3rd birthday morning

I think the boys had a fun morning!  Keith made them pancakes in the shape of 3's, they requested them again the next day - and they had to be 3's, Keith tried smiley faces and Grandpa Karl ended up getting a smiley face.  

Happy Birthday Dylan and Carter

Saturday night we celebrated the boys' second birthday!  It was a hectic day with tailgating in the morning, a trip to the store, lots of cooking, the boys party and trick or treating. We had a great turn out at the party between my family and Keith's family and my sister was so kind to let us host the party at her house.

I think the boys had a blast at the party. Carter spent almost the entire night playing at the train table.  We had to go down and get him everytime we had a new thing to do like open presents or eat cake.  Then he would sneak back down. They also had an absolute blast with the balloons. 

Dylan giving the sock monkey a kiss.

These have been a big hit!

After every present we opened, then they would want to play with that toy, then we would have to talk them into opening the next present.  We have been playing  a lot of Thomas!!!  I think Carter was dreaming about Thomas last night.

Our two are two!

We had a mini celebration for the boys on their birthday.  We always have to convince them to try these kind of things, then they love them.  We are having their actual party this weekend in Iowa, so that will be fun!

We had their two year appointment on Tuesday.  I'm thinking the shots are going to get harder and harder as they get older.  They are usually pretty good about them, but cried pretty hard this round.  I always laugh at these stats with the two of them, because half a pound completely swings the percentile.

DYLAN

Weight:  28.6 lbs, 58%

Height:  35.5, 78%

Head:  19.6, 78%

CARTER
Weight: 29 lbs 13 oz, 72%

Height: 35, 66%

Head: 19.3, 59%

What's happening at 2??

• I think these two have been growing, they have been eating a lot
• Still won't touch veggies along with many other items
• They have been interacting quite a bit lately
• I feel like they really notice if I am paying more attention to one or the other now and then sometimes act out because of it, so that is something I try to be really careful of!
• They really like sidewalk chalk, markers (not really crayons), playing outside, climbing, puzzles
• They love jumping, Carter hops around all the time
• Saying lots of things and stringing a few words together
• Obsessed with bananas
• Dylan is Mr. Helper!  This weekend he helped Keith carry boards for the shelves into the house, he always helps sweep the floor and hang up shirts
• They can't get enough blanket time
• Working on breaking the pacifiers, I will take any tips!
• They love Elmo and Thomas the train
• Stickers are a huge hit
• We pretty much say "bye" to everything, bye stella, bye Target, bye Thomas.....
• Carter spots any pumpkin in sight and says "pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins" and always wants to go look at them on the front step and they say "squirrels ate pumpkin, squirrels, squirrels" 
• Battling pushing, biting and hair pulling
• Dylan is a total mamma's boy
• Dylan is going through this phase where he takes my hand and drags me somewhere, then quickly tries to think of something as to why I had to go with him.  So it usually turns into an attempt to get more snacks
• Carter loves letting Stella in the house
• They both really like the light switches, they bring their little stools to them and flip them on and off
• Dylan is really into flushing the toilet

• They would be so happy if I would let them go up and down the stairs all day
• We still go potty at bathtime, but haven't attempted total potty training
• Carter loves books and brings them to us to read all the time

20 months!

Our babies are 20 months now and I think it is safe to say there isn't a lot "baby" about them anymore.  They are two wild toddlers, we couldn't be more in love with.  We have definitely had some rocky months in the last 20, but I must say, I am really enjoying this stage!  We have our moments and are experiencing lots of toddler tantrums at times, but overall, they are a blast right now!  We are always laughing at them and are amazed at all the new things they are learning to do. 

They love playing with rocks right now (such boys, I know!).  This was actually a really good game, they would pile them up, then put them back, repeat, repeat!

{Dylan & Mom, Carter & Dad)

{Dylan left, Carter right}

Here's a little bit of what these two have been up to:

• They just love those chairs. In fact, last week when we went back to Iowa and we were packing toys I told Keith we should just bring the chairs, it seems like it's the only thing they play with these days.  Especially Carter!
• Even though it doesn't look like it, they are still picky eaters!  Monday they might like chicken, Tuesday they won't touch it!
• A few favorite foods:  rice, watermelon, bananas, cheerios, turkey, spaghetti, pretzels, most fruits, gold fish (I actually can't think of anything else they like right now)
• Foods they won't touch:  vegetables, breads, cheese, yogurt, really most things
• Carter is really into jumping, though he rarely gets his feet off the ground
• They are starting to talk so much more now, which is really fun.  They are repeating what we say quite a bit, which has reminded Keith to start watching what he says.
• Yes, they still like those pacifiers. We are trying to not let them have them too much outside of nap/bedtime.  Sometimes they are pretty entertaining with them watching them take them from each other or whenever you tell Carter it is time to eat, he will take his out, chuck it across the room and run straight for his chair. 
• They love going to Keith's truck, they fight me every time they get into their seats in my car. Probably b/c he has the DVD player.
• They love books and singing songs.
• They love watching Sprout, but we have been trying to limit TV, they are like zombies and won't pay a bit of attention to you when the TV is on and we barely see them enough the way it is to be ignored by them. 
• They love playing outside and climbing on the swing set.
• We have a lot of fun with them right now by putting fun stuff on them or giving them funny things and having them show Keith or me.
• In the morning they will sprint into our bedroom giggling and wake me up.
• Don't be surprised if you find they are just in diapers any time of the day- they hate getting dressed and are always taking their shirts off.
• Carter is so into shoes, he will bring me and Keith our shoes all the time, he is always trying to put his on or take them off.
• They love playing with doors (not my favorite), they are always opening and closing doors and saying "bye, bye".
• Whenever they wear their sandals, they have ridiculously stinky feet!  My dad about fell over from the odor. 
• They go to bed about 8:15ish and wake up around 6:30ish (usually earlier) and have one nap a day.
• They are such little boys!  They have been into playing with cars & trucks more and push them around, sometimes making car sounds.