Potty Training

I have been dreading this moment with the twins, yet also looking forward to it. Dreading it because I'm potty training two wild and crazy boys at the same time and things can get way out of hand really fast (like when they both have to go potty at the same time). Looking forward to it because we've paid a small mortgage on diapers the last few years and I'm ready for that to come to an end. It's totally for selfish reasons that I'm pushing them to do it right now, but I figure it's a long process anyways so it's better to get on with it.

We've been trying since back before Christmas and they are having good success going when they remember to tell me or when I'm consistent and put them on the potty. The hard part is them communicating to me when they have to go before they are already in the process of having an accident. I decided to go full steam ahead this week and let them start wearing underwear. The last few days have been non-stop action and they've had some accidents here and there, but I'm sticking with the positives and pulling out any kind of bribery I can. I just keep telling myself how nice it will be to not buy diapers any more and it makes me feel like I can persevere  and do this. It is such a frustrating process with one child, but with two I feel like it takes absolute CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Can't let my guard down for a second or I'm finding little surprises. I'm hoping by this time next week we will be making more progress. They are loving wearing underwear and cry when I put a diaper on them for bedtime. I hope that is a good sign.


The whole reward system is kind of funny and sad at the same time because sometimes Kale goes potty and gets a cookie and then Cooper cries because he wants one too. Then I have to tell him that he doesn't get one until he goes potty. So then his smart little mind figures out that he'll just get me to take him in the bathroom and he'll act like he needs to go and he'll just go a tiny bit and then race back to the kitchen for a cookie. They are too smart I tell you!  I need to stock up on more candy and suckers!

Turning 2

There is so much happiness in my heart when I look at those little faces. Sometimes I think back to that fateful day when my doctor discovered two heart beats instead of one. It always felt scary, but I also always felt comfort in my heart that it was right. Cooper and Kale have grown so much this last year. They are busy. They are smart. They are happy. They are mischievous. They are hilarious. They are strong willed. They are learning to be friends with each other. We have tender moments together that I try to hold onto and keep in my heart for those cranky and tired days where there doesn't seem to be enough patience to go around. I am so thankful for all I have been able to learn from raising them. There are nights when the house is quiet and all of the children are asleep that I mention to Riley how I would love so much to be able to turn back the clock for a few hours, just to be able to hold and rock their sweet and snuggly little new born baby bodies once more.  

Their personalities are becoming more and more defined each day. Cooper is competitive and determined to always find a way to do something. Kale is a more soft tempered and a cuddly guy, but also has a quiet determination about him. I think they strike a good balance. At this age they are loving to color, pretend to cook with pots and pans, help their dad, throw temper tantrums, play catch, jump on the trampoline, take messy baths, read books, climb, wrestle, and give high fives. They make us laugh every day and that is such a blessing in a life that can often be hectic and stressful. They give us the ability to slow down and enjoy the little things so much more. Nothing that money can buy is a better compliment to our home than the sound of their laughter.

Cooper and Kale - we love you so much and wish much happiness and joy for you both this second year of your lives. Happy birthday boys!

Hanging Out

Cooper and Kale discovered a new hang out spot for eating their cookies. I just have to make sure the laundry baskets are crum free from now on before taking the clothes out the dryer. :)

If you give Cooper a cookie

When I went to wash the boys up after supper last night, I got quite the shock.

Here is my neat and tidy Kale who barely needed much more than his hands wiped up:

And then I look over to find Mr. Cooper who looks like he took his cookie and used it to give himself an oreo facial:

Yikes! That is all from HALF an oreo cookie. I'd hate to see what he could do with a whole one.

He was laughing just like he new it was really funny too and really hamming it up. Riley and I were nearly in tears we were laughing so hard ourselves.

The cleaned up "after" shot. That's much better!

Thanks for the laughs Cooper.

