A Trip to Grandpa's Office

We have yet to take the kiddos to a pediatric dentist. My dad very subtly (ha!) suggested that, given Charlotte's apprehension of new things, we very slowly begin easing her into the dentist experience by bringing her up to his office. We decided that first we'd just get her through the door, then we'd let her sit on my lap on the chair, then sit by herself, etc. etc. So last Thursday (a day my dad doesn't see patients) my mom and I took C&J up to Grandpa's office to implement phase one.

In true Charlotte form, she pretty much refused to even go in the treatment rooms. She instead found a toy in the waiting room and made herself comfortable playing. In true Jensen form, Jensen did this:

Wild man on the loose!

Then Charlotte decided to brave the unfamiliar halls and join in on the fun:

In case you're wondering, they were running up and down the hallway and Grandpa was hiding and spraying them with air and/or water when they ran by. Don't you wish you had this much fun at the dentist??

Then, in true Grandpa form, he and Jensen had a bit of fun with the dental instruments:

Jensen sat in the chair and rode up and down with me for a bit but Charlotte was having none of it. Looks like we have a ways to go with our little Bug!

Five Things

Have you seen blogs that do five random thoughts? I have lots of random thoughts to share today so I thought I'd give it a try.

1) The stinkers' second birthday is less than a month away. Despite saying last year that I would never have a party at our house again, I had grand visions of a Sesame Street-themed party at home. I mean, really cute ideas...however, yesterday I had a moment of panic/clarity/whatever and threw in the towel on the whole party-at-home. Pump It Up, here we come.

2) Jensen got his sixth haircut on Thursday. That kiddo has some great hair. As he happily ate his sucker and watched the Backyardigans while my hairdresser did her thing, Charlotte clung to Grandma and yelled, "NO!" when we asked if she would like to get her hair cut, too.

3) I had an awesome girls' night out last Friday with these girls:

We closed down the bar, ate late-night Whataburger, and stayed up 'til almost four a.m. The last time I was awake at four a.m. not due to a baby was...well, a looooong time ago!

4) Friday was school picture day. While one twin screamed because she didn't want to wear her leopard-print shoes, the other twin screamed because he did in fact want to wear them. Yes, those are the correct pronouns.

5) I am over-committed. Between being the Meals Coordinator for my multiples group, serving on the board of directors for the rescue group, serving as C&J's room mom, volunteering with the early childhood PTA, and volunteering for our HOA (which is a laughably small job but whenever something needs to be done it ALWAYS falls  when I have a million other things to do), I am all volunteered-out. Do any other stay-at-home moms feel the need to commit to a million different things? Sadly I think part of it is an attempt to avoid the stigma of being "just" a stay-at-home mom. But now I feel like I'm running in a million different directions and something's gotta give. Volunteering with the rescue group is non-negotiable; it's a big part of what makes me me. And volunteering with the stinkers' school is also non-negotiable because I feel that being present at their school is so important. As far as everything else goes...I think it's about time to start prioritizing.

Whew...that felt good! :)

Just a Day in the Life...

...of my Mr. Dude:

From being Daddy's (nude) helper...

...to using an eyelash curler properly (yes I really walked in on him doing this...he must pay attention to me when I'm getting ready!)...

...it's fun to be Mr. Jensen Todd!

 

Security Blanket

Since very, very early on, it has seemed as though Jensen liked his sister just a tad bit more than his sister liked him. From the time his little eyes were able to focus, he looked at her. From the time he was able to truly smile, he would smile at his sis. And he has always found her simply hilarious. And throughout that time, Charlotte seemed almost indifferent to her brother's presence. That's why my favorite picture of my two kids remains (and might always remain) this one:

This was the first day Charlotte actually seemed to notice and appreciate that there was another little person who just happened to be with her all the time. She seemed to really like this little guy. (Or perhaps it was just the reindeer costume.) And as you can see, he absolutely soaked up the attention from his beloved sis.

