July 4th Fun

Our sweet friends, the Hasslers, invited us over for the 4th of July.  Of course we had to stop on the way there to get some fireworks.  "For the kids," Tim said.  

Daddy and Rhys went to pick out the goodies...

And I got to hang out with this handsome guy in the car!

Taryn outdid herself and spoiled us with so many delicious appetizers and dishes and we all ate too much.  The kids had tons of fun, too.  Here is our very own patriotic band! (And yes, the Hasslers also have boy/girl twins!)

It actually started to rain but that didn't stop the fireworks!

 Rhys and Adeline with sparklers

It was right after this picture that our little Rhysie burned her finger on the sparkler.  Tim had told the kids many times not to touch the "fire" and they did so well.  As soon as her sparkler burned out, she grabbed the top part of it.  We never thought to tell the kids that it would still be hot!  OUCH!  After some screaming, ibuprofen, and a band-aid, she was ready to join the fun again.  Well, she was ready to join the fun from a distance!

Love this picture that Taryn took.  Kids standing under an umbrella enjoying the celebration.

These boys were loving it!

Rhett with his arm around his buddy, Aiden.

Here are some fun memories...

THREE YEARS AGO!

and TWO YEARS AGO!

Happy 4th, Y'all!

Elsa Princess Party

Our church hosted a Mother/Daughter Brunch the weekend of Mother's Day.  My mom was able to come for the weekend to attend with us and we had the best time!  The theme was "Let It Go:  Let God be in Control" and the girls were told to wear whatever made them feel like a princess.  Rhys knew right away what she wanted to wear.  Here is our little princess all ready for what she called the "Elsa princess party."

Loved having my mom go with us!

 Rhys and her sweet friend, Lyla.

The brunch was so cute and had so many fun things for the girls to do.

The girls made a snowman out of marshmallows, pretzels, and M&Ms,

 Watched a slideshow with pictures of all the little girls and their mommies,

Cut their own unique snowflake,

and even got to dress up like Anna or Elsa!  I think this may have been Rhys' favorite part of the brunch.

My favorite part of the day was probably listening to all those sweet little voices singing along to the Frozen soundtrack.

I loved spending this time with my princess, and so very thankful for the children's ministry at our church for offering these types of events for our families.

Big Kid Beds

We've had a big change in the Bennett house....R&R finally moved into their big kid beds!  So, we totally had them in cribs until after their 3rd birthday.  We never had a problem with the kids trying to climb out, and we were all getting a lot of sleep, so we saw no need to change.  Then, randomly one evening, we decided it was time and daddy converted their beds.

The kids were so excited.  Here is Rhys showing off her new space.

And the Rhett...

Of course, Piggy had to try it out, too.

The first night went well.  Both kids (in separate rooms) sat on the edge of the bed with their feet touching the floor.  The excitement was too much and it took them a little longer to fall asleep, but it went better than I expected.  Rhys fell out of her bed that first night and slept right through it!

The next day right before nap I came upstairs to find Rhys tucking Rhett in his bed for me.  What a sweet sister!

Oh, the freedom!  Found Rhett like this one day after "nap."

Now that the excitement of the beds has worn off, the kids sometimes choose to sleep in random places around their room.  Rhett (and his baby, Tiff) took a nap on the chair yesterday.  And I find them on the floor all the time.

Tonight, after a few trips back upstairs to remind Rhett it was bedtime, I told him that he was not allowed to come out of his room again and that he really needed to go to sleep.  A few minutes later we found this:

Overall, the transition has been pretty easy.  Rhett is definitely braver than Rhys and gets out of bed occasionally.  We sometimes watch him on the monitor as he will run to his shelf, grab a book or toy, and run back to his bed.  Rhys is a rule-follower, though, and will not get up.  So fun to watch them learn and grow.

Our babies are growing up!  Big kid beds....check!

Fearsel, Frope, and Frinkles

We have 2 very talkative THREE year olds on our hands!  They say some of the funniest things.  When they were babies, they seemed to have their own language and babbled back and forth to each other.  Now that they are older, it is so interesting to me that if one mispronounces something, the other one does too!  Did I mention that they talk A LOT?  Here are some of the things I don't want to forget.

"Fear-sel" = Cereal.  This is our new favorite breakfast (which mom is loving because it is SO easy) and our favorite snack, too!  I don't buy the sugary cereals, but R&R enjoy bran flakes (crazy, right?) and cheerios the most.  For a treat, I occasionally buy Kix cereal (but they call an individual piece of Kix cereal a "kick.")

"Frope" = Frow Up = Throw Up.  Rhett recently vomited for the first time.  Poor thing didn't know what was going on!  It was just a one time event, and thankfully he didn't have a virus.  Later on he was telling daddy about his day and kept saying "I frope."  I didn't know what he was trying to say, but later realized that he was trying to say "throw up."  We all call vomit "frope" now and probably always will.

"Frinkles" = Sprinkles.  YUM!!

"Here me comes!" = This is what Rhys started saying when we taught her how to play hide and seek, a new loved game around the Bennett house.  We were saying "Ready or not, here I come!" and she put a twist on it and says "Here me comes!"  This one never gets old.  Here are R&R in one of their favorite hiding places in the kitchen.

