Be Still, Santa Claus....

Elizabeth was very busy the other morning as I was cleaning up the breakfast dishes. I stopped to see what she was up to and had to get the camera. I guess Santa needed a diaper. I was pretty impressed with how she worked to get the diaper on just right. She did this all by herself.

Mama and Dada Time

David and I recently went to Seattle for his company Christmas party. Thomas and Elizabeth stayed with Gramps and Grandmother and had a blast. They read lots of books, played with Belle (dog) and Bob (cat), and searched for Christmas lights every night before bed time.

Oh yeah, David and I had a great time too. Our friends Brett and Amy went as well which made the trip twice as nice. Let's see......shopping, food, and wine with Amy.....dress-up party with David.....great weather.....good times. Can't wait to do it again next year.

I wonder if Gramps and Grandmother will be up for it again?

Christmas Tree

Life has been crazy busy at our house this Christmas season. The twins have been so much fun understanding Santa, elves, and Baby Jesus. They wow me every day with their understanding of it all. They know that Baby Jesus was born in a barn with animals, Mary was his mama, and Joseph was his daddy. They are quick to tell me there were no chickens in the barn...not sure where they learned that. After all, we are a "chicken family." T and E know that Santa leaves presents for good little boys and girls and visits every house. He will be visiting them at Aunt JoJo's house and our house this year. That Santa.....he is so magical. We have a friend who is visiting this holiday season.....an elf whom the twins named Nicholas. THey love looking for him each morning and apologize to him whenever they disobey mama. It is all so wonderfully cute!

This year I decorated the tree while David was in Seattle. I figured I would decorate it after putting the twins to bed. David put the actual tree up before he left and got out all the bins of decorations as well. Thomas took one look at the bins of decorations pointed at them and said, "decorations, Mama." That was all he needed to say. After their nap Thomas and Elizabeth helped me docorate the Christmas tree. I loved watching their excitement as they picked out ornaments and chose where they should be hung on the tree.

To see Christmas through the eyes of my children.......one couldn't possibly buy a better gift.

English 101

Thomas and Elizabeth's speech has exploded this week. Thomas has been putting 7 and 8 word sentences together, and so has his sister. Even though I know this is within the average range for children their age, it is amazing to watch. It was always amazing to watch my speech students' language skills emerge, but to watch my own children.....it is one million times that.

With that being said, the English language is a very tricky language to master. Ask anyone who is learning English as a second language. There are synonyms, homonyms, and idioms that increase the difficulty of understanding the English language. Learning the meanings of idioms is hard for toddlers even those whose native language is English.

For months we have been trying to teach Thomas and Elizabeth to say, "Excuse me," when someone is in their way. I hate to hear people say, "Move," and don't want the twins to say it. It is quite shocking to me the number of adults I hear say it. Oddly enough, I usually hear adults saying it to children. Anyway... back to my point. We first started working on the phrase, "excuse me" in order to teach a more polite version of "move." Then we tried to teach them to say "excuse me" after burping. The use of this phrase for two different situations has confused the twins. Here is an example of what I mean:

Frequent Mealtime Exchange:
Thomas: Burp!!!
Mama: Excuse me
Thomas and Elizabeth: Move burp!!!

Lots of laughter usually occurs at this point. I wish I knew what was going on inside their racing toddler minds.

Potty Training?

Last night, while my family was eating supper I went to the bathroom and saw the above. I asked Thomas and Elizabeth who put baby on the potty, and it seemed it was a group effort. I caught them later doing the same, but their aim was a little off.....baby fell in the potty.

Catch Up

Here are some catch-up pics from the past couple of weeks. I know I haven't posted in awhile....I have been going through detox from two years of election hooplah. Starting from the top:

1. Dress-up at Mily's

2. Thomas' first cotton candy at Norah's birthday party

3. Burger King with Linda, Elizabeth Parker, and William

4. Thomas in heaven (train table, book store, DOORS!)

5. Carousel ride with Daddy at the zoo

Happy Halloween!!

