Slacker!

Ok, to say I have been a slacker when it comes to our blog has been an understatement. November always seems to kick off a crazy time of year with Thanksgiving, Luke and Olivia's birthdays, Christmas, and work. I had no idea I would be as busy with my photography business (which is wonderful!), but it leaves considerably less time to do some things I would like to do-like keep our blog updated so I can look back one day and remember this wonderful time in our lives. So I'll give a recap as much as I can, with hopes to retro my posts about their birthday and Christmas-two HUGE things we want to remember!

First, a little update about Luke and Olivia. Let's see...I'll start with Luke since he was first born. Oh, my, what a bundle of joy he has been! He still has THE best smile and is talking up a storm! We continue to work on potty training but he'll get there soon. We are about to transition him to a "big kid" bed (yes, believe it or not they are still in cribs!), which makesmy me a tiny bit sad but it's time. He is doing wonderfully at school, has become much more social and is too smart for his own good sometimes! The things they remember blows me away constantly! He loves to sit with mommy and daddy to watch a "show", still loves Mickey and also loves all things cars, trucks...anything with wheels. He's also into Lightening McQueen, which is kinda funny considering he's never even sat through the entire movie. He is all boy, loves to wrestle with daddy, and is becoming more of a mommy's boy (which melts my heart). Luke's independence has grown and he can get dressed and undressed all by himself. He still takes a nap, but can do ok without it, too. He sleeps great at night, and we are blessed to have 2 kids that sleep through the night almost every night. I hope that continues once they are in their new bed. Luke loves to play games and still works puzzles like nobody's business. It's impressive how well he can look at the picture on the box and then work the puzzle.

Olivia-my goodness she has more energy than I have ever seen. She is fully potty trained, even at night, and has pretty much given up napping. She is still happy at night, though, and doesn't go to bed much earlier than she did before. She just needs less sleep in general. We have fun Mommy/Olivia time while Luke is napping and play games, color, work puzzles, or snuggle an watch an extra Mickey. Olivia still loves TV and would probably watch it all day if we let her! It's pretty much the only time she sits still. She still talks all of the time and her independence has grown a ton. She can get undressed all by herself and has almost mastered getting dressed-buttons are still hard. She is still a mommy's girl but gets so excited when Daddy comes home from work. She loves preschool and plays well with everyone. I love to see the projects they do during the day, and they tell me if they played inside or outside and who they ate lunch with. We are about to convert her crib to a "big kid" bed, too, especially now that she is potty trained and not napping. She is very girly in that she loves princesses, her crown and jewelry. She can also hang with the boys and play in the dirt, too.

They are really starting to play well together and follow each other around the house. I love to hear their conversations and sometimes I just listen to them chatter with one another. The teachers tell me at preschool that they usually do their own thing and play with other friends, which is fantastic. Luke tells me he sometimes sits at the "boys table" for lunch and Olivia sits at the "girls table." Luke still calls Olivia "yeeyee" and sometimes Olivia will call Luke "Lucas." They are starting to learn manners and say please, thank you, and excuse me, sometimes when not even prompted to do so :) They are getting to be better eaters and use utensils really well. They have pretty much moved on from riding their tricycles to their "big" 16" bikes (with training wheels, of course). They have minds of their own and aren't shy about voicing their opinions. They ask "why" A TON, and I always try to answer it the best I can. Sometimes after a string of 5 or 6 "why's", I just don't have any answers left! The house is much less "baby proofed" now and the baby gates, play yards, cabinet locks, etc are pretty much gone. They love to play with Piper and he tolerates it much more than I thought he would have. We've had several fish without much luck and are thinking about getting a new outdoor kitty. We'll see about that! We have play dates often with friends and it's been awesome to see all of the personalities and friendships begin to develop.

One thing that is really sweet is they have both taken to their stuffed animals, especially Luke. Every morning he wakes up, Lukie the monkey, Daddy the monkey, Mommy the bear, fireman dog and Pluto have to come downstairs with us. He really loves Lukie the monkey, which we find super sweet since Dan and I bought it for him the day we found out we were having a boy and a girl. Olivia still loves Pretzel baby doll, and often carries around a stuffed pig, Heart the Kitty Cat or Nemo. She tucks them in their pack n play bed and covers them up, just like a little mommy.

We get to see family often, but not as often as we'd like to sometimes. Dan is super busy at work and with spring coming, more yard work is needed. I'm busy on weekends a lot with work and we try to have as much family time as we can. Some weekends we'll have picnic and movie night and lay a big blanket in the living room, watch a Disney movie and have either dinner or popcorn/gummies. Luke and Olivia are big helpers outside and love to help plant flowers, wash cars, etc, and they still love to help me cook.

So that's a quick recap of the past few months, the best I can remember! Here are a few pictures from various things-the beach, St Patty's Day, etc. I hope to be better with updates, but I can't promise anything!

Beach trip:


St. Patty's Day:


Just for fun:


Some family pics with my sister's family and Dan's family: