Daddy Weekend Ops- Part 1

So what do you do when it's just Daddy???? (lots)

Here's how things went down while Kelly was with her mom at a Protestant Women of the Chapel  (PWOC) training weekend...

THURSDAY = Ascension Day & our dear neighbor Julie celebrated her 1st Communion 

Julie is seated in the middle with blond hair.  It was at the Valkenburg church and tons of kids & families made it workable for me to attempt the Crew attendance.  They did great with a few Apple Sauce snacks and the singing times during the program.

Here's an after shot.  They were ready for the celebration. 

Here's another shot with their outfits...do you remember back a few posts? We asked you to think about what the kids were doing on this day....now you know!

That's Julie's brother, Rune with the blue & white stripes. (Can you find iMan?) 

Isaac is definitely in the bounce house & lovin' the bounce....

He get's right into the mix, doesn't he??? (Where are the TWIX? Well, they were at the party but it was getting late and so I went to put them to bed.  I came back with the monitor (they are the next house over) and iMan was still bouncing...)

FRIDAY = work day & our sweet friends watched the kids during the day...do you remember the picture from a while back of the 3 of them in the swing?!

SATURDAY = day of fun!

check back...

The Breakfast Birthday Party!

For the girls' birthday party this year we decided to keep it simple since we went all out for their 1st.  I was brainstorming ideas and I came up with a breakfast party.  The girls still take a great afternoon nap and the best part of the day for them is in the morning.  It was really fun.  I had about 6 ladies and about 5 toddlers and it was perfect. :)  We rarely have juice boxes so Ava was super into hers.  Check out the cute shirts I had made for them by our friend, Amy @ Hank Orange (click for her site).

Here are the birthday girls ready to party!

It was a very sweet morning and the girls were very excited about having a party.  All week we were asking Ava how old she was and she would say "it's my birthday."  It was very cute. 

Here is b-day cake time.  I lit the candle twice so that they could each blow it out...although Isabella was the only one interested in blowing out candles...I don't think Ava likes the flame. 

Look at Kian (the little boy to the left) blowing out the candle with Isabella.  :)  Ava just wanted to hold my hand.

This is about all the cake that either of them ate...so funny!  Such girls!

Present time (which was me opening the gifts) and the girls showing them to their friend, Fifi.

Jenny was trying to get the 2 year olds playing ring around the rosie.

Isaac spent most of the morning at Dutch pre-school but he got to share in some of the festivities when he got home.  Some guy time with Kian. 

Happy Birthday Grandma June!

We hope you get your groove on too!

We hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Dance Fever, Grandma!!

p.s These pics were from the beach last weekend.  See the sun?  It's gone again but it was so nice that it came out for a few moments! :)

Happy Birthday Uncle Doug!

We hope you have a great birthday!  Make sure you do a little "shake and freeze" like Isaac! :)
Check below for a new post...

A little more catch-up...

We have some more b-day pics coming your way but 1st we wanted to back-up a little and play a little catch-up.  My Mom was able to come spend 2 weeks with us right after we got back from England.  It was so much fun to have her and we were able to do some fun "girl" things. :)  We did a little girls shopping trip for my friend, Jocelynn's b-day in Aachen, Germany (about 20 min. from us).  It was a fun day with a yummy bbq with our families afterwards. 

The next day Marc and I ran the Maas (it goes along the Maas River) half marathon (13 miles).  It was so much fun to run it together and we crossed over in just over 2 hours so we did quite well.  Here we are back home after the marathon.  We forgot the camera.  My Mom watched the kids so we could run which was super nice of her...thanks Mom! :)

It was a beautiful day and so after the race we went and got ice cream down the road from us.

Isaac LOVES ice cream! (Can you tell from that smile???)

We had the girls share and they did quite well...we are REALLY working on the sharing thing...MINE is spoken often around here!

When Mommy and Grandma are away the kiddos will play...check back to see what this pic is all about!

23 & 24 months

The girls are up to SO much!  They are keeping us on our toes!  This is going to be for 23 & 24 months since somehow I dropped the ball with their 23 month post ( I am just a little busy with these wee ones).  They are both talking up a storm.  Ava still talks more but just in the last month Isabella's vocabulary has really exploded. One of my favorite things that Ava says right now is "Mommy, hold you."  Which means she wants me to pick her up.  Isabella around 23 months was calling Ava only "Bella" like they had the same name or something.  It was very cute but we had no idea why she was doing it.  Just in the last week she has started to call Ava "Ava" but she still refers to her as "Bella" from time to time. :)

They are into everything!!!  I can't leave the room for even a minute without something crazy happening.  Just this morning Ava walked into the bathroom and got the toothpaste out and "tried" to brush her teeth (with toothpaste going everywhere).  They also like to use the stool in the bathroom, pull it to the sink and then run the water & see how much stuff they can throw into it! They also got into my makeup last week and covered themselves in my new mascara....you get the point?!

