The New Colburn Girls

The girls have reached their 29th month. I never knew that I could have so much fun with my children. So far this has been the best stage of life. Don't get me wrong, it is often a challenge to stay on top of discipline, manners, and daily activities, but I have never enjoyed life with this much "real joy:"  I decided since the girls were taking interest in some things, it was time to make some changes in our daily routine. This past month we have accomplished so much, traveling, joined a music class, learning, and of course our new look. Let us take a moment and share our experiences with you.

Our first adventure was truly an adventure. Daddy was going out of town for a week and the girls and I didn't want to stay home alone. Although there would be tons of things to do, Mama needed a break from cooking and cleaning, especially when Daddy was gone. Us girls chose to take our first road trip to Oma and Opa's without Daddy. This trip was about 3 hours long. I was a little nervous but I was brave. I packed the car: 1 pack-n-play, 2 bumbo seats, 3 suitcases, a stroller, 3 pillows, a basket of toys and books for inside the car, a small cooler for snacks, and odds and ends. Then we were off! To my surprise the girls did excellent. No, they did not sleep the whole way. They sang, ate their snacks, sang some more, and played with their box of toys. We arrived at Oma and Opa's in 2:45 minutes. Not bad for us girls.

 Juliana making a call to Daddy on her play phone as we travel.

It was a fun filled week for the girls. They had a chance to play in the kiddie pool, walk out to Oma and Opa's garden, visit the fair, take a picnic, a day of shopping, and storytime in the evenings. The day to the fair was marked as a favorite day for the girls. They enjoyed petting the animals and especially loved the chicken house. It was a wooden house with prize winning chickens, rabbits, roosters, turkeys, hens, and chicks. Juliana and Olivia LOVED the chicks. When we returned home at the end of the week, that is all they were talking about. "We go see the chicks tomorrow", "We go, not today, but tomorrow." We did have a little trouble getting Olivia to nap she wanted to stay with Mama so she ended up sleeping with me for naps and one evening that we were there. The same evening she had rolled off the bed and barely woke from her sleep. Lets be sure to tell you that this child does not stay still. By the time morning came, she had kicked off the covers and had her feet on my stomach. When I opened my eyes she was staring at me looking so sweet.

Playing in the kiddie pool.

Relaxing before bedtime.

Playing with Oma

Juliana on our shopping trip.

Olivia on our shopping trip.

The girls with Opa and petting the goats.

 Petting the chicks.

Olivia and the chick.

Farmer Olivia milking the cow. 

Girls at the park after our picnic.

 

My Sweet Olivia looking at me. 

After our trip to Clarkrange, we had joined a Kindermusik class. Oh what fun we are having. Since the girls absolutely love music, Daddy and I decided it was time to get them involved in a music program for their age level. In this class, Milk and Cookies, they sing songs and allow the kids to play instruments and move their bodies to the music. Each child sits on their parents lap so it allows the parents to develop this relationship with their child. Daddy was not able to attend one lesson and I went with the girls alone. When it was time to sit down, the instructor took Olivia and put her on her lap. Olivia LOVED this and ever since, she wants to sit next to her, answer her questions, and sit in her lap when its time. We have decided we have a very studious Olivia. Juliana prefers to stay with Mama or Daddy. She is more comfortable with who she knows.

Getting a snack at Kindermusik open house. 

She went for the crackers instead of the cookies.

Along with learning music, the girls have been showing interest in their numbers. So, being a teacher, I decided to jump on this opportunity to do a little "teaching" with them. We have concentrated for the past three weeks on the numbers 1-3. This week is number 4. They color the numbers as we talk about what they look like. We also have art on Fridays and Bible story every morning. I love that they want to learn. I hope this interest continues to grow. They still love to cook with me, especially Olivia. The other day I was canning tomatoes and Olivia sat on the counter peeling the skin off of them. She really enjoyed getting her hands dirty. Juliana helped me with a vegan cheesecake that turned out to be amazing. To see them cook with me and to get vegetarian recipes check out www.cookingwithsugarandspice.blogspot.com.

 Juliana making her apple.

Olivia making her apple.

Olivia peeling the skin off the tomatoes.

Knowing their interests have changed it was time to give them a new look. This week, I had a friend cut their hair. Yes, it is sad to see the only curls gone, and No, I did not cry. I do have attachment to my girls, but hair is hair to me. I am sure I will get my share of crying done, but in the meantime, hair is not one of them. Juliana was the first to go. She sat in the chair like a big girl and as still as can be. She did a super job. Olivia, on the other hand did not want to get it cut. After the first two cuts, she was done. She promptly stood up and didn't like the sound of the scissors near her head. She cried. I didn't get as many pictures of her as I was trying to help hold her so my friend could finish the cut. I was so impressed with how well the cut turned out. They both look so cute and so grown up. I don't want them to grow up too quickly.

