Ernie Rules!

We have made progress!!! Mimi and I took the girls to Busch Gardens (several times during her stay) and Emma just decided to get down and go say hi to Ernie. She got out of Mimi's arms, walked to Ernie with no prodding on our end and hugged him for no reason at all!! It was so exciting & I have rarely been such a proud mama! This was right up there with first steps and hi-fives.

Busch Gardens... feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

Busch Gardens has opened "Elmo's World" and the girls love it. All of the characters put on a little show and there is a water section (that of course our girls have NOTHING to do with) and even a few rides for little ones. It is a great area- everything and everyone is kid-friendly and easy to get around. I just wish they would enjoy the water as much as the other little ones do. It looks like so much fun.



There is also a section of the park called "Land of the Dragons" that has several rides for little ones. This flying dragon is the only one we have been able to coerce them onto a few times that they actually enjoy.

It has been a great way to wear them out before nap time on the weekends. I think their favorite ride thus far is the tram ride from the parking lot to the park. They like to sit on the seat in between John & I and be "big girls." Everytime we go to the park we pass by Apollo's Chariot on the way in to park. It is the biggest ride there and it happens to be on Bella's side of the car and she loves to have the window rolled down and watch the people go by, especially if they are screaming. She always says "WOW!" even though she couldn't possibly fully understand what she is seeing. It's hilarious that she is so impressed with that roller coaster each time we go. She is going to be our thrill-seeker for sure.... as if we didn't already know that!

First Haircut

Everyone knows Bella's hair does its own thing... much like her. We finally broke down on May 8 and took her to the salon. She was not about to sit in that chair but she did let Daddy hold her while Chavon snipped a little off the back and made some bangs. She looked like such a different little girl when we were all done & her locks are somewhat more tameable now.

Mothers Day

We went to VB for Mothers Day. I know, we are gluttons for punishment. We just want them to love the beach like we do but so far that's not happening! They like walking the boardwalk and staying out of the sand so that is where we mostly stayed.

They love having their own strollers to push around- and they look so cute doing it. They act like those babies are real and it is their job to push them around. They're mommies in the making!!

Booty Shakin'

Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Here she is, in her first debut....

Animal Sounds

The girls are getting good with their animal sounds... but sometimes we run across ones that even John and I dont know! So if anyone knows what a butterfly or giraffe says we would appreciate the help!!

Here is a clip of Bella's explanation of what her favorite animals say!

Texas Time...

We made another trip to Texas for a couple of weeks but this time John accompanied us on the plane! The girls did travel well this time and by the time we got to Mom's house that night they were exhausted. That's not to say they slept or anything, but they were tired!

Friday John and I went to Chance and Dina's to visit the new babies. They are so cute & tiny & made John and I NOT miss those good old days. I never knew how wonderful babies were until I had my own........ and then got to hold someone else's and give them back! Check them out if you have a chance at http://duttontwins.blogspot.com/. They are just too cute for words but their pictures do them a little more justice.


Then on Saturday we all went to Mimi's house for pictures. It was somewhat, okay-VERY chaotic, trying to get a picture of everyone at the same time. We need an awesome PhotoShop program to enable us to take fifty pictures then choose pieces of each one to make one good photo. Capturing all of those kids is near impossible- they don't even look at the camera at the same time, let alone smile or look coherent. But we did the best we could with what we had!




My aunt Patti and my cousin Megan came and Megan brought her beautiful little girl, Evelyn, who was the best baby I have ever witnessed. She would do a half cry/whine when she was hungry then Megan would give her a bottle and she would hold it up herself and she was back to happy! It was un-natural but I only say that out of pure jealousy & admiration. Megan is a wonderful mom & very lucky to have such a great baby.




For the rest of the trip we bounced around between Mom's house, Matt's house & Dad's house. The girls had their first horseback ride and enjoyed all of Matthew & Hannah's outdoor toys. They have way more than we do since they can play with outdoor toys year-round in Texas! Bella really liked the car-type toys and was pretty protective of her rides.



Then Emma found her inner-Texan and found Matthew's John Deere tractor. She couldn't figure out how to make it drive but she definitely gave it her best shot. And she likes to help out sometimes so she gave the driveway a good trim while we were saddling up Buddy for a ride. They had so much fun being able to play outside and enjoy a little sunshine. In fact, while we were doing these very activities I received a text message from John who was back in Virginia and he was watching it snow on the back porch.



