehicles responding to the accident.  Thankful for God's timing that didn't involve us in the accident.

4:45 - Pull into the driveway.  I have to put Rylee's shoes on once again so she can walk into the house, because of course she took them off in the car.  Get them both out of the car and attempt to get them into the house.

4:55 - Back in the house!  Rylee found a snack cup, which Ayden promptly steals from her.  I go in search of the other snack cup, but it's empty.  I get out the box of Kix and put more cereal in the snack cup.  Then I have to make a show of putting more Kix in the cup Ayden has, even though it already has some in it.  I can't put cereal in one and not the other!  Gasp!

He thinks it's pretty cool to be sitting on the toy kitchen.

After I turn the kitchen upright, Rylee thinks she needs to knock it over again.

5:15 - We have left over Chicken Enchilada Pasta for dinner, along with Avocado.  It only takes a few seconds before Rylee dumps her dinner off her plate and onto the tray.

I take Rylee's plate from her, then hurry to pack our bag for swim lessons.  I get changed into my suit and set Tony's swim trunks out for him.  When I get back to the kitchen, I find Ayden has dumped his plate on the floor.

5:38 - I start to get dinner cleaned up, mopping the floor, wiping down the trays and both kiddos.

5:45 - Tony gets home from work and grabs something to eat real quick.  Then he gets changed for swim lessons while I get Ayden and Rylee ready to leave.

5:55 - Load babies toddlers into the stroller and make the short walk to the pool.

6:03 - Arrive at the local pool and get Ayden and Rylee changed into swim diapers.  We've learned our lesson this last week that swim diapers don't absorb pee!  Ayden has soaked his stroller seat twice!  With it being such a short walk to the pool, it was super convenient to get them completely ready at home, but not so convenient when that involves soaking the stroller seat when they pee.  Soooo, now we put the swim diapers on at the pool.

6:10 - Swim class.  Ayden is a little fish!  Seriously.  This kid LOVES the water!  He would totally swim on his own if we would let him (and if he knew how!).  His favorite part is jumping into the pool.  Rylee likes being in the water, as long as she can hold on tight to one of us.  She tolerates being dunked and jumping in.  Her favorite part is taking the warm shower after swim lessons are over.

6:40 - We exit the pool, shower, put Ayden and Rylee in their pj's, and make the walk home.

Back home from the pool

7:15 - Ayden and Rylee go back in their high chairs for a snack.  This time they get a bowl of applesauce and half a graham cracker each.  They love using the spoons by themselves, but still need some assistance scooping up the applesauce.  I unload the dishwasher while Tony eats some ham and helps them navigate the spoons.

7:35 - I get Ayden and Rylee cleaned up.  Tony brushes Ayden's teeth and I brush Rylee's.

7:40 - It's storytime with Daddy while I get their rooms ready for bedtime, closing their curtains, plugging in the nightlight, and setting the temp for their air conditioners.

7:45 - We say bedtime prayers and give kisses goodnight.  Tony takes Rylee to her room, and I take Ayden to his.

7:48 - I go outside to water the garden beds and discover that the deer actually left a few strawberries!  I must have shooed them off before they had a chance to eat much.  Yay!

7:55 - Tony and I sit down to watch our new Netflix show.  We are on episode 4 of House of Cards.  We didn't really follow or understand the first episode, but now we are hooked!  Ayden and Rylee have actually gone to sleep without any crying tonight!

8:40 - Show is over.  Tony goes to play games on the computer and I Facebook and eat a few popsicles.

9:45 - I get the milk sippys ready for the morning and pick up all the toys.

10:00 - I check on the babies, and turn Rylee's AC off.

She ADORES those two little lovey blankets.

Awwww

10:13 - I get a load of laundry ready to toss in the washer in the morning.  Then I jump in the shower, brush my teeth, put moose in my hair so it's not a frizzy ball of mess when I wake up, and put on facial moisterizer.

10:45 - I crawl into bed way too late!  I want to upload the rest of the pictures I took today to google+ so they'll be ready to go when I sit down and finish this post tomorrow during naptime.  Of course my phone is not cooperating, so I end up powering down my phone and having to turn it back on.  Finally, it works.

11:30 - Put my phone down and go to sleep.  Why am I such a night owl, when I know I have to get up early with Ayden and Rylee?  Ugh.

