A much needed break

Last week, a friend of mine on the retreat team with me at church, Rosemary, came over to watch the kids so I could have an hour to myself. It really was LOVELY. I treated my self to breakfast in what I later discovered was a kosher deli (what the heck is beef bacon?) and read a few chapters in a book. When I got home, the kids all ran to me with big smiles on their faces. It was heartwarming. They also immediately began to wave and say “bye bye, gamma!” Anybody older than mom taking care of them and giving them kisses must be their grandma. As much as I love my boys, it’s such a pleasure to take a break, too. It helped me appreciate them more.

We later visited Rosemary and her husband Jim, who was also an identical twin. The boys got to play with their keyboard and were treated to lemonade and graham crackers to their hearts’ content. When we were leaving, I strapped the harnesses and tails on the twins for the walk to the car. When Jim asked Joe where his tail was, Joe pointed to his groin area and said “right there!” I don’t think we will let them forget that one!

More quotes:

Joe at breakfast: My Oatmeal’s too hot. Can you blow it up?

Joe after his babysitter wouldn’t let him have more candy: Jennifer didn’t listen to me!

Joe waking us up early one morning: My nose is sick.

Patrick after spotting the golden arches at a distance: McDowalds!

Luke: Boom, sah-ka yaka (boom shak a laka)

Patrick: Look, Luke! (I’ve never heard either of them address the other one by name)

Luke after picking up a green crayon: Green! (We’ve never worked on our colors. He must have learned it on his own)

Our Day Out With Thomas

On Saturday, we spend the Day Out With Thomas! We missed our beloved Thomas when he was in Green Bay a few months ago, but he returned to the little town of Union, IL and we took a road trip. Click on the headline of this post to learn more about the event.
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The boys were delighted to ride on a car pulled by their buddy Thomas.
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They got a passing glance at Sir Topham Hatt (the line to meet him was VERY long and we didn’t quite have the patience to wait)
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Joseph shows off his "Junior Engineer" certificate.
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Luke and Patrick inspect their certificates - doesn't Luke look like he's reading it? The binkies were a necessity to keep the peace since the little ones didn't get much of a nap on the drive down.
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Joe points out some corn fields on the 15 minute ride.
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Scott and the boys enjoying their ride.
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All of us on the way back to the station.

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This was just a small segment of the line of strollers. You can't see past the line of people, but the strollers went on for at least 50 yards.

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Luke gets a Thomas tattoo.
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Patrick inspects his new tatoo.
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They even had a Lego Thomas on display.

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Joseph and Mommy take some time to look at the exhibits at the museum where the event was held. Joe is checking out an old sleeping car.
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Santa Fe was quite a big deal for my family - several aunts and uncles worked there, and our good friend Doug will be working there soon. When I called to tell my dad about what we saw, he mentioned that just the day before, he bought the boys some of their stock. What a funny coincidence.
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Daddy and Patrick play engineers.
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You might have to click on this picture to capture the pure joy of it. Joseph LOVED the inflatables they had to play on, too.

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Some quotes from the day:

“Thomas didn’t say goodbye to me!” – Joseph

“NOOOOOO! I WANNA GET DOWN! I WANNA GO THAT WAY! (pointing back to Thomas) NO! WHAAAAA! (kicking and flailing furiously) NO, NO, NOOOOOO!” – Joseph upon leaving the “Day Out With Thomas” event being carried securely by Daddy on the entire half mile trek back to our car. Delightful
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We saw some pretty serious flooding on our drive and on the train ride. There were lots of corn stalks rotting and fallen in the farmland. We also saw this park. If you look closely, you can see the fences for the baseball fields that are totally underwater.

On our way home, we stopped in this little town. It's hard to see it from the picture, but the water tower was painted like a basketball and proudly announced that Hebron was the home of the 1952 state champions. Kind of sad that nothing has happened since then to warrent the changing of the water tower.

Overall, we had a wonderful day. The whole event was little boy paradise!

