Super Stuff in St. Louis!

The girls and hubby were out of school last week for spring break.  I took off on Thursday and Friday, and we enjoyed a short getaway to St. Louis.

We had a great time taking in the arch, the zoo – including the sea lion show – and plenty of green areas in downtown.  We ate some yummy food, and talked to some interesting people.  And we even got to meet a longtime bloggy friend in person, which made my heart smile.

At the zoo!

It was a wonderful, MUCH-needed break.  The sights and sounds were fantastic…but some of the best memories come outta the mouths of my sweet babes.

At supper on Friday night, we found ourselves in a family-style diner (I guess you’d call it) right downtown.  I was thinking about a burger, but the server really bragged about their pasta.  I ordered the girls a pasta dish with mushrooms and spinach, and when it came, I thought it looked delicious.  Apparently, B wasn’t quite as convinced.  She took her first bite, though, and immediately declared, “This tastes a lot better than it looks.”  HAHAHAHA!!!  It was a compliment in her book, but I'm not sure the chef would have thought so.

Daddy and the girls at dinner.

The next morning, we found an excellent place for breakfast (Rooster).  They serve a great menu of unique dishes using locally sourced ingredients…just our kind of place.  I ordered the girls a big breakfast platter to share.  B, who was sitting next to me, really liked the potatoes.  She addressed her daddy, who was sitting across the table from her, next to A, “Daddy, you really have to try some of Sissy’s potatoes!”  HA!  I thought it was too funny that she volunteered her sister to share!

Daddy and B traversing a downtown fountain.

On Saturday afternoon, I really wanted a coffee from the Starbucks in our hotel.  Baby A waited in the lobby with her daddy, and B went inside with me.  While we waited on my coffee, I encouraged B to stand by the window.  “Wave to the people on the sidewalk,” I told her.  She did, and so enthusiastically!  It was so much fun to see people walking by, getting a kick out of her big smile and voracious waves.

Baby A was fascinated with the arch, and the zoo, and the view of the Mississippi river from our hotel room.  Just as fascinating, though, was the construction going on next to our hotel.  On Sunday morning she exclaimed, “Look!  Yesterday that was flat, and today there are big huge piles of dirt!”  HA!

Baby A, looking out the window at the construction.

Baby A, true to herself, found any opportunity to RUN.  Just like in Central Park in NYC, I loved seeing this kiddo take off in the open field beneath the arch.  It’s amazing to watch her, no matter where we are…but doubly incredible to see her doing her thing in such a picturesque setting!!!

Playing tag on a random patch of grass.

The girls shared a full-size bed in the hotel…for the first time, sleeping in the “normal” direction, as opposed to perpendicular to the rest of us.  Baby A slept closest to me, and I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw her hop out of the bed one morning.  She is such a big girl!!!  It seems like just last year I was having to give the girls a boost into a bed like that!!!

And we had quite a few “twin” moments.  It probably happened at least 10 times, when people came over, out of their way, to ask if the girls were twins.  I know this is an annoyance to many twin mamas…but I’m savoring these inquiries.  I know they won’t last forever, and I love the opportunity to brag about my babies!

So very thankful for the {expected} super stuff of a getaway...and the wonderful {unexpected} surprises.

My heart is full!!!

Super Stuff!

Lots of super stuff this week!

1)      Upon entering a public bathroom, I reminded my A not to touch anything she didn’t have to.  She paused, and then commented, “I can scratch myself because myself is clean.”  Thank goodness it was a one-seater…I just cackled!

2)      I never get tired of hearing the girls say so emphatically, “Mommy, you make THE BEST [fill in the blank]”.  Like when we ate breakfast out on Sunday, the girls got French toast.  “Yum!  This is good French toast!”  But that was immediately followed by, “Mommy, you make THE BEST French toast!” as if they don’t want to offend me.  HA!

3)      I love to see my babies girls running and skipping.  We’ve spent plenty of time at the park, in the neighborhood, and in the yard lately.  Baby A, in particular, loves to hold my hand while we skip together.  It won’t be long before she’s skipping way ahead of me, though…she’s FAST!

