The Sullivan Family

Christmas Tree

2010-12-11T21:09:00.001-08:00

This year the twins are really interested in the Christmas tree. After one day of trying to keep them away from the tree so they wouldn't break the ornaments I decided they would need their own tree! They now have a tree in the living room upstairs with soft ornaments and they have been decorating and redecorating every day! They also attempted to climb the tree, but it fell over. Luckily there was nothing breakable on it!!

Does UPS Deliver to Submarines?

2010-12-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

2010-11-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving week we had a decent amount of snow. After living in Hawaii and South Carolina we were all enjoying the winter wonderland! However, the next day we lost power for about 24 hours! It was in the upper 40s inside our house. It was horrible! We ended up spending most of the day at our neighbor's house. She has a gas fireplace so we were able to keep her living room in the 60s. We are hoping for more snow this year, but I'd really like to keep the power on next time :)

Watching the Snow fall!

2010-11-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

Seattle

2010-11-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

Brian's cousin Katherine came for a visit. We spent one day doing a quick tour of downtown Seattle. We saw the Space Needle, rode the monorail, checked out Pike Street, and went to the Seattle Center.

Pike Street

Katherine and the twins inside the Space Needle

Rides at Seattle Center

Parker and Rylee checking out the zero visibility from the top of the space needle. It was so foggy we couldn't see anything. The kids ran laps around the top of the space needle because we were the only people up there!

Dirt!

2010-10-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

We had a dump truck come and deliver 4100 pounds of top soil in our drive way. We moved all of it to the back yard by wheel barrow and spread all of it today. Brian and I are both very sore this evening! Tomorrow We're building the playhouse and Monday we're seeding the back yard. Hopefully in a month we'll have a beautiful back yard! We found out that having a dump truck deliver a pile of dirt is the easiest and fastest way to meet all of the kids in the neighborhood! We ended up with 5 kids playing in our giant "sand box"! Brian was hoping for some of their dads to come over and offer to help!

Parker was singing "Hi-ho, hi-ho, its off to work I go"

Rylee working on her Supervisory skills :)

The boys working hard!

Getting ready for the top soil

2010-10-01T14:46:00.000-07:00

Brian and Parker worked all day to get the back yard ready for a bunch of top soil arriving tomorrow. Ryee did a great job supervising :)

Walk in the Rain!

2010-09-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

We attempted to take a walk before it started pouring...not a good idea! My mom and I took the kids to the park near our new house and by the time we got to the park it was raining really hard! The kids played for about 5 minutes and then we all got soaked on the walk home. Welcome back to Washington!

Nature Walk

2010-09-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

We took the kids on a nature walk tonight at a recreation area on the base. The kids had a lot of fun. We saw a few people fishing so the twins found sticks and pretended to fish too!

New Rain Boots!

2010-09-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Can't live near Seattle without rain boots! The twins each picked out their own. Rylee's are multi colored polka dots and Parker's have a big black spider and spider webs. Notice Parker is wearing shorts. He really does not like long pants. I am hoping that when it really gets chilly he will change his mind!

First day of preschool!

2010-09-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the twins' first day of preschool. They will be going MWF from 9am-1pm. I'm glad to have a break and that they get some time to play with friends and learn new things, but I sure am going to miss them. Three days a week seems like forever!

Preschool Open House

2010-09-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

We went to the twins preschool open house today. The kids met their teacher for this year and got to play with their new classmates. They seemed very comfortable at their new school...possibly too comfortable! One of the ladies was escorting the kids to the bathroom prior to snack time and the twins decided to sprint away from the group and run outside. The poor lady was trying to run after them but couldn't keep up so Brian and I ran after them. She gave the twins a good talking to so I hope they got the message! Please pray that their behavior improves before next week...or just pray for their teachers!

10 day Visit to Clarkston

2010-08-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Visiting Great Granda Nancy at Guardian Angel Homes

Playground at Guardian Angel Homes

Brian teaching Parker how to climb trees!

Nana playing with the kids at the park

Cleaning out Nana's Garage!

Waffle House!

Story Time

Fountain Park

2010-08-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

We've been staying at the Hampton Inn while house hunting. We are right next to the naval shipyard and the Seattle Ferry. Between the two is a very neat fountain park that is about the length of a city block.

We Found a House!

2010-08-16T22:33:00.000-07:00

Ferry boat trip to downtown Seattle

2010-08-16T22:22:00.000-07:00

Parker thought this Fire Boat was super cool so we had to take a picture!