Bye Bye Bottles

Today I spontaneously decided that today was the day I was getting rid of Cooper and Kale's bottles. It was something I have been wanting to do for a while, but I had been afraid of the consequences -- no sleep. They are almost 15 months and that is a lot longer than I let Kendle or Morgan keep theirs. They only get one at nap time and bed time, (the most crucial parts of the day), so out of the blue figured I would make the leap today. We got home from picking up Morgan from preschool and I filled up their sippy cups and laid them both down. They were SO mad. They cried and cried and gave me their best dirty looks and threw all their blankets and the cups out of their beds and shook the cribs. I quietly went in and picked everything up and laid them back down and they cried for a bit longer and then went to sleep. I won't be jumping up and down until bed time goes as smoothly. What a relief it will be to no longer have bottles lined up on my counter and the chore of scrubbing and washing them day in and day out. And let's face it, they both look big and strong enough to bench press each other so it was starting to look a bit silly for them to have a bottle anyways. It was a comfort thing at this point. It is so crazy to think it was not that long ago that I would rock and hold one in each arm and feed them both. How did I ever manage that, I do not know. Now they hardly sit still long enough to let me hold them and rock them unless they wake up at night. There are days when I wouldn't mind going back to those times as I'm already starting to forget the little details of their early months and their cute little newborn faces. We are moving into a new stage of life here folks.

*Post Edit: Last night went really well!

Real Life

Do you ever have one of those weeks where nothing seems to be going right? Well, that was my week last week and on through the weekend. I'm hoping that ends today. I have been pretty exhausted lately and last night was another sleepless night up and down with Cooper from about 2:30 in the morning until 6:00 or so. I just feel like I've got absolutely nothing left on mornings like this. No energy to be "fun mom" or "happy mom" or "productive mom". The only thing that keeps me moving is the fact that it would be way more work to let things go for a day and then have to do damage control than to just stay with it and do what needs to be done today. So why am I so tired you ask? I think it has something to do with these two.

Busy doesn't even begin to describe these guys. I think this picture speaks for itself. Look at those mischievous little grins. They are learning to climb up on everything now. 14 months and they've figured out how to stand on other things to get up on the bench. They can pull themselves up on the couch. They can maneuver toys or other things to reach up and turn off light switches. They can stand on their tip-toes and reach the door knob on the front door. Yikes! They are also both teething again, slobbery, and cranky. They haven't been sleeping good at night like they have been and it's taking it's toll. Kale is usually my go-to easy sleeper, but even he has been waking up and crying.

Riley has to go overnight to Seattle for work again this week and those days are always hard. Especially when we have another day off from school this Friday. I really enjoyed the beautiful weather we had this weekend where I could send the kids outside and give myself somewhat of a break.

It's going to be a long week, but I'm hoping to make it a better week than the last! Those babies just need to let me get some sleep!

Dirty Jobs

There is nothing quite like starting your day out with a baby that pooped in the bathtub the moment you left them to their own devices while you threw a load of laundry in to wash.  Even worse is when you have two babies in the tub and you aren't sure which one did it, (although you have your suspicions).

It's moments like this, that as a mother warrior you have to:

A.) Pray neither baby ingested said disgustingness.

B.) Try to extract both babies out of the gross bath water without letting any of that toxic goo touch your hands.

C.) Try to figure out the most sanitary and least gag worthy way to clean the tub and restore it to it's clean and bathe worthy state.

This is definitely one of the least glamorous moments of being a mom. No one is there to give you a big pat on the back for the fact that you didn't dry heave your way through the extraction process. There's no high fives for the way you got both sopping wet naked babies dried and dressed in record time so they didn't pee or have another accident all over the floor after you literally had to run, slide across the wood floors in your socks, and chase them down as they sprinted away leaving little wet footprints everywhere.

I would say by 9:00 this morning, I accomplished a feat way above my pay grade. I deserve a raise.

Tricked

It seems my sneaky little babies pulled one over on me once again. As I rolled out of bed this morning thinking I was too tired to get up and it was a little darker than normal for that hour, I went in to go wake up Kendle and get her up and going. I thought I was running a bit behind as I headed to the kitchen at 7:30 to hustle and get things going. Then I glanced at the clock on the microwave and lo and behold it was only 6:30! Oh joy of joys. I debated on going back to bed, but seeing how Kendle was already up and dressed and the Morgster already made his way out for some breakfast too, I decided we'd just get an extra early start to our day. Yesterday before church the babies must have been playing with my alarm clock on my night stand and changed the time? I'm not sure how they pressed the hour button enough times to do that, but they are pretty tricky like that. It was kind of nice to have a little bit of extra time to not have to have Kendle so rushed getting ready for school I will say. So thanks to those babies I had all my morning chores done by 8:30. Ha. You just never know what Cooper and Kale will be up to next.

