I'm The Favorite

I bought these kitschy t-shirts before the twins were born. They've sat in the bottom of the drawer for months since they were too big.

One night last week when I got home, Maria dressed them in matching outfits. I actually think it's adorable, but I would, I'm their Mom.

Impulse to Clean

As I've mentioned before, the twins will make anything into a toy and love to play with all sorts of mundane objects. Frequently after we've eaten dinner, Connor will grab one of the napkins, shake it and run around with it like it's the greatest toy he's ever had.

Recently he's started walking around the house with the napkin and wiping things like he's cleaning. We think he's mimicking Maria. She really keeps everything running like a top during the day and she wipes down all the toys at least once a day. I'm pretty sure it's not something Connor got from me.

Baby UGGs

Last year for my birthday Carl got me a pair of UGG slippers. Since I was on maternity leave I worn them around the house every single day. I loved them so much I went out and bought a pair of boots so I could wear them out in public.

UGGs aren't the most attractive boots, but they're super comfortable. They're not cheap either, but totally worth it. But maybe not for a baby. Unless they look as cute as they do on Chloe!

I understand it is a totally frivolous purchase and Chloe is not out tromping through the snow so she has no need for winter boots. But I think you will agree that they are adorable on her.

She's the one in the strawberry leggings, I haven't been able to find strawberry leggings in my size yet.

Christmas Card Photo Rejects

I like getting holiday photo cards, especially when they have the whole family pictured. It's fun to see how everyone has changed over the past year. The past couple of years I've seen really beautiful cards, mainly because a lot of my friends know some great photographers and they end up with fabulous family photos.

This year I considered hiring a photographer and scheduling a shoot, but it was just too much to coordinate not to mention the expense. Also, for the past couple of years, even before the babies, my Mom has taken our picture on the fireplace in front of the stockings and we've used that as our holiday card. I thought it would be easier to manage if we kept up that tradition, but as usual there were a couple of shots that were Christmas card rejects.

It's hard to get everyone focused at the same time

Without fingers in their mouths

Leo and Connor get distracted

It's better if we can get everyone to look at the camera or at least open their eyes

Not to laugh when Connor is crying, but Carl's face is the best part of this shot. He is done with the Christmas card photo shoot at this point.

I thought we'd try a change of pace and shoot in front of an evergreen in the back yard. No luck.

Connor is smiling, but this doesn't work for the rest of the family.

Here's our winner. Not everyone is looking at the camera and Leo looks a little grumpy but I think it will work.

We got our cards out in the mail this week.

Guest posting: Carl's review of our new Honda Odyssey

Last week we picked up a new 2011 Honda Odyssey. While it was hard to give up our Accord because it's been such a great car, we really needed the extra space to haul around Connor and Chloe along with all of their supplies. Sometimes it feels like we need a baggage train to bring it all along!

Despite the mixed feelings about giving up the Accord, the Odyssey is turning out to be a great choice. The obvious benefits are the additional seating and cargo capacity, which have already been put to good use on some trips around Dallas with Connor, Chloe and their GiGi (Sandy).

Beyond the obvious though, Honda has added a ton of nice bells and whistles to the Odyssey. We opted for the model with a rear DVD entertainment system, so Connor & Chloe can enjoy shows while we're on the move. We drove around yesterday playing Toy Story and they really seemed to have fun watching the show while still taking a peek out the windows now and then. A few other nice tech features are the 8" LCD screen in the dash which allows you to display photos as wallpaper (completely superfluous, but cool), an iPod USB connection that allows you to see your playlists and album cover art (totally necessary and not superfluous), power sliding and rear doors and a back up camera.

While most of this is just nice to have and not completely needed, it's made it a little easier to make the switch from car to van. Overall we're very happy with the choice and would absolutely do it again.

New Chairs

We packed up the play pen, child proofed the house and let the twins wander around. We also wanted to give them kid-sized chairs so they'd have a good place to sit to watch Dora or the Backyardigans.

When we were at play group a few weeks ago we saw the Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids. I thought about it awhile and ended up ordering one for each of them.

Dallas Zoo

Over the holiday weekend we took a trip to the Dallas Zoo. We only had a short window of time between lunch and the next nap so this was the first of many trips to the Zoo.

We did get to see most of the Wilds of Africa attraction including a monorail ride through mountain, woodland, river, dessert, and bush African landscapes.

One thing on my list for the next visit is the Savannah Grill. It's a restaurant where they grill burgers and hot dogs, but once you get your food you sit in a dinning area that has a glass wall that overlooks the lion habitat. The lions are so close, just watching you eat your burger. It was very cool, but we didn't have time to stop and eat on this visit.