Morning Musings

I have a lot to write about, so I hope this doesn’t get too boring. Remembering that our target audience is mostly family and our dear grandmas (related or not), this shouldn’t be so bad for most of you. It’s just some reflections.

Sometimes growth happens so gradually that it’s hard for me to record. With the twins, since they are not my first, I have a more difficult time remembering or realizing when something is a true first for them. For instance, this morning Patrick said, “It’s over, Joe Joe” – Patrick reflecting on the end of a Wiggles video. This seems like the first full sentence that he came up with on his own. I could be wrong. They talk a lot but it struck me as different this morning. We also had a mini conversation. It went something like this:

Patrick: Hi, Mommy!
Mommy: Hi, Patrick! How are you doing?
Patrick: Good!

Other gradual growth changes: Patrick and Luke can eat with forks now. They LOVE to use them, even for things like chicken nuggets. I think it makes them feel grown up. They also walk up and down the stairs without putting their hands on the stairs, now. I can’t remember when I stopped being obsessive about Joe going up and down the stairs or when we stopped using the gate. I don’t think I’m quite ready for that now, mostly because I want to be able to keep them corralled when I need it.

The twins can also eat yogurt and oatmeal with their spoons and it isn’t a total mess (it does require some serious wipe down afterward, but less and less everyday) Also, they can pretty much say whatever words they want, but it’s mostly repeating and they continue to struggle to communicate their needs. It causes them a lot of frustration, which results in a lot of crying and whining.

Last week, we visited a park that we went to at the beginning of the summer. I was totally amazed at the things the twins could do that they couldn’t do just two months earlier. They also sing, which is totally precious. Luke especially will sing “Muffin Man” and the theme to “Elmo’s World” from Sesame Street. I’ve heard him singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” but with different (made up?) words. It’s beautiful to hear his little voice.

Finally, a few days ago, Scott forgot to put down their little bath mat in the tub to keep them from slipping. No one drowned in the tub that day. From the infant tub to the sink to their little blue seats and finally to the suction cup mat, we have always needed excess equipment just to keep everyone safe. Now, we don’t need anything. Maybe someday feeding will be this way, too. No more bibs, baby silverware, seats, trays, sippy cups. That’s just not something I can even imagine yet.

Joe is not growing as much as he is learning. Joe’s new phrase is “I want to do it all by myself!!” He said this about tying his shoes the other day. Good luck with that. Another big development for Joe is his ability to use a mouse. It’s something that takes a lot of hand-eye coordination and some fine motor skills, so I was totally shocked when he maneuvered and clicked successfully after only a few tries. He played 3 whole games of Zoe’s Animal Shelter sorting game from Sesame Street. Joe also started tracing his letters. He got bored around letter E, but for our first attempt, I was impressed. I wonder if he had the ability for a while, but we only just tried it now. Even though he won’t be in school for a while, I guess he’s almost considered a “preschooler.” I can’t believe how quickly he’s grown.

Four generations

Happy Birthday to Granddad yesterday! We had a few embarassing shots we could have posted, but we opted for this one of Scott, 2-week-old Joseph, Granddad, and Great-Grandma. Four generations all together. We hope you had a happy birthday!

Goofing off on company time

Scott’s company had their picnic on Saturday.

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"Daddy, I got some butter on my finger. Can you lick it off?"

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Lunch was roasted corn (everyone’s favorite) hotdogs and bananas. Since it was a Luau theme, we dressed the boys up in their best Hawaiian shirts.
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Uh, who taught the twins to eat corn like that? Geesh! You would have thought we never lived in Iowa. Shameful.

Joe enjoyed the big slide almost as much as Daddy.
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Joe can't take the excitement - he has to close his eyes!
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They had kiddy bowling with plastic pins and balls. Later, they brought out real bowling balls and competitors' tools as the pins. Ha! Doesn't Joe look like a pro? What great form! Look out, Skip Scoval!
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"Strike!"
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One of the engineers there designed this cool 4-kid motorized stroller complete with seatbelts, a horn and Thomas the Tank Engine decoration. They were nice enough to give our kiddos a little ride.
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Luke: "Oooo, I'm having SO much fun!"

