Thomas (2.5) & Caroline (3.5)

It's been awhile since I updated the kids' online baby books so today I wanted to share some fun things about Thomas at 2.5 and Caroline at 3.5 before I let this post sit in my drafts folder for another 6 months.

Caroline: These days she is so self-sufficient it actually makes me kind of sad...but it's awesome all at the same time. In the mornings she gets up, goes potty, gets herself dressed, brushes her teeth and opens the baby gate (it was only a matter of time before she figured this out) and comes downstairs (usually too early), pushes a chair into the pantry and grabs something for breakfast, then goes back upstairs to wake up her brother and help him out of his crib. I mean WHAT IS HAPPENING?! She is also really in to helping me with everything. From cooking to cleaning to unloading the dishwasher, she wants to do it ALL. And she's pretty good at it too. I am so obsessed with this age.

Other fun things about Caroline:

• Loves to say the pledge of allegiance and the blessings at dinner
• She is obsessed with caring for her baby dolls. I love listening to her read to them, rock them, feed them, sing to them, say prayers to them and then tuck them in to bed. It's so dang adorable.
• Really in to racing her brother. We are always one competition away from losing a lamp in the family room.
• Always wants to have her nails painted
• Her teachers always tell me that she is the first to volunteer to be the teacher's helper. She loves to be the flag holder, door holder and helps her friends clean up their messes after she cleans hers. 
• Most surprisingly food she likes is broccoli.
• Rarely naps at home but has "quiet time" in her room where she usually just makes a huge mess.
•  Favorite toys right now are magnatiles, puzzles and the trace & learn and random jewels (she finds these in the sandbox at school). She also loves to use scissors and glue.
• Favorite books: Have You Seen My Dinosaur?, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls, Pete the Cat, Duncan the Story Dragon, Secret Pizza Party and Princesses Wear Pants
• Favorite TV shows: Paw Patrol, Doc McStuffins, Sophia the First, Sid the Science Kid and Team Umizoomi

Thomas: He is seriously the sweetest and strongest little man ever. He loves to give "big BIG hugs" and kisses and prefers to be held all the time. When he isn't being held he is rambunctious and runs into walls, trips over everything and bumps his head at least 3 times a day...but rarely cries, he just gets back up and keeps going. It blows my mind how tough he is. He is also really obsessed with his daddy. And I may or may not still rock him to sleep most nights.

• Drinks out of a big boy cup
• LOVES music, singing, dancing and laying on his side on the floor rolling his toy cars and trucks back and forth.
• Still the very best napper and sleeper. He loves sleep. He also loves when his sissy wakes him up in the mornings and helps him break out of his crib.
• Potty training is going....um, well it's not really going. We are following his teachers' lead (like we did for Caroline) but he really just likes to unroll the toilet paper and flush the toilet after sitting there for 3 seconds. So it doesn't look like I'm going to be canceling my subscribe & save for diapers on amazon anytime soon.
• Leans on his sister for everything. She helps him put on and take off his shoes, jacket, etc. We are trying to intervene and push him to start doing things for himself. He does like to get his own snack and fill his cup with water from the fridge, but that's about it. 
• He is doing terrific with his contacts so we are pushing off the next surgery. When a contact falls out he will usually bring it to me, his teacher, etc.
• Favorite toys: Elmo, Cars, Ride-On Firetruck, Rollercoaster, Remote control cars, Race Track
• Favorite books: Trashy Town, The Day the Crayons Quit, Have You Seen My Dinosaur?
• Favorite TV shows: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street

First Day of Twos & Threes Class

This week Caroline and Thomas moved up to their new classes! Thomas is now in Caroline's old classroom with her old teachers and Caroline is 4 steps across the hall with three new teachers, one of which is Thomas' old teacher! We are so excited for the new school year! A few obligatory first day of school photos...

Caroline: Dress // Shoes // Backpack 

Thomas: Shirt // Shorts // Shoes // Backpack

Oh, and for all of you wondering how we get these super cute pictures of our kiddos...it's cookies. 

Previous First Days of School: 2016 First Day of Young Toddlers & Twos Class

2015 First Day of Infant & Young Toddlers Class

2014 Caroline's First Day of Infant Class

 

Tom Tom is Two!

Yesterday our little Tom Tom turned TWO. Thankfully his second year of life wasn't as much of a whirlwind as his first year! I just adore the little man of ours. Thomas is definitely a rambunctious boy, doesn't listen to anything we say, laughs at our discipline tactics and pushes his sister around too much. But he's also the absolutely sweetest and cuddliest little guy. He still lets me rock him to sleep every night. He loves to pat or rub my back when I'm holding him. He gives the best kisses. And he has completely stolen my heart as a mama's boy.

