Fall 2018

I have vowed to post more often. I think this will be enjoyable to look back at in years to come. We will see how I do....

To say that Chris and I are loving life right now with 4 kids, 2 of which are 3 years old would be a lie. They are busy. They are alot of work and we don't love the weekends AT ALL. We find ourselves counting down the hours until we can head back to work. Sounds terrible I know, but I'm just being honest. We are in the trenches right now and I can't imagine ever looking back at life and saying I miss this age. I'm ready for age 4. It has to get easier....HAS TO!

Amelia and Nora started preschool last week. They attend the preschool that is offered at the daycare they attend. They were super excited to bring back packs to daycare last Tuesday. They didn't talk a ton about their morning with Mrs. Koglin and Mrs. Winslow but I did catch them singing a few new songs. They also started gymnastics a few weeks ago. They know another little girl in the class so that makes class a bit more interesting.

Nora LaVonne is are fashionista, diva, sass pants, mother hen and maybe a bit OCD. If she doesn't become a teacher I will be shocked. She plays teacher all the time. She always has to be in charge. She likes to play mommy and she can be the most nuturing, sweet and caring girl ever. I call her my little "smiler, hugger & kisser" because she has the biggest smile ever and gives the best hugs! She is definetly right handed, still a bit of a picky eater (or eats the less of the two of them), gets up first every morning and thinks she needs to eat breakfast immediately the seconds she wakes up. Favorite food is pizza.

Amelia can have her moments of stubborness but for the most part is more of a rule follower than Nora. Amelia is obsessed with thinking she is going to play hockey. Which we have plans to put them both on skates this winter but I'm not sure there will be any actual hockey playing happening this year. Amelia plans to be a doctor when she grows up. She is a great eater, loves chips and salsa and tacos! Amelia is definetly a lefty, loves to do puzzles and does really well with even the more difficult ones, she is more patient while doing them than Nora is. I call Amelia my "scowler." She does this smile and wrinkles up her nose. Cute but a scowler none the less.

We call Amelia and Nora, the "lambs." They refer to themselves as the lambs, our babysitter calls them the lambs. When they are being stubborn or honery they are then the rams.

Isaac is in the 2nd grade. His first year at Park Elementary. He loves school was super excited to go but has been having a bit of anxiety these first 3 weeks. He recognizes his nervousness but still gets a tummy ache. He started Hapkido (martial arts) in July and although he doesn't love to go, he enjoys it once he is there. He graduated last week from white belt to orange belt. We believe this class will help him gain some confidence in day to day activities. He also LOVES to read, read, read. He also expressed recently that he would like to pick up hockey again this winter. He took a little time off, but maybe now wants to give it another try! Isaac says he wants to be an author and illustrator when he grows up.

Ellie is in 8th grade. The same height as me! She keeps busy with dance and swimming in middle school tiger sharks. She is just a beautiful and graceful swimmer she makes it look effortless. She has become such a grown up, beautiful and mature girl, its difficult for me to wrap my head around how mature she is. She loves to be on stage, loves to dance and can tell when she is dancing that dancing is her passion/what brings her joy. She says she wants to be a science teacher when she grows up and has said for many many years that she wants to attend the University of MN. Go Gophers!

We are headed to Disney World in October. Ellie has been given the opportunity to dance at Disney with her dance studio. We couldn't let this opportunity pass her by, it will be something she will never forget. We are taking Isaac but leaving the girls home with my mom. It will be nice to have time with just Isaac and Ellie. The girls are so young they would never remember Disney.

We rented a cabin on the Upper Whitefish change again in August. This was our 5th year at the same resort. I'm sure our children enjoyed it for the most part, but it was not a vacation for Chris and I. The girls consume all our energy and time, we were exhausted and ready to come home by day 5. We plan to go back next year, to a different cabin, same area, less days.

To put it into simple terms, we have just gone through the terrible 2's and 3's with two of them. So everything is multiplied. We say, no, double the amount of times. They argue about everything and I mean everything! They think they can do everything themselves and I mean everything! We love them dearly, a blessing indeed, but we need to get to an easier time in their lives. No judgement unless your a parent of multiples! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday to Amelia & Nora!

Hard to believe that yesterday we celebrated Amelia & Nora turning 2! The girls are doing great, despite an ear infection a few weeks ago for Amelia, they have remained mostly healthy this winter (knock on wood).
Amelia, loves to do puzzles and read and her greatest thrill is to take whatever Nora is playing with and run through the house causing Nora to scream/cry.
Nora loves, legos (kegos) and to sing! Amelia & Nora's conversations in the car are usually deciding what song to sing, top picks are ABC's, Bumblebee, Choo Choo and Jingle Bells.

I wish I could record everything the girls are doing right now, its pretty cute and funny....

I am proud to say, I've survived 2 years of being the mom of multiples.