Taking Pictures

No matter what, whenever I start taking pictures of the twins, one of them ends up crying and it's usually Kale. He is quite weepy. Here is the latest example:

I snapped these really quick before running to get Morgan from pre-school last week. Everything started off great, happy smiles, lots of laughs at mom's silly faces and then inevitably, the sad faces always surface. Notice in the bottom left picture, Cooper is looking like he is going to start crying too, but no, Kale is still the only one crying after all in the last picture. I don't think they liked the hat I was wearing.

My Babies are 1!

Happy Birthday Cooper and Kale. Today you are officially 1 year old!

{How could your day not be a little brighter with happy little faces like this following you around everywhere?}

 

Kale Kruise Dodson

Cooper Channing Dodson

What a special year this has been for our family. It has very hard to put into words all of the emotions I have felt from the time we found out we were having twins, their birth and meeting them for the first time, and now watching them grow into charming boys. I worried that I wouldn't be up to the challenge. I worried I wouldn't have enough patience and love to go around. I worried that I would utterly fail at providing them with enough care and attention.

I am so relieved to say, that no matter what, even on the days that were not so easy, there was always enough love and attention to go around. These boys absolutely melt my heart and are just little sweethearts. Mischievous, curious, and busy - but sweethearts just the same. Every day they make us laugh and smile and I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity to be their mother.

Here are a few fun facts about their personalities and what they are each doing:

Cooper:

Likes to pick on his brother

Pulls hair

Usually the first one to get into something

Cutest smile ever

Walking

saying words like "uh oh" and "no, no" (the ones he hears most often)

Loves to eat Cheetos, yogurt, corn, potatoes, toast, and anything I'm eating

Favorite past time is pulling out all the chords from my computer drawer

Does not give up easily

Laughs like he gets your jokes

Loves to pull stuff out of the garbage

Kale

The teddy bear

Loves to walk up and lay his head on your leg and give hugs

Mr. Sensitive

Loves to get into big brother and sister's room and pull out toys and books

Likes to pull back the curtain by his bed in the morning and look outside

Walking/running

Saying words like "no, no" "ma, ma" "dad"

Likes to eat bananas, Cheetos, graham crackers, cheese, yogurt and whatever I'm eating

Is always hitting his head

Loves music

Has the cutest laugh

Cooper and Kale, we absolutely adore you!

You are the icing on our cake!

Wednesday, my least favorite day of the week (and other ramblings)

Ok, so basically, the title of this post should say it all. I kind of loathe early release days and how it throws my usual schedule off kilter. Kendle comes home from school early and is very loud. She usually rings the doorbell 10 or 12 times even though I've told her repeatedly NOT to do it. This usually wakes up the babies from their naps earlier than  I would like and you know nothing gets us mom's ticked off more than having what little quiet time we get during the day cut short. Then it all just snowballs from there. It is always a weird day and feels EXTRA EXTRA long. Like right now it is only 3:30 and it feels like it should be at least 5:30.

Today has been one of those days where I was committed to being lazy and taking it easy. My shins have been hurting so I took a day off of running. {I might be pushing myself a little too hard, but I've shaved off another ten seconds on my timed mile and now I'm only 35 seconds away from my goal. That is crazy for me to believe that in the last two and a half months I have improved a 1:25 on my time. I know distance runners look at the over all time not just the short distance, but I guess I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I want to try and reach my goal by Christmas. I think that will be a good present for myself.} I stayed in my pj's all morning and did Christmas shopping online. But I think having lazy days are overrated because my floor that desperately needs to be swept for the sixth time is driving me crazy and I just can't seem to relax with dishes needing to be done and sitting in the sink. So there you have it. I guess my need for order trumps my need to relax.

On another note though, I will mention that my baby gate I bought is the best ten bucks I've spent in a long time. I don't even mind throwing my leg over the side and climbing over it to get inside the kitchen because it has made my life so much easier. Now I'm not constantly picking up all the mixing bowls, sippy cups and kids plates and bowls that the twins would pull out fifty times a day.  Who knew such an otherwise boring purchase could make me so happy. The twins on the other hand hate it! They stand and shake it and cry when I am in there doing dishes or cooking. They look like little jail birds and it is quite the hilarious sight. Poor babies, but at least we won't have any more dish soap episodes any time soon.

