Maxy Doodle

Now onto my favorite little man, Max!

Stats:
Weight- 26 pounds 3 ounces 34%
Height- 33.5 inches 19%
Head- 19.5 inches 74%
Sizes- 2T shirts, 18 month or 24 month pants, shoes 6, diapers (not much longer) 5
Favorite food-Pizza
Favorite color-Blue
Favorite activities- watching movies, reading, dancing, playing outside, helping Mom or Dad, cars or tractors or figurines
Favorite movie: Cars, Horton Hears a Who, Big Hero 6
Favorite book: School bus, tractors, any book really!

Max is our sensitive guy. He gets his feelings hurt easily. He has a soft heart. He has this innate ability to know when someone needs a hug or a pat. He has helped me immensely since losing my dad last month. When he sees I am sad, he will come over and rub me or grab my face and kiss me. He does this with friends at daycare too. He doesn't like seeing people upset. He is so kind. But he hurts easily too.

He also gets annoyed easily. Especially by his sister. I wrote about this in Harper's post. I think his favorite phrase is "No, thank you" or "I don't like it". We hear these phrases a lot when he is upset or annoyed by what is going on around him.

He is not a fan of the big swimming pool but loved it when my sister took him to her neighborhood pool. I don't know what's up there. He kept saying "Max go home now." Ha!

Max is very helpful. He loves to do tasks around the house. Especially clean up time. He may have a bit OCD though. If things are lined up or put away "just so" then he may have a mini meltdown. Not the greatest character trait. We have started ignoring these "OCD flare ups" as well as keep Harper away and it seems to help. 

Max is a reader. Man, this kid. We could easily read 30 books in one sitting. I love to see him enjoy books. He is often found on the couch or in his chair reading books. He will repeat phrases or words that we have read to him. Sometimes even with the funny voices or inflections that we use. 

Max is a bit aggressive. Okay, sometimes more than a bit. He is easily frustrated by others or by objects/toys not working how they should. This results in Max clearly announcing "I bite you" "I pinch you" or "I push you" and then acting on such announcement. It is tiring. We use timeouts. He will sit in timeout for 2 minutes. He has had lots of practice so usually stays until his time is up. Sometimes even places a longer time period on himself. He will say "I am not ready." He knows getting out of timeout requires an apology (usually to Harper) so he will wait until he is ready to fully commit to the "I am sorry." It is hilarious.

He keeps us laughing for sure. He really is a funny dude. The things he says or comes up with are freaking hilarious. I am amazed at his vast vocabulary. He speaks in long sentences now and the stories he tells...ha!

At the doctor's 2 year check up, Dr. C walked in and Max announced, "Hi, Dr. Cattaneo!" I think it shocked Dr. C a bit. He then went on to say "I be 2". 

He is doing a great job on potty training at home. We are holding off to commit fully until they are moved to the next room at daycare in a couple weeks. But he tells us when he needs to go potty, especially at night and is successful (most times) in making it into the potty. Upon completion, he immediately asks for his M&M reward. Big boy pants are in our near future!

Max also loves animals. He has no fear of any kind. He would tackle a goat to give it a hug. He is obsessed with the family of deer that live in the trees at the end of our street. He is always looking for them and doesn't quite understand why they take off running at his charge towards them. Bella is, of course, his number one animal in his life. 

Max is an odd eater. He is a good eater but likes odd combinations of food. He loves red onions...and dip those babies in ketchup and you have made him really happy. Actually anything dipped in ketchup or applesauce is okay by him. Ewww...

Max is struggling with separation anxiety a bit. So sleep is trying. We find ways to tiptoe out of the room without hitting those darn creaks in the floorboard. He wants to rock or "hold you" which I genuinely love. I know when school starts back up and I need to legitimately need to work the next day, it may not be so cute. But I love being loved. And he loves big. He shows how much he loves you but also says it all the time. I just could kiss him all day long. My Prince!

