Cutest Blog on the Block

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

TJ at 2 Years Old

2 years ago we were so worried about our little boy. The day he was born, we didn't know what to expect. But he was such a little fighter (and I mean LITTLE!) We've always had to "correct" his age on the development scale. TJ never developed as he should for his age...he has always been a few months behind. He didn't sit up until 11 months old, didn't walk until 19 months old...but all the doctors said "hopefully he'll catch up by 2 years old". Well here we are! (drumroll please!)

TJ is a normal little 2 year old boy...all caught up! He finished his Physical Therapy a few months ago, and is finally done with all of the "doctor" stuff he went through for the first 20 months! He loves cars, trucks, and loves playing ball. He knows the difference between a football, soccer ball, and basketball...and he can throw and even catch really well! He runs around like a crazy-man, and he can be super-silly. He LOVES his Daddy (he is totally a Daddy's boy, but that's ok because Kayla is Mommy's girl), and he loves to be chased around the house. He can figure out a puzzle in just a few minutes, and loves to read books.

TJ would be a vegetarian if Mommy would allow it. We generally have to trick him into eating his meat, but he eats any vegetable or fruit we put in front of him. He goes to bed at the same time as his sister, 7:30pm every night, and we don't hear from him until 7am the next morning (we had a few weeks recently when he thought 6am would be fun for a while, but luckily I think he's over that). He wakes up often giggling & playing with his "blankie" (a blue blanket we cover him up with) or pointing out everything in his room (we see him in the monitor pointing at things and saying "bear! door! floor! wall! mickey!" etc. When he's done entertaining himself, he stands up and starts his "DaddyDaddyDaddyDaddyDaddy" chant. He can be a little cranky when he first wakes up, and we find ourselves needing to give TJ about 15 minutes after coming downstairs before he is ready to discuss breakfast. All he wants is his milk when he first comes down (requested as "please milk please"). When he is finally ready for breakfast, he usually eats a waffle & fruit, yogurt & fruit, or oatmeal. He'll eat any vegetable & any fruit at any time...so we never worry about his health! He is catching up a bit in his height (he's finally around the 10th percentile) but he's still super-skinny (not on the chart yet at only 23 lbs)!

Our little boy is super-smart. He can say his ABCs and count to 20 just like his sister, but he also recognizes all 26 letters of the alphabet! He points out letters in books, on signs, and our magnets on the fridge. He can tell you the sound that just about every animal makes, and he likes to sing songs like Baa Baa Black Sheep & Happy Birthday. TJ is even happy playing by himself, and often you can find him just pushing his cars around the floor, sitting & reading a book, drawing on his magnadoodle (he can draw a circle), or running through the house dribbling a soccer ball (he's a great kicker!). He also gives great hugs, wrapping his arms around your neck and putting his head down on your shoulder...and blows kisses with a big "MWAH!" TJ still takes a 2 or 2 1/2 hour nap every afternoon (both of our kids are great sleepers!). He can climb up the stairs at mach-speed, sometimes he's at the top already when Kayla is only on her 2nd or 3rd step. He tries to climb in and out of the bathtub himself, but his little legs are still too short!

Our little boy is still in a tiny body...but he is super strong both physically and mentally! He can melt your heart with his toothy smile or his hearty laugh (especially when being tickled)!

Playing Peek-a-Boo


Being silly with his "Sissy" (as he calls her):


Entertaining himself with bibs...a lot of them!


Showing off his letter recognition skills

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Kayla at 2 Years Old

I know I haven't done one of these posts in a while...so I thought it was about time. Time gets away from me so quickly these days!

My little girl...first born...is already 2 years old. I can't believe that the tiny little 4 pound baby I held in the NICU not so long ago is already having conversations with me, helping me, and amazing me every day. Kayla is about 26 lbs these days, coming in right around the 50th percentile. We don't know her height, because she refuses to stand to be measured at the doctor. In fact, she pretty much refuses to walk into the doctor's office at all...so it's all guesswork with Kayla!

