"I've been Krogering!"

There are many perks to being a twin.... having a built-in playmate tops the list.
There are also some pits to being a twin.... like the big production that is involved with going places.
To go anywhere with them by myself, I have to have a stroller in order to transport both of them, a purse, a diaper bag, and have a free hand (without having child protective services being called on me for dragging my children around by their limbs). Not to mention the two or three trips to the car, loading and unloading two car seats, and another two or three trips from the car to the house.  So, as sad as it is to say, Anna Kate and Drew haven't been part of many errand running days or shopping trips.  It is just more of a hassle than it is worth at this point in life.  I am sure it will get easier as they become more mobile and follow directions better.
So, at the ripe age of 18 months (and a few weeks) Drew and Anna Kate went grocery shopping for the first time yesterday with DotDot and me.  They were so excited.  They giggled and squealed about riding in the carts, tried to grab anything they could reach off of the shelves, and just took in all of the people.  And to make a good time even better, they got "I've been Krogering" stickers to commemorate their experience.  Its the simple things.....

 Ready to roll

 Anna Kate got a glimpse of a mound of tomatoes (one of her favorites!) and was certain she needed one.  We had to pull out some distractions and keep moving.

 Don't let his poker face fool you.... He was having fun.

We found a giant bunny!  They squealed over that too. And said "bop, bop, bop" (as evidenced by Drew).

Up to something....

It's never a dull moment around our house.  Drew and Anna Kate are always up to something.  DotDot is always sweet to say that they have been "busy" on days that have been extra mischievous.  I guess when the world is new, there is just so much to learn and explore!

 If you ever need them to come to you, just get a water bottle out.  They flock to you like little birds.

 Anna Kate drinks from a cup or bottle like a dog.  If you look closely, you can see her tongue in the bottle.  Needless to say, she isn't one most people like sharing their drink with! Ha!

 Drew has started this new thing where he will walk up to me and say "Mama, Mama, Mama" in the sweetest little voice.  Although, I do think that sometimes he does it to try and distract me from the fact he's doing something he's not supposed to.  Case in point, the mess in the background.

 The sweetness is short lived.  I'm pretty sure we were wrestling over my camera.

Piggies!  And pretending like she's texting someone.

 Who needs all those fancy toys?  Diaper boxes are apparently just as fun.

 Accomplices

 Monkeys on our back.  They like to wear their "leashes" around.  I think that is because they don't really know what they are used for yet.

 So girly! She likes to pick out what she is going to wear from her closet.  She also will get things out of her drawer and try to wear them.  She has a pair of pants on her arms and some PJs wrapped around her neck.

And this one is all boy.  He got to ride on the lawn mowers today with Daddy and Grandaddy and would have perfectly content to stay out there all day.

I wear my sunglasses at night

Drew & Anna Kate have a new found love for their sunglasses and like to put them on and wear them around. Last night, Anna Kate found them in their diaper bag so of course, we had to wear them.

 Miss Hollywood

 The picture quality is terrible because these pictures came from my phone.

Too cool for school.

Nothing new or exciting to report.... which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Cheese!

Today we had 18 month pictures for Anna Kate and Drew. The weather was perfect for pictures today! We met at the park and got some really good shots. Of course, Anna Kate and Drew loved being at the park and running around like little crazy people. Drew lost interest quickly in our task at hand and was a little less than cooperative but Tassi (Aunt Ashley's friend who takes our pictures) still managed to get some good shots of him. Despite his best efforts to be difficult!  It is funny how they flip-flop when it comes to their attitude.  When they were smaller, Drew was always so easy going and cooperative when it came to pictures and Anna Kate was always stingy with her smiles.  Today, the tables were turned.  Who knows what will happen at their 2 year pictures!

 Tassi and Aunt Ashley trying to chase Drew down to get a picture of him.

 Taking a juice break while we set up for the next shot.  Notice all of our props in the background? It takes a lot of work to get beautiful pictures!

One and a half!?!?!  Where in the world has time gone?

