Beach Day!

We had such an awesome day today! My Mum is here at the moment, so she is letting Simon and I sleep in a bit in the mornings and she has been getting up with Kason and Cohen when they wake up. Anyways, after breakfast, Mum, Kason, Cohen and I drove out to the airport to pick up my Dad! We got there in time to see him walking off the plane through the glass airbridge, and by the time the boys investigated Santa's big chair (Santa hadn't arrived yet) and got back downstairs, we only had to wait a few minutes before Dad came through the doors. Cohen and Kason just lit up when they saw their Grumps and went straight to him J Both boys fell asleep on the drive home, then kept sleeping for another hour or so!

After lunch, we got ourselves sorted and drove down to Port Willunga to play on the beach and go for a swim. The weather was absolutely stunning (finally we're getting some summer!), and the water was divine. I honestly think that there is very little that is more refreshing than a swim in the ocean.
The best part - Cohen's and Kason's faces when they were in the ocean with the gentle waves crashing into them. They were squealing with delight...this photo of Cohen says it all really!

They are both really enjoying having both Nana and Grumps here to play with, and we're all looking forward to Simon being on holiday from Friday - we have lots planned before my parents head up to Queensland to spend some time with two of my brothers and their families.

xxx

Canvases!

Canvases!, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Not a great photo, but these are my new canvases (or is that 'canvasses'??)! I LOVE them :-D They are right inside our front door.

xxx

Jabs and Photos

Despite Cohen and Kason having their 18-month jab and a top-up jab (the government has introduced a new vaccination, and the boys were eligible for a top-up) today, we had a good one! Both boys were in a great mood, they both had a decent nap, ate lunch well, were A-MAZING getting their needles (as in, Cohen cried for about five seconds after his second needle...Kason didn't cry at all), they behaved at the shops running a couple of errands, and, possibly the best of all...they both ate their entire dinner, without me having to mix it with yoghurt!!!!!!!!!!!! Third night in a row after refusing dinner for the last two months!!! I am STOKED! I made them some new veges yesterday, not a lot though. Three months ago, the amount I made yesterday would have lasted only three days. The last two months, it would last maybe eight days...that's how little they've been eating at night. Anyways, I think I'm going to have to make some more this weekend – never thought that would make me happy!

One of the errands we had to run at the shops was picking up the two canvases I had made up. They turned out SO much better than I had hoped/expected, I'm absolutely stoked with them, and I am uber excited about putting them up! I have two spots in mind, but I need Simon here to help me decide where will be best J I'll share when they are up.

Speaking of photos...way back in July, we had some family photos taken in the city. We had an appointment to collect the ones we chose in early August, but there was no one at the studio when Simon turned up at the agreed time. We come to discover a few weeks later that the owner of the studio died quite suddenly. It has taken a fair while (four months!), but we finally got our photos back on Wednesday!!!!! I was so excited about getting them I cancelled some plans we had made so the boys and I could go into the city with Simon to collect them (this had the added bonus of being able to get into the dance studio and have a couple of dances! Kason and Cohen loved watching us...so cute!). Anyways, the prints were amazing, as I had remembered. I got home and put the disc in the computer only to discover that what we meant to be high-resolution photos were actually low-resolution. We paid for high-resolution. I was pretty much gutted. We had waited patiently (unlike some people we know of that went to the police, the TV stations etc.) for four months only to get a disc with photos at such a low resolution the only size we could reprint them is 6x4cm. After some hunting around online, I think I may have found a remedy. I'm going to have to get them printed to make sure, but I'm desperately hoping to be able to enlarge them quite a bit...we'll see though, I may be hoping a bit much.

xxx

Grumpy!

We had our Mums n Bubs Christmas party yesterday afternoon/early evening. Everyone had an awesome time, and Kason and Cohen just loved hanging out with their friends...and seeing the dogs! Unfortunately, they weren't too interested in eating while we were there and we didn't get home until about 7:15pm. Their bedtime is strictly 7pm. Everything else during the day is usually at a certain time, but with a bit of give and take depending what we have on, but bedtime? Nope, always, always 7pm. Anyways, by the time we got home, gave the boys some dinner, bathed them and got them into bed, it was 8pm. I didn't think that it would be too much of an issue for them...and it wasn't. At least, it wasn't for Cohen! He slept in until 7:30am - SCORE!!! Kason, on the other hand, was awake at 1am. I thought I'd gotten him back to sleep in his cot, so I went back to bed. Five minutes later he started crying out again. I let him cry for a few minutes, but then went in and brought him back to our bed. It still took just over an hour for him to go to sleep. And then he was awake and ready to start the day shortly after 6am. Yeah...today hasn't been super fun! He was ridiculously grumpy all day. And to make matters worse, Cohen decided to start biting again today. He hasn't done that for quite a while, but for some reason today he bit Kason four times L

Thankfully we have playgroup tomorrow morning, and some friends coming over for a playdate tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully that will distract them. And hopefully they both have a great big sleep tonight so everyone is happy tomorrow!

xxx

Christmas is coming!

Cohen and Kason have taken to walking around the house holding hands, and, surprisingly, it's usually Kason taking Cohen's hand. They usually do it when one wants to go to another part of the house - he wants to make sure his brother is coming too!

