Bedtime Shenanigans

If you're ever wondering if bedtime is the right time to rile your kids up and try to get some cute pictures ... probably not.  Matt was right ;) 

Tessa and Annie - 22 months

At 22 months, the "babies" are really little girls now!  They are still very similar in a lot of ways, but have many differences.  And, just when we think we have them figured out, they switch roles on us.  They take turns being the cuddlier twin, and are both developing their own unique little attitudes.  Tessa has started to mimic some of Bridget's mannerisms, especially her dramatic pouts with her eyes closed and chin in the air.  But, they're incredibly sweet with one another.  They do fight over little objects, but seem to have more compassion for one another than a singleton would (at least in our family).  If one asks for something saying "please," the other will usually surrender what they're fighting over.  They totally get the concept of sharing and taking turns, and are already pretty protective of one another.  I can't wait to see how their little bond develops over time.

They both talk up a storm right now, with lots of complete sentences, and more words every day.  Some highlights include, "I want to get down!" "I want a granola bar." "I want my hat."  "I want gogurt." I know -- lots of want, want, want.  Sigh. Still, a lot of it is pretty indecipherable.  I'm not sure if this is "twin talk" or just normal, but they do seem to understand each other!  When Sara and I were small, our parents set up a tape recorder in our room as we were (supposed to be) falling asleep, and they got some entertaining audio of the two of us jabbering in complete nonsense with one another.  We have yet to do that for Tessa and Annie, but should!!  They babble together for upwards of an hour sometimes at nap time and bedtime.  Lots of deep conversations, I'm sure.

More than anything, Tessa and Annie are closing the gap with Megan and Bridget.  They are more a unit of four than a "big girl" set and a "little girl" set.  Just today, I realized that I can take all four to the playground without a stroller, and actually carry on a conversation with other moms while they all just...play!  I don't need to hover under the play structures to spot anyone, or coax anyone down from where they shouldn't be.  They all go down slides like pros, and the four of them run around like a little pack. 

The same is true at home.  Baby gates are only used for containment, and they all play together for long stretches with minimal involvement from me. Sure, there's usually a mess involved afterwards, but that's the price I pay for some "alone time" to do the dishes!  People often comment that I have my own little preschool with these four, but if that's the case, then I am definitely not the teacher.  It's Megan, who is alternately "reading" stories to her students, or directing activities and doling out parts in her little plays.  The babies have slipped seamlessly into all of the girls' games, and I've yet to hear a complaint from the big girls.  More often than not, they can be seen (and heard) running from one end of our second floor to the other in a little stampede, all carrying dolls, princesses, purses and various other accessories.  The footsteps are punctuated with urgent cries of, "Mommy, it's raining!  My dress is getting wet.  Hurry inside!" or, "Oh, no!  Sweetiepie, let me help you!"  The Mommy is not me in these scenarios.  At least once a day, I yell up there, "Are you talking to me?"  They may or may not call back, "No!" depending on how lost in their game they are.

So, yes, Tessa and Annie engage in lots of pretend play, but they also like their downtime - in front of their cartoons.  Dodo and Gogo, to be exact.  That's Dora and Diego to everyone else. They're not picky about where they see them.  They're equally comfortable with the TV, iPhone and iPad.  While they don't know a thing about how to operate the television remote, they are eerily adept at selecting their shows from the instant queue on Netflix on the phone or iPad.  They're limited to maybe two shows a day, but they would watch those all day if they could!

Tessa (in overalls) and Annie pause for a snap-happy mommy.  They are obviously immersed in something fun, that only they understand.  And, Dora, as always, is tucked securely into Tessa's overall pocket :)

Annie's all bundled up and ready to go somewhere...anywhere. They both love wearing their jackets in the house, at the ready should I choose to bring them somewhere more exciting than our house.

I just love these pictures, even though they're blurry, especially the last one.  The babies love to play with the curtains in their room, and get endless entertainment from them.  Tessa is in red with the Crocs, her shoes.  It's funny - most of their shoes are hand-me-downs from the girls, and they each have very distinct taste.  They never fight over shoes (so far!).

Duck and Dog, fresh from a bath!

And, I can't resist two more cute shots.  Tessa's practicing for her first school photos already :)

And Annie - just being flirty and silly.

New Year's Fun in the Snow

Living on one income in San Francisco is a tricky business, made trickier with four kids, and especially when that one income is a teacher's salary.  But, because of Matt's teaching schedule, we have a lot of family time together.  It's a trade-off that I'm happy with at this point in our girls' lives.  We make a lot of sacrifices and have to really watch our money, which means that really fancy vacations are in the distant past and maybe in the distant future. But, while we may not be able to go to Hawaii every year, we can do Tahoe!  We have my family's cabin that we're lucky to be able to use, so a Tahoe vacation is a pretty affordable vacation, both in the summer and winter, and we hadn't taken the girls to the snow in a few years.  In fact, Tessa and Annie had never been in the snow.  With Matt's three weeks of Christmas vacation this year, we had plenty of time to squeeze in a trip, and we jumped at the chance to spend a week up there after Christmas.

