Thursday, September 22, 2011

21 Months!

Addison and Caroline turned 21 months on the 8th of September. What!?! They continue to grow every day and become more and more fun to be around. Their little personalities are becoming more evident and they continue to become more silly which always gives us lots of laughs. It is such a joy for Scott and I to watch these 2 become more and more like little ladies.

At 21 months both Addison and Caroline like to talk though we still can't understand them for the most part but they do say too many real words for me to even list. They have started to put 2 words together now so they are right on track which is something I was nervous about since twins often have delayed speech.  They are very good at listening to directions except when it comes to running into the street which makes us very nervous sometimes. They LOVE to swing at the park, watch Elmo (Sesame Street), read (they are a lot better at taking turns in my lap now), play with play doh (without eating it!), and just be silly whether that be through actions or different voices or laughs. After a nap you can often hear them laughing with each other as they jump in their cribs or do goofy things together like pat the other one on the head or hold hands while leaning their head backwards. They like to run after each other around our kitchen/hall circle and laugh at each other when the other one does something funny. They are really starting to have a lot of fun together. They continue to get better and better at sharing and are not hitting each other as often which means less time outs in this household lately :) They continue to stack blocks and they love taking care of their babies. They are starting to enjoy art projects more which I really appreciate and I am sure I will appreciate even more as we head into colder weather. They enjoy running after bubbles and wearing shoes. They LOVE shoes! They also like pointing out body parts, making animal noises and practicing their golf swing which daddy likes :)

They both have some things that each of them like to do individually. This is not to say that the other one does not do it at all but there seems to be more interest in one over the other. Addison LOVES playing in dirt especially if it is very fine and dry. She also likes to paint and you can often find Addison walking around with a stuffed animal. Caroline loves to dance, blow bubbles and do somersaults which can make us nervous if she decides to do one on the couch! You will often find her running all over the place. I would say she runs just as much as she walks even if she is just going 5 feet away.

That is Addison and Caroline in a nut shell right now. I am sure I have left some things out but I covered it for the most part. Overall, we are really enjoying watching our little ladies grow!  Here are a few pictures of them over the last month or so (disclaimer: these were taken with the old camera)

Scott has a set of NFL helmets that they love playing with.  Thanks to Grandpa, their favorite thing to do with them is put them on their ears.  It is pretty cute :)
(Addison-------Caroline)

They love shoes.  Even when they don't have any other clothes on they still want their shoes on!  Shoes are the only thing that I always put away so that they don't see them and want to put them on.  I am just afraid that their feet won't develop correctly if they wear their shoes all the time.

Watching a thunderstorm at 10:30am.  It was a dark one!  They still enjoy hanging out with minimal clothes on which is the very reason that I am not really teaching them how to take their clothes off.  That is a skill I really don't mind if they are slow with.

This is how Addison often tells us that it is time for a nap :)  Can't get any clearer than that!

Being silly with their blankets
(Caroline----Addison)

Painting!  Addison loved it but Caroline basically just whined the whole time and did not know what to do with the stuff on her hands.

Caroline helping Addison out with her hat.  They can be really considerate of each other sometimes.

Addison and her beloved dirt!

Addison talking on the phone.  They both love talking on the phone and when asked who they are talking to they both often say "daddy" but will occasionally say "Elmo."

Climbing on a tree near our condo
(Addison-----Caroline)

Caroline

Addison

Addison in front and Caroline in back

I just threw these last couple in because I like them.  Here is sweet Naomi.  I don't think it is possible for her to be cuter or happier.

Cousins!
(From left: Caroline, Sonja, Addison & Gwen)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

New Camera!

I have had an itch to upgrade our camera for a while now so that I could take better quality and more artistic pictures.  Fortunately for me, our old camera broke a couple weeks ago.  Scott agreed  (thank goodness) that we should do a major upgrade and after a lot of research we ended up with the Canon Rebel T2i.  We just got it last night so I have not had much time with it yet but so far I am in love!  This morning I took Addison and Caroline to the park and it was a perfect opportunity for me to take the camera for a test run.  I stuck to the automatic functions so that I could get a feel for them.  I am really am happy with how easy this camera has been to work so far and I have just scratched the surface!  Here is just a selection (I took a lot of pictures) from our time to, from and at the park.  Enjoy!
























Monday, September 19, 2011

Chicago Air Show Through Gwen's Eyes

A few weeks ago we went to the Air Show in Chicago and we got there just in time for the thunderbirds. We had great seats which was awesome but Sonja, Addison and Caroline would not agree. They were literally just above the tree line directly above us sometimes!  I was not really able to take any pictures but Gwen was happy to fill in and take them for me. I think she did a great job! Here are just a few that she took.