Finger Paint Mess

Since I have been on a mission to give my kids a chance to experience as much art as possible, Tuesday night we broke out the finger paints to give the kids a chance to do some art. They loved it! They didn't get too messy, but of course some ended up in their hair, and a very little bit in their mouth. The kids liked to spread it all over their paper, and the table too. We didn't let them get too messy, but maybe next time! Here are some shots of the excitement:

Sophie's Finger Painting

Jack's Finger Painting

The Little Things

This morning, I was sitting with Sophie on the couch, having our morning cuddle time. Matt came over to pick her up, and her lovey fell on the ground. She looked at it, and said "uh-oh" clear as day. It was the cutest thing ever! We made her say it a few more times, until we got our fill of her cuteness. What a great way to start the day!

Moo, Baa, Putt Putt

Saturday we went the Farm Show in Harrisburg with Grandma and Grandpa P, Aunt Laurie, and Uncle Matt. It was fun, and the kids loved seeing the animals. Of course, every animal was a, "woof!" We saw goats, cows, and sheep. Jack was even brave enough to pet the goats and the sheep. Jack also ran around and scoped out the huge tractors, while Sophie scarfed down lunch. They had a hot dog and french fries. A huge treat for them! Later, they had some of Grandma's ice cream, and some of my dill pickle. Yes, they are definitely my kids! They also tasted maple candy. I was exhausted! It's hard to carry a stroller up and down multiple stair cases all day! All in all, it was a fun day!

Look it's twin goats!

Did You Know, 15 Months

Here's a fun game to play, add the words "Did you know" in front of all of these statements, and quiz your knowledge of our now fifteen month old kids. And by the way, who took my babies and replaced them with these walking, talking little munchkins?

• Sophie is finally walking by choice. She has been able to walk for a long time now, but she wasn't too keen on letting anyone know that.


• The twins have been skipping their morning nap lately. Let's just be honest, I'm not ready to go to one nap!


• Sophie calls her lovey "La-Ya." She is very protective of her, and doesn't like other children to play with her. This is the only toy I let the kids not share.


• One morning the four of us were sitting on the couch, and Sophie started babbling about something, and we had no idea what she wanted. Jack got down off of my lap and found her lovey to give to her. It was exactly what she wanted. I have no idea how he knew this! It goes to show you that they do have their own secret language. I wonder how much they are talking about me? Now, if you say, "Jack, get La-Ya," he gets her lovey for her.


• Jack gives everyone kisses. He kisses Sophie on her face, even when she isn't too sure about it. He gives kisses with his whole mouth open wide, but Sophie gives very soft pecks. You might miss it if you don't pay attention.


• The twins love books. Sophie will sit and cuddle for a long time with books. She especially likes to have someone read to her. I made them a little book corner in their room with lots of soft pillows, and a bookshelf of books.


• Jack calls me "mama" now, and says it when he wants me. He came tearing into the living room one day yelling, "ma ma, ma ma, ma ma," and when he turned the corner, and could see me, he looked, smiled, and softly said, "ma ma." It melted my heart right then and there!


• The twins get so excited to see Matt come home from work. After their second nap, they wander around saying, "Dada," and check the stairs constantly.


• The twins are talking a lot now. They say all kinds of things. Jack came up with "ball" tonight all on his own. He got the biggest smile! Both babies have also said things like milk, more, snack, grandma(gma), woof(for every dog, and animal they see!), and some others that I can't think of right now.


• They are starting to fight like siblings, and some days it drives me nuts. They just pick at each other. Jack will pester Sophie by touching her on her head, or following her really closely when she is walking/crawling. Sophie will cry hysterically if he gets near her, or she will offer him a toy, and then cry when he takes it. Some days I want to draw a line down the middle of my house, and make them stay on opposite sides!


• The twins love to leave the house. We visit a friend and her sons Christopher and Jacob once a week, and the twins love it. Note to self: Join a MoM's club!


• We are having so much fun with the twins. I feel like this is the perfect stage for kids. The discovery is amazing. I love to see their little faces when they see something new. They giggle at Matt and I constantly, and the littlest things set them off! It's amazing how just when you think you can't love them anymore, because your heart is bursting, you somehow find a way to love them more.(Hmm...must the way God feels about us, his children!) We have been so blessed, and are so thankful for our little cuties!
  

Buffalo Recap

I could go on and on about Buffalo, but instead I am going to give you a recap of the week bullet-style, and add in pictures where appropriate. Bear in mind that some of the pictures are fuzzy because the lighting was low no matter where we went. *Hint, Hint Matt* Valentine's Day is coming up, you could get me an external flash! ;) Here goes:

• The kids were great in the car. We stopped once in the middle of the trip to let Jack run around. When they got cranky we turned on kids music, with just the back speakers on, and let them go to town.
  
• We stayed at the "York Estate," and it was beautiful, and we were well taken care of! The kids slept ok, but Jack did wake up two nights, and was unable to fall asleep for a long time. I became a very tired mommy! We lost power for a few hours one night, and the kids got to eat by candlelight! Also, the Yorks have a dog, Cocoa, who was so sweet, and even let the kids pet her.




• The kids had lots of new yummy foods, like Bison dip, an Anderson favorite, cheescake, cookies, Aunt Jean's special cinnamon rolls and icing, and of course wings(barbeque!).




• We saw the Keller's on Sunday, and the kids met their ten month old cousin Monalisa. She was very excited to meet the twins, but the twins played shy. The twins also really took to their Great Uncle Dan, and followed him around and asked to be held constantly. I think at a couple points they were even fighting over him! HAHA! Sophie also conned her great aunts and cousins into carrying her around.




• On the Anderson side, the twins got to experience their first gag gift exchange. To be honest, most of the jokes went over their heads. ;) They loved playing with thier great grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. And yes, Sophie conned more people into holding her, even cousin Peter, who took very good care of her.





• We came home completely exhausted. At least I did! HAHA! I am at this point, declaring vacations "unvacations!" At least for me anyway! ;) But we did have tons of fun and were very glad to make the trip, and very thankful to the Yorks for inviting us, and giving us a place to stay. I sure hope Aunt Jean didn't regret that choice at 3:00 in the morning, after Jack had been up since eleven!

Family

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.

~Anthony Brandt

Happy Birthday Matt!

On December 30, Matt turned 27. Happy Birthday! We celebrated with a trip to the Anchor Bar, the home of the Buffalo Wing, and coffee cake with family.