Both boys have had an awesome week, they have been in such a good mood (despite still waking up early), and we've had so much fun. And, to make it even better, it's Simon's weekend off work, so we've got a fun-filled weekend planned too J Can't wait!!! We might even put up the Christmas tree...not sure if I'm game enough, but I can always put the playpen around it. That might cause a few issues during the week come bedtime, but it'd only be for two weeks and I'm sure I can deal with that! I think Kason and Cohen will love it, especially the lights...which happens to be Simon's favourite thing about Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, I started wrapping gifts last night! I only have a couple of gifts left to sort out, but all the big ones are done and taking up (far too much!) space in our walk-in-wardrobe and spare room. Simon and I have decided not to give each other presents this year - our present was our new car.
My Mum arrives in two weeks, and my Dad a few days after that, and I have so much planned for while they're here...not sure we're going to get through it all! We're not sure yet how long they are even going to be here for. They are heading up to Queensland at some point, but we're not sure when yet. We'll definitely be making the most of their stay though J Again, can't wait!

xxx

The Boys’ Room

So I'm finally getting around to sharing some pictures of Kason and Cohen's bedroom!

Here's the view from the doorway - Cohen's cot:

Then, this is the view of Kason's cot from Cohen's:

You can kinda see one of their sets of drawers (the only part that doesn't match!):

The wall stickers and the hanging lanterns (the colour hasn't come out too well, but they're the same colour scheme):

 And, lastly, their bedding:

I absolutely love their room now! If I could find the same fabric as their name canvases and rail covers, I'd want to mod podge it onto their drawers...but Simon won't let me, so I guess it's good I can find it. I wouldn't mind finding a rug that matches and putting that in the middle, too.  So, maybe it's still a work in progress, but I'm loving how it is at the moment!

xxx

Eighteen Months!

Dear Kason and Cohen,

Cohen & Kason

You are 18 months old!!! You are such little boys now, not babies anymore. And boy, are you two little characters!

Kason

Kason, you especially, are a clown! You just love to make people smile and laugh and you have such fun goofing about J Cohen, you are a sweetheart (most of the time!). You love giving kisses and cuddles and blowing kisses. And you both absolutely love to climb!!!! A few days ago, you both figured out how to scale the couch so you could stand on the window-sill. There really is no stopping either of you...and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Cohen

You are both saying a few words now. Cohen, you have about eight, Kason you have about 12, but you both understand pretty much everything. We ask you to sit down before your milk and your snacks, and straight away you walk over to your little couch and sit down and wait patiently. Whoever is sitting down first will pat the space beside him, asking your brother to sit down, too - it's so sweet!
Kason, you have recently discovered that you can take my hand and lead me around - you find it particularly useful when you want a snack (you take me to the cupboard), or some water (you lead me to the fridge). Cohen, you have figured out how to make the noise when you kiss, and you are constantly blowing kisses. You both blow each other several kisses on your way to bed.

Kason, you have the cutest way of saying 'dog'. You can say it properly, but instead you call dogs (and anything remotely resembling a dog) a "goggie". I really have to get it on video, it's just gorgeous! Cohen, dogs are your absolute favourite. This weekend just gone, we were skyping Nana and Grumps. Their connection dropped out, and when they called us back, you stopped what you were doing, spun around with a big surprised look on your face and yelled, "DOGGIE!!"  - they show you Fonzie each time we talk to them.

You have both started to imitate us a bit more the last week or so, especially when it comes to animal noises. You can do a lion, an elephant, a dog, a fish, and (although not an animal) a fire truck! You also both like to point to pictures of the animals to get Mummy to make the sounds and actions!

Speaking of actions, you are starting to learn the actions to some of your favourite songs - Twinkle, Twinkle and Open, Shut Them are ones you 'ask' for several times a day.

Your eating this month has been...great! If we ignore dinner! You both eat breakfast and lunch and snacks really well, but come dinnertime, neither of you are interested. You are eating less than a quarter of what you were happily eating up until 4-6 weeks ago. And even then, I have to mix it in with yoghurt or your fruit to get you to eat it L I'm really hoping that improves soon.

You both just astound me with how smart you are, and just how much and how quickly you learn. You really do love each so much, and that brings me so much joy. I love it when you kiss each other, or pat each other gently on the head. If one of you is upset, the other will usually come over and just sit nearby.

Kason and Cohen, you bring your Daddy and I so much joy. We are so proud of you both and we arejust loving watching you grow and learn and change every day. Thank you for being such amazing little boys. We love you so, so much.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Busy, Busy!

This has to be a record...it's 2:10pm, and both Kason and Cohen are still asleep. They went down about 11:30am!!!! Mind you, they have had a fairly busy morning, but we often do. They were up, once again, at the crack of dawn, so Simon and I took them for a walk after they had their morning bottle, then it was time for brekky, then we got ready and drove to the new pools about 20mins away. They had a blast...well, until Kason wasn't allowed to play with the camera anymore because he and Cohen were fighting over it! No, they really did have fun, and we were in the water for about an hour before they started to get cold. Dropped Simon off at the bus stop and the boys fell asleep on the way home.

Since they've been asleep, I've hung out two loads of washing, made the boys' lunch, made their veges for the week, made their fruit desserts for the week, made a weetbix loaf, tidied the house a bit and found some card and made a couple of templates. This is what I call, Productive.

Last night, well, the last three or four nights really, were what I call, Unproductive. After seeing it on Pinterest, I attempted to put a couple of photos on a canvas. It was an epic fail. In fact, each of the three, oh yes, I was stupid enough to try twice more after the first attempt, attempts was a disaster! And the amount of time I spent on them...well, let's just say I was NOT happy last night. In. The. Slightest. Anyways, I ended up just ordering some online.

