Fall Festival & Hair Cuts

This was a weekend packed with a lot of plans, but a lot of fun too! We had a low key night on Friday night. Kevin had to work late, so I decided to put in one of my favorite movies - "The Polar Express". I wasn't sure how they would react, but they couldn't have been more interested! They were, at times, even mesmerized. The 3 of us cuddled on the couch and watched just about all of the movie. It was a fun time...good quality time.

Saturday morning we woke up to some unusally cold weather. When I say cold, I mean really cold. We had the multiples club Fall Festival from 10-12, so we were out in the frigid temps for a few hours. I am the VP of Events, so this was the big event for the year. We had "The Bubble Man" as well as a balloon artist. They were both very impressive and I think a good time was had by all. The bubbles were huge and impressive and the balloon artist was one of the best I've ever seen! I wish I had better photos of the balloons - they were very elaborate Elmo, Tigger, Dinosaurs, Cookie Monster. You name it - she made it. After the Fall Festival, Riley & Ryan went home with Mee Maw and Gran-daddy. They spent the night with them so we could attend the Decatur Beer Festival with some friends. We had a great afternoon, despite the cold temperatures and I've been told the kiddos were good, but not without a few stories to be told. Apparently Ryan decided to take off his clothes and diaper during nap time, but this time he didn't just "go #1" - he "went #2" and it got everywhere. Mom and Dad said the smell and mess was tremendous! Never a dull moment with these 2 around!

Riley has learned how to give a "thumbs up"!

My little puppy dog
My other little puppy dog...unfortunately these costumes are a bit too small, so we might be srcambling to come up with something before Halloween. I honestly felt bad ro Ryan wearing this costume that was tight and short... oh well... he still looked cute!

Riley checking out The Bubble Man

Ryan in his glory with "The Bubble Man"

Mommy with her little puppy dog

Ryan with his Elmo balloon

The whole goup - we had a great turnout!

We went up to Lawrenceville to pick them up this morning and had lunch with Mee Maw. We had a visit after lunch while the kiddos were napping and then headed home for hair cuts! Ms. Julie came to our neighbors house and cut 6 heads of hair! Ryan is an old pro at this, but it was Riley's first cut. She did great - didn't squirm or fuss at all. I guess the lollipops and dvd helped a lot! She didn't cut much of her hair since there's not a lot there, but she trimmed a few parts that were a bit out of control. Fun times! They are full of energy and I really don't think Riley ever stops...at all, but we are having the most fun! They are both quite humurous and say the funniest things.

Ms. Julie giving Riley her 1st Haircut!

Riley had a blue lollipop before the haircut

One thing I wanted to note here is that they are saying their alphabet and counting now - all the time...but Riley can also count to 10 in Spanish! Her teachers have told me she's doing it, but I heard it for myself tonight while we were doing webcam with Aunt Heather & Uncle Brad! Yes, I'm very surprises and proud!

Web Albums Added:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091017IAPOMCFallFestival

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091018RileyS1stHaircut#

Birthday Party!

The forecast all week called for a day like this... ...but I had A LOT of people praying that it not rain from 10-12 on Saturday and guess what? Even though there was a 70 % chance of rain during those hours, there was not a drop of rain! Actually, it only drizzled briefly the entire day and all I have to say is God is good! He knew we had 19 adults, 14 children and 5 babies coming to our house to play and inside for 2 hours was just not the best plan...for everyone's sake!

The kiddos were able to jump in the "jumpies" for about an hour and had a blast!

Once we got inside there were 2 crafts, face tattoos and play time in the play room - in the ball pit! And then there was story time and pizza, but FINALLY the moment we had all been waiting for came...it was time for CUPCAKES!!!! Riley had been eyeing them all day and asking for them, so she was super excited when it was time to dig in. I made cupcakes and put them on ice cream cones and then iced them so they looked like ice cream cones. I was really happy with how they turned out. We had to sing happy birthday twice!

The funniest part of the day was once everyone was gone and the house was quiet, we were gathering them for naps and I couldn't find Riley. I kept calling for her and she was no where. Not in the family room, not in the playroom. I began to get a little worried and then I found her at the table with the greatest grin on her face (see below). She was eating pizza (from who knows plate) and what else, but another cupcake! She hardly ate anything at the party because she was so excited. A girl's got to eat before she can properly nap, right!?

