We have been back from Iowa for some time, but I am just now finding energy to blog about our trip!  Air travel with two babies was not as horrible as I had expected, but the anxiety of expecting the worst wore me out!!  I packed what should be an illegal amount of snacks and toys for the plane, and the trip up there didn't even warrant busting out my stuff.  The two flights were so empty that Shawn and I both sat in our own row with a baby and both of them slept quite a while.  The trip back....not so easy.  I guess the novelty of flying had worn off, and they wanted "DOWN!" the whole time.  They were both literally seizing with energy before we took off in Minneapolis, so (for the comfort of the other passengers) I gave them each half an easy melt benadryl.  (this was preapproved by the doctor, in case you were wondering!)  It didn't take FIVE minutes and they were OUT.  Cale was so doozly that he was trying to put his pacifier back in his mouth, but kept stuffing the toy snake he had in the other hand in his mouth.  It was pretty funny.  Sadly, we had to land in Chicago, and the noise woke them up....I think they would have slept the whole time if we had flown direct....Anyway, to make a long story short....don't give your toddler the second half of the benadryl two hours after the first half.....it has the total opposite effect.  They were like rabid dogs on the flight from chicago to houston.....it took a LOT of snacks, crayons, stickers, patience, etc. to manage that flight!  We ended up having to rent a car to drive home from Houston, which was actually a relief to me, because they slept in car seats the whole way back to SA and I didn't have to worry about them horrifying other passengers!  

The wedding itself was great...the babies behaved, and Sissy actually walked down the aisle in her first foray at "flower girling".....despite screaming "DADDY!!! BUBBY!!!!" as she walked.  They loved dancing at the reception, and got to see snow for the first time. Hayden ate a snowball, and cried when I took it away....(it was melting all over our hotel room floor)

The hotel we stayed in was so cute, and looked just like a ski lodge....and as an added bonus, they provided breakfast every morning, so all we had to do was get the babies out of bed and head downstairs in our jammies....I really resented having to make them breakfast myself the first morning we were home!  :) 

It was a fun trip....traveling with toddlers isn't going on my "favorites" list, but we managed!   

Baby-isms

I knew I would love this part of being a mommy.  My babies are at that phase where everything is new and amazing to them, and their commentary on their little world is hilarious!  I keep trying to remember all the funny things they are saying, and this blog has to be the medium I use to record them, since I lapsed on the scrapbooking a LONG, sad time ago. 

 

"Baby?  Hiding?"-Cale talking about the baby in Mommy's tummy.

"Open!"-Both babies, lifting up my shirt and wanting me to get the baby out.  

"Mimiappolis.  Mommyapolis.  Daddyapolis."-Hayden's commentary after we talked about flying out of Minneapolis.  

"I MEAN it!"-screamed at me by Hayden when I wouldn't let her run loose on the airplane.  

"Daddy Shawn.  Mommy Shawn."-Cale...when asked what our names were.  

"Bubbalicious"-Hayden, in response to the question, "What is your bubby's name?"

"Mommy, more ice cream cone bite."  Cale, the longest sentence he has spoken so far!!

"DADDY!!!!!  BUBBY!!!!!" screamed by Hayden, as she walked down the aisle at Uncle Andrew and Aunt Holly's wedding. 

"Thank you Momma.  You're welcome Baby." Hayden, trying to thank me.....but saying my part and hers!  

"Night Night Ding Ding!"  Cale, telling his "boy part" goodnight as we put the diaper on.  

"Chicken nugget.  Shee shies." both babies, every time I ask them what they want to eat.  Or, spoken as we go through any drive through, even the bank.

"Momma, dump it out!" Cale, as I was pouring his water from his cup to make room for his Sonic Apple Juice Slush.

"Close eyes." what they say every time the hairspray comes out.  What can I say?  I like their hair to look nice!

"Daddy's plates!" Hayden, when I found her in the cabinet messing with my clear plastic plates.  I told her to put them away....apparently she thought if she told me they were Daddy's plates, then it wasn't any of my business.

"Wheeeee Mommy!" Cale, every time the car so much as bounces.

"Mommy crash." Cale, when I bonk the cart on any of the displays when we are shopping.

"No poot." Cale, reassuring me yesterday as I went to change his diaper.