Oh, 2:20pm, and I hear a child stirring!!! Make that two children stirring. Almost three hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight's projects: Tutus! My next lot of tulle arrived this morning, and I've got to get a few more made so I can get them in the post so they reach their new owners in time for Christmas – can't wait to get them made and see how cute they turn out J

I've taken the pictures of Cohen and Kason's room, just have to upload them, and then I'll share them...later tonight maybe?

Anyways, I better go and figure out what I'm going to have for lunch...

xxx

Rashes and Kisses

Little Kason woke up yesterday morning with a big splotchy rash all over his tummy, upper thighs and under his arms. It didn't seem to be bothering him at all, but seeing as he had had a high temperature on and off the few days beforehand, we called the doctors and managed to get him an emergency spot. Apparently it's just a viral thing and we just have to wait it out. Thankfully the doctor warned us that it would likely get worse before it got better, because it definitely has gotten worse! It's all over his body today, including his face L He still doesn't seem worried at all about it, so it's not itchy or anything which is good. Hopefully it goes away quickly!

On another note, I've started my daily walks again. Only since Wednesday, but so far so good. It really makes me feel better, and it's nice to get out of the house. Unfortunately the boys don't particularly like being in their stroller for an hour, but I'm living in hope that they'll get used to it again and start to look forward to our walks.

Oh! Yesterday the boys were so super cute! I made them pikelets for lunch, and Cohen came into the kitchen to get his next one. Kason was sitting in the lounge, so I gave Cohen one for each of them and asked him to give one to Kason. Cohen walked over to where Kason was sitting, handed him his pikelet, sat down next to him then leaned over and gave Kase three kisses, it was so, so sweet! I love that they love each other so much! Although, Cohen did give Kason an almighty bite on the arm the other day (so much so that it's bruised)...but Cohen did also kiss him straight after to say sorry (I did have to tell him to that time!}.

xxx

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

I feel like I have so much going on right now. Every evening after the boys are in bed, I have a list a mile-long to get done. It's satisfying when I can check something off (metaphorically, obviously, I have no motivation whatsoever to actually write a list!), but it's exhausting. My Mum arrives in 3.5 weeks and my Dad a few days later, and there is SO much I need to get done by then - not the least of which is clearing out our garage and toy/spare room! We have a double garage and half of it is all clean and clear...for the car! The other half is filled with our neighbour's boxes (they were planning on moving, but that's not happening anymore) and a whole lot of our crap. Seriously, it's shocking. Hopefully the neighbours will get around to taking their boxes in the next week or two...they have some pretty major stuff going on and I really don't want to push them.

Anyways, I guess that's the reason for the lack of posts lately - my nights have been jam-packed, crazy busy. Obviously my days have been too, Kase & Cohen have endless amounts of energy and, mate, it's a struggle to keep up with them! Cohen flat-out refused to nap today, not that you'd know it - he was a box of birds all afternoon and evening, no melt-downs from him! Kason, on the other hand, was just not feeling too flash today I don't think. He had a slight temperature for some reason, and he was just a little grizzly. He had a big nap though, which was nice.

I'm watching the X-Factor grand final at the moment, while writing this. I finished one of Cohen's Christmas present earlier tonight, and once this song they are playing at the moment, I'm going to do the housework before the big announcement of who the winner is! They've just announced that it's either Reece or Andrew, and I'll be happy with either J

xxx

This is me procrastinating

The boys were up early again this morning. Not quite as early as they were getting up last week, but still, it's freaken exhausting. I am super looking forward to my Mum arriving in a month's time, that's for sure! She likes getting up with them - crazy lady! Anyways, we decided to take them for a walk in the stroller - they loved seeing the rubbish truck picking up the bins and dumping them in the truck!

After brekky, we took them to toddler time at the library. We didn't go last week, and for some weird reason Cohen was really hesitant and shy this week. He was clinging on to either me or Simon the entire time. Maybe it was because there were quite a few kids there, and we were sitting in a different place? I'm not sure, but it wasn't like him. He sometimes takes a little while to 'warm up' to a new situation, but usually only 5-10 minutes at the most. Kason had a blast though, and Cohen did too, afterwards, when he was running around looking at all the books. I think I have a little bookworm on my hands - YAY, I really hope they both love books!!!

I can see myself being online and procrastinating all night...really have to go. I'm running Neonates playgroup tomorrow morning with another girl, and her little boy's 1^st birthday was last week, so as a tradition, we have cake - and I'm on baking duty! I didn't get a chance to bake them (I'm making banana cupcakes) today, so I need to do them now.

xxx

Update!

So, I know I've been slacking on the posts lately, yet again. We've been having some crazy early starts around here, mainly courtesy of a young Master Kason. For almost a week he was waking anytime between 4:15am and 5:20am right ready to start the day, and no matter what we tried, there was to be no getting him back to sleep. He finally slept until 6:40am yesterday morning, but Cohen was up almost an hour earlier. This morning we had both boys up at 6:15am. Needless to say, I've been shattered. And Kason has been uber grumpy. Not too sure what's been going on with him, "wonder week" maybe? He seems to getting back to his usual self over the last two days.