It is crazy to see Cooper and Kale walking around the house. Kale has actually almost ran a few times. He really gets going and then has a hard time stopping. I love it though. They look so cute shuffling along with their little arms out for balance. They get more and more brave every day. I can't believe their birthday is fast approaching and then I will have 1 year old twins! I remember other parents of twins telling us that if we could just make it through that first year things would get so much better. I think that's pretty much true. I'm loving the stage they are in right now.  Never in my life have I felt like a year has past more quickly however. I feel cheated of not having better memories of when they were newborns. It makes me sad that those times have come and gone and the last of the Dodson babies are growing up. I haven't even thought of what to do for their birthday. I guess I need to start cracking on that!

Double Trouble

I used to think the saying "Double Trouble" was so cheesy and it gets really annoying when people comment that to me about the twins and the future we have with them. Well people, there's a reason that saying exists. It is totally and entirely true. Kale and Cooper are getting their second bath of the morning because they tag teamed  me once again and squeezed half a bottle of dish soap all over my kitchen floor. It literally took them 15 seconds while I swept the living room. Have you ever tried to pick up a baby covered in slippery dish soap? Sheesh! And my kitchen floor has a nice film of soap that's going to need some serious scrubbing. These two aren't even a year old yet. Busy is an understatement. I think dangerous is more appropriate at the moment. And you can bet your bottom dollar they got exactly what they wanted -- another bath! It was almost as if they planned it...............



P.S. If you're interested, I did a new book review at my book blog.

Growing Boys

Cooper and Kale are now 10 months old and really keeping life interesting. They are trying to start walking and love to pull themselves up on drawers, tables, chairs, couches, bookcases, and anything else they can get a grip on. This often results in lots and lots of bruises and crying and hugs. The other day I looked for Cooper and he had gotten into the toy box. Apparently he had pulled almost every toy out and then climbed (or fallen) in. He was happy as a clam just chilling out in there.

Fun facts:

*Kale is a total momma's boy and loves to cuddle.

*Cooper is more nonchalant.

*They love tub time, in fact, the minute they hear any water running in either bathroom they start shrieking and clapping and tapping their feet and will crawl as fast as they can to come see if it's time for them to take a bath. And boy do they love to splash!

*Both are great eaters. Some favorites are crackers, doughnuts, peas, chicken, rice, ice cream, mashed potatoes, toast, bananas, pears, pasta and anything else we happen to be eating that they think they need a taste of.

*Wearing size 18 months and some 2T clothes and they have the fattest little feet.

*Great sleepers. Taking 2 naps a day and sleeping through the night. It's awesome.

*They never lost their baby hair so I get to enjoy their lovely soft blondish hair for a little longer.

*They love to go bye-bye and go anywhere outside.

*They love to play in Kendle and Morgan's room and get into all their stuff.

*Starting to not like strangers or anyone new and will cry when I leave.

*They love music and to have songs sung to them.

*Starting to recognize their own names better. They still turn their head when you say either name. :)

*Like to stand up by the windows or sliding door and watch Riley mow the lawn.

They are starting to develop lots of differences in their personalities and it is so interesting and fun to watch them grow and develop. They are such happy boys and make me smile every day. They put up with a lot from their big brother and sister and are happy to tag along with me whatever I'm doing around the house. I'm so thankful for their patient and easy going attitudes. They are so adorable and chubby and sweet.

Here are a few pictures:
{Cooper in Red, Kale in Green}

Big Things Happening

It has been a busy couple of weeks around the Dodson house. We are back in full swing with soccer, school, piano, and coaching. It can definitely be challenging to keep up with everyone's different schedules and make sure we don't forget anything.

Sometimes Morgan gets pushed aside a bit and can be the child that's always along for the ride. He's a good sport most of the time. So I was excited this week for him to start his first year of preschool and have something that is just for him and to make new friends. He goes two mornings a week from 9-11:30. He has been really excited the last week or so to finally get to go. His teacher is fantastic and really tries hard to reach out to each of the kids and make them feel welcome.