4)      One morning, Baby A had been working really hard on an art project. She came to show it to me, and I told her how neat it was (and genuinely it was pretty cool!). I bent down to give her a kiss, and she whispered, "I'm proud of myself, Mommy."

5)      I had to laugh when I heard the girls’ excitement one afternoon.  B exclaimed, “Mommy!  Daddy is shaving his face!”  And A piped in, “Yay, Daddy!  Good job!”  Hee hee!

6)      On Tuesday we had a play date at M&C’s house.  The girls were SO excited to learn we were going over to play with M&C…AND for them to see Little Baby A.  My A could not get enough hugs in with M&C…too sweet!

7)      And my A&B are still SO taken with Little Baby A, now seven weeks old.  At one point she was in her bouncy seat, and my girls sat beside her and sang songs.  They are in love!

8)      On Tuesday afternoon the girls were so surprised to get three letters!!!  One was a thank-you card from a birthday party, and then they each got a note from Miss Demara and their very own picture of Little Baby A.  They were so incredibly proud!

9)      The girls absolutely crack me up, how serious they can be.  They will go to great lengths to explain the simplest of things.  I could hardly keep a straight face this morning as A was telling me about something with a very prevalent milk mustache.

10)   Overheard: "Sissy, you're not supposed to have a smile on your face when you're doing something not-nice."  Hahaha!  Do I really even want to know???

11)   We came across this super-cool cardboard stable on clearance at the craft store last week.  The girls had a great time coloring it, and they’ve played with it every day since.  I know it won’t last forever, but it’s fun while it’s still standing!

12)   The girls got an unexpected present this week from some friends who dropped by, dry erase markers and a dry erase book and board.  I thought they already had every art supply known to man…but this definitely completes their collection.  It’s been hard to tear them away from drawing over the past couple of days, and I love it!

Super Stuff!!!

1)      As we were waiting to turn left on a busy highway, B remarked, “They need a traffic light here.  I will get Granddaddy to help me design one.”  HA!  I love that she was thinking of solutions…and that she thinks her granddaddy (an architect) can design anything.

2)      Thursday was our last tumbling class for the summer.  When we got out of the car, a couple of little girls called out to A&B, waving.  After class, another couple came up to give them hugs.  It was so sweet to see their new little friends – older girls who have taken them under their wings.

3)      Miss Jennifer was our first baby sitter, playing with the girls once a week from just after their second birthday until they turned three.  We hadn’t seen her in almost a year – save from running into her here and there in town – and she came over to visit this past week.  The girls were SO excited to learn she was coming.  It took them a few minutes to warm back up to her, but they were so sweet showing her the things she’d missed (new toys and new tricks) over the past year.  And I couldn’t help but appreciate how blessed we are to have had some really wonderful people in the girls’ lives.

4)      We met a friend at Lost River Cave, intending to play on the outdoor playground.  It was closed that morning, though, so we took a short hike to the butterfly conservatory.  This was my first time to “hike” with the girls by myself, and they did a great job.  And it was so very sweet to see the girls and Baby V.

5)      On Sunday night, the weather was absolutely perfect.  We made an impromptu trip to the park, where we played and played, and then enjoyed a pizza picnic.  We chose the park that’s within walking distance to the pizza place, and Daddy picked up a pie, which we enjoyed with our bottled water and bananas.  Just a year ago, I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable “winging” a meal like this…but it’s so very nice to be able to do it now!

6)      While we were at The Farm this weekend, and then again at the park, Baby A wanted to race.  I can still beat her, but I really have to put in the effort!  I cannot believe how fast my little speedster is getting!

7)      Over breakfast at The Farm on Saturday morning, B held up a piece of her melon for me to see.  “Look, Mommy!  It’s a rhombus!”  Hee hee!

8)      The girls were cackling at each other one morning over the pronunciation of the word “warmer” [in the context of a bottle warmer, I think].  One of them, B, I think, kept saying “wormer”…and A kept correcting her.  They were cracking each other – and me! – up for a solid ten minutes.

