The end of Dreft

Since Meera was born I've been averaging approximately 15 loads of laundry a week. Now that Margie is helping it's so so so much easier, but it's still a lot of laundry. I don't know how people with sextuplets do it.... anyway.

Tonight is a very emotional night for me. For the first few months after the boys came home I used Dreft to do their laundry. Loads and loads and loads of Dreft laundry. When they hit One, I stopped. But it was not that big of a deal for some reason.

For the first 11 months of Meera's life I have used Dreft to wash her laundry and scentless Bouce to dry everything. All the onsies, PJ's, socks, cute little pants, tops, coats, socks. Mostly clean, terribly dirty, it all got the Dreft. It all came out smelling like baby.

We decided that this enormous jug of Dreft would be the last one and then I would start using the same Tide I use for all our laundry.

Tonight, I did my last load of Dreft laundry. And since we're not having more children, my last load of Dreft laundry ever.

Well, at least until I do my grandkids laundry in 20-30 years!

Signs of Spring!

Last spring Braydon started taking the boys to the driving range to hit golf balls. Anyone who knows us well knows that the boys have been loving golf since they were about 16 months old, and they are pretty good at it. When the driving range closed early this winter K & O were very disappointed. They've been waiting for spring ever since... in part because they know that's when the driving range (or, as they say, "The Good Golf Course") will open again. Today was the first trip to the driving range of 2008. K & O's golf season has officially begun!!! They were ecstatic (Kyle especially). They both picked up right where they left off last fall-- hitting the ball very consistently, and the best hits going over 50 yards. When we got into the car afterward Kyle very enthusiastically proclaimed, "That was really, really fun!" (The really cool thing about the two photos below is that if you click on them to enlarge them you can actually see the golf balls they've just hit flying in the air.)

Another sure sign that spring has officially begun (even though it was actually unseasonably cold here today)--- We stopped into a store for K & O to get their new Red Sox hats for the 2008 season. This has become an annual rite of spring for us. They outgrow them each year, so each spring they need new ones. Now they totally get it (i.e., they totally get it that MorFar loves the Red Sox and therefor they love the Red Sox and therefor they are really excited about their new Red Sox hats).

Not a sign of spring whatsoever, but this afternoon we took K & O to their second theatre movie ever! This was a big deal. We went to see Horton Hears A Who. Not sure who loved it more -- K & O, or H & B.

First Trip to the Dentist

The Friday before last we had K & O's first trip to the dentist! They loved it! They hopped right up into the chair-- first Kyle, then Owen. They opened wide. They got their teeth checked out and they each got full cleanings. Their favorite part was the dentist's chair-- they thought it was very cool that the chair could be put into all sorts of positions. The dentist let them hold a mirror so that they could watch what she was doing to their teeth-- they loved that too. Turns out they have great teeth! No cavities and no problems! Another aspect of their great genes. Another moment in which we give thanks for great birthparents! All in all, a great First Trip to the Dentist!