They love to play with anything that is Isaac's but in the last month have also started to play with their dolls (which are quickly appandoned for a ball or the golf set).  People ask who is more girly and more tom-boyish?  Ava is really into anything that Isaac is so right now she is more tom-boyish.  Isabella likes some of the boy stuff too but really doesn't like to be dirty so she tends to be more girly.  Although, Ava does like wearing things in her hair and anything in our house is turned into a bracelet or necklace by either of them.  Isabella is quick to put the floating bath rings 3 or 4 deep on each arm & has been known to wear the rubber name bands (that go on their drink cups) on her arm like a bracelet for an entire day :)

They seem so loving one moment to each other and the next moment there may be some hitting or biting each other.  I think this is the challenge with twins...they are in exactly the same stage at the same time so I can't talk reason into them.  Isaac I can tell "don't hit your sister" and since he is older he listens and understands what I mean.  These two don't listen yet and it is SO HARD some days.   

They love their snack time and are really into applesauce, raisins, cheese & goldfish crackers.  Isabella LOVES chocolate and Ava really likes just about everything.  Ava is willing to try at least one bite of most foods & today she had some green bell pepper that Daddy was eating.

Isabella has a great laugh!  She can giggle so loud and it so cute.  She is such a cuddler.  At the beginning of 23 months she ONLY wanted to be with Mommy but she has broken out of her shell and will go to a few other people now.  She is still very shy and does not like strangers.  She has just started to try to jump & it's entertaining to see her get a little bit of air, even if it's just 1/64 of an inch.

Ava still ALWAYS has a huge smile and she is so friendly.  She doesn't sit anywhere for long and she is super vocal.

Both of the girls LOVE Isaac so much!  They always want him nearby.  The hour after they go to bed is always a nice break for him...they demand a lot from him somedays too!

These 2 are quite the pair.  We love them so much!  They are both so unique and we can't wait to see what this next year has in store! :)  

Birthday Picnic Ops

We had a busy birthday week last week!  It started last Sunday afternoon when we had a b-day picnic with our sweet friends!  Gwen was so excited about the card she made the girls and the pretty dresses they got them.

Here is the cute dress and of course a little snack of goldfish crackers.

It was a really pretty day and we had a ton of fun.  Isabella was finishing up her lunch with some chocolate covered prunes of course. :)  The girl is a fan of chocolate in any form.

After our picnic lunch we had ice cream.  Isabella starts blowing the candle before the song even ends.

Yummy ice cream! Ava sometimes gets this funny look on her face when she isn't sure about something.

Birthday ice cream is the best!

Yummy!

Family pic.

The park that we went to had a ton of fun equipment and the kids were loving it.

Isaac sporting his birthday hat on the ropes. :)
Keep checking back for more b-day fun and an update on what the girls are up to these days...

Happy Birthday Ava & Isabella!

...and they are 2!

 

Here they are trying on their new bike helmets!   They look so cute and ready to try out the balance bike! :) 

Ava has chicks on her helmet and Isabella has bunnies.  :)

These 2 are quite the pair!  No one could have prepared me for what twins would be like.  They are so much fun but having 2-2 year olds in the house is CRAZY!  They are in opposite directions getting into everything!  They started the day out in the cutest birthday shirts but Isabella somehow got into my makeup case and took out my mascara and spread it all over herself and Ava. I was getting Isaac ready for school and walked into the hallway and saw the crime screen.  OH MY!  Hopefully, the "best friends forever" shirt will hold true for this pair! :)

Their other gift was balls from Isaac.  I took him to the store to have him pick out gifts for the girls.  He did a good job and picked out a blue princess ball for Ava and a pink one for Isabella.  The girls are loving them so far...good pick Isaac!  (I want to teach him to be a thoughtful brother)

Isabella loving her ball!

After the presents we had cupcakes.  Isabella was fixated on the candle.  I have a video that hopefully I can share tomorrow of the singing & candle blowing.

Ava is such a ball of energy.  It's rare to get her sitting for long.  I will post more about what the girls have been up to...they are growing leaps and bounds.

Isabella has given me a run for my money today!  I love this 2 year old. :)

Isabella has NO interest in the cake but loved the "2" candle.

Ava on the other hand loved the cake!
More to come....we are having a b-day breakfast for the girls on Friday morning!