After naps, it was time to open presents. We thought it was just too chaotic to try to open them at the party. They got the greatest gifts....everything they love and couldn't wait to get opened! These days it takes screwdrivers and scissors to get into just about any toy, so it took way longer than they wanted, but in the end they were so happy...and BLESSED!!

They were so content to sit on the couch and watch their new Elmo video. We like to call this the Elmo trance.

After the afternoon of playing with all their loot, they decided to try out their new sleeping bags and watch one last Elmo episode, of course. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Today was such a great day! We declared it PJ day and never left the house. We got organized and cleaned and best of all Riley and Ryan had the entire day to play with all their new toys. It's like we turned a corner...they played amongst themselves and weren't clinging to us the whole day. I even found myself wandering into the playroom a few times just to see what they were up to. They coaxed me into the ball pit with them and thought that was the funniest thing. This is what life is all about. I think this has been one of the best weeks for our family. Such happy times and very happy memories. Mommy is now declaring that I am tired and heading to bed. Yes it is before 8pm, but I'm done!

Web Album Added:
http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/200910102ndBirthdayParty#

Birthday!

This was the big birthday celebration week and we have had a blast! It started with mommy and daddy singing happy birthday to Riley & Ryan as they woke up. They weren’t quite sure about what was happening, but as the day (and weekend) progressed they thought it was all very cool! Their actual birthday was a great day.

I was able to take cupcakes to their class at school. It was quite a site to see 12 2 year olds sitting nicely eating cupcakes and drinking milk out of big cups. Then, the most amazing thing happened…they each got up after they were done and took their napkin to the trash can, poured out any remaining milk and threw away their cup…all without the teacher asking! Pretty impressive if you ask me. Riley and Ryan were thrilled to have me there and kept asking me to “come sit” with them. Very cute to see them so proud!

This is the sign they had hanging in their classroom - so sweet!

No caption needed...

See! All sitting nicely - amazing!

After that, we met Daddy, Mee Maw and Gran-daddy at La Parilla for a Mexican fiesta dinner. They loved all the attention, but weren’t so sure about them bringing out the big hats and singing. In fact, Ryan burst into tears…see he’s not all grown up yet! J We went back to the house and opened (many many) presents. It was like Christmas and they loved pulling the tissue paper out of the bags. They got so many great things and have loved playing with all their new loot!

Cheese Dip!

Happy Birthday Boy!

Dessert!!!!!

Presents Presents Presents!

On Friday, their school was closed for a teacher workday, we Kevin and I both took the day off to have a family day and to get ready for the big party on Saturday. We went to their 2 year doctor check up that morning. Ryan saw the nurse in the waiting room and burst into tears. We really haven’t been there much lately (I know I will pay big for pointing that out), so I was surprised he recognized her. They were hysterical while they were getting weighed…something we do regularly at home on the same type of scale. And then came time for the shots. Definitely not my favorite moments to see them each lose it…but then…me mentioned lollipops and suddenly the tears began to subside. It’s amazing how they can turn them on and off!

Here are the stats:

Riley
Weight: 25.6 pounds (40th %)
Height: 33.75” (75th %)
Head: 18 5/8”

Ryan
Weight: 33.11 pounds (95th %)
Height: 35.5” (70th %)
Head: 20.25”

I will have to write later about the big birthday party. We are still recovering today trying to get the house cleaned up and getting all of their new toys organized in the play room.

Web Album Added: http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091007Birthday#

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Two! Wow! We’ve come a long way since this picture was taken, but I can remember it like it was a few hours ago. I can’t even believe that 2 years have flown by. When you think of this as an 18-year adventure (and yes, I know it doesn’t end there), to know that we are over 10% of the way through it just absolutely blows my mind. My babies (who I declared “no longer babies” this time last year) are 2. I never really was in tune with what kids should be doing when, but I can’t get over how much they are talking and having opinions already – it seems so early. I got so used to clearly communicating with them without words, that now that they are (very) verbal, it’s like a whole new ball game. I was talking with a friend of mine with twins that are less than a year and we were saying how walking is so liberating (she very much looks forward to this). Most parents of singletons declare walking as a negative adventure, but for most parents of twins, it’s liberating. No more double strollers needed every single time you want to get out of the car. Think about it – with one child you can just grab them and carry them wherever you want to go, but with two it’s just not so easy. I would have to say the same thing is happening with talking. It’s making it that much easier. We are constantly encouraging them to “use your words” and we focus on their requests and try to comply as much as we can when they ask nicely rather than whining or crying about it. So far so good! I’ve always heard of the terrible 2’s, but as I’ve said before, I think it just keeps getting better. Again, I think parents of multiples have a little different perspective and you get a crash course in the beginning that makes some of these times seem so much easier...all about perspective.

