The Sass

For the first time this morning I had some attitude with these twins of mine! While I was getting breakfast ready Elizabeth came over to tell on Mark. He was picking up peas he found on the floor from last night's dinner (mmmm) and I knew he was going to put them in the garbage, but Elizabeth came over and said 'Mark, peas, yucky'! Then when he did go to put them in the garbage Elizabeth came over and started playing with the garbage lid and Mark said 'Stop it Elizabeth, no!' Can you believe it?!!!!! And it's been his favorite phrase of the day. This afternoon he was playing with a toy that pops up when you push the buttons and I kept pushing them down as soon as he popped them up. It was funny at first but apparently he wanted me to stop because he said 'Stop it Mom'!! I was laughing so hard! He says it to Elizabeth all the time now when she gets all up in his business. So funny! It might not be funny a year from now, but today, it's funny.

Here are some pictures from our day today.

Annie got to chew on some cantaloupe! She LOVED it and I'll bet it felt good on her 2 middle top teeth that are cutting through!!

And then she got to spend some time in her jumper:

where she discovered the parrot!!

Here is some of our after dinner fun. Mark sitting on Mark's face:

The newest of tricks:

My 2 year olds...

Here are Mark and Elizabeth at 2 years old:

Mark

23 lbs. 15 oz (50%)

34.5 in. (20%)

Our handsome boy is so much fun to be around! He loves to learn things by repetition. He loves to jump, jump, jump! He also loves to run, especially if you tell him to go fast or hurry, he can run really, really fast! He likes to play with legos, puzzles, cars, trucks, balls, play dough, and anything he can dump or organize. He really dislikes it when people touch or interrupt him when he's focused on something, like organizing. He officially walks up and down the stairs without holding on to anything. Yesterday he figured out how to climb into Annie's crib but luckily he hasn't figured out how to climb in or out of his yet! He can climb into the van and into his car seat, it's so nice! Mark loves being outside, digging in the dirt and rocks or just running free up and down the sidewalk. He's always on the look out for what he can climb or jump off of. He also loves to take a handful of something like, leaves, or bark or legos and YELL shaking while shaking his hands and watching them fall or drop all over the place!

Mark is a very good talker. He will repeat almost any word and is usually pretty clear. He knows his colors, most of his shapes and some letters and numbers. He knows how old he is and his last name. He still loves to read and loves music!

Mark can still fall asleep at the drop of a hat! He goes down at night with no problems and if I don't miss his window during the day he will also fall asleep with zero problems at nap time too. He sleeps for about 1.5-2.5 hours most days. He sleeps about 10.5-11 hours at night. Right now it's Annie who gets up first, then Mark and then Elizabeth. He is almost always awake before Elizabeth, at both nap time and in the mornings. Sometimes he likes to use his blanket as a pillow, sometimes he wraps it around his back and tucks it under his stomach. He sleeps in all positions, but mostly on his stomach. We have tried to get him attached to a stuffed animal but all he wants is his 'ribbit' (not sure why with his excellent speech he still insists on calling it that instead of blanket!) Mark talks in his sleep like crazy!!!! There are so many times I have gone in there, especially in the early morning hours because I think he's awake but his eyes are still closed and he's totally asleep!

Our bed time routine is to get pjs on, read books for a long time, brush our teeth, drink some water, get into cribs while we talk about our day and we tell him all the wonderful things he did that day (like sharing or listening) and then we ask him who he loves and Mark LOVES this! He will name all the people he can think of and he could go on and on and on. He always says mommy, daddy but after that it could be who know's who...some nights it's Monica, Micah, Liam...other nights it's Angela, Kayla, Grandma, Grandpa...Alicia, Kenzie, Lexie, Aubrey...he really tries to think of everyone he knows! It's very cute. Then we say our prayers, Mark will sometimes sing a song with them and then we make sure to have their sound machine and light on. At nap time we will sometimes read and sing, it just depends on how tired they are.

Mark is very, very, very good at cleaning up. ANY time he sees a diaper anywhere (Annie's room, his room, the hallway, the living room) he picks it/them up and puts them in the garbage. He is great at cleaning up his books, play food and trains too. He is not so clean at meal time though! He plays with his food and constantly throws it on the ground, or spits it out of his mouth, or rubs it in his face or hair...it drives me crazy! He knows how to use a spoon and fork he just prefers his hands most of the time. Mark is an excellent eater. He is somewhat open to trying new foods and he's picky but not too bad. He still loves most anything tomato based. He LOVES chocolate! He is very funny about his breakfast too. Most mornings he likes to eat toast and jam and a waffle. I have to serve them both at the same time or he will just sit and wait until they are both in front of him. He likes me to rip his waffles into strips, then he lines them up back together just like a puzzle and then he eats them first, followed by eating off as much jam as he can scrape off his toast before giving up and eating the bread too!

