Happy St. Patrick's Day!

From the cutest little leprechauns around:)

Jamaica Pt. 2

Otherwise known as the waterslide edition:)

The girls noticed the "big, giant waterslide" on our first night during dinner. They both expressed an interest in going on it, but when my dad checked the rules, it said that you had to be 48 inches to ride, and that riding together wasn't allowed.

The next day, the girls stuck to this little slide at the main pool. They had a blast going down it (although they both got dunked at least once and definitely preferred to be caught).

We discovered that it was perfectly acceptable for the girls to go down the big slide on their own (or to go down with an adult), so after a little hesitation, I talked Harper into going down with me. I managed to hurt my back trying to keep her head out of the water, but she had a fantastic time. So much so that she went down on her own from then on. Tannah also went down with Wei-Yand for the first time, but then was more than happy to go on her own.

They were so cute. They would fly off the bottom of the slide already asking for more. They also sometimes would yell "Pups to the rescue" or "Pups save the day". They were cracking me up. They asked to go on the "big, giant slide" every single day after that. I don't even know how many times they both climbed up those stairs, but they napped well on vacation.

Jamaica Pt. 1.

We ended up telling the girls about our trip about a week before we left because they figured something was up when we started pulling out their bathing suits, flip flops, and puddle jumpers. They were so excited to "go to the beach":)

We had a direct flight from Chicago to Montego Bay, but we had to get up pretty early in the morning to arrive at the airport on time. The girls were up well before I expected them to be.

The flight there was pretty uneventful. The girls are fantastic little travelers. They got several compliments, and one of the flight attendants gave them each a box of gummi bears. They thought it was the best day ever.

That was until we got to customs. The flight was 4 hours, and neither of them napped, so when we hit a huge line, they were less than impressed. Harper just kept crying that she wanted to go swimming.

We finally made it through customs and an hour-long bus ride to the hotel, and it was dinner time. We knew that there was no way we would get the girls to go to bed without swimming, so we ended up letting them splash around in the ocean in the dark because the pool was closed. We stayed at a very family friendly resort that had a little shallow beach perfect for little kids.

We experienced some camera difficulties, so almost all of our pictures were taken with my parents' camera (and I still don't have all of the pictures).

The girls quickly discovered the joys of an all-inclusive resort and had "smoobies" and ice cream most days that we were there:)

That was the first time the girls had ever had their own ice cream cone (we normally share as a family), and we quickly learned that it's best to stick to cups of ice cream if they are going to be left to their own devices:)

Two Years and 11 Months

Our trip to Jamaica (pictures to come) and the stomach flu have kept me off of the computer, but we're only one month away from having two-three year olds. How did that happen?

At 35 months:

• They are still very into television. Their favorite shows are Sophia the First, Team Umizoomi, and Paw Patrol. When we were on vacation, Harper often yelled "Pups save the day" or "Paw Patrol to the rescue" while going down the "big giant waterslide":).
• They love to color, paint, take care of their babies, and "cook" in their kitchen. They also love to fill up their Jeep. They are going to go nuts when the snow melts and they realize that they can drive it.
• They love to sing. Hush Little Baby, Jingle Bells, and Old McDonald are current favorites. Of course, in our house, Old McDonald has a giraffe that says oink.
• Tannah has 20 teeth, and Harper has 19.
• They wear size 3T and 4T shirts and size 3T pants. They wear size 8 shoes.
• They sleep from about 8 until 7.
• They love their blankies and puppies and big hugs and kisses. Their favorite stories are any of the Brown Bear, Brown Bear books and Llama Llama and the Bully Goat.
• They are very particular about their hairstyles. Tannah generally demands a "big, giant ponytail". While Harper likes to change things up, but is particularly fond of "polkadots", which are two little pig tail buns.

This age is a lot of work, but it is so, so much fun!