Here he is getting ready to go yesterday morning for his first day:

{Can you tell he was excited?!}

{His super scary dinosaur backpack, don't think we'll be getting it confused with anyone else's. Ha.}

Morgan is a little more nervous sometimes about things like this than Kendle was. Kendle wanted me to always just drop her off and leave quickly. Morgan kept asking me if I was going to stay with him. I felt a twinge of momma worry for him until we got there, walked in the front door, and his teacher was there to greet him and he got whisked away to do something fun. After picking him up to go home he had lots to tell me about his day. They read the Rainbow Fish story and painted their own fish. They also had a yummy snack, got to do show and tell, and played outside. He can't wait to go back next week. I can't believe what a big boy he is getting to be!

Another new and exciting development around our house is this:

I know a lot of people can get their babies to hold their bottles a lot earlier, but I was trying to enjoy every last minute of cuddle time I could. To be honest though, it can be really difficult to handle the crying of one baby while you are trying to feed the other. So the day had to come. I let them both get really, really hungry, laid them on a blanket, and without any difficulty this is what happened. To most moms this is not that big of a deal, but let me tell you how much better and easier this makes my life. I can lay them down for a nap together now, they can eat at the same time, they are sleeping better than ever, and on so much of a better and more consistent schedule.

Life is getting better! Yesterday I took Morgan to preschool, came home and fed the twins breakfast and let them play for a bit, put them down for a nap, I got a really good run in on the treadmill without any interruptions, got showered and dressed for the day in a quiet house with no one crying at my feet, got the babies up and dressed to go pick Morgan up and everyone was happy! It was a great thing.

More Thoughts on Twins

People always ask me all sorts of questions about having twins.

Q: What's it like?
A: Mostly amazing and wonderful, but also very tiring and frustrating. A lot of days I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle with a dull sword, but then there are moments where we are smiling and laughing and playing with the babies and I can see how much we are blessed. Those moments blur out the bad parts.

Q: How do I get everything done?
A: I don't. I get half as much done as I used to and that is on a good day, although my energy level is starting to pick up a bit from getting more sleep which helps.

Q: How do they sleep?
A: They are sleeping mostly through the night now with one or two good naps during the day. That does not include when they are teething and Riley and I can be up and down all night with one baby or the other. Unfortunately their naps are not always simultaneous as well, but they are starting to fall into a more natural sleep schedule now which is nice.

Q: How do I sleep?
A: Never in my life have I been a heavy deep sleeper until having twins. I think it is my body's survival mode kicking in and knowing that I need to sleep well when I can. Subconciously though, I think I always have an ear out for a crying baby.

Q: Is it crazy?
A: I've been telling people crazy is our new normal. Even taking the twins out of the equation our life is definitely super busy with lots of different schedules going on, so yes it is pretty crazy most of the time. Although sometimes I feel like I am living in a zoo, we have learned to adapt pretty well and so have Kendle and Morgan. It makes me appreciate the quiet dull moments even more.

Q: Is it fun?
A: Fun is mostly attitude I believe, so some days I have to switch gears and say, ok what's wrong with this situation - why is everyone cranky or upset or whatever. Then I have to remember to enjoy all the little moments that will otherwise pass me by that I can never get back. Cooper and Kale have such great little personalities that they are always making us laugh and smile. I try to make myself remember to have a little fun every day.

Mostly I can say that it is fun in a challenging way. Yes, I think that is a good way to phrase it. If you enjoy being constantly challenged on a daily basis and seeing just what kind of stuff you are made of then you would enjoy having twins. Also you would need to enjoy being humbled on a daily basis and having showers postponed until noon, and develop a high tolerance for screaming and crying because to be perfectly honest, at any given moment at our house there could be at least one baby (if not the older children) having a bad moment. Sometimes people have no idea what they are walking into when they open our front door.

Today I needed to run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. This means I have to bring some toys in our bedroom to entertain the babies so I can get my run in. Of course, who wants to play with toys when they can meander over and attack me on the treadmill? I think I had to start and stop five or six times and move them back to their toys - I even tried making a barricade of laundry baskets to make sure they couldn't come over and climb on the treadmill or mess with the plug in or hit the on/off switch on the bottom (which happened a few weeks ago and I nearly dislocated my knee going from a sprint to a dead halt). I hit 18 minutes on there, listened to them cry for 2 more and had to stop at 20. It was pretty frustrating. It is hard to find time for myself and do the things I need to do.