-Lisa-

Princess Harpy Harps

It's been a minute since I devoted a day to blogging. Since it is raining in the city, it canceled our plans to go to the zoo. The kids are at daycare. Even a WIFI outage at my house isn't stopping me, I moved to the Panera down the street. I am determined.

This post is dedicated to my princess. At least that is how she refers to herself now.

Here are the stats:
Weight-25 pounds 3 ounces 42%
Height-33.25 inches 27%
Head-19.25 inches 85%
Sizes-2T or 24 months. Shoes-6. Diapers (hopefully not for long)-5
Favorite food: Noodles
Favorite color: Yellow
Favorite activities: painting, coloring, dancing, taking care of babies, singing
Favorite songs: ABCs, 5 Little Monkeys, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Twinkle Little Star


Harper has always been the lover of the two. She warms up to strangers quickly. She is a great sleeper. She is pretty low maintenance (most times!).

She is quite a diva. Hence, why she is nicknamed Princess. She must have her sunglasses when outside. She rocks them too! One time, I lost the glasses for a short time. She screamed. Loud. It was embarrassing. She also has a very strong opinion on what she wears. I used to be able to just throw clothes on her and go. Now, she knows what she wants to wear and voices this opinion as often as possible. She speaks in Harper's dress code. A code I don't know.
Example:
Harper: Wear the pink shirt.
I grab a pink shirt.
Harper: No I don't like it.
I grab another pink shirt.
Harper: No I don't want it. She screams. Luckily we are in our own home.
I grab another shirt with very little pink on it.
Harper: Okay.
I go to put on said shirt. But she HAS to do it. It becomes a fight to put the shirt on the correct way.

This process is then repeated for shorts, socks, shoes, and hair bow. We are always late. Thanks, Harper!

Harper is not aggressive. However, Harper is VERY passive aggressive. She will give dirty looks to anyone that she questions their directives. Or because she is cranky. But most of her passive aggressive nature is shown through her interactions with Max. Oy!

Harper loves to sing in the car. Max hates it. So when Max asks Harper "Harper, please stop singing." She continues at a louder volume. She will stop when we ask her to. Then she will repeat words that Max says. "Firetruck, firetruck, firetruck." Again this will become louder at the persistence of Max.

At daycare, she is their "favorite". Mostly because she never has to go to timeout. She works well with others. She gives hugs. She has a very quiet indoor voice. We had friends that visited recently and asked if her voice was always this small and quiet. Yep!

Harper is a caretaker. She loves to take care of her baby dolls and even real babies. We had our first close interaction with a real baby, and she loved him!

Harper is very artistic. She loves to draw or paint. She is content sitting at the table to create masterpieces for long periods of time.

Harper LOVES food. She is a slow-eater though. She takes her time. We will sit and wait for her up 20 minutes after everyone else at the table is done and then we urge her away from the food. She likes to people watch and when we are out to eat this is at her detriment.

Harper talks a lot. There isn't much that we can't understand from her (or her brother for that matter.) She can repeat anything...which is dangerous.

She knows when she needs to go potty. But she is actually struggling with the whole potty training process. Maybe she isn't ready. She loves to sit there but nearly afraid to actually go. I thought girls were easier but maybe not. Hoping in the next month, we will be in her big girl panties!

She is shy around animals. She likes them but from a distance. The only animal that she will go up to and hug right away is her doggie, Bella.

She loves the water! She cries when we leave the pool. We got them Puddle Jumpers and I think she would have lived in the pool if we had let her. Which brings me to Harper's temper...it is crazy! She will throw the WORST temper tantrums. She will squeal a high pitched squeal and kick. Oh, she can kick. I know because I have carried her away from activities literally kicking and screaming. Buckling into her car seat is becoming more and more difficult as well. She will arch her back and refuse to sit down. We are getting really good a bribery and she is getting really good at manipulating us. Win-win!

I am so glad we have this spunky princess in our lives. She is just wonderful! Her snuggles and kisses make me melt. Her sweet, non-judgmental words make my day. (I have gained weight and in my tankini bathing suit she said "Mommy is a pretty Princess".)


