Another six months of changing from my biggest kids

Six months seems to be the magic number...I was just thinking I should update on things my older kids can do that they couldn't six months ago, and sure enough, I posted this the first time in March, just about six months ago.

Here are some new things they can do....

- Unload the dishwasher (Micah) and assist me in cleaning the bathrooms (Mackenna)
- Make their beds
- Go places at night without falling asleep in the car (well, mostly)
- Memorize references to go with Bible verses and quote the correct verse when prompted with a question
- Micah can sound out cvc words and definitely knows what letter almost any word starts with.
- Mackenna is awesome at rhyming words.
- Write their names easily
- Ride a bike with training wheels
- Get themselves dried off after a bath and put on their PJ's by themselves
- Mackenna now sleeps in underwear without a single accident.
- Micah loves adding on his fingers.
- Ride kiddie rollercoasters and like them (especially Mackenna).


I love them.

Before I finish, I wanted to record a little something about being the mom of twins. There have been times in the past four years where it really isn't like I have twins; it is just like I have two kids and the things I struggle with are the things that every mom of two kids struggles with. However, there have also been some unique twin mom times too. (Potty training two at once comes to mind.) I'm at another one of those unique times. Micah and Mackenna are two very unique lovable individuals - who just happened to be born on the same day. They are different players, imaginers, learners, etc. Micah shows a real aptitude right now for learning - he is ready to read and likes trying. She isn't quite there yet, which is totally fine since she is still a young four years old. She loves books, probably more so than him. So I am at this difficult place of figuring out how to encourage him and be excited for him without discouraging her or making her hate books. Also, the decision of when to start kindergarten is always a challenge for parents...but we are faced with making a decision that is best for each individual child but is also best for the pair of children. It isn't easy. Praying for a lot of mom wisdom.

Also, since I'm seeking to see my children as individuals, I recently made a change to our rest time routine to allow for more one on one time. Here is what we are doing now.
- Monday - family day so each week is different
- Tuesday - my "Monday" so the twins will do rest time together on my bed listening to audio books while I do laundry, clean, etc.
- Wednesday - Mackenna gets time with mom while Micah gets to pick all the audio books for his own rest time
- Thursday - we switch and Micah gets time with mom
- Friday - Movie day


So far so good....

Moving on up...

Well, summer happened. It was fast, wonderful, and full of so many people that we love. More on that later...maybe??

And today we moved on to THIS...











We started the day with scrambled eggs (which they ate...thankfully), Wild Krats (which they had time to watch because they ate...thankfully), changing into the new outfits they picked out, and pictures.

We were early to school, because there has to be one day that that happens. Drop off is on the playground, which will allow me to leave Jocelyn in the car while I sign them in. I am thankful for that. Before we pulled away, we saw each of them talking to at least one child, and really not sticking together much.

We were also early for pickup, because there also has to be one time for that. We observed them sitting in circle time singing a song about fishies. Mackenna was doing the appropriate hand motions and singing along. Micah was sitting there. They both got a sticker for the day, and the teacher said it went well. In separate meal time prayers, they both thanked God for wonderful days - I guess that is all I can ask for!

I think I feel a little weirder facing tomorrow - Day Two - then I did about day 1. I have dropped them off places before for one day and had a little time to breath, but then it is usually back to the normal gearing up for a crazy day at home the next day. Today as I was realizing that Curt will go to work tomorrow and we have no groceries and the laundry isn't quite done and I was beginning to go into my Manic Monday night mode...I remembered that tomorrow will be another quiet morning at home with Jocelyn. I'm thankful for that, but also a little weirded out by it too - more perplexed than sad. I am looking forward to the routine - I think it will be good for us.

We ended the day with Tortellini and a trip for ice cream...and of course, bed!

Here's to a great practice run at this thing called school :)


Oh...and tomorrow my baby turns 11 months old. I haven't written her a monthly letter since 7 months. It is too late to "catch up" but I am determined to write something about her tomorrow...since waiting until the next month would mean than she would be 1!! So, that hopefully means two posts in two days!

Valentine's Day 2012

A couple of things I overheard on this happiest of love days.

