Baby Dolls

These girls crack me up...they had the entire couch to sit on and Lilly went over to Lexi and sat on her lap! Seriously! :)

They also spent a good hour playing "Mommy" the other day to their twin baby dolls. They were remarkably sweet and cute. They made them broccoli, peas, and milk for their lunches.

Twins Go Potty...

I have been a little stressed out and intimidated about potty training, because my two little ones are on such different pages when it comes to that potty. It's something about identical twins...when they were first born, Eric and I wanted to make sure we treated them both the same, because after-all, we didn't want to play favorites with our children. It wasn't like we saw them as the same. We realized from the womb that they had very different personalities and ways of reacting to the world. It is just sometimes weird for us to realize that we can do different things with one and not be showing favoritism. They are the same age, have the same two-year old quirks, and are typically into the same things.

As I was walking with my friend the other morning and discussing my struggles with potty training BOTH of them at the same time, while one was willing and the other not-so-much, it clicked that I was allowed to potty train just one right now. I was not a bad mother for waiting a little longer to train Lexi. She has no interest right now and that's ok. Lilly really wanted to potty train, so why shouldn't we?

Now this may seem like a silly thing to worry about or think SO much about, but it happens. :) I love my girls the same...SO MUCH!!! I didn't want to make Lexi feel bad about not getting the attention. But guess what? It has been great!! Lilly didn't have a single accident today, which included going to the women's Bible study this morning and playing at church for 3 hours with her friends. She wore the same adorable little pair of Snow White panties all day without a problem. Eric was SHOCKED! It was so funny to see his reaction when we got home from church.

So after dinner tonight I took Lilly on a date to WalMart. She picked out some new panties (and was SUPER particular about the ones she wanted too), and we got a little ice cream to share. We had a blast together! I even let her pick out a cute little shirt for her and Lexi. When we got home, she went running into the garage screaming, "Look, Daddy! I got princess panties and a cute shirt for my Lexa!!"

Lexi got to put on her jammies with Daddy and color a picture for Lilly and I. She has been having fun cheering Lilly on. She gives Lilly hugs while she is on the potty and tells her she is so proud of her. It is super cute!

Anyways, it may be a silly thing to have worried over, but I am so relieved that not only is my Lilly potty training so well, but that Lexi still knows that we love her so much. She will potty train when she is ready. Until then, I will keep loving her as my little Lexi bear. I couldn't ask for better kids. I just love them to pieces!

My Potty Training Pro...

Random Story and Freezer Paper

My love bought me a serger for Christmas and I was in shock. I could have sworn we agreed not to get each other big gifts, since the new tv was our gift to each other. I felt like a dork, only getting him jeans and stocking stuffers. :) He is a wonderful man!

Today in the car, Lilly told me she wanted to get married when she grew up. I said that would be okay if she could find a wonderful man that loved her like her Daddy loves me. It is amazing to be able to tell my girls how great of a man their Daddy is! Of course, after I told Lilly about her Dad, she told me she was going to get married when she got "o-dor, when I'm 6!" Ha! I said how about 26, and she said 6 was better. :)

I have several plans all ready to go for the serger, but have to learn how to thread it and use it first. That is kind of important. So until I get those projects going, I have a new slight obsession...FREEZER PAPER STENCILING!!

This stuff is awesome! I found a couple of plain t-shirts for the girls on sale, ordered some freezer paper online, and was all ready to go. Freezer paper is in the foil and sandwich bag aisle at the grocery store. However, I couldn't find any around here, so I just ordered some from Amazon.

You trace your design on the non-shiny side, cut out your design with an Xacto knife, iron it to the shirt, and paint away. The shiny side allows you to iron it to the fabric, creating a sealed edge that holds in the paint and limits seeping. Then when your paint dries, you just peal the freezer paper away and are left with the cute image you wanted. It is so much fun too! I went with an owl and a frog this time. Lilly wanted the frog off of her Carter's jammies, so I just traced it straight off the pj's.