"Take on a Little Walk" = We started a new family tradition of going on a walk after dinner when our schedule allows.  The kids usually take something to push (Rhys a stroller, and Rhett a shopping cart) but usually there is mostly running going on and very little walking.  After we clean up the kitchen each night Rhys usually says, "I want to take on a little walk."  I think she got this phrasing from when she was really little and I would always ask the kids if they wanted me to take them on a little walk.  It is cute, and I will always take on a little walk with my sweeties!

"Pack-Ack" (Rhys) and "Pack Pack" (Rhett) = Backpack!

"Hangaber" = Hamburger.  If you see Rhys, please ask her to say this for you.  You will not be sorry.  If you come over to our house, she will gladly cook one for you in her kitchen.  Hang-uh-ber.  This might be my favorite word right now.

"Ugu Bar" = Granola Bar.  If you are not in the mood for a hang-uh-ber, ask for an "ug-uh" bar.  Also very delicious and one of our favorite treats around here.
 
"Actually" = So funny to hear R&R saying this to each other.  It is usually used wrong, and so fun to hear them experiment with language.  Today I heard this:  "I love pink, Rhett.  Actually I love pink."

Rhys went through a phase the past month or so where she was calling all of us by our first and last names.  Tim Bennett, Misty Bennett, and Rhett Bennett.  It was hilarious.  Now she is back to Mommy, Dada (this is new) and Rhett.  She called Rhett "Bubba" a few days ago and he told her to call him Rhett.  I will admit this did make me a little sad.  Rhett still says Mommy, Daddy, and Rhysie.

"Crafs" = Crafts.  R&R both love to do a "craf" as often as I will let them!

"Pic Pic" = Picnic.  With the weather so nice lately, we have been enjoying picnics as often as we can!

"I have idea" (Rhys) or "One-dea" (Rhett)  Here was Rhett's idea...To put all the toys from the play room into the entry way.  I was cooking dinner and came around the corner to find this: 

I need to mention this happened in less than 5 minutes, by the way. 

Rhys' "I have idea" was to perform for Rhett at the library after story time.  She had him sit on the rug while she was up front (where the librarian usually stands) and she sang some songs and read a book.  And yes, she was wearing boots with her shorts.  That was also her "I have idea" too.

It is so fun to be able to watch R&R learn new words, phrases, and practice what they hear!  I sure do love these crazy kids.

Piggy's Birthday

We celebrated Piggy's birthday on April 3.  Ever since her birthday in March, Rhys has been asking when Piggy's birthday was.  As many of you know, Piggy is Rhys' very special friend.  We decided to just pick a day and celebrate Piggy.  

I had the table set like this before the kids got up that morning.  When they came downstairs, they were SO excited to see the birthday hats, but the balloons were the biggest hit.

The birthday girl wearing some preemie pajamas that Rhys wore when she was little.

We had planned to make some banana cupcakes (banana bread muffins) but the bananas got eaten (OOPS), so we made a last minute change and had cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Rhys also told us that Piggy LOVES strawberries, so we added a couple to everyone's plate.

We even sang happy birthday...

and we blew out Piggy's candles for her.  She turned one year old, in case you were wondering.

Rhys was so proud and excited and I think she sang happy birthday to Piggy about 500 times all day long.

Daddy and Rhett enjoying Piggy's birthday breakfast.

The day before the party we took the kids to the dollar store and let them each pick out a gift for Piggy.  It was hilarious the things they considered.  Rhys ended up with a pink calculator, which she says is Piggy's phone, and Rhett chose one of those mini towels that you put in water and then it grows.  I think we were at the dollar store for over an hour choosing just the right gifts.  We kept telling Rhett that he could only hold one thing for Piggy.  Let's just say he had a lot of gift ideas!  

We had so much fun celebrating.  Happy 1st Birthday Piggy!

Potty Training Update

Many of you have been asking me how potty training is going, so I thought I'd post an update.  If you are not caught up on our newest adventure, you can read about the beginning here.  

Overall, the past 6 weeks have gone pretty well.  Rhett has definitely been easier to train, but I think he was more ready than Rhys was when we started.  But I really can't complain about Rhys either since she has done great!  

The first few days were a challenge for Rhys.  Please don't judge me, but I even put the little potty in front of the t.v. to encourage her to sit. You can see how well this worked:

So, we started using chocolate again.  You may not agree with this, but all I can say is that it worked for my kiddos.  I'm not planning on replenishing this container when it is empty (and we are getting close) so we will see how it goes.

Rhys needed some extra motivation one day.

Pink fingernails!

One of my fears when we began potty training was that we would be stuck at home all the time to be near a bathroom.  After a few days at home, I decided that we were going to need a traveling solution.  So we put a little potty in the van, and voila!

Pretty hilarious, right?

Overall, the potty training has gone better than I expected.  We still use diapers/pull-ups at nap and at bedtime but are staying dry during the day most days.  While I don't love spending a lot of my day in restrooms (especially public ones!), it is a welcome change to not be changing 147 diapers a day.   The extra money in our bank account is nice, too!

Way to go R&R!

The Life

Awwwwww!!  So sweet, right?

This lasted for about 2.8 seconds, and then it looked like this:

And this:

Sorry, baby girl.  You are living the life.  The twin's life, that is.