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!