Zoo and Dora LOVES Boots!

I met some friends at the zoo again today and we had a blast, as usual! My arm was pretty sore as Hannah is going through a clingy stage and I think I held her the whole time but Meredith just walked pretty much the whole time like a big girl! I hope the girls continue to generally stick pretty close to me. They aren't the type of toddlers who are everywhere! They stay close to me and that helps a lot in public! What also helps are great friends willing to hold your child! Kathy's husband joined all of us so while she actually had a reprieve from holding her own child, she was so sweet to cater to mine! Thanks Kathy!

The child to the right of Meredith is our good friend Braden ... I never really realize that the girls are small for their age until I see them beside someone their age ... here they were checking out the Kangaroos. Shortly before this Meredith was jumping up and down because last time we were at the zoo the Kangaroos were jumping back and forth across the cage. Kids have such good memories!
The otters were, by far, the girls' favorite this time!

This is a panda after my own heart ... lay around and eat ... wouldn't that be the life =)

So, the girls have quite a fascination with Dora the Explorer all the sudden ... everything is Dora, Dora, Dora ... Meredith says Do-Wa and Hannah says Dor-Da. It is funny to me that they pronounce it different ways. Anyway, so we have a book called Dora Loves Boots. Boots is a monkey who is Dora's friend and partner on her many adventures. In the book, Dora and Boots hold hands sometimes and once one of the girls pointed to their joined hands and said "han, han, han" ... and I said "yes, Dora and Boots are holding hands" ... etc ... well, today I was in the kitchen and I hear them giggling and saying "han, han, han" and so I decided to go and investigate. They were holding hands and running around and around our house ... imagine this as a flip show ...

They circled about 3 times then decided it was time to sit down for a snack. It was so funny!

fun times!

The girls and I have had a good few days! They seem to be shaking out of their "funk" and are being much more agreeable these days! Ryan and Sarah came over on Saturday to hang out with me since Alan has had to work so much and we took the girls to the Children's Museum. I am so thankful for them and we had such a good time! It is always so much more fun when I have extra sets of eyes and arms around when I am in public with the girls! I chanced taking them to the zoo today on my own and we did very well. They love the zoo and it seems like a chilly weekday afternoon is the time to go! We just about had the place to ourselves!

Here, I am bribing them with fruit snacks (a favorite treat) so that they would let me put them back in the stroller after being wild and free for a while ... just thought it made a cute photo for some reason ...

While we were watching the panda they kept saying "Pa, Pa ... eat ... eat!" They knew that the Panda was eating and they kept holding out their goldfish (as they were snacking, too) to try and feed the Panda ... I will come back and edit this photo soon but I am rushing now b/c it is late ... sorry it is sideways!
Watching the panda ...

For some reason, one of my favorite animals at the zoo is the meercat. Here, they were all three standing in a row just chillin' ... I like the reflection of Hannah in the glass ... nope, I didn't stick her in there with them though she probably would have loved it. The one in the other cage behind the three got in that little arched rock and laid down and Meredith said "night, night" to it ... too cute!

This gorilla just sat here and looked disappointed for a while, then got up and walked away ...

checking out the zebras and giraffes ... oh yes, still obssessed with pushing the stroller, but, I decided today that it is a good thing b/c at least it gets them going in the same direction!

playing in the moonsand at the Children's Museum ...

if only they are this happy at the real grocery store!

Happy New Hair ... I mean Year!

As previously mentioned, the girls have had a hard time rebounding from all the excitement and have been a bit overtired from too many car naps so a few mornings ago when we went to feed the ducks, they fell asleep in the stroller. They NEVER do that anymore so I took a photo. To me, there is nothing more precious than a sleeping child (or two.)

Again, trying to experiment with their hair. I thought this would lay down a bit, but no suck luck, it would only stick straight up. At least they couldn't pull it out as easily. This is Hannah.
Meredith ...

After Alan begged me a few times to do it, I finally gave in and trimmed the "mullets." I was so sad to see the baby curls go but I know it will only be a few short months and their hair will grow back and be thicker and more even. This is Hannah.

