Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A few Blake & Madison updates & tidbits

I responded to a Q&A on a popular twin blog called The Foster Family I like to read.  It has some info I've wanted to put on my blog so I just copied it here.

When did or will you start potty training? I read somewhere you can potty train a kiddo at 22 months even if they show no interest. We put our twins in undies a week before they turned 22 months 5 weeks ago. It has gone wonderfully with some accidents that get less and less all the time. They are now consistantly telling me when they need to go, able to hold it for a few minutes or more until we get to a potty & have started being comfortable going poo on the potty. This with the last week spent on a cruise with no set schedule and NO potty seat!

* When did or will you move into toddler beds? We switched their cribs to the toddler setting months ago. I think right around 18-19 months.

* What types of activities do you do to entertain your toddler? Our twins entertain themselves a lot. They love puzzles, coloring, blocks, dolls, legos & especially the flash cards. We have a small house they so they can only get out one type of toy at a time. Right now they are good at cleaning up & helping.

* I need some quick/easy toddler meal suggestions! Tortilla with refried beans & cheese folded in half on the stove set to medium high to melt the cheese & crisp the tortilla a bit. Including cool down it only takes 10 minutes. You can also put some tomato & other random stuff in there including chicken, beef, rice and corn which are all tasty. It's also easy to do an adult version with jalapenos, red pepper or salsa at the same time.

* When should we drop the sippy cup? We decided to do this on our cruise last week at 22 months old, when both my hubby and I could be around for damage control during meals. In one week they are pretty good at it!  Today I started having cups by me, they have to stand by me while they drink since they are still careless & playful with them.

* How do you handle time outs? We don't call it time out & we decided no counting either. They are told what their choice is & if they don't do it they have to sit. If one does something wrong we tell them sternly to SIT. They know it means they are in trouble and will sit most of the time. I'm thinking this wont work for much longer then we'll reevaluate. My hubby tells them, "I need to talk to you." whenever they are in trouble. The kids are responding really well to him by stopping crying, whining or pouting to listen to what he has to say about their misdeeds.





I have finally consented to let the kids try using forks & spoons more.  As a result they are getting better and better at using them!  Madison did a fantastic job eating soup by herself one day on the cruise.  We also found out on the cruise Blake is definitely a meat person with bacon being his favorite meat of all.   We could also coax him to eat many more things with the promise of more bacon.  


Madison is little miss independent.    I let her push the stroller as we were leaving the airport Saturday afternoon.  Despite the fact she cannot see around or over the stroller she did not want me to help her push it up the incline.  Just before we left Blake was busy entertaining everyone when he pushed the four wheeler luggage over to me from where Guy pulled it off the bag belt.  Since baggage claim for Southwest here in Raleigh is definitely inclined we all watched as he came closer to me in a forward motion with the bag while getting further away sideways because of the incline.  He also tipped the bag over a couple of times & did a great job of lifting it back up.  Yes, it was definitely the smaller and not super sized version of the four wheeled bag.  I'm still impressed with him though.   


The kids absolutely loved sharing a bed & being right next to us during the cruise.  Now that we are home the last two nights have not gone so well.  They have gotten up no less then 5 times each night.  Madison was in a complete panic the first night when she woke unable to feel or see Blake & we were also not there.  At about 3:20 this morning I was having a dream where Blake was clinging to me like a leach, as it turns out he was.  He even dislodged his chin bandaid in his efforts to stay attached to me as I was trying to get him off me in my half sleep.   I told him he had to go back to his bed.  You would think he was told we were leaving him forever.


Here are some images from our family photo shoot in October.  Enjoy!  They were taken by my friend, Cindy, of LilyP Studio in Phoenix, AZ.  


My sisters, Jessica & Tawni {missing Lin}, my mom & I.  Boy do I look like the odd man out with my dark hair & being so much taller!  
Us Oct09 -2035.jpg

Having so fun watching Cindy trying to get the kids attention.
Us Oct09 -2040.jpg

Me & my sweet Maddy
Us Oct09 -2044.jpg

Me & the rambunctious Blake
Us Oct09 -2041.jpg

Riley with his mom, my sister, Tawni & my mom
Us Oct09 -2042.jpg

All of us kids being kids.
Us Oct09 -2039.jpg

My mom, Blake & I singing some odd nursery song
Us Oct09 -2037.jpg

Maddy & Guy
Us Oct09 -2036.jpg

Tawni & Riley - Love this shot.  Riley is 6 weeks younger then the twins.
Us Oct09 -2033.jpg

My kids were not happy by this point.  We being the extra early risers on eastern time were ready and there at least 2 hours before everyone else.  Yeah, they melted pretty much right away.  Poor Riley is is looking back to us for help being sandwiched between the two sookie la las.
Us Oct09 -2032.jpg

Here they calmed down a bit.  {It's amazing how much they have changed in the last few months.  Heck, they use the potty now!}
Us Oct09 -2031.jpg

Cousins.  I'm sure we'll have many shots of these two hanging out in the years to come.
Us Oct09 -2030.jpg

Love the light & the fence.
Us Oct09 -2027.jpg

Crazy Blake
Us Oct09 -2022.jpg

Our little family.  Love my hair in this shot & how into doing our own thing we are.
Us Oct09 -2021.jpg

So sweet
Us Oct09 -2018.jpg

Madison will cherish this shot when she gets older.
Us Oct09 -2017.jpg

Or maybe she'll cherish this one.
Us Oct09 -2016.jpg

Family fun in the water.
Us Oct09 -2015.jpg

He was getting me soooo wet while Madison was gently walking along in the background.
Us Oct09 -2013.jpg

Love this smile.  It's all about the joy.
Us Oct09 -2012.jpg

The details bring back all the other details of the day.
Us Oct09 -2011.jpg

My kids.  We so rarely get them in the same picture.
Us Oct09 -2010.jpg

This just may be my favorite shot!  Love the water droplets being in focus capturing the activity & excitement of the moment.
Us Oct09 -2008.jpg

Drool baby.  I think one day she will wake up after cuddling with her new husband to a pool of drool on his shoulder.  lol  This girl is forever drooling.  She now manages to do it every time she goes poop on the potty too.
Us Oct09 -2005.jpg

They had completely lost it by this time way worse then the shot above.  We are both actively trying to bring them around to happy again.
Us Oct09 -2001.jpg

This is as happy as they got.  I love it.  There is Guy's open mouth, the fingers in Blake's mouth & the tongue sticking out of her mouth.   Me?  Happy to be there!
Us Oct09 -2000.jpg

If you made it this far, congratulations!  I'll be posting about our cruise soon.

0 comments:

Followers

  © Free Blogger Templates 'Photoblog II' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP