Twins are a lot of work. There is the constant changing, nursing, holding that comes along with a baby, and yet there are two. The twins, however, are not as hard as my toddler. Toddlers are hard! They have such constant, tireless energy and each and every day they set out to conquer the world, or at least every cupboard they are not meant to go into. Each day I am chasing Mikayla around, trying to keep track of her and trying to keep the babies safe and accounted for. Yesterday I enlisted Mikayla's help to bathe the babies thinking that it would be fun for her and easier for me. I left the room with Alex to grab another cloth and came back to this.....

Caileigh has become increasingly mature in the last few weeks. There has been a subtle change in her willingness and desire to help out. Caileigh has always enjoyed moments of being helpful but she tends to be more of a free spirit. Whereas Aiden loves to clean and organize, Caileigh will merely tolerate it and is probably driven more from the fear of losing her TV time. Lately she is finding ways to help out without being asked. She will pour Mikayla a glass of milk, wipe up a spill or grab a diaper when needed. It is wonderful to see these moments of helpfulness. Her new job that she has been really excited about is "babysitting". Each morning, while Aiden practices his reading, Caileigh "babysits" mikayla. Caileigh has been teaching her colors and animals and other material that Caileigh has deemed important for Mikayla to learn. It is fun to see these two sisters interact.

Alex 14 lbs 8 oz

Jordan 15 lbs 4 oz

Go ahead and try not to smile......

ahhh, that's better........

It's been one of those weeks. Crazy busy and yet when I try and think about what we did, I can't really remember. Sean was out of town so that probably erased some brain cells. I was pretty excited as I watched his plane touch down. For the last six months, Sean has been undergoing management training. He has had hours of projects, presentations to complete and has been out of town each month . He completed this training on Friday! He has an interview next week and then it basically means that he is eligible to become a store manager, should a position arise. It has been hard on him, and hard on us. I am very proud that he has completed this training time.

While he was away, I was getting tired of having to put Mikayla back into her bed each time she climbed out of the playpen so I decided to move her into a big girl bed. The older two transitioned at 19 months so she is right on their schedule. It was around 8pm one night and the big kids got out of bed and helped me to set things up. Mikayla was so excited! So excited, in fact, that for the next couple of days she wouldn't nap, was getting up extremely early and would not go to bed at night. Today, however, she napped and she is tucked in upstairs for the bed and not a sound has been heard.......

School is going well. We are starting to get into the groove. The kids usually have their independent work (printing, reading etc.) completed by 9 and then we have the rest of the morning to go on outings. Swimming, park, library etc. We start on science, language arts, math once Mikayla naps around 1. I love the quality of interactions it creates for me and the older two. I love getting to watch them solve problems and enjoy creating things.

I went to look for pictures of the oldest two and of the babies and realized that I have not taken any this week?? Not quite sure how that happened. I did manage to find this video of Caileigh and Jordan. The babies adore their siblings and it is cute to watch their interactions.

The babies are quite amazing. Utterly, truly amazing babies! They are so happy and content and are starting to sleep well. Last night Alex slept 11 hours!!! Can you believe it? Jordan was only up once too!! They nurse well and often during the day and are definitely growing. They are in 6 month clothing now. I am curious about how much they weigh. I will try and get them in to the clinic next week.

Well, as I type, Jordan is getting upset and needs some help going down for the night. Gotta fly........

Diaper Shower

One of my dancers has been wanting to throw the babies and I a shower. I didn't want people to feel that they had to bring gifts so they told people if they wanted to bring something, they could bring diapers! We had a great time and it was fun to socialize with all the girls from dance. I won't be teaching until January so it was nice to connect with them after the summer.

Getting ready to go.....

Identical boys in not so identical moods.

{Jordan}

{Alex}

Ally and her diaper cake creation!

Hard Worker

Apparently, Aiden was trying to dig down to the water source. Good thing we stopped him before he hit a gas line!