Beach! Beach! Beach!

Columbus Day Weekend, we loaded up the car and headed to Ocean City Maryland, for four days of the last of summer. It was a gorgeous beach weekend, with warm weather, and a luckily, some warm water too. The twins were the only kids this weekend, and were therefore spoiled rotten with attention by all of our friends. We played in the water at the ocean and the bay, rented bikes, and rode down the boardwalk, went for walks in the stroller down the main drag(it was anitque/hot rod weekend, so the kids loved this), had lots of good food, and tons of fun with our friends. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. Jack only woke up once screaming for his trucks, so that was good! ;)

We were the first ones to the house, and couldn't get in without the keys, so we ventured to the beach. It was a quick walk, and the twins rode in style, on our shoulders of course! When we got to the beach, the twins were instantly excited. After all, it was the biggest sandbox that they had ever seen! They mosied slowly down the beach, stopping to play in the sand, and pick up shells and other treasures.

This was Sophie's first reaction to the water. The picture is not lit well, but if you look at her legs, she won't let them touch the water. She gripped my waist, and when I pryed her off, she held her legs high in the air. Silly girl! This beach-loving girl was not expecting her daughter to do anything other than love the beach!

This was Jack's reaction. Yep, he's thinking, "no mom, it's not gonna happen. I'm not going anywhere near that water." And he didn't. I tried to put him in the water also, but he is much stronger than Sophie, and I couldn't pry him off of my hip!

Thank goodness Sophie decided to give it a second try. Her face says it all. She loved the water and the waves. Matt held her hand, and she would rush into the ocean, until the water was up to her chest. She even tasted a little...and made a huge yuck face. She wanted to stay in all afternooon. My little fish!

And this was Jack giving it a second chance. No, nothing changed. I don't know why he doesn't trust his mom and dad, but I think he thought we were trying to throw him to the wolves by taking him to the water. So we gave up and let him play in the sand, and took tons of pictures of Sophie. He was happy in his sandy world.

Daddy and Sophie jumping the waves. I really should have put a suit on her!

Ah, finally Jack became excited. He loved the seagulls. He chased them all around the beach screaming at them. He actually does a pretty mean impression of them, but it scared them away. And then he would cry. Lucky for him, the seagulls are all over the beach.

We were very lucky that the house we stayed in shared a private beach on the bay with the other houses in the complex. The bay was much calmer. My mom tells the story that when I was little, and first saw a lake, I walked until the water was to my chin, and they had to pull me out for fear I wouldn't stop. That's exactly what Sophie did, until Matt turned her around and guided her back towards the beach. She loved it!

Here's Jack, finally being brave and going into the water. He wasn't as overwhelmed at the bay, because there were no crashing waves. He also became adventuresome, and walked out into the water.

We gave the kids some sand toys, and let them play. The loved it! When we asked them if they wanted to go to the beach, they would say, "Beach! Beach! Beach!" I'm happy, because I am a beach lover, and I have such good memories of family trips to the East Coast. I can't wait to raise a couple of beach lovers of my own!

Two Year Pictures

Matt and I have decided that we are going to make taking pictures in the park a tradition. If you don't remember last year's pictures, go here. (click on the word here!) We went to a local park the day after the twin's birthday, all decked out in their birthday gear. We let them run around the field while we snapped pictures of them. It was way more work than last year! We did get some good ones though, so I was happy! If you would like to see all of the pictures, once again, there are tons, so click on this link to flip through the pictures on facebook. We hope you enjoy looking at pictures of our kids as much as we do, because there are a lot! ;)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36703&id=1373563290&l=6a1c8bb9f5

Happy 2nd Birthday Babies!

Today we celebrated Jack and Sophie's second birthday! So much fun! We got up bright and early this morning and opened presents first thing. Jack was so excited, that wanted to just grab everything and open it. They were very excited to get new toys and books. Sophie was especially excited about the skirt I picked out for her with pink polka dots on it. She was not happy that I didn't put it on that second. We spent the morning getting ready with some help from Grandma P. Thank goodness she helped, because I was a wee bit over my head. After I iced the cakes, Matt decorated them with more icing, and Cars toys for Jack, and "Girls" for Sophie. My mom and I made a million puff balls for celing in the screened in porch, just in time for Uncle Rick and Aunt Kim to arrive to help us put up the decorations. Then Grandma and Grandpa A arrived. We got the twins up from their nap, and showed them the decorations on the porch. Jack was afraid of the puff balls! Too funny. After this, Grandpa P and Uncle Matt and Aunt Nikki showed up on their Harleys. Jack loves the "bikes." Lastly, Great Uncle Greg, and Aunt Theresa, and cousin Rachel came. Rachel played with the twins, and made them wild! Everyone talked, and snacked and played with the kids for a few hours, until it was time to cut the cake. Jack took one look at his cake and started pulling the cars off. Sophie pulled her dolls out of her cake, and licked off all of the icing. She loves icing as much as me. After cake we opened presents. The twins are spoiled rotten, and received lots of toys that will keep them busy for months! After everyone left, we calmed the kids down, and put them to bed. They went right to sleep after such a long day!

There are way to many pictures to post on the blog, so instead I am including a link to an album on facebook. All you have to do is click on the link, and flip through the pictures. Maybe you can get a sense of how much fun we really had! :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=36238&id=1373563290&l=4a997c96bc

Back to our regulary scheduled progam.

