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Ashton and Brooks are 2 years old! They turned two about a week and a half ago, on February 2nd. Kind of funny – 2 boys turned 2 on 2/2/2020. Lots of twos!!
I can’t believe it’s been so long since I gave a true update. I’ve mentioned some things here and there and if you follow me on Instagram, then you see them and their shenanigans on Stories regularly, but there hasn’t been a a full-on update. I’m thinking I need to do them more regularly. What do you think? Is that something you’d like to see?
All photos by Brittany Sweat Photography.
So at their two year check up on Friday, Ashton weighed in at 31 lbs and is 35.5 inches tall. Brooks is 35 lbs and 37 inches tall. According to the growth charts, they are big for their age. Especially Brooks. They certainly feel heavier these days. I used to be able to hold them both pretty easily and even dance around, but lately it’s much harder and I can’t last holding them both at the same time for long. They’ve thinned out and gotten a good bit taller, so it’s funny to look back. They looked so much more like babies a year ago.
Gosh, where to begin looking back over the last year?! At the time of my last update, they were 13 months old and had just started walking. I was amazed at how much had changed in the first year, but I think even more changes in the second. To look back at videos of them a year ago – they truly have gone from babies to toddlers and the difference is crazy. Their understanding of the world around them has just grown so much.
So what do the boys love? WATER, WATER, WATER. It doesn’t matter if it’s a puddle on top of our hose box or a massive pool – they want to play with it or be in it. I don’t think this is uncommon for kids, but my gosh they love water. So much so that we started them on swim lessons last summer when they were 19 months old. I’ve written a little bit about it in blog posts here and there I think, but it was one of the best things we’ve done for them.
The lessons started out rough. It was supposed to be 6 weeks of them learning “swim, float, swim”, which is basically a survival swimming class. Probably the biggest thing is them learning to float if they fall in water (in my opinion) and understanding how to find their way to the surface. They said it’d be about 3 weeks that they really weren’t happy, but then they’d get into it and enjoy it.
Well, it was literally 5 full weeks before Ashton started enjoying it and almost 7 weeks for Brooks. Those weeks were TORTURE. Their lessons were 20 minutes total – 10 minutes per child – 4 days a week, every week for what ended up being about 8 weeks. It was dedication to be at those lessons at 7:30 am every day and torture to watch them cry and hate it the whole time. But then they finally caught on. They nailed their float and turns and started to love it, always signing for “MORE!”
Since those lessons ended, we’ve continued with lessons once a week (it’s indoors) to keep up their skills over the winter. They LOVE it now! They have fun slides and castles that they play with and swim on and I actually get in the water with them now and they love swimming with me (and dadda, when he gets in instead of me). These kids are little fish. I’m excited for summer and going to the pool, but also pretty positive that we will not EVER get a rest because they will constantly want to swim with us, LOL.
We were also fortunate to have 3 beach trips last summer and the boys just love the beach! Again – water. They just always want to be in it. Even in the ocean. The waves don’t scare them. They seemed like they’d be perfectly happy to jump out of our arms and right into the biggest waves.
The boys also love music and often dance when it’s on. I also love to dance, so I certainly encourage our dance parties.
They’ve always loved books, and still do, but their attention span isn’t always what it used to be. They are SO BUSY and seem like they’re constantly moving, so they really have to be in the mood for sitting and reading these days. They will sit for drawing with their crayons and playing with stickers though.
Speaking of being constantly busy, they really are always in motion. They love anything loud that makes plenty of noise, pushing things (like their lawn mowers) and more recently, their trains and bounce house. They also love playing at parks and have gotten better and better at climbing and love to swing. They love being outside. Sticks, dirt, rocks – you name it. They love it. Being outdoors just seems to calm them, so winter has been a little tough, since we can’t always get out much.
Speaking of winter and getting out, we were super fortunate that in their first year, they weren’t ever really sick. They had a fever once, but it was super short lived and there wasn’t really anything else that came along with it.
In their second year, they first got a 24 hour stomach bug that was the worst ever. We (mom and dad) also got it and I can tell you that I have never experienced something like that before. Brutal. That was in the spring.
Since fall, they’ve been sick 3 times. I feel like that’s nothing for some kids, but for us, it seemed like a lot. In November, they got their first legit colds – snot coming out of every orifice and everything. Ashton ended up with his first ear infection and after 10 days of medication, it turned into a double ear infection. I felt so bad for him! Brooks never got the ear infection (he’s actually pretty good at blowing and clearing his nose) and still hasn’t had one. Those were Ashton’s only ones so far.
Then I got sick and it turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. I’d never had bronchitis before and my gosh that was rough. Trying to get better and take care of them while they were sick – jeez. It’s really true what they say that parents don’t get sick days. I feel like I got so bad because I was so focused on trying to take care of them and not getting any sleep.
Anyhow, they also ended up with the flu right after Christmas, despite getting a flu shot. Ashton’s temperature got up to 103.9 so he ended up in the ER, but they got in under control and he was fine. Brooks got it, but not as bad. Somehow, the hubs and I never got it.
And most recently over these last couple of weeks, they’ve had something again. Not really sure if it was a cold or what, but it came with a fever and congestion. They are both ok now, but I’m still getting over it.
While our illnesses may not be super interesting, they are notable to me because the hubs and I don’t get sick much. Apparently baby bugs are for real. The hubs hasn’t gotten any of them though. Just that stomach bug. But getting sick has also made us a little discouraged about getting out this winter because it seems like every time we go somewhere that kids play indoors, they get sick. Such a pain.
