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.

The Swan Hive

The swans had a pretty fun filled Halloween weekend. We dressed up on Saturday to attend our neighbor, Alec's 2nd birthday party.

I think the costumes were great and we had a blast at the party. They both looked adorable as bees especially with the little hats with antennae on them.

Chloe was really enchanted with her tutu and kept touching it. At first she didn't really like the wings, but after awhile she didn't even notice them and wore them all afternoon.

Connor's little outfit had a stinger on the backside and he was so cute crawling around. He also had hilarious booties that made his chunky feet even more adorable.

Carl and I were bee keepers, just in case you can't tell. Next posting I'll fill you in on all the fun from the Halloween birthday party.