Lucy and Ellory- Twenty-Three Months.

Only one more month until TWO! Wow. What a wild and wonderful almost two years it's been. It's hard to remember our life before Lucy and Ellory. Sometimes it's funny to go out in public, because I'm so used to having twins now, so I forget that it's a shock to some. Sometimes strangers just seem floored that we have twins, and our frequently heard comment is still, “Wow, you have your hands full!” I just smile back and say, “Yes, we do, but it's great!” I remember being so scared to have twins when I was pregnant, so it's really neat to look back and see His hand over us in the last two years. He certainly knows what He's doing! Twins are great- challenging and stretching sometimes, yes, but their new thing is to give each other hugs and kisses before bed, and moments like that outshine every hard time and having three girls is the most beautiful blessing.

Stats/Doctor visits: We have had an amazingly healthy winter so far and so thankful for that!

Teeth: Still waiting for two year molars for both.

Feeding: Nothing new. They do really well with three meals and a bedtime snack. They eat their meals better without snacking. Occasionally if they act like they're starving before dinner, I'll give them two animal crackers (they think they need two since they have two hands), and thankfully that seems to tide them over. Favorite foods include milk (love that milk!), hummus, pizza, noodles, chicken, and almost all fruits.

Diapers/Clothes: Wearing 24 month/2T clothes and 4 diapers during the day/5 at night. We had our first twin difference this month, as Ellory switched to a size 6 shoe, and Lucy is still in a 5.

Sleeping: Big girl beds happened! They had to switch bedrooms around, as two full beds (what their cribs convert into), didn't fit in their old room because of the door placement. Overall it's gone very well. There was crying, especially from Ellory, for a few days and we had to lay with them longer, but now they love them. Occasionally they talk to/goof off with each other more before falling asleep during nap, but the transition was pretty smooth overall. A few times Lucy has gotten out of bed (what a monkey!), and she's also fallen out of bed a couple times (even with a rail), but thankfully she mostly stays in. They sleep from about 8:30-8:30, and nap from about 1-3:30 (though they don't always fall asleep right away, for nap or bed).

Words: Ellory is trying so hard to say full sentences, but you still can't really make them out. She says many two word sentences. (She gets a little jumbled when she talks fast or tries to say something longer.) Lucy has started saying a few two word sentences also. Sometimes she says the initial sound for a word, like “huh” for hummus or “la” for light. We can usually always figure out what both are saying. It's so fun to hear them throw out words suddenly that they've never said before.

Developments: Lucy and Ellory are better at independent play than Norah ever was, but it also helps to have two built in playmates always around to play with. They are both doing more pretend play, especially in the kitchen and with babies. We are practicing color names, but they don't get any correctly yet. They love to say people's names and point to them in pictures. Both are really good at knowing where things are/go and the routine of the day. Both love to jump. Ellory likes to sing and it's so sweet. Her favorites are Jesus Loves Me, ABCs, You are my Sunshine, and some songs from Babygarten at the library. They are learning basic puzzles and love to stack/put things together. Lucy is more physically active and Ellory is more emotionally active, if that makes sense. Both are still thumb suckers, but Lucy likes to stroke her right eyebrow with her third finger and Ellory likes to put her pointer finger in the corner of her eye while they suck them. They all three suck their right thumbs, but each have a different quirk to it! We regressed a bit in the potty training department, but they still sometimes go, more pooping than peeing. They eat the same things, but Lucy struggles with diarrhea and Ellory with constipation, which has made going on the toilet harder. The doctor suggested giving Ellory milk of magnesia, which has helped a little.

Favorites: Everyone's favorite is when daddy comes home from work! Both have really enjoyed magna-tiles this month. They both have given tons of hugs and kisses recently and it's adorable. Ellory loves Frozen, Minnie Mouse, Bob and Larry (Veggie Tales), wearing play jewelry, and reading books. Lucy is so caring and loves to pat people's backs, play with hair, point out when people are crying, say hi to people, etc. (On the flip side, she also instigates a bit more and makes Ellory upset more than Ellory makes her upset!) Lucy and Ellory, we love you both so much!

Norah took these two pictures! (Amongst the 30+ that I deleted that were very off center :)

Getting smiling pictures is a challenge these days, but they sure are cute no matter what!

Norah requested these two. :)