Happy Birthday, Lincoln and Annika

Lincoln and Annika celebrated their 2nd birthday on the 16th.  It is hard to believe how fast the last two years have gone.  We love our babies, but I guess they aren't really babies anymore.  I'm not sure what to call them since I don't like to refer to them as "the twins".   Here is a little about each of them and pictures from their birthday.

Lincoln is still a "mama's boy" and doesn't like to share my attention at all.  He is doing surprisingly well with Eden's arrival.  He loves to hold her and doesn't seem jealous that I'm caring for her.  That is a huge relief.  Lincoln loves cars, animals and tools.  He loves to get a tool or anything that resembles a tool and make noises as if he is drilling on the wall.  It's really fun to watch him.  He also loves the vacuum attachments and is very possessive of them.  He likes animals and making animal sounds...usually a growling or roaring sound. I guess you could say that he likes to be vocal and make sounds for just about anything.

He is very good at repeating words.  He will say just about anything we tell him to say.  He does an excellent job saying prayers.  He can count to 10.  If he hears the word "to" he will almost always follow it with a "three" even though we aren't counting.  Annika does that as well.

At his 2 year old check up he weighed about 22 lbs which is still below the 3rd percentile for weight.  He was 34 inches long which is the 50th percentile for height which surprised me.  Joseph took Lincoln and Annika in for their appointment and he said they handled their flu shots without batting an eye.  

We love Lincoln and the fun boy that he is.  He is so easy to love.

Holding up his new giraffe.  A tiger and elephant are also in the picture.

Making sounds with his elephant.

Playing with his new fire truck.  He loves this truck and new airplane
and won't share them with Annika AT ALL!

Airplane and fire truck.  His two favorite toys.

New airplane.

Opening presents together.

I'm not sure what it was, but both babies insisted on using the scissors without help.
It made first time mom, Chandra, very nervous.  

Annika is our feisty fireball.  We love her.  She is so full of spunk, life, energy, whatever you call it, she has it.  She has a great smile, but it's hard to capture it in a picture.  She loves teasing others, especially Lincoln.  She is very determined and likes to have her way.  She is full of energy, but she will also sit for a long time just looking at books.  She loves music and signing.  Both she and Lincoln will sing in church at the top of their lungs, but it's usually when the song ends that they start singing.  Annika loves dolls and being a little mother.  She can climb just about anywhere, but thankfully her legs are too short so she can't climb out of her crib yet!  She doesn't like having her hair in her face so she willingly lets me put it in a ponytail.  She still likes to color on the walls or go hide if she is doing something she knows she shouldn't, like sneaking candy.  She likes to be helpful.  She found some paper plates one evening and set the table for dinner.  We ate off her plates so she would know we appreciated her help.

At her appointment she weighed about 21 1/2 pounds, still below the 3rd percentile.  She is 34 inches just like Lincoln and that puts her in the 75th percentile for height.    

Here is Annika's scissors picture.  She is trying to open one of her presents.

Annika applying her "lipstick" that came in her new purse.

This is my favorite picture of the day.  Little Miss Diva.  Here Annika is sporting her new
glasses, shoes, purse, baby doll, and cell phone.  She is all ready to take on the town. 

Annika already knows what to do...baby in one arm while talking on the phone with the other.

This picture shows perfectly the chaos of opening presents with 2 toddlers.
There were presents and paper everywhere and we really didn't buy them many gifts.

Annika LOVES shoes, anyone's shoes.  She will put on any pair of shoes
she finds so we thought she would love having her own princess shoes.

Since the babies are individuals that happen to share the same birthday, I try to keep things special for them.  This year I wasn't sure what to make for their birthday treat.  They really haven't caught the vision of desserts and treats yet.  They do like chocolate, but it's hard to stick a candle in chocolate chips.  I decided to make them cookie cakes since I can usually get them to eat cookies.  Well, they ate the M&Ms and didn't have much interest in the cookie.  Oh well.

I wrote their names on their cakes and intended to write "Happy Birthday", but it didn't fit.

Lincoln was so excited about his cake.  He knew just what to do once the candles were lit.  We had to hold him back so we could finish singing to him.

Annika wasn't as adventurous blowing out her candles as Lincoln was, so Joseph helped her out.

These last pictures are from the doctor's appointment.  I can honestly say it never occurred to me to take pictures of them at their appointments, but it occurred to Joseph.

I love this little face of Lincoln.  It shows a side of him that a lot of
people don't see.  He is being very silly here.

One more silly picture.  These two always keep things interesting.

We are so blessed to have Lincoln and Annika as part of our family.  They definitely feed off each other when making messes and mischief, but we love them.  I'm eager to see how they grow and change this next year.