-Lisa-

Where Has the Time Gone? And other updates

Max and Harper have been growing, changing, and learning so quickly! They are over 14 months old. Seriously. It seems like they should still be like this...

But, really they are toddlers like this...

So, our house is a lot louder. It is filled with giggles. Blocks banging. Screaming from fighting over toys. Furniture being moved. Doors of our TV stand being ripped by the hinges. But gosh, it is so great!

Our house is also a disaster area. We now need new floors and refuse to have people over until it is done. (We needed new floors B.B.-before babies-but now we really need them!)

When can they start helping clean up??

They are learning machines, I tell ya! They literally can repeat anything we say. I told them "dangerous" when trying to rip the safety outlets out for the 100th time. Pretty soon, anytime they go near the outlets and we say "no", they say "dangerous". It's adorable. They talk all the time. We don't always understand their babbles but for the most part we can communicate pretty well. They sign "more" but also say "more" now when they sign. They say and sign "all done" and "milk". They say "uh-oh" for everything. Here is another list of their words: night-night, bye-bye, hello, hey, ball, dog, momma, dada, no, thank you, diaper, toothbrush, Bella, Grampa.

Many other words they can repeat but they don't really use when they are talking to us regularly.

They are not only walking, but running. So that's fun!

They climb like champs. On furniture. On us. On each other. In fact, Max has now started this aggressive hugging. I know that seems like an oxymoron but seriously, he starts hugging Harper sweetly and then winds up tackling her to the ground where he holds her down. All while appearing to be a loving brother. Poor Harps! She also gets the brunt of his biting. Although, I think he is getting better with this the more he learns to communicate.

We started a Timeout Corner. At first, I thought they were too young for this. However, daycare is teaching us a lot about what they can do! They sit at a big kid table, sleep on cots (not cribs!), and play on playground equipment.

The daycare teacher sent us proof that they sleep on cots when I didn't believe her.

Grandparent's Day at their school (All four of their grandparents were there!)

Big kid activities mean they get in big kid trouble too. Harper nearly fell off the slide on the playground and a teacher had to try and catch her and wound up scratching her cheek. Poor girl got a nasty scratch but I will take that over a head injury any day!

Harper's scratch

Max impresses us with his engineer mind. He inspects everything to figure out how it works. Then, this happened!

How the heck does a 14 month old make block towers?! That just seems crazy to me. Such a smarty pants! He thinks everything through...you can see the wheels turning. Usually, he is plotting his next move to get around the barriers we have in place or to do something he is not supposed to do. But he is such a lover. He gives the best smooches and hugs. But he also has a cry that breaks your heart. (Along with an ugly cry face to boot!)

Harper is the sweet, cuddly girl. She melts your heart with one glance. Her eyes smile from deep inside her soul. She is such a Momma's girl too! I love that. When she is sick or tired, only Momma can make it better.

Loves Momma and Me Selfies

They love this tub! No idea!

Both have been cutting multiple molar teeth. How awful for them?! They are handling it like pros. Harper still only has two top front teeth, three bottom front teeth, and now FOUR molars! Max has four top front teeth, four bottom front teeth, and now TWO molars! They are both working on more too. Thank goodness for teething tablets. They have made all of our lives better.


I have no idea how much they weigh or their height. We go to the doctor in October for their 15 month checkup. I would guess around 21-22 pounds. They wear size 4 diapers now and 12-18 month clothing. They are short so we usually have to roll their pants so they fit them. My shorties!


The twins have had their ear tubes in their ears for a couple months nearly...but we see their doctor that did the surgery this week. Max has an ear infection now but the tubes just let the infection drain out. It is gross! We put in ear drops a few times a day and wait to see the doctor. Hopefully, that will make it all better.

They eat everything in sight. Heck, they ate chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant last week! They are going to eat us out of house and home. And our dog is loving cleaning up the food they purposely throw on the floor.