She is TALKING like crazy! Kayla literally...never shuts up. She chats away non-stop, and if I leave for a little while she is sure to tell me EVERYTHING that happened while I was gone within the first 3 minutes of walking in the door. She goes to bed at 7:30pm each night happily, and as I leave her room saying "Night Night! I love you, baby" she responds with "I love you baby". She then sings songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday, or chats herself to sleep, saying things like "bye bye Mommy. bye bye Daddy. bye bye Gramma. bye bye Papa. bye bye Gran. bye bye Minnie." We hear again from her at about 7-7:30am, usually chatting away in her crib & playing with her "bubby" (a little bunny blanket she can't sleep without), her "minnie" (a minnie mouse blanket that has quickly become her "2nd in command" to bubby), her "baby blankie" (a miniature blanket), her "blankie" (a big blanket to cover her), and her pillow. When she is ready to get up she calls "Moooommmmyyy, Where aaaaare yoooooouuuuu?" with her hands cupped around her mouth like she's calling me from a far off distance. When I appear in her doorway she'll usually just start talking, or if she has a poopy diaper she'll say "I poopy!"

Kayla requests her breakfast each day, usually choosing between oatmeal (farina with apples & cinnamon), waffles with fruit, yogurt with fruit, or cheerios (which she calls "shoe-shoe"). She helps me make my coffee, and typically instructs me as to what I will be eating as well ("Mommy eat eggs"). Kayla can sing her ABCs, count to 20, and if you creep up on her in a room alone you can often witness her "reading" or rather telling the story she sees in the pictures, out loud. She can jump with 2 feet off the ground, she is learning her first tap dancing steps (from her Mommy, of course!), she eats by herself with her own fork (although REALLY loves to use a Mommy-Fork). She walks up and down the stairs herself, climbs in and out of the bathtub, draws with chalk in the driveway. When she is pooping she often stands in the corner and says "I pooping!" and keeps requesting "Kaya own potty? Kaya peepee in potty?" She refers to herself as "I" or "Kaya" (she can't quite say Ls yet). She used to call her brother "T" but now says "T-Yay".

If TJ is doing something he shouldn't be, Kayla tells on him. She'll run in the kitchen and say "'Mere Mommy! See T-Yay doing!" (Come Here, Mommy! See what TJ is doing!). She is obsessed with her independence, constantly requesting "Kaya Self" or "I do it" whenever we try to do something for her. She loves to pick flowers, and knows many of her colors (pink, purple, blue, green, yellow). She still eats almost anything we give her...with an occasional refusal, but we are still very lucky. She prefers meats, cheese, fruit & starches but does eat her vegetables too. She loves her cats, and knows them by name...all 4 of them. She even imitates Mommy's "high voice" that I use when I talk to the cats, and makes kissy noises to get their attention.

Kayla also loves taking care of her baby-dolls. She feeds them bottles, applesauce, changes their diapers, and dresses them. She loves to have Tea Parties with you, and will cook you up some yummy birthday cake, soup, chicken, eggs, or cookies in her play kitchen. She will pour your tea and scoop your sugar too!

Our little baby is quickly becoming a little girl. Oh, how time flies! Life is a little tougher now that she has opinions, but it is nice to have someone to talk to all day when Daddy is working!

Kayla eating her cereal...or "shoe-shoe" as she insists on calling it (I think she's saying "cheerios" but who knows!


Feeding her babies:


Eating a Tomato while helping Mommy make a salad:

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Happy 2nd Birthday!

I can't believe it...my babies are now TWO! And really...they aren't even babies anymore!
We had a fun family birthday party for Kayla & TJ at the house. We had a "Yo Gabba Gabba!" theme, which is a tv show that they love right now. They had so much fun meeting the family, playing with their friends, and opening their presents. Some of the "star" gifts were a big slide, and their "own potty" (as Kayla calls it). Of course...their favorite part of the day was the cake!











