My apologies for taking so long to post! We are recovering from a bout of croup (the kids had croup, Lucas and I are recovering). It breaks my heart to see my kids sick, and then drives me crazy that even sick they have more energy than me. I thought I wasn't posting because I didn't have any pictures (I have learned that taking pictures of sick kids just makes the grandmas sad). Then I plugged my camera in to get a few pictures from the other day and realized just how long it had been since I had posted! There were a ton! I had already started writing this post (in anticipation of taking pictures), so I'm just going to throw in the many snapshots I took of our everyday life these past weeks. Fitting, no?
Just before the Christmas Party, we picked up some new band-aids - one set of princess and one set of cars. For the first 2 weeks of January, I would find them covered in band-aids like stickers. Sadly, I only got this picture of Allie in one. But for several days, whenever we went anywhere, I would be saying to people, "No, they aren't actually hurt. They just like the pictures on the band-aids."
Just before the Christmas Party, we picked up some new band-aids - one set of princess and one set of cars. For the first 2 weeks of January, I would find them covered in band-aids like stickers. Sadly, I only got this picture of Allie in one. But for several days, whenever we went anywhere, I would be saying to people, "No, they aren't actually hurt. They just like the pictures on the band-aids."
Ryan:
Favorite Toy: Train Table. In fact, we thought that once there was one at home, he would lose interest. Instead, he was more excited to go and play with the one at our favorite toy store - so that he could tell the trains there about the ones he had at home. And we recently went to the Children's Museum and Ryan consistently went back to the train table (and the water table - another thing that we have at home). Having a train table at home seems to have increased his love.
Favorite Show: Chuggington. His passions are few and strong. Trains are clearly at the top.
Favorite Phrase: "I am getting so grumpy!" This one is probably my fault. When I talk with the children about listening well, I tell them that when they don't listen well, I am more likely to be grumpy (and grumpy mommy is never fun). So, at times when they weren't listening well I would say, "Guys, I am starting to get grumpy. Let's try to start over." Now, whenever something isn't going Ryan's way (he likes everything JUST SO), he will yell, "I am getting SO grumpy!" At least he can communicate his feelings...
Favorite Place for an Adventure: The Toy Store. I'm not sure any adventure will replace the spot where he first discovered his love for trains...
Favorite Snack: Cereal Bars. Like a Nutrigrain bar (although we get a different brand). He loves them.
Favorite Naughty Thing To Do: Scare his sister. He loves to say, "Oh! Did you hear that?!" because he knows it will send his sister screaming out of the room every time. He gets in trouble for scaring his sister often, but he can't seem to help himself.
Favorite Helpful Thing To Do: Pick Up. Being the kind of kid that likes things Just So, he is wonderful at picking up and putting things away. Granted, if he is playing with his trains, it is like pulling teeth (strong, healthy, really-stuck-in-there teeth) to get him to do anything else. But I frequently find him picking up a room or area just to help mommy.
One afternoon, I suddenly realized that the kids were too quiet. I went into their room and discovered they had made reading tents out of their beds!
Allie:
Favorite Toy: Siddeley, Helicopter, and Plump. In case you need that decoded: Siddeley is an airplane (she has several, but she recently lost one outside when she decided to help him "fly." He went up and never came down - a small, green toy plane stuck in an evergreen tree...), Helicopter should be self-explanatory (although her poor toy helicopter came from a garage sale already missing some pieces, and he is now so loved that I think he could be on his last legs), and Plump is a blimp (she doesn't actually have one of these - it is the one toy she wants the most for her birthday). She plays with her Siddeleys, Helicopter, and imaginary Plump all day long.
Favorite Show: Wonder Pets. She loves the music. She loves the adventure. She loves the cute animals.
Favorite Phrase: "This does not make me happy." I'm not exactly sure where she got the idea that everything in life should make her perfectly happy, but she is quick to tell us when we, or anything, isn't making her happy. Many times a day I find myself saying, "Allie, there will be a lot of times that you aren't happy about something, but YOU get to choose your attitude. YOU get to choose whether you are going to stay grumpy and ruin your day, or whether you will accept it and make the best out of it and maybe have a lot of fun. What will YOU choose now?" She almost always chooses to be grumpy.
Favorite Place for an Adventure: The Children's Museum. We just went the other day, and the kids are obsessed. They have free days about once a month, so we will have to make a point of going more often.