Any time I am not paying attention to Mark he will start saying 'hi, hi, hi' it's so funny! He can be a real ham. He has a silly face and loves to make others laugh, especially Elizabeth! On Saturday night, during family movie night, he laughed aloud for the first time (we were watching Kung Fu Panda, and he wasn't copying us because we weren't laughing)!! I think he's going to have a great sense of humour. He also loves watching shows when we let him. He likes Wonderpets, Bubble Guppies and Curious George. Mark is very sweet with his sisters. He is always sneaking up on Annie to lay a big kiss on her head, or sometimes he just lays next to her and looks at her, cuddles with her and smiles. He is very good with Elizabeth. When she takes his toys he almost never resorts to violence. He will cry and yell and sometimes say 'blah, blah, blah (stuff we can't understand yet) ME! ME! (as in mine!)'!! Mark labeled him as the silent revenger last night because sometimes when he is upset he won't say a word, or make any noise, he will just walk over and hit someone, or throw something! We're always left wondering what the heck?! It appears to come out of nowhere, unless you are really paying attention to what's going on with him. He loves it when Elizabeth chases him, tickles him, plays peek aboo and 'gets him' which involves her usually tickling him.

Mark is a curious, handsome boy who still looks like his Daddy and still prefers his Daddy over Mommy most of the time. I am happy to say most because it used to be always...lately there has been a few occasions when he would rather come to me (even from Daddy's arms!). It makes me feel pretty special! We just love our little buddy so much and are so thankful for him! Happy 2 years buddy!!

Elizabeth

Weight: 22 lbs. 6 oz ( 20%)

34.5 in (50%)

First of all I think her weight is not accurate. At the Dr's office she was

FREAKING out, bad!!! So trying to get her to hold still on the scale was impossible. That being said, we took her home and weighed her and she was more like 23, so I guess it was close.

Elizabeth is so fun to play with! She is a very thoughtful little girl who loves to include everyone, maybe that's why she has turned her crib into a refuge for EVERY stuffed animal we have in the house! One day I sat Annie down on the couch in between her and Mark while they were watching a show and the next day Elizabeth reminded me that Annie should be sitting next to her, she patted the couch and said 'Annie, sit'! She will do this with some of her close friends too during play dates. She is also giving Annie toys all the time, sometimes without me asking her to! She never takes food or drink without asking for some for Mark, and she will take it to him and stand there until he takes it, which can sometimes take awhile! She does the same thing with their blankies. Elizabeth smiles lights up the room, it is so sweet and cute.

Elizabeth is a funny eater. I can't say she's too picky because she will try new things but it's all about the presentation for her! She loves to watch us cook so if she sees what we're making that helps, sometimes if she gets to eat right out of the pot, or off of Daddy's plate or while we are outside and she is distracted then that will help too. She still LOVES cereal, cheese and yogurt. I think she ate 5 (small) bowls of Peanut Butter Cheerios this morning! She is super messy with getting food all over herself but lately she has been spilling her milk or water out on the table to play in...and sometimes just because she wants to be the one to clean it up! She can be a great cleaning helper too.

Elizabeth loves to say ' I do it', in fact her nails are so long right now because every time I try to cut them she wants to hold the clippers and do it herself!! Elizabeth loves to dance, she wants a dance party after every meal. If you give this girl a shovel and bucket she will dig

and play for a long time in the dirt! She also loves to go on walks, play at the park, especially walking up the slide and going back down or just climbing and swinging. She loves to climb and swing! Her and Mark will say 'careful' when they are doing something dangerous or that they think might result in an owie! Elizabeth loves to color and do any kind of arts and crafts. She can draw circles and lines and tries hard to draw animals.

Elizabeth is very smart. She can be quiet around people she doesn't know well, but she can talk very well. Sometimes she doesn't say the first letter in a word, but other than that she does great. She knows all her colors, most of her shapes, knows her last name, knows how old she is and can recognize some letters and numbers (mostly letters). Elizabeth likes to go around the room or dinner table and name all the people there. Today she saw herself in a reflection and said Elizabeth! Her and Mark always refer to themselves by their names, except when she wants to do something and when he's mad! She still loves to read and LOVES music.

As stated Elizabeth loves to sleep with her stuffed animals and blankie. Sometimes she takes a while to settle down to sleep but once she does she almost always stays asleep for a long time! She is a deep sleeper and almost always sleeps in past Mark in the morning (but that could be due to the fact that he goes to sleep right away and she stays up playing in her crib). She went through a phase recently where before we put her in her crib at bed time she wanted someone (usually Daddy) to rock her in the rocking chair. She will point to it and say 'chair'! Elizabeth usually wakes up happy but sometimes needs a little cuddle time before going out to play.

Elizabeth does so good at church because the bag is full of stuff to keep her hands busy! Elizabeth goes CRAZY at bath time! She loves to splash and roll around and get water everywhere! She will put her face in the water too! We don't have to put her in time out very often but when we do she is usually laughing!

We love our Elizabeth soooo much!! She makes us happy and we are so thankful we have her in our family! Happy 2nd birthday sweetheart!!

Pictures were taken by Tami Cutler Photography, she came to our home and did an AMAZING job with these two crazy kids! I even asked her to bring a stuffed animal to help break the ice with our 'shy' girl. She did and it completely worked! She has 3 little ones of her own that are so cute. She was so patient and great with our family!