Very First Hair Cuts

I've been wondering if anyone would notice and sure enough my good friend from over at Mayhem and Magic (click here) did! She left a comment on my post from earlier today asking about the boys' hair. Yes, indeed, they got their very first hair cuts! I trimmed their dreds. This was a long time coming, the decision had been weighing on me for months (literally!), and it was a big thing for me to finally determine to do it. The boys' locs were getting very long, especially for 3-year-old-rough-and-tumble-boys who really couldn't care less if grass/sand/mud/play dough/cookie dough/jelly/glue/glitter/gum/or slime of any variety gets smeared in their hair. Their locs were so long that we could put both of their hair into full ponytails. We were also letting them wear my headbands sometimes (which they liked, to keep their locs out of their faces). These looks (ponytails, headbands, etc.) were very hip and cool (the boys looked like some of my coolest students do), but not so appropriate for 3 year old boys in our neck of the woods. Their locs were getting very long, and very heavy. And, the real kicker was that Kyle's hair was driving him absolutely batty. The locs in front were growing straight down, no matter what tactics I took to keep them twisted back. And they were hanging straight into his eyes. A bazillion times a day the poor kid was pushing his hair out of his eyes with his hands. It was distracting him from his playing, from his eating, from his craft projects, from everything. Just watching him go through this was killing me. Kyle's annoyance at his locs-in-his-eyes slowly came to outweigh the idea of keeping the locs long because of my own emotional attachment to the idea/symbolism of it. That is what finally pushed me over the edge and made me make the decision to trim. It was an emotional decision for me. Their hair had never been cut. Never ever. I loved it so much that the tips of their locs were their baby hair; their hair from Haiti, from the orphanage. I loved it so much that the end portions of their locs were from when they first came home, the middle portions were their hair from when they were settling-in-with-us, the roots were now, etc., etc., etc. I loved the symbolism. I loved what it represented. And if they were girls and I could do up-do's everyday, or boys who cared more about keeping junk out of their hair, or people who placed any value whatsoever on the length of their locs... well... then I suppose it would have been a different story. But this is Kyle and Owen we're talking about. Finally I bit the bullet. And once I made the decision, that was it. I said, "O.k., boys, Mama is going to cut your hair!! Just a little, you'll still have your dreadlocks, but I'm going to cut them shorter just a little bit!!" and they jumped right up into the chair I had set up in the kitchen. I made a huge production about how "ONLY MAMA CUTS THEIR HAIR! No one else! And definitely not each other-- NO CUTTING YOUR OWN DREADLOCKS!!!!!!!!!" (still, the next morning I caught them right in the nick of time -- both holding scissors in the playroom and about to "cut hair!"). Anyway, the momentous date was Friday, November 23; that was the date of the boys' very first hair cuts. Braydon and I are sooooo glad we finally did it. Their hair looks awesome now and so healthy. And the boys are much, much happier with their hair now.

Home Sick, But It's All Good

Both boys were home sick today and didn't go to school. We're confident that it is just a cold (Kyle has it worse, but they both have it), and that it is nothing serious. I was supposed to be flying out at the crack of dawn this morning, to jet off to a reputable university in a far away state where I was supposed to give a big lecture. I made the decision to cancel it last night when I saw how sick Kyle was. It was a hard decision to make. Any Career Mom out there can just imagine. But I just couldn't live with myself leaving my bambinos when they're sick. I feel so good that I made what was -- for me and my family -- the right decision. Since my whole calendar was already cleared (because I was supposed to be away on a work trip), I was able to stay home today with K & O, and it felt good to be able to stay put with my little sweetie pies. Braydon worked from home most of the day and was able to check in on them from time to time and monitor the flow of Children's Robitussin and Children's Motrin.

***

Here's the thing~~~ I think this is the first time, ever, that the boys have both been sick and we haven't felt like our life is falling apart. This is a big milestone for our family--- when the boys were younger it was soooo hard (anyone who has raised twins or is raising them knows what I mean). It was hard a lot, but especially when one or both of them were sick. Dealing with sick twin babies or sick twin toddlers was tough - especially trying to juggle our work while trying to care for them. But now, suddenly, somehow, we seem to be in a different place. The boys are more calm now, more self-sufficient, and more self-entertaining. Today it did not feel like all the balls we are juggling were drastically and dramatically dropping down to the ground all around us. Our house of cards did not feel like it was tumbling. Our life wasn't suddenly spiraling out of control in crisis. I'm sure for a lot of readers, this is hard to comprehend. But twin moms who are reading --- I know you know exactly what I mean. More experienced twin moms have always told me, "oh honey! hang in there! it gets easier!" But to be honest, I didn't really believe them. But, hallelujah! They were right. Hopefully tomorrow K & O will be back to school, but if they're not -- and we have a second home-sick-day (and Braydon and I have to do the crazy work-family balancing act thing for another day) -- then so be it. Bring it on! We can handle it. It's all good.

