Happy 21-Month Birthday, T and E!!!

Sharing a banana and their Daddy's lap and showing off their post-nap bedheads this morning

Dear Tamsie and Evangelyn,

Somehow I never did a 20-month post, probably due to the sheer busyness of June, but here I am with your 21-month recap!

I promise they were happy, but it was bright outside!

You have finally graduated to size 4 diapers. You are generally in 12-month clothes. However, some of your 12-month PJs are too small, but your new 18-month PJs are still a little big -- so I guess you're really somewhere in between! I'm thinking T weighs around 22 lbs and E is around 21 currently.

Two cars keep the drama to a minimum! Thank you, Grandaddy, for the second car!

Your favorite foods are berries, string cheese, cottage cheese (you can go through a whole container of this stuff in like 3 days tops!), goldfish, cheese bunnies, smoothies, eggs, chicken nuggets, apple sauce, sweet potatoes, carrots... OK, just about everything, I guess, except black-eyed peas! The best part is that you are asking for things by name these days, which really helps us out a lot when we're trying to figure out what you want!

Half the fun is getting out and in again and again....

As E demonstrates here!

You say silly little things all the time. Like a pack 'n' play is a pack 'n' box in your world. Mickey Mouse is often called Stinky Mouse. The book It's Not Easy Being a Bunny is just Easy Bunny to you. And E in particular loves to say "Thank you, baby!" when she gives you something.

T loves to feed everyone real food and play food. When she does, she opens her mouth really big and sticks out her tongue as far as she can. This picture in no way does it justice, but it's the best I could get at the time!

You are starting to make little friends! Both of you love talking about our neighbors Allie and Pierce. We hear about them constantly!

The girls love to help in any way they can these days. Here they are helping their Daddy put up groceries. They're also becoming really good at cleaning up at the end of the day!

You've pretty much mastered your letters and basic numbers, and you often come very close to counting to 20! You are also doing a great job learning your colors! Both of you know several songs, some of which I never even taught you (like "Baa Baa Black Sheep"), so I'm guessing you learned some bonus material at church or Mother's Day Out.

Friday we went to go see our friends Ashley and Cole, who just so happens to be the future husband of his Vafi twin of choice! ;)

You also love to dance! Tamsie will do a little dance on command.

Saturday we took them to a kids' event at a church nearby.  Both of them loved the petting zoo, but Tamsie refused to get too close to any of the animals. Evie, however, LOVED petting them and even fed them too!

Your personalities continue to shine more and more, and they continue to be VERY different! Tamsie tends to be a little less outgoing when around new people, and Evie is definitely the risk-taker of the two! Tamsie is learning to say "Evie's cup" and bring Evie's cup to her before taking her own. However, if one is going to steal from the other, it will be Tamsie every time, and Evie will come crying to us to tell on her sister! Also, it takes a lot to upset Evie, but when she's mad, LOOK OUT!

My monkey girl and her Daddy

Books continue to be the toys of choice around here, and the current favorites are Peter Rabbit and Caps for Sale. You love pointing your fingers and making the little noises the monkeys make in the book!

I wanted a close-up of Tams, and this is the best she gave me!

Both of you make my life considerably easier by keeping to the same schedules. I tell everyone that having twins must be a million times easier than having two at two different stages, because you entertain each other constantly, eat the same amount at the same times, and sleep at the same times. Some afternoons I'll have as much as a 2.5 to 3-hour break during your mutual naptime!

Here's the best close-up I could get from E! She looks so suspicious of the camera, as if she never has her picture taken - ha!

You are still obsessed with the escalators at the mall and start saying "escalator!" any time we drive anywhere in the vicinity of Wolfchase.

Oh so serious

You are speaking in more and more sentences. Of course we (like all parents do with their kids) think you're geniuses. When you do something particularly impressive, we can't help but thank the Lord for how well He has taken care of you, and for the way He continues to do so!

Oh so dangerous

In early September, Tamsie will go for more kidney tests. I can't tell you two how much I hate having this hanging over our heads, and how ready I am to be on the other side of it all. We're still praying that surgery won't be needed!

Silly girls

Of course, the two of you continue to get attention EVERYWHERE you go. I think you always will!

My mom found the deluxe wagon at Bargain Hunt, and the other one was mine that once stayed at my Grandma's house.

You LOVE playing outside!

Have I mentioned how nonstop busy these girls are?

Whenever you two are split up, you ask where the other one is until you're reunited again! You may drive each other crazy sometimes, but you truly do love each other.

I can't tell you how much they bless my life!

Girls, you are so very loved.