Our Family at 23 Months

I can't believe that the boys will be 2 years old in less than a month now!

Here are some things we love about Seth and Sam at 23 months:

-Finally, finally, finally they are BOTH sleeping through the night consistently! (I'm such a happier person!)

-They initiate love: big hugs, big slobbery kisses, thank yous, etc.

-They are so much more indepedent: put on their own boots, get into chairs on their own, etc.

-They play together independently; in the evenings, Ben and I have been able to work around the house while the boys play in the other room. It is wonderful.

-They can communicate much better and often tell us what they need without fits.

-Their individual personalities are really starting to develop...it's neat to see who they each are going to "be."

-Watching them develop coordination as they run faster, learn to jump, climb better, throw and shoot more.

New things we did this past month:

-Played with playdough for the first time.

-Learned to count to five (always really excited to get the number 5, because then you can say "high-five"). This new skill has helped with playing hide-and-seek with daddy, because they can now close their eyes and count while daddy hides (very funny to watch!)

-Decorated Easter cookies with cousins and grandparents.

-Jump with both feet together.

-Climb in and out of the crib (yikes!)

-Tell mommy consistently when they are pooping (no, I'm not potty training yet, I'm going to wait a bit longer; yes, I'm petrified!)

-Sing "Baby Bumblee" with hand motions (the cutest thing EVER!)

-Understanding how to "ham it up" in front of people.

Things that are very difficult about this age:

-Wanting to do EVERYthing "by self". They say "Sam self" or "Seth self". It is taking lots of patience on my part...thankfully, I'm getting good sleep, so can usually handle extra challenges!

-Coveting each other's toys a lot.

-Having so much fun together at night that they don't fall asleep until 9 pm. Ugh.

-It's all going so fast! I'm going to miss them as toddlers...what a precious age!

Sam, Seth

My favorite of the obys: Sam, Seth

All pictures taken by accendoimages.com (you really should book some pictures with him...he's awesome!)

Samuel David Morris

The first picture is quintessential Sam: he ADORES his daddy! Here's all my favorite pictures of Sam (complements of Accendo Images Photography (http://www.accendoimages.com/). When I think of Sam, I just kind of laugh and shake my head. Maybe it's just because he's such a daddy's boy that we seem to butt heads...but he's wonderful all the same! He's obsessed with basketball, and is getting quite good at shooting hoops (we of,course now have an inside and an outside hoop). Sam also LOVES giving high-fives. The other day, he walked up to Ben and I with one of my gardening gloves on and laughing smile on his face, saying, "off-five"...like he understood it would be funny with big gloves on. We sure laughed! Just recently, it has came out that Sam is going to be the bossy one. He spends his days yelling for Seth whenever Seth isn't around. "Come on, Seth!" Today, he yelled, "Seth! Party!" I just about died. He always wants Seth around, which confirms the fact he tends to be more social. We spend a lot of our days telling Sammy to "be tough", because he's a bit of whiner, and loves to be coddled after an "injury." Oh, and as you can tell in one of the pictures, this boy can furrow his brow like none other...what a funny kids he is!

Seth Michael Morris

Highlighting more pictures from Accendo Images Photography (http://www.accendoimages.com/). These are my favorites of my first born twin, Seth. His personality recently has been showing itself to be a bit more "first born." He does not like to be told what to do, and he wants to do anything (put on shoes, climb into stroller, etc.) all by himself. Seth plays independently better than Sammy, and will sit at a particular task for longer. In general, he's a bit more serious, but he loves to laugh, smile and tease. Seth's temperment is a bit more steady than Sam's ups and downs. He hates falling asleep (probably because he's not very good at it!), but loves lingering in bed in the morning and after naps. Seth has a wonderful little smokey voice, and talks in "sentences" better than Sam right now. His hair perpetually sticks up.Today I asked Seth to put his fireman's hat in the basket (meaning the toy bin that was right in front of him) so that he could go to nap...he marched himself over to our small baskeball hoop and made a basket with it. My bad, apparently the hoop is the only basket in our house!

 

Almost Six Years...and Still in Love

I seriously have the best husband ever. A couple weeks ago, in my most serious voice, I told Ben I was ready for day off! Little did I know, he had already planned to have his parents come for the day to watch the kids(on Friday), and had scheduled me a pedicure...and a massage. And then, if that wasn't thoughtful enough, he took the second half of the day off to spend with me. Just me, no kids! We had a unhurried, not messy lunch together at a pleasant downtown Portland restaurant, and then went shopping for the afternoon. How could I not adore this guy? It was pretty darn special. I felt so valued. I also was thrilled that he sensed that I needed a break--even before I did. What an amazing husband he is!