First Day of School

8:00 a.m., 9/5/07, First Day of Nursery School

Owen (in blue) and Kyle (in red)

Today was the First Day of "The New School" (as we've been fondly referring to it in the Johnson-McCormick home for the past few weeks!). Today Kyle and Owen started Nursery School at the River Valley Waldorf School. This is a big deal because it is just a big deal. It is also a big deal for our family because it marks a huge transition for us. This summer Braydon and I made the decision to pull K & O out of the Lehigh University Childcare Center (where they had been in daycare from age 12 months - age 3 years). We spent much of the summer thinking, researching, conversing, and generally obsessing over what to do for childcare/pre-school/daycare for the 2007-2008 school year for our precious boys. I know every parent feels their child is the most precious. We are no exception. These decisions feel huge. On so many levels. We finally (after much agonizing) made the decision to apply to the River Valley Waldorf School for K & O. And they were accepted. The school is 15 minutes from our house. It is on 7 acres of land. It is a beautiful Waldorf school. We like the philosophies. The Nursery School runs from 8:30-1:00 Monday through Friday. Alex will pick them up 3 days a week and I will pick them up the other two. It will mean lots of late nights working for me (but what else is new?!) and a crazy-chaotic schedule for us to all manage (but what else is new?!), but we feel really strongly that this is a good decision for Kyle and Owen. Today they were very excited and a little bit nervous to go to "The New School." We had visited there twice with them recently, but still... it is a lot for a 3 year old (and a lot for parents of TWO 3 year olds!). From all I can gather, the boys had a good first day. The head teacher of the "Acorn Room" (the name of their classroom) reported to me today that K & O had a "good day" and that they were "crazy-- like, kind of all over the place and off the walls" (ha! no surprise there!!!), and that they "ate really well" (ha! no surprise there!!!), and that they "are very, very social" (ha! no surprise there either!). I was pretty impressed-- she's got them pegged after only one day! K & O said school was "good." Owen said he "waited and waited" for me to pick him up, but he also said (when I was there picking him up) that he wanted "to stay at New School." Kyle said he "likes the New School" and that he "helped his teachers cook rice." From what I can tell they spent most of their time there today playing outside. Which is one of the main reasons we decided to go this route: the boys will get to play outside a lot at "The New School." So, the day is ending well. I am emotionally drained. I broke into a hysteric meltdown of tears right outside the door to the Acorn Room after dropping them off this morning. Braydon was hugging me. I'm sure all the other parents thought this was my first time ever leaving my babies --- little do they know that K & O have been in daycare since they were 12 months old!!! LOL! Anyway, a new year has begun. We're off and running and off to a good start. And I know I'm biased, but as the mama I've just got to say that I sincerely believe my bambinos were the cutest little First-Day-of-Schoolers-That-Ever-Lived. God, how I love them.

1st Verbalization of Racial Differentiation Recognition

Well, as a sociologist (a sociologist whose training and expertise is in the areas of: 1] race-class in the contemporary U.S., and 2] sociology of children and childhood) it is very hard for me to not be totally fascinated by some of the dynamics in my very own little family. I am committed to never writing a book about it. I am absolutely determined to never sociologically or professionally exploit my children. And I have promised myself to try my darndest to not let my sometimes-too-complex-thinking get in the way of the simple gut-level-basics of my parenting. However... at times it is almost impossible for me to not deeply ponder some of the stuff that is going on in my only tiny little universe because, really, it is all so totally sociologically fascinating. You'd have to have zero sociological imagination to not be at least a little bit intrigued. And my sociological imagination is definitely not in the zero category (actually, it is probably located quite firmly in the "overactive imagination" category). Long before K & O were ever on the scene I had read more than most human beings ever will about children and racial identity formation. Since Day One with K & O in our lives I have been really curious about(amongst many, many other things) when -- exactly -- they'll start verbalizing their recognition of our family as an inter-racial unit. My assumption is that they've noticed for quite a long time now (if not since the start), but specifically, I've wondered when they'll note -- out loud -- their awareness of our racial difference. When will they actually verbalize their recognition that we are an inter-racial family? Today, we were driving in the car. We were driving on the same road that we used to take to go to/from the boys' daycare. We were talking about how "it is summer!" and that means "no daycare!!!" Then, suddenly, out of the blue, the following happened... (background note: there were two "Miss Jen's" who worked at the daycare)...

Owen: "Mommy, do you remember the other Miss Jen at daycare? Do you remember?"

Heather: "Yes."

O: "The other Miss Jen was black like me and my brother."

H: "Yes Owen! She was!"

