A Day Out With Thomas

The twinadoes latched onto Thomas the Tank Engine & his friends months ago. Unlike all the other characters they have fallen for (and quickly fallen out of love with), their love of Thomas has stuck around, so I had no problem dishing out the bucks for the "Day Out With Thomas" event on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

It killed two birds with one stone; their first train ride and the obvious Thomas festivities.

I have to say, other than the Vegas-style gift shop, you know the kind you have to go through to get ANYWHERE else, it was AWESOME!

There was story-telling, bouncy houses, a maze, play areas, model railroads, a meet & greet with Sir Topham Hat, a tattoo tent, and best of all the 30 minute ride with everyone's favorite blue engine himself (even better was the fact that the coach was air-conditioned. A bit of relief from the 86 degree day.)

And reason #1,376 why I love my kids. They picked musical toothbrushes as their souvenirs!

Full photos here.

A Real Circus Act

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but let's just say the kids LOVE some Uncle John time.

Birthday Parties

Ok, I'm going to wimp out and post the links to the photos. They say more than I could ever say about the fun the kids had at their birthday parties. All three of them.

May 10, 2010- 3 years old

May 10 Dinner

Memphis Kiddie Park.

Birthday BBQ.

Splish, Splosh, Splash

We ♥ Daniels Park. The playground is a lot of fun, but there is NO shade anywhere to be found inside the fences of the playground. After an hour the twinadoes were sweating and ready to cool off, so we headed down to the river.

A boy and his boat.

Sidearm. Hey, it worked for Bernie Kosar!

Cooling, refreshing, and a sandy mess. Just like kids should be in the summer.

If you haven't been to Daniels Park, put on your water shoes and head over.

It's Coming

I have been very bad about posting any updates & pictures. Things have been crazy and with better weather the twinadoes want to be outside all the time.

Their birthday festivities this past weekend were a hit. They had a blast at Memphis Kiddie Park, as did some of the adults! It was delightful to see my kids having so much fun with UB and Aunty Kathy.

Planning a kid party and a BBQ in the same day was not my most brillant idea, but it worked with the help of friends and neighbors. We only had about 90 minutes once we got home from the kiddie park to set up for the BBQ.

We are looking forward to the next couple days of 80+ weather and the big surprise this weekend for the twinadoes: Thomas the Train at Cuyahoga Valley Line. They have never been on a train, let alone THE train of their dreams!!! I can't wait.

If you are in C-town, enjoy this summer weather!

3 Year Pictures

If you recall, the Christmas/2.5 year pictures did not go so well. I took them to Target by myself and we were lucky the Christmas tree was still standing in the studio when we left. They truly were twinadoes that day. Prior to that, the 2 year session was not much better and the family portrait session with the Grandma's was probably the worst ever!

So, needless to say I prepared for the worst. But I didn't get it! They did really well. The photographer asked me if Nolan ever stops smiling. No, he doesn't. Reagan was in top form and was having a good time, too.

Phew.

Twinadoes Turn Three

repost from Twinado Warning.

Today the twinadoes are three.

All the cliches are true. Time DOES fly.

They are not babies anymore. They literally seem to grow overnight. Clothes that fit a week ago are too short & tight.

They have huge vocabularies. We get told that at least 5 times a week by strangers.

They can count to 20 in English and to 10 in Spanish.

Nolan is trying his best at the potty.

As for personalities, they are opposites.

Nolan is the sweetest soul I've ever met. He is kind, giving, totally huggable, and a sweet, sweet boy. He is compassionate, shares well (most of the time), and is gentle. If he stays this way, he will grow into a man I will prouder than I ever imagined I could be. He likes people (sometimes too much, which scares me.) He has the hardiest laugh I've ever heard for a little kid.

Right now his career ambition is to be a conductor of a train.

Which brings us to what Nolan likes. Thomas the Train is it as far as shows. Nolan loves to sing and you will hear him process a song while he listens. He picks up the beat very well and after hearing it about 3 times, he will start to sing along. Besides Duran Duran he likes Oasis, Johnny Cash, and a few oldies that he listens to with my mom. Downtown by Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles.

He is rarely without a smile which puts one on my face when there are days I don't think I can muster one.