Flights

2010-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

I was so worried about flying by myself across the country with the twins, but they were troopers! I could not have asked them to be any better.

Our day started with my friend Kim picking us up from Amanda's house bright and early (5am!) and taking us to the airport. She is amazing. Not only did she pick us up at the unmentionable hour, but she made us hot egg and cheese sandwiches! She also went through security with us and hung out and helped with the kids until we boarded the plane. Thank you so much Kim!!!!

Our first flight was a small plane with two seats on each side. Parker and I sat on one side and Rylee sat across the aisle from me. We were so lucky to have a nice gentleman sitting next to her. He talked to her the whole time, helped her with her breakfast, helped her color and do stickers, and even watched one kid so I could take them to the potty one at a time. At the end of the flight he introduced me to his wife and 4 teenagers that were on the plane. I guess he's had a lot of experience with toddlers!

We had about an hour layover in Chicago. The poor kids only got out of their car seats for about 10 minutes to use the potty and have a quick snack. The rest of the time in the airport was spent at the ticket counter because the airline didn't have the three of us seated together on the plane. I told them that would be a problem unless they found some nice people that were willing to be like the guy on our previous flight!

The entire plane was pretty much boarded before they finally assigned us three seats together. The people on our flight were more annoyed with us than willing to help. Everyone was ready to go and I had to get the GoGo Babyz off the car seats, get the carseats installed, put the bags away, etc. Eventually, we were all seat belted in and ready to go. Kids did awesome. We had lunch on the plane and Parker napped for a little over an hour. Rylee however, stayed awake the whole time! Thank goodness for my friend Kimberly (Cannon's Mommy) who gave us surprise activity/goodie bags for each hour of our flights! They kept the twins, especially Rylee, entertained the whole time. We have such amazing friends in SC. We were given so many thoughtful gifts to make this trip go smoothly. Each one of them was so helpful. Thank you everyone!!!

FINALLY we land in Portland Oregon and are greeted by my mom and my Auntie Barb!

Dinner and the Movers

2010-08-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

The movers could not have made our move any more complicated. They decided it was going to take 3 days to pack up our house and the best way to do that would be to come on a Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. Well, on Friday they packed up our entire kitchen. We had a few remaining food items in the freezer, but no way to cook anything! Luckily our good friends down the street took us in for a week and fed us home cooked meals every night! Thank you so much Garcia Family!!! We are so thankful for the food, but even more thankful for the extra time we were able to spend with you during our last week in South Carolina!

Surprise Going Away Party!

2010-08-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

Kimberly had asked if we could come over for lunch one day so Cannon and the twins could have one last play date. Little did I know that she was really planning a surprise going away party for us! She had this planned long before we had even planned the Chuck E Cheese party for the twins. She was better prepared than we were, haha! Thank you so much Kimberly you are so sweet! I will always remember you as our first real friend in Summerville! And thank you so much to all of our friends that came. It was so nice to have one last play date with all of you :)

Jake, Angie, Anne, Joy, and River

Kim, Me, Rylee, Parker, Devin, Cameron, and Ayden.

Kimberly made some awesome Shrimp and Grits! Amazingly, after living in SC for 3 years I had never eaten grits until this day!

Joy and Dev

Parker

Pool Party!

Devin and Cannon with Rylee (she was having a rough hair day!)

Kimberly, Anne, and Kim

We made ice cream in bags. Fun!

Yummy!

Everyone approved of the ice cream!!

Going Away Party at Chuck E Cheese

2010-08-01T21:12:00.000-07:00

In the weeks before our move we were so busy and felt like we were in a constant rush getting things organized and ready for the move. We were worried about trying to get together with everyone and make sure the the twins were able to say goodbye to all of their friends. Luckily all of their good friends were able to come to Chuck E Cheese to play and say goodbye! We were very blessed to have such great friends in SC. We will miss each and every one of you!

Ayden, Devin, Cameron, Parker, Cannon, Devric, Rylee, Nathan, and Taylor (Jake managed to stay out of the picture)!

Devin and Ruben

Rylee and Taylor

Cannon

Amanda and her beautiful baby belly!

Anne and Jenny with Grace (Cameron in the background)

Parker Cooking Breakfast!

2010-07-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Great Aunt Peggy Comes to Town!