The first hurdle was packing for the week.  Ugh.  Tessa and Annie were very helpful in this process.

The second hurdle we faced was getting there, in the snow, with the possibility of needing chains.  Luckily, we made it through the drive without needing chains, and, once there, we settled in for the week.  We went grocery shopping the next morning, which was very handy since a major storm hit Tahoe the next night.  Our power was out for over 12 hours and we were totally snowed in.  We woke up to more than two new feet of snow, and, without power, no cartooons for the kids!!  Our neighbors came through with some entertainment, though.  They live there full time, and have to (gasp!!) work. Watching them snow-blow their driveway before leaving for work at 7am in a snowstorm provided a diversion for the girls, but truly shattered any fantasy I had built up in my head of an idyllic day-to-day life in a wintery climate.  I was suddenly very grateful for our mild weather!

Once we all decided to brave this snow ourselves, the girls had a lot of fun accessorizing, especially Bridget.

Do you think Tessa has any dimples??

These three were quite happy with their attire, which includes a lot of hand-me-downs from our Mason cousins.  We are so lucky that their girls are all a little older than our girls, and grateful that they've unloaded a lot of their snow clothes, boots, and even skis on us. 

Well, most of us were happy.  The outfit that fit Megan best happened to be blue.  Horror of all horrors!  She felt pretty picked on that she wasn't pretty in pink. I think this one may have been cousin Zach's outfit (her on-again, off-again husband), but that didn't make it any better, or any pinker.

Once out in the snow, though, and especially on the sled hill that Daddy slaved over to perfect, everyone was happy...

for about thirty minutes.  Time to head back inside again.

And, while it may appear that we spent a lot of time in the snow, the kids were more often amusing themselves indoors.  But, we made a big mistake in not bringing any toys with us!  What were we thinking?!  So, they created games for themselves, including one where they spent a lot of time in an upstairs closet that has two doors (read: so fun for the four and under set): 

Luckily, in addition to the closet, we also had Matt's laptop and iPad, and they are are quite comfortable using both:

We had such a nice time!  We're looking forward to many, many more trips like these with the girls, especially as they get older.

Christmas

Christmas morning came too soon, as does every morning in our house!  But, we had an amazing time watching the girls open everything!  We didn't have anywhere to be until much later in the afternoon, so it was so nice to relax and enjoy it! 

This little bunk bed set is a favorite for all four girls right now, and the twins only attempted getting into it themselves a few times ;) 

Our very fancy Christmas breakfast:

And, what kind of major holiday would this be without an injury?  Megan tried to carry the little bunk beds up the stairs (Why? Don't ask.), and much to everyone's shock, she fell and cut her chin a little.

Bridget, however, was a happy girl all day, especially once she was wearing her Christmas dress!!  This girl is all about clothes and shoes - already!!  We can't go anywhere without her commenting on other girls' shoes.  But, I digress...

Once we made it to Matt's Aunt Anne's house for dinner, Annie proved what I've been in denial about for a while now:  we need to get a dog!  She didn't leave Paddington's side all night.  It was very cute, and I know they would all love either a cat or a dog, but I just don't think I can handle adding an animal  to our mix until we're done with diapers.  And, that's not happening any time soon, but that's another blog post!!

Anne put on a beautiful dinner at two huge tables that stretched across nearly three rooms in their house!

After dinner, the girls enjoyed opening even more presents.  Big hits for Megan and Bridget were Tag Reader books and their Disney Princess babies and toddler dolls.  And, the cradles to go with the babies.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you obviously have a life beyond the toddler girl world.  I want to trade lives with you, just for one day!!

Meanwhile, Tessa and Annie's "Dodo" dreams came true when they opened all of their Dora the Explorer presents.  They now each own their own Dora slippers, backpack, blocks and dolls.  What more could any "Dodo" obsessed girl ask for? 

And, the best part about having lots of cousins?  You always have enough kids to put on a Christmas play of some kind, even if more than half of the cousins aren't there, which was the case this year.  For Megan , this meant she sidled her way right into the Mary spot, with cousin Zach as Joseph.  These two wouldn't have it any other way, since their favorite game together is "Mommy and Daddy," where they pretend they're married.  Of course, Bridget was the perfect little angel, too! (Notice that she didn't dare set her new Sleeping Beauty baby down to play the part, though.)

And, the entire cast even sang Christmas carols for us afterwards.  This was the first year the girls really got into this.  It's such a fun tradition, and it makes me hopeful for a lot of grandchildren myself!!