The following pictures were taken by Jacob Denbrook, Accendo Images Photography in downtown Portland. We have a bunch of family pictures as well, and great ones of the boys, which I will showcase in upcoming blogs!

Where Have We Been?

That's a great question. Best answer: chasing around two very active toddlers! Whew, life is so busy here in the Morris household, I don't even know where to begin.

     First of all, a praise. We're sleeping much better! No more long wake-ups in the middle of the night, thank goodness. I feel so much more physically rested. However, I am experiencing a new kind of tiredness at the end of the days--emotional exhaustion from discliping! Oh man. Staying on top of Seth and Sam's behavior, teaching them to share, not throw fits, keep their hands to themselves, have manners, speak kindly, have respect, etc. etc. etc. I'm thankful for 5:00 pm daily, because that means reinforcements!

   I've been astounded in how quickly the boys have developed language-wise. It's so fun! Here's a couple fun stories:

*Everything is now "big"...big car, big tractor, big shovel, etc. Yesterday as I was using a windex bottle, Seth made sure to tell me that it was, "BIG soap." Very cute, and yes, it does look like a big soap bottle.

*Who would have known that I would already have to deal with bossyness? Now whenever I tell one boy to do something, the brother mimecs my words, with exact same influction. Yikes. Imagine me yelling, "Seth, come here," and then Sam repeating...and visa versa.

*We're still struggling with the word "fork" sounding quite naughty. Unfortunately, a fork lift (aka "f-off" in our household) was driving through Costco the other day. Imagine my embarrassment to have not one, but two little boys yelling that through the store. Ugh.

Brothers gotta hug! Sam, Seth

"For 3!"

Here's a picture of my Seth-boy. He's sporting Daddy's ankle brace. What a funny kid he is! Seth's voice is absolutely adorable: it kind of has a raspy tone to it, he sounds like an alley cat when he meows. He's got the cadence of language down really well, and will "copy" whole sentences, at least in a mumbling sort of way. He hates going to sleep, and loves keeping Sam up with him. When they're in bed, I often here "Shammy," and giggling ensues. Yesterday I checked on him at naptime, and he was sitting up, with a tubby naked tummy, and shirt in hand, saying, "Clothes off." I just laughed. He's been struggling with fits a lot lately, and I think it's because he's SOOOO close to being able to tell me what he wants or needs, but can't quite yet, and he's frusterated. We're frusterated, too, buddy, but just with your fits! A favorite recent memory of Seth: him walking through the grass, trying to put his shovel and rake over his shoulder just like Ben. Sweet boy.

Oh my Sammy-D, what am I going to do with him? He continues to be a daddy's boy. In fact, in this picture he's wearing a hat of Ben's that he seems to find daily and wear all the time. He LOVES basketball and has been quite put out lately when we visit friends' houses and they have balls, but no hoops. He looks at me with a ball in hand, and says, "Basketball Hoop?" like "Hello, mom, how can there be a ball and no hoop?" Sam is quite particular, but I never know when it's going to show up. All of a sudden, he'll only want orange cups, or a certain blanket. This drives me crazy, and we seem to butt heads more often than Seth and I do. Sam has a great sense of humor, and likes to tease.

This is a picture of the boys first thing in the morning. When I first get them up, we'll read together, and then I'll leave them in the chair to get breakfast for us. It's really quite sweet to see them reading together. Seth and Sam really do play well together...it's very wonderful. Recently they've mastered climbing in and out of the pack-n'play we keep set-up in the guest room. They'll play in there for hours and I'll hear, "Sheth's turn, Sham's turn." They also "switch" toys or books on their own. Very sweet.                                                    Oh, a funny final story for you: about three weeks ago at dinner time, Ben very ungratiously lifted a cheek and farted. (Great, right.) Sam looked at him and stated, "Daddy pooped." What a laugh we got! We explained to them that it was a toot, not a fart. Now, we have a whole line of tooting and pooping jokes/teasing. "Daddy pooped." "No, no, Daddy tooted." Or, I'll ask them if they have poop, and get the response, "No, mommy pooped." Oh, what a boy's household I live in.