Nowadays, Charlotte likes to talk a big game about not liking her brother. She squawks in discontent when he interrupts something she's doing or even sits too close to her in the bathtub (true story). She loves to tattle on him by running and telling me, "No no, Jensen Todd!" whenever she finds him doing something she thinks is naughty. But with the implementation of Singleton Days, Charlotte has found herself spending time away from her brother for the first time in her little life, and you know what? I don't think she likes it!

As soon as we drop Jensen off at Grandma's she begins saying, "Bye, bye, Jensen Todd" and that phrase is repeated probably 50 times during the day. She repeats "Jensen Todd?" throughout the day as if to ask where he is, and I have to reassure her that we will see him soon. She has started asking for Jensen when she wakes up from naps and if he is still asleep she likes to play on the stairs outside his room until he wakes up (aka she wakes him up). We have decided that he's like her little security blanket and since she's never really been without him, she needs to have him around in order to feel like all is right with the world.

The best part comes at night when I put her in bed and tell her goodnight. We go through our routine "night-night, Mommy" etc. and then, each and every night for the past few weeks as I close the door, she yells out, "I love you Jensen Todd!" at the top of her little lungs. As sweet as it is when she tells me she loves me, it's even sweeter when she tells me she loves her brother. The bond between these two is growing by the day and I absolutely cannot imagine having one without the other.

Super-Awesome Day

But not really. I should have gone to Houston today for a baby shower for Christina, and I should currently be at Kile's bachelorette party. I got a spray tan and a manicure, and I spent last night laying out my outfits and packing my bags. I hopped into bed early to get a good night's sleep, and then for my final preparation...I woke up at midnight and went ahead and got really sick. And this morning I was still sick. So I hung out in bed all day while my pals hung out in Houston and my family hung out in the living room without me. I am having one heck of a pity party and also having flashbacks to my bed rest days...except today was way worse than bed rest because there were two super-cute toddlers in the living room playing and I could hear them but not go play with them because I really don't want them to come down with whatever I have.

On the bright side, Kim is keeping me updated on the Houston fun via text message photos and Brian has taken pity on me and said I can go see my friends in Houston as soon as possible. And my mom loaned me this guy to keep me company.

Here's hoping for a better tomorrow!

Nakey Bug

Charlotte is in the throes of an anti-diaper, pro-naked phase. (Or at least I'm hoping it's a phase and she isn't going to wind up living in a nudist colony someday.) The kiddos have always enjoyed running around naked before bathtime and Brian and I have always laughed and called them "Nakey Bug" and "Nakey Dude" as they ran around clothes-free. So for a few weeks now, Charlotte has regularly approached me saying, "Nakey Bug! Diaper OFF!" (So demanding!). Usually I give in, because honestly what's cuter than a little naked hiney running through the house? And once Charlotte is naked she runs through the house shouting, "NAKEY BUG!" before coming to me with another demand: "Jensen Todd's diaper off too! Nakey dude!" Apparently no one likes to party naked alone.

So we regularly have two naked toddlers running amok in our house...which, in case you were wondering, has led to one or two accidents (see: post titled "A Brief Summary of Our Day"). But for the most part the kids are both getting good about coming and telling me when they want a diaper back on...and Jensen has even gone tee-tee on the potty once, which was such an exciting event, I barely refrained from posting it on facebook.

Naked Stair-Climbing

Nakey Dude helping Nakey Bug down the stairs. Censored using my mad photo-editing skills.

A Brief Summary of Our Day

My mom came over this afternoon, and the following conversation took place. It pretty much sums up our day.

Me: "Charlotte, tell Grandma what you did this morning."
Charlotte [after a brief pause]: "Poopers!"
Me: "Charlotte, where did you go poopers? Did you go in your diaper?"
Charlotte: [Says nothing, just looks guilty]
Me: "Charlotte, where did you go poop this morning?"
Charlotte: [Excited]: "On the FLOOR!"

Yes indeed, it has been a day.