Happy 3rd Birthday Seth and Sam!

Seth and Sam’s birthday was on Saturday—which was awesome, because Ben could be there all day with us! Just the four of us spent a slow morning hanging out, playing, having the boys’ choices for breakfast (puffy pancake with bacon) and lunch (hotdogs), and opening a few gifts. One of our traditions is to buy them each a book for their birthday; this year’s books were, "What People Do, by Richard Scarry, and Read Aloud BIble Stories, by Ella K. Lindvall (some of our favorite library now to own!). We also had the boys “open”, i.e. find in the trunk, their presents from us: a scooter and a bike (we’ll now have 2 bikes for the boys so they can ride together). They were pretty excited about their gifts from us—and we were really excited about giving them!

Friends and family joined us in the afternoon to celebrate Seth and Sam’s 3rd birthday. My sister has 3 girls, and the Gowen’s have 3 kids as well, so, yes—8 kids 5 and under. It was a blast! The kids played in water, we all ate pizza and cupcakes, and the kids played with lots of new toys. What a special day shared with special people.

The boys wanted pizza for dinner and red cupcakes with strawberries and sprinkles on them for dessert.  

A guitar I found at a garage sale for Jeff and Diane to give the boys ended up being a HUGE hit. Now they won’t have to use train tracks as their pretend guitars anymore!

An almost disaster: one of the new remote control cars was drove straight into the hole by the grates. Luckily Ben-Long-Arms was able to pull it out!

And every good birthday ends with a wrestling match:

Oh, and a big melt-down because they are SO tired, SO coming off a sugar-high, and SO not wanting to share their toys, even with daddy. (And like every good mom, I took pictures of the tears).

Bunk Beds and Questions

Seth and Sam have hit two milestones these past couple of weeks: sleeping in the same room again (in bunk beds) and officially entering into their “question phase.” What do I mean by their question phase? Let me give you some examples:

“Mama, where you going?” – “Outside.”

“What you doing outside?” – “Watering.”

“What you watering?” – “Plants.”

“What kind of plants?” - (I close door cringing because, if I don’t, I probably will have to answer all those questions again…for my other son!)

Yesterday’s lunch questions:

“What did God make the rain for?”

“What are we eating bananas for?”

I’m sure you’re getting the picture. It is very sweet, and thankfully they aren’t just saying “why?” Instead they phrase it: “What are you doing that for?” However, it does require me to mentally be “on” all day and to constantly exercise my patience.

Onto bunk beds. I’m so excited about this and so are the boys! Some of you may remember that last year, about this time, we finally put Seth and Sam into separate rooms. Details here: http://benjamiemorris.blogspot.com/2011/08/sweet-sweet-slumber.html. It was really sad, but also one of the best decisions we had made regarding all of us getting some more sleep. However, the intention was always to have them return to the same room again. A couple of months ago I got the itch to try them together. Truth be told, on days that they take naps, they usually don’t fall asleep until 10 or so anyways—so we figured they might as well be chatting to one another and having brother time. Also, I was dying to get our guest bedroom back; we have so much company and our “guest bed” has been a mattress on the floor in our play room (hardly private, comfortable or convenient).

Seth and Sam have done WONDERFUL being back together again! The first week we borrowed a toddler bed from our friends, so we could have a trial run before purchasing bunk beds. Every night we would encourage them to be “sponsible” (as they boys say), so that they could earn their bunk beds. By the time we bought the beds and Ben put them together, the boys were trembling from excitement to sleep in them.

Initially they were fighting over the bottom bunk (seriously silly kids!), but we finally talked Seth into the fact that the top is way cooler. Here are some pictures of Seth and Sam’s first night in their bunk bed. We have taken off the cool tent, however, because it was way to difficult to get to Seth in the middle of the night (and we couldn’t see both their sweet faces at once). They are doing awesome staying in bed and aren’t playing—too much.

Not only are Seth and Sam loving their bunk beds, but Ben and I are too. Something just feels “right” having them together again! Also, it’s so fun to be able to climb into bed with them to cuddle and read. I’m having a blast redoing my guest bedroom and even redecorating the boys’ room (from Africa theme to basketball). I’ve been amazed how rearranging and adding some furniture can keep kids busy for hours upon hours. They LOVE playing boats/cars/anything on their bunk beds and have also been helping me “fix” the guest bed using their tools. (Note to self: when kids are squirrely in long winter days: move furniture around for a change of pace!)