"Watty, clap your hands!" Hayden, telling the dog to clap his hands.  

"Daddy panties." Hayden, as I folded Shawn's underwear this morning. 

"Look at that!  Get out!!  Oh my gosh!" both babies, apparently mimicking phrases I use WAY too much."  (Get out is usually hollered at the dogs)

"More surpup Mommy." Cale, wanting more syrup on his waffle.  p.s.- waffle is pronounced "washel".

"Hot dog. Make it." Cale, to our waitress at a diner in Iowa.  Apparently, he thought she had stayed and visited at our table long enough.  

"Mimi baby?" Hayden, as her Mimi tried on a shirt with an empire waist.  Apparently she's been paying attention to my maternity clothes.  

"More noonels Mommy!" Hayden, eating lasagna.

"Big chip." Hayden, asking for a tortilla.

"What that?" Hayden's new phrase, uttered four hundred thousand times a day.....even at people, pointing right in their face.  We're working on the pointing.

"Tiny baby. Big baby. Baby Lilly." Hayden, taking inventory of her baby dolls.  

"Mommy, playroom.  Open!" Cale, wanting me to open the door to his playroom every morning.  

There are a ton more.....they are making me laugh so much!!!  

You know how somedays you just have one of THOSE mornings?  Well, we just had one.  I woke up and got ready to the sounds of hysterical screaming on the monitor (sissy of course) and tried to get ready super quick so I could go get her.  I had scheduled the ADT security people to come to the house this morning, and I was hoping the babies would do what they do every morning....watch some Sesame and play quietly in their playroom.  Well, the screaming wake up call should have been an indicator that things were not going to go my way.....The ADT lady got here, and Sissy hung on me like a monkey, screaming in my face.  Every time I tried to put her down, she screamed "Mommy HOLD YOU!" with snot running out of her nose.  Finally, I got her to get down and play, only to hear both babies cackling in the kitchen.  They were standing in the dog water bowl, with crackers smashed all over the kitchen floor.....meanwhile, the poor lady is trying to give me her sales pitch and I am basically ignoring everything she is saying.  I put the babies in their playroom, only to hear screaming a few minutes later....I walked in and Hayden had Cale in a half nelson, and his ear was red and slobbery, so I am putting two and two together and guessing that she tried to Mike Tyson his ear off.....the poor, poor ADT lady.....it was not a great morning.  Oh yeah, did I mention that Wyatt found a hole in the fence and I saw him running up and down the alley while she was talking?  And that I had to interrupt her yet again to chase my dog down the alley barefoot?  

My big boy:  you are so, so funny and smart at 22 months old!  You are repeating everything we say, and you make us laugh all the time.  You love looking at the moon, at squirrels, and are fascinated with all things outdoorsy.  You love looking at the dead garden snake outside our back door.  (You think he is sleeping!)  You LOVE books, and one of your favorite times of the day are when we read to you before bed.  You are scared of loud noises, and want to be held when you are in a parking lot or in view of the highway.  You love to tell jokes....you say "Passy Night Night" when you KNOW it isn't bedtime, and then you laugh hysterically when we say it isn't bedtime.  You aren't interested AT ALL in what is in mommy's tummy, but you love to point out babies in public.  You love your little red wagon, and put all your favorite things in it and pull it around all day.  You still adore your sissy, and love playing with her.  You make muscles when we ask you to, and it cracks us up!  You are in love with your daddy, and love to play silly with him.  You love the water.....You hate your high chair and would rather eat standing up at the coffee table. (even though we don't let you) You get in trouble for throwing your food when you don't like what is on your tray, or when you are full.  You are so observant...nothing gets by you!  You love your family, but you aren't as huggy and kissy as mommy would like....unless you think you've hurt her feelings, then you ask for a kiss.  You remember everything.  You love the park (especially the slide) but aren't too much of a daredevil.  You love apple slush from Sonic, shee-shies (french fries, sadly) and "moothie" (daddy's smoothie)......you are precious, brilliant.....my favorite little boy in the universe!  
My tiny girl:  You are such a joy to us!  Laughing and silly all day long.....from the minute you open your eyes in the morning, you are happy.....you are such a mommy's girl right now, and I LOVE it....You love sitting in my lap and giving me kisses.  You are so, so smart.  We label things ONE time, and you never forget their name.  You love animals, and know all your animal noises, even really random ones.  You love books, and are a little bossy.  (wonder where that came from??)  You love your bubby, and are really good at making him do what you want to do.  You aren't scared of ANYTHING....you are a climber, a jumper.....You put your face in the water in the bathtub, and will talk to anyone.  You are so, so sweet and friendly.....everyone who meets you thinks you are so precious!! You love "moka" (milk) and any kind of fruit, but you are pretty picky about most foods.  You are so assertive, and make sure everyone around you knows what you want.  You are so, so funny!!!  You know how to make people laugh, and you do it all day long.  You are going through a little independent phase, and have learned the words "No." and "Mine."  You want to do your own thing, but you are so sensitive that you usually obey right away because you don't want to upset us.  You wiggle your arms when you run.  You love to dance.  You are a fabulous sleeper!  Your vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger each day, and you can almost count to ten by yourself.  You are so curious and imaginative...you love to pretend, and can entertain yourself for such a long time.  You love your "Baby Lily" doll, and are such a good little mommy to her.  You don't like the dog licking your face, and tell him "No, No Watty!" all the time.  You make us smile every day....and we couldn't love you more.  