T and E were very quick studies on the subject of trick or treating. They had a blast Halloween night, but David and I had a much greater time watching them.

First Hayride!

After a long week at home with a sick boy the twins and I joined playgroup for a hayride. We arrived early so all the kids could play outside and enjoy the weather before the ride. T and E were a little reserved on the hayride. Elizabeth was not crazy about the music. I admit it was a little loud, but the ride was nice.

Following the ride T and E picked out pumpkins to take home. As I paid for the pumpkins I turned to see Thomas eating an apple. He "shoplifted" for the first time. I quickly reached for my wallet while apologizing, but the nice lady wouldn't take my money. E started to get an apple for herself, but I told her they should share. They were so cute helping each other eat the apple...and obviously starving. That was my cue to take my kids home and feed them.

I love fall!!!! It's time to buy some mums and pansies!

Mommy Time

Thomas and Elizabeth rarely have one on one time with either David or me. So we have experimented with splitting them up some on the weekends. Last Sunday David took T to the zoo while I took E to the park. Yesterday, David took E to the zoo, and I took T to the park. It was nice getting Thomas out of the house after being cooped up all week with strep. It was a perfect fall morning....the sun was out, the sky was that bright fall blue, and there was a nice breeze. We had a wonderful time.

Privacy

We have sort of been working on potty training at our house. Tonight, while reading and sitting on her Elmo potty, Elizabeth asked me for privacy....my two year old asked for privacy. I granted her wish and then heard her ask the same from her brother.

Sick!

Thomas has strep. He is VERY sick. He has spent a lot of time on the couch with "montee" and blanket while watching Curious George on t.v.

Fall is Here!

It has finally started to cool off a little bit here in Guam, ahem, I mean South Carolina. After the twins woke up from their afternoon nap we went outside to enjoy the nice fall afternoon. They had such a good time and completely wore themselves out. There was very little chatter tonight after David and I turned their light off and shut their door:)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

The twins decorated Daddy's birthday cake this afternoon and had an awesome time doing so. Gramps and Grandmother came to town today to help us celebrate. We all went out for dinner and then had cake and ice cream at home.

Preschool Update

Things have been crazy at the Hopkins' House since preschool started. It has been a huge adjustment for the twins and for me. I always assumed Elizabeth would have the toughest time adjusting, but I was wrong. Thomas has definitely had a much harder time than his big sister. For the first three weeks both of them screamed whenever I left them. Thomas would actually start tearing up....lips quivering.....as soon as we entered a parking spot. It was awful leaving them as they cried "mama, mama." However, they each reached their arms out for their teachers as they cried which was very comforting to me. T had trouble with each transition and cried for me with each change in activity. Their sweet teachers reported that each time Thomas cried Elizabeth would say, "Mama always comes back, Thompise." It warms my heart to think of Elizabeth trying to comfort her brother. I want them to be close and look out for one another.

So far, this has been week two of no crying at the classroom door or during transitions. Thomas actually ran and hugged Mrs. Christie on Tuesday. I'm glad to know he missed her.

T and E's language skills are growing exponentially each day. They are talking in full sentences now and continue to amaze with the things they say. Sometimes it takes me a couple of times to figure out what they are saying, but we usually end up on the same page. They both love to sing now. E really has a good memory when it comes to music and seems to remember words/phrases after hearing them only a couple of times. They both like to boss each other and are quick to let me know whenever the other one "is in trouble."

I can't believe how blessed we are to have them. They are both healthy and thriving.

Insurance Companies!@##$#@@!

I despise health insurance companies! I am convinced they work on the following mission statement:

Let's make things as difficult as possible for our customers so they just give up, see who they want where they want.....without looking at their plan......so we don't have to pay their benefits......but they ALWAYS have to pay their premium......

I don't know what the answer is to fix this multi-billion dollar business that is failing miserably. It is failing the patients who pay their premiums and the doctors who are trying to make a living by caring for their patients.

