Halfway to Two- An Update

The duo is 18 months old. 18 MONTHS! That is halfway to two. That is impossible. I have not done a duo update in a while so I thought I should document what is going on in the lives of these two wild, hilarious and ever changing babes.

They are walking, running, talking, EATING, sleeping, whining, fighting, exploring, falling down, climbing up, screaming, kissing, hugging, smiling, dancing, playing, sipping, laughing, charming and entertaining every day. They are learning all about timeout, cleaning up, taking turns, waiting, and that every meal is not instantly on the high chair tray. They have been known to knock each other down, pick each other up and give lots of kisses. They eat it all. SaraKate will try anything and Shepard eats like he has just been released from prison. He also hoards food and hangs on to the last piece of anything and will nibble on it until the next meal.  They are wearing 12-18 month clothes and weighing in around 20 and 23 lbs. Shep being a little stouter than SK. They are in the big kid car seats and face forward in my car and rear face in Stuart's. They are learning new words each day and reminding me why 18-24 months is my favorite age. They just discover and understand so much. I find it so awesome and fun to watch.

Their day looks a little something like this:
7:00 Daddy wakes them, dresses them, feeds them and takes them to the sitter. (I leave the house before they get up. I lay out all clothes, pack lunches and get things ready for the day)
8:00-4:30 They spend the day with our sitter Mrs.Bonnie and her herd of other tots. They eat lunch, nap, play and learn with her each day. They only take one nap a day. Around 12-2:30 I believe.
4:30: I pick them up.
4:45: We walk in the door and they all want to eat. This time is WILD. They are all hungry and I cannot get food on the table fast enough. S & SK stand at my feet or the pantry door and beg, whine and cry for food. I feel like they are little puppies and I am handing them scraps the whole time I get dinner ready.
5:30: Stuart is home or has come downstairs from his office and we get ready to eat dinner. I have been making an effort for us to all eat at the same time. We were feeding them and then the three of us eating around 7:00. We now all eat about 5:30.
6:15: Bath time or playtime depending on just how dirty they really are!
6:45: Play time, jammie time, story time.
7:00 Bed time. We brush teeth, put on sleep sacks, find all loveys, pacis, blankies, and they just get put in the crib with music on. They do not get rocked, they usually just lay down. We turn off the lights and close the door.
Then we head downstairs to clean up the messes that happened over the last few hours.Play games, watch shows and hang out with just Clark before his 8:00 bedtime. Our evenings are a blur- fast and furious. By the time they are all asleep I am wiped out and the couch is always calling my name. Sometimes I resist and do some chores- but by 9:30 I can usually be found in my spot on the couch. :)
It all starts over the next day.

Our weekends look completely different. Soon our Spring Break will happen and I will be home with them all week and then coming soon is our Summer Break and we will make a whole new agenda and be home everyday and on all sorts of adventures. The countdown may or may not already be happening.

We feel the need to pinch ourselves numerous times a week not sure if this life is for real or something we may wake up from. It is still so surreal to think we have three kids. To think we both work full time and have these three kids. To think that we are able to laugh with it all- YES, it can be overwhelming, yes tears have been shed, but we make an effort to count our blessings daily. To give HIM thanks for all things we have been trusted with and try to remember the small moments, because the days fly by and we are in constant motion. During these wild days I use my phone often to catch some of the moments I hope to remember. I spend a little while each night just staring at the pictures on my phone, sharing them on Instagram and trying to re-live our days to remember it all. Here are some of the moments I have captured of these halfway to two year olds.

SK going in for the kiss.

So sad when she is rejected and pushed away! oh my.

Church nursery sweeties.

Bubble Bath Babes.

Caught in the act.



18 month birthday suckers!



Bathroom selfie with mommy.

They are waking up from naps as I wrap this up. I have hundreds of grades to put in the computer as report cards go home this week and the laundry is piling up. Normal Sunday life around these parts.
 Happy 18 months littlest Snyders!!

1st Birthday Bash!

