Mama's reply: "Not dressed like that!" (yes, they were taking turns wearing the heels because they are so cool). I can't wait to show these pictures in their senior slideshow.
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| Sam |
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| Seth |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
I Two!
"I Two." That is what Seth and Sam will tell you if you ask them how old they are. Well, sometimes. More often than not, they are too shy to say it to anyone but us. I realized that the boys have been two for a couple weeks now, and I haven't blogged about what they are up to. Maybe it's so much that I don't even know how to put it into words. Well, here's a try:
-We are very amazed by their language abilities. They do a lot of their talking now in sentences, and have a limitless vocabulary. I think a lot of this has to do with them being twins, and constantly talking to each other. An example of a conversation the boys had with each other yesterday as Seth was throwing a fit on the ground. Sam says, "Seth, no throw fit. Stand up." Seth replies, "Sammy, no boss." Ha ha. This happens all the time. Or, "Seth, come inside. Sam shut door." reply, "No Sam shut door, Seth shut door."
-Independence is the name of the game at the Morris household now. "No, Sammy do it." or "Seth, no help." This is what this mama hears all day. So, I've had to STOP, slow down, take a deep breath, and teach them how to do it themselves. Sam does not like to be shown how to do anything. He's tough to teach! I've told many of you this story, but it needs to be blogged as well: after about 10 minutes of Sam struggling to put on his own socks, and I told him, "Mama help." His reply, "No mama help. Go play," (with a finger point as well.) Oh, funny boy. Part of me wanted to say, "Newsflash, mama doesn't play all day." :)
-One of the areas that their independence is being manifested most in is clothing. Daily, they pick out their own clothing, which has resulted in some doozy outfits. Last week, they both decided to wear 2 shirts...so they had their football jersey's on as "undershirts" and small t-shirts on top of them. Top it off with red sweats and striped socks, and we were off for the day!
-We're starting a little pre-potty training, but haven't gone full-board yet. Sam is really good about telling us when he poops. Seth doesn't seem to care. Truthfully, I'm not as stressed about potty-training as I was about getting rid of binkies. I think we'll give it a whirl, and if they're not ready, try again in a month. At least is doesn't affect my sleep, so I'm okay with trying :)
-They continue to be quite reserved in social settings. They stand back, check out the situation, assess, and then, they may or may not jump in. They are not "big group" people, and are very shy when they don't know someone.
-Seth and Sam played their first one-on-one basketball game against each other last night. It was hilarious. Sam is all about shooting (and is quite accurate at it!) Seth is our little hustler, who tries to steal the ball and loves to chase after it. The crazy thing was, they weren't really all that upset about the other playing defense or stealing the ball. It was almost like they have watched enough basketball to understand that this is part of the game, and it's okay.
-They can ride their trikes all by themselves now...I can't believe it! This is one of those things that make them feel like really "big boys" to me :(
-Favorite things to do: dig in the dirt or rocks, ride bikes, play basketball, color on their easel, climb in and out of their pack n' play, transfer books all over the house, play with cars down their ramp, play with their tools, pretend to do anything that daddy does, splash (or as they say, "fash") or throw rocks in water, jump with "two feet."
-They both can count to "10". Wow! Well, nine gets left out most the time. And more often than not, it sound like, "Won, two, free, five, high five (their own hand of course), six, seven, eight, ten."
-We love the way they say each other's names, "Sath," and "Semmy,". They sure do love each other and are the best of friends. They may fight over toys, but really aren't very physical with each other. They rarely play any distance from each other, and are usually doing similar things next to one another. It is very sweet.
-Speaking of love, I told Sam that I loved him last night. He looked right back at me, and said, "I love YOU mama." Ah, melts the heart.
I'm sure there is so much more to share, and if I blink, I'm going to miss this time of life. I love these little twins of mine and can't imagine life without them. The twos may be a bit "terrible", but they are so precious. I'll take the fits, Independence, and struggling for the love, affection, humor, learning, and touches any day!
-We are very amazed by their language abilities. They do a lot of their talking now in sentences, and have a limitless vocabulary. I think a lot of this has to do with them being twins, and constantly talking to each other. An example of a conversation the boys had with each other yesterday as Seth was throwing a fit on the ground. Sam says, "Seth, no throw fit. Stand up." Seth replies, "Sammy, no boss." Ha ha. This happens all the time. Or, "Seth, come inside. Sam shut door." reply, "No Sam shut door, Seth shut door."
-Independence is the name of the game at the Morris household now. "No, Sammy do it." or "Seth, no help." This is what this mama hears all day. So, I've had to STOP, slow down, take a deep breath, and teach them how to do it themselves. Sam does not like to be shown how to do anything. He's tough to teach! I've told many of you this story, but it needs to be blogged as well: after about 10 minutes of Sam struggling to put on his own socks, and I told him, "Mama help." His reply, "No mama help. Go play," (with a finger point as well.) Oh, funny boy. Part of me wanted to say, "Newsflash, mama doesn't play all day." :)
-One of the areas that their independence is being manifested most in is clothing. Daily, they pick out their own clothing, which has resulted in some doozy outfits. Last week, they both decided to wear 2 shirts...so they had their football jersey's on as "undershirts" and small t-shirts on top of them. Top it off with red sweats and striped socks, and we were off for the day!
