18 Months

1. Ethan almost always sleeps on his side, Kate on her back with her legs propped up on the bumper, her legs sticking through the spokes in her crib.

2. This guy can not let one wound heal before getting new one. Always on his face. 3. We've been attending nursery for a couple months together, but tomorrow, I will walk the blessed walk from nursery to Sunday School alone. I don't even care if they make it 5 minutes before crying for me. The glimpse of freedom will suffice for one week.

4. They l o v e brushing their teeth and now we even started flossing. I'm sure it's doing a whole lot of good letting them suck on the mint flavoring, but it sure looks cute. 5. They love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and apparently I let them watch it way too much, because now they will climb up on the couch, say "Mimmie. Pees" One day I will be strong and say no, but for now, I just can't.

6. They wash their hands at least 5 times a day. Sometimes, I pull the stool up to the sink, fill it a little with water and let them play.

7. Sometimes the washing will lead to combing their hair (we keep the comb at the sink) and they also comb their hair 5 times a day. As soon as I'm done getting them dressed, they'll pat their head, say "hay" (hair), and I know they want it combed.

8. I swore I wouldn't give them a pen/pencil/crayon until they were 12, but the doctor always asks and they color in nursery, so we color with pencils sometimes. They think they're pretty cool. 9. I now know how Pottery Barn can get away with selling these for an arm and a leg. Ethan and especially Kate love to sit in big people chairs. Again, they think they're cool. 10. They still have a hard time saying "hi" or "bye" while the person they are saying it to is still there.

11. I have come to learn that I put lotion on my kids more than the average mom. (I just love the way it smells!) Well, my kids have learned the ways. They always want to help putting it on and Kate makes sure her toes get the lotion first.

12. Still obsessed with lights and they want to play with light switches all day, so the stool comes out again for this little activity. 13. I can always tell when I'm talking to a mother of twins, because instead of asking if they get along, she will ask if they fight. They fight. They bite. They push. They steal toys. All. Day. Long.

14. And it's not always easier when they are getting along, because that usually means that they're getting into trouble.

15. Yes, we do own toys, and though they do play with them, we read a lot.

16. I often wonder what they would be like without the other. I know I'll never know, but one thing, is I think they are way more cuddly being twins. Once one of them is sitting on my lap or getting loves, the other will RUN to me and try to out-hug or out-sit-on-my-lap the other. I only wish it were more of a fun game then tooth-and-nail.

17. They are really cute about giving loves and they will give them to each other. Sometimes it's forced, but sometimes it's not and I think that is pretty darn cute.

18. It's definitely rough and getting rougher (mothers of twins always tell me that it's toughest from 18 months to 3 years), but we are having a lot of fun. Their personalities come out more and more each day, and they are getting better at talking and expressing themselves. I really am excited every morning to see what the day will bring.

The junk we let our kids eat while on vacation...

Night one- Five guys grilled cheese (not pictured) followed by the richest gellato I've ever tasted. Ethan had a bite or two.

This doesn't really count as junk food per se, more like (as my baby sleeping books call it) "junk sleep". This is the only way Ethan would sleep in Utah, so in case we hadn't had enough time in the car, we went for 2 hour car rides a couple of days.

We were so lucky to be there for Ella's birthday party. She sure is a cute little one and was quite the trooper this week when her big cousins kept stealing all of her toys. Isn't she a doll?

I don't have any pictures of Kate at the party, but Ethan managed to get his picture taken when he was in the middle of some naughty business.

And for the healthiest snack of the week, water from the hose.

(how cute are they all in their diapers?)

Next up. Ben & Jerry's smoothies while watching the fountains at the Gateway.

so I know that Kate is big. Really big, even. But I swear she didn't look THIS monstrous next to these little ones the whole time. I'm going to give the disclaimer that she was on a hill.

Moving right along. Hot dogs and potato chips at Shady Acres.

The highlight of our trip (in my opinion) was Saturday. It started off with firetrucks, then to the Brigham City Peach Days Parade. Ethan and Kate LOVED it. Couldn't take their eyes off it. And going along with the theme of this post, they enjoyed their first parade with their first taste of popcorn (peaches 'n cream flavored, no less).

Try not to get too jealous of my hair.

After the parade, we headed over to Peach City for the best peach shakes I have ever encountered. Kate thought they weren't half bad.

Ethan didn't really see what the big deal was. On the ride home, things got a little hairy. At about hour 6, we had to bust out the emergency dum dums.

Look at that look. I didn't even dare try to pry it from her sticky hands.

Now we're home. I don't know that we'll ever attempt such a feat again. It was really rough but I sure do love visiting Utah. Friends, family, Cafe Rio. The kids thought it would be nice to bring something back from Utah with them- stuffy noses. It's fun.

Were back!

11 hour trip home

10 hour trip there (to Utah)

9 bug bites all over my body

8 times we found Nemo, which was...

7 times too many

6 years til we will try this again (at least!)

5 nights

4 different places we slept

3 times we ate at Cafe Rio

2 teeth Kate cut while we were there (one being a nasty molar)

1 incredible Peach days parade that made all of this worth it!

... pictures to follow

Ethan: 0 Wall:1

Right after the incident:

The next morning, he was pretty swollen:

And then it turned purple:

And now green:

And Kate wanted to say hi:

Not really a whole lot of explanation here, but I know you're all going to ask. He just tripped and happened to hit his head right at the corner of the wall. He cried pretty darn hard for about 30 seconds, then we put some ice on it and he was so bothered by the ice that he forgot he was hurting. He never cried again.