 Juliana sitting nice and still. 

Olivia after her haircut.

This current month has already proven to be a busy one. I can't wait to share with you all the fun moments to come.

28 Months and Growing

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged about the girls, so I am sorry to those that like to keep up with this blog. It has been a crazy couple of months and the girls are growing so fast. Hmmm, where do I start?

I guess I can begin with a health update. Juliana and Olivia continue to grow. Even though we have not taken them in to the doctors anytime recently, we can see that they can reach the railing on the stairs now and things on the counter. There was a time that I had left my phone on the counter, to where I thought the girls could not reach it and walked into the living room. As it got quiet, I asked the girls what they were doing and the response I got was, "Uh oh!" So I rush to see what they were doing and there sitting on the bottom of the dog's water bowl was my phone. "Oh girls!" Olivia preceded to pull it out and then drop it on the tile floor. Ugh. Needless to say, it never worked properly again and I had to get a new phone. That was the day that I found out they grabbed their little stool and stepped up on it to reach what they couldn't on the counter.

Moving on with their health update, Juli and Livi love to eat. As southern little girls, they love their grits. Other things they love are oatmeal, bananas, grapes, green beans, corn, and strawberries. They aren't exposed to a lot of processed sweets. Once in awhile they will be allowed a half a cookie. When I make banana bread or zucchini bread, the girls call it "cookie bread." They seem to think its a cookie, so I let them think it since its a much healthier choice and they can have it more often. Since they are eating so well, it has pushed us to visit the grocery store more often. We have two favorite stores, Ingles and the Natural Food Market.

Olivia

Juliana

Ingles, for those that aren't aware, is equivalent to a Kroger. Mama likes it for its clean atmosphere and the food is always in the same location as before. Olivia and Juliana love the store for the bagger and cashier. The bagger, Mr. Fred, is an older gentleman who greets us every time with a smile and a clean basket for the girls to sit in. He loves talking to the girls and talking about his grandchildren. The cashier Judy, loves to carry a conversation with the girls and lets them know every time that they are her favorite twins that come through the store. We love the experience we get from shopping there. The Natural Food Market, is another neat little store. This is a little health food store in Johnson City. This is where we go to pick up our non-dairy items. The girls love this store because of Elvis the bear. In the back corner, there is a section for children to play. They have all kinds of toys and one HUGE teddy bear that sits on a kids bench. The girls LOVE this bear. Every time we visit they run to the back and give the bear a hug and kiss. This makes it really nice for Mama to get all of her shopping done when a black bear is babysitting (in a very small store.)

Elvis the Bear

Speaking of babysitters, the girls have a new friend. Her name is Jillian. She is the girls' babysitter. She is our neighbor and a very responsible 17 year old girl. She has experience with children and is even CPR certified. We just love her. There are days that she will come over just to visit with Juliana and Olivia. The girls get the pleasure of spending time with her at least once a week whether its due to Mama needing to run an errand, or just some play time with Jillian. What a blessing to have this girl in our lives. She has been a great big help and has been there for us when we were in a crunch.

Jillian

For the past couple months, the girls have learned their complete ABCs and numbers 1-10. We have not mastered the potty, in fact, they don't really want to go on it very much anymore. So occasionally, I will put them on the seat and see if they will go. I figure we have some time and I won't push them right now.

Juliana and Olivia have taken to cooking. They love to spend time with me in the kitchen making all kinds of goodies. This most recent adventure, we made gnocchi. It was so much fun and the girls made it completely on their own. (Recipe coming to www.cookingwithsugarandspice.blogspot.com). I love that they are learning all kinds of new things and that I am able to share those moments with them. I look forward to sharing many more. Hopefully they will be able to cook better then their Mama someday.

Olivia pouring the flour in.

 Juliana wanting to help.

Olivia

 Juliana cutting her gnocchi. 

The results of their gnocchi making skills, not bad for 2 year olds. 

There have been so many other things the girls have been doing. We are about to sign them up for Kindermusik. This is a program for babies and children to learn all about music. Our girls have shown a lot of interest in music so we want to foster that as parents and help them grow in that area. We will be going to the open house August 17. We can't wait! We hope this to be a great experience for them. Right now we need something to help them channel their energy. We have not really experience to the terrible twos and they are called, but there are some challenging days, for sure.