O: "Mommy, you are not black like me. You are not. You are different color skin. Your color is different than mine's."

H: "That's right Owen!"

And we left it at that.

Our First Big Talk About the Birds and the Bees

Owen & Kyle in the orphanage in Haiti

Over the past six months or so Kyle and Owen have started to ask some very simple basic questions about their adoption (click here for a post about one example). But they have shown zero interest in anything related to pregnancy, birth, reproduction, etc. I have actually been surprised by how disinterested they are. I've tried to bring it up with them, I've tried to open the door to conversations and questions, I've tried planting the seeds of interest (so to speak!), but it has led to nowhere. Even when we've seen pregnant friends and I've said, "Look guys, she has a baby in her belly!" and even when their little friends have had new baby brothers and sisters born to their families, still no interest in it all. They are totally interested in babies, in stories about when they were babies, in the idea of having a baby in our family (eeeks!)... but no interest whatsoever in where babies come from. This morning, though, we had our first big talk about the birds and the bees. These conversations are surely complicated with any young child -- you aren't exactly sure how much information to present, how much to hold back, what they can grasp, what they can't... But when adoption is another layered twist to the whole thing the conversation is even that much more complicated. I did the best I could this morning. And I desperately consciously cognizantly tried to soak in the moment and be fully present so that I'd remember every single word because I knew I'd want to write it all down later. Obviously, I don't remember it perfectly (the conversation was too long). But below I've tried to write it out as exactly as I can remember.

We were sitting on the floor of Kyle's room doing an alphabet puzzle. Owen chose the letter "N" and we were looking for where the "N" puzzle piece goes. It sits on top of an image of a nest ("N is for nest"). I said, "we're looking for a nest." They couldn't find it. I pointed to the picture of the nest. I said, "there's the nest!" Owen said, "that's not a nest, that's a basket." I said, "yes it does look just like a basket, but that is supposed to be a nest -- 'N' is for nest and Nate and no and nap." I said, "look, see the eggs in the nest?" (in the picture of the nest there are three little blue eggs popping up from inside it). I said, "see those eggs? That's a bird's nest. Birds live in nests. The nest is their house, their home. And those are the birds' eggs -- they will be baby birds." They were dumbfounded. I repeated it: "Birds live in nests. Their babies come from their eggs." They're both looking right at me. You could hear a pin drop. Obviously I've totally captured their attention with this (even though I've said similar things, if not exactly the same things, in the past -- suddenly today they are finally interested.) I decide I should go with it, I say: "Birds live in nests. Bird babies come from bird eggs. They are born from bird eggs." And we went from there~~~