No more ravioli in the middle of the day!

They sleep really well. There was one night last week that Max woke up at 2am. He didn't ever go back to sleep. He didn't cry, just thought it was play time. He didn't nap until 12:30!!! It was insane. And Jeremy and I were exhausted too! But normally, sleep is great. Although, I miss the rocking and soothing a bit...we just lay them in their cribs. They go to sleep on their own and self-soothe for the most part. Max still MUST have a pacifier to sleep. But he is pretty good about finding it in his crib in the middle of the night in case it falls out of his mouth.


Our lives are so busy. Between my two jobs, Jeremy's job, my parents' anniversary party, Halloween costumes, organizing closets, Zumba classes and trying to keep an organized chaos with the rest of the house...I am exhausted! But it is so much fun!

New Classroom before school started

Now some other random pics of the last two months. I have not been great with taking too many pictures so I am sorry!

They love bath time and splashing us. 

Max is now obsessed with his Tickle Monster hands

Pigtails!!!!!!!!!

Watching Dada mow

Dinos

See you soon!
-Lisa-

3 Months with a Full Heart

Three months ago, Max and Harper came into our lives! How crazy is that?!

We get a lot of comments about how hard it must be...we either don't know any different or our babies are rockstars. It isn't difficult. They are the happiest and easiest babies. I know that at any milestone this could quickly change but they are amazing.

We have been battling a stint of stomach bugs between the two of them, but they are still cooing and smiling even though I know they must not feel well. What champs!

They are on a pretty consistent schedule now. Just in time for them to start daycare on Tuesday! I know we are leaving them in very capable hands but I still worry daycare will disturb our flow. Here is a good run down of their day (granted I am back to work but Jeremy has done awesome at adhering to a consistent schedule):

Go to bed between 7:30-8:00pm (This is after our bedtime routine which I have posted about before)
Wake around 4:00-5:00am
They eat and go right back to sleep.
Wake for the day around 7:30am.
They play until late morning and eat around noon.
After they eat, they have been going down for a 1-2 hour nap.
They will play a couple of hours and eat again around 4:30pm.
They will sometimes nap another 1 to 2 hours or have another play session. Then they are ready to eat and do it all again.

They are still rocking the whole sleeping in their cribs thing. We are also getting great sleep because of this. I know some babies have a hard time transitioning to the cribs but we have really just been lucky. They LOVE their cribs. I love hearing them when they wake in the middle of the night. Yes, I just said that! But they don't cry. They just squeal or yell to get our attention. When we go in the nursery, they are kicking and cooing. It is the best part of having to wake up in the middle of the night!

They have upgraded to the larger bottles. Max eats 6 ounces consistently at every feeding. We probably need to up this because he is getting to where he acts hungry still. They only have around 5 feedings in 24 hours. The doctor says to figure 2.5 ounces for every pound of baby when figuring the amount of formula in 24 hours. I think he is close to 13.5 pounds so he could easily have 6.5 ounces at each feeding. Harper hasn't been eating as well as Max. In fact, we took her to the doctor on Tuesday and she only weighed 10 pounds 15 ounces. This is only a couple ounce gain since her two month check up. We think she lost a pound during this sickness she has had. She is on the mend so she should be packing on the pounds now. She eats anywhere from 4-5 ounces. We are hoping she will start eating more when she is feeling 100% again.

They both roll all over the place now. It is almost instant to placing them down for tummy time. Max is close to rolling from tummy to back. Either way, they can maneuver themselves all over their cribs during the night. We never know where they will end up in the morning!

Going back to work has been difficult but is getting easier. I miss them terribly during the day but cherish our weekends and evenings a lot more. I still have great hopes that I won't have to teach next year and I can stay home with them. Just praying that it is possible for our finances. I hate the thought that "strangers" will be spending more time with them than I do!

Here are a few recent pictures. I also included a couple pictures from our family session nearly a month ago now. Our friend, Rachel, did an amazing job and we love them!

-Lisa-