Life at 2

Two and a half. In just 5 short months my littles will be 3 years old. As far as "Terrible Twos" go, I gotta say the last few months have been REALLY good for us (knock on wood)! Shortly after their 2nd birthday we had a rough time but lately, as much as they drive me crazy, we've had more good days than bad. From what I hear it's no longer Terrible Twos, it's three that's the hardest, so we'll see what next year brings! For now, it's a life of new exciting stages and their little personalities are shining through more and more as time passes and I love it!

It seems like yesterday they were saying "Dada and Up" and today we're having full blown conversations with them. Their vocabulary has gone from a little to a lot in just a few months. They're slowly but surely learning their ABCs, 123s and nursery rhymes. Colors...that's another story. Really, I've been trying for months and e v e r y t h i n g is blue. They know there are different colors, they can say yellow, red, black...etc but when it comes down to it blue is their first and only guess. The wall is blue, their celery is blue, the dog is blue..everything! I know, they'll get it eventually but gah, kinda drives me nuts!

They always surprise me with how much they really do know. We have story time where we read and look at pictures in books, I ask them to point to a certain object and Kylee, Korbin & Baxlyn just about knock me over excitedly trying to point to that object as fast as they can. Those three are anxious to repeat numbers and colors and such but Brody on the other hand, tends to sit back and watch and I wonder if he pays attention. Just the other day I listened outside his bedroom door as he said/sung "A B C D...pause...H I..mumble mumble P...pause... 5 6 7...long pause...2 3...I can't count." It was so so adorable, make me wish I could have a camera running all the time! Sure he missed letters and numbers but it showed me he does listen and is picking up a few things along the way! Korbin's version of the ABCs goes like this "A B C D, Q I S. YAY!" He's so confident it's hilarious!

Last night I was preparing their bath while they ate dinner. From the bathroom I hear Baxlyn singing "Jesus love me dis no...Bible me so...mumble mumble... long... Yes Jesus love me...Bible tell me so!" Not believing what I was hearing and knowing that If I turned the corner and she saw me she would stop, I just stood there with my jaw on the floor and listened as she sung the song I've been singing to them for a while. It's these moments that remind me I WILL miss these days. Just like their newborn stage, these days will quickly be gone as well.

Kylee, this girl is something else. She's a people person and continues to easily wrap other's around her finger. When we're out in public people are drawn to her... literally drawn to her since they were tiny babies. It's freakishly amazing. Complete strangers constantly mention her smile, her eyes and her sweet spirit whether we have them all with us or just her alone. While the other three are playing with toys, running and laughing Kylee would much rather sit with you and talk about the people and dogs she knows. The memory this little girl has is incredible. She can meet a person or a dog (sounds funny I know, but she LOVES dogs and animals in general) one time and she will not forget them. Just the other day she went potty on the potty (YAY!) and wanted to call Bella, Cody and "da udda one" (meaning the other dog, Tess) to tell them. Really? Let's not call Nana, let's call your friend's dogs...? So we did and she proudly told them she went potty on the potty.

With age they're becoming more independant, which is mostly good. They enjoy helping me with laundry which helps me and keep them busy. They think it's great when I throw all the dirty clothes in the hallway and let them carry it from there to the washer by themselves. It takes about 10 minutes total and is super cute to watch. The three take one little shirt or sock at a time while Baxlyn tries to carry as much as she possible can dropping things all along the way. I'm now able to bribe (yes bribe) them by saying "If you want to help me with laundry you have to put up toys.." works like a stinkin' charm. Laundry = reward, who would have ever guessed.

Another thing they enjoy and look forward to is the trash truck. They hear the truck coming from down the road and sprint to the front door to wave and watch through the glass window. The trash guys, I have a feeling, look forward to seeing the quads too. The driver pulls up and stops right in front of the house so he can wave at the babies and then pulls up a few feet so the men on the back on the truck can wave as well. It's been a ritual for several months now. No matter what's happening at the time the trash truck comes, they have to go watch. We've had therapists have to take a break during therapy sessions just so they could go wave, it's hilarious. I'll have to get it on video some day!

A few more things that float their boats at this stage are flossing their teeth, putting their dishes in the sink, checking the mail and being allowed to touch "cool things". By cool things we're talking the "bikel" aka the exercise bike, the vacuum, the mailbox and hairdryer. It's these little things they are SO into now days that make it fun for me as their mom. Who gets excited about carrying laundry? Who wants to call a dog on the phone? Who would rather floss their teeth than watch TV? My little 2 year olds, that's who and I love them for their little cute, weird obsessions!