Brayden and Ashley are TWO!

Two. 

Two years ago these two fit in my belly.

Two years ago we held them for the first time.

Two years ago we heard their first cries. Felt our hearts live outside our body. Finally realized a dream we had had since 2014.

Two years ago, God gave us two little miracles. God gave us Brayden and Ashley.

And ever since that day, we've cried together, laughed together, and loved together. They have taught us more than I even thought possible in their two years of life.

Ashley is a spitfire. She is ornery and she knows it, which allllllmost makes it cute. Almost. She loves to help, whether that's helping wash dishes, bringing the dirty diaper bag to the kitchen, throwing things in the trash can, throwing her diapers in the diaper pail, and most recently "washing" the kitchen floor. When you ask her who her favorite is, she will tell you "dada". She's not a huge fan of drinking her milk, but sure loves water. 

She gives the best hugs, and will ask for as many hugs and kisses as you will give her before you finally close the door before bed. She's recently loved being covered up for naps and bedtime. And if you find that you are missing a toy, it's more than likely in her crib. She likes to sleep with all the things. I'm not even sure how she fits in her crib with everything else in there.

Lately she's enjoyed bear maybe a little bit more than baby doll, but baby has made a comeback in the past few weeks. She has to pick out her own socks, and if you don't put them on her before bed, she's not taking her old ones off. If you're lucky, she'll let you help her put her shoes on, but she really wants to do it herself. Just hope that the day you are running late she decides to ask for "helpie". 

Ashley has a huge vocabulary and you can understand about everything she is saying. She is using 2 and 3+ words together, and my favorite thing is when she talks about doing something too- "Ashley do it toooooooo!", where the "too" is strung out and singsongy and perfect. I hope I never forget how she says that. She loves to eat, and current favorites include pizza with her white dip (ranch) and any fruit (but especially applesauce). She will try about anything you put on her plate.

She is in 2t clothes and size 5 shoes. She weighs 28.6 pounds and is 34.5 inches tall. She has 12 teeth, and is getting one more on the bottom and two more on top. She loves to read (favorites right now include Yo! Yes? and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), to watch her "be's" (or movies), especially Lilo and Stitch, and pat Brady on the back when he is sad. She loves to sing the ABC's and help you count. Ashley, we love you more than you know!

Brayden, now this one has a smile that will melt your heart, but a temper to go along with it. He's experiencing lots of big emotions and likes to let them out by screaming and sometimes banging his head on the wall or floor. I really wish he wouldn't do that last part. He is a huge momma's boy and I have to do basically everything with him. Eric's told me that if I'm not there when he wakes up, he will go around to every room in the house looking for me, and will then proceed to cry if he can't find me. I love that he loves me so much, but sometimes I wish he'd let other people do things for him too.

Brady also enjoys helping with things around the house, but not quite as much as Ashley. He loves to cuddle on the couch with me, and will lead me over to the couch, say "sit", and push me back so I'm leaning back and climb up to cuddle. If I'm doing dishes while they are eating, he will often point to an empty chair and say "sit" for me to sit down. I'll gladly take a break from what I'm doing to sit with them (and then hurry up and finish washing the dishes once they are done eating because dirty dishes in the sink bothers me). 

Brady loves his monkey and his pillow, and we have to bring them about everywhere we go. He enjoys reading (especially All God's Creatures and My First Elements), and dancing in circles to music. One of his favorite songs right now is Wheels on the Bus, and he loves doing all the movements to it. This kid loves his milk, and will often cry when his cup is empty. He also loves him some food, especially pizza, waffles, applesauce, and green beans. He is very picky, and usually won't try a new food on his plate unless someone feeds it to him, and even then he might spit it out before he even really tastes it. 

He is a lot harder to understand than Ashley, but talks all the time. If you are playing with him, you can usually figure out what he is trying to say, as long as you realize that he leaves the ending sound off of every word. He is using some two word phrases, my favorites being "I tallllll!" when he is standing on something even a little over floor height, and "Mmm, that good!" when he is eating something he likes. 

Brayden is wearing 3T pajamas and shirts, but is still in 2T pants. Poor kid got the long torso and short legs from his daddy. He wearing size 7 shoes, is 33.2 pounds and 35.5 inches tall. Brady has 16 teeth. He loves to watch a movie (with his favorite being Cars), throw all the toys on the floor without actually playing with them, and be outside as much as humanly possible. Brady, we love you so very much!

I feel like I'm going to say this at every age, but so far this is my favorite. They are learning and growing every day (along with us), and while they often test my patience and my sanity, I wouldn't trade the time I get to spend with them for anything. My house may always have toys scattered around it, my floor may never be clean again, and the couch may always have a permanent dip where we like to cuddle, but I know these days will go way too fast and before long they will be moved out and starting their own family and I'll want one more day like it is right now. Happy birthday, Brayden and Ashley. Here's to looking forward to what this next year has in store for you!