Friday, August 20, 2010

Baking Cookies

One of Kayla & TJ's favorite things to do this summer is bake cookies. They pull the kitchen chairs over to the island, get up on them, and Kayla will say "Bake cookies, Mommy? Help Mommy bake cookies please?" It's great fun for them, and they love pouring in all the ingredients, helping to stir & mix the cookie dough. The only bad thing? Having all of these baked goods laying around the house all the time is NOT helping our weight loss efforts!





Thursday, July 1, 2010

Summer Eatin'!

Anyone who knows Kayla & TJ knows that there isn't much they like more than EATING! This summer has been no different. They really took to the summer staples like corn on the cob, ice pops, ice cream (thanks Grandma) & hot dogs.

Oh...and ice cream is such a staple around here when Grandma is visiting that if Grandma leaves the room after dinner and you ask Kayla "Where's Grandma?" she'll say "Gramma get ice cream"!!!





Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Summer Sickness

We started summer off with a bang this year. June came around and both Kayla & TJ came down with a yucky illness. TJ had a fever for 13 days, along with a cold. Kayla, in true twin form, followed suit 2 days later. Luckily, her fever only stuck around for about 4 days. It was a rough one...for Mommy too!



Cuddling with my Linden:


Cuddling with my Twin:

Monday, May 31, 2010

Rule Follower

This was just too funny not to blog about!




Kayla walks into the kitchen and peers over the table and spots some leftover strawberries from breakfast. She reaches up and takes one and eats it. She must have decided that she'd like some more, so she walked around the table and found a fork and her bib. She put her bib around her own neck (you can see it's not secured) and came back to finish off the strawberries! But of course...she couldn't eat without the bib and the fork! She knows the rules!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Mother's Day 2010

We had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. All the family came over for brunch, and we got some much needed time together. My husband and children were SO thankful for all of my hard work every day, they bought me TWO presents! A new camera AND a spa day! Lucky me! Silly kids...don't they know that THEY are the best gifts I ever received!

Grandma & Gran opening their presents!


Mom & her kids!


Another Mom & her kids!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Summer Almost Here!

With summer just around the corner, Kayla & TJ have been getting outside quite a bit lately. Kayla enjoyed a walk around the yard with Grandpa (or PaPa as they have been calling him) and later on they enjoyed some ice cream from the ice cream truck! What a great Grandpa these kids have!






We can't WAIT for summer to get here soon!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Easter Egg Hunt

Kayla & TJ have lots of friends from our Moms of Multiples club, and we enjoyed a great Easter Egg Hunt this year. The kids loved running around in the grass finding treats inside of the eggs! Thanks to my fellow twin-moms for a great day!



Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Salsa!

TJ & Kayla LOVE Sesame Street. I try my best to limit their TV watching usually, but they learn so much from Sesame that it's hard to keep them away. Kayla is already mimicking her ABCs (it's mostly just the sounds and the tune) and TJ learned how to say "Sing" in sign language. They love Ernie & Bert, Big Bird, Grover, and of course, Elmo.
There's this episode where Maria & Luis are teaching Elmo to dance the Salsa for a Salsa Party on Sesame Street. After Kayla & TJ finished watching the episode, I started to show them how to hold hands, move their feet, and say "1,2,3...1,2,3..." So now they can Salsa!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Arizona, Baby!

We had a wonderful but TOO QUICK trip to Arizona this March. Grandma & Grandpa watched Kayla & TJ while Mommy & Daddy got away for a few days. We had such a great time with our "AZ Family" and were reminded how at home we always feel when we're there.
Here's a couple of pics for fun!

Aunt Paulette, Uncle Nicky & Grandma...Happy Birthday, Gram!




Smit with our cousins Jordan & Jeff:



The kids playing in our rental car:

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

One Crazy Winter!

We have had one crazy winter here in Washington, NJ! We've probably had 3 or 4 feet of snow in total so far. Kayla & TJ haven't really even been able to play in it yet, because the storms have all given us snow that is almost as tall as they are! They always love snow days, though. Mommy lets them wear their PJs all day on snow days, and even dump the toybox out!