All About Ayden

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

How did my babies get to be 18 months, officially a year and a half?  Ayden is a big boy!  At their check up a few weeks ago (yes, I'm late posting this!), Ayden weighed in at a whopping 28.4 lbs.  This put him on the chart in the 92 percentile!  Doh!  The thing is, I've actually had moments that I had thought he was getting skinny!  He doesn't have those baby rolls or a big belly.  Rylee's actually the one with the belly!  lol.  Ayden is also tall though.  He's 33 inches, which puts him at the 69th percentile.  And of course, he's still got his super big noggin at the 99th percentile.  His head is almost off the chart!  He's had a big head since the very beginning though, so we know that just makes him super smart.  :)

He's wearing size 5 diapers and his clothing ranges anywhere from 18 month to 2T.  He's starting to grow out of his 18 month clothes though, and is mostly in 18-24 month size.  He still has chunky, wide feet that I struggle to find shoes that fit.  I have yet to find a pair of slip on shoes/sandals that will work.  He's currently wearing size 6 shoes.

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Ayden is still a pretty smiley boy that charms the pants off complete strangers.  Neither one of my children has any sense of stranger danger.  He loves people and has no problem joining other families that are picnicking at the park.  Of course he's usually trying to steal their food... When I (rarely) take them grocery shopping, he is always quick to reward people that talk to him with a smile.

While he is super happy when we are out and about and with other people, Ayden is also going through a huge whiney, clingy phase while we are home.  The boy is just not happy unless his Momma is holding him.  He somehow has completely forgotten how to walk from his bedroom to the living room by himself and throws a complete fit if I have the nerve to set him down.  Same thing when I'm trying to cook or prepare a meal.  He is constantly pulling on my clothes, or trying to squeeze between the cupboards and me.  Unless I give him a snack.  Then he is completely happy!  He absolutely loves to eat!  I guess that's why he's in the 92nd percentile!  Some of his favorite foods are blueberries, mango, pineapple, watermelon....basically all fruits, but he also loves pasta, Mexican chicken, and kids Cliff bars.

We got a referral from the pediatrician for Early Intervention to help with Ayden and Rylee's language skills.  Ayden still doesn't really have any words.  He has lots of sounds, but no real words.  He says dada, but not necessarily to Tony.  He says go, go, go but not because it means anything.  He does say hi sometimes.  He definitely talks and jibber jabbers.  He just doesn't have any words.

He can sign "more" though!  He's been doing that for several months now and is VERY good at it.  His "more" has lots of meanings behind it.  More means "I'm hungry," "give me whatever YOU are eating," (even if we have the same exact food, he wants it off of OUR plate!) or "I'm thirsty," and sometimes it does simply mean "I'd like more of that."  Bottom line is that he is able to at least communicate something and we know it means he's either hungry or thirsty.

Ayden is starting to master eating with a fork and spoon.  Of course he still needs a lot of practice, but it's a work in progress.  He also does a fairly good job of eating off a plate now.  If any food falls off his plate onto his highchair tray, he even picks it up and puts it back on his plate where it belongs!

Ayden is constantly on the move and getting into something, or climbing on something.  He is a busy, busy boy that LOVES to explore.  I have to always be on my toes when we are outside because he loves to run away and it's usually in the direction of the street, no matter where we are at.  Many park trips have been cut short simply because he wasn't content with actually staying IN the park.  It becomes a challenge when there are two you are chasing... I've figured out a new trick this last week though.  If he is running off, I can call his name, open up my arms big and ask for a hug, and he will come running back to me and give me a hug! I love the hugs and he seems to love giving them!  At home, Ayden's favorite thing is to climb on and off the couches.  And I'm not talking about the normal way.  No, he has to climb over the sides and BACK of the couch!  He's also starting to figure out how to move things around and use them to climb up to whatever it is he thinks he has to have.  We now have a few of our kitchen chairs hidden in our bedroom.  I have found a way to hook the two chairs left in the kitchen around the table legs so that he can't push them around.  At least he hasn't figured out how to untangle them yet...

Ayden got his first haircut today!  I was ready to get it trimmed, but we actually HAD to cut it very short in the back at the recommendation of his pediatrician.  Much shorter than I originally had planned on cutting it!  He's developed a bad habit of playing/twirling his hair, most often when he's eating which also results in him EATING his hair.  It had gotten to the point that he was pooping hair.  Soooooo, we had to take away that option.  Unfortunately, we've also had to put away almost all stuffed animals because he's been chewing the fur off of them!  He is a weird little kid, what can I say?  Remember when we first moved into this house, he was eating the carpet?  He doesn't do that anymore, so hopefully this hair eating, teddy bear chewing thing will be short lived as well.  He looks so handsome and grown up with his new haircut!  It's amazing how much a haircut can change the way a person looks.  He doesn't have a baby face anymore!

Ayden may not be up to speed with his communication skills, and he might be a big momma's boy, but he is definitely a smart little cookie that loves figuring things out.  It is so amazing to watch him learn and understand new things on a daily basis.  It especially tickles my heart when he gets so proud of himself for being able to do something.  I love this kid to pieces!

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography

Photo courtesy of Sweet Little Love Photography