Kyle: Born.
Heather: Yes, the birds are born from eggs. They come out of the eggs when they are born.
Owen: Born. Just like me and Kyle! [Excitedly pointing back and forth to himself and Kyle.] Just like us.
K: Just like us! Just like me and my brother were born!
H: Yes, you were born.
O: Yes! We were born from eggs! Just like those [excitedly pointing to the puzzle picture of the eggs in the nest]!
K: Yes! We were born from eggs!
H: Yes, you were born. But not from eggs. Baby birds are born from eggs, but not baby people.
[They are absolutely mesmerized. They are totally completely still -- which is almost unheard of -- and they're both staring right at me, ready for more.]
H: Birds come from an egg. But you're not a bird! Do you know where you were born from?
O: Haiti.
K: Yes, Haiti!
H: Yes! You were born in Haiti! [They are delighted with themselves. I stand up and take down from Kyle's bookshelf a framed picture of the photo at the top of this post -- a photo of K & O as little babies in the orphanage in Haiti.] Look, see, this is Kyle and Owen when you were babies, right?! And you were in Haiti. In the orphanage.
K: That's me [pointing in the photo to himself as a baby]. And that's my brother [pointing in the photo to baby Owen].
H: Yes, you were little babies and you were together in the orphanage. See [pointing to the photo], you were together in the crib.
O: We were little tiny babies. We had no teeth. We drank a bottle.
H: Yes! You were babies. And you were born in Haiti. But not from an egg. [Again, you can hear a pin drop]. Do you want to know where baby people are born from?
K: Yes!
O: Yes!
H: Babies come from a lady's belly!
[They appear absolutely astounded and confused.]
H: Yup! That's right, babies come from a lady's belly!
O: From inside?
H: Yes. And you both grew together inside a lady's belly! Kyle and Owen both together! In Haiti!
[Total silence.]
O: But I need to be in your belly mama???
H: I know baby. I wish you were in my belly. But no, my baby, you were born from another lady's belly. Not from my belly.
K: But you need to come here [pointing to the picture of K & O in the orphanage]. You need to come here and get me.
H: Yes, we went to the orphanage and we got you.
K: And you picked me up?
H: Yes, we picked you up and we held you in our arms--
K: And you gave me a bottle.
O: Yes! A bottle! We had no teeth! You gave me a bottle! Many many bottles!
H: Yes, we held you and fed you bottles and we took care of you. We adopted you. Both Kyle and Owen. You needed a mama and papi and we adopted you! And we took you home!
K: But where were you? But where were you when we were here [pointing again to the picture of K & O in the orphanage].
H: I was waiting for you baby. I was here, at home, and I was waiting to be able to go get you.
K: But you need to come.
H: Yes, I know baby. I know. I wanted to come. We came as fast as we could.
K: And you took me home?
H: Yes.
O: You bit me?
H: What?
O: You bit me? You ate me to go in your belly?
H: No, sweetie, I didn't eat you.
O: But how did I get in your belly?
H: You grew in another lady's belly. But she didn't eat you. Do you want to know how babies get to grow in the bellies?
K: Yes!
O: Yes!
H: From a man and a lady together. They can make a baby grow in a lady's belly.
[They both have blank stares and I've lost them now. This is clearly too much information.]
K: Look! [picking up a new puzzle piece] An "S" for Sadie!
H: Yes! An "S" for Sadie! Let's find the "S"...

And we continued with the puzzle.

First Photos

For better or for worse we let the boys each take photos tonight. They actually held the camera, looked at the digital screen to see what they were composing, pushed the button, and took the shots. Here they are:

Owen's first photo-- of Kyle and Papi-- shockingly, he actually got Kyle to look right at the candle and smile, which is something Braydon and I find almost impossible to achieve.



Kyle's first photo-- of Owen and Mama-- not quite such a perfected shot as the one above... however... Kyle was able to achieve something possibly even more shocking: at the young age of three he was able to capture the true essence of the end-of-a-long-day-of-him-being-sick on the faces of his brother and mother.

Bye Bye Genie!

I guess everyone was right: when they're ready, they're ready. It doesn't surprise me that my two were ready at the exact same time. They both took their first steps on the very same day (actually in the very same moment). They've done pretty much everything -- and now potty training -- completely together in unison. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are fully 100% "potty trained," and I'm sure we're in for many bumps in the road in the days/weeks/months/years to come, but in the past week we've gone from fully-diaper-wearing-boys to fully-underpants-wearing-boys. I knew it was for real when this morning I took my two underpants-wearing-boys out to the post office and to do our grocery shopping -- out and about for over 2 hours -- with no accidents whatsoever. Not even any near-misses or close-calls. We're getting rid of the Diaper Genie. I just put it in the trash (it was broken anyway, and we had refused to get a new one so we were just using it despite it being broken). I'm so happy to have that nasty smelly ugly white plastic thing out of our house and out of our life. We've been living with it for the past 2.5 years and I'm happy it is now gone for good. But at the same time... I must admit... it does feel a bit bitter-sweet to watch my boys discover their new-found independence. It's all good, of course. But it is also just another milestone in a whole string of them as we watch our cute little baby boys turn into gorgeous self-confident young men.

In the post office this morning Owen announced to a 20-something-looking guy who just happened to be in line with us: "I'm wearing underpants!" I watched as the guy took it in stride, gave Owen a high-five and said, "Awesome Little Dude!" I was proud -- for sure -- but all I could think was, "where did my tiny drooling little baby go???" As Braydon says, I don't know how we're going to get through the next 18 years... not because of how tough K & O are to deal with (although God knows sometimes they sure are)... but rather, because of how extreme these joy-pride-adoration-pure-love emotions in parenting them are for us.

Underpants!