18 month stats

Drew and Anna Kate went for their 18 month check up this morning. We managed to get out of there without having to have any shots!  The doctor said they were both very healthy and also said they were the most cooperative 18 month-olds he had seen in a while.  WHAT??  DotDot and I though that was funny! Seriously, they were pretty good during their appointment. Here are some stats and fun facts about them at 18 months.....
Anna Kate:
Weight: 19lb. 7oz.- less than 3%
Height: 30 3/4in.- 25%
Head: 48.5 cm- 96% but we're back on the charts! My little lady may have a big head but that's just because she has so many brains!
Anna Kate, You are a very affectionate girl and like to be held or to sit on our laps.  You love to read and let us know that you want us to read to you by getting a book then backing up to us.  You love, love snacks and anything sweet.  You also love bananas and yogurt. You scream/screech loudly when you are excited and you love to chase Drew and be chased.  You like baths and to go outside.  When you get excited you clench your fists and shake and giggle.  You are very smart and can show us your belly, nose, ears, head, hair, finger, toes, and teeth.  You know what a cow, dog, cat, chicken, bear, snake, sheep, and bunny say.  You will not give kisses but will lean your head in and put it down so we can kiss you on the head.  You share well with Drew but get very upset when he takes something away that you aren't quite finished with. When you do get upset and cry, you often hold your breath.  You are starting to talk more and say Mama, Dada, DotDot, NanNanny (Grandaddy), Mamaw, Papaw, bye-bye, baba (bottle),  Uh-Oh, a bath, all gone, and most of the time will try to repeat any other words we ask you to.  You have 12 teeth.  Your a little girl and can still wear 9 month sized clothes. You have a sweet smile and cute little dimples high on your cheeks. You like to dance (mainly by bouncing up and down and stomping your foot). You aren't interested in watching TV but don't like it if it is turned off.  You are such a sweet girl and you definitely make our little foursome complete.
Drew:
Weight:  23lb. 6oz.- 20%
Height:  32 1/2in.- 60%
Head:  52cm. greater than 97%- Big ole' noggin like your Daddy!
Drew, you are such a lively and energetic boy.  You are so very curious and like to check everything out to see how it works.  You are also very industrious and figure things out pretty quickly (like you have figured out how to remove the outlet covers and how to remove child proof lids from medicine bottles!).  One of your favorite toys in the vacuum cleaner.  You are all boy and like any type of car, tractor, lawn mower, etc.... You love to be chased.  You have a tendency to steal things from your sister.  You can get mad and throw some pretty impressive temper tantrums. You love to go outside and get very excited about taking a bath.  You are smart and can show us where your belly, nose, teeth, and head are.  If we ask you to show us a body part that you don't know, you point to your nose by default. You like to look through books, usually on your own.  You can tell us what a dog, cat, cow, bear, sheep, and bunny say.  You chatter a lot and usually loudly.  You can say Mama, Dada, DotDot, Grandaddy (sometimes), Papaw, bye-bye, baba (bottle), abath, all gone, and uh oh.  You have 16 teeth.  You are a good eater and especially like bananas, blueberries, sweet potatoes, and yogurt.  You are a climber.  When you are sleepy you will lay on our shoulder and pat our arm.  You have a sweet smile and big brown eyes.  You dance by bending your knees and bobbing your head.  You laugh loudly and squeal when you get excited.  You bring energy and laughter to our family and we couldn't imagine life without you.

I already knew you both were pretty great and the doctor just confirmed it for us today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

After all the events for Daddy's birthday, it was time to move on to a couple more special dates for February.
On Monday, Anna Kate & Drew turned 18 months old! Geez, where did time go?!?!
Today was Valentine's Day and Drew and Anna Kate are two pretty sweet Valentines... until it comes to picture time.  I tried my hardest to get a Valentine's Day picture of them but came up empty handed.

 Major fail!

 Sweet baby girl

Sweet little man

Birthday Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend around our house.  Especially by our standards since we usually don't have much on the agenda.  It was Daddy's birthday weekend and we had lots of celebrating to do!
Friday night we went to Pepaw & Ann's house to celebrate John Clay and cousin Millie's birthday.  Anna Kate and Drew had a really good time exploring every nook and cranny of Pepaw & Ann's house and also enjoyed being the center of all the attention. 

 Ann gave Anna Kate a boost so she could help Daddy & Millie blow out their candles.

 Like I said, they were in every nook and cranny at Pepaw &Ann's.  Drew somehow found the mops and decided he would do a little cleaning.  His mama has taught him well!

On Saturday night, DotDot and Grandaddy let Drew & Anna spend the night with them so we could go out to celebrate Daddy's birthday with his friends.  This was their second time spending the night there and the report was another good one!  They slept all night and were good for DotDot & Grandaddy! 

