Birthday Parties & Gift Exchanges

The month of December has been so fun already! We have two close friends whose kids have December birthdays and we had a gift exchange with our playgroup (missed the twins playgroup party because we were sick - boo hoo!) and a holiday celebration with good friends that has become an annual tradition.

Holiday party and gift exchange at the Chamberlain's house with the Brengards too!

Nathan loved his new train mat and train!

Allicyn reads Audrey's new book, Fancy Nancy, to the kids.

Andrew celebrates his 3rd birthday with a flashlight party, complete with a real working flashlight cake! The kids loved hunting for glow and the dark treasures outside with their own flashlights. Happy Birthday Andrew!

Friend Madison is so good with baby Scarlett!

Vanessa, Chris and Scarlett


The kids celebrated Madison and Logan's 3rd birthday in December also. They colored, made necklaces, played and jumped in the bounce house. They even got to take home some toy animals. I took the kids to the party on my own so wasn't able to take a lot of pictures due to chasing the monkeys around. I thought this good bye photo of Madison and Audrey was adorable!

Nathan loved Logan's train table at the party. Happy Birthday Madison & Logan!

The kids did a gift exchange with the friends in their playgroup. Here they are enjoying some cupcakes in the kitchen.


Audrey, Paige, Jaeden has neat face painting - Rudolph!, Elizabeth

Nathan trying out his new hat and scarf!

Audrey loved her new dress up shoes!

Los Gatos Holiday Parade

On the first Saturday in December, the kids and I walked in the Los Gatos Holiday Parade with the parents of multiples club (Gemini Crickets). This was our first year participating and we had a blast!!! The parade was really big but still had a nice hometown feel. It felt a little strange at first walking in the parade and having everyone staring (and waving) at us but I've never been very shy, so I got over it quickly! We all decorated our strollers and wagons with festive holiday decor. Audrey and Nathan gave out a few waves and smiles, but I don't think really understood what it meant to be in a parade. They loved watching it afterward though! It was a fun event and a great way to promote our club.


Audrey wearing the cricket mascot headband.

Had to keep them entertained with stickers while we waited for our turn in the parade.

Preschool Holiday Party

This was our first preschool event! I love that their holiday party was school wide because it gives parents a chance to get to know each other and the other kids, even if the kids aren't in the same class. This party was so much fun - yummy food and lots of activities for the kids. One of the MANY reasons why I love Explorer Preschool - the community!

Thekids made their own scarves.

Meeting Mrs. Claus by the fireplace.

Decorating cookies.

Making a holiday ornament.

Nathan checking out his snow globe that he made.

He's a Boy and She's a Girl

When I wrote that I am exhausted every night because of the kids, I really wasn't joking. I am EXHAUSTED every day. During the past few months we have seen more than our share of tantrums and typical 2 year old behavior - times two! Having twins really is a unique experience and I often find myself venting or asking questions of my fellow twin moms about discipline issues. Nathan and Audrey really are typical 2 year olds, but being the exact same age is often very frustrating because they want the same things at the same time (i.e. our attention, toys, certain foods, drinks, etc.). This often results in crying, yelling, hitting and grabbing. (Sigh......) Some days are easier than others, don't get me wrong. The wonderful thing about having twins is watching them interact and really change and grow up together. Todd and I have seen some of the sweetest interactions between these two crazy toddlers and overheard even sweeter conversations. It's been a roller coaster ride these last few months, that's for sure. I am constantly being challenged as a parent of twins. I've read several wonderful parenting books, full of great information and advice, but somehow in the heat of the moment, I can't always seem to remember the "right" words to use or the perfect way to handle a toddler tantrum. Most days I have to take a deep breath and remember that they are only 2 (almost 3!) and we are all learning together. Patience is something I pray for every day! haha I've also learned so much from the kids' preschool, which has required parent education classes. It's nice to know these crazy tantrums are normal and they are learning so much from us and the world around them every day.

Being a child development major in college, I remember learning about gender stereotypes with children and toys. That children should be exposed to all kind of toys and to discourage gender specific toys. Having a boy and girl really gave us the opportunity to expose both kids to different types of toys without really thinking about it. We have a little bit of everything. I quickly learned from being in the kids' classroom at preschool that some of the best toys are gender neutral - blocks, art supplies, pretend food, animals, sand toys, books, play dough, etc. Given all this, it still is so interesting to me how Audrey is so drawn to girl specific things like dresses, jewelry and dolls and Nathan is into rough and tough play, trucks, cars, power tools, sports equipment, etc. I think the following pictures really reflect that!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving day with my family -Mom, Dad, Todd, Kalyn, (Ryan had "other" plans - whatever Ryan!! hehe) my grandma, cousin Kelly and Kalyn's friend Cheryl. My mom prepared a delicious meal as always. Everything was sooooo yummy! Someday I'll have to learn how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. But Mom is doing such a fabulous job, I just don't see any reason to rush into it :)

Hard to get a group shot with everyone. Here's half of the table :)

The following are a series of pictures taken by Nathan! Yes, he grabbed the camera and started shooting photos all by himself. Here are some really great ones!

Playing Catch Up!

AHHHH, the guilt!! I can't believe I haven't updated the blog since November 1st! All I can say is that these two 2-year-olds are really keeping us busy. I am so exhausted every night and with the holidays in full swing, I just can't seem to keep on top of everything. Oh, and I think someone in our house has been sick since November 1st (or at least it feels that way!). Enough of the excuses. We have been doing a lot of fun things with the kids during November and now it's almost the end of the year. The kids are still going to preschool once a week on Fridays at Explorer. We are also still very involved with the multiples club (Gemini Crickets) and I, along with another mom of twins, have been planning monthly general meetings - which I love doing! Todd is still working the midnight shift. I have given up trying to keep the kids quiet during the day so he can get some sleep, which means I have been taking them out every day. You have to get creative when the weather is cold and/or rainy. My goal is to tire them out so they take nice, long naps. Thank God my parents live 5 minutes away - we've been spending most weekend mornings with them! Speaking of naps - our little Nathan has learned how to climb out of his crib recently. So for several days he did NOT nap and didn't go to sleep at night until very late because he continued to get out of his crib. Arghhhh!!!! Until my friend Katie loaned us the best invention ever made - a crib tent!!!! I still have to take a picture of it, but for those of you with small children, I'm sure you have one or have at least heard of one. It keeps kids in their cribs - enough said!

So now I have to do some catch up....... we started off November celebrating Lauren's (a friend from playgroup) 2nd birthday. The kids had a great time decorating gingerbread houses. As you can see from the pictures, this was right up their alley - cookies, frosting, and candy, lots of different types too! All the kids loved it! It was a fun day - Happy Birthday Lauren!

Nathan & Audrey decorating their gingerbread houses.

Lauren's cousin, Elizabeth, Lauren and her dad decorating too.

Well, these pictures are just priceless. As I was taking a picture of the kids with their decorated houses, Nathan leaned down and just started digging in. It was hilarious!

Audrey ate one piece at a time - such a lady!

Nathan, I love you :)