Last weekend was the big day. It was the twins' first birthday bash! Not only was it a day to celebrate their first year of life, but I felt like it was also a celebration that Stuart and I survived their first year of life. ha! I am not going to lie, this year was WILD. It was the fastest year of my life and I have been thinking about how we were going to celebrate for quite sometime now. I have been googling "b/g twin first birthday ideas" for quite sometime. I found lots of Mickey and Minne, Pink and Blue and so many other cute ideas, but not what I was looking for. I eventually narrowed down the first birthday theme to The Very Hungry Caterpillar (which I found TONS of ideas for) and Raggedy Ann and Andy (which I found very few ideas for). I was in love with both ideas, but I wanted to do something a that I had not seen before so I chose Raggedy Ann and Andy and I am so glad I did. It was so much fun and it turned out great.

I will say that usually I plan things in my head and then they never turn out just as I imagine and I am a little let down. This party was different. I was not let down. I loved it so much. It all looked great (in my opinion), the babies were so good, and we were surrounded by people we love.  I thought about the theme a lot and had some ideas, but really did not get a chance to work on any of the details until Friday night and the party was on Sunday. So I packed it all in Friday and Saturday but I work best under pressure I guess. It was a wonderful day and I am so happy to be able to share some pictures and details from the day. I know they will not remember it and I might not either so I am glad I was able to enjoy the party enough to snap some cute pics along the way.

So without further ado...
The Raggedy Ann and Andy 1st Birthday Bash in pictures:

The guests of honor and their friend Andy.

 

Some of my favorite parts of the decorations.

I made the bunting from a deck of cards I bought on Etsy and the Ann and Andy I bought in a set on Ebay. I punched holes in them and strung them on ribbon. I just attached it with a tape runner. They took about 15 minutes and could be done with any theme.

I borrowed all the Ann and Andys after a facebook plea to my friends. My friends had the cutest stuff! The red chest is from Clark's room and I made the picture banner out of fun yarn from the Christmas section at Michael's, their month by month pictures and some card stock. It is still hanging on my mantel by the way! :)

This was in the entry as you walked in. I got the letters from Michael's. The books are borrowed from friends. I filled two jars with candy sticks from Cracker Barrel. The Ann doll and the game came from Goodwill and the cookies were made by Rebecca Maupin. She made the cakes and cupcakes too! She is OUTSTANDING!

My sweet kiddos pre party!



The smash cakes and cupcakes. Love them so.

The only picture of the food table I got and it was before it was all done.

 

A quick shot of the drink station. Loved the straws and mason jars!

I just added this game board as part of the table scape. This was the game I picked up at Goodwill the day before. Major score.

I was surprised there was any lemonade or straws left before the party began thanks to this guy.

 

 

 

The only shot of all of us from the big day.

 

 

These boys found a quiet spot to enjoy their cupcakes.

 

They did such a good job opening and not getting lost in the sea of tissue paper.

 

 

Just a few of our loved ones who came to celebrate.

 

WE WANT CAKE! WE WANT CAKE!

Yes, they ate that much. They were not messing around.

The proud parents and our sweet ONE YEAR OLDS!

It was an amazing day. I thought about it a lot, but I did not work too hard and thanks to my mom, dad and sister for coming a little early to help with the final touches.  It was a great day celebrating the duo and a BIG thanks to all of our friends and family who came out to celebrate. Also, a special thanks to all of you who took time to wish my babes a happy birthday. Happy it was.

 

 

Credits:

 

Adorable Shirts were made by my friend Hillary at Mint Julep Monograms.

She had the Andy applique designed  just for me by Applique Market (AM is having a 30%off sale NOW).  

Find them HERE and HERE.

 

Cakes, cookies and cupcakes made by Rebecca. Local peeps you can find her HERE.

 

Cupcake liners and straws from Etsy HERE.

 

Anns and Andys thanks to my friends Resa, Roxana, and Debbie. Thanks gals!

 

Old school candy from Cracker Barrel.

 

Jars borrowed from my friends Stephanie and Tarra. Double thanks!