Today DotDot had a birthday lunch for Daddy and Mimi Jo.  Cousin Price and Whitney came over too.  Anna Kate and Drew really enjoyed getting to play with their big cousin and Price was such a good entertainer for them.

 Drew got a lesson in power tools from Grandaddy.

 Sweet cousins.  Poor Hayes was a little under the weather and didn't get to come.

 Even though it was very cold we did manage to get out for a quick wagon ride and to feed the goats & turkeys.  All day AK & D watched everything that Price did very intently.  I am sure they were taking notes on how the big kids do it.

And finally for one last birthday celebration, we went to Mamaw & Papaw's house this evening for dinner. Drew & Anna Kate were pretty worn out from their afternoon playing with Price but still managed to have plenty of energy to keep us all on our toes.  Aunt Teresa and Uncle Eugene were there as well as Papaw Tim, Uncle Aaron, and Megan.  Again, they were the center of every one's attention and loved every minute of it.

After a full day of playing, a bath was definitely necessary.  Papaw set their bath up in the big bath tub!



 Drew was just too excited about two of his favorite things.... "abath" and a mirror to make funny faces at himself!

 Anna Kate pointing at that pretty girl in the mirror.

So, after a full weekend of birthday partying, we hope Daddy had a great birthday!
 

Happy Birthday, Daddy!   We love you!

Gym Bugs!

Today, we went to our first open gym at Gym Bugs. Aunt Ashley, Meredith, and Hudson met us there. I feel confident that Anna Kate & Drew had a good time!  It took Drew a few minutes to warm up amidst all that was going on inside that small room but once he did, he really liked having the freedom to roam and explore.  They enjoyed  jumping on the trampoline, going down the slide, the seesaw (there are advantages to having a twin), and riding on the little car roller coaster. We were there for about 45 minutes and I was sure they would be fast asleep before we got too far down the road but they held out. Their sleepy little eyes were barely open by the time we pulled into our driveway.  We had an early lunch and down for a nap they went. As of now, they have been asleep for two hours and are still snoozing away.

 Drew wasn't so sure about all of this. He was actually clinging to Meredith's legs in this picture and didn't realize it.  He has woken up as a terrible two year old the past few mornings and has been pretty cranky.  He is becoming quite opinionated and cantankerous in his old age (of 18 months. Ha!).  But after he has some time to settle in and get good and awake, he is his sweet, smiley self.

 My little social butterfly jumped right in and started having fun.

 Warming up a bit.

 Pretty girl!

 Having a good time now!

The majority of the kids there were around D & AK's age. Neither of them were particularly interested in the other kids except for these two older girls that Anna kept following around.  She thinks she's a big girl too. 

 Jump, Jump, Jump

And they all fall down!  We will definitely be going back to let them run off some of their endless energy soon!

And a cute story to end with.... On Monday, Grandaddy taught Anna Kate and Drew that a bunny says "Hop, Hop, Hop".  They caught on pretty quickly except they say "Bop, Bop, Bop".  In their sweet little voices.  Sometimes the cuteness is just too much to handle!

Spaghetti anyone?

Most of our plans we had for this weekend ended up being rescheduled so we got to have dinner at DotDot & Grandaddy's tonight with Aunt Ashley.  As always, it was a good time!
The big news from tonight was that Anna Kate and Drew got to eat "real" spaghetti for the first time tonight.  They have had baby food spaghetti but this was the real deal AND they got to feed it to themselves.  We just stripped them down and let them go to town.  They really seemed to like it!

 Before

 Testing the waters... taking it slow, using our forks, .....

 "Hey, this stuff is pretty good!"  I think they enjoyed it!

 After Anna Kate got out of her high chair, she decided to take her diaper off of herself.  This picture is hilarious to me for some reason.  And when did her legs get so long?!?!

 Of course, we had to have a bath.  Or "abath" as Drew calls it.  He actually screams it most of the time.

 After we got all cleaned up from dinner, we did a little practicing with Aunt Ashley for gymnastics this week.

 We played with Grandaddy.  There was also some brownies and ice cream in the middle of all this fun!

We measured them again tonight and Drew grew 3/4" and Anna Kate grew 1/2" since last month.  Getting big!

By our standards, this was a pretty great Saturday!