As Daddy's car pulled in the driveway after work, Micah: "Let's take a pause and go hug Daddy."

As I got back in the car after a quick trip into the grocery store (to get some fruit to take for dinner to a friend's house, a friend who fed us twice today!), Mackenna: "I love you Micah." Micah: "I love you Mackenna." Did I mention they were holding hands as they said this?



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I thought it would be fun to interview the kids about their love interests today. Here are their interviews:

Micah:






What do you love? "I love you, mommy, and I love Mackenna, and Daddy, and Elliana, and Audrey, and....umm, uh...Ava and Faith, and Autumn, and Lily, and um, I love, our friend Audrey, and what else...

What shows do you love? "Busy World, that's the first one, and Busy Town, and that's the second one, and....I like, um, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, that's the fourth one,...what other shows are on? I like Einsteins, that's the fourth, that's another one). I like Phonics Farm, that's the fieth one. Those are all the shows I like.

What do you love about Daddy? "When he wants to play with me, and when he goes to work, and what else, I love when um, Daddy drives back to our house, and what else, and I love when um we um when he goes to get something for me."

What do you love about Mackenna? "I love that she rides her bicycle fast. I love that she plays with me sometimes. I love when she does her work. That's all."

What do you love about Jocelyn? "I love that she smiles at me when I smile at her. And I love that I took a picture with her and I hold her. And...I think that's all."



What about mommy? "I love that you pick me up sometimes. I love that I give hugs to you. I love that you kiss daddy. And, I think that's all."

How can you show people that you love them? "By being happy. By sharing."

Do you remember the verse we learned about love? Love is.... "kind." And what else? Love is......"patient."

Do you know that I love you? "Yeah."
How long will I love you? "I think for a long times. And you'll love Mackenna for a long times."

"Is that all? I want to go back outside."



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Mackenna:



Who do you love? "What do you have special for me?"
No, this conversation is the special thing I wanted to do with you. Who do you love? "Elliana, I don't like anyone else."
What about Micah and daddy? "No."
Do you want to go back outside and play? "Mm hmm"

Well, that went well.
And to further endear herself to her mother, once we got back outside, she proceeded to tell me that I had a big belly. Thanks sweetie.


We tried again later.

Who do you love? "I love Lily and I love Elliana and I love Emma and I love the friend at the castle park, And I like...that's all."
What about your family? "mmmmm...I like baby Jocelyn."
What about Micah and Daddy? "I like Micah and Daddy and You and Maggie and Christa and Audra and Nana and Allison and Grandma and Grandma Snyder. That's all the friends I love."

What are some things you love? "I love everything in the world. parks. and Indiana. and houses. and that's all the things I like."

What do you love about Daddy? "I love work. I love when daddy plays and I like babies with Daddy. And I like kids that daddy draws for me. I love to play with him and I like to play with Micah with Daddy. And I like stickers to play with my notebook."

What do you love about Micah? "Micah does good things and play with me and show good surprises for me. And he shows pictures of me. And he shows good bows."

What do you love about Jocelyn? "I love her playing and saying "uh ga ga" and I love her to talk for me and I love her to snuggle with me on the couch. And I love her so much that I wholly love all my friends."



"And I love all the friends I like."

What do you love about mommy? "I like you to show me things and good surprises. And put bows in my hair. And I like you to play with me. And I like good pictures to show me."

How can you show people that you love them? "Show them how to play with me and how to play games."

"Audra is bigger than me but I'm still her best friend."

Do you remember the verse about Love? Love is..."kind. Love is peaceful too." What else? Love is.... p p p ..... patient. "Oh. Patient. And kind and peaceful."

Do you know that I love you? "uh-huh"
How long will I love you? "This long." (hands stretched out wide)
How much do I love you? "This long." (hands close together) "Or this long." (hands stretched out) "Like four pickles in a row."

"What is love about? Kindness, and peace for the shepherds."



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A few more pictures of my three second favorite Valentine's:

Some vacation quotes

On the morning of July 10th, Mackenna's first words to me when she woke up were "Am I three now?"  Yes, sweet girl, you are.

