Great Grandma and Grandpa Visit!

I feel truly blessed to have my grandparents continue to be a big part of my life and now they are a part of my children's lives as well. We have a small family and have always been very close. To have them visit and play with my children is priceless.

Their visit was a gift in and of itself, but they brought some things for Madison and Riley as well! Books and adorable outfits! My Grandma spent a ton of time looking for just the right books as she knows Riley and Madison LOVE story time! How sweet!

We all just hung out this afternoon and enjoyed each other's company. It is like M and R can sense family or people that love them as they snuggled right in with Gram and Poppy (as I call them!)

My grandparents we so excited to see all the things they could do and loved watching them explore their environment. They stayed to help feed the kids dinner (always an experience!) and then headed back home with my mom for the evening. The kids were pretty wiped out after the visit so we took a little neighborhood stroll in our stroller and chatted with our neighbors. Then of course, bath time, bottles and off to bed!

Another day awaits...who knows what joys it will bring!

New Discoveries

We had some people at our house today working on our deck. As soon as the kids heard some banging, they crawled over to the patio door as quickly as they could! Hey, action like that beats the same old toys any day! I had the patio door half open and Madison and Riley promptly took a spot on one side of the door. It was the funniest thing to watch when they discovered they could see each other through the glass. They were putting their hands up to each others and giggling like crazy! It was a hoot! Their attention became divided between their twin on the other side of the glass and the people working on the deck!

When watching their new "friends" became tiresome, I took the kids for a short walk in their new jogger stroller. They love it! Hey, I think it looks cozy and relaxing! I had to take advantage of the sun shining as it seems to be a rare occurrence lately!

This afternoon, we made our weekly trek to Target. I picked up a new push/ride toy for the kids so I am sure there will be reports about that soon! I think the kids are ready for something like that as they are happier pushing their walker around than being in it! Look out!!!

A Family Day!!

Ahhh, Saturday! A day to relax and hang out with family. We started the day by hanging out in our jammies and playing! The toys were definitely second fiddle to daddy! Riley and Madison were thrilled to have him home. (He was traveling most of the week...) I think Bob was happy to hang with the kids too!

After lunch, we all headed out to a local nature path with our new "Bob" stroller. (We love it!! It is so light and great for all terrain!) It was pretty muggy, but I will tell ya, the warm weather was very welcome. I snapped a pic of the kids when Daddy was pushing them. We had stopped because we saw an amazing sight...a bald eagle sitting by a nest! in the nest was a baby eagle! Not something you see every day...

On the way back to the car, we stopped at a playground and put the kids in swings for the first time. It was a total HOOT! They loved it, and Bob and I loved watching them! It was so sweet because in one of the swings, both kids could be in it at the same time! Their faces showed pure joy!

After of fun, the kids got a much needed bath before bed. I think the fresh air was good for all of us! I wish the "summer-like" weather would last...hitting the park to swing will become more of a regular activity!

Homebound...

Well, I made it! We spent an entire day at home. Sounds like no big deal right? HA! It is a huge deal! Trying to keep Madison and Riley happy and occupied inside the house all day is a trick to say the least. They are at an age where they can totally play with toys, explore their environment and such, but their attention span is so short and as soon as an activity becomes tiresome the move to one of two things....1) Trouble causing 2) Whining. Now I do not mean to complain because in between those things a lot of fun was had! We played in every room in the house (or close) and spent some time listening to and watching the rain fall. So by dinnertime, the kids were ready for a little chill out time, so we pulled out an old favorite..."biter biscuits!" The kids have not had them in a long time, mainly because they are so messy! It is essentially a thick graham cracker. They LOVE them, I like watching them eat them, not a huge fan of the clean up...oh well, they get a bath every day anyway and at that point, it was only an hour away!

YUMMY!!!

After along bath time, we spent 30 minutes reading stories. We read so many books! I could not be more thrilled that my children love books as much as I do. We always end with "Goodnight Moon." Could there be more of a classic?

Through all the whining, messiness and boo-boos, I love these children more than I ever thought was possible.

Rainy Day, so we will Play, Play Play!

