We Love This Boy

Oh Joshua, you are so loved. Despite having a cleft palate (basically the “punching bag” at the back of the mouth is split in half—it’s very minor as far as cleft palate’s go), you are such an easy child. You are unable to nurse because of the split, which means I have to pump and bottle feed. But now you suck down your 4-5 ounce bottle in 10-15 minutes, so life has gotten even easier.You are a wonderful night sleeper and are now sleeping from 10 pm to 5 am—sometimes even 7 am! You do okay during your naps, but I end up holding you through about a nap a day to get you to sleep more…and that’s fine with me! I didn’t get to dote on the twins like this.You smile so much and you smile with your whole face. Your eyes are so smiley and happy. We are addicted to your smiles. I look forward to your smiles each morning. You are such a joy to our lives.

First Trip to the ER

Wednesday marked our first trip to the emergency room. I feel like that’s a small victory with four year old twin boys! Here’s the details:

We were playing at our cousin’s house in Estacada. At one point in time there were 9 kids four and under. The kids were having a blast! And the moms were having fun too; by the afternoon the “big” kids (Seth, Sam, Harlee, and Judah…4, 4, 4, and 3) were happily playing outside and we were chatting on the couch patting ourselves on the back for having such independent kids.

Then the screaming started. Sam’s cry is SO loud. Bryan ushered him to the front door bleeding on the front of his face. I assumed bloody nose. Then I saw his mouth. I was thankful Alicia, who’s a nurse, was there to help me. I sat Sam on my lap and tried to calm him down while she got ice and a compress, and tried to examine it further. She mouthed to me “ER” and stitches. Ugh.

So apparently Sam had a rope attached to a bike and was pulling it up the driveway. The bike got stuck, Sam tugged harder and his hand slipped from the rope. He fell forward—hard—into a log that was on its side and cut in half (so there was a 90 degree angle for his face to hit). Truthfully we don’t really know what happened because no adults were present and the only accounts are from four year olds. That was fun to tell the doctors and nurses at the hospital.

I was so thankful that I had just pumped and Josh had already ate and was due for a nap. Kasie gathered all my stuff and got the kids in the car; Alicia held Sam and tried to get the bleeding to stop while I called the doctor for advice and Ben to meet me at the ER. It was stressful because I was in Estacada and the nearest ER was 45 minutes away in Oregon City by back roads. But God really took care of us. Josh fell asleep immediately in the car and didn’t cry the whole way. Sam calmed down and actually conked out as well (I think he was exhausted from screaming so hard for so long). And Seth chattered away like nothing happened (which actually probably kept me from bawling and freaking out).

Ben got to the ER just seconds before me. Again, God is so good. Josh was due for a bottle and I couldn’t have done it on my own. Plus, Ben is just my rock. I needed him. I needed him to hold Sam. Sam needed him. Thank you God for a wonderful husband and daddy.

We ended up being at the ER for about 3 hours and Sam got eight stitches. They were able to put a topical numbing on Sam’s lip and then do a mild sedating spray in the nose (no shots!). Ben was there for the stitches, and me and my weak stomach could go into the waiting room with the other two. Seth was disappointed he couldn’t watch (I’m sure he would have been VERY helpful…cue sarcasm.) Sam was loopy for a couple hours afterwards and I may have taken a tiny video in which he said some pretty hilarious things.

So we survived our first ER visit. Sam is healing great. I was anticipating a rough first night after the injury, but he didn’t wake up once. And the next morning he woke up saying he was hungry, that the cut didn’t hurt at all—just itched. He doesn’t really like us to show or tell people and seems self-conscious of it. We’re so proud of how brave he was.

Pre-stitches.Post stitches (loopy!)At Subway where we stopped for dinner on the way home. We got Sam a milkshake at McDonalds. He was still loopy and told us that he had to have a milkshake “because it was tall, so it wouldn’t hurt his lip.” He also said that he was “going to eat all the strawberries in it.” It was pretty funny.

Side view             The morning after. Yes, Sam, that outfit is even BETTER with a split lip.

They were off on some adventure; I couldn’t remember where too…

Seth and Sam: 4.5 years old

When I think of Seth and Sam, I think of constant chatter and questions. Tons of energy, running everywhere, huge imagination and overall “boyness.” Lots of laughter and joy. A love for being outside, digging, and riding bikes. I think of how they adore their daddy and wait for him to come home every night so that they can wrestle, play football or basketball, and ask a new barrage of questions about a game on TV. I think of their helpful spirits, even if it’s helping me weed in the yard.