The other night at dinner, from Micah (with similar comments from Mackenna), "when I get big, I can fly a plane and fly to Indiana and then pick up other people and they can fly with me"

They have really taken to calling each other "my sister" or "my brother" - and asking about each other constantly.

Mackenna looked at my belly the other day and very clearly asked me "how did she get in there" and "how is she going to get out"

Forgotten Placemats

I meant to grab the cheapie paper placemats from the dinner restaurant tonight and bring them home with us. There were some treasures drawn on the back. I, of course, forgot.

Mackenna found an "M" "A" and "C" on the front of the placemat and was able to circle each of them (she found the G first when she was looking for the C). On the back, I wrote her name in yellow and she very successfully (for her FIRST attempt at this) traced it in purple. She also wrote an "e" totally unprompted. It looked great - upside down, but great. She announced proudly what it was. She then wrote a really really good M also unprompted. When I was spelling her name, she really wants there to be an "O" in it, so we made a few extra of those at the bottom. Of all the spellings I have seen for Mackenna, they rarely....eh-hem, never....include an O. Sorry dear.

Curt tried the same tracing event with Micah's name - let's just say it was a little less successful. This may be one boy/girl stereotype that is actually going to stay true.

Because I'm going to forget

Not because this qualifies for anything close to a legitimate post -

- Mackenna and I just watched Cinderella together. She seemed to follow parts of it - told me her dress was gone after the spell ended and asked about her shoes. She seemed to think that Cinderella was also gone after the spell was over - and I told her it was still the same girl. She got her Cinderella book and pointed to the picture of Cinderella with the prince and asked me "where's cinderella?"

- Micah randomly, out of nowhere, after not being to church for two weeks, said this in the car last night "You should have no other Gods before me - Exodus twenty three" I was speechless.

- We hold hands typically during prayer. Micah insists on folding his own hands individually only when he wants to pray. His mealtime prayers always go like this "Dear God, Thank you for the ____ (insert very specific food item), Thank you for the _____, Thank you for the _____....(you get the idea). In Jesus' Name. Amen

- Mackenna has had a few successes on the potty. This leaves me wondering what to do - as Christmas isn't too far away and that means long travels. Also, Micah has no interest, which is fine with me, but I feel awful not giving him M&M's and giving them to her when he just really doesn't understand.

- Micah and dad were playing a running game at dad's office the other day. Curt got up off the floor after a few rounds and Micah said, "no, sit down, you are not all done dad"

- We have been a little hooked on singing the "on the ground" skit from SNL. The other day Micah started singing "I threw it on the ground." Oh my. Then last night at the store, Micah and Mackenna really were throwing things on the ground and we had to try, with a straight face, to tell them not to throw something on the ground.

- Micah used to kiss random facial parts of mine at bedtime - calling his move before he made it. He would back up and look at me and say "kiss your eyes" and then do it, "kiss your ears" "kiss your eyelashes" etc. Now, he runs away when I ask for a kiss. The other day I asked him to do something and said I would kiss him if he didn't do it....he did it instantly.

Happy Birthday Eve

I think in honor of my upcoming birthday, my children did some pretty monumental/very sweet things today -

1. They have been talking about "birthday. mommy" ever since going shopping with Curt for my gifts on Saturday. They also have talked a lot about their birthday (just a month ago). Mackenna told Micah "happy birthday" today and he said "not micah birthday. mommy birthday." It is amazing to see things clicking for them.

2. Mackenna crawled up in my lap and said "i love you mommy." What more could I ask for.

3. Micah was able to answer "what color is a fire truck?" at dinner tonight. After I got over my shock of him saying "red," I asked a lot more questions. Pumpkin, John Deere Tractor, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Cushan (our cat), Abby Caddaby, Mackenna's shirt, Grass. He got ALL of these right. He then started quizzing me. "Mommy, what color is Grover?"  I had no idea he would know these colors without seeing a picture, only visualizing it in his head. It was like you could literally see his mind processing and sorting through the index card files in his brain.

4. Daddy asked Micah how old Mommy was going to be. He didn't know. He asked him if he could say "twenty-nine" and Micah did, quite well. He then started laughing hysterically. Yes, it is funny.

