LG to Engish Dictionary

Avery and Emerson have their own words for things. There are the obvious ones like wawa for water but there are some really not so obvious as well. I thought I would make this blog an ongoing dictionary for them. Some words they both use and some only one uses. Im sure that the spelling of these will not be to their specs but it's the best I can do...

Both
Gawk=milk=nursing
Joshish=my turn
Pooper=Cooper

Emerson
Key key=Candy
Chai chai=Chocolate
Ty ty= Tylenol (I think we have an addiction to the Tylenol melt aways)
I carry=Carry me

Avery
Ikey=Blanket
Nana=Banana or Grandma or Nina from Imagination Movers
Dots=we have no idea. She says this ALL. THE. TIME if I figure it out I will update.

We've Been a Busy Busy Family!

So busy that its taken me a bit to update the blog... We're gonna work backwards today... Do you know what Gasparilla is??? No??? Ok, open a new tab, google it and then come right back!

Saturday was the parade for kids we decided we would give it a try this year cause we thought the LGs would enjoy it and if we loose one it's ok as we have another. Well, it was crazy, but we had a blast and we learned allot for next year...like dont park 2 miles away!

We went with our friends Pam, Katy and their son Graham and some of their friends.

We had to really make some big promises to get them to even consider the eye patches. Here is Emerson downing one for like 2 seconds.

Avery was willing to wear the scarf, but only for a minute or two.

There was this one float that royally pi$$ed me off. Keep in mind this was a parade for KIDS. It was crazy and the only place we could find to stand that we would be able to breath was a few feet past the end of the parade route. As the Molly Brown float went past the flags a lady on the float over a microphone said (very rudely) "THE PARADE IS OVER STOP MUSIC AND DONT THROW ANY MORE BEADS!" There were literally 100's of kids and adults just past the end markers. It was only the 3rd float the parade was no where near being OVER. Julie heard little kids asking their parents, "does this mean we dont get any beads?" "Is the parade over?" I wanted to yell some really nasty things at this lady. Instead I yelled some kind of nasty things at her. I mean, why did you have to do that over the mic? And why the nasty attitude? I hate her... Unfortunately its a foundation and not a company I can boycott... Oh and get this they enrich the lives of children!!!!

Monday the 18th was MLK day so Julie had the day off. That night we went to Acropolis with Pam, Katy and Graham. We had a great time. We danced, we ate, we had a blast!!

I love this family shot. Julie and I are looking all happy and look close at the attitudes of these girls! The teen years are gonna be a pain!

Earlier that day we went to zoo with Katy and Graham.

Emerson and Avery rode the carousel for the first time. Julie and I of course rode along beside. Can I just tell you I thought I was gonna hurl! WTF!

The kids always love to feed the birds Graham and Avery have something in common they let the bird land on the stick then they shake them off like a bad cold.

A Few of my Favorite Things!

I got this idea from Brook (Hamilton Boys Blog) to post some of my favorite things that the LGs are doing lately. But first a few of my not so favorite things or THING as it may be!

After their nap today I heard them giggling, but thought nothing of it. I decided to let them play a little and make their way out when they were ready. Do this most days. Well, after about 30 minutes I heard Avery yell "Mama" so I got off the coach and headed toward her. As I made my way around the corner this is what I found:

They had pulled EVERY SINGLE piece of clothing out of their dresser and put most of it on the dog while she slept.

Ok, on to the things that make my heart melt...

We like to dance in the kitchen. My Ipod is in the kitchen and we dance quite often as a family. Emerson has taken to singing. She LOVES this song that was popular the year they were born actually. Its Fiest's 1,2,3,4 This is the best video. It has Emerson singing, and Julie and Avery Dancing behind us. I could watch this video over and over and never get tired of it.

A few weeks ago I slept with Avery and Emerson because Avery had a cough and I wanted to make sure she was ok. Neither she or I got much sleep that night. She was coughing and Emerson is a mix-master when sleeping. Well, in the morning I woke up to Emerson rolling her hand on my stomach saying, "Tee Tee Tee!" she was trying to tickle me! So flippin cute!

