Our (Practice) Bluebonnet Photo Shoot

My twin mom's group hired a professional photographer to take bluebonnet photos of our families this weekend. Our time slot is late tomorrow morning but we had a practice run today. Tonight, we'll give haircuts to the buddies, iron our outfits, whiten our teeth, and be ready to look good tomorrow. If the photographer can capture all four of us with our eyes open, looking in the same direction, and smiling tomorrow, he'll be a hero.

Hunting Easter Eggs

The buddies enjoyed their first Easter egg hunt this morning at their friend Mia's house. They were good egg hunters! Ace ran quickly and efficiently from egg to egg, scooping them up and putting them in his bucket. When he had an overflowing bucket with no room for more eggs, he solved the problem by shaking his bucket so all the eggs flew out. Then, he started over, quickly scooping them back up.

Ben was also a quick egg- gatherer, although he did stop a few times to play with his HESS truck that we couldn't get away from him before we left our house. He'd pick up a few eggs and then stop for a few minutes to scooch his truck around the yard.


After the yard was cleared of all the eggs, the buddies chowed on jelly beans and cake and decorated Easter door- hangers. Then, we headed home for a quick nap before our afternoon festivities began.

Buddy Day

Every day is Buddy Day in our house, but today was even more so. We started our day with a trip to Georgetown to join our friends for a play date. They played with trains (imagine that!), made a cute Easter egg craft, and ate snacks just like Daddy does (while hovering over the kitchen counter). Their friends had a learning tower, a cool contraption that allows toddlers to stand at counter-level to "help" mommy cook. I'm not sure that we're ready for one of these at our house (there is a reason toddlers are short!), but they sure thought it was fun to stand so tall.

Then, the sun came out late this afternoon after weeks and weeks of rain. I decided to rake the leaves in our backyard and the buddies helped me load my piles into bags. When they grew bored of that, they decided to have their first swim of the season. Since it was an impromptu decision, so they swam sans-swimsuits. We'll have to remember to clean up our act before we hit the public pools this summer.

Rain, Rain, Go Away? Nah, let's play!

After a successful trip to the pediatric dentist this morning, the buddies and I treated ourselves to a playdate at Brushy Creek Lake Park. It's one of our favorite summertime parks because of an awesome sprayground, but today our plan was to explore the play area in dry clothes.
That plan really didn't work out for us. It was drizzling rain when we arrived and every few minutes it would really pour. All of our little friends huddled together in the covered picnic area, either because their moms told them to or because they just didn't want to get wet. What did Ace and Ben do? They ran around in the rain, yelping with joy. They stomped and splashed in the puddles. They slid down the wet slide (fast!). And they asked for swing rides in the wet swings. When we left, I had two very wet, but very happy little boys in the car.

Fun with Daddy

The buddies spent a lot of time with just Daddy last weekend since I spent Saturday morning at my cooking club and Saturday evening with friends at a movie. They learn some unusual things from their dad. Here's what Steve and the buddies proudly showed me when I returned:

Steve: How does the train go?
Buddies: Choo-choo (pumping arms)

Steve: How does a car go?
Buddies: Beep-beep! (arms out front as if honking horns)

Steve: How does Brian Westbrook go?
Buddies: Ta-da! translation: touchdown! (arms held high above heads)

Steve: How does Reggie Brown go?
Buddies: Silent but waving arms in the sign for first down.

Can anyone guess which lessons they learned from their dad and which from me? Hmmm...

Spring Break at Grandma and Grandpa's House

The buddies and I are home after four fun- filled days at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Lake Texoma. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and began to unpack our suitcase filled with swimsuits and sunblock only to see Grandma shake her head and get jackets for all of us. It was definitely too cold for swimming, even in the kiddie pool, but we had several beautiful days nonetheless.

Grandma had lots of activities set up for the buddies. By far, their favorite activity was jumping on the inflatable aqua trampoline that was set up in front of the house. They bounced and bounced. Ben can't wait until summer when we can put it in the water and let them jump off and splash.

We went for lots of walks while we were there. We left the strollers behind and let the buddies roam free. Ace loved his horsey tire swing at Granny Jean's swing park and both boys thought it was fun to walk up and down her bridge that Grandpa helped build. Another favorite spot was Buncomb Creek Park, where Grandma had loaded the big sandbox with lots and lots of trucks. Anyone that knows the buddies knows that they love cars, trucks, and trains. If it has wheels, they want to play with it.

We enjoyed lots of family time with Aunt Carlee, cousin Michael (who the buddies adore!), Great- Granny, Great- Gramps, Grandma and Grandpa. Ben followed Micheal around quite a bit and Michael was very sweet to him.

We are happy to be back home and in our normal routine, but I think it's safe to say that the buddies love going to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Happy Birthday to Matthew

The buddies attended another birthday party this afternoon. Their friend, Matthew turned 2! Matthew has older twin brothers and his mom is a pro at showing kids a good time. There were fun things for kids of all ages at the party. Ace and Ben were so occupied that Steve and I were able to relax, chat with friends, and even drink a few beers.

Ace loved the backyard, where there was a huge play scape with a rock- climbing wall (yes, he could climb it!), several tall slides, a basketball goal, a sandbox, swings, and lots of tricycles. He was in heaven running around back there. He is starting to talk (of course - now that we have him in speech therapy!) and ran around jibbering to himself and anyone who would listen.

Ben, who is our more methodical boy, eyed the train table in the playroom and played quietly there for most of the afternoon. While he played he sang, "choo- choo". He was so obsessed with the trains that he wouldn't eat dinner and wasn't even interested in birthday cake. Steve finally convinced him to check out the backyard and he decided that was fun too. But, after 5 minutes of playing outside, he realized how hungry he was so he sat at the kiddie picnic table and helped himself to some other toddler's big plate of food. It's a good thing we're not afraid of cooties.

Our Tax Dollars at Work

Since the buddies are almost two (!) and still not talking a whole lot, Steve and I decided to have them evaluated for a speech delay. Speech delays are quite common in twins, due to prematurity (not us!), shared time with caregivers, and my favorite reason: twin-speak. The buddies do have their own little language and as my wise, fellow twin-mommy friend says, "Why should I talk if my best friend understands me?".

Two wonderful therapists from ECI came to our home and played with the buddies for close to 3 hours. They tested each boy's vision, hearing, self-help / adaptive skills, cognitive skills, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, expressive communication, receptive communication, and social & emotional skills. After the comprehensive evaluation, they concluded that Ace qualifies for services but Ben does not. Ace is a little delayed in expressive communication but doing well in all other areas (including receptive communication - he understands everything!). So, twice a month, our therapists will come to our house and play with Ace (while Ben eavesdrops on the fun, I'm sure).