5. Mackenna said mommy was going to be "two."

6. The kids call dessert "sert."

7. Micah tells daddy to do the "down. set. hut hut hike." (wrestling/tackle game)

8. Micah asked Mackenna if she liked tractors and she smiled and leaned into his face and said "yes, I like tractors."

9. After being tucked in and prayed for, Micah told daddy "Good praying Daddy."

I am blessed.

18 Months

Micah took his first steps in Indiana (mid to late July) at Grandma and Grandpa Sharbaugh's house before the family reunion. Both mom and dad got to see it. He didn't really start walking until later. In Indiana, Mackenna figured out how to stand up from a sitting position; she didn't take any steps there though. When we got back to Florida (early August), she took some steps for the video camera when Micah was playing with his ball popper toy. It was kind of a shock. Since she also knew how to stand up once she fell, she really picked up speed from there. Her Meshugana personality shone through as she would fall down and get back up many many times as she would walk somewhere, completely unfazed and crazily happy about it. Micah showed some signs of being a cautious perfectionist engineer type as he had to figure out the walking thing perfectly before he would try it. Once he figured it out, he would walk quite a ways without falling. He even figured out how to turn corners pretty close to his first steps. However, he couldn't figure out how to stand back up after he fell, maybe this was part of the reason he didn't fall often. It took him awhile to figure this out instead of having to crawl over to something to pull up on. Now, quite a few months later, it is crazy to see them crawling from time to time. They definitely have the walking, and running, thing mastered.

Micah's hair really had started to turn into a surfer boy/mullet. It would have some good days, but it also would look pretty shaggy and scraggly at times. He got his first haircut right before he turned 14 months old. He sat in the big chair like a big boy. He did really well the whole time, staying pretty calm and looking around. He did get a little distracted towards the end, so mommy gave him her phone and he talked on it for awhile (trading stocks on e-trade). Mom did have a pretty hard time being okay with her baby getting a haircut, but she had to admit that he looked pretty handsome at the time. Dad took him for his second haircut a few months after that.

Mackenna's hair has really changed since her first birthday. The sides have really grown long and she is able to almost put it all up in two pigtails. She has graduated from the pebbles ponytail in the middle of her head and will either wear it on the side in one ponytail or partially up in two pigtails.

The twins stopped nursing in middle to late September. I recorded a bit about how that really happened here.

Right now Micah is really into cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes, boats, etc. He likes reading about them (pointing them out in picture books) and playing with them. He will actually sit really still on your lap while you look at a book as long as it involves one of the above things. He also has certain truck books that he really likes and will go find if you ask him to. He likes throwing them, kicking them (he can do this on command sometimes), and getting them knocked out of his hand by daddy. He really likes that he gets to face forward in his carseat now, especially when he is riding in a car that he is high enough that he can point out all the trucks that are passing by. He is also a little obsessed with shoes. Usually the first thing he will ask for when he gets out of his crib in the morning is his shoes. He even wants them on over his footed pajamas. He also wants everyone else to be wearing shoes and will bring you your shoes if he finds them in the house (we have a special place that we hide our shoes so that he can't do this). He will also put on other people's shoes and walk around the house. The other day he may have interacted with the Little Einsteins TV show, patting his lap when he was supposed to and maybe taking some steps along with the directions. He also likes to play tackle/wrestle/tickle with daddy. Daddy plays a game where he says "hut hut hike" and Micah runs away and then he gets tackled and tickled by daddy - this involves lots of laughing. He gives "knuckles" and expects to be tickled after he gives it. When Mackenna hears the "hut hut hike" game, she comes running toward daddy for a tickle.