 

Cute babies and sweet boy made by me! 

 

 

The Duo- Month 10, 11 & 12

Well, my life is beyond wild. But I have all these blog posts floating around in my head, but baby playing, laundry doing, table clearing, party planning, single mom for two weeks, paper grading, preschool parent night attending, diaper changing, consignment sale working, The Voice watching and life in general has been more important. I only blogged twice in July and ONCE in August and I will not be have ZERO in September so here it is. I hope to catch up soon. This 10, 11 and 12 month mini update is a start.  I am hoping that it gets me back into the swing.

These kids of mine really are pretty amazing. All three of them. The tiny Snyders are growing and changing each day. They are trying to walk, eating only solid food, drinking whole milk, stealing toys and food from each other and making us laugh each and every day.

Height/Weight:

Shepard: 18.13 lbs. 5th percentile

Sara Kate: 18.5 lbs. 10th percentile

Not sure about heights... I will have to look at the book and get back to ya'!

Clothing Size:

They are wearing anything from 6-12 months depending on the brand. I am hoping they get a little longer quickly because most of their fall stuff is 18 months and everything is way too long on them. Miracle grow maybe??

Eating:

They are eating only solid "big people" food and want no help doing it. Shepard Snyder can put the food away. He has been known to eat more than most college frat boys on any given day. This being the reason we think he has passed his sister in the weight department. He is a solid little fella and does not let you eat in front of him if you don't have any for him. They are still nursing 1-2 times a day and enjoying whole milk. They love it. I have packed away all bottles and they drink from me or a sippy cup. ByeBye Dr. Brown and all of your 1,234 parts. They eat three meals a day, a few snacks and we have yet to even attempt the bowl, spoon or anything civilized. :) That will be soon.

Diapers:

Yep, they still wear them. They still wear a szie 3 and I have decided Target brand are my favorite. I tried this month to buy Huggies because I had lots of coupons and I have decided that I HATE them. They pee through them and at night it is not even an option. I know many of you like them, but we are just not Huggie fans at our house. Bring on the polka dot Target diapers for us! Plus one box lasts us all month.

All other updates coming soon.

Until then, here are some pictures to remember these cute faces at month 10, 11 and 12!



There. Now that is out of the way maybe now I can blog about the birthday party, my birthday and all the other things I have in mind!  Until then, enjoy these pics of my sweeties. :)

The Duo- 8 and 9 Month Update

In case you have not noticed, I have been totally slacking on the updates and the whole blog. We have been very busy this summer and my computer is still on the fritz. So today I finally sat down and made a list of all the May/June posts I want to catch up on and realized that tomorrow is JULY! Oh Lordy. I had better kick it into high gear. So instead of showering during nap time today I decided to blog. ha!

I never got around to the twins' 8 month update. I even had a few emails from some of you asking how they were doing after our whole weight gain issue I mentioned HERE. I really appreicate knowing that some of you actually read these posts! I do not have a baby book going for these two so this blog is it. If I do get around to writing it down pen/paper style this blog will be key to that! So knowing that y'all read is fun. thanks!

A lot has happened in the last few months. They are growing like weeds and into EVERYTHING. I think the gates are going up this weekend, because we have some mobile babies. Watch out world- they are mobile and have VERY sharp teeth. They keep us very busy and are little showstoppers when we are in public.

By the way. These two REFUSE to smile while wearing the monthly sticker...REFUSE. ha!

Here are the stats of our little ones this month:


Weights: (from 9 month check-up)

Shepard- 16lbs. 12 oz.  - <5th  percentile  (5.1 at birth)

Sara Kate- 17lbs.0 oz.  -20th percentile- ON THE CHARTS! (5.11 at birth)



Lengths: (from 9 month check-up)
Shepard: 26.5 inches  - 25th percentile On the charts! (up from 17 at birth)

Sara Kate: 27 inches  - 30th percentile On the charts! (up from 18 at birth)

Diaper Size:
Shepard: Size 3
Sara Kate: Size 3
We had to buy our first package of diapers this week! We have had quite the stock pile from a diaper shower and other gifts. We are beyond thrilled that we made it 9.5 months without buying diapers!! We have several boxes of 4s too!

