It's a...

Erick and I were completely surprised to find out we are having a boy. After 2 girls Erick thought for sure we were going to have another. Our appointment was on July 14th and we had the ultrasound tech write the sex and attach the picture in a card, which we opened over dinner at Fireside Pies. The look on Erick's face was priceless. I know he is really excited to have a boy for many reasons, but the main reason he told me is this world needs more Godly men and our job is to raise this boy up to be a Godly man. How awesome!!!

Where's My Hazmat Suit?

A week and a half ago Erick's mom came to visit. I am so glad she was here when the most disgusting thing I have ever had to deal with happened. We put the girls in their room for "room time" like I do every day. The girls no longer nap, so I make them go play in their room every afternoon for an hour so they get a break from me and me from them. (They never really napped again once we went through the big kid bed transition at the end of December. It is so sad not to have nap time anymore.) Anyway, the girls were talking and carrying on as usual. I still listen to them over the monitor because I do have to break up fights and listen to make sure they don't pull their dresser over again. Yes, they have done that twice and I am so thankful they haven't been hurt. We need to get on bolting it to the wall.

Ok, back to the story. They were in there about 30 minutes when I heard the word poop. They play with their baby dolls a lot, so I figured they were playing diaper change. Peggy went in to check on them and she yelled for me. As I walked up the stairs the most disgusting smell filled the air and I knew things were not good. Peggy had already taken the girls to the bathtub, so I did not see them. I walked in the room to find poop EVERYWHERE. It was literally everywhere. On their dresser, beds, pillows, walls, doors, blankets, base boards, glider, and mashed in the carpet. I was so disgusted. It beats anything I have ever had to clean up. Since I did not see the girls, Peggy told me she had to bathe them, drain the tub, and bathe them again. Peggy said it was on their faces, hands, clothes, even in Ava's hair. I am shocked they were not grossed out by it. It truly amazes me.

I had to take everything out of their room to clean up. I had to move furniture to get poop that somehow got behind their beds. Seriously! It took a good 2 hours to get it done, and then had Stanley Steemer come out to clean the carpets. The few pictures I took do not do it justice.

It is crazy what these two come up with. I have to keep an extra close eye on them because when they are together they think up the craziest things.

Big Sisters!!!

Cate and Ava are going to be big sisters! Baby Macha #3 is due Dec. 2nd. We are really excited to have another baby and I am excited to see what it is like to have just one baby this time. So far things have gone really well. We have decided to find out the gender, but we won't know for about 5 more weeks. The girls are already excited about the baby in my belly and Ava talks to it and kisses it all the time.

Best Friends!

These two are definitely best friends. They love each other so much and are such sweet sisters. They still fight, but they truly care so much about each other. Love these two!!! The last picture was taken one day during lunch. That shows how "well-behaved" they are during meal time - ha!

Let The Potty Training Begin

When I picked the girls up from school on Tuesday their teachers told me the both like going on the potty and to start sending them to school in pull ups. Since the girls have been going on the potty for a while, I decided to bite the bullet and try potty training. If they are willing to reinforce it at school I may as well take advantage of it. I have not read any books, but intended to use the 3 Day method when I was ready for this adventure. Since I am a procrastinator and don't like to read, I did not think ahead and read what that actually entails. So, I decided to wing it and throw some big girl panties on Cate and Ava and see how it goes.

I took them to Target last night to pick them out. Cate picked out Tinkerbell and Ava Princess. We started this morning when they woke up and they did really well. I put them in a diaper to go to playgroup today because I was really unsure of everything. They went potty there and actually kept their diapers dry until I took them off when we got home. Neither one had an accident today, which is really encouraging. I got bold this evening and took them to Target in panties and they stayed dry.

What I did today and plan to do is ask them every 1/2 hour to an hour if they need to go. I am going to use diapers/pull-ups at nap and night because I am just going to day train them right now. I will send them to school in pull-ups and will also use them for longer trips and play dates until they get really consistent at home. I am a little unsure about me asking them to go so often because I'm not really sure it is teaching them to know when they need go before it's too late. I think I will just continue and play it by ear. I really want to have them trained by the end of April, so I am going to take it slow and hope for the best.

My babies aren't babies anymore! :( Here are some pictures of them in their new big girl undies. And a couple from helping me make cupcakes on Valentine's Day. Such sweet sisters!

Do I Really Have to Potty Train Them???

I think the girls are pretty much done with naps. I still make them stay in their room at least an hour a day to "rest", but I think they both sleep about one day a week. On Friday the girls were pretty lively, but I put them down any way. I heard lots of singing, banging, doors opening and closing, you know the normal things I hear during "rest" time, so I just left them alone. Once I heard Cate say "pee-pee potty", I got a little nervous.

You see, the girls have been going on the potty for a while now, but I am in no way ready to potty train them. The extra $ we spend on diapers is worth it for me not to have to find the nearest potty on every errand and deal with them touching all the grossness that is the public restroom. I know I will have to do this soon enough, but I am still getting over the big girl bed transition, and the idea of asking them to go potty every hour sounds annoying! Annoying to me because the whole potty thing takes 10 minutes with both of them wanting to sit on their potty, then the big potty, then they each have to flush and generally start fighting because it was "their turn". Then the hand washing that floods the bathroom.

Anyway, back to Friday. I got nervous because this is what they tell me when they do want to use their potty so I went up to check on them. When I opened the door I found their entire closet on their floor, Ava was completely naked and Cate just had a shirt on that had a huge wet spot on the front. As I looked around the room I saw their old Bumbo chair was sitting in the middle of the floor. As I got closer I noticed it was completely wet. Looks like Cate thought I was storing a porta-potty in her closet and decided she needed to go.

This lazy mama needs to get it together and potty train these two. I think they are officially ready!

Fighting, Oh the Fighting!

Wow! Growing up, my sisters and I fought all the time! We fought over everything and anything. From the day the girls were born I knew the fighting would start eventually, but I had no idea how soon it was coming. I think it really started around 18 months, but lately it is WWE everyday at our house. They fight over toys, books, not wanting the other to give them a hug, the other touching them, who gets to be held by mommy, who gets to go first for washing hands, getting their hair brushed, putting their shoes on etc. I pull them apart at least 25 times a day. I'm not kidding. It is wearing me out! They pull hair, bite, scratch and push. When I picked them up from preschool today the teacher even told me the girls had a fight at school. They usually do really well there and don't really even play together, so it did surprise me.

I know it has to be hard for them being twins. There are so many great things about being a twin, but there are also a lot of things that are no fun. It breaks my heart they have to share everything. They never get a break from each other. They share a room, they are in the same class at school and at church. I even nursed them at the same time. They NEVER get time with me by themselves or a much needed break from each other. We try to split them up on weekends to run errands, but once we get home they are back at it.

I know they love each other they get so excited to see each other when they wake up in the morning. Too precious. I know the fighting won't end anytime soon, but I pray they will be best friends one day and I find a way to get rid of some of the twin mommy guilt and enjoy this age.