2010-07-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Peggy and my cousin Sandy came to visit for a couple of days. It was great to have family in town especially with Brian away. They spoiled the kids with tons of goodies and clothes. Seems like every time we see Aunt Peggy the kids think its Christmas!!

Surprise Visit From Daddy!

2010-07-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Brian surprised us by coming home for the 4th of July weekend! The kids went crazy when they saw him. They didn't stop climbing all over him for about an hour! We took the kids to our church bbq for the 4th. They made it until about 8:30, but they were ready for bed before the fireworks show. They were able to run around like crazy, go on the jump castles, and have special Dora and SpongeBob Ice cream! On the 5th we went to the water park. Rylee decided she preferred to stay in her chair with all of her toys instead of playing in the water. Parker, on the other hand, was all about the water. He took Daddy all over the water park! I was content to sit and lounge in the sun with Rylee!

Dog Sitting

2010-07-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

The Garcia's went on vacation so we are dogsitting their dog Ciara. The twins are used to having Andy (our Yorkie) around, but are in heaven with a big dog in the house!

Swimming with the Garcia Boys!

2010-06-22T23:02:00.000-07:00

Sewing Project

2010-06-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

With Brian away at Sub School I have a lot of time on my hands while the kids are sleeping. I've been sewing quite a bit lately. Most recently I made the twins matching fleece monkey blankets.

They miss daddy

2010-06-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

We were outside playing and the kids found Brian's boots and gloves. They miss their daddy and wanted to dress up like him. So cute!

Look who is using the potty!

2010-06-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

Not even one week after Brian leaves...Parker says "I want to wear big boy undies like daddy". I was really hoping not to potty train Parker until after Brian was home to help. Guess Parker had other plans! Wish us luck!

No more high chairs!

2010-06-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

Myrtle Beach - May

2010-05-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

Brian took a week off before going to CT for Sub School. We decided to take a last minute mini vacation to Myrtle Beach with our friends Nick and Amanda (and their daughter Taylor). The kids had so much fun at the beach. They thought it was the worlds biggest sand box! Our hotel also had a few kiddie pools and a neat little waterpark with a submarine!

NNPTC Graduation

2010-05-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

This morning (5/14/10) Brian graduated from Nuclear Power School with Distinction (GPA between 3.4-3.6)! He has been working super long hours (sometimes as much as 7 days a week totaling 75+ hours!) Despite his crazy hours and mental exhaustion he still managed to make time for his family and be a dedicated Daddy! We are so proud of him! Next up for Brian is Sub School in Groton, CT for 8 weeks and then all 4 of us are moving to Washington State on Aug. 7th!

Pacifier Fairy

2010-05-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

The twins had their first dental cleaning today and the dentist told us we needed to get rid of the pacifiers immediately because the sucking was causing the roof of their mouths to narrow. The twins only use the pacifiers to sleep so I am a little worried that I will be up multiple times tonight.

After dinner we decorated an envelope and the twins put their pacis inside. We took it out to the mailbox and "mailed" it to the paci fairy. In return, the paci fairy left gifts in their room! The twins each got a sock monkey and fruit snacks and Rylee got a small My Little Pony toy and Parker got a small Mater to the Tow Truck toy.

Both did very well with the adjustment. They asked for a paci a few times and we reminded them that we gave them all to the paci fairy and they seemed ok with it. When they went to bed Rylee cried/whined for about 10-15 minutes, but both are now sleeping! It went way easier than I was expecting. Lets hope it stays that way all night!

Pinehurst, NC with Grampy and YiaYia

2010-05-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Picking

2010-05-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

We eat a lot of strawberries at our house so we decided to try picking our own. We had never done it before, but for $1.50/lb we figured we'd give it a shot. We gave the twins each their own basket and told them to only pick the red ones. After going through Rylee's basket we realized we should have also told them not to take bites out of each strawberry before putting it in the basket!

Daddy's Project!

2010-05-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

The twins are growing out of their back yard toys so we decided to get them a bigger play house. We found one at Lowes that we liked because you can add more parts (like more slides, swings, monkey bars, rock wall, etc) as the kids get older. We bought the biggest part and it is plenty for the twins right now. We have two swings hanging from trees in our back yard, but when we move in a few months we'll buy the beam that connects to this play house to make it a complete swing set/play house. Brian expected to be done putting this together by the end of nap time. He started at 11am and didn't finish until almost midnight! I think it was well worth his effort when he saw the smiles on the twins' faces!

