22 down, 2 to go

Here I am.  I have survived the first 22 months of parenthood. I know I said this last month, and the months before, but damn....month 21 was super challenging!  I'm exhausted.  But at the same time I am super grateful for my two precious babies. - yes, they are still my babies.

Claire is now saying 2, 3, and 4 word sentences and it catches me by surprise every time.  She mimics almost everything I do and sometimes knows what I am going to do before I do it!  Today, she threw her cup at lunch and I gave her "the" look and she just popped her own hand.  She popped herself, anticipating my next move.....clearly that is not an effective way to punish her!  She is also my eyes.  She tattles on Max all them time.  "Max, NO, NO!" then she comes running to get me to show me what he is doing.

She has very good manners.  She almost always says "please", "thank you" and "excuse me" on her own.  She can also be sneaky!  If she's playing a game on my iphone and she hears us tell Max he can have Daddy's IPad, she quickly says, "here Max" and tries to give him my phone bc she knows the Ipad is bigger!
She can count to two. She says "one, two, one, two" hasn't quite caught on to the three yet!  She knows  some colors: purple, pink, blue, orange, red and yellow
She has hit a major growth spurt!  She is definitely wearing a 2T.
size 4 diaper
size 6 shoe
Favorite things: Loves wearing jewelry, playing outside, The Wiggles, dancing, music (Row, Row, Row Your Boat, You are My Sunshine, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Brown Squirrel)

 The Buds.  Max can be the sweetest toddler in the world, or the biggest terror!  I'm struggling with how to deal with the terror.  He hits, throws and pushes when something doesn't go how he wants.  I have noticed that this usually just happens with our family...meaning he doesn't show this anger with our friends, at school or at the gym.  I've tried time outs, spanking, attempting to talk in a calm manner.... and I haven't gotten anywhere.

He does know when he is wrong, bc he will quickly go give Claire a hug and say he's sorry and give her a hug and a kiss.
Max is saying 2-3 word sentences and is saying a few new words.  We are working on colors and he has a few down! (blue, red and orange)
Buds has become a very picky eater.  Will not even touch something if it's green.  I still try to make smoothies with spinach a couple times a week bc he loves those.  Peanut butter is his favorite.
He is obsessed with all things trucks and says, "wow" every time we pass them on the road.
Our big boy is now wearing some 3T clothes!
Size 5/6 diaper
Size 8.5-9 shoe
Favorite things: Paci (how am I going to take this away!?), trucks, cars, balls, playing outside, music and dance

 They are starting to "sleep in" a little.  By sleep in, I mean 6:15!   They nap once a day.  On a good day, they sleep three hours, but average is 2-2.5.
Most of our days involve the gym, play dates with our friends and  going to the Children's Museum.

Birthday countdown is on!  I will hopefully figure out bday invitations and get them sent out after Christmas!

Happy, Happy!

This weekend my Mom had a 1st birthday party for my twin nieces.  It was also my cousin's 25th birthday so we practiced saying, "happy birthday" with Max and Claire.  Birthday was a little tough for them to say, so they kept saying, "happy, happy".  It was so cute!

"We've got this! Just take my lead!"

"Don't touch my cake"

It was a great party! So glad we got to spend time with my brother and his family.  I wish they lived closer so the kids could play.

cousins!

Now, time to start planning Max and Claire's second birthday... OMG!  I think I've decided on a "Trucks and Tiaras" theme.  We will see!

google storage

**I just got an alert saying I had no more free storage on Blogger?? I wasn't aware that blogger users only got a certain amount of photo space?  The upgrade would only be $2.49 a month.

Has anyone else received this message or know anything about it?

Stationery card

Wishing You Merry Christmas Card

Quick and easy: Christmas photo cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

13.1

I can now check off a half marathon. I couldn't have asked for a better day to run. Beautiful day. I chose to run by myself. I used the time to really think about everything I was thankful for.
I had 2 hr 6 min. The best part of the whole race - I beat Justin by five minutes! That's crazy! The last comment he made getting out of the car was how I would never beat him! He hasn't run but three or so times in the past 2 months. I think last year he was under two hours!

Hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!












Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Twin love

I've posted a lot of pictures of #twinlove on instagram (KFredrick).  I can't get enough of their sweet hugs!

Big squeeze!

I love that they do this on their own!

