Thursday, September 24, 2009

Little Monkeys

So our little monkeys have been keeping us on our toes as of late with their brilliant personalities, bright dispositions, and winning smiles =) Of course I'm not gushing on the kids just because they're mine, but its what I see in them that puts a big smile on my face every day. Sure they have their ups and downs, and there are definitely days where I'd be pulling my hair out (if I didn't already shave it)! But honestly, what kid out there doesn't have a bad side to even out their good side?! It's all a part of growing up, so we end up taking each day with a grain of salt. For the most part, the kids just keep on growing and developing, and it's still a great sight to see the two of them go through their growth stages!
Isaiah never wants to be "the smelly kid"

Conquering her fear of the vacuum cleaner, Makenna lends a hand...


Monday, September 14, 2009

Learning curve

Just recently, both Makenna and Isaiah each hit another milestone; Makenna just hit 30 months, while Isaiah hit 19 months. It's still a trip to think that for one month out of every year, they'll both be the same age! Nevertheless, they're both developing in to quite the talkers, and we're enjoying all the scintillating conversation from the both of them!

Though Makenna is almost a year older than Isaiah, he's not too far behind with his vocabulary. He tries his best to communicate as much as he can, as clearly as he can, but sometimes it leaves us guessing what he's saying. For the most part, Isaiah is putting 3 and 4 words together to form sentences, and will also repeat things that Makenna says such as "what are you doing here" or "Daddy, where are you?" Over the past few months, Isaiah has broken out of his shell a bit more, and we're hoping to see the outgoing side of his personality shine through. The difference between him and his sister is like day and night, but a bit of her seems to be rubbing off on him!

Makenna has been, and always will be, the talkative one, and it seems that there's no stopping her! She speaks her mind freely, often imitating and repeating words she hears from us, from neighbors, or from her favorite tv shows. She's at that stage where she's memorizing entire songs (at least the theme songs from her favorite tv shows like Little Einsteins, Dinosaur Train, Dora the Explorer, etc). Sometimes she'll even surprise us with the things she says, and we often wonder where she learned those things from! The best part is that she'll take the time to teach her brother new things, and he's there like a sponge to soak up all the new information.

They're also at a good stage where they can do things on their own. Oftentimes they like to go off and play in one of their rooms. What that normally entails is a scavenging through the toys and books, leaving the room in utter chaos! After they get bored, they both know that the mess needs to be taken care of, so they're aware at what they have to do before moving on to something else. Sometimes it takes a little coaxing, but they usually do the cleanup on their own, which shows us that they truly are learning as they go along!



Our "twins"

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Camping 2009

Judging from the way things went this Labor Day weekend, Enz and I have come to an agreement that camping with the babies was a success, and we look forward to making this a yearly tradition for the family! All in all, things went well, and we thank our extended family for inviting us to be a part of their yearly camping trip.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, both Enz and I were a bit apprehensive on how things would go, and whether or not we'd spend the entire weekend away. We knew it would be a little tough for the kids to get adjusted to the new surroundings, and thought that maybe a one night stay would work out better. But then we figured that we'd have to break them in sometime, and what better time than now when they're really young?! Not only would we have to account for them, we still had to take into consideration how much we'd have to pack for ourselves, so this trip was sort of a "break-in" period for us as a family unit. After the weekend was over and we were safe and sound at home, we realized that we were fully prepared for everything and anything, and we breathed a big sigh of relief that it all went so well!

The first day was great, with the kids excited for being out in the open air and having a beach to play on. Our aunts and uncles were entertained by the little ones, and the cousins didn't seem to have any issues with having the babies around. Once nighttime fell, it was a different story. Since the kids didn't have the comforts of their own beds, they became a bit unruly at bedtime even though we tired them both out. We figured that all the excitement would have died down, and we even let them stay up later than normal, but it almost seemed like the fresh air energized them! Once they finally did go down, Enz and I were exhausted so we took the opportunity to catch some much needed rest. Of course, even after staying up so late, both Makenna and Isaiah were up at the butt-crack of dawn, full of energy and ready to tackle the next day!

The rest of the weekend was pretty much spent relaxing at the beach. Makenna enjoyed playing in the water and running away from the crashing waves, while Isaiah was perfectly content on the shore playing in the sand. When the occasional wave reached him, he laughed it off and just continued to fill buckets with sand, and dig for crabs. Makenna joined her little brother once the water got too cold, and she too was happy just playing in the sand. At bedtime, the second night was much easier, as the kids were fully spent, and both fell asleep in our arms. Putting them down was cake, and they slept through the night without moving an inch-that's how tired they were!

When we finally got home, the kids were once again full of life. As much as they enjoyed being away, they loved being back home! Then again, Makenna was already inquiring when we were going "bye-bye" again. Its apparent that they both enjoyed themselves, and we look forward to doing it all over again next year, with the kids a year older, and us a little wiser on how to run things ;)


The kids curiously exploring our "home" for the weekend

Breakfast chatter


On a morning walk/ride around camp

Mommy and the kids on a morning hike

Daddy and the kids on a morning hike

Makenna and mommy's morning faces...

Isaiah enjoying the wet sand

Makenna staying dry