The twins helping Daddy get out all of the pieces.

Rylee reading the directions and telling the boys what to do!

One dedicated Daddy up late finishing the play house!

The finished play house first thing the following morning! The twins LOVE it!

Taylor Comes to Play

2010-05-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

The twins' friend Taylor came over to play for a few hours while her Daddy ran some errands. They played outside for most of the morning and when they were finished they looked like 3 little dirt balls. I decided it was a little to chilly to spray them off with the hose and I didn't want to give Taylor back covered in dirt (not to mention I didn't want 3 dirt balls running around inside my house) so they all ended up in the bath tub!

Easter Afternoon

2010-04-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

Baskets, breakfast, church, and new toys were enough to keep us busy Easter morning. We decided to make Easter an all day event so we saved the egg hunt until after naps. Easter this year was so much fun with the kids!

Easter Morning

2010-04-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

Baskets from the Easter Bunny!

Twins just coming out of their room in the morning to find their baskets!

Parker digging right in!

Rylee taking a break from all of the fun :)

Who knew you could make a mess with a new tennis racket! He left green grass all over the house!

Parker coloring his Easter wind chime from Mimi

Rylee coloring her wind chime!

Mommy and the twins putting together their foam airplanes!

Fun with Daddy!

2010-04-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

The weather has been great so Brian decided to wash the cars. He had two little helpers that loved to wash every spot he had already washed and rinsed! Rylee picked out her own car washing attire complete with a tiara!

Silly Boy!

2010-04-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Parker found my reading glasses and wore them around all morning!

Making Cookies

2010-04-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

We attempted to make "choo choo" cookies. We had a blast making them, but they didn't really turn out looking like trains...they tasted great though!

Easter Party

2010-04-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

We went to an Easter party/egg hunt with the Summerville Mom's Club. I was very nervous because it was one of our first outings with Rylee out of diapers. I was so proud of her because she used the potty twice while we were there! The kids got to dig for coins in a sand table, jump in a jump castle, decorate cookies, make crafts, hunt for eggs, and enjoy a great potluck lunch! The weather was awesome and we all had a great time!

Yay Rylee!

2010-04-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Rylee has been out of diapers for about 4 weeks now! We attempted potty training in December (almost 23 months old) and Parker was starting to get it, but Rylee was not interested at all. Then all of a sudden at 25 months old Rylee started using her little potty chair in the evenings after her bath and then a few days later she told me she didn't want to wear diapers anymore and all by herself started using the potty! She still wears a pull up to bed at night (she's in a crib and I worry she can't get to the potty if she needs to go), but no diapers all day including nap time!

Potty training twins is difficult enough and throw in different genders and its a crazy process! At first I thought potty training both at the same time would be easiest because we could get it over and done with at the same time, but I've since changed my mind! Parker was doing great in December, but now doesn't seem interested at all. We're not pushing him with the hope that Rylee will be good to go by the time Parker is ready! Luckily Parker is a good cheerleader and says "Yay Rylee" every time she goes potty. When we're out and Rylee says she needs to go, Parker drops what he's doing and runs to escort us to the bathroom! He's such a nice brother!

St. Patricks Day Parade

2010-04-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

The twins participated in our Mom's Club neighborhood St. Patrick's Day parade. It was originally going to be just a small group, but a local school decided to join us and we ended up with over 60 kids! A photo of Rylee even made it in the local newspaper!

New Tricycles!

2010-03-13T13:47:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-18T05:01:00.000-08:00

The twins decorated their own little valentines boxes and we went to a party at Celebration Town (Jump Castles) with our moms club. The twins had a blast. They can climb and slide down just about everything there now without any help. We had a potluck lunch and the twins sat at a little table with their twin friends Chance and Grace. We've been working very hard at staying seated while eating and they did awesome! I was a little worried given all of the distractions, but they didn't get up at all until they were done! We did a little card exchange and then headed home for naps. The twins were so exhausted from the party that we didn't even open their valentine boxes until after naps (which was great because I had time to secretly remove some of the candy so they didn't go into sugar over-load!).

I didn't bring my camera to the party, but I was scrolling through some old photos and found these of the twins first Valentines day. They were so tiny!!

Nana and Rylee

They were both about 7lbs in this picture!

Nana and Parker

2 Year Old Check Up

2010-02-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to take the twins separately to their well baby check ups. They both did great!