She loves showing off her boots!

My buds looked so handsome and grown up!

Of course with this love, we also have hits and pushes.  I've got to figure something out - any tips are welcome :) Max hits and pushes hard and he thinks it's funny.  No one else does!

Also, check out Cherry Pie Twins.  She is one of my favorite bloggers and has collected twin advice from several twin Moms.

Countdown

Actually, I have a few countdowns...  first off, I had no idea that THIS Thursday was Thanksgiving.  I was thinking it was the following week.  That means the 1/2 marathon I have been training for is THIS Thursday! Yikes!!  I have only had a few long runs in and I really would like to get one more in.  I have run 13 miles once, 10 miles once, a few 7&8 miles and many 3-6.  I'm starting to get nervous!
This morning I got in a sixer at the gym.  Pretty happy with the pace (9.27 min/mile).  I would love to keep all 13.1 under a ten minute mile.  We will see!

Happy moment of the day

I keep seeing all these Christmas ads for early shopping.  Not early as in Black Friday, but early as in starting today!  I ordered some Erin Condren Christmas labels for half off.  These are perfect to put on a tin with homemade cookies!  Tomorrow Old Navy is having a BOBO 50% sale. I plan to make a stop there as well!  I hate shopping to early bc I can't keep a secret. I want to give the gift when I get it! I've gotten a few small stocking stuffers for the babes.  Hopefully I will remember where I put them!
We visited my mom at work the other day (Furnitureland South). They are all decorated for Christmas. I am trying to teach Max and Claire about Santa, Rudolph, and Frosty.  (I also need to be teaching them the real meaning of Christmas!)  They were in awe when they saw this huge Santa!  They have called him "HoHo".  I will also add we have started listening to Christmas music!  Most people complain, but I love it!

Hi Santa!

just a few random pics of my two crazy and favorite toddlers...

wearing a crown visor he found at FLS

I love when she makes this little face :)

Finding happy

This post is really just me complaining and "talking" out loud.  I know my husband, family and friends are so tired of me talking about weight.  I can't help it. It has consumed me.  I am 8-10 lbs heavier than I was last year at this time (I was still pumping).  I work out six-seven days a week, usually seven and eat a pretty healthy diet.  I just want to be happy.
I've been trying this awesome meal plan for the past 1.5 weeks and have followed it about 80%.  I've only lost one pound, maybe only a half pound.  Which makes me not want to continue if I could just eat the way I was before and stay where I was.  This meal plan is mainly veggies, fruit, beans, and whole grains - limited dairy and meat.  I've even cut out sugar/splenda in my morning coffee.  That's huge!!!  I feel great and haven't missed the sugar all that much (except at night).

When will I find my happy?  Some days I think, "I look fine, I am healthy"  Other days I am on the verge of tears bc my skinny pants are too tight.

On top of all my insecurities, the kiddos are acting nuts - good thing they are so stinkin cute!  This Mom needs a major break!

Funny and Not Funny

The kids are growing up so much.  If you could be a fly on the wall these days......

Not Funny:  Max hitting Daddy when getting out of tub.
Funny:  Daddy took Max to timeout chair straight out of bath.  Timeout chair is a nice upholstered chair in kitchen.  Max pees on chair and floor.  Then comes back to bedroom and pees on floor.
OK...the peeing on the floor is not funny, but the timing is.  Maybe you just had to be here!

Not Funny:  Claire antagonizing Max and pretending to hit him.
Funny:  Justin clapped his hands loud to get her attention to stop.  He turned around and she clapped back at him and pointed.

Again... not good behavior, but both made us turn around to hide our smiles.  These kids are a piece of work. Constant work in progress!

They are so silly.  Max's new thing is to hide his paci or something else small and act like he has no idea where it is.  Then, with a huge smile says, "here it is".

Claire is my eyes.  She is a mini me.  The other day she saw Max get my wallet out of my purse and she started scolding him.  "No, Max, no, no!" Then he was climbing on the kitchen table while I was doing dishes and, again, she loudly says, "no, Max, no, no!"

Unrelated news.. I think I am closer to a new blog name... thanks to my younger, hipper cousin.  I'm afraid of all this change I want.  Will I lose everything I have written over the years?

Fireside dinner!