Superman!

My mom loves making her grandchildren presents for their birthdays. Boys, however, aren’t the easiest gender to find something to make for. So, when I came up with the idea of her making them superman capes, I was pretty proud of myself. When she was here a couple weeks ago, she gave them the capes as an early birthday present so she could be there for their reactions (which did not disappoint). Seth and Sam immediately wanted them on, and ran around the house “saving the world.”

(my dad is to thank for the superman shirts and swords—what a great team they make in gift ideas!)

Aren’t they amazing capes? And the swords have been quite the hit. They have served numerous roles in my boys imaginations: guns, chainsaws, hoses, blowers, and my favorite…a scooter. (Seth’s in red capes, Sam in blue).

Wordless Wednesday

Sunny weather. Sprinklers. Silly boys running around in their undies. These are the days!

 

 

One of the Best Days…

My husband is seriously the best. He knows how to make me feel appreciated, loved and like I’m the luckiest lady alive. I want to remember all the details of my day yesterday, so I’m going to write them all out—even if this post gets a little long (and it makes you a little jealous).

Mother’s Day weekend was good, but really busy. We celebrated with two sets of extended family and really enjoyed catching up with family members we don’t see as often. Our boys went to sleep around 11 both Saturday and Sunday nights. I made lots of food and cleaned up lots of messes. The usual. What was unusual was I didn’t hear a single word about a card or a gift for me for Mother’s Day from Ben and the boys. And I purposed not to ask. As we went to bed on Sunday night, a small rebuke was on the tip of my tongue, but I held back, not wanting to hurt Ben’s feelings. Boy am I glad I didn’t say anything!

Monday morning was normal—in my mind. Ben got up for work, and I was waiting for my alarm to go off so I could get ready in time for Wesley to come. While I was still in bed, Ben told me that he got a text from Raleigh, Wesley’s dad, that he was running a little late, so I could sleep in. I thought it was a bit odd that Raleigh would text Ben, but I was quick to accept a chance to catch some extra sleep! I dozed until I heard a car door slam. “Oh no!” I thought. “Raleigh’s here with Wesley and I’m still in bed!” I threw on clothes and rushed to the door. To my surprise, it was my husband, holding my favorite Starbucks drink and gluten free cinnamon rolls. I looked at the dining room table: a beautiful boutique of flowers, a pot of Gerber daisys, a card and a necklace. Ben was giddy with excitement and gave me a big hug. He explained that he thought I deserved a whole day just for me for Mother’s Day, so he took the day off work, and we were going to the beach as a family. Words can’t describe how special I felt. What a man I married! The kids weren’t up yet, so we enjoyed a slow breakfast out on our deck and he told me all the details of his grand scheme (including pretending that he had training so that I wouldn’t pack his lunch and breakfast, how he hid the flowers in the bottom of the barbeque and had been sneaking off to water them, and arranging with Wesley’s parents to have someone else watch him), and I told him how glad I was that I didn’t make any snarky comment about no gifts the day before.

It was a perfect day for the beach. The wind was freezing the first time we tried to get out and play, so we decided to shop around a bit and have some lunch. We let the boys linger and play at a couple of toy stores, and I browsed a Christmas ornament shop, finding cool sports ones for the boys for next year. Lunch was amazing at Rotisserie Grill in Canon Beach (they even had a gluten free menu!). I love that Seth and Sam are at the age where they can skip a nap without having a horrible day, and also can handle being at a restaurant for a slow meal together as a family. By the time we tried the beach again, it had warmed up considerably. We hunkered down by a log to block some wind while the boys dug in the sand. Then we played in the water a bit, running the boys until they were exhausted and freezing (but still happy). The candy shop was our final stop for the day before heading home. Seth and Sam quickly fell asleep (which was a bit of a bummer because it was 4:45, which meant night #3 of going to sleep at 11 pm). What a amazing day! My heart overflows from feeling so loved and appreciated.

So here’s our day in pictures. It truly was one of the best days of my life. Thank you God for the wonderful husband and family you have given me.

It smells as good as it looks!

Sam, Seth

   

Here’s the photos from actual Mother’s Day while we’re still dressed up from church. I LOVE the ones of the boys.

