Two

Two years ago I gave birth to two perfect little girls. Their heads were perfectly round, their fingers were freakishly long, and they had the most perfect, petite profiles. They had the cries of kittens and they slept all day long. When they were born, the doctor thought they would need an extended NICU stay, but much to everyone's surprise and happiness, we all went home together. They were such good babies. Going to a Farmer's Market just a few days after being home, going to church a week later... They really hit the ground running when they joined our family. We've loved it. Their heads aren't quite as round (but thanks to baby rehab, they're *pretty* round) and their fingers and hands are now actually quite small compared to other kids their age, but they still have the most perfect, petite profiles and their kitten cries have graduated to lion roars. ;)

Sophie, it was just us as a family of 3 for a two minutes, but during those two minutes, you were the only thing I was thinking about. Sometimes, I get a little sad knowing that I'll never know what being a first time mom to one child is like, but then I remember those two minutes I had being your mom and only your mom (I mean, I was technically Lillian's mom, but that doesn't *really* count, right?) I still know exactly what your first cry sounded like. I remember how the doctor laughed as you peed all over him. Your nurse said, "Oh she is a BEAUTIFUL little baby! Absolutely beautiful!" They checked your breathing, wiped you up, weighed you and brought you over to me. I was only able to hold you for a few seconds before my arms felt like they were jello, but for those few seconds you were my world. And just a few seconds after that, your little sister was born. 

Lillian, oh little Lillian, You scared me. Unlike your sister, you had to stay on oxygen for a little while, it was under an hour, but it was enough to make me worry. You were the one who stopped breathing when you were sucking and who got the worse can of jaundice. I had a hard time telling you a part from your sister, but the one way I could do it was by your chubby cheeks. Your cheeks are still chubbier (and cuter) than your sisters and that's usually what I tell people when they ask how we can tell you a part. Luckily, you surprised us all and figured out the breathing/eating thing out within a couple of days. You didn't need to stay the weekend like the doctor thought you would. You completed our family of four. I was very scared when I found out you were coming. I didn't necessarily want two babies. The plan was to just have one. You guys knew what you were doing though because I don't think it would have worked to just have Sophie or just have you. You guys are a team in every sense of the word. Thanks for joining your sister along for the ride. You really have made the last two years wonderful.

 

And now, you guys are two. You are smart. You are curious. You are friendly. You are loving. You are stubborn and emotional, but most of all you are hilarious. I've laughed more in these two years than I have in my entire life. And you guys get funnier and funnier every single day. 

Sophie

Sophie has really taken to talking in the last week or so. Every day she picks up a new word or two and can now say short phrases. She's constantly jabbering and has hilarious and apparently very important conversations with her stuffed animals.

She's starting to play pretend. The other day, she was feeding her puppy and all of the sudden she shouts, "OWWW!" She came running over to me saying, "Puppy bite! Owie! Puppy sad! Bite!" I told her that the puppy needed to be nice and she ran over, picked up her puppy and said, "Nice, puppy, nice! No bite, puppy! Puppy sad! Oh puppy sad!" I laughed out loud. It was adorable. 

Sophie is very expressive, not just with words, but with her facial expressions. She's constantly pulling faces that make it impossible to discipline or get mad at her. But she's got this scowl....oh the scowl... I guess she's been doing it since she was born, but now she does it on purpose. It's awesome. 

This girl is a dancer. My cousin got married a few weeks ago and Sophie was rockin' out on the dance floor nearly the entire time. She has this really funny move where she sticks her arms out in front of her with her finger spread out wide, and she twists her arms. She also likes to pretend she's break dancing. She'll be jumping, spinning and waving her arms and all of the sudden she'll drop and strike a pose on the ground. Then she'll spin on the ground and strike another pose. 

She's obsessed with puppies. OBSESSED. If one barks, she stops whatever she's doing to talk about it and she usually goes to look for it. Whenever I tell her that we're going to Grandma's, she immediately says "PUPPY!" (even if it's Josh's parents, who don't have a dog). The word Grandma= puppy in her mind. She usually has to sleep with a puppy (thank you 12 year old self for buying an unhealthy amount of dog Beanie Babies) but sometimes she'll settle for a bird or a cow if a puppy is nowhere to be seen. 

We're officially getting her off the binky. It's been two days since she's had one and she's constantly asking where it went. "Binky go? Whereditgo? Binky bye-bye! Oh no! Whereditgo?" over and over and over... hopefully she forgets about it soon. 

Sophie makes me laugh multiple times every day. She is full of spunk and personality and is simple awesome. 

 Lillian

This girl is emotional. She cries at the drop of a hat (sometimes literally) but at the same time, is really, really happy when she's happy. She's like her mom and she gets attached to people and certain things. She's got a huge heart. 

Lillian is starting to talk a lot. She's always been a month or so behind Sophie as far as speech goes, but this past month has been fun because she's picked up a ton of words. She's stubborn though and will usually only speak if she really has something to say (or if some one is withholding candy from her until she says, "please!") 

Lillian is a kid of routine. She likes knowing what to expect and doesn't like it when her normal activities are interrupted. She's not as easy to redirect as Sophie and has she's definitely got a better memory. 