Parker went first (and Rylee spent the morning at Rolly Pollies). Parker was a very good boy. He sat in the waiting room like a big boy and played with his trains until it was our turn. He was full of smiles and seemed to be flirting with the doctor! Everything looks great with him! There was an exercise ball in the room so he was bouncing it and kicking it all over the place.

Parker's Stats

Height: 36 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 30 pounds (75-90th percentile)

Head Circumference: 75-90th percentile.

Parker at Newborn, 1yr, and 2yrs!

On day 2 it was Rylee's turn (and Parker went to Cannon's house to play). Rylee was upset when we first got there, but she met a nice chief that let her listen to her hearts and showed her how all of the instruments work. This really helped. By the time we saw the doctor Rylee had totally calmed down. The doctor was very impressed with how much Rylee is speaking. She asked Rylee what color the grass is and Rylee replied "Its green and the sky is blue. The clouds are in the sky" and then Brian asked her what comes from the clouds and she answered "rain comes from the clouds"! Later the doctor asked if Rylee wanted to play peek a boo with her light and Rylee said "No, I want to play peek a boo with this curtain" (the one that goes around the exam table). The doctor said she is doing a very good job at speaking in complete sentences and both Brian and I laughed and said that she speaks in complete paragraphs!

Rylee's Stats

Height: 36.5 inches (97+ percentile)

Weight: 27 pounds (50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 90-97th percentile.

Rylee at Newborn, 1yr and 2 yrs!

Snow in South Carolina!

2010-02-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Our snow covered house...wish it had looked like this on Xmas!
Parker and Rylee ran from their room to look out the window at the snow. (it had just started snowing when they went to sleep the night before)

Andy was not a big fan of the snow!

2 Year Old Photos

2010-02-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

During the photo session, Parker and Rylee found some of the props and decided they wanted to wear hats. Rylee sat in the rocking chair and the lady asked Parker to stand behind her, but he was confused and sat on her lap! In the props he also found a flower on a really long stem that the photographer uses to get the attention of little kids. Well Parker decided he wanted to hold it. In this picture he is holding the flower, but the top of the flower is cut off so it looks like he is fishing!

2nd Birthday Party

2010-02-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

The twins chose a "Choo Choo" theme for their 2nd Birthday Party! We had their party at the "Just Like Home Playhouse" in Summerville and it was perfect. There were some organized activities, but a lot of open play which was great for their age group. The playhouse has a train/truck room, a doll area, a kitchen area, a dress up room, a pet shop, arts and crafts area and a game room, etc. Lots to keep the kids busy!

This was the sign at the playhouse!

"Choo Choo" PB&J sandwiches

Rylee's choo choo balloon

Parker's choo choo balloon

Train/truck room

Baby dolls and a tea party!

Tammy trying to get 20 toddlers interested in a game!

Train whistle time!

Cannon getting ready for his Rock Star Party!

(He has the same birthday as the twins and had a rock star themed party later the same day!)

Blowing out the candles!

Happy 2nd Birthday to our precious little twins! We love you Parker and Rylee!

A couple of weeks with Nana!

2010-02-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Typical day playing with Nana!

Rolly Pollies Class

Nana giving Parker a bath

Stamps and Stickers!

Holiday Festival of Lights

2010-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

Nana was in town so we took her and the twins to see the festival of lights. Parker saw the train and Nana couldn't resist buying them tickets!

Parker's favorite part of the trip was riding the "choo choo" to see all of the lights!

Rylee looking at the lights on the train tour

Rylee trying some of Daddy and Parker's Smores!

Christmas Morning

2010-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning was so much fun with the twins. Santa brought them train table with Geo Trax and Little People. Rylee was all about opening present after present, but Parker was happy with the first present he opened. He just wanted to play with the one new toy all morning. Luckily, he has a nice twin sister willing to help open the rest of his presents for him!

New table from Santa!

Parker's new hat and new truck!

Rylee opening gifts!

Parker still playing with his truck!!

Rylee rolling around in her new blankets and some wrapping paper

Mommy trying to keep the wrapping paper chaos to a minimum :)

Rylee and Daddy trying out the new patio furniture (Parker was still off playing with his truck)!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2010-02-02T12:19:00.000-08:00

After leaving food for the Reindeer the twins took a bath, put on their Chirstmas PJs and we all read Twas the Night Before Christmas in their bedroom before bed.