Avery is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She cracks me up. She is always trying to make people laugh. She likes to run like a cartoon character. She will laugh at ANYTHING! She loves to give hugs but not so much with the kisses. Emerson, on the other hand will give anyone a kiss.

Avery yelling "Pooper!" (Cooper our dog) She addores that dog. The other day it was really cold out and I could not get Cooper to come in. He had been out for hours. He finally came in, but Aver must not have seen it cause she was pointing at the door yelling, "Cooper!"

Avery loves to be read to. Her favorites right now are Olivia and If You Give a Moose a Muffin.

Emerson likes books but not as much as her sister. But she really likes to point out objects. She can sit for hours and have you ask her "Where is the ____?" I think I need to buy her some where is waldo books.

I found them sleeping like this the other night:

Tonight here is where we found them sleeping...on the floor.

Every night after the girls go to sleep Julie picks up the living room. She always leaves something special for the girls (and me) She will leave a doll riding a horse or a hat on the rocking moose. I love it it is so sweet. Julie calls them "Easter eggs" little surprises. Here is tonight's "Easter eggs".

Ringing In The New Year!

New camera in ACTION!!! Took the LGs to Kate Jackson Park last week. How cute are these girls I ask you?? (Avery on the Left)

Emerson

Avery

Thursday I planned on heading to Orlando to spend New Years with family. Before leaving I wanted to get the girls out of the house and let them work off a little steam before that two hour drive. I found a little park called Friendship Park. It reminded me of KJ park but the little kids area and the big kids area are separate AND the biggest difference is I can bike there. Grandpa bought us a bike trailer so I will be biking me and the LGs to this park very much in the future!

My only worry with this park is the inappropriate behavior of the wild life....

Emerson on the big girl slide:

Squirrels doing the nasty:

When we got to Orlando I took the LGs to my cousin Brenda's house for New Years Eve. Cousin Brenda bought them Disney Princess Dolls. Apparently every year they have a block party for new years. The girls had a great time at the party. Unfortunately I had to leave early because Avery started wheezing. Thankfully we did not end up in the hospital with her.

New Years day we started a new tradition. Homemade pizzas! They were deelishis and the girls loved making them. They started out with clothes on but I made an executive decision to get the shirts off...good thing cause Avery ended up with Pizza sauce on her belly.

Avery enjoying the fruits of her labor!

Sugar and Toy Overload

We had an awesome Christmas. Grandma came Christmas eve and stayed till Saturday. The LGs and grandma made cookies and I cooked dinner. Julie picked up the Honey Baked ham earlier that day. If you've never been to Honey Baked during Xmas DONT! Its bedlam. After dinner we went to see some lights. We went to a place on Rawls Rd in Tampa. It was AMAZING! If you haven't gone you must. The lights are set to music and there are thousands and thousands. When we first got there Emerson was a little scared and did not want to be put down. After about 10 mins she asked to be put down and a few minutes later her and her sister were dancing to the music and enjoying it thoroughly. When we went to leave Emerson cried the whole way to the car and did not want to leave. After we got home Grandma read The Night Before Christmas to the girls and they woke in the morning to a butt-load of toys. It took us about four hours to open all the presents. The main reason for this is the LGs had to play with every toy they opened and try on every piece of clothing before they would move on to the next. AND, before they could play with a toy we had to get it out of the box. To do this we had to remove about 500 twist ties. They people who package toys have to be just plain mean.

Some noteworthy presents:


Santa got them a play house that they ADORE!!! it has a doorbell that works and they ring the doorbell before walking in every. time. now. So cute!


Grandma bought them this FurReal puppy that barks and walks. Well, at first they loved it. Then for some reason Emerson is now scared to death of the thing. We had to hide it in a closet.

Uncle Ted sent them a gift certificate to Toys R Us and we took them to pick out some toys. Well, Emerson picked out this Microwave and she is in total love with it. It lights up and the table inside turns and it beeps. Too cute.

Bouncy horses they received from Grandma. These were a big hit and Avery likes to bounce with her Pink Hat (although in the video she is wearing both her hat and her sisters!) she received from her cousin Cameron. Her favorite thing is to make her hat fly off!


