Super Mama!

I'm going to start this post by admitting that I am quite proud of myself and ready to do some bragging! I'm not sure if this is the norm for most moms of almost 19 month twins and if it is, don't burst my bubble! I'm feeling pretty dang Super Mamaish at this moment! Why? Because of the action packed day that I have just accomplished! :)
Let me recap!

First, I left the house at 9:00 and went and picked up my nephews. We then went to their  neighborhood's splash pad where it is the BEST MOST PERFECT set up for the babies! I was able to relax and feel that my babies were safe to play! We got there at 10:00 and stayed until 12:30 which is a long time for the babies seeing how they are typically napping around 12:30. And, there were NO meltdowns! They were having so much fun and only got upset when I told them we had to go.

Cooper preferred sliding without the water in his face so his cousins handled the situation!

We ate lunch, headed home and babies were napping by 1:30.

During their nap, did I rest? No! Should I have, probably so! I did two loads of laundry, cleaned my bedroom, packed up clothes to donate, cleaned up all the toys, AND cleaned the living room, dining room and kitchen!

Babies woke up at 3:30. I sat for a minute and watched the babies play with Trevor and Brett. So cute to see these four play together. The big boys love these babies! During the nap, I think Trevor wanted to go wake them up. I definitely was against that idea!

By 4:30, all were eating an early dinner...okay...I just made a frozen pizza....hehe...

By 5:00, we were heading to the babies' gymnastics class. Cooper's face lit up the minute we walked in. He got so excited. Both he and Chloe remembered what they learned in the previous class and totally made me proud.

Class ended at 6:15 and we headed to Cold Stone Creamery! The boys didn't know what they were in for! As soon as they sat down ready to dive into their ice cream, this is what happened....

Right outside the ice cream place, there is an outdoor water feature that kids play in. I thought that we could walk around because the babies would be too scared to get close enough to get wet...

I was wrong!

By this point, it's 30 minutes past their bedtime but we STILL have had no meltdowns today! It may not seem like alot to do for most moms but I am feeling pretty darn proud of myself. And, I'm so very tired right now but it's a good kind of tired. It's a no meltdowns, play hard kind of tired!

I gave the babies a quick bath and put them to bed. Not one wimper, booties were in the air and eyes were closed before I left the room!

Night night!

Oh, at gymnastics, I was asked if I had two sets of twins! Oh my!  

Fun times!

After returning from our 18 month picture appointment at JC Penney, where Cooper would not crack a smile, Chloe would not smile unless holding something, Cooper would not even be apart of taking a picture unless holding something, and both would only sit on a bench together while holding something, they do this for me with my camera! Cooper has given me this smile alot lately. It cracks me up. Do you think he's trying to make his eyes as little as his Mama's!? Is that what I look like when I smile? He seems to do it when I'm smiling at him really big! Ha!

What a doll!

Talking to each other on the phone!

Chloe had her first time at Gymnastics and was a little shy. I think it will be much better the next time we go for her. I caved and let Cooper come with us. I felt terrible not having a one-on-one with Chloe first but Cooper truly needs this physical activity. He LOVES it! He did so much better the second time. No worries Chloe, I have some plans in store for you and me to get some one-on-one time! Think cute shoes!

At the end, they get stamps on their hands and Chloe liked this part.

He climbed absolutely everything in the gym. I heard comments like:

"He's ALL boy!"

"Cooper, you are such a boy!"

"He needs some more boys in the class."

"Let me help with Chloe."

He's taking a rest?

Sorry for the different size pictures, I don't no what's up in the blogging world this evening!

The Bar Soap Dance! Who needs toys?

The babies LOVE to play with the bar soap boxes stored in a cabinet in the bathroom. Come do the bar soap dance with us!

This week we had FOUR playdates! Unfortunately, I don't have have any pictures from Monday's playdate with Scarlett and Cora! They are the daughters of a teacher on our 2nd grade team that has a beautiful name, MIRANDA! We had a really good time and plan on doing it again soon! I'll make sure to take pictures of the next one.

This is a picture from Tuesday's playdate. My nephews would kill me if they knew I referred to it as a playdate but it was oh so fun for the babies. Trevor is 12 and Brett is 10. They were HUGE helpers. First we went to the pool, which I would NEVER do alone. Then, we got Cooper's hair cut and went to our 18 month well visit with the pediatrician. The rough and tough boys are so sweet with the babies. Love it!

Wednesday's playdate was with Ethan! Ethan is my friend Meredith's little boy who is 9 months old. He is oh so cute and oh so happy and oh so laid back...he smiled the entire time!

And, Thursday's playdate was with Carly and Zachary! They were getting a kick out of seeing us through the window.

It's been a fun filled week. The babies do need some type of activity to do daily. Tonight, we have gymnastics and tomorrow we are going to take 18 month pictures! Let's pray they will sit together, stand together, smile together! Something together!

