Mamas & Llamas

More gorgeous weather here in Massachusetts. In fact it was downright hot...in April no less! So we took the kids on their very first visit to the zoo. There's a small zoo in Attleboro that was a perfect first venture. We saw lions, bears, meerkats, warty pigs and much more. Maddie & Aidan were stroller bound for most of the adventure. So needless to say their favorite part was when we let them loose to feed some animals!

Here's Maddie saying "hi" to the "Mama" (Llama):

We had yet to purchase the animal food, so Maddie improvised and tried to feed rocks to the goat:

Here she is feeding a "Mama" (Llama) some animal food:

Aidan met Mr. Llama too - he wasn't interested in feeding him (I can't blame him), but in typical Aidan fashion, was very content to sit back and observe:

The goats were more his speed:

And of course he had the most fun back in our driveway with his basketball:

And his soccer ball (seeing a theme here??):

Oh, and Maddie wants me to mention how well her fancy new sandals coordinated with her outfit:

Looks like we're ready to move onto the big time zoo!!!

A Week of Firsts...

We had a fairly busy week with our twins playgroup Monday, storytime at the library on Tuesday, music class Wednesday followed by a visit from Grandma (Grandpa was sick), Mother's club playgroup on Thursday, and then a visit from Mimi/Buppy on Friday. But we did manage to find some time to have some new adventures as you'll see below!

I've been dragging my feet a bit on the whole utensil thing, but this week we tackled it with a vengance. Forks haven't been a problem since fork related food items usually aren't so messy. Spoons are where I've been hesitant, just knowing that we're bound to have pudding on the walls, in the hair, and so forth. Below is M&A's very first time feeding themselves yogurt 100% on their own with a spoon. Not so bad really...

Typically when a meal is over and we let the kids down from their highchairs, they run into the living room and start playing with their toys. This past week, they stood at the table and begged to sit in our seats. Looks like we'll have to give some thought to investing in booster seats pretty soon. They're definitely not babies anymore once they're sitting at the table reading books and playing trains. Sigh...

The gorgeous weather allowed us to take our new (to us) radio flyer wagon out for a spin around the neighborhood. I was worried M&A would put up a fight the way they sometimes do when we try to keep them in their stroller. NOPE...they LOVED it. This is pretty much the cadillac of wagons too. Cup holders, snack holders, fold down seat backs, smooth ride. I can see why they like it! Now if we can just get them to stop tossing things out of it while we're in motion. We had to make a few runs back down the street to catch a stray ball/cup/snack.

Saturday we hoped to take advantage of naptime and get outside to clean up the swingset and other outdoor toys. We assumed they were sleeping, but halfway through naptime we noticed the below. Looks like we've got ourselves a little peeper! Aidan's view of the neighbors driveway apparently isn't as exciting since he was still fast asleep!

Never a dull moment!!!

We had a lovely Easter...

We started off the evening before Easter with dinner at Mimi & Buppy's (mmmmmmm....meatballs). Cookies and toys in their first set of Easter baskets (1 down, 2 to go). Although the biggest hit seemed to be wearing Buppy's sailor hat from his Navy days:

6:30am and wide awake on Easter morning. Let the hunting commence (or "release the hounds" as Daddy likes to say):

Maddie fell in love with her cookie monster Easter basket. Though she didn't quitee grasp why she couldn't separate cookie monster from the basket itself:

Aidan was most interested in the spinning eggamabob thing I got in the $1 bins at Target:

This is what we considered "hiding" the eggs. They are only 18 months after all!! And it STILL took some prompting from us for them to notice the shiny plastic things.

Post-hunt and after a chocolate spitting episode (guess they got Mommy's genes there), we got all gussied up for our afternoon at Grandma & Peepa's. Below is my first attempt at a group portait. You'd think when the group only includes 2, it wouldn't be so tough...think again!!

Perhaps they'd cooperate if I let them sit on the fireplace?? Not so much...

"Okay Daddy, you wrangle them into the chair and then run away super quick while I snap photos!"

No outfit is ever complete without a matching pig accessory (right hand). Isn't she lovely??

