In summary:
April contained a girls weekend in Nashville and a boys weekend in San Fran. May contained a whirlwind work trip to San Fran immediately followed by a much needed family vacation to Myrtle Beach. And so far, June has included a short stint in Raleigh and upcoming trips to Chicago and Vegas. All the while battling ear infections, sinus infections, toddler tantrums, and general exhaustion.
Let's start with April:
Brittany had hopes to go to Nashville... alone. Um, no. So her friend, Michelle, and I piled into her super sweet Jeep and make the trek to the Music City (or whatever it's referred to as). Our hotel was on Vanderbilt's campus and was a really cool part of town. Sort of a hispter, college vibe. I could dig.
We arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately hit the town. We restaurant/bar hopped until we crashed at the wee hours of..... 10:00 PM. Welcome to 30. We got up bright and early Saturday in the hopes of finding some unique shops/restaurants just outside of Vanderbilt. Oh, it was unique all right.... Google Maps- you suck and you're a big, fat liar for telling us the place to be was only 1 mile and a 20 minute WALK away. LIAR! Three miles, one UTI, and one scene out of "8 Mile" later (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit- but, damn was it a sketchy part of town) we arrived at a local library where we called a cab. When the cabbie was like "where are you??" and then "we'll be there in 20 minutes," we decided to test our luck a bit more and just walk the rest of the way. The clincher? WE HAD A CAR THE WHOLE TIME. Google Maps, I seriously SERIOUSLY hate you. Anyway, the shops were super cute, the restaurant served Jeni's and we cabbed it back to the hotel. The end.
That night we went Downtown to music row and I have to say, I much preferred the Vanderbilt bars. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the half marathon I'd walked that morning, or maybe I'm just not a country music fan, but either way, if I went back again, I'd stick to Vanderbilt and call it a day. All in all, it was really great spending time with Brittany. We so rarely get to these days and it was also nice to experience a new city and have some "adventures."
May:
May was a bit nuts. I found out last minute that I was to attend a meeting in San Fran. And not just any meeting. A meeting with my boss, his boss, his boss, his boss, and his boss.... Um yeah. Talk about nerves. It was, without question, the single-most important and high-profile meeting I've ever attended. I will say that at dinner that night as the only female in a room with about 20 men, when the President of my division said I had "moxie," I officially considered the meeting a success. Now, I just hope to god I don't have to do that ever. ever. EVER. again.
I traveled out to San Fran on a Weds, met up with Ryan and had dinner, had "the meeting" on Thursday and was home by 2:00 PM on Friday in time for a work happy hour. The next day we attended a 1st b-day party for the cutest twin boys we know and then hit the road for our family vacation to Myrtle Sunday morning at 4:30 am. How I can recall any details from that week is beyond me...
Myrtle was just what I needed. It helped "reset" me and was so nice to have no agenda and no due dates. And if you're ever looking for a way to feel completely spoiled, try heading to the spa while on vacation. I almost felt guilty for being so spoiled...almost. The girls had a blast. Ellie enjoyed eating the sand while Char enjoyed collecting sea shells (except for the sea shell that was still attached to a live hermit crab- yikes!). The weather was a bit unseasonably cold (seems to be a theme for me this year) so we had to find non-pool fun to keep us occupied. This meant a trip to the Ripley's Aquarium, a minor league baseball game, and a trip to an Easton-like mall. Aside from the morning we left to head home*, it was a pretty calm, relaxed week.
* The following all occurred before 12:00 PM: broken mason jar filled will collected sea shells (excluding the hermit crab- he stayed home); emptied bottle of lemonade on carpet/tile that turned into a toddler splash pad; loose-poop filled used swim dipe immediately followed by a bath; Dawn dishwashing soap in.... the dishwasher (thanks, husband)- all while attempting to pack a family of four and load the car before check out.
June:
Seriously, it's June?! This month is all but over for me. I just got back from a day trip to Raleigh and am heading to Chicago next Monday-Thursday for a strategy meeting. Then I'm heading to Vegas for our annual trade show the following Thursday-Sunday. At some point in there I'm throwing a bridal shower and attempting to sleep... we'll see about the latter. The good news is, once I return from Vegas, I have no work travel planned until early October- and I'll try my darnedest to keep it that way!
