October 2008 Blog
Saturday October 31th, 2008
Happy Hallowe'en!!
We had a great week leading up to Hallowe'en. We had a sleep over at Grandma and Grandpa's and then Auntie Mags came to visit and stayed a few days to play endlessly with Rain and Piper. Nana and Opa came out for dinner and there was much horsing around including a Fe Fi Fo Fum Giant (played by Opa) game. Piper has started giving Rain belly raspberries when we change her. They both think it's hysterical. Piper wanted to give a raspberry to Opa but when he presented his tummy she said "It's too hairy".
We went to the zoo this morning in costume with Nana, Opa, Auntie Mags, Daddy (who took the day off work), Mommy, Krista and Sasha. The girls were dressed as an angel (Piper) and a devil (Rain) which is what they dressed as last year but in opposite. We saw lots of kids in costume there but the best was a kid dressed as Elmo. Rain followed him for as long as she could (maybe she wanted his autograph) and often asked where he was once we lost sight of him.
We went trick or treating at night. Opa dressed up in his clown costume which Piper liked but Rain was a bit wary of. Mommy dressed up in her cat costume. Both girls had a great time and got the hang of things quite quickly (the candy of course helped). They'd say thank you and Rain would tack on "See Ya Tomrrow!". Boy is she going to be dissapointed when we don't go again tomorrow night.
All in all it was a fantastic week....we had great weather (warm too) with lots of family fun! Thanks to everyone for making Hallowe'en a blast.
Some fun photos from the week including 2 silly photoshopped photos from Mommy!
Saturday October 25th, 2008
The weather has started to be iffy...cbut I finally managed to find Piper a new winter jacket (one that wasn't sporting a princess or fairy on it) We had our first snowfall on the 21st although none of it stayed on the ground.
Just a few fun stories to tell. Piper locked herself in the bathroom one day and although I tried to explain how to unlock the door she didn't quite understand. I thought about trying to get through the window but it was not possible either. She was pretty upset and I was at the point when I thought I'd have to break the door down (although I doubt I could have done it) when I realized there was a slot in the doorknob that fit a dime...and low and behold it unlocked the door from the outside.
Rain is occasionally using the potty now and Piper even asked to use the toilet when we were out at the zoo last week. Fingers crossed that the progress continues.
We've determined Rain likes to "think outside the box"...everytime we think we can predict her behavior she surprises us. At the McDonalds Playland she went down a hige enclosed curly slide on her own when we were sure one of us was gonna have to go up and get her down. Piper was a great sister and helped talk her up and the climbing platforms and then showed her how to get around all the tunnels, nets and slides. It was pretty cute to see her call to Rain and take her hand. At the zoo this week I had 2 peeled but uncut carrots. Piper grabbed it at the bogger end and ate little end down. Rain of course ate it the opposite way.
We bought them a doctor kit and an "Elmo Visits the Doctor" video so that Rain gets more comfortable around the Doctor and their tools.
We even got Rain to ride the escalator for the first time (she's been on it many time before but only in our arms)
Here's a couple of phrases from Piper that we find funny.
After eating ..."My belly is too heavy for Piper."
On the slide one afternoon we were making trains (me in front, Piper in the middle and Rain last)...and while waiting for Rain to climb up Piper commented "Mommy I got no caboose. Mommy you got no caboose" (Daddy laughed and said "No. Mommy has a caboose alright).
Piper is convinced she has a baby in her belly while Rain thinks she has a kitten in hers. I think they are curious about the baby in Auntie Dani's belly and think they can have one too. however when I ask them ifthey want a baby or a kitten they say kitten. Whew I'm off the hook!
Some more photos and captions.
Lunch with friend Ryan
Piper's first (and probably last) Corvette
Helping Mommy Make crepes for breakfast
Sommersaults and more
Doctor Rain and Doctor Piper
Socks?
Piper and a marionette
Riding the escalator
Monday October 13th, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a fun-filled family weekend. The girls had a great time at Uncle Ken and Aunt Christa's cottage where they got to go in a rowboat for the first time, and they got to play with cousin Nathan!
Then today we visited Uncle Doug and Aunt Cheryl's cottage and got to try a paddle boat and feed a ton of small sunfish in the pond. Check out the video and pictures from the kids Thanksgiving adventures.