Clothing Size:

Shepard: 6-9 months

Sara Kate: 9-12 months

Sleep:
Sleeping great. We have made a few changes in our bedtime routine. During the whole "we decided not to grow" phase I was pumping (to make sure just how much they were eating) and giving them 6 oz. night time bottles before bed. Well, they started fighting this. They would not finish them, and push them away and it became quite the battle. So I started giving them 3 oz each at bedtime and then mixing the 6 oz. that was left in their morning cereal to make sure they were getting it all. Well then they started refusing the 3 oz. after a while too! So, after the 9 month check up our doc said he was very happy with their growth (yay!) and we could cut out that bottle if they did not want it. This was great news because instead of that bottle calming them down and getting them ready for sleep it was kind of like a wrestling match to get them to eat it all. Now, I nurse them before bed if they are interested. If not, they just go to bed. SO. MUCH. EASIER.

They are going to bed between 7:00 and 7:30 each night and sleeping until 8:00 ish. Most mornings they wake up around 6:00-6:30, but they just lay up there and talk, and roll around. We do not go get them and they usually fall back to sleep until 8:00 or 8:30 and then it becomes obvious they are ready for some food!

They are napping 2 times a day for anywhere to 1-2 hours each time.
They sleep and nap in their cribs in their rooms and at night they are still sleeping in their sleep sacks. We even bought bigger ones. I really think that they know that when they put that sleep sack on it is time for bed. We change them, nurse if interested, put on sleep sack and lay them down awake and they usually have no trouble falling asleep on their own. I say usually, because they are both teething and cutting new teeth and have been slightly more fussy and LOTS more snotty. They snotty noses make it a little difficult to get to sleep.

Eating:
They are good little eaters. I have not found much they don't like. I think we will be done with purees soon. They are eating tons of table food. They love goldfish, cheerios, puffs, Mum Mums, frozen waffles, most fruits, pasta, mashed potatoes, cooked veggies- anything they can get their chubby little hands on. They are eating 3 meals a day, plus snacks, plus nursing 4 times a day. Yes, I clean high chairs and bibs all day long! :)

8:00 Nurse
9:00 Breakfast (usually oatmeal with fruit, yogurt and cheerios)
11:30 Nurse
12:30 Lunch (the choices are endless- usually a veggie, fruit and meat)
4:00 Nurse 
5:30 Dinner ( very similar to lunch- sometimes they just eat bits of what we eat)
7:00 Nurse before bed if interested.
10:00 pm ish- I pump before I go to bed.

Shepard:
You are such a sweet boy. Really, you are. You are very calm, laid back, and go with the flow. You only cry when you are starving, tired, or hurt. You sit back and take in all the action. You have a smile that will be very hard to say no to. You love watching your big brother and don't fight back when that sister of yours is mean to you. You have ONE tooth and one on the way. Your hair looks like it might be starting to grow. We think you are going to have either red or blonde hair. It looks very light. You are a chatty guy and becoming quite a momma's boy. You don't like it too much if you can hear me but not see me. You LOVE to eat. You never miss a meal ( like your momma) and you do such a great job feeding yourself. You love anything you can pick up on your own. You are starting to army crawl and you love to stand when supported.

SaraKate:
Sister, you are a wild woman. You are EVERYWHERE these days. You have moved on from the army crawl to the "peg leg" crawl. You crawl on one knee and drag one leg behind you. You are such a funny girl. You like to know what is going on all the time. You want nothing to do with your toys and only want to play with things you are not supposed to. You can find and pick up the tiniest things. We are always on the lookout for things you might find. You keep us on our toes. You have TWO teeth and we think you are cutting a few more. You are a sassy little thing and you make us laugh everyday!

They are quite the duo. I have totally forgotten what it is like to only have one baby. Doing double of everything has become the norm. We love our normal with this traveling circus we call family.