Alex is away on vacation for a week, and I'm home with the boys, so I decided that I was going to take it upon myself to seize this opportunity to take our potty training (or lack-there-of) to the next level. I've been really pushing the potty since we got home from Virgin Gorda and the boys are waaaay into it too. And... Today... drumroll please... was Kyle and Owen's first day in underpants -- a huge, huge milestone day for them both! They were sooooooooooo proud to be wearing underpants. And they both got through the whole day with no accidents! We still have a long road ahead of us with all-things-potty, but we've turned a huge corner in the journey.

P.S. In a rare occurrence, when we went shopping for underpants first thing this morning, they each had quite different tastes and preferences: Kyle wanted boxer-style-briefs and Owen wanted to go the more traditional route. And Kyle went for the Lightening McQueen/Cars underpants while Owen went for Thomas. But the minute we got home they ripped off their shorts and diapers to get those undies on ASAP. They could not have been more proud of themselves and each other! Many times today they each exclaimed to me: "We are big boys Mama! Me and my brother both! We are wearing underpants!"

K & O's First Phone Call

Kyle and Owen have pretended to talk on the phone with each other countless times. But last night was their first real phone call together one-on-one. Kyle was in the waiting room of the hospital Emergency Room with Braydon. Owen was at home with me. Braydon called home to check in. We put Owen and Kyle on the phone alone together. I put it on speaker phone so I could hear:

Kyle: Hi Owen!
Owen: Hi Kyle.
K: Hi Owen! You there Owen?
O: Kyle, I am staying at home.
K: Oh.
O: Kyle, you have a big owie?
K: Yes. I have a bracelet Owen. I have a bracelet. [He's referring to the hospital admittance bracelet.]
O: Oh.
K: Hi Owen!
O: Kyle, I am staying at home. You are at the hospital Kyle?
K: Hi Owen!
O: I miss you Kyle. I love you.
K: I love you too.
O: I love you Kyle. I'm waiting for you at home. You have a big owie?
K: It's red. It's red. It's red Owen.
O: Oh. O.k. Where's Papi?
K: A PT Cruiser! I saw a PT Cruiser with Papi. [Apparently they had seen a PT Cruiser car during the drive to the hospital.]
O: Oh. O.k. Bye.
K: Bye.

First time to the driving range

I was at work today, talking to Heather and we thought it would be fun if we finally took the boys to the driving range. With all the golfing that they've been doing at home, I've been so much wanting to take them to the range. We finally did it.

On the way there, I was explaining what we were going to do: "Now, guys, we're going to a golf course. When we get there, you have to be quiet and no running around. We're going get many golf balls in bucket and hit many many balls. At home we run after the balls, but here we don't, we just hit more." Owen sums it up perfectly: "Just like on baby golf!" (the golf video we have watched in the past).

We went to the Center Valley Club - which is a really nice public golf club around here. For the first (and only to-date) time, we could understand why someone might want to a member of a golf club. It was a gorgeous spring day - early evening - a light, warm wind was blowing across the fields, and there were a number of people enjoying hitting balls. It felt relaxing, low key, fun and delightful. Now of course, with one notable exception, they were all white, but it did give us a sense of it.

I bought tokens at the Pro Shop to get balls from the ball machine; they tumbled out of the machine and into the buckets and off we went. Got to the driving range and setup. K&O teed right up and whack! Cracked the ball straight out. It was a glorious sight.

The man next to us just chuckled and chuckled. And then said: "They both have very natural swings - that's great!" And the pointing at Owen - "And really great for a lefty!"

We very very quickly went through 70 balls. There was a little flag out about 20 yards away and Kyle hit it 3 times. Wow - that kid can hit it straight and pretty much anywhere he wants. Owen has a really BIG swing, but Kyle has accuracy.

When we ran out of balls, we ran back to the pro shop to get more tokens and ran to the dispenser. Kyle put his token in and got more balls. While Owen was putting his token in, we look over and Kyle has walked off carting his bucket of balls - he couldn't be bothered to wait for his brother!

On the second set of 70 balls, K&O started to look around at other people hitting. Kyle noticed that people dump their balls out into the feeder on the ground and said "Papi, can I do it?" So of course we did. Owen started noticing how other people were swinging and his swing almost doubled in size as he wrapped his whole body around.