We did have time for a ride on the Endangered Species Carousel as we headed out. Connor wasn't so sure about the ride, but Chloe loved it and squealed as we rode around. Looking forward to our next visit!

Locks on the Cabinets

The twins are both really mobile and walking all over the house now. With that they are also interested in everything.

Awhile back I'd bought some fancy cabinet locks that require a magnet to unlock each door. We had so many cabinet doors and the locks were pretty complicated that we hired a handy man to install them. The handy man, Johnny, came the day before Thanksgiving. It took him 3 hours to install 40 locks, but I'm so glad it's done now.

Chloe Rocks Accessories

On a recent trip to the swings at the little park in our neighborhood I put sunglasses on Chloe. She loved them and wore them the entire time. 

Chloe likes dressing up and having girlie accessories. She wore them well. Work it Chloe.

Connor doesn't need any accessories to have a good time.

Bean Bag Box

Since the twins were playing on the dog beds so much I ordered a big pillow/bean bag for them. When I ordered the bean bag I didn't realize the size, I thought it would be just a little bigger than the dog bed. It arrived in a giant box which hinted at the fact that I'd bought an enormous bean bag.

The kids like it, but now I'm worried it's so big they'll fall off and hurt themselves.

However, they love the box! So I ordered this giant bean bag for the twins to play in the box.

Thanksgiving with Sadie

Connor and Chloe both like dogs. They love Leo. Chloe likes to pet him and try to get him to play with her toys. Connor barks with him anytime he sees a squirrel.

Jamie and Brian brought their Lab, Sadie to Thanksgiving. Sadie has always been careful around the babies even when they don't know how to be very careful around puppies themselves. Of course, Sadie has to know where the twins are and standing behind her isn't the best place.

Jamie shot this video of Connor with Sadie on Thanksgiving.

Pictures of a Fairy

As I promised yesterday, I snapped a few shots of Chloe in the fairy tutu outfit. Since I loved the box it came in so much I included that shot as well.

Lift the top tray out of the box and the fluffy tutu is in the bigger section of the box below.

As you can tell, Chloe loves the butterfly wand. She also loves the tutu itself and likes to pet it. She cried when I took it off her.

Since this was a crazy purchase for something we do not need, I am planning to make it Chloe's Christmas gift and not get anything else. Now I need come up with something for Connor that he'll enjoy as much as she likes this fairy outfit.

Fairy Tutu

One weekend my Mom went to a craft fair with her sister. She always looks at the kid booths but has been really good about restraining herself and not buying every cute thing she sees for the twins. At one booth they had dress up costumes and tutus. Mom didn't buy anything, but the lady at the booth asked her if she'd started a costume chest for Chloe.

Mom and I both laughed when she told the story. A costume chest? I never had a "costume chest" and I turned out just fine. But the more I think about it I want Chloe to have a costume chest.

I get a daily email from Gilt Group that features designer items on sale. In one email they featured items from Tutu Couture. I resisted at first. The items were on sale from retail, but honestly I know Chloe doesn't need a fairy tutu outfit and she hasn't even asked me for one.

But ultimately I couldn't resist. I don't want Chloe to be the only girl without a costume chest. The fairy tutu set comes with a tutu, crown, wings and a fairy wand. It arrived last night and it's even better than I hoped. Not only is the costume too cute, the packaging is adorable. It comes in a fabulous hat box with a top shelf holding the crown, wand and wings. The shelf lifts out were there's room to store the fluffy tutu.

Once Chloe gets a chance to try it on, I'll post pictures of her.

The Fate of Elmo and Cookie Monster

The twins have talking Elmo and talking Cookie Monster dolls. Chloe cracks up laughing each time she hears them chattering. 

You think she'll be sweet and love on the doll.

But no, this young lady is teething and she needs something to bite. Sorry Elmo.

But Elmo's not the only one to get the teething treatment, Cookie Monster is not excluded. Look Mom, no hands

But it looks like Cookie Monster might be trying to get back at Chloe. Or maybe she's just repositioning to get a better bite. 

How We Play

I've mentioned before how the twins will take any object and make it a fun toy. Connor is really the king of this. He'll pick up a paper towel I was using as a napkin and shake it around like it was the most fantastic object he ever had. He'll walk all over the house with his glorious paper towel. Then he figures out Leo thinks it's pretty fantastic too so he taunts him with it shaking the paper towel in Leo face until he can't take it and he rips it out of Connor's hand. Connor, of course, thinks this is great fun.

Recently he really enjoys empty water bottles and becomes belligerent if we try to take them away. So we've added empty plastic water bottles to the box of toys. The box of toys itself has become something to play with too. Just dump all the toys out and get on in.

