Flight Fiasco!?!?

So, here it is the end of September and we are supposed to be in Kansas.  However, after 6+ hours in an airport, 1 missed 10 year class reunion,  & lots of waiting family; we are still in Arizona.  We were scheduled to fly out at 7:35 AM last Friday.   We boarded the plane and everything was going smooth;  that is until they told us they needed to have the plane looked at and we'd need to get off of the plane.  We were flying out of Mesa-Gateway Airport which is teeny tiny...Allegiant is the only airline that flys out and they only fly 2 flights per week.  So after we waited until about 11:30 AM  with 15 month old twins we'd had enough and left. The girls actually did surprisingly well...they only got mildly cranky for a few minutes when they were ready for a nap.  Imagine 2 germaphobes like Justin & I stuck in an airport with babies for 6 hours... WHEESH!, NOT FUN!!  So, long story short...we re-booked our flight on Southwest for Oct. 13th....I don't think we will be flying the friendly skies with Allegiant anytime soon! :) 

On to other news....Ellie is quite a little card. Apparently whatever she likes to babble about is pretty funny.  Justin and I get tickled at her because she'll go on & on about something then at the end she'll just start laughing. Meanwhile, she's talking with her hands the whole time...she comes by that honest.



They've both become good little helpers around the house...however I still can't get them to put their toys away.  Every time we come in the back door, I take their shoes off...both girls grab their shoes and walk them over to the cubby by the front door where we keep their shoes.  They also like throwing things in the trash.  Lately it's become slightly easier to keep the kitchen floor clean.. After a meal or snack, when they are done they pick up all of the food off the floor and put it in my dustpan to put in the trash.

On to a couple of pictures...

So this picture now hangs in our dining room...I was pretty proud of myself for laying it out in Photoshop.  I love the way it turned out!

Audrie & Ellie coloring

15 Months!

Today marks 15 months for the girls...

Another day at a Splash Pad

Yesterday Ellie started feeding herself with a spoon.  They've both been "kind of" feeding themselves, but yesterday was the first day I put the bowl on their tray and left it.  Normally I just let them stick their spoon in while I hold the bowl.  Yesterday, Audrie seemed to enjoy putting her hand in the bowl rather than the spoon though, so she's got some work to do.  One thing to note is that Ellie is using her left hand.. a lefty perhaps?  Not sure yet, but maybe?

Audrie loves hanging her feet off the couch

Audrie Will Hate Me For This Picture Later

I'm positive Audrie will hate this picture later, but I love it!  We were getting ready to get in the pool yesterday, and Audrie was running around naked before we got her suit on her. 

And just a quick thing that I forgot to document on here about a month ago.  The girls are officially "off the binkie."  They were just using it for naps & night, but about a month ago we took it away cold turkey.  We had a couple of pretty rough naps, but in a few days they forgot all about it.

What did You SaY?

Daddy reading a story

Well, I've always heard that twins have their own language and now I truly believe it.  They jabber away at each all day long.  Right now, Audrie is probably the more talkative of the two.  Audrie just talks & talks about everything it seems.  Ellie on the other hand is more to the point.  She has this one particular sound she makes to Audrie;  everytime Ellie does it, they either laugh or Audrie hands Ellie something.  It must mean something, but I'm just not sure what.  Apparently Audrie understands though.

The best part is in the morning when they first wake up.  They normally start to wake up around 7:30 or so but we don't go get them from their cribs until about 8:00.  So from 7:30-8:00 you can hear them just carrying on having a good time.  Who knows what they are talking about, but it's pretty funny to listen to.  I have to remember to get this on video if possible.

Splash Pad

Before the "accident"

So some of you may already have heard, but for those of you who Justin HASN'T told; the girls had their first accident on my watch. Justin likes to tell the story more than i do, since he wasn't here when it happened. I had the laundry basket out and Audrie happened to crawl in, so Ellie started pushing her around the house in it. So cute I thought. Well then Ellie crawled in the basket too and they were just playing...all of a sudden they both stood up on one side and of course it tipped over and they face planted right on the hardwood floors. Instant hysterics. So I'm trying to hold both of them, but can't really check out their injuries without a free hand.  Audrie sticks her finger in Ellie's mouth like she always does, and when she pulls it out there's blood on it, "uh-oh."  Well, I finally got them calmed down and then they went for their nap.  I was more concerned about Ellie at this point, but when they wake up I discover Audrie has a giant bruise on her cheek. I'm sure this will be the first of many accidents, but I realized how hard it is when they both get hurt at the same time and need Mom.  

Ellie coloring

Audrie playing in the fountain

So, on  to more recent events...this weekend we took the girls to the splash pad at Desert Ridge.  They had so much fun.  We took them to dinner first and Ellie had a good time coloring.  Then we headed over to play in the water.  At first, Ellie did her typical thing...just stood there and looked around.  Audrie also did her typical thing...bolted off in 12 different directions.  Pretty soon though, after she'd "assessed" the situation, Ellie was off.  They were all over the place...I'd like to take them this week by myself, but I'm not sure I could contain them both.  Even with Justin there, I kept losing track of one...Anyway, they had so much fun & I'd definitely recommend taking your kids to one if you've never been. 

Ellie and her new friend

Lastly,  Ellie & Audrie are loving books right now.  Usually they will go get a book and bring it to me, then fight over who gets to sit on my lap while I read it.  Story time usually consists of one kid on my lap and the other one hanging over my shoulder trying to see the pages.  Well, I think that's it for now.  

14 Months

For me today is bittersweet...the girls turned 14 months old today, but with great sadness dare I say the girls are officially done nursing. A dear friend of mine had her 1st baby start kindergarten today and she was explaining how her daughter seemed fine, meanwhile she's been a mess. Isn't that the truth? I'm sure the girls would have been fine being done nursing awhile ago, but Mom just couldn't quite cut them loose. But today was the last time..I THINK. As long as I can stay strong in the morning and just give them their sippy cup.

The twins have never really nursed for comfort..they've been on a really good schedule and only nursed when they were hungry. I've been gradually decreasing the number of feedings and for the last several months I've only nursed them when we wake up. 5 days ago Ellie decided she was done... I put her on my lap and she'd just giggle and roll off my lap onto the bed. Audrie has still been eating, butI finally just decided it was time to call it quits. They are fine with stopping, so Mom should be too, right? It's funny, turns out I really enjoyed the experience. In the beginning I didn't think I'd make it 14 days, let alone 14 months. Wish me luck in the morning..;)

Oh, and the pictures...this is Audrie. She loves carrying her dollies around and gives them lots of kisses. Usually one under each arm..

1 YeAr PiCs

Wanted to give everyone a sneak peek of the girl's 1 year pictures by Kelly Rashka..I should have all of the pictures back soon and will be posting more...Here are just a few!