Aidan manned his usual post which is directly in front of the tv (he likes to push the buttons). This was a bit frustrating for his cousins who were trying to watch the 'Quest for Camelot'. Of course he looked very dapper, so nobody could really be mad!

Maddie tried Ham for the first time and gobbled it up. Aidan was his usual chicken nugget lovin' self. They played with their Easter toys and ran about. We hit the road once the fussies set in and arrived home just in time for jammies, stories, and snugging. What a nice couple of days!

Tired & Cranky...

Shockingly this title is NOT in reference to me. Especially now that I've discovered the treasure that is morning coffee. How I managed to avoid it for 33 years...I'll never know!

Aidan has been having a rough time lately with a cold that seems to have lingered forever and the appearance of his two year molars - six months ahead of schedule. He's been having a tough time sleeping, which results in a fairly cranky toddler during the daytime. Oh, and Maddie's been no picnic either :)

He woke up very early this morning with a loud scream that we've since attributed to tooth pain. After a few minutes of snuggling with Daddy, he was up for the day. UGH!

Around 9am, I decided to run upstairs to check my email. I figured it was a good time since the kids were under the excellent supervision of Handy Manny (a tv show for those of you who may be worried).

After being gone for less than 5 minutes, I came back down to find this. Poor guy...

Still asleep 10 minutes later after many desperate attempts by Maddie to wake him up!

Early bedtime tonight!!!

Michael Jordan's got nothing on us!

I can't believe it is already the end of March! I've been a bit remiss in my blogging of late - my apologies. Ever since the weather took a slight turn for the better, we've been getting outside each day. Anytime it hits 45 degrees or above, we're outside - and we stay out until we notice Maddie's fingers getting red. That is the tell-tale sign that it is time to go inside!

I recently picked up a toddler sized basketball hoop on Craig's List and the kids are loving it! Maddie really got the hang of it right away and can dunk the ball with the best of them! Aidan prefers to hold onto the ball and run around the yard. To each his own we say. We think maybe he'll be a goalie (I am aware there are no goalies in basketball).

We did buy him an Aidan sized basketball:

But he really preferred Mommy & Daddy's:

What can we say, the girl's got talent! Swish...

And we're looking forward to warmer weather and many more days outside!

Ahhhhh....Freedom

This past weekend brought us some gorgeous mid-60s weather and we Willners took full advantage of it. We decided to take the kids out for a walk and leave the stroller at home!! M&A skipped along with glee as they realized we weren't stopping them from running down the driveway - and then they just kept going.

Here's Aidan casually strolling - he looks like he owns the neighborhood!

Maddie was pretty determined to get where she was going - and she had the dirty knees to prove it!

Over on the other side of the neighborhood, Maddie managed to wrangle herself up a posse. Some of the older neighborhood kids were following her around on their scooters. One of the cutest things I've seen yet! Here she is below saying, "This way gang!"

Aidan was much more interested in the scooters than the kids!

An enjoyable morning for all (once Mommy got over the stress of muddy, puddle stomping kids)! My only concern now is how the heck am I going to do this on my own once the nice weather arrives for good??? M&A have absolutely no intentions of heading in the same direction as each other and they can run like the dickens. Mommy's thinking perhaps she's in store for alot of exercise this summer!

Grandma's Birthday!

Yesterday we went over to Grandma & Peepa's house for a visit in honor of Grandma's birthday. Anyone who's ever been to their house knows that it is not even remotely close to childproofed. Aidan & Maddie had a blast running from room to room and discovering all of their treasures!

Here in Mansfield we keep pretty much everything except toys out of reach. So needless to say M&A were giddy with delight that they could actually touch the Wiggles:

They also spent some time chillin' in Grandpa's chair:

Maddie fed her beloved piggy:

And her shoe(???):

You can tell from the look on Aidan's face that he wasn't in a picture taking mood:

A good time was had by all . Who would have guessed that opening and closing the microwave door would provide a half hour of entertainment. And we are happy to report that there were no "Caroler" casualties! Happy Birthday Grandma!!!