We attempted taking Cohen and Kason to Jump 'n' Jive on Thursday morning...that was an epic fail - Kason barely stopped crying the entire time and I had to take him outside to chill him out a little bit. Cohen seemed to enjoy it, but Simon and I think they are just a little bit too young for it at the moment. I think we're gonna stick with Toddler Time at the library for now J

Despite the recent lack of sleep, I've managed to start and finish three craft projects, and they have all turned out awesome! I'll take a picture of the cot rail covers tomorrow if I remember, I'm stoked with them!

Speaking of pictures...I finished my Project 365 yesterday!!! I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it! I've decided that I'm going to take a little break, and start project 366 on New Years' Day (it's a leap year next year, remember?!). I'll still take pictures most {every??} day, and share lots of them...I mean, with boys as gorgeous as mine, who couldn't?!

Ha, I had great plans to be in bed by 10pm tonight. It's that now, and I still have to finish this off, do the dishes, hang up some washing and switch the car-seats around so we can pick up our friends for Playgroup tomorrow. Better get to it, I guess!

p.s. How awesome are meringues?! I love summer/Christmas food!!

Run!

Day 365, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen and Kason running through the sprinkler - it's a bit fun, apparently!

xxx

Nails...Fail!

Day 364, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Saw this idea on Pinterest, looked uber cute, attempted it, looks uber lame!!!

xxx

Sulking

Day 363, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason was Grumpy. Yup, capital G. The ONLY place he wanted to be was sitting right here. Cohen was not allowed near him.

xxx

Bottoms Up!

Day 362, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen decided one bottle of milk wasn't enough, so he pinched Kason's!

xxx

Kason

Day 361, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Just chilling at the playground

xxx

Out and About

Amber wrote a really good post over at How Do You Do It? about the differences in raising boys and girls. She brought up the subject of climbing. Kason and Cohen are most definitely climbers. They climb on everything they possibly can – into cupboards, onto chairs, coffee tables, up drawers, onto the windowsills. There is just no stopping them, so we do our best to make it safe for them and just keep an eye on them while they explore. Their favourite game at the moment is climbing up the end of the 3-seater couch, face-planting their way along it, rolling off onto strategically placed (by themselves) cushions and repeating. Over and over and over again! They have even figured out how to take turns doing it.

This afternoon, I took the boys to a big wooden adventure playground not far from us. Simon has come with us all the other times we've been. There is a decent sized area for under-5s, and a HUGE area for the bigger kids. For the first 10-minutes or so, both Cohen and Kason were happy to stay in the little kids' area. But then Kase remembered he was missing out on the huge structures he could climb on in the other area. There isn't a gate between the two, so he was off like a shot! Of course Cohen was close behind him. I figured it would be easier to just let them go for it, it wasn't worth the fight to keep in the under-5s area. I pretty much used the same strategy as when I flew alone with them – I kept one within reach, and watched the other. All well and good until Kason wanted to climb up to the top of the playground on one side and Cohen wanted to climb something on the other side. Yeah...wasn't going to happen. It made me feel so bad that I had to stop Kason climbing what he wanted to, purely because there were two of them and one of me.

I really do try my best to not let that imbalance of parent:child stop us doing things that other Mums do with their children. I think that with two babies it can be hard to get out and get involved with things, as the logistics are often more difficult than if there was only one baby. When I have to 'duck to the shops' to grab a couple of things, where most mothers can just carry their child in, I have to get the double stroller out and put the boys in there. They are now getting to the age where they don't particularly want to be in the stroller – they would much rather walk, but I just can't let two 17-month olds walk in the shops when there is just one of me! There are plenty of examples of situations where the logistics just don't work, or are made more complicated, but there are still many things we can do.
Right from the time we got them home from hospital when they were just shy of a month old, I have been taking them out for walks, to Mothers Group, to twins group, to several playgroups, to the library, to the shops. I often worry about how things will work when we go somewhere new, but I figure it will all work out, and if it doesn't, we can leave. We haven't had to leave something yet. Although, one thing which I absolutely will not attempt without a second adult is taking Cohen and Kason to the beach or pools. There is just no chance. I've had to remind some of the girls in my Mothers Group a couple of times, but they know now, and on the super hot days when we want to catch up, we go to someone's house and get the paddling pool out J

It can be so tempting to stay at home when you have small twins, but I find that getting out and doing things in those early days really does give you more confidence to try other things when they get a bit older. And if you are really uncertain about something, I'm all for scoping it out beforehand with someone there to help!

xxx

Cohen

Day 360, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

My gorgeous Cohen Asher

xxx

Our Weekend and More!

We had great plans to go the beach on Saturday as the temperature was supposed to get up to 35C. We figured we'd be smart and wait until later in the afternoon so it wouldn't be so scorching hot, and there would maybe be less people there. We went and tested out a new playground first thing in the morning (success!), came home for a nap and lunch, then chilled out at home, played in the sprinkler a little, then got packed up and headed to the beach about 3"30pm. When we got there, 5 minutes down the road, the sun had vanished behind the clouds that had suddenly appeared. It was still really warm...but the water wasn't! We went and had a little paddle, but Kason and Cohen wanted more! Lucky for them we took their inflatable tug boats we got them last summer, so we put them in there and they had a blast.

