Fun with our Twin (& Triplet) Friends

The buddies and I met their friends at a park this morning to enjoy some beautiful (albeit a bit chilly) weather and some good old fashioned running around. These kiddos have been friends for almost 2 years now and are really starting to enjoy each other's company. It has been such a joy of mine to watch them all grow and change.

They played on the playground and swings, climbed on the little rock wall, ran back and forth over a bridge, and sat nicely together for a snack. And best of all, many of them enjoyed their first experience at kite-flying. One of the dads, who is joining his twins in their activities for a few weeks while his wife is home with their newborn, brought the kite and helped all of our kids fly it. He will clearly win the father of the year award this year for joining us on all of our play dates.

After two and a half hours of outdoor fun, we headed home. It was our kind of morning!

Toddler Story Time

Our long-time readers and friends probably know that I have a bit of a library story time phobia. Our first attempt was hugely unsuccessful and I haven't quite gotten over it. I generally like to keep my metaphorical SuperMom cape on when we're in public and when I attend quiet-time activities with my two wild boys, it is usually stripped right off. :)

We decided to try again today and were much more successful this time. We made it through 15 minutes of the 20-minute session! Before attending, I told the buddies that afterwards, we'd meet our friends at a park. Both boys lined up nicely while we waited for the doors to open (although a librarian did ask them not to bang their heads on the bookshelf behind them - oops!). Upon entering the story time room, we opted to sit right up front and center, even though I knew I might have to do the "Mommy walk of shame" if we became disruptive and had to duck out early. Ace loved the warm up songs and got a kick out of doing the hand-motions and claps with the librarian. Ben seemed to enjoy the story, about a mouse and a strawberry, but was shushed several times by the little girl sitting next to him when he shouted out things like, "Oooh! A big strawberry!" during the reading. Both boys sat nicely during the opening songs, a puppet show, and the story. But, the instant the librarian said, "the end", Ben jumped up and said (loudly), "Now we can go to a park!" Ace followed suit. So, rather than explain to them that story time was not over (there were some wrap - up songs), I did a not-so-shameful walk to the door with my two energetic, but generally well-behaved boys. It was a success!

Afterwards, we met up with our triplet friends and took all five kids to McDonalds and let them go wild on the playground. Their mom and I discussed story times and decided to launch a search for a more interactive story time. Although I can appreciate why libraries have certain rules, I would rather encourage my kids to stand up and dance during songs and to chime in during story time. We're going to try again, but try another venue, in the hopes of finding a better fit. If any of our readers have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

A Message for our Favorite 6:45AM Reader

And Ben's favorite Godfather...
And our favorite singer / songwriter...
And my favorite brother...
And our favorite Caribbean Uncle...

Enjoy your coffee and your 15 minutes of peace.

We can't wait to see you next month!!

General Update

Hello-Hello! I've received a few emails recently, from family and friends, who want to know what we've been up to over the last two weeks, since I've been rather silent on this blog. We've been in the midst of back-to-back viruses, affecting everyone in the family, except Steve (who has been working 19+ hour days for over a month now). And since I prefer not to waste cyber-space talking about the fevers and coughs and sniffles that are standard with two cootie-monsters in the house, I haven't had much to say. But, we're back! Expect to see us back in the game of fun outings and playdates next week.

You may have noticed our new blog format. It is still a work in progress, so expect changes from time to time. The photos at the top and in this post were taken by the very talented Matt Lemke last Fall. If you live in the Austin-area and need a good photographer, contact him!

Since we haven't left the house much in weeks, here are some general updates on the buddies:

Ace: First, could he be any more handsome?? Those blue eyes and that big smile are going to drive the ladies crazy one day. He is turning out to be such a nice kid. His pre-school teachers regularly brag about how helpful he is at school. He is the first to line up many days and regularly helps during clean-up time. Ace is definitely a pleaser and loves to take care of people. He knows all of the capitol letters and many of the lower case ones as well, can spell his name, and count to 20 (and sometimes 30, but still misses a few numbers). He has recently become really interested in sports and when we drive past a sports field filled with little competitors or an elementary school P.E. class, he asks to get out and play with the big kids. We're in the market for a soccer or t-ball league this summer! And Ace has mad dancing skills. He loves music and really gets involved in his dancing. I'll have to record some video soon. He's also really into pretend play and likes to dress up, take care of his stuffed animals, make "soup" for me, and (my favorite!) put on his cowboy boots and strut around saying, "I'm Tyrone" (his favorite Backyardigan character).

