Rysdam Family: Maya & Makenna turn 2!

It's hard to believe that my little girls turned 2. I'm not sure where the past 2 years have gone, but I know they've gone by way too quickly. I'm sure they've flown by a bit faster than normal since they make life doubly busy just by being active little girls! :) This past year was an interesting year of change. We moved out of our house and into Grandma's house the weekend they turned 1, and spent 7 months of the past year living with Grandma. So more than half of their year between 1 and 2, we weren't living in our house. This made things interesting, considering how much the girls have changed over the last year. They run around everywhere, get into everything, and are curious about whatever they come into contact with. They make our lives interesting, yet overwhelmingly full of joy.

At 2 years old, these girls are ACTIVE! I'm pretty sure both of my Grandmas got tired just watching me run around after them when they were visiting this past weekend. :) All day long, they are into everything. I try to go to the bathroom, and one follows me in there. I come back out, and the other one is standing in the sink eating candy corn. They love to climb on anything and everything- the knobs on the cabinets, their cribs, chairs, the kitchen table, the countertops, the island, the couch, furniture- EVERYTHING. What one doesn't figure out, the other one does. They've figured out some of our childproof locks and gotten into coloring supplies and have made several nice artistic additions to the new house. I'll often find them opening up the fridge and stealing pieces of cheese, going through my purse and walking around with my credit cards, pulling trash out of the trash can, flushing the toilet, walking around with my shoes on, or jumping off the bench in the mudroom. They never stop.

At 2 years old, they love to read books, play with their dolls, get into their brother's stuff (and everyone's stuff for that matter), cuddle on the couch, color, and play outside. Maya is 34" and 27lb. Makenna is also 34" (first time they're the same height!) and weighs 29lb 12 oz (still a good 2lb apart from each other). Maya has continued to be our outgoing, crazy, loud daughter. She is definitely a mama's girl, and she is full of life. She screams at the top of her lungs all day, and laughs like crazy. She gets mad easily, and acts like the end of the world when something doesn't go her way. Most of the time I can't even figure out what's wrong, but it's usually something totally random, like I put a different colored lid on her sippy cup than she wanted, or I picked up Makenna first out of her crib, or gave her a toy when she wanted to pick it up herself. She's quite the character and we love her for it :)

Makenna on the other hand, is our laid-back, compliant child :) She is full of love, innocence (but don't let her fool you- she's a quiet trouble-maker), and joy. She's almost always happy, she loves to cuddle and laugh, and loves taking care of others. She roams around happily, looking for food to eat (like the candy corn above the sink or the cheese in the refrigerator), and sitting and playing happily. She loves her big brother and she's stolen a piece of his heart for sure :)

I love that both girls are so different. It's a good reminder that even though they're identical twins, they are still 2 very unique people, and blessings in our lives. They make our family complete, and fill our lives with love every day. I love watching them interact with each other and take care of each other. When one is crying, the other one will grab their blanket or a doll and give it to them. They'll grab a tissue for each other, hug each other, giggle together, and kiss each other. It's just precious. Their latest development has been taking their clothes off. They love taking their clothes off, trying to put their shoes on, or stripping down in their crib and peeing all over the place instead of taking a nap. We've started duct-taping their diapers and that has helped a bit. As always, never a dull moment. They've started talking a lot more lately, and will say any word you tell them to, but they don't always use them. They don't stop talking all day long, and most of the time I'm sure it's a secret twin language. Their favorite saying is "Hump Day, Yeah!" based on the commercial. In fact, when they see the camel in their book about the birth of Jesus, they scream "Hump Day!". Crazy, crazy girls.

We were blessed to celebrate their birthday with our family at our house. My parents came to visit for the weekend and took both of my grandmas with them. The girls enjoyed a special butterfly-themed birthday party and had a blast with everyone around. It was such a blessing to have all of our family together celebrating their special day. We are overwhelmed with love!

Happy 2nd birthday to our precious girls. We love you very much!