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The twins rediscovered the joy of the inflatables as they cannon balled and body slammed their way around the moonwalk/ballpit. They were hilarious to watch.
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Patrick: "This is awesome, Mom!"
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Walking the Kids

Please don’t judge me. Before I had children, I thought harnesses were like leashes for children - a way of treating them like dogs. Those mothers who put their kids in them were lazy and heartless. As with many things in my new world of mommy-hood, I must eat my words.

Last week, we purchased two friendly looking harnesses – one is a monkey and one is a puppy. The harness straps are made to look like the animals’ arms and legs and the “leash” part was the animals’ tail. Knowing their penchant for stuffed and cuddly toys, Patrick and Luke loved them instantly. They wanted to hug and wear their special friends all of the time. So far, so good, but we hadn’t attached the tails yet.

We tried out our new gadgets on an evening trip to the library. This way, the boys wouldn’t have to spend the whole time strapped into a stroller (like they usually do) and could explore a little on their own – or at least get a little exercise walking into and out of the building.

Maybe it was just me, (because of being so judgmental before) but I was nervous the whole time, wondering what people must think of us. Just to complete my misery, both twins had mini-breakdowns when they realized what the tail did. The calm and quiet of the library was shattered irreparably as Joe also pitched a fit over not being able to check out his beloved VeggieTales. I let Dad deal with checking out and one harnessed boy while I took Joe and the other one outside. Joe continued his meltdown right outside the door. (Scott tells me they heard it all inside, too)

What a disaster. Three screaming, uncontrollable kids, two in harnesses. We must have looked like the worst parents in the world.
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We decided to give the harnesses a second chance, however. The twins love wearing them as backpacks, so we couldn’t return them. What is really cute is that Luke always wants the puppy and Patrick always wants the monkey. There's no fighting over them!
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Joe has recently learned to ride his bicycle - with training wheels, of course - and we took him up to the high school track to ride around in relative safety. We even got to “walk” the twins on their leashes (again, the alternative would have been their being strapped in the stroller). Patrick even walked almost half a mile!

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What are we feeding you?

Yesterday, Joe went to go potty on his little potty chair. Apparently, I hadn't emptied it since his last tinkle, and a tiny gnat had come to his death in the pool. Joe bent down and looked at the floating bug, and exclaimed, "Mommy! Look! I pooped a bug!"

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Sorry for the potty humor. I couldn't help myself.

Family Photo

As you might imagine, taking a family photo is nearly impossible. We had a pro come over to get a picture for our church's quarterly magazine (I wrote an article for this one) This is the best one that he got. Not too bad considering. Luke is in the middle, Patrick is in the green with the big bruise on his forehead.

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While I was cleaning Patrick's high chair tray, I grabbed and held both of his hands. He immediately began pumping his arms up and down and saying, "Peace! Peace!"

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Our next door neighbor had a great dog, Zelda. She hardly ever barks and she's very gentle with the kids, even when they were poking her the other day. ("Zah-dah's eye! Zah-dah's nose!") Yesterday, something must have spooked her because she started to howl. All three of the kids started imitating her with little howls of their own. Luke was especially cute, throwing his head back, too.

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In other dog-related news, Scott asked the kids to pretend to be dogs, and they all did! The twins got down on all fours and "woof woof"ed and panted. I guess I've never seem them play like that. They've pretended to talk on the phone and to cook with my pots and pans, but this was different. They were pretending to be something that they were not.

Fair Play

We went to the fair! The Wisconsin State Fair is here in Milwaukee, but it's a hassle with the little ones and their strollers and the crowds and parking, so we decided to hit the little county fair about 20 minutes from our house.