9)      Daddy accidentally dropped A's baby doll one morning, and she came running to me: "Mommy! I don't think Daddy knows how to be respectful of my baby!"

10)   Baby A, in particular, has been using the words “actually” and “in fact” quite proficiently lately.  It’s so funny in her scrappy little baby voice…and she is totally serious about it.

11)   Baby A was telling me this morning, “When I grow up, I will have a newborn baby…not a pretend baby…but a real one.  And I will have two babies at once, just like you did.  And I will have a swing and a bouncy seat.”  B chimed in, “I will just have one baby, but I will have a swing and a bouncy seat, too.”  [I guess baby gear is top of mind for all future mamas, huh?]

12)  I complimented A on a block tower she built, telling her it was perfectly symmetrical.  Do you know what that means, I asked her?  "It means it's the same on both sides!" I consider the girls to have a pretty big vocabulary, but I love when they can actually define a word back to me...pretty cool!!!

Fab 5 Friday...and ME!!!

The girls have been sick this week…nothing really serious, just colds, I think…and I’m so thankful to declare this house fever-free for the first time all week! Despite the inordinate amount of tissues consumed in the past five days, there was still lots of fabulousness to count...

1) Friday night we held our weekly youtube fest (twenty or so minutes of pulling up different songs to dance to, Mommy and Daddy taking turns with the selection). I chose a Los Lonely Boys song. I asked the girls if they recognized the song, and they said they did. I explained that they went to a LLB concert when they were in Mommy’s tummy. “But I’m out now,” B confirmed in all seriousness.

2) We went to a birthday party for fellow twin friends last Saturday. The girls played so well and had a really great time. And seeing five sets of twins don party hats (at least for a few seconds) met my cuteness quota for at least the next week.

3) Daddy has been encouraging the girls not to run full speed in the house. (It used to be OK for them to run on the carpet, just not on the hardwood, but they’re getting to be such speedsters!) He’s trying to teach them the concept of “jogging”, but that seems to be pretty foreign to my two-year olds. They try though…they bend partly over and run in slow motion…and it’s pretty darn hysterical.

4) I love how the girls talk about what other people / animals / even inanimate objects must be thinking. We went for a walk over the weekend and saw a squirrel right next to the road. Baby A said, “There’s a swirrel! Hi, widdle swirrel! He said, ‘What are those baby girls doing here, I wonder?’ And then he said, 'I am cute!'”

5) And the quote of the week? After explaining something to the girls, B told me, “You’re probably right.” She’s TWO…not TWELVE. I may be in trouble.

And what did I do for ME this week???

Hubby and I marked the 16th anniversary of our first date on Thursday. (Yes, we started dating when I was seven.) With everything going on internally this week, I honestly didn’t realize the date until mid-morning. Our mini-celebration was pretty impromptu…we treated ourselves (and the girls) to takeout pizza from a new gourmet shop in town. But I did take the time to make chocolate molten lava pudding cake, coordinated perfectly to come out of the oven as the girlies went to bed. Hubby and I may have over-indulged a bit…each having two servings…but it was a celebration, afterall!

Directionally Challenged

When the girls were really small, I would look ahead to when they would be more mobile, and I would think, “Wow, I’m really going to have my hands full then!” I could just imagine them running in different directions, my head spinning as I tried to keep up with both of them.

Well, the time has come, and my premonitions were correct. The girls often crawl / walk / run in different directions, and my head does spin as I try to manage them both.

What I didn’t anticipate, though, was how the exact opposite would also pose a challenge. These days, the girls seem to alternate between running wide open and needing Mommy’s undivided attention….wanting to be not just near me, or touching me, but physically on top of me. I guess you might say it makes me feel kinda like a chick magnet.

And whether it’s a “twin thing”, or just Murphy’s Law, they most often seem to be in the same mode. So at our house, it’s either a tandem game of “You Can’t Catch Me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!”, or “King of the Mountain” with Mommy as the jungle gym. And I love it.