On Sunday, we managed a shopping trip! I had kinda been putting it off because the store we went to was 40 minutes away, and Cohen and Kason don't do too well at sitting in the stroller for any extended period of time. But, they did really well. We did let them walk part of the time, but we are still working on getting them to hold our hands when we are out and about.
We went with the intention of getting Simon some new jeans. He often struggles to find pants that fit him because he's so skinny (he hates that he can't put on weight - oh the downside (?!) of being a dance teacher!}. The first pair he tried on fitted him, and looked great! We got a few other things, including a couple of wire cheese slicers! Sounds lame, I know, but we broke our other one and we have not been able to find another one anywhere! We were starting to think they didn't sell them in Australia!

This morning, both Cohen and Kason seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the cot...both boys were uber grumpy, so after brekky we took them back to the playground we checked out on Saturday morning, and we ran into one of their little friends who was there with his Grandma J Kase & Cohen loved it there - we'll definitely be going back there often this summer I think. They were much happier after their naps, and even ate all of their lunch which is almost unheard of! Dinner, on the other hand, was a completely different story, but we won't go into that.

Different topic.
Before Kason and Cohen were born, I made name canvasses for above their cots. They look great, and I still love them. Anyways, when they started teething (and being able to stand up), they also started biting on their cot rails. I made some cot rail covers, which worked a treat...until they figured they could untie them, which they have only done a few times. Anyways, when I made the covers, I just used some fabric I had in my stash, and it totally clashed with their name canvasses and it has been driving me crazy for months! I wouldn't have been too worried, but (mainly unintentionally) pretty much everything else in their room is in the same colour scheme. So, while searching for something else, I came across the fabric I had left over from their canvasses, and there was enough to make new and improved cot rail covers. Last night I finished the first one (of four), and it looks awesome! I'll take a picture of them when all four are done. Which may take some time...my machine has decided to play up something chronic so I need to take it in for a service.

Different topic #2.
I got a phone call from my bestie last night informing me that she got engaged yesterday!!!!! I am beyond stoked for her and her new fiance, they are the perfect couple and it's been a long time coming. When she told me, I screamed! Simon guessed straight away what was going on. And, she asked me to be her bridesmaid J so super duper excited for them both!!!

I think that's about it for tonight!

xxx

Necklaces

Day 359, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cheesy Master Cohen kept posing tonight when I had the camera out!

His two necklaces are really obvious in this photo - the beaded one is amber, for teething. I swear by it! So far, neither of the boys have had any major issues with teething, including with their molars!
The other one is hazelwood and is for his eczema. It's flared up again, thinking it's heat-related. I only put this one on when it starts to appear, and it definitely eases it :-)

xxx

New Tees

Day 358, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

We love Dr. Seuss in our house, so when I found this uber cute patch at Spotlight the other day, I just HAD to get it (and one for Cohen). Luckily I had two brand-new plain white tees waiting for some applique, so I ironed these guys on, and voila, we have two Dr Seuss tees for under $15 each!

xxx

At the Beach

Day 357, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen having fun digging in the sand

xxx

Woohoo!!!

Day 356, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Simon finished Cohen and Kason's new sprinkler this afternoon!

xxx

Fun with...trays?!

We've had a great couple of days! Yesterday morning, we didn't have spots for Cohen and Kason at Occasional Care, so I planned to take them to Twins Playgroup. That, however, got cancelled as everyone else had sick kids L We all headed out though as we had a few jobs to get done. On the way home, we went to the pet shop so Kase & Cohen could see the puppies, rabbits, guinea pigs and birds. I swear that it's their favourite place! After nap-time and lunch, we headed outside to play! The boys have taken to tipping their water bottles out inside and then splashing the water, so I gave them some trays and filled them with water. They had a BALL! But, they kept tipping the water out, so I pulled out their little frog pool and they took their trays in there. Apparently, pouring water from one tray to another, sitting in trays, submerging trays, and pretty much anything else you can do with trays in a paddling pool is the. best. thing. ever. They were both fairly unimpressed when I decided it was time to come inside.

I saw this water-wall on Pinterest the other day – I'm thinking I need to get Simon to make it! He has almost finished this already – it will be done by tomorrow afternoon I hope J

Today was a good one too. Simon and I took Cohen and Kason to Toddler Time at the library again, they really seem to enjoy it, but next week we are booked in to try Jump 'n' Jive – burning more energy can't be a bad thing! I was SUPER impressed with the lady who runs the Toddler Time, though. Last week was the first time we'd been, and it's only 30 minutes long. We got there today and she said, "oh great! Double Trouble are here again! Now, let me look at their faces. Alrighty, I think you [indicating to me] have Kason, and you [Simon] have Cohen." She was right!!! And the way she said it, she really didn't doubt herself, it wasn't a random guess! Honestly, she is the second person who has been able to do that – the first was Kason and Cohen's Grandma.

After nap-time, our Child & Youth Health nurse came for her monthly visit, and she is really impressed with them – their language and fine motor skills in particular. I had been thinking that they weren't saying as many words as they 'should' be, but they are saying more than I thought, and some really clearly. She was surprised that they will often say, 'a dog', or 'a ball'.
We just chilled at home mostly, after a quick trip out to grab a few things. I made some cot rail covers for their cots a while back because they started chewing on the rails. I just used some cute fabric I had lying around, but it's been annoying me that they totally clashed with the colour theme in their room! Anyways, while looking for something else the other day, I came across the fabric I used for the canvas names I made for them before they were born, and I have enough to make replacement rail covers!!! I'm making a few amendments to them though – doing them up with buttons instead of ties (they can undo ties, but not buttons!), and making them a little longer. That's my plan for tonight J

Dinner has been a bit of a fight lately, neither of them have been particularly interested in dinner. Even my (formerly) fail-proof trick of mixing their meat and veges with yoghurt (gross, I know, but they like it?!) hasn't been working. They wouldn't even eat their fruit tonight. They eat plenty of snacks during the day, and I'm sure if they were hungry they would eat. I'm pretty certain it's just their teeth bothering them a bit because they aren't letting me brush their teeth either.