 Sam down at the Beaver dam

I think of how different they are in public and around big groups than they are at home. When they are in social situations, they are quiet and reserved, stay close to Ben and I, and are hesitant to participate. When they are at home they are LOUD, always talking, and in the middle of everything. I’ve been so proud of them recently as they’ve made some social strides. They are warming up to groups and friends quicker. Sam even drew our worship pastor a picture in church and walked up with me to give it to him. I wonder what challenges they will encounter with friendships being twins. Because they are so connected with one another, I’ve noticed that other friends are often left out. I think this will be a perpetual challenge in life for them and one that we are working on.

Seth at the dam

They love their baby brother. Their favorite interaction with him is what I like to call “the drive-by head pat.” Seth especially is my little helper and always talks to Josh, using the tones and language I use. They HATE it when I let Josh cry, even for a few seconds and putting the binky in for me is something that they fight over. Now they even have opinions about why Josh is crying; “I think he’s hungry,” or “He’s just tired.” A lot of people have asked me, “How are Seth and Sam doing with a baby brother?” My conclusion has been that it’s easier for twins to adjust to a new baby in the family, because they are already used to sharing their parents with a sibling. Also, they always have each other, and are kind of in their “twin world,” so they don’t notice the extra time Josh takes away from their interactions with Ben and I. They have never shown any resentment towards Josh, and in fact, are already planning for the next baby. Seth would like 3 more babies, all girls, so that are family would be 4 boys and 4 girls. Sorry, buddy, not happening.

Recently Ben was offered 2 free Blazer tickets, so we did something that we’d never really done before: we split them up. We were very unsure of how they would react, especially because that meant one of them was going to have to stay home with me. However, it went over great. Sammy (oddly enough) chose to stay home and watch a movie and have popcorn with Josh and I, and Seth was so pumped to go to the game. (We promised to switch in the near future so that Sam could go to a game and Seth stay with me). The thing I noticed having just Sammy at home with me: it was MUCH quieter. Those two talk to one another constantly! Each boy seemed to thrive under the individual attention, making Ben and I realize that we should maybe do things like that more often.

Seth currently is the tough one. He’s gotten quite sassy and has a retort to everything we tell him. We’re really working on his first response to a parents instruction not being, “Well…” but “Yes, daddy or mommy.” As I’ve began to do more preschool activities at home with the boys I’ve noticed a very distinct difference in their learning styles. Seth has a harder time concentrating and is always very concerned with what Sammy is doing. He takes frequent breaks to see Sam’s worksheet. I’ve learned it’s best to have them do the same book, or else Seth spends all his time checking to see what’s Sam’s looks like. Sam, on the other hand is blowing through his workbooks. He puts his head down to work and follows the directions perfectly, really striving to get it just right. I feel like I’m painting a bad picture of Seth—but in hindsight, I’m sure that there has been update posts where I have done that one Sammy. And although Seth and I seem to be butting heads more, he’s the one that is the sweetest with Joshua and always the first to say, “Thanks for dinner, mama.”

They continue to love Legos, although it’s not the pure obsession it used to be. Truthfully, Legos are really the only toy that they use for it’s intended purpose. The majority of the other toys just become props for imaginative play. We have bins of trains and cars and marble works—they could do without those. Instead they would rather use puzzle pieces as pretend money, or pack up all their toys for a adventure on their pretend plane. There are two toys that they’ve really been into lately: first, their doctor’s kit (ever since baby and I came home from the hospital), and their guns. Oh, those guns. Sounds of shots fill every day; although, it’s not always for the purpose of hunting. Sometimes those guns are the sound of their motorcycle engine, sometimes they are crutches.

A very exciting milestone we hit since Josh came: reading chapter books! This was something I had SO been looking forward to the boys being old enough to do. I think it came at the perfect time, as it gives me quality time with Seth and Sam each day. We’ve read Charlotte’s Web and Mr. Popper’s Penguins. These books have given me some nice themes for preschool at home, so we’ve been reading extra books and doing crafts about spiders and penguins.

So that’s Seth and Sam in a nutshell. I don’t remember if I shared their percentages from their much overdue 4 year old appointments. Their height was in the 50% and their weight (around 38 pounds) in the 60% (which is SO surprising because they look so darn skinny). These two boys are such a blessing to Ben and I and we’re so thankful to  be their parents! While our house is quite LOUD constantly, it is so full of joy and laughter—my heart is full!

Halloween

Seth and Sammy had so much fun this Halloween. It was the first Halloween where they could remember what happened last year, so they were actually excited about trick-or-treating. It was also the first time where we went out after dark and went to houses of people we didn’t know. Overall, very exciting.

