What's new with us....

My mom always loves to ask me what's new? I always struggle because some days seem so monotonous it hardly ever seems like anything is new but when I think about it new things are happening all the time. Tyler & Bryce are now 17 months old. They have a great love for books, and I think just recently Bryce has discovered that books are a gateway to the "big world." He is constantly bringing me new books to look at and talk about. He is particularly obsessed with trucks, buses, cars, trains, airplanes---really anything that has wheels and moves. He will go through the books to find that one page that has a truck on it and then won't stop saying "truck" until I acknowledge that there is indeed a truck (or a bus) on that page. He is constantly searching for these things that move. Whenever we're driving or just outside he'll listen for the airplanes to fly above us or watch for the cars to drive down the street. My favorite thing is the way he'll wave and say "bye" to the cars in our neighborhood. It's more difficult to pinpoint what really excites Tyler. He really just goes along with anything. He loves to look at animals and is very smart when it comes to knowing what this animal is and what it says. He's really kind of gotten into the "I Spy" books (they have board book editions which are great for toddlers) Staring intently at a page he'll get really excited when he can find something familiar. Tyler is more emotionally attached to people than Bryce is at this age. Everyday when Marc comes home from work, Tyler absolutely lights up when he sees his daddy. He will even run across the room to give Marc a hug sometimes, while Bryce just kind of looks up and acknowledges that Marc's home then goes back to what he's doing. Tyler is definitely a Daddy's boy. When Marc is home he wants to be with him and cries if Marc leaves his site. He wants to be consoled by Daddy and you can just see the love that he has for his hero. Tyler wants to be my little helper and this is something I really need to take advantage of. He will listen very well and if I tell him to go do something, or take this to daddy, he'll do it. Both boys have learned to throw away their diapers, which is great---until I find toys mixed in with it as well.....something to work at!

It's getting easier with twins. I hate to say that almost because I feel like I'll get slammed with something that will make me question why I ever thought I could handle this! The boys entertain each other which is really nice. I don't have to do the entertaining and showing them how to play with the toys because they have each other to show them how to do that. I think that's my advantge over others with just one baby because the moms are constantly the entertainer. On the other hand, they fight over all the toys. If one is playing nicely with the toy and really enjoying it, the other wants to come and enjoy it too. Bryce is starting to hit Tyler on the head and scream now when this happens, so that is the current challenge---playing mediator all day. I love it when they want to cuddle with me, except I feel guilty holding just one, especially when the other is sitting on the ground looking at me like "why aren't you holding me Mommy?" That's the point where I'll usually try to pick the other one up and then the first one gets mad because he's having to share me. I guess I'm scared to have a third right now because I just don't know how I would hold three at once!

I know this is getting long but I just have to put one more plug in for the Mothers of Twins Club bianual sales. Every spring and fall the moms will sell their duplicate items (or both items if their not having any more kids). So really, its a huge garage sale of all baby and kids stuff. It's a phenomenal way to get clothes, toys, equipment for dirt cheap prices. I recently joined two clubs in the area because the members of the club get to shop on Friday night, and then the public gets to shop on Saturday. I picked up a kiddie table and two chairs for $10, a Little People school bus, a circus train, little people airplane, dump trucks, the Parents BeeBop Band, pajamas, church outfits, an outdoor play set and loads more. We gave the kids a few of the toys now, but are saving most of them for Christmas. I also had the chance to sell my stuff for the first time. I took a chance in that I'm not expecting us to have twins again. I sold a bunch of clothes, a swing, exersaucer, a double stroller that we had outgrown, toys that they didn't play with, feeding items, etc. It was a lot of work to get everything labeled and sorted. I was emotionally attached to a lot of the clothes which was surprising to me and that it was a struggle to part with them. All in all, we did very well and were able to pick up some extra cash. So.....that's what new with us. More than you ever wanted to know, wasn't it? :)