We have filled the summer with memories:

• playing in the baby pool, and puting the kangaroo climber slide in it,
• having play dates with the Dowlings,
• visiting the Hershey Zoo, and Chocolate world,
• eating lots and lots of berries and watermelon,
• learning to talk, the kids are reapeating almost everything we say now(such a relief that they are finally talking!),
• playing together, and fighting some too,
• going to the park, and playing in the sandbox(Jack's favorite) and on the swings(Sophie's favorite),
• playing in the mud,
• running around in the rain(Jack loved it, but it took Sophie a little time to warm up to it)
• visiting with family,
• drawing with chalk on the basketball court,
• blowing bubbles in the backyard,
• visiting with the neighbor who lives behind us, Kathy,
• watching the birds, bunnies, squirrels, and groundhog that live in the backyard,
• going for lots of walks and jogs in the jogging stroller,
• offcially starting potty training (EEEKK!), now if i could get someone to sit on the potty...
• eating ice cream,
• staying up late, and waking up early...a wicked combination!,
• watching Cars, which is Jack's favorite,
• ransacking the house daily,
• visiting a few fairs,
• visiting Daddy at work for lunch,
• going shopping with mommy,
• laughing at butterflies,
• enjoying the warm sunshine,
• cracking up at our little ones,
• enjoying God's beautiful summer, and the blessing that our family is.

Now that summer is over, it's time for me to get back to blogging! I have missed coming on here and writing posts. It gives me and excuse to take pictures, and a reason to record everything. I love that we recorded their first year on here, or we wouldn't have any record of it, it was such a whirlwind. So, I will let you know when something new and exciting happens!

August Wedding

Way back on August 14, we went to a wedding for my cousin Mike, and his bride Lauren. It was a beautiful wedding in Webster, MA. It was right on the lake, and the day was perfect; not too hot! We got the kids gussied up, and took lots of pictures, and ran ourselves ragged.
So much fun!

Aunt Laurie was taking pictures, and we were all telling the twins to kiss. Jack wouldn't kiss Sophie, so she grabbed his face, and planted on on him. What a sweet memory to have captured on film!

I <3>

The kids stood for a few pictures, but they really just wanted to dig in the dirt and stones! While waiting for the wedding to start, they ran all over the place.

Jack loved his tie...honest! ;)

The beautiful bride and handsome groom.

We had bagels and fruit as appetizers, and then a brunch was served. My kids love breakfast, so they ate tons of bagels, eggs, bacon, potaotes, and ham. People were amazed at how much they ate. They must have hollow legs, because I think they ate more than me!

After brunch, the kids ran all over the place with their grandma and grandpa, Aunt Laurie and Josh, and Aunt Nikki and Uncle Matt. They loved to go down the hill to the lake, and throw stones in the pond. Before we knew it, Sophie curled up on grandma's lap and passed out. I wanted to do that too! Matt and I were exhausted by the end of the day!

After the wedding, we went back to hotel, and the kids played around in their pack-n-plays while Matt and I attempted to sleep. Then we met grandma and grandpa for dinner. Matt and my mom had fresh lobster, and Sophie gobbled it up! It was so cute to watch her grab the little lobster fork and put it in her mouth. I think she may have eaten most of her grandma's lobster herself! It was a fun day!

I <3 Them

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are are family happinesses.

~Joyce Brothers

Anderson Reunion Camping Trip

Over the weekend, we headed up to Tioga, PA for the Annual Anderson Reunion. We had tons of fun playing in the woods. The twins loved the freedom of being able to fun all over the campsites. We put their pack-n-plays up in the tent, and it felt very homey. Sophie slept awesome, but Jack was up on Sunday at 4:15 am. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that it sounded like there was a bird inside our tent! There was a water spigot that the twins spent most of their time playing in. They also enjoyed the playgrounds, running through the field behind the campsites, playing in dirt, eating yummy food, and playing with all of their relatives. They came home happy, satisfied, little, dirt balls.

S'more please!

Sophie has a sweet tooth that would rival her Mama's! Poor girl, but I think it's hereditary, so neither of us had a chance! Uncle Rick cooked Sophie a s'more, and I think you can already guess that she loved it. And she became a sticky, gooey mess, which her Daddy refused to clean up. Jack wasn't too into it, but he did like feeding Sophie.

Getting her first taste.

Pulling the S'more apart to get to the good stuff. She ate the marshmallow first, and then the chocolate.

Jack feeding Sophie his unwanted marshmallow.

I love this picture. This ridiculous face started off a half-hour sugar high that consisted of tons of running around, and giggling everytime she touched a pine tree. Then she promptly crashed and went to bed!

Out in the Boat

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to go for a ride on Uncle Don and Aunt Jean's boat. The twins were scared at first, and hated the lifejackets, but soon warmed up to the idea. They loved seeing the other boaters on the water. I'm sure it was hard for Uncle Don, but he kept the boat slow and steady. He also treated the twins to a honk of the horn, which scared the pants off of them!

Cooling Off

Two weekends ago, we went to try out the pool at Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's. The water was a little chilly, but we thought we would try anyway. Both babies freaked out when we put them in. Lots of screaming ensued. Sophie did calm down, but Jack was just a mess. They both tried hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma in the boat, and Sophie loved it. Jack just wanted to get out and run around the nice big yard.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!
We are very thankful for our freedoms!

We celebrated by taking some family photos. Matt gave me a really hard time about the silly glasses and headbands, but they turned out cute. I also threatened to put him in timeout if he didn't wear the glasses, and that straightened him out! The normal ones are nice too!