Better get onto my cutting and sewing!

xxx

Goofy Kason

Day 355, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason brought my my jumper and wanted to put it on...it fits him like a dressing gown without arms! He loved it - goofy boy!

xxx

Frog Fun!

Day 354, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason and Cohen having fun in their frog pool with some trays!

xxx

Bullet Points

Saturday

• Simon was working
  
• Kason and Cohen were ridiculously grumpy
  
• I took the boys for a walk in their trolley to meet Simon off the bus
  
• Got back home and Si gave Kason and Cohen their dinner while I made up a gift card
  
• Straightened my hair while Simon gave the boys their bath
  
• Friends came over to babysit
  
• Kason refused to go to sleep for 30 minutes
  
• Got pizza
  
• Finished getting ready
  
• Simon and I went out to an engagement party
  
• Had an AWESOME time with some awesome people
  
• Got home about 11:30pm
  
• Cohen and Kason had been perfect and not woken once.
  
• 11:40pm Cohen wakes up
  
• Cohen refuses to go back to sleep
  
• I take him to our bed and cuddle him there
  
• Babysitters leave
  
• Cohen still awake
  

Sunday

• Cohen sleeps for 20-minute blocks. No idea what's going on...not teeth, Nurofen didn't help at all.
  
• Kason wakes at 6:06am
  
• Cohen decides to start his day then, too
  
• Quiet morning at home
  
• We all nap at nap-time
  
• Go out in the afternoon to grab a few things for a project
  
• Attempt a walk on the beach – unsuccessful, both boys just want to run to the water, too cold to swim
  
• Fairly usual evening
  
• Simon and I make two weeks' worth of dinners for Cohen and Kason
  
• Get to bed close to midnight
  

Monday

• At home
  
• Played outside with chalk – boys LOVED it, Cohen especially
  
• One of my friends came over for the evening
  
• Ordered pizza at 7:10pm
  
• Apparently a 60-minute wait
  
• Pizza arrives at 8:45pm
  
• It was cold
  
• Friend leaves
  
• I tidy, do dishes, fold laundry, rearrange carseats for Tuesday
  
• Get to bed about midnight
  

Tuesday

• We pick up my friend and her two little girls
  
• Go to playgroup
  
• Drop friends off
  
• Home for boys' naps
  
• They only sleep for 40 minutes
  
• I make them pikelets for lunch
  
• We play outside
  
• Skype Nana & Grumps
  
• Walk to shops
  
• Standard evening
  
• Write blog
  
• Now, I have to go and clean the house!!!
  

xxx

Smiles :-)

Day 353, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Oh how I LOVE this boy's smile <3

xxx

Fun in the Sun with Chalk

Day 352, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

As the title says!

xxx

Beach

Day 351, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Attempted a stroll along the beach...

xxx

Reading

Day 350, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason reading himself a book before bed!

xxx

Hi!

Day 349, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

HI COHEN!!!!!!!

xxx

Untitled!

We've had a great day today, even though Cohen decided to wake up at 5:45am. We've been meaning to take Kason and Cohen to Baby-time at the library since they were born. They are a bit old for that now, so we took them to Toddler Time! They loved it J Hopefully we'll be back next week, and maybe they won't be the only kids running around all over the show! They didn't want to sit and 'sing' the songs and do the actions, but they did want to pull the books off the shelves, pull the word sheets off the board, hang out in the middle of the circle and play with all the name cards! They were entertaining though, and everyone there (obviously!) had toddlers and didn't seem to mind.

We dropped Simon at the bus-stop on our way home, and then drove around the block so both boys would fall asleep. They both slept for almost 2-hours, so I got a nap too – score!

After lunch, I decided that I didn't want to stay at home this arvo, so we got back in the car (yes, this is possibly all just so I can drive my new car!) and went to scope out a playground I'd heard about. It's all fenced-in, and just by the beach, so perfect for me to take the boys to by myself. It was a decent park – not a lot there, but enough to keep Cohen and Kason occupied for over an hour, and seeing as it was all fenced and nothing they could hurt themselves on, I didn't have to have eyes on the back of my head like I usually do which was nice. A few other Mums came and went with their kids, so we had company for most of the time too.

I'm planning on having an early night tonight! I really feel like a chocolate mug cake, but I'm fairly certain I need baking powder...which I ran out of the other day.

xxx

Gorgeous!

Day 348, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

My gorgeous Cohen

xxx

17 Months!

 

Dear Kason and Cohen,

Kason & Cohen

You are 17 months old today...say WHAT?!?! I have NO idea how that happened!
You are both SO awesome, and we are having so much fun...most of the time.

Cohen, you have been a bit of a monkey during the nights recently. You have been waking up, usually around 2am, and you have been flat-out refusing to go back to sleep in your cot. I will sit cradling you in your room (you stand up and scream if I just sit next to you in your cot) and get you to sleep that way, but the moment I go to put you back down, you wake up and start screaming again, no matter how sound asleep you may be. Kason, you are sleeping through, and you both sleep until about 6-6:30am. Would be awesome if you slept in until a bit closer to 7am, but hey!





