Opus 227 - Are They Identical??

It's amazing how much alike Lissa and Joshua look when they're dressed exactly the same! I think this may be the first time I've dressed them alike.*


*You don't even want to know how many shots it took to get this pose! Thank goodness for digital cameras! How did we ever survive without them??? LOL!

Opus 226 - Berets

I recently saw a baby with a simple handmade beret in her hair that I thought was very cute. I like that they're so simple and don't scream "Hey look! There's something in my hair!" I also really like that it won't get ruined if (or should I say "when?") Lissa pulls it out of her hair. Even though I do not consider myself crafty, I figured I could make these so I made a few. I still want to make a couple other colors, but I haven't found the right ribbon for the right price (gotta be cheap!).

Opus 225 - More Fun With Hats

Opus 224 - Balls!

We gave this toy to the kids for Christmas. They loved it right from the start, but they're finally old enough to actually play with it. They love it when the balls go flying around the room - they think it's so fun to chase after them and put them back in.

Opus 223 - Pizza Time

Lissa eating pizza:

Joshua eating pizza:

Opus 222 - Why My Kids Cannot Have Small Toys

I'm sure there are people out there who have noticed how particular I am about what size toys my kids can play with and have figured it's just a "first time Mom" thing. Actually, that's not it. It's because my kids will eat everything they find:




Trust me, I can't wait until they've outgrown this stage!

Opus 221 - Craziness

Since Jason is on a new work schedule, I now put the kids to bed by myself. It hasn't been too bad since it's not much different from nap time. Yes, there is the brushing of the teeth, story reading, and clothes changing, but we've managed to make it work.

Last night I decided to try bathing the kids by myself at the same time. I've never tried this before. The only times I've bathed the kids by myself I've put one in a crib with toys, bathed the other, then switched. Thinking it would be faster, I tried bathing them together. What an adventure!

Since we weren't using the bath seat, they discovered that they can stand in the tub. So here I am trying to bath one kid, while getting the other to sit down... as soon as I get one kid down, the other stands, and it continues over and over and over. I finally got the kids clean, emptied the water, put the toys away (the kids were terrific at helping; very sweet), and pulled the kids out of the tub.

Naturally, as soon as I wrapped a towel around Joshua and turned to take Lissa out of the tub, Joshua threw off his towel and started running to his room. When I finally got both kids into their room I had to keep running after them to get their diapers on (picture two naked kids running around their room while their Mommy tries to catch them, holding two diapers). The race continued as I put on their lotion and PJs. Even while it happened I could see the humor in the situation. At least the kids had a blast. I don't think they ever stopped smiling!

I think I'm going back to the old system next time. It seems to take longer, but I'm not nearly as tired, and I'm not running the risk of having two kids peeing on the carpet :)

Ah, the adventures of bathing two one year olds...

Opus 220 - Lissa Walks!

Yesterday Lissa decided it was time to walk. She was sitting in the middle of the room and just stood up and walked. Hello! That's so like Lissa to take forever to do something, but then do it almost perfectly when she does decide it's time :) Good job Lissa!

Opus 219 - Ball Throwing

Joshua has figured out how to throw and kick a ball. Jason is thrilled. I don't mind since his ball is soft and small and I won't deny that it's very cute. Now if he could just figure out how to aim...

Opus 218 - Rock-A-My-Soul

The other day, we were watching the broadcast of the MoTab's Pioneer Day concert when Joshua starting dancing a way to Rock-A-My-Soul In The Bosom Of Abraham. This on of the kids' favorite songs from the "Come Thou Font" CD.

Opus 217 - Help

Both kids are now experts at signing help. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Joshua signing it. He looks like he's signaling a touchdown. He cracks me up. The other day I looked at Lissa and she was signing for help (trying to get to her hats). I said something like, "Oh Lissa, do you need help?" and Jason said, "Oh that's what she's doing! I saw her doing it and didn't realize she was asking for help." Now he knows :)

Opus 216 - Chillin'

The other day Lissa and Joshua decided that they wanted to drink their milk while sitting in their Bumbos. They're definitely getting too big for them. It's so funny to watch Joshua stand up because the Bumbo is still stuck to his bum when he stands! LOL!

Opus 215 - Church Clothes

All dressed up:

Opus 214 - Lissa's Pigtails

Opus 213 - Happy Anniversary Lissa!

It was one year ago on July 15th that we were given the all clear to take Lissa off the monitor and oxygen. What a happy day that was! It has been one year since we finally got to look at her pretty little face without wires all of the time. I can't help remembering what a pain all of that equipment was. After walking with the kids out to the car the other day I had a little flashback to what it was like when I had to carry two growing babies in heavy infant seats, two travel oxygen canisters (VERY heavy), two monitors (not so heavy, but still awkward), and a diaper bag. I still don't know how I did that :) Even though the kids want to go in different directions ("Joshua, you have to hold my hand. Lissa, stop trying to sit down... keep walking."), it's so much easier.

I love having wireless babies and hope I'll never take that for granted! Happy anniversary Lissa, you are my favorite baby girl and I love you so much!