All I need is a lab to draw blood on my son. Guess what!!! There is one lab that my insurance will allow me to go to, and it is not where I live. It only took me 45 minutes on the phone to three different people to find this out. Granted, it could be worse. It could be 60 miles down the road. My point is why can't I CHOSE?????

Sorry......I am off my soapbox now.

Thomas' appointment went well today. I will post when I have more time;) It is time to get my sweet children up from their nap.

Popsicles, Friends, and Fun!

My friend Blair is always so good at getting us out of the house especially when David is out of town. She had us over for dinner tonight, and the pictures speak for themselves! Oh yeah....the grown ups had fun too.

Our First Ice Cream Cone!

Friday night we had dinner with friends, and it was fabulous! The kids had a great time playing with their friend Mily, Blair and I had a great time drinking sparkling wine and chatting, and David and Robbie had a good time discussing photograpy. After dinner the twins enjoyed their very first ice cream cone. Thomas devoured his while Mily and Elizabeth took their time.

Fun Times!

Bees and Butterflies

After nap this afternoon we all went outside to take a family picture. As David was getting his photography "stuff" ready Thomas and Elizabeth were running through the lantana chasing each other, bees, and butterflies. They were both laughing hysterically and having a great time. Later tonight during bath time Thomas and I had the following conversation:

Me: What was your favorite part of the day today....what did you like best?

T: Bees and butterflies.

I love being able to have meaningful conversations with my children.

The Language of T and E

E's Language:

Doodie Mama -- translation -- Cookie Monster

DupDup -- translation -- Blanket

Thompise -- translation -- Thomas

T's Language:

Toowuh -- translation -- Too (ex: Elizabeth likes cookies toowuh)

Tookies -- translation -- Cookies

Wibeh -- translation -- Elizabeth

The First Day of Preschool

Tuesday was the twins first day of preschool. David and I both took them and walked them to their classroom. Mrs. Christie met us at the door as we hung up back-packs and deposited diapers and cups. We gave kisses, and I said my standard phrase, "Mama always comes back," and off they went. My eyes immediately started to well up with tears which completely shocked me because I am not a "cryer." Neither T nor E saw me crying....thank goodness. I could hear Thomas crying through the closed door as David and I left. I honestly expected a phone call around 10:00 am to go pick them up, but I did not. T and E made it until pick-up time which is noon.

David and I both went to pick Thomas and Elizabeth up. We could see them through the door sitting in the circle with their papers. They looked SO big as we watched them. Mrs. Christie reported that E cried off and on all morning which I expected. This was a HUGE day for them....a gigantic adjustment for them as well as for me. The adjustment may take awhile, but I feel this experience will be so good for them.......

Alabama v Clemson

David got last minute tickets to the Alabama v. Clemson game in Atlanta this past Saturday night. We drove down to Atlanta Saturday morning, dropped the twins off at Gramps' and Grandmother's house, and headed downtown. We had a great time at the game while the twins had a great time with their grandparents and great Uncle Jimmy.

Hey Hog Fans, notice my shirt? A couple of AL fans noticed it, and told me I was at the wrong game. I had two responses: "Hey, I am supporting the SEC" and/or "I married into Alabama."

Big Day

I took Thomas and Elizabeth to meet their preschool teachers today. They were a little overwhelmed by it all. They start school on Tuesday. This is going to be a huge adjustment for them....for me too. I do feel like they will love school once they get used to being away from me. I hope they adjust to the change quickly.

Fun Day!

This morning I took Thomas and Elizabeth to a place called Fun Zone. It was full of those huge bouncy contraptions, and they had all shapes and sizes including a castle, basketball court, jungle, etc. We....and I do mean we....had a blast (adults are allowed to get in/on with their children). We jumped, climbed, slid, and ran for a solid hour. When it was time to go Thomas' face was red, and he had sweat beads on his little nose. Elizabeth's hair had twice as many curls as when we left the house. I was just plain sweaty. We left Fun Zone and headed to a park on the Saluda River for a picnic. We were recapping the morning's events, and Thomas said it best:

"Wibeh had fun. Thomas had fun. Mommy had fun."

Our picnic at the park was fantastic. T and E were so excited about it and talked about it all morning as we got ready to leave the house. We didn't get to spread our quilt because of some morning rain showers, but we found a dry picnic table with a view of the river. It wasn't too hot, and we had lots of shade. We ate our lunch and talked about our surroundings. Thomas decided a nearby lawn mower was, "too loud," while Elizabeth pointed out birds she saw. I enjoyed watching my children and listening to them talk. They are such sponges right now. It is amazing to watch.

twinchronicles.com

Just because twinchronicles.blogspot.com seemed sooo long, you no longer have to key those nine extra characters.... Twin Chronicles has it's own domain now!

Amazed....

Thomas and Elizabeth amaze me daily with new things they say and things they remember. They are pretty much talking in sentences now, and it blows me away. Today, I asked E if she would close a door for me. She said, "Close door," and gave it her best shot. I didn't think she was tall enough to do it but was curious. When she couldn't do it I asked, "Are you too little?" She replied, "too yitta." So, I asked T if he could close it for me. Elizabeth thought about this as we walked into the kitchen. She then looked up at me and said, "Yi Yi too yitta...my Thompise close dough-uh." (Translation: Elizabeth too little...my Thomas close door) She has become the caretaker of her brother by both reminding him of rules (ex: "No, Thompise....no open door....wait Mommy."), and offering her help when he is distressed (ex: Need hep, Thompise?) I absolutely LOVE watching them interact with each other.

Thomas thinks his sister is SO funny. He laughs at her and says, "Wibby funny." The other day I had to take T to the hospital for a CT scan (long story) while David stayed home with E. They are rarely apart from one another. Thomas asked for his sister several times while we were waiting for our turn. He kept saying, "Where Wibby, where Wibby?" He was very happy to see her when we got home. T and E love each other and play well together. They are also pretty good at fighting with each other too. I guess that means they are typical, normal brother and sister.

Life is good.....

American Idol 08?

Elizabeth loves The Beach Boys and requests them daily. Lately, she has begun singing along with the music. Here are a couple of her favorite phrases:

"........pink slip Daddy."

"Don't worry, baby."

"Help me, Rhonda....help help me, Rhonda"

Is it time to start thinking about entering her into American Idol????

Thank You Notes

T and E's birthday thank you notes have taken me longer than usual this year, and it is for a good reason. I wanted to have some thank you notes with a "doodle" of the twins. I kept forgetting to order them.....and kept forgetting....Anyway, I have them ordered and am so proud of them I wanted to post their "doodle" on our blog along with the website from which I ordered them.

Here is the website:

www.sugarlumpstationary.com

Two Year Checkup

I can't believe Elizabeth and Thomas are two years old. One would never guess by looking at them now that they were preemies who spent time in the NICU. I took them for their two year old Well Visit last Friday, and we received a good report. Elizabeth is 33 1/4 inches tall, weighs 24 pounds and one ounce, and has a head circumference of 18 1/2 inches. Thomas is 34 3/4 inches tall, weighs 26 pounds and five ounces, and has a head circumference of 19 inches. They have both grown a little over two inches in four months!!! Isn't that amazing? Two inches!! I was just thinking how their slide looked shorter/smaller than when we bought it, but I guess it is because our children have gotten bigger (haha).

All other areas of development are on target....they are running, climbing stairs, putting several words together, etc. I love watching them communicate, and they seem so proud of themselves when they communicate effectively. As a speech pathologist I have felt pride and happiness for my students as I watched them learn and develop communication skills, but it pales in comparison to what I feel while watching my own children. They constantly amaze me with their observations and the ability to communicate what they observe....the things they remember from recent past experiences.

Motherhood is so rewarding! I feel so blessed to get to stay at home and watch my kids grow and learn.

Birthday Weekend

I have been meaning to write about the twins' birthday weekend for awhile now but just haven't had the time. This year's party was much more low key than last year with fewer guests. With the rising cost of gasoline I didn't expect our families to be able to make the trip to SC. Even though we missed many family members we still had a great birthday weekend with some family, friends, and couple of neighbors.



The festivities began with the arrival of some dear friends of mine from Georgia, Emmett and Marcia. I used to work with Marcia and haven't seen her since I was pregnant with E and T. It was great seeing her and her husband, and I was so glad they finally got to meet the twins. Next came Gramps and Grandmother Jane and Uncle Jimmy (who drove all the way from Virginia JUST for the party) who all stayed the weekend with us. Gramps and Grandmother went blueberry picking with us and then babysat while Uncle Jimmy went birthday shopping with David and I.



The birthday party was a hit. I wondered how the Thomas and Elizabeth would react to their guests, but shouldn't have worried. Our neighbors Ron and Meg came with their children Ava and Cole, and Eddie and Linda came with their grandchildren Elizabeth and William. The kids enjoyed jumping in/on the Jump N Slide inflatable bouncer. Thomas and Elizabeth enjoyed being sung to and loved their Elmo cake. Thomas devoured his cake and ice cream while Elizabeth only took a few bites. The presents were great, the food was delicious, and the company was awesome. I must say the entire weekend was a hit.

I can't believe T and E are two years old. Time has flown the past twelve months. David and I grow more in love with our children each day and can't imagine life without them.

Favorites

At age two Thomas and Elizabeth have developed several "favorites."

Favorite characters: Elmo and Curious George
Favorite movie: Elmo's Potty Movie
Favorite toys: Tool Bench (Thomas)
Baby and diapers (Elizabeth)
Favorite food: Waffles (Elizabeth)
Blueberries (Thomas)
Favorite music: The Beach Boys.....yes....they request the Beach Boys


They are sort of going through a phase where they would rather "read" themselves rather than have me read to them. It makes me sad. I miss reading to them.

Blueberries!!!

Last Friday the MOMs club had an outing to a blueberry farm. Gramps and Grandmother were up for the fun so we took Thomas and Elizabeth for a little blueberry picking. I wasn't sure how much they would like picking blueberries.....I knew Thomas would LOVE eating them....wasn't sure what Elizabeth would think. All my skepticism went out of the window as soon as we arrived. We each had our own buckets, and as soon as I showed T and E how to pick and instructed them to only pick the blue ones NOT the green ones they were off to the races. Every blueberry Thomas picked went straight into his tummy....none in the bucket unless Gramps or Grandmother put them in. Elizabeth loved picking the berries. She kept saying, "I right here, I right here," to let me know where she was. She was the cutest blueberry picker east of the Mississippi (I know I am partial). We finally had to stop picking because of the heat and the ever increasing size of Thomas' belly. We picked three pounds of blueberries among the five of us. We froze some and ate some.

Grandmother taught me how to make a blueberry cobbler, and I made one Wednesday with the berries we picked as a family. It was delicious, especially once topped with some vanilla ice cream.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ELIZABETH AND THOMAS! You are two years old today.

Mama and Dada love you.

Arkansas Pics

Arkansas

We have been back home for a couple of weeks now, but I haven't had time to post. Thomas and Elizabeth were really tired upon our arrival and needed several days to catch up.....so did I. We had a wonderful visit with family in Arkansas. I got lots of quality time with my nieces and nephew and kept them during the day while we were there. Thomas and Elizabeth really enjoyed their cousins and learned all of their names. Thomas fell in love with Aunt JoJo and quickly learned to say he was "JoJo's boy." David was not excited about hearing that and is still trying to re-program him to say he is "Dada's boy." The entire trip flew by with lots of summer time fun. We went to one of Cullom's baseball games, swam in Unc and Aunt Angie's pool, went to Cullom and Caroline's birthday party, rode on a tractor with Uncle Mark, played outside in the dirt.....lots of dirt, played in the water hose, danced to High School Musical hits with cousins, went swimsuit shopping for Mama in Jonesboro (fun for T and E....NOT fun for Mama), had lunch and ice cream at Franny and Grandaddy's house, rode a motorcycle with Uncle Chris (T did, not E), ate homemade dewberry cobbler.....the list goes on and on.