Favorite Snack: Fruit snacks. But not just any fruit snacks. The dinosaur fruit snacks in the purple box from Aldi. I have tried to buy other fruit snacks (more healthy ones, for example), and both of my children made it perfectly clear that everything else is "disgusting." I like fruit snacks for church (they don't crumb and they keep the kids super quiet), so I keep buying them even if they aren't the most healthy...
Favorite Naughty Thing To Do: Make Messes. This girl can turn the smallest thing into the most giant mess. When she washes her hands, you can almost always expect the entire top of the sink to be covered in water, and anything near the sink to be dunked and soaked, and the water left running when she leaves. She makes a mess with her food. Her clothes are always a disaster at the end of the day. I'm constantly asking her not to make a big mess, but she delights in the process.
Favorite Helpful Thing To Do: Cook. She loves helping me cook. She loves pouring and mixing. She loves watching things in the oven turn into food. Perhaps it goes along with making a mess - you dump some stuff together and mix it up and it looks like it will be a mess, but then it turns into yummy food!
A good friend gave us some Orbeez for Christmas. The twins loved watching them grow, and then loved playing with them on our light box.
Allie liked to line them up in the grooves on the lid of the light box.
Ryan liked dumping them from one container to another (they bounce everywhere).
Together:
Favorite Topic of Conversation: Growing Up. With their birthday around the corner, the twins have become obsessed with getting older. Many times a day they talk about:
- What it means to be 4
"You get light up shoes,
and grow SO big,
and maybe get to chew gum,
and maybe my teeth will fall out."
They are also obsessed with gum and can't wait to chew it...someday...and one of their older friends lost her 2 front teeth right before Christmas and now they can't wait to lose theirs!)
- When they will officially be a grown up
"When I am 6.
Or maybe 10.
But 10 is REALLY old, so I think probably I will be a grown up when I'm 6."
For the record, I asked them what "Really, REALLY old" was. They told me 20. I asked them if they thought 30 was old and they told me it was "too, too old." Thanks guys.
- What they will do when they are grown ups
drive a car
eat as much candy and cookies as they want
buy their own house
be so big they can reach anything
buy lots and lots of toys.
It is funny to me 1) what is very important to them right now and 2) that it is possible that they will actually do all of these things when they are grown ups.
- How sad mommy will be when they get older.
They think this is a funny game. They have no clue how true it is.
We started making Valentine's. I let them decide the recipient of each Valentine - with absolutely no input on my part. I had to take pictures of some of my favorites of their choices!
I realize that they are at a point in their lives when minutes and hours and days seem to stretch out for eternity. I remember dreaming about some of the same things when I was little. I love how full of possibilities the world is for them, but it breaks my heart to know how quickly they will be "really, really old." I am making an effort to savor each moment in time as they are excitedly wishing them away!
Dinosaur mania has overtaken our house. In addition to playing WITH dinosaurs, and pretending to BE dinosaurs, we have taken to WATCHING our new favorite show - Dinosaur Train. And then the twins thought it would be fun to make their own dinosaur train (below).
Favorite Phrase: "I am getting so grumpy!" This one is probably my fault. When I talk with the children about listening well, I tell them that when they don't listen well, I am more likely to be grumpy (and grumpy mommy is never fun). So, at times when they weren't listening well I would say, "Guys, I am starting to get grumpy. Let's try to start over." Now, whenever something isn't going Ryan's way (he likes everything JUST SO), he will yell, "I am getting SO grumpy!" At least he can communicate his feelings...
Favorite Place for an Adventure: The Toy Store. I'm not sure any adventure will replace the spot where he first discovered his love for trains...
Favorite Snack: Cereal Bars. Like a Nutrigrain bar (although we get a different brand). He loves them.
Favorite Naughty Thing To Do: Scare his sister. He loves to say, "Oh! Did you hear that?!" because he knows it will send his sister screaming out of the room every time. He gets in trouble for scaring his sister often, but he can't seem to help himself.
Favorite Helpful Thing To Do: Pick Up. Being the kind of kid that likes things Just So, he is wonderful at picking up and putting things away. Granted, if he is playing with his trains, it is like pulling teeth (strong, healthy, really-stuck-in-there teeth) to get him to do anything else. But I frequently find him picking up a room or area just to help mommy.
One afternoon, I suddenly realized that the kids were too quiet. I went into their room and discovered they had made reading tents out of their beds!