A few things for the "baby book:"

Goes By: Thomas, Tom, Tom-Tom & Bubby

Loves: Trucks! Really, he loves any sort of transportation -- cars, boats, tractors, etc. I especially love to see his excitement over trucks though -- construction, utility, emergency, etc. He loves them all. Tom also prefers to always be outside and loves water, dirt, mud and jumping off things -- all boy!

Favorite Toys: Ride-On Truck // Firetruck // Meow Piano // Dump Truck // Scooter // TV Remote Control

Eating: He's still our better eater and although he isn't a vegetable fan, he loves tomatoes. Also loves yogurt and applesauce pouches, ALL the fruit and popsicles.

Sleeping: Tom is also hands down our better sleeper (always has been)! We dropped his nighttime paci a few months ago and he didn't care at all, which is totally opposite of our experience with Caroline, who dropped hers much later and with a ginormous fight! Sleep regressions didn't really phase him and he loves to sleep in. The only time he will cry at night is if he is sick, which means he gets to sleep with us.

Sibling Love: It's hilarious and awesome to me that Tom wants to do every single thing that his sissy does. He follows her around and touches what she touches, repeats what she says and jumps when she jumps. He must drink out of the same kind of cup, use the same utensils, eat the same snack, play with the same toy and more. He follows her to the potty (where she kicks him out every time -- privacy please!) and wants to sit on the potty afterwards too (not that we are embarking on potty training yet!).

Vision: We've seen tremendous improvement in his vision over the past year which I couldn't be more thankful for. When I look back at pictures I can't believe how far we've come. Despite his improving eye sight he still doesn't care about TV or the iPad for more than 3 minutes. He'd rather listen to music or run wild.

I am SO excited for two (gasp, I know!). I've said it a million times, but toddlerhood is my absolute favorite stage and I'm excited to see his personality continue to shine and his vocabulary pick up. It's going to be a wild but fun year ahead!

Caroline stormed into Tom's room bright and early on his birthday with tons of balloons!

Then we went to IHOP for a pancake breakfast -- our birthday tradition for the kids.

And ice cream...because you only turn two once!

After breakfast we visited the fire station where Tom was allowed to crawl around the inside of the truck and left with a fire fighter sticker. It was a fantastic birthday morning!

Thomas & Matt's Fire Truck Birthday Party

On Saturday Matt turned 37 and today Thomas turned two! So on Saturday we combined their birthday celebrations into a double-header party -- a fire truck toddler party for Tom and a late night after party for Matt. Judging by the state of my house the next morning, which looked like a frat house, the parties were a huge success. 

Tom Tom is absolutely obsessed with fire trucks these days. He is completely enamored with them and can frequently be heard pushing his fire truck around the house singing "weee-ewwww-weee-ewww!" So for his 2nd birthday party we knew fire trucks had to be the theme! 

 It took me 3 failed Pinterest crafts before I went the easy route and created "fire" with yellow, orange and red crepe streamers.

Caroline helped.

Harris Teeter nailed the fire cupcakes. I had pretty low expectations since combining three colors of icing is a gamble, but they turned out way better than I had anticipated. And the fire hydrant cupcake holder was too cute to pass up as an add-on during my last prime order.

Orange, yellow & red tulips! For the table runner I picked up a roll of wrapping paper from the Target dollar aisle.

I had pizzas delivered for the party which has been such a game changer from previous parties. I used to get stuck in the kitchen at the beginning of every party trying to heat everything. Not anymore. Once we switched to pizza we never looked back!

Outside I served some toddler approved snacks: goldfish, pretzels, peanut butter crackers, pirates booty & watermelon.

I couldn't resist scooping up that cute Paw Patrol pinata during my Walmart run for all of the paper products. This also doubled as a popular toy to carry around during the party.

Because setting out cupcakes an hour before the party was toddler torture I let Caroline and Thomas eat their (first of many that night) cupcakes. And by "eat" I mean lick all of the icing off and hand the bottom of the cupcakes back to me.

 

Thomas & Ellerbe -- birthday twins!

The littlest nugget at the party!

Classmates (minus Wade) picture!!!

The last of the toddlers rallied through a bit of the late night party. Hopped up on capri suns and cupcakes, Caroline, Louise and Whit closed the toddler party down around 10 pm. After getting kiddos to bed several dads returned to continue the celebrations with Matt. It was a great party day!