Olivia and Juliana trying to ride a bike at Oma and Opa's home. 

Girls relaxing before nap time. 

Recently, Juliana has decided that she wants to be much more independent. She is trying to push the boundaries with us and it usually ends with her crying. This is so painful to see as her Mama. I know that Daddy and I often look like the bad guys, but limits are limits and they need to be set. I have been praying continuously that God would strengthen us as parents and let Juliana and Olivia learn their boundaries quickly. It really hurts my heart when I am rejected that I love you Mama and kiss at night, but I know it is just a phase and that it is one small hill I will be able to step over. I never understood what it meant to love a child until I had my girls. They are such a precious gift and I will continue to call them my sweet angels. Life is beginning to change for them and I pray that God will give us the guidance to lead them in the right direction.

Juliana with her bunny from Uncle Greg.

Olivia (left) under her thunder blanket.

Time sure flies when we have fun. It is time for me to say goodbye as I must go and prepare breakfast and wake my sleeping angels from their slumber. We are going to a book sale today and hope to find some new gems for our story time before bedtime. Have a blessed day from our family to yours.

Olivia and Mama

 Daddy and girls

A Wedding to Remember

This past weekend the girls were in the wedding of Heather and Kaleb Leeper. This was a true honor as Heather and her family have been long time friends that feel like family. Juliana and Olivia were flower girls that walked down right before Heather, holding signs that say "Here Comes" "The Bride". Very cute.

Heather and Kaleb Leeper

Let me start with the beginning of our day that Sunday. We woke around 9AM, which was really nice, and went down to the lobby of our hotel to eat breakfast. Great. We had no problems and it was really nice to have some family time with the people sitting next to us....wait. That is right. The people sitting next to us decided to have conversations with our girls, because they thought they were so cute. It was fine. We are used to it by now.

After breakfast, we decided that we were going to visit a friend, Julie, at the gym I worked at when living in Georgia. It was great to see her again and the girls loved running around in the lobby and meeting the Gold's Gym frog that sat in the foyer. There were several attempts to jump on the treadmill, but Mama and Daddy discouraged that greatly.

What a great time it was to see friends but Mama had to get some shoes that didn't have heels. (Somehow I knew I needed them). So we made a trip to Kohl's and did a little shopping. Boy, that wore us all out. We left there and stopped in Johnny's New York Pizza place to eat lunch. Everyone ate subs and fries. At this time, it is now 12:45. We rushed back to the hotel and put the girls down for a nap. When they fell asleep it was 1:15. We had to be at the wedding destination at 2:30. Thankfully we were not far away. When Daddy woke all of us up, it was 2:10! Talk about a rush. We had to pack the rest of our stuff up, get dressed, and check out of the hotel. WOW! We moved very fast.

When arriving at the location, I took the girls up to the Bridal room to get their dresses on. Daddy was down setting up the piano, as he was the pianist for the wedding. That is right! I had to wrangle these little ones on my own. After getting them dressed it was time to take pictures with the Bride. Nope. They were too scared with all the people around and they decided to play with the rocks on the ground instead.

Playing with stickers before the wedding.

Olivia visiting Daddy during the wedding.

 Girls playing in the rocks. 

No pictures for them. 

By this time the girls are getting really warm as it is in the 90's and the wedding is outside. We rush back into the building to get some water and cool down. This is when the meltdown began. Tears and tears and more tears. They wanted me to hold them and they wanted ice. What a mess. The wedding coordinator then calls for everyone to line up. We do.

Olivia wanted to walk down the isle right away but I told her we had to wait and when I told her that, she went into a meltdown again. Now I am holding two 25.2 pound toddlers in my arms, standing in line to walk down the isle. The wedding coordinator asked if she could hold one and Olivia responded NO!!! That was that. Mama was going to have to walk with them.

We walked all the way to the back of the main isle and I put Olivia down thinking that she would walk with the sign. She picked it up, looked down the isle and started walking the opposite direction. When I told her to walk down the isle she said, NO!! and threw the sign down. OK. I picked her up while holding Juliana and grabbed the signs and walked down with one girl on each hip. Needless to say, we exited the same way we came in. So Heather, thank you for letting our WHOLE family be IN your wedding.

Olivia throwing the sign down.

 Olivia telling me she wanted to go sit in the chair.

Juliana worn out from the heat.

