Product Recommendation: Playhut Pop Up Tent & Tunnel

Hanukkah started last Friday and my girls received the BEST gift from their Great-Aunt Sue...a "Playhut" Crawl n' Play Pop Up Tent with Tunnels Now I was skeptical about how exciting a tunnel and tent can be, but for two 13 months old it is the BEST! They spent hours crawling around, chasing each other in and out of the tent, and even getting Mommy & Daddy involved (we can fit in the tent portion). The only drawback is that it's a large toy, but it folds into itself and has a neat little storage case for clean up time. I highly recommend it! Happy Hanukkah!

Talking, Walking and other Developmental Milestones

Many babies who were born prematurely are behind developmentally, and my girls are not the exception. They have done most of their development behind, but are catching up quickly. They still are behind on motor skills (gross and fine), but are beyond their ages for other skills, like communication, self care, feeding, etc. Having twins really lets you have a good view of the developmental growth of children. Emma & Robin are VERY different - personality wise and developmentally. Robin likes to take everything in, and is typically the last to start a new skill, but as soon as she starts it she pretty much has it mastered (she's observing and learning before doing). Emma is the complete opposite - she wants to try everything, and it doesn't matter how many times she fails. A good example of this is crawling - Emma started crawling at 9 months, and spent many hours up on all fours and trying to coordinate the hand/leg movements. Robin had no interest in joining her sister, and was content just sitting and playing. Robin finally started crawling right before she was 11 months old (and right before we went to Disney), and did it just as well as her sister who had months of practice! Words are slowly coming to my children, and of course Emma is chatting away (not that we understand what she's saying). I would have expected her first words to be the "traditional" ones that you would expect a baby to say, like "up", "more", "milk", etc. But no, Emma is particularly fond of "cracker", and it was her first real word. She LOVES crackers, and knows where we keep them, and will point and say the word until she either gets a cracker or is moved from the room. Another word she loves is "car", which she repeats throughout the day. She is good at repeating new words, "door", "dog" "duck" "quack quack", and uses "mama" "Dada" and "Nana" when she wants our attention. Robin will say "mama" "Dada" and "Nana", but that's her limit right now. I know she understands everything that's being said, and I think she's waiting to just blurt out some big sentence! Walking is another skill the Tater Tots are clearly behind on. My goal is for them to be fully walking little munchkins by the time Morgan and Ryan arrive (sometime in either March or April). Both girls can pull themselves up to standing, and can "cruise". Emma is much more adventurous and will stand up from sitting (not holding onto anything) and just stand there (clapping, screeching and smiling). Robin has no desire to do this, and I don't push her. Emma is also starting to walk by holding onto our hands, and has even done pretty well with just one hand. Every night I spend time doing laps around the living room and let her climb up the stairs. She is very determined and would do it for hours, but mommy is tired (and big)!

Crankiness...

Emma has turned into a cranky pants in the afternoon, while Robin is happy as a clam. Over the past week, it goes like this: the girls wake up from their nap, I go upstairs to get them, and Robin is screeching and smiling while Emma starts crying hysterically. At first I thought it was because she was so excited to see me after being away the whole day (that's the hopeful mother in me), but then I realized, she's generally pissed. After diaper changes we head downstairs for a quick snack and playtime. Emma is still crying...Robin is staring at her. The crying continues off and on until bedtime, with bouts of happiness (I think she forgets she's supposed to be in a bad mood). Oh well, another stage. Another new thing that Emma is doing is refusing me when I come home. She'll refuse to come to me, and hide behind Nanny Kristy or cry until Nanny picks her up. At this point, I realize I'm working way too much and need to be home with the kids more. The good thing is...my last day of work is 12/17, and then I'll officially be home. The bad thing is, Nanny Kristy is going to be leaving us and going to work with a new family (luckily it's a work colleague of Jeremy's)...I'm sad on so many levels.

Emma's 1st Haircut & Friendlys

If you've seen Emma in the past month or so, you know that her hair is out of control. Everyone has been commenting on how she needs a haircut (duh, you think I don't know), but realistically I did not want to pay someone $20 to make a few snips. On the other side, I know how clumsy and B.I.A.C.S. (bull in a china shop) I am, so I wasn't too keen on doing it myself. I finally broke down and bought a pair of haircutting scissors and decided to take the plunge! After the girls woke up from their nap last night, Kristy put them in their highchairs for a snack and we went to work on Emma. Kristy stood behind her and held her head still, while I brushed her bangs down (they came to her chin), and then started snipping away. The hard part was not to laugh too hard while cutting, and I did end up snipping a little too short, but it looks so much better! After Kristy left, Aunt Jana and I took the girls to Friendlys for dinner (who doesn't love that)! The girls behaved very well (except for the food on the floor and the menus flying), and all of our dining neighbors were enamoured of them.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

I can't believe that Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now we're on a countdown to the festive holidays! Hanukkah is 10 days away, and Christmas is here in 24 days. We will be celebrating Hanukkah with our girls, and their grandparents (and aunts and uncles) will celebrate Christmas with them. I have all of their Hanukkah presents in the basement...now I just need to find the time to wrap them up. Alas, we cannot have a fun celebration without a Tater Tot being sick. Poor Robin was sick from last Wednesday, thru Thanksgiving and finally is on the mend. She has a double ear infection (ouch), and had a high temperature (above 103) for 5 days! Now she's slowly getting better, but now both girls are getting more teeth...so they refuse to eat and are just plain cranky! Hopefully they'll break through soon! I'm hoping that our Hanukkah and Christmas are sick-free, and both girls are able to celebrate and have fun! Itsy Bitsy Emma is now standing on her own...she'll go up from sitting and stand right up (without holding onto anything). I think she's a little nervous, but is very excited (she claps and screeches when she does it). I'm working with Robin on getting her more comfortable standing, but right now she's not interested. Maybe little Miss Emma will take a few steps before Christmas! Jeremy and I have finally decided on names for the next Tater Tots: Morgan Elizabeth and Ryan James. We are super excited for their arrival in the late-winter/early-spring!