Playground Pals

This afternoon we met our friends Hailey and Miss Holly for a fun play date at the playground. Both girls were so excited to be out in the springy air, even if it was cloudy. Trying to get the two girls together for a picture was nearly impossible; it was like trying to herd cats!
Caroline explored every slide in the play ground (which meant Mommy had to explore each slide too since some of them are really big and fast!), checked out the swings, and climbed and climbed everywhere her little feet could take her.

Ready to go!!

Off and running!

Caroline on the swings.

Hailey on the swings.

Caroline and Mommy going down the super fast metal slide.

This child has a need for speed!!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

The girls running in completely opposite directions.

See Any Similarities??

For the first time in Caroline's relatively short life of 20 months, I'm starting to see a little bit of myself in her. It's pretty exciting because I've always heard things like "Are you her mother?" and "Wow, she must look a lot like her Daddy!" when we go out in public.  Nothing like carrying a child for 9+ months, giving birth, and caring for her day in and day out only to hear people say things like that :)

Marmee and Grampy recently confirmed my thinking by sending me the two pictures below. Now I'm not saying she's my spitting image, but surely you can tell we're at least related!? The nose and cheeks seem the most similar to me.

And OMG, can you believe my hair in the first picture?? It reminds me a little of Ronald McDonald, and a little of a fluffy bath mat! Caroline seems to have gotten some of my curls, but nothing as wild as what I had!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It may be Valentine's Day today, but at our house, you might think it was Christmas. Caroline has been the lucky recipient of cards, pictures, candy, snacks, toys and clothes this Valentine's Day season. Even her baby doll got a new outfit to mark the occasion. And I swear I didn't buy one piece of it myself! Caroline's just super lucky to have doting family members and friends.
Here's a video of her and Baby Gigi getting dressed. If you notice Caroline's hair, you'll see tons of accessories. Caroline has been very much into stylizing her outfits with "extras" lately. From sunglasses to hats to bows and jewelry, we've seen it all around this house! Caroline has even gotten Isabel and Frances in on the "fun", although they definitely don't enjoy it as much as she does.

Happy Valentine's Day to all our friends and family, near and far!

Caroline out with Mommy for a Valentine's day lunch.

All decked out in some heart shaped bling!

30 is not Terrifying!

With my big 3-0 birthday just passed, I've been reflecting a lot on how I feel about this milestone in my adult life. I'm happy to report that I am not terrified or depressed about turning 30, as I feared I would be when I was younger. I'm extremely pleased with and proud of all I've accomplished in my 30 years (with help from those around me, of course!) - a great upbringing and education, a fulfilling career, a loving and cherished marriage, a wonderful group of family and friends, near and far, and a fantastic little daughter.

And who'd of thought that in my 30th year, I'd  have twins?! Certainly not me, but I couldn't be more pleased about it. I look forward to the year ahead with much hope and happiness (and yes, a tad bit of panic at the thought of three children under the age of 2 and 1/2!).

I had a wonderful birthday weekend. Lunch out and present shopping with Daddy and Caroline, dinner out with Daddy, and then a little Super Bowl/birthday get together at our place on Sunday. Three straight days of sleeping in was fantastic too!

I really meant to get a family picture last night, but it never happened. Got lots of other pictures though...

Caroline eagerly awaiting her guests' arrival.

 Big and little Caroline having playing with Sheepy and Baby Nina.

 Caroline and Hailey playing with the balloons from Miss Holly.

YUMMY birthday treats from Holly and Annie.

 Caroline was intensely focused on her cake!

Quick Twins Update

We (me and the twins) had a doctor's appointment today for a basic check-up: weight, heartbeat, and growth checks. No ultrasound this time around, so it wasn't a very fun appointment.
Everything checked out A-OK. Baby A's heartbeat was 147 and Baby B clocked in at 157, both well within the normal range. According to the doctor, my weight and blood pressure look great (so of course I treated myself with some candy) and I'm measuring at 19 weeks, which is normal for carrying twins (approximately two weeks ahead of my actual 17 weeks).
After a quick blood donation to check for unfused spinal cords, I was on my way with a whopping 30 minutes to myself before I had to be home for our babysitter. Very exciting day indeed :)

Favorite Play Mate

Caroline has lots of play mates, both big and small, but her favorite person to play with is always Daddy. Just ignore Frances' barking - she's just jealous that she's not being included in the fun :)

Busy Day!

  Whew! Today was an especially busy day for us. Caroline must have been really excited about all we had to do because she decided to get up at 5am. Ugh! This made both Mommy and Caroline very cranky and we only lasted about an hour before we both went back to bed for a little bit.
  Once it was a much more respectable time, we started off our day with a morning play date with Hailey, Clarke, Madeleine and their mommies. As usual, Caroline commandeered the snacks before getting busy with all of Hailey's toys. Luckily, Miss Holly knows how to keep Caroline well fed :)
  Next, we went home to meet big Caroline for a lunch play date while her Mommy went to an appointment. Both girls munched away on grapes, pretzels, and PB&J sandwiches while they watched "Elmo Goes to the Firehouse." After some playtime, it was time for big Caroline to head home and time for little Caroline (and Mommy) to take a nap!
  After nap time, we had a quick snack and then headed over to big Caroline's house for some play time and a tasty pizza dinner! We were excited that Wingrove and her Mommy joined us as well. Caroline wore her jammies for this play date because she knows how much Mommy likes to hang out and chat with these ladies!        
  Before it got too late though, we piled into the car and headed home. We were a little surprised to see that it was snowing outside! With the threat of a "snow day" tomorrow, we made a quick stop at the Libbie Market for our "essentials" - eggs, coffee creamer, and ice cream (and we may or may not have also purchased a cookie to eat in the car) :)

  Soon after we were back home and all snuggled in for the night. Caroline went straight to bed, with her blanket over her head - which is how she prefers to sleep these days. What a day!

Caroline and Clarke. Notice Caroline's possession of the snack bowl and the fact that it's empty.

Caroline, Hailey and Clarke at the table. Again, notice the snack bowl directly in front of Caroline. And Clarke shooting her the stink eye :)

Playing at our house with big Caroline. Making music and reading "Olivia"

Hamming it up at the dinner table.

Playing with big Caroline's super cool cupcake set.