Weekend Learning

Saturday we were up-and-at-'em and hit the Minnesota Children's Museum just minutes after it opened. We have a membership that we got from Grand-Dad (my dad) for the babies' birthday, which made the event even better - no paying! We have been to the museum before, but we've stuck to the baby room (Habitot) and hadn't ventured to the rest of the museum. This weekend - party because we were there right away and it was quiet and partly because the babies are so mobile and good at playing "pretend" lately - he hit up the big kid exhibits. Oh. My. Fun!

"Shopping" - ironically she picked all
vegetables from the shelves, though
she won't eat them at home!

Bus Driver Hannie

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round!

Police Officer Ben

Park Ranger Hannah

The hat proved to be an excellent peek-a-boo tool!

Ben's own little heaven: doors to open and shut.

The water exhibit was a favorite for both babies!

He got soakin' wet!

She figured out how the pipes worked!

Daddy made some BIG bubbles!

Who's that baby in the log tunnel??

Looking out over the "anthill"

Asleep w/in 3 minutes of leaving the parking ramp.

What a totally wonderful day!! Babies and parents had fun and we all had a nice relaxing afternoon when we got home. We do plan to go back again soon!

The Quotable Momma

Insta-Bath

Bubble Beard!

"Look Momma! A cow!"

"No, I didn't just take these cups from my brother..."

"Can I build something...?"

We Need a Dog

No, we don't *want* a dog. We *need* a dog.

B&H have recently decided to become Picky Pickersons and spend more time throwing food on the floor than eating it (unless, of course, it's: eggs, cheese or bananas). The most oft thrown food? Vegetables. For real! I thought we had a good year before they decided they didn't like vegetables anymore!

Things that used to be BIG hits around here aren't. So, no more green beans, peas, or sliced cooked carrots. Boo.

Instead, they have been indugling in very grown-up vegetables (in my opinion) like cherry tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli slaw (raw, mind you) and brussels sprouts. What??

Of course, they ate exactly 2 bites of each of those new vegetables and then threw them on the floor. Novelty, I tell ya.

So, we need a dog to clean up the mess. I'm sick of sweeping and swiffering!

And, being the good mom that I am, I want to make sure they are getting the best nutrition I can get in them. I'm starting the "sneak it in other things" approach (while still offering the vegetable, I want to make sure they know what vegetables taste, look and feel like when they aren't mixed in something else). So today I made some (kinda odd-looking) homemade chicken nuggets with pureed vegetables mixed in. I tasted one. They're pretty good. I added lots of garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, etc. They actually taste a lot like real chicken nuggets.

Guess where they ended up, though? Sigh.......

The Quotable Momma

Tiny Bubbles ... Giant Tantrums

I think the sweet phase of babyhood is ending and the emotional phase of toddlerhood has arrived. You'll remember the language incident from about a month ago. Well, that was nothin'. Now we are on full-bore tantrums. Times two. It's quite fun. Really......

Anyway, the most recent episode stemmed from a bunch of bubbles. B&H LOVE LOVE LOVE bubbles. I blame the YMCA for this. Whenever I go pick them up from KidKare, they are always playing with bubbles. If not for the Y, we wouldn't know what bubbles are, and we wouldn't have had such a fun evening recently:

Pre-meltdown... happy babies

"Waaah! Ben took my bubbles!"

"I want my bubbles!"

"Give me back my bubbles!!"

"I like these bubbles."

"What's the problem?"

 I know I should not laugh when there's a meltdown, nor should I take pictures, but golly, sometimes it's just TOO funny not to.

So far the only solution to this bubble drama is to buy more bubbles. And never, ever get out only one package at a time. :)

Little Loves

Happy Valentine's Day! It's a day full of love around here. Hope you and your family enjoy the same.

"Reading" his card

"Reading" her card

Yay! A new kitty!

Love the kitty!

Ben got a firetruck!

Hannie's V-Day outfit (size 2T, and not a bit too big...)

LOVE

The only picture of them together, not wiggling.

I {heart} U!

It's getting harder and harder to get pictures of these two squirmies! There's no sitting still around here.

The Quotable Momma

Insta-Play

Last evening we had quite a rambunctious playtime, so I naturally grabbed my phone to capture it via Instagram!

The best picture of the 2 of them together. Too wiggly!

Ben found his way behind the couch!

Hannah going in for the good toys!

Picking Ernie's nose?

What mess??

The Hardest Part of Parenting

No, not the sleepless nights.

Or the crying babies.

Or the shifting of priorities.

The hardest part of parenting (for me) is figuring how much sleep the babies need and when they need to get it. It's a constant question in my mind!

Since switching to 1 nap a few weeks ago, the babies have been getting better and better at sleeping long stretches during the day. At first they woke up after 2 hours like their normal nap during the 2-nap days. Then it got to be 2.5 hours, then 3, then 3.5. Today we're running on 4 hours. I've eaten lunch, watched TV, cleaned the kitchen, run down the battery on the computer, and taken out the trash. This blog post is really just a way to pass some time.

The question in my mind is always: "Should I wake them?"

Part of me thinks if they are sleeping, they must be tired and so I should let them go. But, if they sleep too much during the day, are they not going to be tired at night?

Oh, the struggles I go through!

For those curious, B&H start betime routine at 6:45, get lights out at 7:15, and are usually sleeping soundly by 7:30. They have been sleeping until 7:30 most mornings.

So, 12 hours at night + 4 hours of napping = 16 hours of sleep? WebMD says average is 14 hours a day. But are they above average sleepers? I guess. I mean average sleep needed for adults is what - 7 hours? I need 9 hours to function. 10 hours is ideal.

Who would have guessed? A mom worried her toddlers are sleeping too much. I'm not bragging, I promise! I feel for you other moms whose kids don't sleep much. When do you blog, Facebook and pin on Pinterest??

Don't Feed the Animals

Mmmm. Freeze-dried strawberries make the perfect afternoon power snack!

Fourteen Months Old

Can we slow down time, please? Seriously, I feel like it was just a short while ago that I took these pictures of the babies:

But, no. That was a year ago. When they were a measly 2 months old. We hardly even knew each other then. Now they are 14 months old! And I couldn't love them more!

You'll remember from last month that Hannah was just beginning to take steps. Well, now she's cruising. She's definitely a toddler. She is close to running. I'm sure I won't think it's as cute as I do now once she actually takes off and I need to catch up to her.

Ben is *just* walking. He's so cautious!

Other new things this month include self-feeding:

Mmm. That's some good yogurt!

And learning body parts:

I also am convinced that Ben can say "quack" when asked what a ducky says. It comes out like "kak kak," though, which also means cracker.... And I am certain Hannah can pick out a cow when looking at pictures of animals. Aaron thinks she's just pointing in the right direction and I am reading into it for her. But, I think she's a genius. I mean, obviously she is:

It has been a *very* mild winter in Minnesota, which I don't mind at all. I am sure that God is giving us a break since last year was so awful! We like to think if last winter had been nice like this winter, we all would have felt so much better and might not have minded the multiple midnight feedings. :)

Life is good here. If possible, I think I love these babies (er, toddlers) more and more every day!