Leaving food for Santa's Reindeer

2010-02-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

After Church on Christmas Eve the twins sprinkled reindeer food (Oatmeal and glitter) on the front yard so they could have a snack while Santa delivered the presents!

2010-02-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

The twins' friend Cannon came over to play for a couple of hours while his mommy went to an appointment. The kids had a blast. Cannon's mommy was worried he'd cry the whole time, but he only cried for less than a minute (just long enough to make his mommy worry!).

Brian teaching them to make silly faces!

They all sat together without any prompting. There is no way I could have planned this picture! Now, if only would smile!

Rolly Pollies Class

2010-01-13T18:28:00.001-08:00

We have been taking the twins to Rolly Pollies on Monday nights for a toddler gym class. Monday's are a bit chaotic for us because the twins normally go to bed at 7pm, but in order for Brian to come to the class with us we are going to 6-7pm class. A few other kids in the class are on a similar bedtime schedule as us so we've renamed the class the Rolly Pollies Pajama Party because the kids come dressed in their PJs! The twins are the youngest in the class but are doing great! They sing songs, do stretches, do obstacle courses and activities, sing more songs, and then have open play. We all look forward to our chaotic family time on Monday nights!

New Toothbrush

2010-01-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

The twins do not enjoy brushing their teeth to say the least! We got them each their own electric toothbrush and now they love it! We had their first dentist check up at 18 months and they are quickly approaching their first cleaning (when they turn 2). I am hoping that by starting to like the idea of brushing their teeth will make the official cleaning less traumatic!

Trip to the Fair!

2010-01-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

I am way behind in updating the blog. Brian has been working crazy hours (he goes in at 4:30am and comes home sometime after 7:30pm) so I've been busy with the twins and neglecting the blog!

In November we took the kids to the Coastal Carolina Fair with our Friend Amanda and her little girl Taylor. We went to the petting zoo, rode a few rides, and even ate some curly fries! We were a little worried how the kids would do on the rides, but they had a blast! Can't wait to take them to the Puyallup Fair in WA!

Halloween

2009-11-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-24T18:21:00.001-07:00

Pinehurst, NC

2009-10-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

Storytime with Daddy!

2009-09-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-07T04:50:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-08-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Sushi

2009-05-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

They twins love fish so we had sushi tonight. I dipped Parker's in shoyu and wasabi, but Rylee preferred to have hers plain. Next we'll try chopsticks!

OCS

2009-04-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

Brian and his buddy Mike left for Officer Candidate School today. They are headed to Brian's parent's house for a couple of days (and to a Red Sox vs. Yankees game!) before reporting to OCS on Sunday. I have Brian's mailing address at OCS so if anyone would like it just let me know!

Leaves

2009-04-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Brian has been working very hard on our back yard. We have a huge fenced in yard with a lot of trees, which means a lot of leaves! It has taken about a month and over 70 bags, but he's finally done! The twins love their big back yard! Here is a photo of the last 41 bags of leaves!

15 months

2009-04-20T07:03:00.001-07:00

The twins had their 15 month well baby check-up and it was the most traumatic experience I think we've ever had with them. The first problem was that their appointment was running late (so it ended up cutting into afternoon nap time), the next issue was that someone thought an appointment with fussy twins would be a great time to teach a new guy how to measure, weigh, check temperatures, etc during a well baby check-up. This resulted in everything being repeated 2 or 3 times (on each kid!) until the new guy got the hang of it. It was very frustrating and needless to say the twins were screaming hysterically. We finally got to the exam room only to find out the Doctor is running late due to an emergency. Luckily Parker had calmed down long enough for the exam, however next up for him was a follow up chest xray from his pneumonia. This just sent him over the edge again. After the Xray, Parker calmed down long enough to go to immunizations. After the shots he screamed the whole way home. Rylee did not stop screaming from the time we got to the clinic until we put her in the car for the ride home, but once she was in the car she was happy as could be!

15 month stats...
Parker is 25 pounds and in the 75th percentile for height
Rylee is 22.5 pounds and in the 99th percentile for height

Golf

2009-04-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

The twins each got a set of plastic golf clubs from the Easter Bunny this year. This morning after our stroll around the neighborhood in the wagon the twins decided they needed to practice their swings (and of course Daddy agreed and happily joined in!).