Ben: Ditto on the handsome comment! He has the longest, curliest lashes and knows how to use them. Ben is a sweet kid with a bit of an ornery streak. I can always tell when he is about to get sick because he terrorizes his pre-school teachers and I get an earful when I arrive at pick-up time. Luckily, he's a pretty healthy kid and that hasn't happened often. Since the day he was born, I've said, "When Benny is happy, the whole world is happy. But when Benny is sad, oh man, the whole world is sad" and it is still true today. Ben knows all of his capital letters (and has since his second birthday!) and most of the lower case letters. He loves to shout out the letters he sees when we're driving, and yesterday, he surprised me by pointing at a sign and saying, "Ooh, look Ace! Lots of words!". I didn't realize he had made the connection that letters strung together make up words. He can spell his name and counts to 30 (although half the time thirty is called twenty-ten). And he is really using adjectives lately. He loves to tell me if his food is crunchy or chewy, if his friends are happy or sad, what color everything is (including his own and his brother's poop), and if things are big or small, rough or smooth, dirty or clean, etc. The kid is a sponge.

And since this is a bit of a random entry, I'll include the details of one of our favorite daily rituals, mainly because I want to record it so I can look back and reminisce one day. Our favorite night-time ritual lately is the "Ace and Ben Story", which is a story of two boys that we know well and what they did on that particular day. Our former speech therapist suggested it around the time that they graduated, as a way to get kids thinking about their day and remembering the highlights. It is a huge hit here! I often start hearing requests for the "Ace and Ben Story" starting at bath-time, a full hour before they hit the sack. I don't know if it helped with their speech but it has become a favorite ritual for all of us. Lately, the buddies have been chiming in during the story so much that they practically tell it to me. If I can continue this through the teenage years, it could be pretty useful.

Partying Buddies

The buddies went to Ready, Set, Play! yesterday for a birthday party. The theme was Princess / Bob the Builder. That might sound odd, but for 3 year old boy / girl twins, it was perfect. February will be the month of birthdays for these two, as they've been invited to 3 parties. I suppose for the next 10 years or so, birthday parties will be a part of our usual weekend routine.





Neither of our two had any fear of the giant inflatable slides and bounce houses. After bouncing and sliding for two hours, wolfing down pizza, juice boxes, and cake, I took two tired boys home for a nap. Then, it was off to a dinner party play date at another friend's house. It was a busy, terrific weekend.

Happy Mardi Gras!

We had quite a treat this morning when we attended our play group's First Annual Mardi Gras Play Date. The hosting family moved here from New Orleans last summer and couldn't wait to share their traditions with us. I did not know this until the end of the party, but my new friend traveled back to New Orleans over the weekend to participate in the Krewe of Cleopatra's parade. She returned with King Cakes, beads, and piles of parade throw toys to share with us. And she even cooked up a big pot of red beans and rice for lunch. It was a blast!

Ace and Ben had fun throwing beads off the "balcony" in the backyard and dressing up in the coolest little jester hats. I told our host that it was the best Mardi Gras party I had ever attended. She told me I have led a very sheltered life. She could be right...

Dandelion Fields Forever

During an ordinary Saturday afternoon park trip today, we stumbled upon a huge dandelion field. They were everywhere! And after our visit, they'll return next year in even greater abundance. I showed the buddies how to pick them and blow on them and they were quick studies. In no time, they were running from flower to flower and sending their feather-light seeds sailing. It was a perfect way to spend a lovely winter afternoon.

It's Groundhog Day!

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!" -- Punxsutawney Phil, 2/2/2008

Today, the buddies enjoyed a day long celebration of Groundhog Day. What better way to learn about shadows, hibernation, furry little buck- toothed animals, and a goofy weather predicting tradition, dating back over 120 years.

Ace and Ben began their day coloring their own groundhog pictures, while I explained in the simplest of terms the animal, the shadow, and the 6-weeks for winter that would follow if he saw it this morning. Later, we went outside to see if we could find our own shadows. As luck would have it (with the good luck being for my little lesson plan, not the eminent weather forecast) we found them! The buddies loved watching their shadows move when they moved, dance when they danced, shake when they shook, and so on. We drew chalk shadows in the driveway and watched our shadows dance some more. Later, we made groundhog cupcakes and delivered them to our favorite little neighbors.

And now that the buddies are fast asleep, no doubt dreaming of woodchucks and their shadows, Steve and I are going to have a "date night" and watch one of our favorite movies, Groundhog Day, of course!