Mackenna is really into snuggling right now. She wants to be held in someone's arms or lap most of the time. Also, she would prefer if we let her have her little flannel blankie all of the time. She puts it into her mouth and then rubs her nose with the wet corner. If her blankie is not available, she loves to have a wet wipe to accomplish this with. She will also use many other things if neither of these are options - napkin, washcloth, toilet paper, towel, clothing, stuffed animals, etc. She also says "hi" in a singsong, two-syllable, high-pitched way when she sees someone or they come into the room. She really is a mimicer and is picking up on things really quickly right now. She learned to do the "itsybitsy" part of the song after only observing it once. She also can do most all of the motions for "where are the bees" now (he can do almost as many as she can). She learned "head and shoulders" after probably 10 times hearing it. She will also tip over to one side when she hears "i'm a little teapot." She says most of the things that Micah says, because she will mimic him, however, because she will also mimic many other things, she does say more words than he says. She is really picking up on using silverware right now - stabbing food with her fork and getting it in her mouth really well. She is really emotional right now - still kind of an all or nothing girl. She can get really upset about things when they don't go her way - like when she can't have the pigs that are in the TV show. She is into coloring or scribbling with pencils or pens right now. She is also a little more into the Magna Doodle than he is. She is a biter - this has been an off and on problem for her - mostly motivated by her brother taking toys from her. We are working on both sides of this. When Micah wants to keep her from getting something or take something from her, he will fall on her or the object with his whole body and just lay there, protecting the item. Sharing is not going well right now, and it involves lots of screaming (and some biting).

They are both pretty into opening and closing doors right now. They like to be on opposite side of doors and open and close them at each other, playing a version of hide/peekaboo with each other. They both like putting hats and other dress up like clothing on.

List of words
Mommy
Daddy
Car
Tractor (Micah)
Boat (Micah)
Up
Nana
Papa
GG (Mackenna)
Emma
Diaper (Mackenna)
Poopy (Mackenna)
Cheese
Juice
Water (Mackenna...Micah would only ever ask for juice - no need to learn this one)
Sign for More, Please, All Done
Micah says please by saying oheeoheeohee accompanied with the sign for all done
Baby (Mackenna)
Siren Noise
Eieio (Micah)
Shoes
Cicah (Mackenna's version of Micah)
Cacah (Mackenna's version of Mackenna)
Cookie
Cracker
Nana (Banana)
No
"I want this" - a concoction of syllables that sounds a lot like this (Micah) and fits based on context and how he uses it consistently and repeatedly back to back - we are guessing on this one

Animal Sounds
Roar
Meow
Woof
Moo
Oink
Gobble Gobble


Words that have alternate meanings -
Daddy - means "here I have something for you" or "take this" - they will both say this with their hand outstretched, consistently having something in their hand that they want us to take
Mommy - pick me up

Favorite foods right now -
Green Beans
Chicken Nuggets with SAUCE
yogurt smoothies
yogurt - if they get to feed themselves
Peas (Micah)
Carrots (Mackenna)
Strawberries
Meat with Sauce
Peaches
Bananas
Cookies :)
Crackers :)
Whatever mom and dad are eating
They eat pretty much whatever....

They know so much and can follow so many commands that it is hard to think about what they can say and what they can't, because I get confused as to what they can say and what they just can do. Here are some things they can do when asked -

• go to the door - either the garage door or front door depending on what they are asked
• throw away their diaper out in the garage - take the diaper from their room to the garage, open the garage door, put it in the diaper champ, and pull the diaper champ handle to push the diaper down
• find their shoes (micah is really good at this one)
• bring mommy a book
• go take a bath
• put froggie back in bed
• pick up the cars and put them back in the bag (especially if they see mommy start doing this with them)
• go get in their highchair (they will stand by them)
• get in their little chairs for snacktime
• give it to mommy or daddy

Daily routine (13 - 17 months)
Get up around 8ish
Breakfast
Nap around 9:30 - 11:00
Change into clothes
Lunch
Nap around 2 - 4
Snack
Dinner
Bed around 8ish - Mom and Dad sing "Jesus Loves You" "Oh how he loves you and me" and "Oh how I love Micah/Mackenna" and then play "Come to the Cradle" CD by Michael Card

Daily routine (18 months)
Get up around 8ish
Breakfast
"Rest time" from 10 - 10:30 (lights on, play with toys and books in cribs and cuddle with their lovies)
Lunch
Nap around 1 - 3
Snack
Dinner
Bed around 8ish - same songs