I don’t want to paint this picture perfect scenario…we have our moments of complete and utter unexplained meltdowns (and I’m not just referring to the 2 year olds) and then the instantaneous recoveries like nothing ever happened. This will forever baffle me. Real crocodile tears streaming down the face that turns into laughter in a split second??? Wish I could recover that quickly! We have the times of saying “No Mommy” and really meaning it. We have kiddos that utterly refuse to eat certain things…one I can usually convince to try it “like mommy”, but the other that just smiles at me and nicely says “no” as he grips his lips and shakes his head. We have lots of bad poopy diaper incidents and runny or crusty noses. I even have one that shows me her finger and proudly proclaims “boogers” and then asks for a “tissue” – isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Even with the challenges, I say this is the best life we could have. Even in the midst of chaos and busy-ness, these 2 munchkins bring more joy to my life than I could have ever imagined. I’m already so proud of them and I can’t wait for the days to come.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Riley & Ryan…
I love you more than you can imagine!

Pumpkin Patch

Last Wednesday, my dear friend, Kathy, took Riley and Ryan out for their first "2nd Birthday" celebration. Although their birthday isn't until this Wednesday, we thought we could start the celebration a week early. We went to our favorite Mexican Restaurant and the kiddos had a blast. Ms. Kathy gave them pumpkins that light up and a play spatula so they can help me cook!

Our little ham

The full celebration wouldn't be complete without sombreros and "feliz cumpleanos"

They kept it mellow so no one would get upset -

Ryan didn't seem to care as long as he got his dessert!

On Saturday, we made our 2nd annual trek up to Burt's Farm in Dawsonville, GA. As we were riding up there I was thinking back to last year and how this year would be different.

Last year we had to push them around in a stroller, this year they can walk/run by themselves.

Last year we propped them up against the pumpkins, this year they were climbing all over them.

Last year they couldn't talk at all, this year they squealed and talked the whole time - mainly saying boldly, "my pumpkin" (to all of them).

Last year they were in awe of the hayride and smiled the whole time, this year they were totally content sitting in our laps and holding on tightly. Riley especially liked pointing out all the scarecrows!

We had a great time and it was wonderful to see their excitement over the hundreds and hundreds of big / huge pumpkins!

This just screams little shool girl. I think she knows just how cute she is, don't you?

My preppy little guy

(yes - that is a pink glove on his hand)

They enjoy looking out the front door - look how big they are - where does the time go?

Riley an Ryan have been really "partying" before going to sleep for naps and at bed time. Today they were especially loud, but I didn't really think much of it - in fact I thought it just bought me mroe time to get my "stuff" done (remember their birthday is this week - birthday = busy week for mom). They are still sleeping in their cribs and "safe", so if they choose to party for an hour before going to sleep then it's ok in my book...right? Well, when we went up to get them from their room when they woke up from their nap, we saw this... WOW! This is not how it looked when I closed the door to put the kiddos down for naps...

...and then we were greeted by this...how cute!?!?

...and then this... hilarious...

Just looks like a big mess, right? Well a big mess it is, but right in the middle of the sheets, mattress pads, loveys, stuffed animals, books and pillows were 2 diapers. Yep - they greeted us in their birthday suits and could not have been happier! Kevin and I just looked at one another and shook our heads. I did have to run grab the camera - this one was a moment to remember. I guess birthday suits are fitting since this is the week of their birthday!

After we clothed our children, we headed out for Josh's 3rd birthday. They played for an hour and a half straight! They might have had the most fun of anyone there! As soon as they heard the word cake, they headed straight to the table and thoroughly enjoyed the cupcakes and ice cream...and then back to the big room for bubbles. When we got home from the party, Gran-daddy was here for his Sunday visit. They played and showed him their pumpkins. Perfect day!

Web Albums Added:

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20090930BirthdayDinnerWithMsKathy#

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091003BurtSPumpkinPatch#

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091004BigKids#

http://picasaweb.google.com/hutchinson.heidi/20091004JoshJordanSBirthdayParty#