Reagan is the leader. Born first, she is in charge. She takes a little more time to warm up to you, but when she does; she will be your bestie for life. She has a stubborn streak a mile wide, but has another side that is a loveable little girl. She has the best giggle. She is funny and likes to make jokes. Reagan gives THE best bear hugs in the world. Without fail that hug can turn my bad day around.

Sometimes Reagan says she wants to be a librarian, but I have my sights set higher for Reagan. She needs to be in charge. Who knows, maybe she'll be President!

Reagan loves arts & crafts. That is probably her favorite thing to do. She stamps, colors, and glues her way through any classes we take and then wants to continue at home. She colors in the line very well and has a clear idea of what color things must be.

Reagan (as well as Nolan) loves the water. Kalahari is the place to be. She is very brave in the water and I bet by the end of the summer, she will be swimming on her own. She is tall enough to walk the whole pool at the Y. Hard to believe they were only 9 months old when they started swimming classes.

It seems like just yesterday they smiled for the first time, rolled over, crawled, and even began to walk. Now they run, hop, gallop, and march all over the place.

They are Explores. Adventurers. Experimenters.

Best of all, they are mine.

To laugh with.

To teach.

To learn from.

To love.

Mother's Day Weekend...Three Years Ago

Three years ago, on Mother's Day I got to bring the 3 day old twinadoes. There will never be a better gift.

More pics.

Twinado Warning blog post.

Happy Mother's Day to every woman that is important in the life of child, especially those who are an important part of the twinadoes life!

Why I Take Pictures

http://www.nolanpchak.blogspot.com/

I ♥ my new lens. Well, I got it over the winter, but am finally getting to play around with it.

I feel like I finally have a way to artistically express myself. I have never been good at art, just ask my 7th grade art teacher who basically told me she was sorry her class was a requirement because I should not have been taking it!

I see beauty though. I want to capture it. Taking pictures finally has given me the outlet to do it.

More pics.

Don't forget to check out my blog I am doing for the News-Herald. Twinado Warning.

My Next Purse

Pearly Whites

The twinadoes had their first dentist appointment a couple of days ago. We talked it up, read a Dora Goes to the Dentist book a lot, and practiced opening wide and counting teeth.

I was pretty sure they were going to do well, and they proved me right. The only hiccup was when they were trying to polish Nolan’s teeth. He had been really good up to that point, but when she started doing it, he rebelled. He said, “This tastes like sand in my mouth!” He was, however, very happy to operate the water fountain and get to rinse.

They were really nice about it and said it wasn’t necessary to do it on this visit anyway, but I think the precedent has been set. Any suggestions for next time?

They got a bag of loot, a prize from the toy shelf, and a balloon and we were on our way in under an hour. They also got entered into the monthly drawing and we got a message today that Nolan won! He gets to go to the office and pick his prize. Very cool first visit to the dentist, if you ask me.

Since they did so well at the dentist, we headed to the zoo as a treat. We haven’t been since Boo At The Zoo last October so the twinadoes were super excited to see their “animal friends.” We headed up to the Northern Trek and I was happy to get some really good photos (a hobby/future career, I hope) and the twinadoes were happy to get blue icees.

The weather cooperated, the twinadoes cooperated, even the animals at the zoo cooperated. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

More pictures.

News Herald Blog

The blog I will be writing for the News-Herald, Twinado Warning: Sunshine, storms, and chasing rainbows while raising our twins; Reagan and Nolan,
is up and running. You may find it on this page as well as some other interesting blogs. Please subscribe to the RSS feed and become a follower as the News-Herald tracks all that stuff.

direct link

My plan is to keep this blog as I have been because it is a good record for Reagan and Nolan and I feel comfortable sharing more here. The News-Herald blog may (will) have some posts that are the same as here, but those posts are meant to spur discussion so the posts will pose questions, etc.

I invite you to participate in the Twinado Warning blog, as well as still checking in here since the content will differ at times and more photos will be posted here. Please comment on the News-Herald blog, as with anything participate will determine the success of the blog and may lead to other opportunites. (In other words, I'm counting on you my friends and family to help me out!)

I'll eventually be able to sell advertising and do give-a-ways so if you have anything you want to donate, please let me know!

Happy reading!