-We're starting a little pre-potty training, but haven't gone full-board yet. Sam is really good about telling us when he poops. Seth doesn't seem to care. Truthfully, I'm not as stressed about potty-training as I was about getting rid of binkies. I think we'll give it a whirl, and if they're not ready, try again in a month. At least is doesn't affect my sleep, so I'm okay with trying :)
-They continue to be quite reserved in social settings. They stand back, check out the situation, assess, and then, they may or may not jump in. They are not "big group" people, and are very shy when they don't know someone.
-Seth and Sam played their first one-on-one basketball game against each other last night. It was hilarious. Sam is all about shooting (and is quite accurate at it!) Seth is our little hustler, who tries to steal the ball and loves to chase after it. The crazy thing was, they weren't really all that upset about the other playing defense or stealing the ball. It was almost like they have watched enough basketball to understand that this is part of the game, and it's okay.
-They can ride their trikes all by themselves now...I can't believe it! This is one of those things that make them feel like really "big boys" to me :(
-Favorite things to do: dig in the dirt or rocks, ride bikes, play basketball, color on their easel, climb in and out of their pack n' play, transfer books all over the house, play with cars down their ramp, play with their tools, pretend to do anything that daddy does, splash (or as they say, "fash") or throw rocks in water, jump with "two feet."
-They both can count to "10". Wow! Well, nine gets left out most the time. And more often than not, it sound like, "Won, two, free, five, high five (their own hand of course), six, seven, eight, ten."
-We love the way they say each other's names, "Sath," and "Semmy,". They sure do love each other and are the best of friends. They may fight over toys, but really aren't very physical with each other. They rarely play any distance from each other, and are usually doing similar things next to one another. It is very sweet.
-Speaking of love, I told Sam that I loved him last night. He looked right back at me, and said, "I love YOU mama." Ah, melts the heart.
I'm sure there is so much more to share, and if I blink, I'm going to miss this time of life. I love these little twins of mine and can't imagine life without them. The twos may be a bit "terrible", but they are so precious. I'll take the fits, Independence, and struggling for the love, affection, humor, learning, and touches any day!
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| Sam, Seth |
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Bye Bye Binkies!
I can barely believe it myself, but yes, we have said "Adios" to those cursed binkies!
It's funny the reactions that I get from people with weaning from binkies. Some think that we waited way too long, some wonder why I was so adamant to get it done so early. I know, with my motherly intuition of course, that we did it just in time.
Most kids quietly suck their binkies as they fall asleep. Not my boys. Nope. Seth and Sam's binky usage went along with a very, very, VERY loud "mmmmmmmmm" sound; so loud, in fact, that if Ben and I were sleeping in the same room with them (traveling), we could have ear plugs in, pillows over the head, and still be able to hear it. The week before we weaned, Seth was waking up from 4-5 and sucking so loudly I was sleeping on the couch. I had had it!
People had described all the techniques to weaning. I kept discussing this with Ben. He didn't understand why so much "to do" about getting rid of the dang things. So we went with his technique...we just pulled the plug, literally. Cold turkey.
Night 1, a fair amount of crying for the binkies. Fell asleep only 15 minutes later than usual. Sam sleeps through night, Seth 1 wake up. Crying in the morning, but not too bad. Nap 1...no sleep.
Night 2, still some crying before going to sleep. Asleep 30 minutes later than usual, but mostly because the boys are talking to each other without having something to suck. Sam sleeps through the night again. Seth wakes up frequently with the cold that throws a wrench into weaning. It's hard to comfort a stuffed-up, coughing child multiple times in the night without the binky they are used to. Nap 2...tire the kids out at zoo all morning resulting in a short nap.
Night 3, supposed to be the "best" and final night of trying to wean. Our worst. Both boys have a cold now and want their binkies when they wake up sick. Ugh. Nap 3, decent.
Night 4, try "warm sock treatment" as recommended by friend on facebook. Miracle worker. Seriously, look this up as a natural treatment to congestion. Kids sleep wonderful and wake up without runny noses.
Night 5, same treatment, same result.
Currently, 2 weeks weaned off of the binky and we've never looked back. The weaning process was not as bad as I assumed. It still takes Seth and Sam longer to go to sleep than it used to, merely because they are in the same room and they yap and play without something to plug them up. About half the time we split them up so that they will fall asleep better. Overall, I'm thrilled with the peace and quiet of no loud binky sucking!
Bye, Bye Binky!
It's funny the reactions that I get from people with weaning from binkies. Some think that we waited way too long, some wonder why I was so adamant to get it done so early. I know, with my motherly intuition of course, that we did it just in time.