Opus 212 - Signing Time

Lissa's signing vocabulary has increased dramatically in the last week or so. She can now sign the following:

More
Eat
Play
Milk
Dog
Cat
Help
Bath
Kiss
Sleep
Ball
Baby
Story
All done
Friend*
Cereal (still a little shaky on this one)

Joshua is right behind his "big sis" with:

More
Eat
Play
Milk
Dog
Sleep
Ball
Friend*
Cereal (still a little shaky on this one)

I love that they can communicate with us - even if it's just a little.

*If you ask the kids, "Where's your friend?" they'll make the sign then reach for their sibling. Melts my heart!

Opus 211 - Running

I didn't post this last night because it takes so long for a video to upload and I was ready for bed :) So here it is, the video of Joshua really running (unlike the little sprint he does in the previous video):

Opus 210 - Funny Joshua

I love this video of Joshua for two reasons: 1) He's babbling at the beginning. He has been babbling A LOT lately and it's so cute. 2) He's running - another thing he really loves to do. I have another video where he runs much faster, but he's not talking at the beginning so I chose to post this one instead.

Opus 209 - Close Ups

Jason took a few close ups of the kids the other day.

Lissa looks like she's busy worrying about other things, like handing Daddy an imaginary speck of dirt...



I don't know how Jason did it, but he managed to get a great picture of Joshua smiling!


Jason really wanted me to make it blue, so here it is honey!

Opus 208 - Random

The kids and I went to the library today to check out some new books. We got off the elevator and I hadn't even walked two feet before a lady said (quite loudly - I'm sure EVERYONE on that floor heard her), "Are they identical?" I continued walking, but politely and quietly replied, "They're a boy and a girl." She responded, "Are they twins?" (Um, didn't you already figure that out? You asked if they were identical!) "Yes," came my response - by this time I was several feet away. However, she continued with, "He's so much taller!" "Yes, he is," I replied, now a good 10 feet away. (Okay, once again, why did you ask if they were identical if you think he's so much taller that it's strange they'd be twins?? It's just not making sense to me.)

Random!

Opus 207 - More July 4th

We finished the 4th of July by going to a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house (sans Grandma and Grandpa - who were at a family reunion) with most of the Smith brothers. The food was great, the kids were happy most of the time, and we enjoyed time with the fam.




After the BBQ we went to Nicole's house to watch the fireworks. The view from Nicole's is spectacular and there is NO traffic on the way home. What a great spot for fireworks! It took awhile for the fireworks to start (note to self: don't get there until 10:00 p.m. next year!), but once they did, they were great. Once again, the kids were fascinated... until there was a really long break, then they were ready to go home, so we did :) Poor Joshua was so tired that he fell asleep on the way home and didn't even wake up during his diaper change!

Opus 206 - Freedom Festival Parade

We took the kids to their very first parade this morning. We weren't sure how they'd do so we planned for a quick getaway. They made it through about half of the parade before they decided they were done. Not bad, all things considered. It rained for a little while, but we came prepared for that so we stayed dry. Joshua loved the music (danced and clapped every time a band came) and Lissa loved the balloons and horses (said "dee, dee, dee!" and pointed every time they passed). I didn't get many pictures because I was feeding them breakfast, then it rained, then we left. But I did manage to get a few and a very short video of Joshua dancing to a band (I think it's Timpview, but I don't remember).

Joshua dancing to a band:

Lissa pointing to a balloon (Joshua's not yawning - he's talking)

Opus 205 - Random Lissa Pics

Lissa has been pretty funny lately...

She decided to sit in her hat container the other day:





Here she is waiting for Joshua, very concerned that he's not using his walker too:

Opus 204 - Sidewalk of Fire!

We just got back from our neighborhood's 5th Annual Sidewalk of Fire. So much fun. We weren't sure how the kids would handle the noise (they did great last year, but they were very little), however they had a great time. Joshua especially enjoyed watching everything. He was entranced. Both kids happily ate up their first popsicle (thus the orange around their mouths) and liked playing with their first glow stick... until mean old mommy took it away because they wanted to eat said glow stick... :) Overall I'd say this was another successful trip with the kids!

Oh yeah, the best part was the surprise visit from the fire truck. Rumor has it that they were doing their rounds, trying to make sure everyone is being safe, and saw our very large gathering (had to be over a hundred) so they decided to check it out. Apparently they said something like it was the best set up for a neighborhood fireworks show they'd seen (okay, this is all hearsay so I really don't know exactly how it was said). I did notice that they stayed until the end. I don't know if that was to make sure we were being safe or just to watch the awesome show :)

The Grand Finale

The only good picture I got of Joshua smiling and clapping and there's
Lissa's little hand reaching for the camera... Sweet little goober.

Check out the orange popsicle mess:

"Hey look Mommy! A glow stick!"

"Whoa! Check out those fireworks!"

"Yay fireworks!!" (Notice how Lissa isn't quite as excited -
she decided it was time to go right as the finale was starting)

Okay, I tried several times to get a picture of the fire truck,
but my camera was being dumb, so this will have to do:

PS
We also went to the Provo Freedom Days fair earlier today, but alas, I forgot my camera again, so no pics :(