18 Month Check Up

Cooper:

• Weight - 26.10 lbs (50%)
• Height - 33.00 (65%)

Chloe:

• Weight - 22.20 lbs (16%)
• Height - 31.50 (39%)

Since Chloe went up from the last visit the doctor was pleased. She is just an itty bitty girl! She had gone down last time from the prior visit so there was a dip in her growth graph. She went from 21 lbs on 3/15 to 20.81 lbs on 3/29 and now 22.20.

All is well with the pacifiers too. Today there was a sighting and they handled it well. Ha! I'm not sure where it came from but Cooper walked into the living room with one in his mouth. I quickly grabbed it and put it away. He handled it okay. Then, I was fixing Chloe's hair and when I pulled out the bows a pacifier fell out. OOPS! She didn't even reach for it. They are sleeping exactly the same as before during the night but naptime has been pushed back to 1:30ish in the last few days. As long as they take one, I'm good!

Maddie's Birthday Celebration and More!

Maddie's early Birthday Celebration:

Yesterday, we surprised Maddie with an early birthday celebration. Todd will be out of town starting on Father's Day, through his Birthday on the 21st, Maddie's birthday on the 30th and mine on July 1st. We had originally told Maddie that we would celebrate her birthday on July 2nd so she wasn't expecting this surprise at all. Maddie LOVES Hibachi restaurants so we planned a birthday celebration at one near our house and invited two of her friends, Mallory and Monica who are both on her volleyball team. Maddie had requested a strawberry cake for her birthday dessert and boy the one I ordered was scrumptious! I ordered it from the same bakery that I found to do Cooper and Chloe's first birthday cake and both were so very good. I plan to use them for many occasions. And, nothing was more fitting than to ask them to make a volleyball cake! After, I took the girls to get their nails painted. (Hint, hint to all you hibachi lovers, the lunch menu is the way to go! :))

This was an egg trick that went bad...

Catching flies?

Happy Birthday to you, Maddie!

Beautiful girls...the 3 M Girls...

Mom and Tot Class:

Cooper and Chloe have been enrolled in a Mom and Tot gymnastics class. They agreed to let me split the month's session between Cooper and Chloe so that I can have some one-on-one time with each. And, I really couldn't handle taking both at one time at this point. They told me that the coach would help but I really wanted some individual time with each. Cooper went first and Chloe will go next week. My strong willed child didn't really follow along with the class at first but in Cooper fashion really enjoyed it. I had Maddie's camera since it's pocket size but it didn't take good action shots. I will post pictures of Chloe's first class next week!

Cooper loved this! He loves to climb and slide so this was his favorite.

Really blurry pictures...

Today's backyard playtime:

This morning (before it got to hot) I took them out in our backyard to play. I ran inside to grab their shoes while they were playing with the balls on the patio. I was gone for a quick second and when I returned, Cooper was sitting on the platform of the swing set about to slide down. I had no idea how he made it up there on his own. Well, he quickly slid down the slide and showed me exactly how he got up there!

Yep...climbed the ladder all on his own...

Sister couldn't be out done...

Yikes! They are getting so big!

Pacifiers:

On the morning of Wednesday, June 16th, we said "pacifiers all gone gone" to the babies.

Wednesday naptime: 30 min. of hard crying and then silent, napped for 2 hours

Wednesday bedtime: 15 min. of hard crying and then silent, slept all night (7:00 PM - 7:00 AM)

Thursday naptime: 15 min. of hard crying from Chloe only, Cooper was silent until the 15 min. mark and then he started talking (not crying), Chloe went quiet and both went to sleep. I'd like to believe Cooper was comforting her! They only slept for a little over an hour.

Thursday bedtime: No crying at all from Chloe. At first, no crying from Cooper but 15 min. or so later he cried for about a minute and then went to sleep. Slept from 7:00 - 6:40 AM.

Friday naptime: As I'm typing this out, Chloe is crying. I put them down at 12:30 and they are still awake at 1:26. We've heard crying, talking, laughing, squealing, more crying...it seems that Cooper has gone silent at this point, oh never mind, Cooper is now squealing with Chloe. We'll see, stay tuned!

As for during the day, they seem fine. The first night, they seemed agitated but yesterday and today they have been very happy. All in all, it hasn't been that bad. I thought it would be WAY worse. Of course, they have never done what they are doing at this moment but hopefully this is a one time thing! :)

Tonight, we are celebrating Todd's Birthday and Father's Day before Maddie goes back to her Mom's and Todd goes out of town. Hopefully, I'll get some more cute pics! We've planned a special dinner, dessert and surprise activity!

1:38 - still aren't asleep but it's dying down in there...hopefully sleep will come soon or our plans for tonight might not go very smoothly...

Pensacola, Florida Trip!