And now for the important stuff:
How old are babies: Almost 21 months!
How much do they weigh: Char 22; Ellie 26?
How long are they: Ellie is still a bit taller
Clothes: 18-24 for Char; 2T for Ellie.
Diapers: Size 4, day and night. Charlotte told daddy that she "poopied" the other day. I wonder if this is the start of an interested pottier? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking...
What are they eating: There is plenty of cheese consumed in my house. The girls love Mac & Cheese Please, cheese cubes, grilled cheese and any other cheese concoction. They're also big into fruits. Char can't get enough! They like chicken nuggets (or maybe the ketchup they're dipped in), depending on the day they'll eat lunch meat, and they still love avocado. Char enjoys eating salads with Mommy- particularly mac salad. But she'll eat a garden salad too. That's my girl! They love ravioli and lasagna right now and even eat Chipotle from time-to-time. They love eating yogurt and ice cream, but only if they can feed themselves from their own bowls. Big girls!
How are they sleeping: Char was battling an ear infection for three rounds of antibiotics. Now that that's finally cleared up, she's been sleeping a bit better. We were noticing last night how different of sleepers they both are. Ellie now sleeps with a full-sized pillow.... and a small one... and another big one.... and her lovie... and her squirrel, Swarley... and her raccoon, Rico.... and her fox, Michael J.... and her magnifying glass (yes)... and her sippy cup... and her thin blanket (the thin one. not the thick one. how dare you even offer the thick one.)... and her Elmo book. And Charlotte? Charlotte sleeps with Charlotte. Not one other thing. I just love them.
Milestones: Now that they are older and are really just developing cognitively more than anything, I don't feel like there are any major milestones to speak of. I'll highlight their increasing vocab below. One thing that has changed is their ability to climb up and down the stairs with ease. Many times I'll even walk away and let them tackle them on their own. They're actually pretty careful in how they approach the stairs. Up next.... removing the baby gates. Can you even imagine?!
Major events: We moved schools at the beginning of the month. We'd always intended to move the girls to NA and the director notified us that there were a couple openings, so we took them. It's a bit more expensive each month, but it's way closer to home/work and we know the director, personally and that goes a long way.
Appearances: They're both a little sun-kissed these days and their hair is lightening up too. Char sports a pony tail every day and I pull her bangs back with a bitty hair clip. Ellie doesn't exactly love her hair being played with, so we stick with half/up to keep her hair out of her eyes. She's so cute when it's down to watch her push it out of her face like a little person.
Personalities: So... yeah... toddlers, man. Phew. Wowza. Ellie is most certainly Alpha Twin. She is very sure of what she wants and how she wants it, unfortunately for all of us, she can't always articulate that. Char is very laid back and is super easy breezy. Sometimes she'll attempt to be fussy but it's so fake you can't help but just smile and give her a big kiss. They are both loving Elmo these days. Everything is "Elmo?" "Elmo?" I even have to fast forward saved episodes to the parts where Elmo appears. The funny thing is they have an Elmo stuffed animal and kinda want nothing to do with him. Anyway, it's pretty adorable to sit and watch Sesame Street with them and watch them dance in their seats to the Elmo's World theme song. Whoever doesn't recommend TV until two has clearly never seen their child's face light up at the sight of a furry, red monster appearing on screen...
Words: Get down, thank you, Mommy, Dada, Pappy (they struggle with Grammy for some reason), Mimi, Grandpa (pawpa), MurMur, uh-oh, cracker, Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar, Ernie, Bert, Amber, Brittany (nitney), Ellie, CharChar, Sissy, more, uppa, owl, no, yes, please, I love you, cookie, ice cream, milk, wa-wa... (They'll really attempt anything you ask them to. Some words are just clearer than others); Animal noises- dog, cat, fish, cow, snake, monkey, lion, owl, elephant. "Cat" = "Meow," "Dog" = "MurMur"
Mom and Dad update: I sort of covered my updates earlier. Chris has been kind of status quo. His job has been fairly regular lately and softball started back up. My brother became a Boozer this year and from what I hear seems to be enjoying it.
Next doctor visit: ??