... Meredith. I thought I did a pretty good job seeing as I was working on moving targets. It must be that all the practice I have from trimming Cooper's hair has come to serve me!

Another thing that made me sad about cutting their hair is now they look like boys! I wish they would wear hair clips so that they look like girls ... but this is what happens ... "oh, I felt her put in a clip ... is it over here ..."

"... no, wait, here it is!" ... and out it comes!

This is the reaction I got from Meredith when I even tried to put it in her hair (she did warn me with a "no Mama" when she saw it in my hand.) She is usually a little better about letting me mess with her hair than Hannah is.

I just think it is funny when they do this ... they took books in the dog cage and said "bye bye" to me and closed the door. Their own private book club that I am not allowed in on! They do a similar thing in the closet in their room.

what a busy month!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! The girls, of course, were spoiled with gifts and love from family. They are starting to call people by their names which is really fun. Meredith, in particular, would say "Ryyyyyy" and "Seh" for Ryan and Sarah (my brother and SIL) and they would both call their grandfathers "Dada" and my Mom "Mama" and their Grammy Finley "Mi." It will be fun to watch them eventually get the whole words out the right way. For now, I am enjoying that they are getting to know the members of their family. They did really well with the traveling though it took them a while to get back into the swing of things at home. I think that we are getting there. I posted tons of photos since I haven't posted in a while! The girls are saying more and more 2 word phrases now. They call themselves "good girls" all the time and Hannah has gotten the hang of saying "Are you?" when we are looking for something (as in "Binky, where are you?"). It is so interesting to watch them grow and develop.

The girls got a few sets of strollers and baby dolls so we have a set just about everywhere we go, which is nice so that we don't have to worry about fitting toys in the car along with all of the other stuff we have to take to travel. Here they are with the babies and strollers that will reside at the Wright household.

Meredith (shortly before a fall that skinned her knee and traumatized her for about an hour ... drama queen =) ... she still randomly pats her knee and says "boo boo" to anyone who will listen!
Hannah

Hannah and Granddaddy Wright being silly. Hannah was a doll and has really come out of her shell. I am glad that people can see her for the silly & sweet thing she is instead of a sobbing stranger anxiety mess. She particularly loves men (look out teenaged years). She latched right on to her Grandfathers, Great-Grandfather and one of Alan's friends who stopped by to visit.

Meredith is still a Mommy's girl. It is OK with me most of the time ... unless I really need to be doing something else other than holding her or unless I just have to run upstairs to grab something ... she will scream "MAMA!" like she is being drug away by a toddler-eating alligator ... I will be glad when she learns it is OK if I am out of her sight for a moment ... however, I am NOT ready for the day that she doesn't need me anymore. Good thing there are a few years in-between!

Meredith with her pigtails. I am trying to experiment with their hair as it is long and gets in their eyes but I don't want to cut bangs. They still take the hair clips out as soon as they go in so I guess I will just keep trying. She kept her pigtails in for a while, but it didn't really help with the straggly hair in her eyes.

Playing with the trains at G'Mama and G'Daddy Wrights house.

Hannah rocking Meredith who is rocking the bunny.

Opening stockings at the Wright's.

Oh yes, the toddler tantrum. They are getting to be pros and each have their own "style." Hannah likes to jump in the air then throw herself down on her rump really hard. Sometimes she will do it right after the bath (when she wants me to hold her but I have to put her down to get Meredith out) and she is naked and plopping on the hard tile floor. Youch!

Meredith is more a fan of the get on your hands and knees and bang your head on the floor approach. This, Hannah finds really hilarious. She will mock Meredith (get down beside her and bang her own head on the floor) and laugh her silly self into fits all the while Meredith is super mad! I hope to catch it on video sometime as this is one of the funniest things yet about having twins.

This particular tantrum was over this stroller and baby doll. Good thing we have so many of our own now!

The girls still seem to love books more than any other fancy toy. They can pretty much point out anything in a book and name it. They even know a lot of the more obscure animals like "skunk" (which they find to be a really funny word) and camel and lizard ... etc ...

The girls were holding hands in the car on the way home from the Finley's house and it was really cute, so of course, I took a photo =)

Here is Hannah befriending her Great-Grandfather.