Mmmm, yours looks better than mine

We recently joined our friends in celebrating their daughter's second birthday. The girls had plenty of fun making crafts, running around the yard and playing with the other kids.

Throughout the entire party, Erin kept asking for cake. We told her we had to eat dinner first and that we would not leave before it was cake time. That seemed to work until she remembered about cake and asked again (about 3 minutes later).

Sometimes Nancy and I ask each other what it must be like to have a twin. A constant companion, someone who is always there to play with you. Someone who you can share your whole life with. I guess this could be both a blessing and a curse. As this picture clearly shows Erin is taking full advantage of her twin-ness. Evelyn on the other hand may be having one of those "why am I a twin" moments.

Hugs are the best...

E&E are so lucky to have each other.

Despite the hair pulling, biting, hitting and everything else... they sure do love each other. They are always there to defend the other. And, if a snack is handed out they always make sure the other has one before even eating their own. It really is sweet to watch their relationship unfold.

Who would have throught the Potty could be so cool...

Ev is in love with the potty. She'll usually do her business. But, sometimes she just sits and sits and maybe -- just maybe -- something happens.

Erin is not the biggest fan. She was first to use it and has since not really wanted to be around it. But, Erin does like the special sippy cups that can only be used on the potty - and the cool book that makes flush noises. I even got them little undies - with Elmo and Curious George. They both really like them!!

Whatever... they are still young.....

PS - don't you love the blue toilet and tile!!

We love the farmers market

This past weekend our farmers market opened. We decided to ride our bikes to the market - and had the girls in their bike trailer. They hated the thing last year ... we just hoped they would have fun this year. And, they loved it!! That was really exciting. So, the market was a little bit of a bust, as there were no fruits or veggies due to the crazy weather we've had. And, though we promised them popcorn the entire ride, the Lions Club popcorn machine was broken.

But, there was a trio of folk musicians. We sat on the grass while the girls danced and played in front of the musicians. At one point they noticed the money basket and Erin tried to walk away with it - which is something they said happens nearly every time they perform. Evelyn then found my wallet in the diaper bag, opened it up and put $1 in the basket. She went back to Dave's lap, took another dollar from my wallet and put it in the basket. She then went back to my wallet and brought Erin $1. It was then we decided we needed to remove my wallet - before it was empty! But, it was so funny to see them figure out how to tip musicians. And, the musicians though it was hilarious.

Summer is just the best time of the year.

A trip to the zoo...

Yesterday I had a wonderful day at the zoo with the girls - and my girlfriend and her baby from Cincinnati. I've not seen my friend in a few years - and never met her beautiful little girl. We decided to meet at the zoo and walk around for a few hours ... and we had a blast!!

The girls especially loved the monkeys and lion house. I think that is because they had the best views of those animals. They made lots of monkey noises and roars!! They do need some more education though. The kept calling every animal with 4 legs a dog. I must have said, no, that's not a dog, it is a giraffe, zebra... about fifteen times. It was very funny. We chose to relax for about 45 minutes in a large shady park where there was a large flock of geese about 100 yards away. Soon the geese all came over to us - and I mean they were just feet from us. Erin kept saying "no birdies". She was not fond of them being so close. When I have a photo I will post it.

Anyway, we had the best time. It was so nice to catch up with my friend. It is amazing that distance has separated us for nearly 10 years, but when it matters we are still very close friends and we can just pick up where we left off. I am lucky to have her in my life.

E&E's First Popsicle

A few weekends ago was Memorial Day - what many call the first official day of summer. The weather was finally pretty nice. Rather humid, but since it had been so darn chilly, I was not complaining!!




So, after lunch we gave the girls had their first popsicles. Ev close pink (I think watermelon) and Erin went with Red (cherry). They really did not know what to do with them and dropped way more than they ate, but it was fun to experience with them. I am sure there will be many many more popsicles in their future!!

It's HOT!!!

Chicago summers are just the strangest thing. You go from fleece jackets to tank tops in about 3 days. And, it happened again this year. We went from 50 about a week ago to nearly 90. Yesterday we were at a great birthday party, and if you were in the sun it was smoking hot! Erin went to the party in a pretty pink dress. After a few minutes at the "water table" and then a few minutes in the sand box, we had to get rid of the dress and I think she was far more comfortable in her birthday suit. Evelyn did a much better job of keeping tidy and not needing to be changed.

At the party, after cake Erin proceeded to clean up the deck. She is so funny always wanting things to be neat. Another mom poked me to watch her literally cleaning down the picnic tables and picking up trash under them. I can't imagine where she gets it from!!

Evelyn was far too busy wanting to be on the swings to bother herself with tidying anything. She also had a blast with the water table.

When we got home I had to water a few plants in the yard. The girls were very funny in that they would bring me a cup of water from their water table and splash the plants. Of course the cup was nearly empty by the time they got it to me, but it was a very cute effort.

A difficult thing about twins

One of the hardest things of having twins is having them take a good photo together. It was much easier before 12 months, but is almost impossible now. We were at a friends a few weeks ago and she got a nice one of both of them - not perfect, but nice. So, I thought I'd share it........

Another Milestone...

Background - we have our car seats set up so Erin is in the middle seat and Ev is behind the passenger seat. Erin is just about always in the middle because she is a little bigger and we don't want to always fuss with adjusting seat belts. And, they are next to each other because they like to be near each other - at least some of the time.

Anyway... Today we drove somewhere (I can't even remember where) and I got out to get the girls out of the car. I unbuckled Erin and she was sitting in her seat. I was then unbuckling Ev to get her out. I asked Erin if she could get down and come to me. Sure enough, she popped out of the seat and walked over to me so I could lift her out of the car! And, when we got back in the car I just got her in the car and she walked over to her seat and hopped up into it! It will be so nice not to have to lift her in and out. I think this is a big deal because there are two of them and having Erin take care of herself and me only needing to buckle her in will save time and be more efficient. Who knows... maybe Ev can also hop in and out - we'll try that tomorrow!!

3 Piggy Opera

So, today I took the girls to the Opera. Can you even imagine 2 two year olds sitting still for an opera. Well, they loved it. Did I mention the Opera was performed by kids in kindergarten and it was a rendition of The 3 Little Pigs?? That and the fact it lasted only 30 minutes probably helped the girls get through it without any fussing. They loved it - their little faces were just glued to the stage. It was a great time. I was so impressed that 5 year old kids could memorize so many songs and lines and do such a great job performing. I think it is because they have the best teacher ever - my friend!! She is amazing with her own daughter and I think all the kids in her classroom are blessed to have her in their lives. I can't wait for next years show!!