21 months-October 2016

Amelia & Nora have changed so much in the last few months. They talk all the time, are forming 3-4 word sentences. They play well together, they climb into their chairs when its time to eat, will even go as far as attempting to put tray on high chair and put bibs on too. They eat anything and everything, they use a spoon to eat cereal, yogurt or applesauce.
Amelia, continues to be our pleaser. She is so happy-go-lucky and is a little more outgoing than Nora. She carries a little more confidence in new settings and with new people. She loves reading books, the outdoors, swinging, going down the slide, helping to feed the dog, putting clothes in drawers (and taking them out just as easily ;)).  Amelia favors her left hand for writing, coloring and eating.
Nora, is our honery one. She says, No to just about everything you ask her. She's a little more unsure about new settings and is kinda a mama's girl. She loves sorting things, dumping things out of containers and then putting them back in, she still loves shoes (she will put on anybody's that are laying around), loves the outdoors as much as Amelia and loves Legos. Nora seems to favor her right hand for coloring, writing and eating.
Both girls love playing with babies, putting them night night or giving them a stroller ride.
A month ago, we had a routine developmental assessment at Children's. It was so fun to watch the girls and the tests the OT did. I stayed with Amelia during her testing and Chris was with Nora. They ran the same series of tests called the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler development. The tests consisted of puzzles, finding different things in pictures, they would hide a toy under a towel and they would have to remember where the object was. Needless to say, the girls did fantastic. Amelia has the language of a 26 month old and Nora was not far behind.
Nora weighed 23.5 pounds
Amelia 24.3 pounds
We do an ECFE class once a week and Nora doesn't like to leave mama's side. She's getting more comfortable each week but still doesn't like to let mama out of her sight.
We had first haircuts last week and the girls sat like perfect little angels.
Isaac is enjoying kindergarten and gave hockey a try this past weekend. He will go 5 times before we decide if he will join this year or not.
Ellie is enjoying 6th grade. She's in dance, plays piano and is swimming High Tides this year.
We look forward to the holidays!

18+ months

Hard to believe the girls are already 18 months old!
They are in the toddler room now and daycare and seem to be adjusting well to one nap a day, sleeping on a cot and drinking from a cup without a lid. Being in the toddler room has in turn made their vocabulary explode! They both, say, "No" "Isaac" "Momma" Dadda" "Hi" "All done" "Ellie" "More" and many more.
Nora (aka in the Wilke household as "Pants"  "Lamb B" or to Amelia she is "Bora") is obsessed with shoes. She is constantly putting shoes on her feet, wrong feet, shoes that don't match, makes no difference to her shoes are shoes! We call Nora our honery one, she says, "No" when asked if she wants to go to bed or take a nap or basically anything she doesn't want to do. She hates having her hair done but likes to dance. A lot of the things that Nora does and her personality remind us of Isaac. Last Dr. visit Nora weighed in at 22.5 pounds.
Amelia (aka in the Wilke household as "Lamb A" "JoJo" or "BoBo" to Nora), is the lover, people pleaser and rule follower. She will do what you ask her, throws garbage away if she's asked, picks up toys,  LOVES to read books and give hugs. Last Dr. visit Amelia weighed 23 pounds.
The girls are doing great! They are super busy and LOVE being outside, swinging, going down the slide or playing in their water table. They think Isaac is the funniest brother ever and the like to follow or be with Ellie where ever she is. I wish I could freeze time and remember these days forever. They are perfect in every way.....

 

 

Walking

I think we can officially say, that Amelia & Nora are walking! They walk from one side of the room to another and they think they are big stuff!
Short update for today, but I wanted to remember this milestone....

Update--15 months

The girls are quickly approaching 15 months and their personalities are really changing. The newest and grandest thing for them both is drinking from my Camelbak water bottle, standing on chairs which will then lead to a climb onto the table. They are told, "sit down" at least 100 times a day!
Amelia (aka Monster A), still is our busy girl. If there is something for her to climb on she will! When told, “No!” she is quick to respond with her toothy grin. She says, mama, dada, HI, uh-oh and other random gibberish we aren’t able to interpret but Ellie is convinced they are most definitely saying, Ellie. ;) Amelia can be found, in some way, shape or form, traumatizing/picking on her twin. She will tackle her, pull her down and steal whatever it is that Nora has. Amelia will stand on her own and has taken 1-2 steps on her own.  Amelia is a speedster on her knees and gets where she wants to go. Although Amelia is our busy girl, she is a little more apprehensive when it comes to new environments or new people.
Miss Nora pants, is wearing the role of “baby” of the family well. Nora is a lap girl, if you are sitting on the floor she will quickly be snuggling in your lap.  She is ultrasensitive and quick to cry out and ear curdling cry or scream even before Amelia has touched her but might be getting a little too close. Nora says, all the same words as Amelia, but has been a little braver with taking steps on her own and probably has taken 4-5. Nora has some pretty facial expressions which include a wrinkling nose and duck lips. Nora already seems to have an ear for music and will often be dancing to music she hears at church, on TV or from a toy.
They have both mastered throwing tantrums with complete collapses on the floor, arched backs and screaming.
All in all, they are super good girls, they eat good, sleep good, and love daycare.  We call them monsters when they aren’t on their best behavior and lambs when they are sleeping or if we’ve been away from them all day. We recently stayed at the Mall of America, while I was waiting to watch Isaac and Chris on a ride another mother with older twins, looked at me and said, “it gets easier.”
SW

Happy 1st Birthday Amelia & Nora!

Hard to believe that a year has passed since we welcomed Amelia & Nora into our family! At 1 years old, their personalities differ. Amelia is a little more "busy" she has done everything first, she was first to roll over, first to get a tooth, first to stand by furniture and now has been the first to let go of the walker or us and stand in one place. No steps yet (without holding onto anything), but I'm sure they will come soon enough. Amelia has 7 teeth, where Nora has 6. Nora may be a little behind Amelia in some things, but Nora has been the first one to say a word, she says, "Uh-oh"  and she waves, "Bye-Bye." Both girls LOVE to eat table food, they are completely off bottles and have been drinking whole milk for about a month. Amelia and Nora both had double ear infections and pneumonia diagnosed on January 5th, but after a switch in antibiotic for Amelia and a recheck last week they are healthy. I went back to work 20 hours a week last week and the girls are going to daycare at Kid's Inc.
Today, is a bit bittersweet for me. It is crazy to think how fast a year has gone, and how much they have changed, but I am excited for them to become a little more independent and for us to really see their personalities.
We love the girls SO much, they are the perfect completion to our family. They are two amazing "honeys."

SW