Emma liked being on Buddy with her Uncle Matt, whom she is very partial to, but Bella didn't enjoy her ride all that much. She is more of the soccer/snowboarding/adventurous type than a relaxing horse-ride on a Sunday afternoon kind of girl. Both girls are very fond of their Uncle Matt. He always knew exactly what they wanted, which usually requires more energy than any one person has. They always knew to go to him if they wanted to be thrown in the air or do flips off his belly. Somehow kids can smell a "dad" when they meet one and they knew right off that their Uncle Matt would show them a good time!

Valentine's Day with Daddy

John brought home Valentine's Day gifts for the girls and they were very happy. They actually smelled their flowers and didn't even try to eat them!! Afterwards everyone had homemade cookies & a good night's sleep!

Hop Skip Jump

We found the coolest place in Virginia Beach right down the road from where we used to live. It is called Hop, Skip, Jump and it is a one-room building with every toy you can think of. There is a huge treehouse/slide, shopping carts & groceries, dress up clothes for boys and girls (even though all the boys playing dress up had on high heels and boas with their dresses), musical instruments, rocking horses, bouncy castles, huge doll houses, and so much more. It was a lot of fun for me too, as you can tell.

The girls played for at least an hour and a half & had a great time. I can't believe they put in such a great place AFTER we moved away!! Isnt that always how it works out?!?!

Another Week....

Well, we made it another week! The girls have been sick off and on and the weather has been freezing so we haven't had too many adventures lately. We are mostly staying home and indoors so all of the toys have had a busy week as well.

They love climbing and sliding in their room. They get up to the top and say "go, go, go" before they can slide down. And sometimes Bella acts like she's counting at the top but the only number she knows is "TWO!!!" then I say three then she slides down.

Now that the playroom upstairs is underway a little bit that occupies a little of their time. They love having the freedom to go up and come down as they like. They won't play in there unless the light is on though- already afraid of the dark... and its not even that dark!!!

They say a new word every day it seems. Emma is more of a talker than Bella right now and she has learned "ball," "hello," "all done," "more," and "baby" in the past week or so. Bella says "hi" instead of "hello" which seems very odd that one would learn one word and one the other but I am trying to be less and less surprised by what they do!! The "B" words aren't coming as easily for them as I thought they were supposed to. I was told that "B" words were the easiest to say and usually the first but not in their case.

We have made a couple of trips to the park on a few occasions if the weather cooperates so they enjoy getting out of the house. Its so much fun to take them now because they actually climb the ladders and slide down all by themselves and Emma likes to swing while Bella likes to explore the area. They love climbing on anything that stands still long enough and like to watch the big kids in the other section of the park.

They aren't scare of much, which is good and bad. They don't understand that you can't walk in front of another child while they are swinging because they could kick you into next week and just because the older kids can play on the zip line doesn't mean everyone should be able to do it. But at the same time its really cool because I assume they will need help getting up a ladder or over a step and they prove everytime that they are perfectly capable. I am already being needed less and less for the daily tasks.

They are getting better at feeding themselves, too. They are good with a fork because the food stays on it better than a spoon but we are trying to let them experience things for themselves. It usually means more time spent cleaning up but I guess that is the price you pay. Bella likes feeding Emma and herself yogurt and cheerios and whatever else she can find. She doesn't usually share crackers but anything else is fair game.

You just never know what they are going to do in a day. Emma loves to play dress-up already- especially in my closet. Here she had found a scarf of mine and knew exactly where it belonged. They are starting to try on shoes and apply makeup and every bottle or spray can (even if its Vicks) should be rubbed in their hands and applied directly to the hair. Emma especially thinks every product out there is a hair product. And sunglasses are a must for the little diva as well. She is going to be the first one in high heels with her ears pierced I'm sure. The only thing I can't get in her hair is a clip but we're still trying.

But all in all, I guess we are doing well. They have so much personality you just can't predict what the day will hold, but I guess that is why we do this! And if nothing else, I can never say we are bored because there is always something to do at the Tropilo house!!!

Climbing Out!