As I looked over at Heather, then at my boys hitting balls and out at the beautiful scenery, I was looking through time, across the future of our life as a family, and it was wonderful.

And I only got to hit something like 4 balls total.

Today's Golfing Photos

(note: you can click on this photo to see it larger)

You kinda had to see it to believe it... but here are a few photos nonetheless...

Orchestra Rehearsal

Last night we took the boys to a Lehigh University Orchestra rehearsal. (click here) Wow! They loved it! This was their first time seeing a real-life, full-blown syphony orchesta in action. The best part was that as the students were entereing the auditorium to set up for their rehearsal, they were each carrying/pushing/pulling their instruments. The boys got to hear/see/touch a real bassoon! a real trombone! and... hightlight: they got to actually play two real timpani drums!

Totally, Completely, Utterly Unprecedented

Tonight we ate dinner at 6:30, like we usually do. Usually after dinner the boys play for awhile before it is time to go upstairs for bed around 8:00. This after-dinner-playtime seems to be one of Kyle's absolute favorite parts of the day. Tonight, however he did something 100% unheard of. This has never, ever, ever before happened in our household -- never ever. The boys had just finished their dinner and had just begun playing. They were blowing bubbles (one of their absolute favorite things to do) with their new Dora and Diego bubble buckets that the Easter Bunny brought (definitely their favorite of all the things The Bunny left in their baskets). At exactly 7:10 Kyle put down his bubble wand, walked over to me, crawled up into my lap, and said: "Mommy, it's time to go upstairs and read books. It's time for night night. I'm tired." Braydon and I looked at each other in complete shock. Braydon was literally speechless. With wide gaping eyes I looked skeptically at my child. I said, "Kyle, you want to go to bed now?" He cuddled up close, shoved his thumb in his mouth, started sucking it vigorously, and said: "Yes, I'm ready for bed now. Let's go upstairs." I immediately took him up, Braydon followed a couple of minutes later with Owen --- who did not protest this early - to - bed anomaly in the least, and both went down without even the tiniest hint of protest. Our boy asked to go to bed. This is a First. A big First. A big First to be noted.

Kyle & Owen on Easter Sunday

Milestone: First time wearing ties!

Guest Blogger: G'ama

G'ama (Braydon's mother) was here last week for a visit. While she was here we had a Major Milestone Event... G'ama voluntarily had the boys stay home from daycare on Thursday and she single-handedly took care of them both for the whole entire day. Let me repeat that: she spent the full day alone with the both boys. I know that to anyone who doesn't know our twins it might sound crazy to make a big deal over a person spending a whole day alone with them... but to anyone who does know our twins-- hmmm... how can I say this? Um... to anyone who does know our twins, I can guarantee that it sounds CRAZY to even consider spending a whole day alone with them, let alone to actually do it!!! It is exhausting to spend a couple of hours with them... imagine spending from 9-5 with them... alone! No one except for Braydon and I had ever done this until this past Thursday. We didn't blog about it last week because G'ama wanted to think a bit about how to word her Guest Blogger Post (understandably!)! Well, she's thought about it, and today she's composed her post! (Click here for her previous Guest Blogger Post). In order to entirely grasp G'ama's post here, you must first read my post "Where's My Prize?" just below it.

[And just a quick note here: G'ama deserves Honorable Mention in the 'Where's My Prize?' Competition because although K & O didn't sleep a full twelve hours after the day they spent with G'ama, they did get very very tuckered out... and... G'ama should get extra points because: a) other than Braydon or I, G'ama was the first to enter the competition, and b) G'ama really deserves to be in a whole other competition for people her own age -- we fully recognize that it isn't really fair for her to have to compete with 30-somethings like Braydon and I, it is just that we have yet to find anybody else willing to compete in her age category. Any volunteers out there???!] ;)

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G'ama writes:

Heather is SO right about the boys' activity level! During the day I spent with them there might have been all of 15 minutes when they were actually sitting more or less still (working on puzzles or drawing). Even during the "rest hour" they were playing (Owen jumping on his bed and kicking the wall). Not that it was a whole hour. Otherwise it was running, jumping, swinging, climbing, riding every conceivable thing with wheels (or pushing it). I've seen a lot but never anything like it. And their physical capabilities are remarkable. It's impossible to grasp that they're not yet three. Four is more like it.

