The Zoe and Silas Show

6/6/13: My good little helpers. We ran out of nighttime pull-ups for Silas mid-week so we needed to make a pit stop at CVS when I got home work.

1/3/13 In preparation for getting twin beds in the near future we put the crib rails down as far as they would go. S&Z now like to climb in and out of their cribs by themselves each night and morning. I was surprised, however, when I walked into the nursery on Wednesday morning to find them both standing in front of the door! Silas had lost his rag so they both got out to look for it :) I explained that it's not safe for them to get out of their cribs without a parent around and they haven't done it since. In other sleep-related news, after 3 years of sleeping through the night Zoe has woken up every night for the last week crying and calling for us. She seems to be nighttime potty training herself so one night she needed to use the bathroom. They both have really bad colds so last night she was crying for a tissue. And one night it was just Crying, Not Otherwise Specified. I hope the nighttime awakenings stop soon, because I was feeling pretty cranky this morning!...

9/13/12: No.caption.required.

9/4/12: S&Z were running around this morning after they woke up. When Zoe finally caught up to Silas she said, "hold hands" and together they walked to the dining room table for breakfast. Note: Excuse all of the underwear pictures these days. Potty training two children at the same time = a no pants zone most of the time.

8/28/12: Brushing m&m's out of their teeth before bed :) We have continued this week with pretty much zero accidents except for a little Silas dribble here and there, but he always stops himself and runs to the potty!

We have been playing around with potty training for a few months now. We started offering the little potty's after baths, and once both kids showed some consistent interest we also implemented a sticker chart for reinforcement. After talking with a fellow twin mom friend, Stephanie, last week and hearing how she used m&m's for reinforcement with her daughter I decided for three reasons to do a big push this weekend and once and for all stop using daytime diapers: 1) we have plateaued at peeing a maximum of 3x/day in the potty and continue to use diapers, b) Derek had a vasectomy on Friday and we planned on staying pretty close to home, and c) most importantly, our preschool requires that kids are in pull-ups or in underwear, and the first day of school is 9/18! On Friday morning I bought a big bag of m&m's and described to S&Z that they would get 1 m&m for going pee-pee in the potty and 2 m&m's for going poop in the potty. I explained that we we...

8/6/12: Silas hit 10 stickers on the potty chart so he got his surprise, a reese's peanut butter cup. In this picture Zoe was explaining to me how she was sure Silas would give her just a little piece...

6/23/12: We're still not doing full-on potty training, but as we get closer to that we decided to get a seat for the big potty. Derek said both kids wanted nothing to do with it when he first tried to introduce the new seat a few days ago, but today they were ALL ABOUT IT. I think each of them used it successfully at least 3 times. I'm pretty sure we'll be saying bye-bye to the little potty's after our upcoming vacation.

6/20/12: After a hot afternoon spent outside, the kids had baths before bed. Both of them pee-peed on the potty and were excited to pick out stickers for their potty chart.

5/29/12: Zoe  watches Silas eat a piece of chocolate for completing another potty chart. She  has essentially stopped going pee pee in the potty and is apparently living vicariously through him. She gets excited for him and watches as he put the stickers he has earned on his chart. Here she was completely unfazed that she didn't get a special treat (and trust me, the girl loves chocolate!).

5/24/12: I had to take Zoe to the doctor today to have a rash looked at. Outside of napping in separate rooms, S&Z are basically always together so it was a big deal that  Silas stayed home with Daddy. During the drive to the clinic, Zoe happily said "bye bye, Silas" over and over and over.  Once inside the clinic, she was a great helper and carried her chart into the pediatrics reception area.  Even though the appointment was during nap time, she was very cooperative. She even stood on the adult scale independently for the first time (31.4 pounds)! At the end of the visit Dr. Rundquist gave her a sticker. She was already holding her chart to give back to the receptionist, and as soon as the got the sticker she went to put it on her chart (because it Zoe's world right now, there is only one kind of chart! ).

We've hit a few fun milestones recently, so I'm posting for posterity. -Both kids have started using the pronoun 'I'. Silas often says things like, "I'm hungry" and "I'm tired" :) -Zoe can now pronounce the 'L' sound in Silas and Julia's names (although she still lovingly refers to Julia as 'Ta-ta'.) -They started singing a few months ago , and they sing out loud every day. Anything from "Tomorrow" to "Wheels on the Bus" to the ABC's. I have been trying to get some exercise by taking them on 2+ mile long walks the last few weeks. There is a big hill that kicks my butt coming home every time, so the kids sing the ABC's to help distract me. -They started having conversations with an imaginary friend this week. His/her name is Ali/Allie and s/he lives in the kids' closet. There is tons of other pretend play that has taken off the last few months. It has been so fun to watch this aspect ...

1/16/12: Tonight before bed Zoe said she wanted to go pee pee. On the potty. Next thing I know they were trying to break the lock off so that Zoe could climb on the toilet. I bought a training potty 9 months ago and it's been sitting in the closet. This seemed like as good a time as any to take it out.  A brawl ensued moments after I took this picture because taking turns was not going to cut it. A second potty will be purchased tomorrow.