After the wedding and reception, we headed home on our 5 hour trip. We got in about 12AM and the girls were wiped out. What a long day, but we made it through.

26 Months and Growing Strong!

It has been awhile since I have taken the time to sit down and blog about the girls. We've been filled with so much excitement over here it is hard to keep up, but I will try to fill you in on the little happenings within this past month. May was a huge month for this little family. Our two major adventures were our move into our beautiful home in the country and our family's first vacation to the beach. Each adventure left us with lots of memories of our sweet little growing girls, Juliana and Olivia.

Right around when the girls turned 25 months we were in the process of moving into our home on the other side of Jonesborough, TN. Not a huge move, but a much needed one. After outgrowing our space we decided that it was time to move into something bigger with a backyard for the girls to run, play and grow. What a blessing this move was. With their own spacious room and an acre fenced backyard, they are able to run and explore new things like ticks. Oh wait! That was not intentional.

We found that living in the country brings a little bit more challenges than in a subdivision. Our first challenge was the tick infestation due to the woods behind us. We were out playing in the yard and one crawled up on Juliana and then a couple days later one fell out of the tree and bit her behind the ear. After that we heavily treated the lawn and sprayed the trees and wooded areas around the house. So far we have been in the clear.

Juliana playing with our neighbor's kitten.

Just as we were ready to sit back and enjoy the country, we found out that we have a rat snake who has made its home in our tree. Even though they are not harmful, it is right at the girls head level and with their curiosity it may bite them. Our neighbor has graciously volunteered to remove it and put it in the woods across the street. At least it will be better there then in our yard. But despite our little pest problems, we have been enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.

Right after our move to country life, our family decided to go on a vacation to Destin, Florida. This was our very first vacation with the girls and their very first beach experience. We went along with the girls' Godparents Greg and Dawn Schrader, and their family. Among their family was Kaylie. She is Greg and Dawn's granddaughter that was about to turn one. This was a great play buddy for Juliana and Olivia. Even though she was small, she made a perfect part of the trio.

"Uncle" Greg and "Auntie" Dawn

Juliana, Olivia, and Kaylie

While in Destin, there were daily opportunities to visit the beach. This was quite the experience for all of our family. The view was beautiful and the water was so clear. As we approached the sand, the girls were hesitant to walk in it. After some coaching, Juliana walked daintily to the water. Once we approached the water, the roar of the waves was a little much for Olivia. She would cover her ears and say "back", "back to towel". I do have to admit, I thought it would go a little smoother than it did, but I guess that is parenthood. You don't always get what you expect.

Destin, FL

After the first day at the beach, I decided the next morning to wake up at 6:30 and take Olivia down for some Mama, daughter time at the beach. What a beautiful morning to do that. It will always be one of those very special moments I have stored in my memory bank. As the sun came up over the horizon, I sat on a towel in the sand with my precious little girl. After, asking God to bless her and guide her in her walk with Him, we watched the waves come up onto the shore and rush over our feet. After about 30 minutes she decided that she would touch the sand. We got to the point where we could make faces in the sand, but couldn't quite get her to walk in it. Hey, we made progress. Our overall stay in Destin was wonderful and we look forward to taking another beach vacation.

Olivia and Mama on the beach.

Now that the girls are 26 months, we have started today the wonderful task of potty training. Both Juliana and Olivia have expressed their interest in the potty and telling me when they are dirty. They have also been sitting on their potties. Today, was an education day and a reality check for Mama. They sat almost every hour on the potty while I talked about what we do on it and how it works and how to tell when we have to go potty. The reality for me is that I have two. Two pull ups, two little booties to wipe, and two little girls with their own personalities. I am praying for patience. And at the end of today, my Olivia asked to go potty and she actually went. So patience has paid off. I know that it will happen and I just know it will take true dedication on my part and lots of pull ups.

Olivia 

Besides our potty adventures Juliana and Olivia still continue to climb. We had them on our bed one evening and they scaled our bed frame with no problem. We are thinking of putting them into something like gymnastics that will help them exert some energy in a positive way. We hope to start that in July along with putting them in Kindermusik in the fall to encourage their love for music and movement. Oh God has blessed our little family so much and all we can do is thank Him for opening opportunities for our little ones to grow. God is so good.

Climbing on Mama and Daddy's bed.

I wish I had more time to write about all the other adventures that have happened, but life continues to fly. We pray your summer is filled with fun in the sun and we will be back in July to tell you about the fun we are having. (Sneek peek: The girls are in their first wedding June 24).

Our little family.