14 Month Twinners

These past two months with the twins have been pretty fun. Once they turned 1 they started interacting with each other A LOT! They have always been aware of one another, but they have never been the type of twins who NEED each other every second. It's so sweet to watch them now as they "talk" and reach out to hold hands in their high chairs.

Eating snacks at church. 

Shayla took her second "first" steps on their birthday (her first steps were the day before she turned 10 months old and she didn't walk again for two months). After that she really got a hang of it and started toddling all over the place. She is a pro now and gets around so fast. Kinsey loves/hates having a sister around who can almost keep up with her. Scarlett took a little longer and took her first steps about a week before Easter. Then a week later she took 6 steps!! Pretty soon the house will be full of toddlers.    

They like to lean back and lounge around. My babies are turning into two little adults!

The twins have very specific personality traits. Scarlett is my cuddly sweetheart. She is very sensitive so she tends to cry if she falls over. I think she isn't walking well yet because she is perfectly content being held. Scarlett is a bit of a daddy's girl and has a soft spot for her Grandpa Walker. She gets overwhelmed by strangers very easily. I started taking her to Relief Society with me at church because we think the men in Elder's Quorum scared her.  

Cheesy face.

And then there's Shayla. I could say so much about this girl because she has many facets to her personality. She is mischievous, curious, and a bit of a daredevil. That being said, Shayla can flip a switch in a second and be the neediest and whiniest baby I have ever met. If Kinsey or Scarlett is sitting on my lap she'll get jealous and try to push them off. If I'm holding Scarlett then she'll cry and want to be held too. Basically, she doesn't like to share. 

My little daredevil!! 

They both need lots of cuddles when they are sick. It makes the days pretty rough for me, but luckily we haven't had sickness in our house since February. Hallelujah!! 

I love my snuggly babies. 

Kinsey has definitely been enjoying her growing sisters. They have started wrestling which is hilarious, except when Kinsey takes it a little too far. She loves to hug and kiss them. She is a great helper. If they are crying she will find their paci or share some of her food with them. 

Sometimes everything just goes right when we go out to eat.

Shayla loves to explore, giggle, and hang out with Kinsey. I think she'll have a good sense of humor when she's older. She can say hi, hello, banana, mama, dada, and cracker.

Besties.

 We were eating pizza one night and Scarlett started throwing it on the floor. I was speaking to her firmly saying "Scarlett, don't throw that!" over and over while she just stared at me blankly. All of a sudden she made eye contact and said, "pizza." It was the most unexpected thing she could have done and Eric and I just busted up laughing! Scarlett loves to bounce, climb, and put toys in cups. She can say mama, dada, hi, peek-a-boo, and bread. 

I love the leg pop.

 These two steal pacis, sunglasses, and toys back and forth. Scarlett is usually okay with it and reacts by taking the item back or finding a new toy. Shayla is okay with taking items but normally starts crying if Scarlett takes something from her. 

We love to shop!

After looking back at my old blogs, I was reminded how much Kinsey loved to read books at this age. She would bring me book after book and could look at them for hours. It's a struggle to get these two to listen to one book. Scarlett is more interested and will look at the pictures, but Shayla just wants to grab the book and hold it. 

Play time with Mommy!

Overall, these two munchkins would rather play with their big sister and steal her toys! And the feeling is mutual. Kinsey would rather steal toys away from them...as long as they are having fun.  

The Hogle Zoo

When my sister, Audrey, was in town, we took the kiddos to the zoo. It was our first time going to the Hogle Zoo so I was excited to check it out and see if it's worth getting a season pass. The weather was really nice, so we were able to enjoy the sunshine AND the animals. 

Kinsey is "pretend" sleeping.

Kinsey was all sorts of excited to see the animals. 

 Shayla demanded she be held for most of the trip. 

 Scarlett was a perfect little angel in her stroller. I almost felt bad that she was so good because then I just left her in the stroller. Sorry baby!!

 Sometimes the animals made K giggle. She is so funny. 

 It was kind of bright, but I promise Kinsey is there next to Audrey and me. 

 Shayla has been interested in hair lately. I assume that's what she was doing while waiting for Kinsey on the carousel. 

 Kinsey loves the carousel!! She chose the elephant and refused to let me touch her while she sat on it. I just wanted to make sure she didn't fall off. She just wanted to be miss independent and ride the elephant all by herself. 