Speaking of her memory... we got a new car a few weeks back and it doesn't have a sun roof like our old car does. 8 times out of 10, when we get in the car, Lillian points to the ceiling and says, "Oh no! Bye-bye! Wherego? Bye-bye!" She really liked the sunroof in our old car and reminds us about it all the time. 

Lillian loves her sister. Sophie loves her back, but Lillian is better at showing it. She's really good to share, get things for Sophie (or So-see as she calls her). Sophie has been looking for her 'lost' binky for the past couple of days and guess who found her one that I missed? Good old Lillian. Lillian is also the one to give her sister kisses and hugs. When she does, Sophie will usually whine, grunt and try to push her away. That doesn't stop my affection little Lillian though. 

Lillian loves her dad. Absolutely adores him. She talks about him all day and always assumed that "Daddy go ni-night" Her favorite part of the day is definitely when he comes home. 

Lillian is loving, adventurous, hilarious and the perfect fit for our family.

And together

I don't know what else to say more than what's already been said. These girls are great. They are best friends. They stick up for each other, they protect each other, they giggle with each other, they help each other. BUT they also fight like it's nobody's business. They definitely have a love/hate relationship and it's really interesting for me to watch. 

It's such a privilege for me to watch, actually. I get to see them both as individuals and as twins. As much as I've tried to keep them as the individuals they are, they are twins. Their entire world would be completely different if they didn't have each other. I'm so grateful they have each other and that we have them. 

These past two years have been crazy. There have been many, many times where I didn't think I could do it. Many tears, many prayers and many, many laughs. 

Happy birthday, Jubes. 

We love you.

23

This is the last monthly post I think I'm going to do. I guess I'll do one next month when they turn two (CRAZY!) but I just can't keep up with these things anymore. I figure two years of monthly updates is commendable, right?

Sophie

 

 

Where do I begin? This girl is nuts. So my personality, so much spunk, so much attitude, so much love. She reminds me a lot of my spastic self (and that terrifies me) and she's just got a huge personality for her tiny little body. Her latest thing is covering her mouth, saying (or yelling) "noooooo" while shaking her entire body when something happens or something is said that she doesn't like. It's hilarious and horrifying all at the same time. I just keep thinking that if she's freaking out like this over having to eat some beans, how is she going to react when I won't let her stay out until midnight? I've got my work cut out for me with this one...

Sophie loves music and dancing. For a while, that was Lillian's thing, but Sophie's really taken off with it lately. Her current favorite song is this one and yes, every time they yell "hey!" she yells it right back. In fact, all I have to do is hum the part before the "hey!" and she'll say it. It makes me laugh every time. 

She talks a lot. Every day she learns at least one new word. If you ask her, "can you say..." she'll attempt it. My favorite thing she says is her name. She says it "Foe-See". Again, it makes me laugh every time. "milk" is also a good one. The emphasis is definitely on the "ilk" part of the word and she's got almost a German sound to her when she says it. It's awesome. 

She's still obsessed with puppies, but hates pretty much every other animal. We went to Cabelas a few weeks back and you should have heard the terror is her screams when we were looking at the fish. And the dead, stuffed animals? Yikes! I'm putting on money on Sophie NOT becoming a vet someday.

Lillian

She's taken a few good spills this month. Who knew a skinned nose could look so adorable?

 

 

This is how Lillian talks on the phone almost every time. Both arms just sitting in the air.

 

Lillian is a sly little creature. She knows how to get into trouble, but she knows how to act like nothing is wrong. She's sneaky and will make sure you're not looking before she grabs the bag of chips, or pushes her sister over, or colors on the wall, etc. Seriously, the other day I blinked and this girl had the kitchen floor covered in flour. She's tricky...

But on that same note, she's the sweetest girls I've ever met. She's constantly making sure that everyone around her has the things they need or that belong to her. If you left your shoes by the door, she'll run and get them for you. If Sophie's binky is across the room, she'll make sure it's safely in her mouth asap. And she does all of that without being asked. It's adorable. 

She's also really quick to give hugs and kisses. The other day, I was doing some writing and happened to get a little teary eyed. Lillian noticed and leaned over to kiss my cheek. It was honestly one of the sweetest moments of my life. She's is really aware of the people around her and what they need right at that moment. 

Lillian is a jabberer (pretty sure that isn't a word...) she's been just one step behind Sophie with this whole talking thing, but she's now in the phase that Sophie has been in for a few months. It's hilarious because the two of them will "talk" like they're saying really important things. Every once and a while, you can hear a "puppy", "cheese", "daddy", "mel-mo" (Elmo) or other 'real' words, but she's constantly chatting. Moments of silence are almost non-existent in this house. :)

And together

 

The girls moved out of their cribs this month (which I will write about very, very soon), but in a nutshell, it's been awful. They haven't slept well since last Thursday and they've been suuuper cranky. I'm really hoping they get the hang of it soon, because I was at the end of my rope three days ago. 

I'm not sure what else to say other than they're best friends. They feed off each other so much and are constantly by each other's side.They hold hands, hug, give kisses, share food, give each other 'knuckles' and if one runs one way, the other will almost always follow. 

