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.
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.
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!
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