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Patrick and Luke really lit up when the began recognizing animals that they had seen in books but were now able to touch. They kept saying the animal or their sound over and over again. Eg, "Seep, seep! Bah. Bah," or "Pig! (snort) (snort) Pig!" The cutest thing about this picture is that the pig was just as interested in them. She stuck her nose outside of the pen and started oinking. This, of course, terrified the twins. No one was quite brave enough to touch the pig, especially once she made some noise.

Joe, however, took the opportunity to inspect his next strip of bacon (pre cooked)

My mini cowboys climbing on the gate to get a better look at the little calf in the show barn.

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These next two pictures are just for my dad:

Yes, Papa, that's your little grandson riding a toy "Farmall." Wouldn't great-grandpa be proud?
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And, here's Patrick riding a John Deere, although having a shot of Joe on it would have been more appropriate. Joe may have been the youngest (part) owner of the John Deere Company. Papa bought him some shares when he was a few weeks old.
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Another really fun thing about this fair was a kids' stage. Every few hours, they invited kids up to play instruments and sing. Joe was the first volunteer.

He played those bongo drums like a pro (must be from all of that practice in the bathtub)
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Next, he was offered "The Turtle" - an old (empty) turtle shell with a drumstick. Very interesting percussion instruments...

Finally, it's our darling Joe singing his heart out. It was his FAVORITE song, very special between he and mommy - "You Are My Sunshine"

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Joe also got to go on a ride - the race cars, no less - and he got a balloon from the clown. It was a fantastic day for all of us.

Yukka yukka

Oops! Grammie's birthday was on Tuesday. We didn't forget, we just forgot to post something about it. I think Patrick is in the stripes. There may be no way to tell, now!

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Shannon and Jeff celebrated their 9th anniversary on Wednesday. Next year, their 10th anniversary will fall on 8/8/08. Pretty cool, huh? This is a shot of them with almost 1-year-old Kolbe and hours-old Joseph.

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More overheard:

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The other day, I snuck a little bite of Joe’s chocolate pudding. He was MAD! “No, Mommy, that’s my wizzert. Spit it out! Now!”

“Too too! Yukka yukka! (choo choo, chugga chugga)” – Patrick playing with the trains

Joe got an Etch a sketch for his birthday. He came to me for help - “Mommy, I made a cross. Can you make Jesus?”

Body Slam!

Scott has a great time playing with his boys. When Scott gets the twins out of bed in the morning, he changes their diapers and brings them into our room. He puts them on the bed with a playful "Body Slam!" and (carefully) plops their little bodies onto a lump of pillows. Of course, they squeal with glee. The other day at bathtime, Luke was taking a cup and holding it sideways and tossing it into the while exclaiming "Bah-ee Sam!"

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The other bathtime and bedtime activity that is reserved for Dad is "Cannon Balls." In the tub, the kids hold his hands and plop down on their bottoms, making a nice splash, all while saying "Kee-Ball!". After the tub, they hop from the coffee table to the couch with the same battle cry. I caught them in the baby pool falling on their bottoms saying "Kee Ball!" over and over. It was really quite cute.

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* For those of you that noticed, Patrick is in front of the giraffes in the last post, not the zebras. What's wrong with me?

Cool Hand Luke

The other day while getting ready for the bath, Luke said "pee pee" and pointed to Joe's potty chair. I sat him on it and he went!!! We couldn't believe it! He'll have Joe beat by more than a year at this rate!


Patrick with the zebras at a recent trip to the zoo.

This is my first tomato harvest. Woo hoo! We've had three more since then and probably some out there today. Wow, this blog is getting boring...

Overheard at our house:

“Can I put my foot in the toilet?” – Joe

“Babies, this is Thomas” – Joe introducing his brothers to his new Thomas the Tank Engine toy

“TB, TB, TB! Tau-wus! (TV! Thomas!)” – Patrick and Luke requesting their favorite video

“Joe, you have to put on underwear before I'll wrestle with you” - Daddy

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"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight" - Patrick then Luke