Here are a few pics from our sonogram.....I am DETERMINED to document important events in this baby's life....I don't want her to have "third child syndrome" where she goes looking for a baby book of herself and finds a shoebox of four pictures.  Shawn took these during the ultrasound....I like the one of me, because this is the only one where my huge white stomach isn't showing.  I like the one of the babies because Cale is doing something hilarious in the background!!! What in the world??  We had just told them they were having a baby sister...this picture looks like they actually understand that information, but I am sure they didn't!  They were more excited about Daddy taking their picture.  One fun thing about the sonogram (besides the fact that the lady was SO nice and talkative....a plus for me!) was that I could feel the baby moving a TON during it!  I guess she was annoyed we were invading her space or something, but she sure was busy the whole time.  I am just starting to feel her....a few times a day, but still tiny little flutters.  During the ultrasound, I would see her kick her little legs on the screen, and feel it at the same time.  So cool!  

Lots of people ask me how I manage shopping with 2 22 month olds.  Mainly, the answer is: my mother!   She is such a big help with the babies!  Another answer is:  the double cart at Costco!  This cart used to be easier than it is now....now they are sitting a little too close for comfort.  Half the time they are hitting each other, fighting over her hair bow, or trying to stand up.  The other half the time they are sweet as can be: waving to strangers, saying Hi to everyone, asking me for kisses while I am pushing the cart....I am sure most everyone sees us coming and thinks our situation looks like a lot of work.  Lucky for me, this is all I know.....

Our big sonogram was today, and not only is our sweet baby perfectly healthy, but it's a BABY GIRL!!!!  The sonogram lady was "sure", and I had to tell her to make sure she was really, REALLY sure since I have a monogramming machine!  :)  

I am really excited....I didn't have a sister, so I am so excited to have two girls.  I have been feeling sad for Cale (since Shawn says boys need a brother) but excited for Hayden.  It's a weird feeling to know now for sure that she's a "she".  It still feels a little hypothetical to me (despite my expanding waistline) and it's funny to remember how I felt before I knew the twins.  I worried I wouldn't love them right away (I did), I worried whether or not they'd be healthy (they were), I worried if I could handle two babies at the same time (I'm still here, aren't I??).  I feel the same things....how can I love this baby as much as I love the two I've already got?  I know it will happen, but she still feels like a tiny little stranger for now.  I worry if I can handle three, (all under the age of three) but I know God has blessed me with this family for a reason or two....hopefully He thinks I can handle it.  (Or else he thinks I need to learn a lesson about service or submission or something) 

It feels like SO long before she gets here....but I know that before I know it, I will be living in an even more full house.  I feel undeserving of so much blessing....and to think there was a time that I worried I wouldn't have any babies at all!!  These gifts of babies are another reminder to me that God had a plan for me all along, and I wasted so much time worrying about something that He had already taken care of.  For now, I am enjoying my babies at this HILARIOUS, fun age, and looking forward to meeting our new angel.  I am trying desperately to enjoy this pregnancy, (though my body is betraying me!) since this baby is most likely (99% sure) my last.