Cloth Diapers

2009-04-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we use cloth diapers. We LOVE them. We love the fact that they are inexpensive, good for the environment, and great for the twins' little bums. Cloth diapering today is nothing like using the cloth diapers and pins of the past. There are All-In-Ones (AIO) that go on just like a disposable with velcro or snaps, there are pocket diapers that are similar to AIOs, but you can insert added layers of absorbency, and there are prefolds with convenient velcro or snap diaper covers. All of these options come in tons of cute colors and prints. Washing them is super easy too! After trying out all kinds and brands of cloth diapers I have found what works best for us and I've learned to sew my own! I found patterns and online diaper sewing stores to buy all of the materials. Below is a picture of Parker showing off one of his new diapers. The ones I have made are AIOs and are awesome! They are trim fitting and more absorbent than any I have purchased (including disposables).

New Playhouse

2009-04-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

I went to Walmart today to buy the twins an outdoor playhouse. They had one on display in the garden center so I asked if they had any more. The woman told me I needed to go to the toy department and ask them to get one from the back of the store. I did that and the toy department people looked at me like I had 3 heads! They went in the back and came back out and told me they have never had any of those playhouses in stock, but for some reason they had a display version. The manager then came out and told me I could have the display for half-price! The twins were so excited that we had to set the playhouse up in the rain and they played in the rain until bath time. Here is a picture of their new house!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:27:00.001-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T18:03:00.001-07:00

We all went to an Easter Party/Egg Hunt with our Mom's Club. The twins played with bubbles, a parachute, balls, wore leis, and ran all over a big grass field. The egg hunt for the little kids (under 2) consisted of scattered eggs and stuffed animals in the grass. The twins put about two eggs in their baskets before realizing there were goodies inside the eggs. After that, they were not interested in their baskets at all. They went from egg to egg opening each one and eating the contents before moving on to the next egg! After the egg hunt we all had lunch and cake and more play time! The kids wore themselves out and we all had a great afternoon nap!

Does it ever end????

2009-04-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Parker woke up from his afternoon nap with a fever of 104. The Naval Health Clinic was already closed for the day so we took him to the after hours clinic and was told he had an ear infection. They gave us some antibiotics and sent us on our way. Saturday morning, he was still VERY fussy and still had a fever above 103. We kept his fever around 100 all day with Tylenol, however Sunday morning his fever was still above 103! (He had no symptoms other than looking/acting like he didn't feel well and the fever) We took him back to the after hours clinic and as standard procedure they used the pulse oximeter and he was in the 89-90 range (should be at least 97)! The doctor looked him over and ordered a chest x-ray. Turns out the poor little guy had Pneumonia! He had a breathing treatment (which got his pulse ox up to 95) and an injection of antibiotics at the clinic and we continued breathing treatments and antibiotics at home for the next week.

The good news is Parker's pneumonia seems to be gone. However... Brian ended up spending the night in the ER with Rylee last night. She had a typical day, went to bed easily, and then around 10:30pm I thought I heard Parker moaning so I went in to roll him over (he had fallen asleep on his belly with his bum up in the air). But, when I went in, it was Rylee "snoring". We both looked at her and thought it was cute. Then we went to bed and about 10 minutes later Rylee started coughing and stood up crying. I went to get her and when I picked her up she was breathing really fast and wheezing every time she inhaled. She also would cough this horrible sounding (seal barking) cough and looked like she was in pain. Long story short, we called the navy and they sent us to the ER and after 6 hours Brian returned with Rylee...she has Croup. She had a breathing treatment at the hospital and will be on steroids and antibiotics for the next week. We are just hoping Parker doesn't get Croup!

I don't know what it is with my kids. They go from being perfectly fine to being all of a sudden sick! Parker went from fine to a 104 fever after an afternoon nap and Rylee went from fine to hardly breathing. I wish they'd give some warning that they aren't feeling well! They always seem to do this on a Friday night after the Naval health clinic is closed too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T11:42:00.001-07:00

Easter Baskets

2009-03-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

I found some really cute Easter Baskets at Pottery Barn Kids, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend $50 on two small (but very cute) baskets! Instead I decided to get creative and see how much money I could save by making the twins' baskets. I ended up buying 2 plain small baskets at a craft store and then sewing cute basket liners for each of them. I managed to spend less than $10 total! We put plastic Easter eggs in their baskets and the twins have been carrying around their baskets, dumping out the eggs and putting them back in. They think it is super fun! I think Easter will be a month long holiday at our house!

Before and After Rylee's Haircut!

2009-03-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Before...

(she has a hair clip in her mouth)

After...