Cohen

Cohen, your favourite person right now is your brother. Several times throughout the day, you will go over to Kason and give him a big hug and pat him on the back. Just the other day, Kason woke up from his nap after you did, and he woke up really upset. He didn't want cuddles, and he just walked away from where you and I were having a cuddle, and stood in the middle of the floor, crying with his back to us. You got up, walked over to him and stood in front of him. You poked at his tummy, trying to make him laugh. When that didn't work, you hugged him J

Kason

Kason, you aren't quite so cuddly, but you usually tolerate Cohen's hugs. A few times lately though, you will hug him back, it is SO sweet, and I love to see that. You both love to hug and snuggle your soft toys though, your toy dogs from Grandpa, especially!

Both of you are running all over the show, in particular, you love to run away from me after your bath when you're nakey and I'm wanting to put your PJs on!

You are both starting to say a few words. You have Mum, Dad, dog, doggie (this covers any animal that vaguely resembles a dog! And Kason, you often call them dogu), up, toast, outside, ball, bird and hiya.

Kason, you are a daredevil! You discovered how to clamber over Rocky The Rocking Horse, up onto the boxes I had stashed there, presumably out of your reach, and onto the couch. We put Rocky in the toy/play room (still in progress!), and rearranged the space beside the couch, but you have just discovered new ways to get up on the couch! You will stand up, and then just fall forward (along the couch). You do it three times, until you reach the end of the couch, then you will throw the cushions off, and roll off the couch onto them!

Cohen, you LOVE to help out! At the moment, you are really enjoying picking up dirty clothes (or any piece of clothing or linen), and taking it to the laundry. If I don't follow you to open the laundry door, you will stand in front of the door and knock on it until I come and open it for you. Kason has just started copying you, but he only takes his dirty clothes on the way to the bath in the evenings. It really is great that you both find so much happiness in helping your Mama out J

Your Daddy and I have taken you guys to the beach a few times already this season. You both LOVED it!!! Kason, you are a bit weary of the sensation of the sand under your feet to start off with, but you soon suss it out. Cohen, you just head straight for the water! We are looking forward to the weather continuing to warm up so we can get in further than paddling – your little inflatable tug-boats are all ready to go!

Can't wait to see what's in store for us this coming month!
I love you both so, so much!
Mama
xoxoxoxoxoxo

New Ride!

Day 347, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Our new (to us) car :-)

xxx

Fun!

Day 346, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason having some fun in the sun on the slide!

xxx

Just Watching

Day 345, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen is watching our lawnmower man at work. As soon as he heard the mower starting up, he ran to the front door to watch...then as Shane came around the back, Cohen did too :-)

xxx

Beach Play

Day 344, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen and Kason actually playing TOGETHER (!!!) at the beach...they're trying to make sandcastles. They put a few handfuls or spadefuls of sand in the bucket and flip it upside down! It would work if they put more sand in, but they've got the idea :-)

xxx

Game Time!

Watching THE big game – New Zealand vs France in the Rugby World Cup! 5-0 to the Mighty ABs at half-time...close game! Our old apartment in Auckland was within walking distance of Eden Park, would be CRAZY there tonight!

xxx

Tough!

Day 343, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

This is Cohen pulling his 'tough boy' face!

xxx

Cheeky Much?!

Day 342, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

My cheeky Kason Boy!

xxx

More Cuddles

Day 341, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason and Cohen having more cuddles

xxx

Wheee!

Day 340, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason testing out his new beanbag I made, while wearing his new jamys from his Grandma :-)

xxx

Cutie Cohen

Day 339, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

My curious lil man

xxx

Project Done!

I am so stoked that I have finally completely finished the project I've been working on for the last couple of weeks! As in, they are all up on the wall. I did them with the idea that I'd put them up in our bedroom, but when they were done, we decided that they would be better on the wall along the hallway, and they look great and I can add to them!

All 20 frames started off like on the right...

And after a lot of paint, sanding and candle wax, this is how they turned out:

I already have a couple of new pictures that I want to add up there, the two Lovely Lashes photos, so I'm gonna have to go and get another set of frames!

xxx

Cuddles

Day 338, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason and Cohen have been cuddling each other lots today - so sweet!

xxx

Bubbles!

Day 337, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Cohen and Kason have another new word: bubbles! So guess what we were doing this afternoon?!

xxx

Lovely Lashes v. 2.0

Day 336, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Beautiful Cohen's turn

xxx

Lovely Lashes

Day 335, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

My beautiful Kason with beautiful lashes

xxx

Funky

Day 334, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason's funky hairstyle after his bath!

xxx

Mixing Things Up

(Thursday 13^th October)

Cohen decided to mix things up today and decided to start his day just before 2:30am. It was awesome. Tried to get him back to sleep in our bed... for my efforts, I got smacked in the face, poked in the eye, tiny fingers up my nose, constant chatter and singing in my ears. An hour later I deposited him back in his own bed to see if that would work. No cigar = Simon's turn! Still didn't work, so at 4am, I strapped Cohen into his carseat, and he and I took off for a spin around the neighbourhood. That turned into a 1-hour drive, which only worked when we were halfway back home, and even then it was only temporary – he woke when I pulled into the garage and was WIDE AWAKE! It was after 5am at this point, so I figured that I would just entertain him as quietly as I could until 6am, when I could get Simon to take over! In some small miracle, Cohen ACTUALLY fell asleep properly, probably about 5:40am – there was no way I was moving so I could look at the clock, there was no way I was moving for anything! Luckily Si woke at 6am anyways, and he came out to see where we were and he took Cohen out of my arms and managed to actually transfer the small monkey to his cot successfully! I went back to bed and CRASHED until 9am! SCORE – sleep-in!!!!!

