Our babies turned 2 on November 15th! We had a great party with lots of friends and family on the 14th. We (I) decided to have the party at our house this year instead of using the clubhouse. It was super crowded, but fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Alberto braved the cold and grilled burgers and hotdogs and my mom and I made the kids a monkey and giraffe cake. We had a jungle themed party since both kids love animals and their favorite movie is Madagascar. They know all the animal noises, even some animals that don't have a "noise", Allie and AJ have a noise for them. Allie and AJ loved all their gifts and have had a great time playing with them since. I haven't really bought them new toys since their birthday last year so they were so happy to have new things. It was fun to have their little friends uncles, aunt and grandparents around to celebrate. I haven't taken time to write all the cute things they do lately and now I am regreting it because some of that stuff has come and gone so quickly and I don't remember all of it. I still can't get used to how quickly kids change. Here's whats going on with them at Two!
AJ: AJ has turned into our shy guy in the last few months. He doesn't say much to people that he doesn't know, but once he knows you, he is a sweet heart. He LOVES trucks and cars right now and likes to line them up all around the house and make all the engine sounds. He also loves to watch cartoon movies and Elmo. He really gets into shows. It is funny to watch him get all wrapped up in the characters. He loves to ask, "What is it?" and "What's it say?" When you call him he says, "I'm comin" as he runs in the room. Both kids like to ask people, "You alright?" when they cough or sneeze or seem hurt in anyway. They both like to be asked, "Are you alright?" If you forget to ask them, they'll remind you and then answer, "I'm fine". AJ is the best at pouting. He has an enormous lower lip and when he gets sad he will milk that sad face for all it is worth. He also gives the best hugs, especially when he is sad and needs a love. I hope that lasts for a long time.
Allie: Allie is more of a show off than AJ. She is generally cheerful and gives lots of smiles, hugs and kisses. She is a major copy cat and picks up on everything she hears. I have to be really careful as I have already taught her some naughty words. Lately she says, "Mommy, I'm jealous" and "I'm hungry" all the time. It is so funny. I am not sure where she picked up "I'm jealous", but she doesn't know what it means, she just says it randomly. Alberto taught her to say "I'm hungry" in Portuguese so that is why she says that. Both kids like to sing songs and will walk around singing with eachother. It is so cute. Allie has taken to her babies lately. She likes to pretend to feed them and cover them with blankets. It is funny to me how she is all into girl stuff and we really haven't pushed it at all. She knows about princesses, even though we have nothing princess in our house. She was thrilled to get a tutu for her birthday and loves to wear it all around. Allie has always been a little OCD, but lately she gets all upset when she spills anything on her clothes. I think she learned that from her dad.
We have been so blessed to have two wonderful, well tempered babies. We are so grateful to be parents not only to twins, but to a boy and a girl. It is has been so fun to watch them grow and interact and develop their own personalities. I am grateful for their similiarities, and especially for their differences. Happy Birthday AJ and Allie! Mommy and Daddy love you more than words can say!
Halloween:
This year for Halloween the kids were kind of stand-offish about costumes. My mom pulled out some of the costumes she had made for my brothers and I growing up and the only one the kids seemed ok with was a pumpkin. So, my mom sewed each of them a new pumpkin and I was so excited. I got Allie to try it on once for a minute and AJ wouldn't come near his. I was pretty sure we'd end up not wearing costumes on Halloween. However, a few days before, Allie took a sudden interest in hers and began to ask to wear her pumpkin. I was glad. The night before Halloween our neighborhood had a party and AJ still would not wear his pumpkin. I hoped seeing the other kids would change his mind, but it did not. On Halloween, we went to my parents and the kids were so excited for candy. We finally told AJ he couldn't have candy unless he wore his pumpkin. He was not happy, but he let Alberto put it on. We never got him to wear the hat, but at least we got both of them in their pumpkins for trick-or-treating.