We are back from our Pensacola, Florida trip! The Cummings family really could have used a few more days there. We have taken Maddie to several beaches over the years; Cozumel, Progresso in the Yucatan, two beaches in the Bahamas, and Destin, and this year she was more into being a beach bum than ever! The babies did fabulous during the 9 hour drive too. We had a few bad moments but I would give them an A for the overall trip! We had videos to watch, an I-touch that Maddie taught Cooper how to use, and LOTS of snacks! There was not one tar ball to be found! The beach was crystal blue with white sands. It is very sad to think that our little paradise could be harmed by the oil. I'm thankful we scheduled our trip early and got to enjoy what it had to offer. I hate to do this video thing because if you are like me, you don't have the patience to look through the pictures! However, right now, I do not have the patience to download all these pics to the blog. The video option was much more quicker. Later, after I have rested, I might pick out my favorites and do another post. For now, the video will have to do. Go to "view all images" below the video and you can see it in full size. That should help!

18 Months Old - Part 2

Today, my precious angels turned 18 months old! Time flies. I was able to take a few pictures this morning before leaving for work. It is a very rare occasion to get a picture of them together. The two pictures above are showing off just how cute they are!

This one was the best one together. Outside on the front porch seems to be their favorite picture taking spot.

As you can see, Cooper wasn't feeling it with the brown chair picture. BUT...is Chloe not melting your heart with her smile!?

Taken at my Aunt's house...

I pulled these pictures off the camera that were taken a few weeks ago...

He has to have his sleep...

I love how he sleeps with his bootie in the air. Chloe sleeps this way too but I don't have a picture of her yet.

After we return from vacation, I'm taking the pacifier away cold turkey. YIKES! Prayers please!

My precious boy...

At 18 months, Cooper and Chloe go to bed at 7:00 and wake up around 6:20. I am hoping over the summer I can push the bedtime back to 7:30 or 8:00 and then wake up time will be a little later too! They both walk into their room at 7:00 ready to go to sleep. They will talk a bit to one another and then fall asleep. When they wake up in the morning, they sit or stand in their crib facing one another chatting away. They are at the point where one won't go to sleep without the other. I'm assuming this is a typical twin thing. They both absolutely LOVE Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Cooper will grab the remote and hand it over to us while doing the sign language for "more". That means he wants us to play more Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Yes, we try to limit the amount of time they watch TV but it is so darn cute when they are dancing to the hot dog dance. I'm hoping to get that on video soon. I bet you can guess what their halloween outfits will be this year!

Cooper is saying more words than Chloe but both seem to be slightly behind in this area when I compare them to other children their age. I have been told this is typical of twins as well because they have their own language they speak to one another. Cooper is the leader right now. He will do things for Chloe and is becoming overprotected of her. At Miss Shelley's house, Chloe sat down next to one of the boys and he pushed her. When Chloe began to cry, Cooper walked over and hit the boy! Uh oh! Cooper is Mr. Independent as well and can throw some temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Right now, they are short lived temper tantrums where it seems he has gotten his feelings hurt and he wants to lay down and cry this sad cry about it. Hopefully, they won't get too much worse and we can nip them in the bud soon. He is VERY active and is constantly on the move. He does wear me out! He is a climber. We have already found him on top of the kitchen table! He is so darn cute though when things go right! He does this little dance and puffs his chest out. And most importantly, he gives you the sweetest fish lips kiss a mom could ever want! This boy has me wrapped around his little chubby finger!

Chloe is about as easy and sweet as a baby can be. Just this evening, we were with my co-workers swimming and they all commented how they hope to have a "Chloe" one day. She is talking more and more but the words aren't a clear as Cooper's. She does follow Cooper's lead. If Cooper is climbing on something, Chloe will give it a try too. She likes playing with cars and trains. She loves Thomas the Train books. Perhaps that's because she is with four other boys all day long at Miss Shelley's. But, if you give her a doll, she will give it a big hug and say "ahhhhh". She is a hugger and blows kisses to you when you say, "love you". I have gotten a few kisses from her but she prefers hugs. She is fascinated with lights and fans on the ceiling and has been since she was born. She is so sweet to Reba too. She gives hugs to Reba, pulls her ears, sits on her, etc. This is all out of love but she will shake her finger at Reba and tell her a thing or two if she gets close to her cracker! Lately, Chloe has found her volume to her voice. She is doing her baby talk VERY loudly and squealing even louder! She and Dad get into a repeat the squeal game that she LOVES. I am so blessed to have such a sweetheart of a daughter. I love her to pieces.

I will post their stats after going to the pediatrician. I know for sure that Cooper is definitely heavier and bigger than Chloe! Chloe is a tiny thing and seems so much lighter than Cooper. Cooper is wearing 24 months in shirts and 18 months in pants. I am buying 18 months for Chloe but they tend to be big on her depending on the style. She can wear some of her 12 month pants still. She is much more narrow than Cooper. Cooper has at least 12 teeth and Chloe is still hanging out with 8 but has two breaking through any day now.