Ashton (above)
Brooks (above)
And eating – that’s a fun topic. The doctor told us at their 12 month appointment to expect them to start eating less, but that’s really only happened in the last couple of months. They are actually pretty good little eaters. They will eat any and all fruit and they will eat it ALL DAY LONG. They love it. They are even pretty good with veggies overall. They’ll eat avocado, asparagus, sweet potato, butternut squash, green beans, peas and carrots. The thing they like least is meat. Chicken is about it. Fortunately they like eggs, cheese, yogurt and milk so they get their protein. And what kid doesn’t like pizza or fries? They certainly do. But only if the fries come with lots of ketchup. They LOVE ketchup, LOL. At dinner the other night, they randomly started dipping their blueberries in ketchup. Kind of gross, but whatever.
They do really well with their forks and spoons. They are getting so they really aren’t messy eaters – at least not by accident. They may make a mess for fun still though.
And then talking. That’s actually been pretty slow to develop. From what I’m told, boys tend to talk later than girls and twins are often even more delayed. Ashton and Brooks definitely fall into that group. They’ve really only started using some words just in the last couple months. It’s getting better and better and it’s making life so much easier. To be able to communicate with them is just so nice. We still have to work with them on it, but it’s better. After 2 years of them being used to fussing and whining to get our attention and try to communicate, it’s a hard habit to break and actually use a word when they know it. We have started making them use words before they get what they want. They have to use the word if they know it or at least try to use a word, rather than a whine. It’s definitely been helping.
As an example of the types of talking they’re doing now – they often pee through their diapers at night. Brooks in particular. Sometimes it’s just a little bit, but plenty often he has wet himself from waist to ankle. We use night time diapers in a bigger size, but he still pees through them. They sleep in sleep sacks, so it doesn’t get everywhere and it doesn’t bother him. But a couple mornings ago, for the very first time ever, he told me he was wet as soon as he got out of bed. I picked him up out of his crib and he said “wet”. It took a few times before I realized what he was saying, but then I got so excited that he told me (praised him a ton, of course) and changed him immediately. Normally they’ll run around in their sleep sacks for maybe 15 minutes or so and just kind of wake up before I change them, but with him talking to me – even in the smallest way – I was able to go ahead and change him. Such a big step for him and us!
We could be worried about the talking, but aren’t really and our pediatrician isn’t either. They are delayed, but still making progress and doing super well lately. But boy does communicating make life easier. Even when it’s something as simple as them telling us they want their “teddy” rather that crying for an unknown reason. The more talking and less fussing/crying/trying to figure out how to get what they need, the better.
The other thing we’ve dealt with over this past year is the development of pushing, biting and pinching. For a while, Ashton was biting. We managed to break that habit, but then the last several months, Brooks has been biting. It’s been much harder to break him of the habit, but I do really think that as they begin to talk more and are able to express themselves, it’ll help. Right now, if they are fighting over a toy or something, they don’t use words to deal with it. Not even “no”. So I’m hoping that will improve with time.
We did start utilizing timeout at 18 months. It’s been a good thing. They definitely know what it is and understand and it seems to be a deterrent – for now.
These kiddos are getting more and more spunky and independent. Brooks in particular is getting so that he wants to do things for himself.
They really are so fun and adorable. I think they are quite happy little guys. They laugh a lot and they are so darn loved. We really love them to pieces and just love watching them grow and learn and do new things. It’s the most fun part of being a parent – to see them achieve something new and get so proud of themselves. The best!
And since it’s been the trend in these posts, I’ll share the update on me. This last year I’ve been able to focus a little more on taking care of myself. I have mentioned throughout the year that I’ve been losing the baby weight. I bought an elliptical machine and have been using that and made some changes to my eating habits. As of October, I’d lost 35 pounds of the 40 pounds I wanted to lose. I feel like I’ll get around to that last 5 pounds eventually, but I just needed a break from focusing on that for a bit.
For me, losing the weight has been really nice. I just feel better mentally and physically. It’s been good to strengthen my body as well. It not only helps with keeping up with two busy little boys, but it’s helped with some back pain I was having. I’ve mentioned before that I have diastasis recti from my pregnancy. It started at about 5 1/2 fingers, if I remember correctly. It’s now at about 1 1/2 fingers. It’s HARD to get it to close all the way. But I was having a lot of back pain when sleeping at night that I think was due to that and just a general lack of core strength from everything. Since getting back into shape, I haven’t had that problem anymore, which is wonderful. I don’t wake up in the morning unable to sleep any more because of back pain.
The hubs and I took a trip to the Bahamas back in April for our 10 year wedding anniversary, which was really nice. It’s hard to focus on each other with two little ones around, so it was much needed for us to kind of reconnect after a crazy first year with twin babies. We try really hard to get date nights when we can and are currently trying to plan a trip for us two again. We are believers in keeping “us” good. Our relationship trickles down to our family life and we genuinely just want to love each other and love our kids. We can do that best when we focus on God, our marriage and then our family.
And I think that’s it! We’ve got two spunky, beautiful, fun and crazy little boys that are such wonderful blessings. We are so thankful for them and being their parents. It’s not easy parenting twins. We often feel like we aren’t able to give each of them the kind of individual attention we’d like to, but we do our best. If there’s anything you’re wondering about that I didn’t mention, feel free to ask! I’m really a pretty open book. And again, if you think it’d be nice to get more regular updates like this, let me know!
