My hellcats are almost two.


Most moms I know say that their kids' baby and toddler years passed in a blur, that they can barely remember the diaper blowout stage, the throwing food stage, or the biting stage.


I agree wholeheartedly, but my momnesia goes one step further. I literally cannot remember things that my kids have done or said yesterday. It is bad. Very bad. Which is why making time to write these monthly updates on my kids is a good thing, even when I have a Drafts folder full of more interesting topics I'm dying to write about. These posts help me remember.

We're all in the throes of adjusting to the new fall schedule. Most weekday mornings, I pack up the kids and head to the gym. Luci and Nicholas are still loving the daycare there (thank you, Jesus) and cannot wait to run through the doors and play. My work schedule is insane these days, and I may have to convert a couple of my workout days into partial work days - do a quick workout, and then whip out the laptop and take advantage of the quiet and free Wi-Fi in my gym's lounge.

Then, it's home for lunch, and back in the car again to take Isabella to preschool. They come home for naps, which Monday-Thursday I usually have to cut short for Nicholas (but never for Luci), because Isabella has to be picked up at 3:30. I am still very, very thankful that these two sleep well at night-usually for 13 hours, from 7pm-8am.

Busted.

Luci is chattering away these days, with "I got it!" and "Dude! Time Out!" as her favorite phrases. Yes, she enjoys monitoring her brother's behavior and enforcing punishment, when necessary. Her hair is a hot mess, and yet she will not keep barrettes or hairbands in it for very long.

Her Daddyitis (a beautiful thing, I might add) continues, and when her daddy is around, he's all she wants. Fortunately, she's a fickle beast, and when he's out of sight, she doesn't pine for him.

Her eating habits are deplorable, which I remember Isabella going through at this age. If it's not one of her stand-bys (homemade chicken soup, courtesy of my great aunt or my grandma), eggs, yogurt, or bread, she often refuses to eat. I'm still making zucchini muffins, so at least she eats those.

Dolls are her favorite playthings, as well as whatever her brother happens to be holding at any given time. She also loves to color with crayons, and keep a continuous dialogue going anytime she's in the car: "MommyLookMommyCar!Bird!MommyBook!Mommy!Shoes!Mommy?MOMMY?AHHHHHHH"


I wish she hadn't abandoned her binky at 3 months old.

Nicholas.

Oh, Nicholas.

This child of mine is all boy. He is a mere breath away from an untimely demise seemingly every second of the day-climbing on top of end tables and launching himself onto sofas, pushing chairs all over the dining room, standing on them, and attempting to turn light switches on and off, sticking his above-average-sized head into the small opening in the windmill obstacle on a miniature golf course and getting it stuck there.

He knows no fear.



Nicholas is also super strong. If I have him in my arms and he wants to walk, he will lunge downward, and sometimes he is very close to taking me to the ground with him.

The language edge is still his. He yammers up a storm all day: ("More egg please!" "I afraid!" "Grandma's here!") and unsurprisingly, his favorite word is still "no." Or "mine."


Luci has been telling me about her dirty diapers for a month or so now, and this past month, Nicholas is telling me too. We are nowhere near ready to try potty-training with these two, though, and are hoping that Isabella steps up to the plate and does it herself.


The theme of their birthday is Elmo and Abby. Interestingly, Sesame Street is about the only tv show they demonstrate the slightest interest in. Unlike Isabella, who at this age was all about tv during the limited amount of time we allowed her to watch it, the twins do not care about it at all.

I think tv would only distract them from continuing their path of destruction.


Luci

Likes: Control, bucking the system

Dislikes: Naps lasting longer than 1.5 hours, wearing her diaper

Nicholas

Likes: Wearing oven mitts and his sister's pink Elmo jacket, using his head as a weapon

Dislikes: Food delays