16 Months of Seeing Double...

16 months of seeing double the preciousness has made the reality of having TWO baby girls as a part of our lives really sink in. Oh and the fact that everything we do once, we do again, and even a third, fourth, or fifth time depending on what it is...=) The hubby and I  keep looking at one another every night as we are tucking the girls in & having our family worship time together and talk about how fast their lives are going and how it seems as if they will be going off to school in no time...I can't go there quite yet and thankfully I don't have to. We have had a fantastic summer so far and are trying to enjoy the days we have together as a family of four-the fun-filled ones and the mundane ones too =) Thankful for all of them...Happy 16 months precious ones!

To our dear little ones,

Where is the time going? Today you are 16 months old and even on the hardest of days, there is nowhere on earth I’d rather be than at home being your mommy, day in and day out. Hardest job I have ever had, hands down, but I cannot fathom missing out on every little thing you girls are learning and accomplishing. What a joy to see you learning and understanding new things it seems every day! You are officially both toddling around which means there is nothing off limits and the messes you make every moment are endless. But this too is temporary so I let you make them, knowing you are having a ball and also knowing full well the day is coming where I will miss this greatly. You girls grow more and more dear and precious to us with each passing day and we know our love for you will only grow greater in the days and years ahead. Your daddy and I so desperately try to remain open handed with your lives and what God may use them for so we are learning to trust our Father on a much deeper level, knowing He is sovereign and He is in control. Our favorite time of the day with you girls is our family worship time each night. We read and pray with you girls while you go bonkers in your crib, but we pray these traditions will become so a part of your life that you look forward to and anticipate this time together to learn more about Jesus. So we long and yearn for the day where you girls come to the realization that you are a sinner in need of God’s grace. And that the cross is the only way for you to be made right before a Holy God. Your daddy and I need His grace every day and one day, we pray you will know that same truth. We love you girls so deeply and look forward to the next month of adventures with you two!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

What are you girls doing these days?

-walking all over! Both of you! And Makenzie is running + walking backwards as well!

-Talking/babbling non-stop to each other

-very messy eaters! Love exploring/squishing everything in your hands

-LOVE watermelon! New favorite food! And LOVE drinking from a juice box!
-Shakes head “no!” very emphatically!

-smushing your face into the mirror when you see yourself

-pointing to everything

-holding hands with each other (and can do it on command! J)

-Makenzie will drag mommy to what she wants

-loves putting on shoes

-holds hands out to catch a ball

-very independent! Wants to do everything by themselves
-At the park, can climb up the stairs on their own and go down the slide!

-Uses a spoon and fork at mealtime and can actually get yogurt on spoon and into mouth; gets things on a fork to eat J (esp MG!)

-scribbles with crayons
-Favorite toys: probably their playhouse and their new Cozy Coupe Car-they love pushing it around & changing out drivers!
-love tearing paper (esp MG!)
-Mak will bob her head back and forth whenever music comes on!
-will clap their hands, stomp their feet and say AMEN to song

-Will “read” books to themselves with lots of inflection in voice-SO CUTE! They LOVE books!
-Both hug their baby and teddy bear

-obsessed with lids and containers (esp MG!)

-Mak has learned how to “sneak” and will get low with her hands on her knees and will try to get MG

-most hyper time of the day is family worship time in their cribs!

-responds to LOTS of instructions-shut the door, bring mommy a diaper, get a book, where’s blankie/paci/bunny?, sit down for your snack, give mommy a kiss, take ____ to daddy, give one to MG/Mak, share one with your sister, hold mommy’s hand & many more :)
-Both can find their own belly button and mommy’s too which is not always appropriate!

-knows what to do with cell phone, brushes, toothbrush, etc

-MG has become a littler biter L thankfully only with her sister and not friends-Makenzie does provoke quite a bit; also teething has a lot to do with it!

-get very frustrated with each other when the other steals a toy-have begun mini temper tantrums! L

-both have a LOVE for climbing!!

-Have begun working together to accomplish what they want or get to things they shouldn’t be into J

-very attached to paci/lovey for Mak and bunny for MG-the thumb goes in immediately when MG gets her bunny

-at home, will sleep 12-13 hours every night with still 2 naps a day-about 1 ½ hrs in am and 2 hrs in pm
-still picky picky eaters and we waste a lot of food around our house these days. For Mak-my go to options are avocado, colby jack cheese stick, watermelon, macaroni & baby food veggies and sometimes fruit just to get it in you!; MG has gotten a little less picky and will eat chicken nuggets, pasta with red sauce, macaroni, yogurt, almost any fruits and sometimes eats veggies well and if not, we resort to pureed veggies! Both love ice cream cones & popsicles, but then again, who wouldn’t!? J
-love drinking mommy’s water because it’s a big cup with a bigger straw!