But - five minutes later I had to just laugh because all they wanted to do was climb up on the treadmill and just sit on it. I realized that wherever I am is where they want to be and being with me makes them happy. That is what makes being a mom so great no matter if you have 1 child or 12.

Wrestle Time

I think we might need another football.........

Future Piano Players?

The twins are just tall enough to stretch their little fingers up to reach the piano keys. So sometimes I will leave the cover open so they can pull up and tickle the ivory's. They think it's so funny.

I love this last one.

Look at Cooper stretching with all his might to get up there!

Growing Boys

So I guess I've done a post about the other children this week and the twins shouldn't be left out. What to say about these two little munchkins? Well, how about the three H's. They are some healthy, hefty, and happy boys. At their last doctor's appointment about a week and a half ago we got some more stats for the books:

7 months

Weight: 20.13 pounds (Both)

Height: Kale, 28.6 inches - Cooper, 28.4 inches

(I can never remember the head size measurements, I just know they have big noggins like their dad)

So I think that put them in the 90th percentile for weight, and high 80's for height. Or maybe it was the other way around. At any rate, they are some chunky monkeys and have fat rolls for days which are pretty much irresistibly squeezable.

They both have their two bottom teeth and grin at me all the time with their two little chompers showing. I love it! They follow me around in their walkers and pull on my pant legs, grab anything they can get their hands on and giggle and laugh at the the funny things the older kids do. They are rolling everywhere and it's hard to keep them in a contained area. They are sitting up for short periods of time by themselves. They love meal time (obviously) and as soon as they see me getting food ready, whether it's a bottle or baby food they start getting antsy and try to attack me. They have both started doing this pitiful/adorable little begging sound and you can't get them the food fast enough. They have already started to try and grab my fork and my food when I happen to be holding them during meal time. Yikes!

The days are still a challenge, especially now that it's summer break and it tends to be a little louder and more chaotic around here most of the time. I don't know what I'd do if they didn't like being in their walkers, those things are a life saver. Both boys like to be outside, so sometimes if I'm working in the yard I will just put their walkers out on the sidewalk so they can watch me and they are totally content. That's about the only way I can get anything done so I have to work fast while they're happy.

They do good sleep-wise if we stick to a good schedule, but any little disruption seems like it throws them off and takes a day or two to get back on track. I'm still getting by on sporadic sleep and trying to make the best of it. The nights that they don't wake up feels like such a treat.

I wish I had some better pictures of them but have been a pretty bad picture taker lately and just haven't got around to taking them. Here are a few:

{These first few are all of Kale, he was being cute so I just kept snapping away}

{Orange hat Kale, blue hat Cooper}

My next priority will be getting some pictures of those chunky legs.

Double Trouble

What is more fun than one baby teething? Two babies teething at the same time. Holy moly has it been crazy around here lately. Cooper and Kale literally do everything together. Cooper's first tooth started pushing through on Sunday and Kale's pushed through last night. I've been up to my eyeballs in blow out diapers, soggy drooled on clothes, and spit up. Not to mention that at any point in the day there is usually at least one baby that is unhappy and crying. Last night I was up until after 1:00 in the morning consoling fussy babies, one of which threw up all over me. I had changed my clothes and Kale's clothes and had him propped up in my bed with me as I was trying to soothe him and trying even harder to valiantly stay awake hoping Riley would get home soon from the game. Finally I heard the front door open and felt a sigh of relief. I know Riley was exhausted too, but thankfully came and got Kale and took him to try and rock him to sleep. I think I was literally falling asleep before he even got out of our room. I'm glad they are both seeming a little happier this morning. If I can get them both back to sleep soon, I'm going down for a rest myself. I do not do good on a tiny amount of sleep. My brain is fried.

No words.......

There are no words to describe these pictures:

*Reaching out to hold hands.*

I had to race and get the camera to capture this moment. They hold hands all of the time and act like little partners in crime already. At five months! That is amazing. After a hard day, seeing them smile and talk to each other reminds me its all worth it in the end. They are such wonderful baby boys. It is seriously something, to witness their little bond they have already with each other.