Today was a great day! We spent the whole day with friends. After naps, we went to Heather's house to play and watch football. We had a great time and look forward to our next gathering. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures - which is a shame bc there were a lot of cute kiddos!
Afterward, we went to another friend's house for hot dogs and marshmallows! They have a beautiful outdoor fireplace. The kids ran around and played on the swing set and the adults actually got to talk....for a few minutes!

Very poor pics from my phone

"I wear my sunglasses at night"

It was so much fun to eat outside. We had beautiful weather today which made this the perfect way to end the day!

First time having marshmallows. Yummy and oh so messy!

Also, I need pointers.  I hate the look of my blog.  I was playing with it the other day and can't get it back.  I want something fun...any ideas or know anyone who can do a nice design?  I also want a new name.... but have no idea what I want. I've had this blog for almost three years so maybe it's not a good idea to change the name??!

Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

"I did it!"

Despite having another 5 am morning, today was a better day. Well, maybe the second half was better. Max only got in trouble once today. He popped me in the face while I was putting him in his carseat. Boy was I on fire! But then he turned his mood around and had a decent nap.

Now that Justin is working longer hours, we are having to try and find things to keep us busy. Today we went to The Children's museum. It was great! We practically had the place to ourselves.

working hard in the mail room

future pediatricians! 

Max had the best time at the train table and in the construction zone. He kept building things and saying, "I did it". It was so sweet and he was so proud of himself :)
I think he has really been wanting some extra attention lately. I was playing with Claire and he came, got my hand and walked me to the trains to play with him. He would get upset when I would step away. It was the sweetest. I think I'm going to have to do a better job at giving them individual attention. Not just taking turns going to store, but really doing things they like to do.
Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Old routines

Tonight we had small group Junior League meetings.  I really enjoy these....nice and intimate.  They take place at Sustainers' homes.  This one in particular was sooooo beautiful.  I didn't want to leave!

We also had a past president there to speak. This lady was probably 90 years old, still lived on her own and was as cute as could be.  She reminded me of my grandmother and made me start reminiscing about her.  As she was speaking, she mentioned going to The University of Duke.  My grandfather went there as well so I went to introduce myself and ask her if she knew my grandfather... she did and turns out she was close to my grandmother's sister!! Small world!

We talked about (as a group) about daily routines.  Mrs. Stern shared her top five on daily routine:

1.  Eat breakfast... she always had eggs, bacon, toast, a cup of fruit and coffee with her husband.  However, since he has passed, she just has dry cereal.  I remember my grandparents having a similar breakfast!
2.  Exercise  She exercises every day. Still!  She does leg lifts and 40-60 crunches and stretches!  Remember, she is 90!!
3.  Read  She never goes to bed with out a good book!
4.  Scotch!  2oz of scotch every day!
5.  i'm forgetting one... oh gosh!  .. .maybe it was sleep?!

Anyways, wonderful lady!
________________________

Today was a rough day.  The babes woke up at 5 am.  I'm exhausted.  They both have bad colds.  Max has not been very sweet.  He has been pushing Claire and not being a good listener.  I'm thinking that this is terrible twos?  Anyone?  I tried to put him in a timeout chair and he just laughed.  This Mommy does not think it is funny!
Tomorrow is a new day and only three more days until they can go to school! ( Off tomorrow :(  )

Jump, jump!

This weekend, as well as most, flew by. Saturday we passed some time visiting our first bounce house! It was perfect and so much fun. I was worried the babes would be too young, but they had a blast. There were two sections for three and under , however they spent most time playing and sliding with everyone. I'm now thinking this would be a great place for their second birthday party.

Jumping with Trevor!

The ball pit was Max's favorite. Every once in a while, after so many balls had been collected, they would dump on your head. He thought it was hilarious!
Can't wait to go back!


Of course we had to dress in our UGA jerseys! Thank goodness for a dawg win! - makes out house much happier!

Fast forward to today -
Thanks to the "extra" hour of sleep, we were up at 5 am. Ugh! They took a small nap before heading to church.

showing me her red shoes!

Then headed to our favorite place, Costco!
Introduced them to Santa! And browsed the toy isles! Can't believe how close we are to all the holidays :)

Max took a great afternoon nap, Claire boycotted so she went grocery shopping with me. She was so good and missed Max. When I put her in the cart she patted the spot next to her and said, "Max?". So sweet!


Kelly - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone