Halloween

Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan flew in from Massachusetts for Halloween this year and the twins dressed up as a lady bug and a bumble bee. They were super cute and said "trick or treat please". Sometimes Parker got confused and would knock on the door and say "Bumble Bee".

At one house Parker walked right past the candy bowl, into the house and asked for the pizza that was sitting on the coffee table (luckily this was the grandmother of our friends down the street that we were trick or treating with)! At another house he was knocking continuously on the door and when the woman answered the door he fell into her house!

Rylee got the hang of trick or treating very quickly. She took candy for herself and then took another handful and said it was for Parker. We're not sure if she was being a nice sister or secretly trying to get extra candy. She had a blast. In fact every time she wants candy now she says "I go trick or treating?".

Our little Pumpkins!

Pinehurst, NC

Following our trip to the Great Wolf Lodge we drove to Pinehurst, NC to visit Grampy and Yia Yia. The twins had a lot of fun. Grampy taught them how to walk sideways, they rode their bikes, got new hats and gloves, Yia Yia carved special pumpkins for them, and they both got their own guitars too! Parker LOVES his guitar. He asks for it about 20 times every day!

Great Wolf Lodge

Brian was on leave for two weeks so we decided to take a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge in NC. The hotel is really cool. It has a large indoor water park, a clock tower show, arts and crafts, an arcade, and other activities like story time and trick or treating. We had such a good time that we are thinking about going back in December!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Storytime with Daddy!

The twins LOVE reading. Tonight they insisted on having their "friends" read too. Parker had Manny (black penguin), Ming Ming (duck), mickey mouse, a giraffe and Nini (his beloved bunny) and Rylee had Manny (same name, but her penguin is pink), she also has a Ming Ming duck, Minnie Mouse, a pink bunny and her beloved baby that is named Baby. They both sleep with all of their "friends" every night. It is really funny to watch them carry them all around the house. Sometimes they end up carrying one in their mouth because they don't have enough hands!

Skype

My mom lives on the opposite side of the country and was supposed to come visit this month, but ended up needing surgery and couldn't make the trip. In order to keep in touch and play with Nana we started using Skype with the twins. It is a lot of fun. My mom reads them stories, has some puppets of different animals to interact with them. The first time we did it the twins were playing with Nana for over an hour! They like to show her all of their toys and and play peek a boo. Tonight we talked to Nana while the twins had their evening snack. Here is a photo of the twins talking with Nana!

Nathan's Birthday Party

The twins' friend Nathan turned 2 today so we went to his party at the park. Rylee just loves Nathan's older sister (she is the one blowing bubbles for the twins in the picture). Usually Rylee only wants me to carry her or put her in her car seat, but if Nathan's sister is around Rylee doesn't want anything to do with me...its a nice break! The twins have been to a couple of birthday parties before but this was the first time they actually had a small understanding of what was going on. They may not grasp the idea of a birthday yet, but they did understand we were celebrating because it was a special day for Nathan. I think their favorite part was the cupcakes!

Build a Drum

Brian and I took the twins to Lowes for a children's craft project. Each of the kids made their own drum. Rylee refused to wear the apron, but Parker LOVED his apron and goggles. In fact, he didn't even want to take them off when it was time to leave! This event was pretty cool. The twins each got to keep their apron and goggles and even got a patch to sew on their apron for completing the project. They do this kind of thing monthly at Lowes I think. Anyway, here are some pictures of the twins (and Daddy) building their drums!

Daddy and Parker go to the Barber

Brian took Parker to the barber shop to get a "little trim". He basically needed his hair trimmed around the ears and his neck line cleaned up a little bit...however now he looks like he is headed to boot camp! Brian says Parker looks "professional" and Rylee says he is "very handsome". Parker is just happy he got a lollipop!

Mini Pool Party

Our friend Christy and her kids, McKenna and Evan, came to visit last week. We tried to go to the neighborhood pool but it was closed. McKenna really wanted to go swimming so we had a mini pool party in our yard. Christy moved to Florida a little over two months ago, but the kids remembered her and like she had never left. We all had a great time!

Our Red Wagon

Parker and Rylee have found something new to keep them busy. They've learned they can pull each other around in their wagon!! When Parker is driving Rylee needs to hang on tight!

Family Night Out

The twins love music so we took them to Farringdon's Restaurant to see a friend's band. Farringdon's is an old Victorian style house with both indoor and outdoor seating. The back has a gazebo for bands, a bar, picnic tables, and a few bean bag toss games. It is very family friendly so they had some toys out for the kids too (like balls and hula hoops). The twins had a blast running around and listening to the music. They also shared their first cheeseburger...they are so great at sharing! Rylee ate the bun, cheese, and tomato and Parker ate the meat, lettuce, and ketchup (he ate the ketchup out of the little cup with fork!). Here are some pictures from our evening.

18 months

The twins are already 1.5 years old! Where does time go??? They are both talking like crazy. They both sign about 30 words and they can say close to 100 words (I don't actually count but they can say a lot!) Rylee even knows 4 colors already. Pink, Purple, Yellow, and Blue. I was a little worried when her first two colors were Purple and Yellow (I'm sure any fellow WSU fans can understand!!!) Parker is quite adventurous. He loves exploring and being outside. He also loves to drive anything that has a steering wheel. He even yells from his car seat while we are driving and says; "I drive?, I drive?".

We went to the twins 18 month check up and it was a disaster. Our regular doctor (He is the best doctor we've ever met in the military and we just love him) is being deployed to Cuba so we had to see a new doctor. She was a pediatrician and the least child friendly person I have ever met. She did not even say hello or acknowledge the twins when she came in the room. We are hoping to find a different doctor at the Naval Weapons Station for the twins but it is a very small clinic. If we can't find one we are comfortable with (or at least likes children!) we are going to see a doctor out in town instead. Anyone in the Charleston/Summerville area have any pediatrician recommendations??

18 month Measurements

Rylee

25 pounds, 33 inches, and 50-75th percentile for head size

Parker

27 pounds, 33 inches, and 75-90th percentile for head size

New Toy!

Nana ordered the twins each a "fropper". It is a really cool ride on toy. It bounces and you can sit and push with your feet. The kids LOVE it! They call it their Bi-Hik-O (bicycle!). The really cool part is the froppers fold very easily so we can take them to the park. Oddly enough, putting them on their bikes actually slows them down!

Fun with Nana!

My Mom (Nana) came to visit for three weeks while Brian is at OCS. The twins loved having her here. In fact every morning when I got them out of bed they yelled "Nana! Nana!" and and ran to her room to make sure she was up! There is no sleeping past 7am by anyone is our house! Here are some pictures of our fun with Nana!