Favorite Toy: Siddeley, Helicopter, and Plump. In case you need that decoded: Siddeley is an airplane (she has several, but she recently lost one outside when she decided to help him "fly." He went up and never came down - a small, green toy plane stuck in an evergreen tree...), Helicopter should be self-explanatory (although her poor toy helicopter came from a garage sale already missing some pieces, and he is now so loved that I think he could be on his last legs), and Plump is a blimp (she doesn't actually have one of these - it is the one toy she wants the most for her birthday). She plays with her Siddeleys, Helicopter, and imaginary Plump all day long.
Favorite Show: Wonder Pets. She loves the music. She loves the adventure. She loves the cute animals.
Favorite Phrase: "This does not make me happy." I'm not exactly sure where she got the idea that everything in life should make her perfectly happy, but she is quick to tell us when we, or anything, isn't making her happy. Many times a day I find myself saying, "Allie, there will be a lot of times that you aren't happy about something, but YOU get to choose your attitude. YOU get to choose whether you are going to stay grumpy and ruin your day, or whether you will accept it and make the best out of it and maybe have a lot of fun. What will YOU choose now?" She almost always chooses to be grumpy.
Favorite Place for an Adventure: The Children's Museum. We just went the other day, and the kids are obsessed. They have free days about once a month, so we will have to make a point of going more often.
Favorite Snack: Fruit snacks. But not just any fruit snacks. The dinosaur fruit snacks in the purple box from Aldi. I have tried to buy other fruit snacks (more healthy ones, for example), and both of my children made it perfectly clear that everything else is "disgusting." I like fruit snacks for church (they don't crumb and they keep the kids super quiet), so I keep buying them even if they aren't the most healthy...
Favorite Naughty Thing To Do: Make Messes. This girl can turn the smallest thing into the most giant mess. When she washes her hands, you can almost always expect the entire top of the sink to be covered in water, and anything near the sink to be dunked and soaked, and the water left running when she leaves. She makes a mess with her food. Her clothes are always a disaster at the end of the day. I'm constantly asking her not to make a big mess, but she delights in the process.
Favorite Helpful Thing To Do: Cook. She loves helping me cook. She loves pouring and mixing. She loves watching things in the oven turn into food. Perhaps it goes along with making a mess - you dump some stuff together and mix it up and it looks like it will be a mess, but then it turns into yummy food!
A good friend gave us some Orbeez for Christmas. The twins loved watching them grow, and then loved playing with them on our light box.
Favorite Topic of Conversation: Growing Up. With their birthday around the corner, the twins have become obsessed with getting older. Many times a day they talk about:
- What it means to be 4
"You get light up shoes,
and grow SO big,
and maybe get to chew gum,
and maybe my teeth will fall out."
They are also obsessed with gum and can't wait to chew it...someday...and one of their older friends lost her 2 front teeth right before Christmas and now they can't wait to lose theirs!)
- When they will officially be a grown up
"When I am 6.
Or maybe 10.
But 10 is REALLY old, so I think probably I will be a grown up when I'm 6."
For the record, I asked them what "Really, REALLY old" was. They told me 20. I asked them if they thought 30 was old and they told me it was "too, too old." Thanks guys.
- What they will do when they are grown ups
drive a car
eat as much candy and cookies as they want
buy their own house
be so big they can reach anything
buy lots and lots of toys.
It is funny to me 1) what is very important to them right now and 2) that it is possible that they will actually do all of these things when they are grown ups.
- How sad mommy will be when they get older.
They think this is a funny game. They have no clue how true it is.
We started making Valentine's. I let them decide the recipient of each Valentine - with absolutely no input on my part. I had to take pictures of some of my favorites of their choices!
Dinosaur mania has overtaken our house. In addition to playing WITH dinosaurs, and pretending to BE dinosaurs, we have taken to WATCHING our new favorite show - Dinosaur Train. And then the twins thought it would be fun to make their own dinosaur train (below).
2 comments:
Hi, you mean this time I finally stay on!!! Yay! I LOVE this blog!! Such a clear picture of 'who' each one is! So delightful and such a great record of their days right now. Isn't it fun how different they are. We had one very neat son and one very messy son with the other 3 in between. Even that is precious memories! Yay, I'm back! Lots of hugs and love and prayers to you all, Grandma
If you guys come down for a visit - like you said you would ;) - the kids will go BONKERS at our Children's Museum! It's the largest one in the world and there's an entire special wing that houses the Dinosphere! And on the outside of the dinosaur wing there are life-size dinosaurs climbing on the building. Can't wait for you to pick a date!
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