Another household items the babies love are the dog beds. I don't know if they're appealing because they smell like puppies or because they're soft and fun to lay on. Last night Chloe kept flopping down on one of the beds and then Leo would try to pull it or shake it or make Chloe roll off it. She loved it. I have ordered a big floor pillow for the twins but I'm sure Leo will think it's another dog bed when it arrives.

Bundled Up for the Swings

Weekend before last when we missed play group, we bundled up after nap time and headed to the park in our neighborhood.

Chloe always loves the swings but Connor had a pretty good time too. Even though we didn't make it to play group that day we were able to get out and burn off a little energy.

Fall Back

I know I'm not alone when I say I love changing the clocks for "Fall Back" since it means an extra hour of sleep. I was really looking forward to it this year since sleep is a rare luxury now.

However, with kids your perspective on things change. Now I hate "Fall Back." The twins didn't know when we changed the clocks and no one told them it meant an extra hour of sleep. Even though they sleep for 11 hours each night, on Sunday morning they thought it was 7 a.m. when it was only 6 a.m and they were ready to get up and get going.

Not only did it mess up our morning routine, but bedtime was off too and we had to push them a little later to try to get back on schedule. This morning they woke up at 6:20 a.m. so we still have a bit more work to get the sleep schedule on this new track.

Maybe with my new perspective I'll love Spring Forward.

Play Group Update

Since we missed a month of play group opportunities and I've been worried about socializing the twins, I was really looking forward to play group last Saturday.

The short of it is that we didn't make it to our first play group Saturday. I don't think the twins are ruined, but I'm pretty disappointed.

Last week the twins had a substitute nanny while Maria was on vacation. Janet was great with Connor and Chole and had started shifting them to one nap a day. Historically there was a morning nap around 10 a.m. for an hour and then another hour nap in the afternoon. Last week Janet had the twins napping for about 2 hours around noon.

This plan did not carry over to the weekend. The Saturday play group was scheduled from 10:30-11:30 at a park about 20 minutes from our house. At 9:45 Connor and Chloe were cranky and fussy and in need of a nap. I just couldn't push it to noon and I think they'd lose it if we tried to add in all the activity of a play group. They woke up around 10:20 and it was just too late to make it to a play group that would only last an hour.

Also, it was chilly Saturday morning and I don't think we would all be comfortable outside.

Our next play group is two weeks away, Saturday, Nov. 20th. This one will be at someone's home and will be 2 hours. If they're still napping in the morning, we can still make it for one hour. Hopefully the 20th will be our first fun play group.

Halloween Night

One of Carl's friends won tickets to see the Rangers in the World Series last Sunday and invited Carl to go with him. Since we'd dressed the twins up for the Halloween birthday party the day before and going to the World Series could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, Carl went to the game.

Our neighborhood had trick-or-treating as well as a little block party with a chili cook-off. Mom helped me with the twins, we all dressed in orange and black and rolled down to the block party with some cornbread muffins Mom made to go with the chili.

The twins we're pretty entertained from their stroller with all of the activity around them for a little while but then Chloe wanted to be held and Connor wanted to get out and explore. Since it was a block party and we were in the middle of the street, I couldn't really let Connor roam around and it was a little difficult to hold Chloe and sample chili, but overall we had a good time. I'm still figuring out how to take the twins to social functions and make it work.

This Saturday will be the first play date that we could make with my MOMs group (Mothers Of Multiples). It should be interesting since all the kids will be sets of twins or multiples. Connor and Chloe did great at the birthday party last weekend so I'm sure the play group will be fine. I'll keep you posted.

Halloween Birthday Party

Our neighbor, Alec, turned two last weekend and invited us to his dress up Halloween birthday party. This is a picture of Alec’s mother, the party hostess, holding Connor. She was dressed as a black widow, Alec was a spider (too cute) and her husband was dressed as a corpse. 

Alec’s Mom is a preschool teacher, so she had all these little game stations at the party. Frankly, she may have set the bar too high when it comes to party planning.

There was a spooky fishing pond.

A spider ring toss.

There was a little Halloween golf course. The twins couldn’t really play, but Connor decided he loved the golf club and didn’t want to let it go.

There was a sandbox that Chloe fell in love with. She was mesmerized by the texture of the sand on her hands.

They also had a piñata and that was my favorite part. The little kids got to go first. Even Chloe and Connor took a turn. Connor used the golf club since he didn’t want to let it go.

When the piñata was broken open out flew confetti, candy, and little toys. I loved it!

I’m glad the twins won’t be able remember Alec's 2^nd birthday party, because I’m not sure I can keep up with this one.