Celebration Part 1

Mia's preschool theme this week was "Babies," so we decided to go on a field trip to the zoo to see the new baby elephant. I thought it would be a fun way for the twins to spend their acutal birthday, since we put off the party until Saturday.




The highly touted baby elephant has a limited viewing schedule- from 11 to 1. We got in the very short line at 10:45 and only waited about 20 minutes. There was a lonely looking rhino in the pen before the elephant. He looked like he was feeling outshined...




The new addition was well worth the wait. It was so cute- toddling around, almost jumping sometimes, playing with it's mommy.




I love how elephants always seem like they're smiling.



The flamingoes weirded everyone out. Just doin' their thing.

The kids played on the shark and manta statues for quite a while. Real animals just don't seem to be necessary for a good zoo time at this age, do they...




An orangutan with a quirky personality popped this box over himself and hid before peeking out. Then he ran over and scared the giggles out of Mia and Abby. Mia is a definite fan of all things monkey.


Hey, babies- what does a monkey say?


We had already gone to the zoo last week when grandma came to visit, so I wondered how well the girls would take round two. Surprisingly, the twins were much more content to stay in the stroller this time. They entertained each other when there was nothing to see.



When we rounded the corner that brought the carousel into view, Bree started shrieking and clapping her hands. I was surprised she even knew what it was from that distance! She didn't stop beaming from the moment she saw it til we finished the ride and walked away. Anya wasn't too thrilled with it last week, so she sat this one out. Mia wasn't as happy to ride as she thought she'd be, when she realized I had to have my arms around both her and Bree (who was swatting my hands away trying to ride free from help,) but she made it out alive.

We fed the ugly fish that remind me of the ugly aliens on "Hitchickers Guide to the Galaxy."


Saw the prettier fish and the manatees.


It was overall a VERY eventful outing, including briefly losing Bree's shoe in the parking lot, then briefly losing Bree out of her stroller seat at the entrance, briefly losing Anya while the kids were playing on the statues and Mom was shooting pictures with too much confidence in her peripheral vision, (drrttt!!!) sharing lunch, Mia falling and skinning her knee requiring not only our friend's handy First-Aid kit, but a ride in our other friend's stroller, and saving dropped fruit snacks.


And THEN (yes this day was a long one,) after dinner we went out for ice cream. For once, the babies didn't have to share mom or dad's- they got their very own.





After a party tomorrow these kids are gonna be spoiled rotten. :) Oh, well- bring on the birthday cake!

2 are 2

A couple of babies.













And just like that- they're a couple of two-year-olds.












Happy Birthday, Anya.
Happy Birthday, Bree.

We love you chunky monkeys!

The Easter Eagle

Zach entered a raffle at Giant Eagle and we won an Easter basket!

I love that place. Mia begs to go there every time I say I need to go to the store, because they have "The Eagle's Nest," a huge, always spotless room, full of toys, two awesome adults, and sometimes one other kid. For a half to a full hour, instead of hauling her from aisle to aisle, she goes to the "playplace" for free. I walk by the huge window halfway through, and she always waves and says "hi," and when it's time to go, she doesn't cry! I think they sprayed the place with magic dust when it was built- because it is just too easy. I'll miss it when we move- especially after next year when the twins are old enough to go, too.

Friday afternoon we went to an egg hunt at our friend's house. The twins ended up needing to nap right then, so they missed out on that one.






Easter morning Mia found her basket in her room, complete with the strawberry gum she had mentioned she hoped would be in there (three times.)

After church we had our own egg hunt on our patch of lawn- which turned out to be the perfect size for two clueless toddlers and one helpful preschooler.








Unexpected perks of being a twin.



Candy is much more interesting than Mom with her camera. .

Anything for these guys is more interesting than Mom with her camera..


Last night was also our ward's Easter musical fireside. Mia got to sing for the first time up at the podium in the sacrament meeting room: "When He Comes Again." Apart from me manually helping her to keep her face toward the microphone, she did a great job. The day we were asked to sing it I made her a little book with pictures that went with the lyrics. What I should have been planning was how to keep a straight face while she sang.

Hope you had a great holiday!

Perserverance

Anya must not have gotten much sleep last night, because she was a grouch after her nap until her bedtime, which tonight was about a half hour earlier than Bree's. After she went down, Mia and Bree started playing a made-up game, where they would stand at the opposite end of the kitchen that Mom was on, say "Ready, set, go!" (Or in Bree's case, "Ehh, Sehhh, GAAOOOOO!") and then race to touch my leg before they ran back and started over. They were playing so well together, and as I observed them from aross the room, instead of the usual "group-o-kids," I saw two distinct heights and ages, two clearly different levels of maturity and intelletual capacity. I could make sense of it. For a split second I could clearly imagine what it must feel like to have two kids. And you know what? I know why I got twins. Because I would have felt pretty darn proud of myself raising two kids. I think Heavenly Father knew that to keep an over-confident someone like me humble, he needed to throw in an extra.






Good job, Heavenly Father.