Here are my stencils ironed onto the shirts. You just set your iron on high with NO steam.

It was hard to get a good picture of the colors, but the outside of the owl and the flowers is a petal pink color.
After the paint dried, I hand-painted the blushing pink cheeks on the frog and then used my FAVORITE fabric pen to draw the eyes and mouth.
I think they liked them!
There are tons more tutorials on freezer paper stenciling around the internet. Google it and have some fun!!

Princess Hooks and The Cold...

We always need more and more storage around here. We ADORE our little house, but were not anticipating having two little ones almost immediately after moving in. So, I found this cute little shelf at Hobby Lobby last week and the girls begged to get it. We hung up their backpacks, capes, crowns, and the other things they like to play with on a daily basis. It has been such a help.

It is also too cold to go outside. My poor girls are having a hard time understanding why they can't go outside when it is 36℉ and raining. Yesterday they spent a good 20 minutes gazing out the back door watching the rain.

But we enjoyed a lazy Sunday at home and are doing the same today. At least the girls have a constant snuggle bunny to play with....

The girls also discovered their love for Nutella. We got an off-brand and it tastes exactly the same. Just dip apple slices in it and my girls are in HEAVEN!!

We start swimming lessons tomorrow...can't wait for that adventure!!

Ballerinas in Training

My girls are so in love with ballet and gymnastics right now. They have the book on the Nutcracker Ballet and became slightly obsessed over Christmas. I was looking for swimsuits the other day and found all of these ballet/dance outfits that we got from their cousins. I was shocked to find the outfits fit since they are size 4/5. Such tall little goobers...

So I spent the rest of the afternoon dressing them, and re-dressing them, and re-dressing them. They wore every outfit for about an hour. :) I turned on music and let them dance away. They had a blast! Before these pictures, they were singing Jingle Bells while twirling and jumping. Lilly is wearing the purple...

Big hug for Mommy...

A lot of the pictures were slightly blurry, so I tried to edit them for fun. I can't get over how sweet these girls are...



They practiced gymnastics in their room...Lilly would prop her body up on the bar of the bed and try to hold her legs out behind her. She figured out how to do it first, so she showed Lexi how to do it.
She REALLY tried to help Lexi...good thing they flipped onto a bed when they went too far. :)
Strong Lilly...
Ballet kick...or karate?
Either way, I think they will have a fun time with all their lessons this summer.

Wordless Wednesday

One Reason I Love Texas...

Sometimes Texas weather gets on my nerves. Is it winter or summer, seriously?! Other times, I enjoy the warm days that pop up in between super cold days and just try to soak up the sunshine before it gets cold again. This has never been more true for me since having children. They need to be outside. I can always bundle them up, but a short-sleeve day is sooooooooo nice! This year, a few days before Christmas, we hit 87℉ for a high. It was glorious and crazy! We played outside for hours. I think the whole neighborhood was outside. I ended up putting hats and sunglasses on the girls because their foreheads were beginning to turn pink. :)

This was around 10 am in the car...fabulous, right?

The girls were able to play with our next door neighbors...some of their favorite kids in the world. We actually had two young elementary school boys willing to play with toddlers. It was really sweet. Lilly and Lexi got to play football and basketball. We really do have the best neighbors and are so happy to have that. It is such a blessing!

Lilly admiring Pete's bike...

Lexi running with the football...
Lexi...

See, we didn't even need shoes...

The next day was a little cooler, but still required some shading for the face...

Then after being a cold Christmas, it warmed up a little again. The girls took advantage of the weather and got in some soccer time with Daddy.

Lexi above, Lilly below...Eric was a goalie, so Lilly is learning the art from him.

Today it is cold again. Is it any wonder why we all get sick down here? :) So we are off to play and enjoy the fresh air as best we can. Have a great day and Happy New Year!!