Sam, Seth—looking so grown up! This is our flower garden in the back! Looks pretty good :)

Our Little Oasis

Not many people living in a city can claim to host a beaver dam in their backyard.

One of the reasons we bought our house was because of the green space behind it; declared a watershed by the county, no one can build on it. So it will always be a green space. Recently, though, the landscape has been transformed by a beaver. I didn’t believe Ben at first. Early this spring he and the boys ventured through the gate to go throw rocks in what used to be a small trickling stream. What they found, however, was an enormous pond, created by a dam on our little creek. Ben started looking around and found a bunch of trees chewed down by unmistakable beaver teeth. One cannot ignore this type of evidence:

Truth be told, we are thrilled and fascinated by our little beaver family. We checked books out at the library on beavers for the boys (and us too!), and learned that they are nocturnal (which explains why we never see them). And although we’ve had to protect some of the trees closer to our home, we’re happy to share this area with another family. In fact, it has created for us a really beautiful oasis in the the middle of the city. Two families of ducks now reside on the pond, so the boys get to feed them bread frequently. Our neighbor even set out a bench for us to sit in the evenings and enjoy the ambiance of the area. And Seth and Sam are in heaven, because they can now consistently throw rocks in the water—a true passion for them.

  

Ben breaks up the dam periodically to drain the pond; the beaver rebuilds every night.

Look closely: there’s a duck!

Final Month of 2 two year olds

When I was pregnant, I read every thing I could get my hands on about twins. One thing I remember very vividly: in every book I read, only one, maybe two chapters would cover after the first year of twins.  I’d read about changing thousands of diapers, how much milk I would produce, what I should buy for multiple babies, etc…but I recall thinking: what about when they’re not babies anymore? How am I going to survive with 2 toddlers? Two going through the terrible twos? So, if I ever write my memoir about twins, here’s my final thoughts on 2 two year olds:

LIKES:

• Seth and Sam always have a playmate. True confession: I rarely play with them. They don’t need me. They’re sufficient with just each other.
• They have learned how to share and get along with others quicker and easier than other kids their age—because we practice it ALL THE TIME.
• Because they’re the exact same age, they are going through the same things at the same time (in contrast to a mom that has a three year old and baby at home).
• Having their clothes be all the same size…keeps things simple.
• Watching their social interaction with one another. Saying things like, “Don’t be controlling,” to one another.
• Having 2 little boys on my lap reading stories with me.
• Their language; I was sure that my boys would be slow to talk because all the books said that twins talk slow, and boys talk slow. However, their being twins has seemed to help them talk better. Seth and Sam are talking constantly and in complete sentences. I think it’s because they are always chattering to one another.
• Every “idea” they have of something to do or play with gets even bigger and sillier because they feed off one another.
• Seth and Sam being brave together; example, them holding hands to go touch the puppets at story time. I never worry about leaving them with babysitters or nursery because I know they have one another.

DISLIKES

• They go through the same annoying stages at the same time. Example: both really into opening and shutting the door. Translation in twin life: always fighting over the door.
• Playing referee a lot because I’m teaching them to share ALL THE TIME.
• The question phase x 2. Imagine how annoying it is to answer questions all day. Now imagine answering the exact same question twice in a row. They never listen to the answer the first time.
• Having to remember who’s turn it is—all the time.
• Constant chattering x 2. Add in lots of arguments and I go crazy!
• All the injuries and emotional outbursts x 2.

Summary for twin moms: If you’ve made it through the first nine months, 2 two year olds is a piece of cake. They have a built-in playmate. And in our case, we went “ugly early” or “strict early” as far as obedience in public places, parking lots, etc. (because who can run after 2 kids going separate directions). This has really paid off, because they are pretty well-behaved (although, we’ve heard that often times boys go through terrible 3’s not 2’s…so maybe this next year will be tougher). Also, I’ve enjoyed this phase because it seems that the public novelty of twins has worn off a bit. When they were babies EVERYONE noticed us in public; but now that they pick out their own (and mostly different) outfits and have grown into their distinct personalities more, we can blend in better. Or perhaps, I’ve learned to deal with all the twin comments better. Either way, I’ve gotten really used to this twin thing, and couldn’t imagine my life any other way. I love having my twin boys!

Seth, Sam