It was so nice being home for 10 days. It was so peaceful out in the country, and even in the metropolis of Osceola things moved at a much slower pace than here in SC. I never get to see or visit all of the people I want to when planning a trip home, and each visit seems to go by faster. It is strange seeing how quickly my nieces and nephews are growing and quite frankly, how my parents and grandparents are aging. I miss them all so much and want my children to know them.....really know them.

Happy Father's Day!

David chose to spend Father's Day at the zoo so we were there when the doors opened. The weather was quite nice in that it was overcast and sprinkled on us a few times. We saw lots of animals, and David took lots of pictures with his new lense (he hasn't gotten to use it since he got it for Christmas). Thomas and Elizabeth tasted their very first "Icee" and tried to learn how to use a straw.....haven't mastered that skill quite yet. We had a wonderful day together as a family.

Happy Father's Day, Dada!

Pictures from our GA visit

The twins and I had a wonderful time visiting Gramps and Grandmother in GA. We took lots of walks and met many neighbors. We played outside, inside, had lots of storytime, and ate lots of homecooked meals. Thomas adored Belle their black lab. He scratched her belly, gave her lots of "pat-pats" and tried to imitate her bark. Elizabeth was a little afraid of Belle at first but warmed up to her pretty quickly. We met some friends of Tom (Gramps) and Jane's (Grandmother) for dinner on our last night. Thomas and Elizabeth love to go out, and they acted like perfect angels at the dinner table.

I enjoyed the adult company and the help and felt completely at home. We look forward to seeing them for Thomas and Elizabeth's upcoming birthday party.

We love and miss you, Gramps and Grandmother!

Heat Wave

Yes, the news is right. We are having a HEAT WAVE here on the east coast. It has been 99 and 100 degrees here for the past couple of days. The air conditioner has run non-stop, but it rarely gets below 78 degrees inside the house. David and I bought the twins a new slide on Saturday and put it to use that afternoon. We quickly realized it was too hot to be outside so David moved the slide inside after T and E went to bed last night. They were so happy and surprised to see it this morning and played on it most of the day.

And We're Off!!

Starting tomorrow the entire Hopkins family will be on the go for the month of June. David is headed to Seattle for a week while the twins and I are headed for Atlanta to visit Gramps and Grandmother Jane for the week. Following our Atlanta trip the twins and I will be flying to Arkansas for a week and a half to visit the Cullom side of the family. I am so anxious for everyone to see how much Thomas and Elizabeth have grown and how much they have learned. I am also anxious to see how the twins respond and interact with family members they haven't seen in quite a while.....months.



The truck is packed!

Storytime

This is how I spend so much of my day each and every day. Elizabeth and Thomas love books. They love to be read to and love to read to themselves. Elizabeth has memorized some of her favorite books including Uncle Gronkel's Busy Day, and Old MacDonald Had a Barn and reads them out loud over and over. We have books that have been taped and re-taped to keep them in one piece. So far Elizabeth and Thomas haven't torn up too many of their books, and we constantly try to teach them to be kind to their books. Whenever the twins are sick as they have been this past week I read certain books at least 20 times a day. I love to watch the twins' faces as they anticipate favorite phrases or events in each story.

I loved reading as a child and often read to my cat Coco. Grandaddy swears to this day that Coco could read. I read out loud and acted out the different characters parts and usually got embarrassed when a sibling walked in the room. I loved the world of "make believe" and imaginary characters and alternate universes. I still love to read though I don't have nearly as much time to do so. I miss getting lost in someone else's world....somone other than Mr. Gronkle or Humperdink, or Maisy. But oh how I love reading to my children and watching them as they learn and verbalize new words and ideas. I'm happy to see them share one of my passions and hope it continues as they grow.