I got a small camera to fit into the diaper bag. Yes, that means even MORE pictures. I swear these are the most photographed twins since Mary Kate and Ashley! I also got a bunch of stuff for scrap-booking (Im only a year behind right now! YIKES!) My Aunt (in law) sent me loads of cut-outs. It must have taken her for ever to do them all.



Last night before bed Avery had to say goodnight to all her new toys. This meant that she had to hug each one too. This took quite a while.


Emerson has learned what chocolate is and calls it ChiChi. NOT A GOOD THING! She is asking for ChiChi every hour.

All in all a great Christmas. I haven't EVER had a Christmas THIS fun!

Sleeping Arangements

About a month ago we moved the LGs into toddler beds. I call it the king sized toddler bed cause I have them side by side. They LOVE them. And the transition has not been that hard...with the exception of naps. Naps are another story all together. I have found that I have to do the opposite of what I used to do with the crib.



With the crib I had to put them in there. Cover them up with their blanket say "night night" and walk out closing the door behind me not to return unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Like I just heard a bomb explode in there, should I go check???




The first few days I tried the same technique and close the door behind me. BIG MISTAKE! They trashed the joint like rock stars. They actually pulled the door OFF THE CLOSET! Its a big freaking wooden slider door! It could have killed them had it fallen on them.



I decided I should try leaving the door open till they fall asleep. As soon as I was out of site they started playing and they got smart about it. They learned to trash their room quietly. They never tried to leave their room they would just pull ever piece of clothing out of the drawers and every toy out of the closet. Their favorite thing was to pull all the rubber bands out of their box. These are little tiny rubber bands I use for their hair. Do you have any idea how f*cking tedious picking up hundreds of little rubber bands up is?




At night it seemed a little different. I could walk away and they would stay in bed if the door was open and go to sleep. Then the other night I heard the door slam shut. I went in there to see what was going on and they were both in bed. I walked away leaving the door open and a few minutes later heard it slam. Seeing as how last time I checked after the door was shut they were in bed I decided to let it be. About an hour later I heard something. Walked in to discover they had trashed the place. Back to bed they went and the door stayed open.




I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO VERY NOT ready to give up naps and I know they need them VERY much. So, something had to change or I was going to break out the duct tape and keep their asses in the bed that way. So I started sitting in front of the door with a book or the laptop. It worked perfect. They would stay in bed and fall asleep then I would get up close their door and go do my own thing. Then one day I grabbed a pillow and decided to lay on the floor while I was watching them and of course I fell asleep. So for the last 3 days I have been taking a 20 min nap in the hall on the floor. Then today I was awakened to a door slamming lass then a foot away from my face. Lets just say this is one of the absolute worst ways to wake up. I immediately opened the door to see Avery climbing back into bed. I decided to close the door seeing as how she was headed into bed she obviously would go to sleep. Right???



You guessed it! The room was TRASHED!

Here are a few pictures we took the first night in their new beds:

Then a few hours later:

Here's Avery...just being Avery:
Here is Emerson helping put the beds together:

"Other Side!" (said in a sing song voice)

It all started one day when the LGs were nursing and decided to switch sides. I said "other side" and somehow it stuck in Their heads and now we cant go a nursing session with out someone saying "Other Side!" in a sing song voice. This has become somewhat annoying as it takes them a long time to coordinate the switch, therefore all nursing sessions seem to take longer.

The real problem is that this has become a game and it has bled into other aspects of our daily lives. When we went to dinner the other evening someone said, "other side" and they both got up and switched sides of the table. This for most people would not be a big deal, but because they are less then 3 feet tall they need help getting into their booster seats and you have to spot them when they get down. ANNOYING!

I really want this game to end soon. We are now in the ignore it phase and hoping they get bored with this game.

Last night Emerson decided to re-purpose one of their toys they have had for over a year. The Ball Popper is an annoying but beloved toy. If you are not familiar with the Ball Popper you will understand part of it's annoyance by the noise it makes...BUT, that's not all! It also launches balls across the room and you always loose them.

I must say this "New" use seems much less annoying.