Here's TJ, checking it out!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Birthday, Grandma A

We had to celebrate Grandma A's birthday a little late this year, as she was sunning herself in Mexico for her birthday! The good thing is that Kayla & TJ have no concept of time yet, so it didn't matter to them. As long as it meant they were going to get to play with Grandma A, open presents with her, and have cake after dinner they were happy! I'm pretty sure Grandma A was okay with having a belated birthday celebration too...especially if it meant her grandchildren would be there!





We love you, Grandma! Happy Birthday!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kayla & TJ had a fun Valentine's Day this year. First, they went to a Valentine's Party a few days earlier with some of their friends from our town. When they day finally arrived, Kayla & TJ were ready with some homemade Valentine's for the people they love!
First, the "behind the scenes" picture!
Hard at work making their Valentines:


Kayla giving out Valentines to her Grandmas:




TJ giving his Valentine to Daddy:



Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! We love you!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Eating Dinner

Kayla & TJ have always been good eaters, and so far we've been very lucky. They are still eating all of their meals and snacks every day. The challenge these days is finding things to feed to them that they can do themselves, because they are no longer interested in Mommy & Daddy spoon-feeding them any longer. Kayla often requires her plate to be in front of her and her fork in her own hand...total independence! Here's some video of Kayla & TJ eating dinner and learning how to use their forks.



Sunday, February 7, 2010

Juggling

Kayla & TJ have always liked to watch Daddy juggle. (Daddy is really good at 1-man-games like juggling & yoyo-ing...I like to call it "only-child-syndrome"). Anyway, it seems that as they get older, watching isn't good enough for them anymore. Now they want to juggle too!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Happy 60th Birthday, Grandpa!

Grandpa had a BIIIIG birthday this year! We had a little party for him at our house with Grandma & Grandpa, Fancy-Auntie Kristy & Rob. We had a nice dinner and some yummy cake! Happy Birthday, Grandpa. We love you very much!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Bye-Bye Helmet

After a long 10 months and 3 different helmets, we finally got the okay to remove TJ's helmet! We never thought it would be so long (since the original estimate was 4-6 months) but after lots of long drives to Paramus, we are finally all done.

It was kind of bittersweet, too. Over the last 10 months I've had a lot of time to imagine how this day would go. I imagined that we would have the exit appointment set. I would put TJ to bed the night before and say "Tomorrow is a big day, buddy! You're such a big boy now, and you get to take your helmet off!" In the morning I would get him up saying "just a few more hours, bud!" We would go into Cranial Technologies and I'd take pictures as they removed the band...making sure I documented every minute. Then they'd give him a little certificate or something, and we'd be on our way!
Let me tell ya how it really happened:
One appointment in November we were told "about 6 more weeks". Great. Fast Forward to the end of December.
TJ was sick, so I missed one of my biweekly appointments (first one in 10 months!). Then with Christmas & New Years closings, we hadn't been to Cranial Tech in almost 4 weeks. TJ's helmet started seeming a little tighter than it should and he was sick again, so I called his therapist to ask her what to do. She called me back and said "we really should give him some more room in there. Can you at least bring me the helmet and I'll make some more space in there for him?" Just as I was thinking -- great, an hour and a half drive there and back -- I said "Sure, I can try. I know he's almost done...you said 6 more weeks about 6 weeks ago." She said "oh, really? Let me just look.....oh, Kelly! He's been wearing this helmet for 15 weeks already? Oh, it's probably not even doing anything more for him anymore. Just take it off today, and as soon as he's feeling better bring him in for the official exit appointment!" So I hung up, walked up to him and said "Well buddy, that's it! We can take your helmet off now!" and I removed it. I said "Yaaaay!" and took a picture. That was it! Oh yeah...then we had a snack.

Here's the pictures of the big moment:
Before:


After:


Of course, he immediately wanted to put it back on:


And after the Exit Appointment, here is just one of his official pictures. The top left picture is before any helmets. The top right picture is after the 1st helmet. The bottom left picture is after the 2nd helmet, and the bottom right picture is after the 3rd. Look at his beautiful head! Well worth it!