I thought I'd be all set for Cohen to have a great nap today...not so much. He and Kason both fell asleep in the car on the way home from running some errands, which was perfect, we'd left at naptime, so that was what they should have done. Kason had a decent nap, woke after an hour. Cohen? He woke up about 15 minutes after we got home.
We had Twins Group today, so seeing as they were both awake, we went, and I left them in the crèche for the first time – I desperately needed a break, I was SO exhausted! Thankfully, Cohen fell asleep in the car on the way home again. The ratbag lulled me into a false sense of security again though...I was convinced that surely he MUST be having a good nap, but no freaken way. 20 minutes after he fell asleep, he was awake again. Awake and clingy and whiny. Then at bedtime, I again stupidly, as it turns out, thought that he would go to sleep really easily. It took him almost an hour to fall asleep.

Right now, all I can say is, thank God it's Friday tomorrow and that Simon will be home for most of the day!!

And with that, I'm out. Going to have some ice-cream and then go to bed!!! Here's hoping for an uninterrupted sleep tonight!

xxx

Beautiful Weather, Beautiful Day

Day 333, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason with the wagon at the park - he let go off the handle and is saying, "uh oh!"

xxx

Awesome Day!

(Wednesday 12^th October)

We had such an awesome day today! We started off with Cohen waking up at 6:30am (score!) and Kason waking up at 6:50am (double score!). It's so great when they have a good sleep – it puts everyone in great mood to start the day. We usually have lots of tears in the 10-15 minutes before breakfast, but this morning Cohen and Kason were much too busy playing to actually realise it was breakfast time! Not too long after brekkie, we headed off to Twins Playgroup. It was good, the boys had a blast playing with different toys, reading different books and interacting with different kids (sidebar: there were THREE sets of identical twin boys there!). On the way home, they both fell asleep, transferred to their cots perfectly, and slept for TWO hours! Seriously people, this is awesome – usually I'm really lucky to get 1½ hours from them, it's usually more like 1 hour.

Both Cohen and Kason ate great at lunch, and after playing outside for a while, tipping water from their water bottles all over themselves, playing in the dirt/mud, I got them changed and we headed to the park for a play-date. I was really happy because with these Mums, we usually go to a really small park which I don't particularly like. It's a 30-minute walk for us, whereas it's more like 5-minutes for the others, and there are often broken bottles there and a creek. We haven't been for quite a while seeing as we were away, and before we left, Kason wasn't walking too well yet, and especially on grass – he'd prefer to crawl. Now they are both walking so confidently, I really wasn't keen on having them so close to a creek – the others only have to keep an eye on one toddler! Anyways, I managed to convince them to try out a different park – one closer for us and that has a MUCH bigger park area. The playground area is bigger and better, too. It's the park that Simon and I often take them to in the weekends. The others liked it better than the usual one, so that's good! Hopefully it can be our 'usual' park now...there were several Mums who couldn't make it this afternoon.

We got home right on dinnertime, and then it was playtime, bath, milk, playtime and bed. Over the duration of the whole day, I could probably count the number of times we had tears on one hand! Seriously! Great Day! Here's hoping for another one tomorrow!

xxx

Lil Helper

For the last week or so, Cohen has been carrying his dirty clothes to the laundry and putting them in the washing basket for me before his bath – usually without me asking him to! He is so proud of himself when he does it to – he hugs the clothes close so he doesn't drop anything, toddles to the laundry, waits for me to open the door, then he goes over to the basket, places the clothes c-a-re-f-u-l-l-y in the basket then looks up at me with a big proud grin on his gorgeous little face. He then continues on to the bathroom and waits for Kason, who, every night, without fail, walks down the hallway, gets to the bathroom doorway, turns around and runs away giggling with his arms stretched out in front of him and his head thrown back! He loves being chased and carried back to the bath!

We had another early start this morning – Cohen woke at 3:20am, he went back to sleep in our bed with us, but then woke again at 4:45am, right ready to start his day. We managed to keep him in bed for another hour or so, and we had a few spates where we *thought* he might have gone back to sleep...but no cigar unfortunately! They both had good naps thankfully, and I managed to actually get the bathrooms cleaned!! Kason has just today discovered that he can say the word 'outside', so needless to say, they spent a bit of time outdoors! It does sound a bit more like 'ussa', but when he's standing at the ranchslider, pointing outside and saying 'ussa', it's pretty easy to know what he's after! It really is great that they are both starting to figure out how to get across what they want/need. It certainly makes life a bit easier. Although, when they get a 'no', Kason especially will start squealing. I guess he thinks that because I know what it is that he wants, he should be able to get his way, he doesn't understand that he and Cohen can't go outside to play when it's cold and raining!

xxx

Story-Teller

Day 332, a photo by Road2Chaos2 on Flickr.

Kason telling Cohen a fairly animated story!

xxx