Rain, Rain, go away, come again another day! I do not know how much more of this dreary weather we can take. Holy cats! Today it was about 58 degrees and misty. Nice...not! Well, with two babies that wake up with a huge smile on their face if the sun is shining or not, how can you not enjoy the day anyway!

Every morning when I walk into the kids room to help them greet the day I sing the same song. "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, it's time to rise and shine. Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, I hope you're feeling fine! Get up, get up, get out of bed. Get up, get up you sleepy head. Your day is looking bright and new and I LOVE YOU!" It is difficult to describe in words the kids reaction of pure joy upon hearing those words in the morning. They laugh, smile and shout with joy. So sweet!

So, despite the rain, Madison and Riley were up and ready to go, so we hit the ground running! Our morning was filled with playtime, breakfast and fun. After their morning nap, they had a yummy lunch and then dove into the toys. It was a hoot! Some days they could care less about them, today the could not get enough of them! Madison took all the toys out of the toy box and was investigating each one. Instead of digging into the pile of toys, Riley went straight for the toy box.

After that grew tiresome, we took a break to get dressed. Hey, that it the good thing about a rainy day...you can stay in your jammies til noon!

The next point of interest was the swing! The kids would rather be outside it and pushing it, then in it enjoying the relaxation! Whatever!

We (especially I) needed some air, so we made a quick jaunt to Target. Where else do you go on a rainy day? HA! We actually had quite a list, so we were on a mission! The kids were great! I must say, I was not the only mom with that idea. There were strollers and carts with infant seats everywhere. There were also screams and screeches coming from the isles...however, not from my gems! they were lovin' every minute of the trip!

Another day where we are all exhausted as night falls. Can't complain about that though...I just gave my sweeties a goodnight hug, and told them how much they are loved. They are snoozin peacefully now...

Whatever works!

So, I have mentioned it before, but for Madison and Riley, the best things to play with in the house are not toys. Does not matter how many cool ones I buy, they always find some household thing that is seemingly more fun.

Today is was wrapping paper from some gifts my mom was opening, (End of the year presents from her 4th grade students!) and the couch. Yes, the couch. OMG!

First of all, Riley found the paper and Madison found the ribbon...

After that got a bit stale, they moved onto climbing the couch. It was like they were in one of those blow up things you can jump in...come on, you know what I mean. They were giddy with laughter, jumping and climbing the couch and falling into the cushions. They were both laughing so hard they were "panting" due to breathing so hard. It was one of the first times I have seen them have serious gut jiggling fun. We all know it is the best feeling to laugh from deep down in the soul, now they do too! What a treat!

I guess Riley thought he was on a role with being goofy, so he attempted to get into the walker on his own. I will let you guess if it worked...silly boy! See, he is a monkey!

Out and About!

We were SO busy today! This morning, I took Madison to swimming class. Another great day in the pool! She went underwater again! (3 times!!!) The swimming teacher called her a "water baby!"

While Madison and I were whooping it up in the pool, Riley and Bob took a walk, just the boys. It was a beautiful day for a walk.

Both kids were more than ready for their afternoon nap! They needed to get a good rest as we had a big outing planned for the afternoon.

In the afternoon, we all piled in the car and headed over to Bob's Aunt and Uncle's house for his Aunt's 60th birthday party. They live about 30 minutes away on a gorgeous lake. We have not taken the kids to many "parties" so we were kind of entering the unknown. They were all spruced up and ready to go, we just hoped their behavior would be the same! HA! It was, as expected.

They loved the fresh air, the new faces and exploring the grassy areas. We hung out outside the whole time and it was really nice. They were talking and flirting with the other guests and Bob and I got a chance to catch up with family.

M and R got to sample some yummy food and mowed smoked chicken and watermelon. Feeding them their baby food was a bit of a challenge, but we got the job done, he...he...

The 4 of us packed up for home around 6 pm and we were all wiped out! M and R took a little snooze in the car and Bob and I just chatted. Nice. We had a quick bath time when we got home, then it was bottle and off to bed for the kids. I think we will all sleep well. Fresh air, fun and time with your family is good for the soul.