Rylee's First Haircut

2009-03-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

We took Rylee to Bangs and Bows yesterday for her first haircut and she was a trooper!

I want Rylee to grow her bangs out so I don't have to deal with cutting them all the time when she is older (and I think it will look super cute!). I didn't want to cut her hair at all, however the back was in desperate need of some help! She now has a short "bob" style while it all grows out. Tomorrow I will post before and after photos.

Here are some pictures of the princess in her fire truck (the pink airplane was too big for her)!

12 month photos

2009-03-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

Twins...

2009-02-22T17:28:00.000-08:00

The twins were so cute tonight. They wanted to be close to each other while they had their evening bottles. Here is how they ended up!

2009-02-12T13:13:00.000-08:00

The twins had a Valentine exchange with our Mom's club yesterday at Rolly Pollies. They delivered their valentines, had lunch at the party and then played in the gym for an hour. They were exhausted so we decided to bring their valentine mail boxes home for them to open after their nap. They LOVED their valentines and and they even figured out how to get the wrappers off of the lollipops! We put all of the valentines back in their mail boxes and gave them to them again today and they were just as excited to pull everything out again!

Dancing Videos!

2009-02-05T12:07:00.000-08:00

Below are a couple of cute videos of Parker and Rylee showing off their dance moves!

Elmo's Birthday Party

2009-02-03T17:06:00.001-08:00

The twins attended "Elmo's Birthday Party" today with our Mom's club. It was a lot of fun. The kids made an Elmo craft (my kids just watched!), wore Elmo party hats, had lunch, sang happy birthday to Elmo, ate cute Elmo cup cakes, read an Elmo story and played with all of the other kids! All of the kids dressed up in red or in Elmo attire for the party!

1 Year

2009-02-03T11:50:00.001-08:00

The twins had their one year well baby check up and both are doing great! They were supposed to have their iron and lead levels checked, which is normally done by a prick on the finger. However, the naval clinic doesn't have the equipment to test for iron and lead that way so they were going to draw blood from their tiny little arms. We said "no thanks!". We are going to pay a civilian pediatrician with the proper equipment to do the test instead. It is recommended that children are tested before they turn two so we have some time to figure it out. Anyway, below are the twins' measurements! The growth curves are different for boys and girls which is why their percentiles are different even though they are the same height.

Parker Robert:
30 inches (50th-75th percentile)
23 lbs 15 oz (50th-75th percentilele)
Head circumference 75th percentile

Rylee Briggs:

30 inches (90th percentile)

21 lbs 3 oz (50th-75th percentile)

Head circumference 75-90th percentile

Growing so fast...

2009-02-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Our friends came over for lunch today with their two week old daughter. I just couldn't believe how tiny she was (however, she was born more than a pound heavier than either of my kids!). I took a picture of Brian holding Parker and Grant holding his daughter and it was at that moment I realized my babies are no longer babies! Parker looks like such a big boy next to Mathilda!

Laugh and Learn Pony

2009-02-01T05:15:00.000-08:00

A few months ago my Mom's club had a Fisher Price House Party where they raffled off a bunch of Fisher Price toys and the twins won the Laugh and Learn Pony. The pony wirelessly connects to the TV and it has interactive games for different age groups. The twins are just now getting to the age where they can climb on and off the pony without help so we decided to hook it up to the TV this morning and they LOVED it (you'll see from the photos that Daddy loved it too)!

Biting

2009-01-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

Rylee is going through a biting phase. However, she only wants to bite Parker and she only bites his skin. She usually doesn't bite if he is fully clothed. Poor Parker got bitten twice yesterday. Once on his leg and once on his arm. The poor little guy doesn't move so he just sits there and cries as she bites him. She doesn't let go either so she continues to bite him until I get there to separate them. Poor Parker. Here are some pictures of bite marks :(

Accepted!

2009-01-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Brian has just been accepted to Officer Candidate School in

Newport, Rhode Island!

He is scheduled to leave for OCS on March 15!!!

Here is a link for anyone interested in more information

https://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/otcn/Schoolhouses/OCS/index.htm

Mommy's Little Helper

2009-01-28T06:39:00.001-08:00

Rylee was my big helper doing laundry this morning. First she pulled everything out onto the floor so I could fold it. Then she put the next load in...two shoes, a sippy cup, and a clean folded pair of socks! I hope she is this enthusiastic about doing laundry a few years from now!