Well, we have reached a milestone that none of us were ready for.... Bella can now climb out of her crib. We aren't real sure how to handle the situation because if we go ahead and convert to a toddler bed I'm afraid she would never sleep because she would be allowed to come and go freely. And if I leave it as a crib I'm afraid she is going to hurt herself when she jumps down. So, at this point we have pillows all along the floor and the beanbag chair as well, so that if she does jump out at least she isn't going to get hurt. I could leave the siderail down so that she doesn't have as far to go but again, I don't want to encourage the behavior! I just wasn't ready for this predicament- I had no idea it would come so early! But, I should have known that was inevitable with Bella in the house.

Other than that they are doing wonderfully. They are talking more and more and say some of the cutest stuff. In addition to the words from my last post they are also saying, "no, no" and "close" (usually because they have a cabinet or something else open that they know they are not allowed to be in). "Uh-oh" is a favorite, as well as "nana" for banana. They say "cracker" when they want a Ritz cracker and "night-night" when its bedtime or naptime and Emma will even say "hoo-hoo" for "What does a monkey say?"

Emma is getting better at puzzles too. She can correctly complete both her animal puzzle and her color/shape puzzle. It's really fun sitting with her and handing her each piece as she decides where it should go. Then she will turn it around and around trying to make it fit until finally she figures out which way it goes.

And Bella is the queen of organization! She is constantly wanting to put things away and LOVES taking stuff to the trash. You have to watch her sometimes because you don't always want things thrown away that she decides to toss! But it is proving very helpful- she will bring me a diaper when I change them or get a sippy cup for Emma or pick up toys and put them in the toy box. She loves making you happy & she is always VERY proud of herself when she doesn something she deems "good." She will clap her little hands and smile the biggest smile she can fit on her face. She loves Emma so much- not that that is a new thing, but she loves tending to Emma and bringing her books or juice or anything else that might make her happy when she is crying. And she is very loving to John & I. She always wants kisses when Dad leaves for work and she gives lots of kisses and hugs throughout the day. The way she asks for them is so cute- she sticks out her bottom lip and tilts her head and makes the "mwah" sound until you kiss her.

All in all things are going well. They are active and rambunctious and talkative and don't eat near enough but they are happy and I guess at this point that is all we are striving for!

Jumping Joey's

As you all know my little monkeys LOOOOOOVE this place. But Bella impressed me yesterday when we went to meet some friends up there. She is truly part monkey.... and too smart for her own good! But hey- on the bright side it saved me a trip up the ladder!

Enjoy!

Christmas 2008

I know, it's been forever since I've updated everyone! I'm so SORRY!!!

The girls are doing great- they are saying a few words now which is really cool. And just yesterday we taught Emma to say "meow" when she is asked "What does a kitty say?" She says it very clearly- she forms EACH letter with her mouth and exaggerates each sound, it's really cute. She says "milk" when its time for her milk at night, she says "mama" sometimes but she does know who I am now so that's a plus! And of course she still says "dada" and "kitty."

Bella says "night night," and sometimes "cracker" and "mama". But she always says her usual "kitty" and "dada."

They can also give high-fives, kisses and hugs (which they call "love"). They love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Tigger & Pooh. And all they LIKE to eat is bananas and grapes. But we are getting them to branch out some. Emma tried a fish stick tonight and Bella had green pepper. Other than that we mostly stick to grilled cheese, french fries, chicken nuggets and Ritz Chips!

Recently Emma, Bella, and my crazy self went to Texas to visit some new family members. My brother had his twins on December 8th and we got to be there for every new second. It was quite difficult traveling with the girls by myself but it was worth every minute. The girls were a handful on the plane and Bella's ears hurt but as long as they could see something cool out the window they were entertained! The new babies are wonderful and healthy and just beautiful! So we are excited to have another boy cousin, Mason and another girl cousin, Avery!

For Christmas this year we went to Michigan and it was so much fun. There was so much snow the girls had no idea what to think. Bella's adventurous side came out and she was more curious about it than anything. But Emma was her usual scared self and didn't want anything to do with the snow unless you were holding her. Given our experience this summer with the beach we expected this from them... but we were pleasantly surprised at Bella! She is definitely a Tropilo and took to the cold right away.

And the girls got a lot of cool stuff for Christmas of course. They got the Rose Petal Cottage and crayons and Mega Blocks and clothes and bowling animals but anyone who knows Bella knows her affinity for homemade potholders or her "rags" so here is the video of her opening the motherload. She was so excited! G-mama must have been knitting for 2 months to have this many ready on Christmas morning!!