We spent the morning of Halloween trying on outfits and “practicing” saying trick-or-treat at pretend houses. Very fun. Then Seth started using his tiger tail to sweep the floor; so Sam stuffed a blanket into his pants for a tail and started to sweep the floor too…great use of time. We also had a costume photo shoot where I got one of my favorite all time pictures of Sam:

If that doesn’t make you laugh, not much will. His costume is too small and as he told me later, “He couldn’t remember how to get the other side of his mouth up on his smile.” HILARIOUS. And here’s Seth in his tiger costume. Smiling for the camera is still not his strong suit:

I love this picture of the boys together. Here’s their Halloween pictures from the last 5 years (I guess I skipped 2010? Couldn’t find any pictures and can’t remember their costumes, but found a cute picture from October. I can’t believe fast the last 4.5 years has gone! Seth in on the left in all but 2009)2013201220102009

My favorite part of Halloween actually happened while we were sitting at the dinner table before going out for the evening. Much to our surprise, our doorbell rang with trick-or-treaters (we NEVER get anyone due to being on a dead end street). It was two pre-teen boys: one dressed as a skeleton and the other as a Biblical figure in a toga, beard, and sandals. I asked the Bible character who he was, expecting to hear Moses, Joseph or someone like that. His reply was, “Jesus.” As I sat back down at the table Seth turned to me wide-eyed and asked amazed, “That was Jesus?” Oh my, I still laugh every time I think about it. Seriously, Seth? “Remember…it’s HALLOWEEN, it’s a costume.” “But he had a beard!” “Yes, Seth, remember what everyone wears on this day—costumes. The beard’s not real.” Oh, sweet innocence.

We drove to a neighborhood a couple miles away to visit the boys’ old babysitter (who’s costume Seth was wearing). It was nice for them to practice first on a house of someone we knew. I was bummed that I didn’t get a good picture of all the boys in costume. Oh well. Here’s a picture before we left for the evening in front our Jack-o-lanterns.  

Seeing the boys “being brave” and walking up to these houses together is a memory I want to freeze forever. And finally, my little giraffe and I—whom was still disgruntled about having his hood on his head. Happy first Halloween Joshua.

Joshua: 2 months old

I can’t believe our sweet Josh is already two months old! We cannot imagine life without him. He is such a happy, easy going baby. His awake times are full of huge cheek to cheek grins and sweet coos. He loves kisses and when people “talk” to him. He loves being by Seth and Sam as they play. He greets Ben with a huge smile every evening when he gets home from work. Josh is a great eater and weighs around 11.5 pounds. He had four nights in a row of six hours of sleep, but has been going through a growth spurt and is waking up starving after 3-4 hours the last couple of nights. The last few days he has started to control his hands a bit, and is putting them in his mouth and (maybe?) even batting a few toys (it’s so hard to tell). His two month day fell on Halloween, so here he is in costume. He was upset by the end because he doesn’t seem to like things on his head. Poor little giraffe:

Warm Falls Days

Now that the colder, rainy days have arrived I’m even more thankful for our sunny days. We had such wonderful days outside with the boys. Here’s some pictures of an epic football game Ben had with Seth and Sam in the backyard. I love this picture. Ben was having the boys “huddle up” and plan plays. (Sam in black, Seth in blue)

“Now why was this game so epic?” you may ask. Well, because it ended with these:

Seth has a black eye and Sam a goose egg. Let’s just say that Ben put too good of a move on them, and they ran full-force smack into one another. While Sam’s looked worse initially (instant goose egg), Seth’s turned into a black eye that lasted for two weeks! Poor Ben felt so bad.

On another sunny afternoon, the boys and I sat out front on a blanket, snacked on apples and peanut butter, and waited for Ben to come home from work. I brought the camera out to capture the beauty of fall around us and my three handsome boys:

Seth didn’t want me to take his picture, can you tell? Josh complied, though…

I have never seen our front yard maple tree so red! Gorgeous!SethSammyThank you God for such a beautiful fall!

October Picture Catch Up

Be ready for LOTS of pictures. Our computer has been out of commission the last few weeks, and I’ve been dying to blog. We had such a fun October, and Josh is so darn cute…the camera has been snapping. A LOT.

Like everyone here in the Pacific Northwest, we enjoyed weeks of beautiful, warm fall weather. Ben took a couple days off and we used one of them to visit a pumpkin patch on a non-busy Monday. Lakeview farms was a fabulous place—I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun place to visit.

The boat ride out to the patch

We put Seth and Sam in charge of the wheel barrel. It was fun to watch them have teamwork.

 

The perfect pumpkin

(Seth top, Sam bottom)

Train ride on the way back

The corn maze (such a good maze that we couldn’t even find the end and had to head back). The boys had a blast running through the tall stalks.

Josh continues to be just about the most pleasant baby imaginable. He’s constantly smiling and flirting with everyone around him.

We used another nice evening to park outside the airport to watch jets take off and land. Seth and Sam loved it and Ben and I were just proud to get out of the house again with a newborn!

Beautiful Mt. Hood

(and no, that’s not nearly all the pictures to come…I thought I’d split it up. Or truth be told, I just don’t have time to do a long post all at once and the grandparents are really bugging me for some pictures.)