It's fascinating to see the way Owen closely calculates reactions to what he says and does. He is very receptive to instruction (i.e. turning puzzle pieces to fit). Kyle appears more independent (except when hurt and needing a hug) and has a charming innocence. They are both incredibly appealing children.

I have only one suggestion/correction. The prize should be a week worth of free massage, maybe even two weeks. And a soak in a hot tub.

First: Queso Dip

Some of you who are reading this know this about me: I love queso dip. It is probably my #1 all-time worst junk food downfall. Jessica and Patricia and Jen Slavin and Kristen... this one's for you! :) You know how much I love queso dip. Braydon took this photo with his cell phone last night. It is Owen chowing down on his first queso dip at Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen (click here). He loved the stuff. O.k. girlfriends, seriously... is that not my boy?!! Kyle reacted kind of like Braydon does to queso dip -- he could take it or leave it, and was much more focused on his drink (in the case of last night: milk for Kyle, margarita for Braydon). But Owen -- after a couple tastes of it, he pulled that whole bowl of queso right over to himself and hoarded it like only a true queso lover does. Even scraping the last bits of cheesey gooiness out of the bowl at the end. Man oh man did he make me proud. Now that's my boy!!!!!

Pull-Ups for Owen!

Owen has been doing so well with the potty that we decided he's ready for "Pull-Up" diapers. I made the big announcement the night before last: "Owen! You're doing so good going poopie on the potty!!!Do you want to try pull-ups??!!!!" With huge wide eyes (kind of like the ones in this picture!), he said: "Pull-ups?! YES!!!!! YES YES YES!" So, yesterday after daycare I took the boys to the store and we made a big production out of buying pull-up diapers for Owen. Huge deal folks, huge deal. We discovered a brand of pull-ups that have the cars characters from the movie Cars on them! And we discovered a brand of pull-ups that have Bob the Builder on them! We bought both. Owen was beyond excited by all of this. Kyle, on the other hand, in typical Kyle fashion, shows zero interest in going poopie on the potty (peepie is no problem, it is the poopie that he flatly refuses to even attempt on the potty). He shows no signs of potty pooping any time soon ---- even if that means he gets no pull-ups. And if the past couple days are any indication, he's apparently 100% satisfied just wearing the same old Pampers Cruisers he's been wearing since he was 8 months old (just in larger and larger sizes the bigger he gets). We're hoping that once Kyle actually sees Owen wearing the pull-ups, and sees how fun and cool and big-boyish it is to wear the super duper Cars-and-Bob-the-Builder pull-ups that maybe this will provide at least some sort of incentive (since gobs of praise and clapping and singing and jumping up and down and hershey kisses clearly don't pull any sway whatsoever with him). But regardless, the real reason for the pull-ups is Owen. He's all about going on the potty. Loves it. And is so proud of himself. We can't hold him back just because his brother is happy to trail behind in the potty-training-dust. We don't afterall, hold Kyle back in the areas of life where Owen is trailing behind in the dust. So, pull-ups for Owen it is. Owen absolutely loved it last night when Braydon got home and he could show Papi his new packages of pull-ups. "Close your eyes Papi!", he said, and then holding up each package of pull-ups he proudly exclaimed, "O.k., now open your eyes! Look Papi! Pull-ups! Pull-ups for Owen!!!" And before bed last night he carefully chose his first pull-up to wear in the morning to daycare: "Not the Bob the Builder ones," he said, "THE CARS PULL-UPS!!!" So we laid a pair of the Cars pull-ups on the floor in a special spot so they'd be ready in the morning. "Yes, baby," I said, "tomorrow you'll wear the cars pull-ups." And wear them he did. With much enthusiasm and pride he pulled down his pants the minute we arrived to daycare so that he could show everyone his pull-ups: "Look! See my pull-ups???!!!" he shouted! As much as I'm anxious to get them out of diapers, this is yet another milestone on the path away from babydom... and it is bittersweet.