Most kids quietly suck their binkies as they fall asleep. Not my boys. Nope. Seth and Sam's binky usage went along with a very, very, VERY loud "mmmmmmmmm" sound; so loud, in fact, that if Ben and I were sleeping in the same room with them (traveling), we could have ear plugs in, pillows over the head, and still be able to hear it. The week before we weaned, Seth was waking up from 4-5 and sucking so loudly I was sleeping on the couch. I had had it!
People had described all the techniques to weaning. I kept discussing this with Ben. He didn't understand why so much "to do" about getting rid of the dang things. So we went with his technique...we just pulled the plug, literally. Cold turkey.
Night 1, a fair amount of crying for the binkies. Fell asleep only 15 minutes later than usual. Sam sleeps through night, Seth 1 wake up. Crying in the morning, but not too bad. Nap 1...no sleep.
Night 2, still some crying before going to sleep. Asleep 30 minutes later than usual, but mostly because the boys are talking to each other without having something to suck. Sam sleeps through the night again. Seth wakes up frequently with the cold that throws a wrench into weaning. It's hard to comfort a stuffed-up, coughing child multiple times in the night without the binky they are used to. Nap 2...tire the kids out at zoo all morning resulting in a short nap.
Night 3, supposed to be the "best" and final night of trying to wean. Our worst. Both boys have a cold now and want their binkies when they wake up sick. Ugh. Nap 3, decent.
Night 4, try "warm sock treatment" as recommended by friend on facebook. Miracle worker. Seriously, look this up as a natural treatment to congestion. Kids sleep wonderful and wake up without runny noses.
Night 5, same treatment, same result.
Currently, 2 weeks weaned off of the binky and we've never looked back. The weaning process was not as bad as I assumed. It still takes Seth and Sam longer to go to sleep than it used to, merely because they are in the same room and they yap and play without something to plug them up. About half the time we split them up so that they will fall asleep better. Overall, I'm thrilled with the peace and quiet of no loud binky sucking!
Bye, Bye Binky!
The Twins are Two! (part 1)
Turning 2 is quite the big deal...at least I thought it was. The boys' first birthday didn't really emotionally affect me, but two? Two? That means they are no longer babies! Seth and Sam are growing up SO fast, way too fast. Before I get too nostalgic, here's some of the birthday festivities.
Part 1 of Seth and Sam turning 2, including a fun day at Auntie Alicia's house on May 25 (the day before their bday). May 25 happens to be cousin Judah's birthday...he turned 1. We played with cousins and aunts, and Alicia made spectacular cupcakes. Everyone, including cousin Harlee, got a candle to blow out.
We left from Auntie Alicia's house to meet Ben and the Plato family at Red Robin for dinner. Having dinner at a restaruant with 5 kids and only 4 adults is always interesting, but fun none-the-less. At the end of dinner, the boys each shared their sundae's with Miriam and Aidah, and it was hilarious to watch all the kids scarf it down. We ended the night playing at the park. What a fun day, and it wasn't even their birthday! Part 2 coming soon!
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| Sammy getting attention from the girls |
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| Sam and Aidah |
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| Seth and Mimi |
Friday, May 20, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Neighborhood Garage Sale
Time to get caught up on blogging! Hopefully I'll be posting a lot in the next week or so to catch everything up before the boys' 2nd birthday. Can you believe it? Seth and Sam will be 2 a week from today. Wow!
So, last weekend, I hosted my first ever garage sale. I also invited the people of our cul-da-sec do sell as well; 4 other families joined it (great for advertising!). My sister, Katie, and friend Rachael also sold at our house, so we had a very full driveway! We had a steady stream of customers throughout the day, and our sales at our house totalled to almost $200 for our 3 families. I call it a success! Besides the cute pictures below, here were some of the highlights of the event:
-Rachael and I proving to our husbands that we could make money on our junk! Ha, ha anti-garage salers!
-Katie's entire family coming up for the day and playing...very fun! The boys are still missing their cousins and talk about them a lot.
-A little boy starting to unzip his pants in front of the old, FREE toilets we had out in the yard. Yikes. No, this is not a working toilet.
-I will never cease to be amazed by what sells at garage sales. While the items that I think are quality and worth rebuying get quickly looked over, things like this sell:
*A brown leather jacket that Rachael had been keeping since middle school...what? Who picks that out?
*Horrible boxer shorts with Pepsi logos that I had "won" at a gift exchange.
*Every single worn out, dusty fake flower arrangement we had.
*A stain-glassed wall hanging...very old...very out of style...used to be my mom-in-laws.
What a fun day! And although I don't think I could handle doing this yearly, the $83 I earned to go towards an external flash for my camera, and the laughter of the sale was well worth the time! Doesn't this make you want to have one?
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| Sam, Seth watching the customers |
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| Clara May, sporting the boys' hat |
Thursday, April 28, 2011
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!
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| Sam, Seth |
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| My favorite of the obys: Sam, Seth |
All pictures taken by accendoimages.com (you really should book some pictures with him...he's awesome!)
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