But they can also fight like it's nobody's business. Oh can they fight. Sometimes I'm shocked at how mean they are to each other, but I'm equally shocked (and happy) at how quickly they are to forgive and go along playing like nothing happened. 

Our family continues to feel so perfect with them. In just a month it will be two years since they joined our family and to use the overly cheesy and overly used Mormon phrase, it really has been the best two years. We love them and our family feels perfect with them in it.

22

I won't lie. When I had a friend remind me about this post a week or so ago, I wanted to scream. Not that she reminded me, but these posts take soooo much work. Luckily, I took her suggestion and have been slowly working on it here and there since then. Hopefully, someday the girls will treasure these posts, because they're who I do them for. Anyway, here's their month post #22. 

Sophie

This girl is a trickster. Spend 10 minutes with her and you'll know what I mean. I call her a "little stinker" all the time because that's what she is...a little stink. She knows what she's not supposed to do and she does it anyway when she thinks she won't get caught. Take for example the other morning when she climbed on our computer desk ever so quietly, hoping I wouldn't see her. When I did, probably 3 seconds after she got up on the desk, she simply covered her eyes. When I said her name, she said gave me a "no, no, no" while keeping her eyes covered. See? A little stinker.

Sophie is hilarious. Her latest thing is fake snoring. She's been doing this for a few months now, but it's REALLY been happening a lot lately. Mostly, she loves snoring in our bed under our covers. She'll be downstairs, start snoring, dash upstairs, climb into our bed and get under the covers. All while snoring. We also have some word/picture flashcards from our trip and one of them has a blanket on it. Whenever she sees it, what does she start doing? Snoring. She did it at church a few weeks back and it was hysterical. I just love her. 

She is obsessed with toes. Like WAY more than I feel is normal. A few days ago, she had a massive meltdown because her chocolate chips were gone. I'm talking rolling on the floor, kicking the cabinets, and clenching her teeth. All of the sudden, she spotted my toes and in her sad little voice she said, "toe-o". She was incidentally happy. And sometimes, when she's walking, she'll take 3 steps, lift her foot in the air and say it, put it down, walk a little bit more and pop her foot back up again. She also gets excited to find all of the toes on her stuffed animals. Her favorite one to point out are the 'toes' on their Cookie Monster stuffed animal. I like it too because hearing, "cookie toe-o!" is pretty adorable. 

Sophie is quite a little parrot. She will repeat just about anything. She often repeats the last word in the sentence. I would list all of her words, but I know I'd miss most of them. I'd say that she regularly says 15-20ish words, but like I said, she'll repeat anything (that is, if she's in a happy mood...) She's definitely a chatterbox! 

Lillian 

 

 

Lillian is such a cheeser. She's got the cheesiest grin, the cheesiest giggle, the cheesiest kisses... She's just cheesy. She's a flirt. She knows she's cute.  And I love it. 

Lillian is smart. She knows how to distract Sophie to get what she wants. If Sophie has a book she wants to read, she'll go find a binky, make sure Sophie sees it, and put it down and while Sophie chases after it, she goes and grabs the book. She does stuff like this all the time. Smart girl, that one. 

Sometimes I think Lillian acts more like the big sister. Actually, most of the time I think she does. Her emotions usually set the course for both of them (usually, not always though) and she's the one who usually comes up with the ideas. She's the one who usually asks for milk first, etc, etc. Sometimes Sophie is the leader, but lately Lillian has been taking the reign. It's been fun to see them switch rolls back and forth so much. 

Lillian can say everything that Sophie can and she repeats things just like her sister, but it's usually in a whisper. It's hilarious. I'll say, "Can you say cat?" and Sophie will yell "CAT!" Lillian? 'cat' I was getting gas a few days ago and I had a friend in the car with me. She was having the girls say various words and she said every single time Lillian would whisper them. You have to really watch her mouth to make sure she repeats whatever you're saying, but she always does. 

 

And both of them

 

 

 

These girls are smart. They understand nearly everything I tell them. They can help pick up their toys, they know what they need to grab when I say, "it's time for your nap!". They help buckle themselves into the car. They're finally 'getting it'. It's such a good feeling to have your kids reach that stage of slight independence. Like the other day when I got some sock for Lillian and asked her to get them on. What did she do? She unrolled them and put them on all by herself. I love it!

They're constantly by each others side. They hold hands, scratch each others back, get things for each other, etc. They love their sister and I literally thank God every day that they came together. They are such a team. 

We still aren't really sleeping through the night and it's really wearing on me. I'd say at least 4 nights a week, someone wakes up. We've tried oils, routines, and many other things that have been recommended to us, but we haven't found anything to stick yet. Here's to hoping they figure it out soon... 

These girls are giggly, playful, exhausting, hilarious, forgiving, and wonderful. We love them. I can't believe it's been almost two years since they joined our family. What a crazy two years it's been. This past month has been especially hard for our family and I've been that much more grateful for their giggles and kisses. 

It's been a wild ride with these two and like I always say, we've loved almost every minute of it.