 Scarlett got out of the stroller! Yay. I'm sure she loved the break with her daddy. She's a bit of a Daddy's Girl. And Mommy's Girl. She's just an all-around sweetheart. 

 Kinsey had a ton of fun with her Aunt Audrey. She loves all the attention, love, and presents she gets. She's a spoiled little girl!

 Kinsey discovered this sea otter statue and she was OBSESSED! She kept rubbing it lovingly and kissing and hugging it. I don't know what it was, but something about that little guy struck her fancy. I'm thinking we could consider this her first boyfriend. 

 Scarlett didn't care about the animals, but she loved people watching. 

 Kinsey enjoyed all the picture opps once she saw other kids posing. 

There were these lion mouth drinking fountains all throughout the zoo. Kinsey was FREAKED OUT by them and every time she approached one she would start to freak out because it was too scary. FINALLY right before we went out the exit she braved the fountain and got a drink. It only took her a few hours to work up the courage. Better late than never Little K!!

 The Salt Lake Zoo is definitely nothing to write home about. There weren't that many animals and it made me miss the Kansas City Zoo. But our kids are young and they didn't seem to notice. I'm just not sure when I'll want to make that drive again...

Easter Festivities

This picture describes Kinsey's enthusiasm for Easter eggs. The girl is obsessed!! If your children have ever watched egg surprise videos on YouTube then you will understand what I'm talking about. 

The week before Easter we had our ward's Easter egg hunt. I love the fact that it's pretty much in our front yard. Kinsey just dug right in and snatched up those eggs. 

 Scarlett and Shayla would spot an egg and be content with one or two. We had to push them a little to get their 12 eggs, but they were adorable. Kinsey was more than willing to find the remaining eggs for them. 

 The twins placed the eggs in their baskets like champs!! Occasionally they would pull the egg back out and repeat. Next year will be so much fun with them. 

My sister Audrey was in town and joined in on the fun. It's nice to have extra helping hands as well as more people to take pictures of my cuties. 

 Check out her determination to find more eggs. Go Kinsey!

 Love my sweet Scarlett. 

 I filled some of the eggs with marshmallows. Shayla was a happy camper when she discovered what was inside. 

Christian and Grant joined in on the hunt as well. We love cousin time!! 

 Holidays are the best and make me so grateful for my beautiful family. 

 A few days later my mom and little brother came over to dye Easter eggs with us. It was Kinsey's first egg-dying experience.

Kinsey enjoyed dipping the eggs in the colors, but she didn't really care about decorating them further than that. However, our dye set came with a matching game that she loved playing with Uncle Jeremy.

EASTER DAY
The Easter Bunny "hid" the girls' baskets and a bunch of eggs in our living room. Kinsey didn't pay any attention to the random eggs scattered around the room. She headed straight for her basket and started opening her "egg surprises." 

Shayla headed straight for her basket too. The Easter Bunny knew how much she enjoys playing with the car seats so it was a good "hiding" spot. 

Scarlett was the first one to notice the eggs on the ground. She picked one up and then headed for another. It was actually a bit of a chore to get her to find her Easter basket because she was enjoying the eggs too much. I had to place her directly in front of her basket so should would notice it.

The girls busted open the goodies right away. Kinsey's basket was mainly filled with stuffed eggs since that is her current obsession. She got a few Choco Surprise Eggs that she tossed aside so she could get to the surprise inside.  

The babies were more than happy to scoop up the chocolate from the eggs Kinsey discarded. Eric wasn't too happy with how much chocolate I allowed them to eat before breakfast. Hey, it's a holiday! Now every time the twins see candy they point to it with stars in their eyes. 

And for the grand finale...the Easter Bunny fulfilled my lifelong dream of owning a power wheel (the very wish Santa chose to ignore every year on my Christmas list). I mean my KIDS' dream. At first Kinsey wanted to go back inside and open more eggs, but now she is obsessed with this car and hates receiving driving lessons. She wants to do it her way and no one else's. She's such a teenager. Shayla is already scared to get in the car with her. 

Holidays are a great reminder to me of how blessed I am to have three beautiful children. Our lives have changed so much in the past few years and we couldn't be any happier. We are so grateful for our Savior and the opportunity my children have to grow up with Him in their lives. We hope everyone had a very Happy Easter!!