A couple of days ago we went hiking down at the Lake and the girls feed the ducks and then took turns holding a caterpillar. Piper loves looking for bugs. Rain prefers striking off the main path and exploring the woods.
We also went to the zoo last week and got to touch some stingrays in a big pool. Grandma and Grandpa took them to a different zoo where they got to go down a HUGE slide (which they went down many times)
One morning I came in and Piper (who was awake) looked at me and said.."Hi Mommy! Rain's in my bed." and indeed Rain had crwaled into Piper's bed sometime during the night. Cute.
Piper also got her hands on a pen and drew us a nice picture on the kitchen floor.
Some photos highlighting the last few days and one photoshopped picture of Piper flying.
Tuesday October 7th, 2008
Just thought I'd do a quick update on the girls development.
Piper has started using the toilet instead of the potty when she had diaper free time. Being toilet trained is still a ways off but it's a great start. Piper is also getting faster on the tricycle. I have to speed walk or lightly jog to keep up. Today she got stung by a wasp for the second time this year (the first time on her finger and today she got stung on the chin). She cried and told me to go get her an icecube which would make it feel better. Isn't it great when the kids know first aid almost better than you? (Thanks for the first aid training Nana) She put the ice on her chin for a minute and then let it sit..then kept coming back every few minute to ice it again.
Piper likes to refer to herself as "Pi"...as in "Pi can't do it" or "Pi want to see." It's pretty funny.
Rain favorite word of the week is "Spheres" which she learned from a Sesame Street Sports video (they were talking about shapes...and all balls are spheres.) She's also been recounting stories form various trips we've taken to the zoo, the farm and other places that stick in her mind. The detail in her stories is uncanny. When she listens to music that comes from one of their videos she retells in detail what images you'd see at that point in the song.
Here's a chart of their heights from last year to this.
| Month/Year |
Piper |
Rain |
| November 2007 |
82 cm (32.2 in) |
79 cm (31.1 in) |
| February 2008 |
86 cm (33.9 in) |
82 cm (32.3 in) |
| May 2008 |
89 cm (35 in) |
85 cm (33.5 in) |
| October 2008 |
94 cm (37 in) |
89 cm (35 (in) |
Monday October 6th, 2008
Today was a blast!!! We went to a farm that had a whole section tailored to kids. They had wagon rides, an animatronic chicken show, huge tractor tires and hay stacks to climb on, a farm with all kinds of animals, a treehouse with slide, a tractor, a huge slide built onto the side of a hill, a sand pit, water pumps and tracks for rubber duck racing, a pedal tractors race course, a giant spiderweb for climbing, a corn maze and of course a huge pumpkin patch. We escaped with only 4 pumpkins (which the girls picked themselves). We went with Sam, Emma and Sasha so there were lots of friends to play with. It was such a great day and the girls fell asleep on the way home. It's definately a great place to take the kids on nice days.
Check out the rest of the photos in the October Photo Page.
Friday October 3rd, 2008
Welcome to the "real" fall. It's finally cold enough to be considered Fall. That hasn't stopped the girls from wanting to go play outside. On some of the rainier days we inflated an air mattress and let them jump on it inside the house. We move it around from room to room keeping the jumping game fresh. They seem to like when one end of the mattress is up on the couch or bed and they can either roll or jump down it. Last night we had it by the couch and the girls would bounce from the arm of the couch to the couch cushion, then onto the matress and then off onto the floor. Check out Video ONE and Video TWO.
Piper has started looking for bugs under rocks. Her favourite right now are worms. She holds them so gently and then when she's done places them back in the dirt. Rain just likes to whirl and fling them.
In addition to their friend/neighbour Sasha we have also struck up some play mates with Rebecca (anotther neighbour), and Sam and Emma (another set of girl twins) whom we have known for a long time but don't see that often. Now that the girls are all in playing age they seem to really enjoy playing with other kids their own age. Piper seems interested in playing with the many other kids on the street - all boys...and all older than the girls.
A new playgym opened up which we have visited. Yet another place to go on cold ro rainy days that will help us tire out the kids endless energy
Lastly...and most importantly...the girls naptime might be on the way out. They have been skipping the afternoon nap about half the time now. I'm wondering if it's just the change in the weather that is effecting things or if it is truly the end of the nap (ahhh nooooo!)
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