Book Parade

The boys have a book parade at school tomorrow. They are supposed to dress up as their favorite book character. Matt has been obsessed with "The Fox and the Hound" since my mom brought it up a few months ago, and Chief is his favorite character. Will hasn't been as sure of his decision. In the last week alone, he's asked to be Chief, a mountain lion and a sheep. Since the sheep was the most recent request, I decided to go with it. I'm sure tomorrow he'll want to be something else, but for now here's a sneak preview of my sheep and Chief.

Matt and Will Interpret the Bible

We are studying Psalm 23 for the next several weeks and the boys are learning how a shepherd watches over his sheep. Here is what they learned last week.
P.S. My mom's Italian heritage is evident in Matt. He likes to talk with his hands.

Whiff!

I keep reminding myself that the boys have greatly improved since the first game. Check out Matt's big kick this week.

Redemption

Take two for Matt.

Quick on his Feet

Putting Matt and Will in together makes for a winning combination. Check out Matt's reaction time!

First Day of School

 
Last week Matt and Will began a two day a week pre-school program. This being their first taste of "organized care," you can imagine how anxious I was. Mainly because they had to be potty-trained for the program, and our summer long booty camp was only mildly successful. Much to my surprise, they came home in the clothes they went to school in. They actually made it 5 hours without an accident. Shocking!
 
Now that we're in week two I've discovered that they are only potty-trained at school, so the remaining 5 days a week at home they demand to wear diapers. Why would anyone want to switch to underwear full-time? It just makes no sense to them.
I didn't think it would be possible to get myself ready, prepare breakfast and lunches, feed and dress the boys, and get out the door before 8am but I've actually accomplished it 3 times. I have a whole new respect for women who do this 5 days a week.
 
Top photo- Matt and Will enjoying breakfast on the big day
Middle photo- Will and Matt in front of their cubbies
Bottom photo- checking out Stuart, the pet hamster

Will's Moment to Shine

The video below is taken from last week's soccer game. Matt and Will are making huge improvements. They can actually take the field without having to hold their coach's hand. Will bragged all day on Saturday that he kicked the ball "THREE TIMES!" Wow. It's a good thing I captured 1 of the 3 on video.

P.S. Gran and Papa are hardcore fans, aren't they???

First Soccer Game

The boys started their regular season play last week and game one wasn't pretty. They wouldn't set foot on the field, but finally they agreed to go out when the coach promised to hold their hands the entire time. So there were my children, one at a time, taking the field hand in hand with their patient coach. He basically dragged them around the field for 4 minutes. After one period each, they got brave and agreed to go in together without holding the coach's hand. Matt got some major action when he made a block; luckily I captured it all on film.

New Room

This week was finally the week to transition into big boy beds. Matt and Will have been sleeping on mats at night for the last few months, so we were fairly sure they could handle twin beds. It didn't take long to discover that 2 twin beds would not fit in their nursery, so we also had to flip-flop their room with the playroom (and the closets too!). Good thing I called in for reinforcements. Nana spent almost the whole week with us, and along with Gran and Papa we almost have the room the way we want it.
With just a few finishes touches (photos and window treatment) the boys' room will be complete.

Photos: Before- the playroom
During: Matt helps Daddy bring in the new beds and Will brings up the rear
After: Notice the red clothes rack? It started out in my brother's nursery 36 years ago. It's been painted every color under the sun.

After: Almost complete

For Uncle Wade

Wade sent the boys their very own camels and backpacks from Kuwait. They've played with the camels so much that I hear the song in my sleep.
Thank you Uncle Wade! We love you. Stay safe!

Tongue-tie

The videos below are an exercise to see if the boys can lick their lips. This might help us decide whether or not to go through having their tongues clipped. I'm posting these for a friend who just happens to be a speech therapist. Thanks, Kim!!

Pillsy

My poor kids probably have no idea what their real names are. Just like my own mother, I have bestowed many, many nicknames on my boys. "Will the Pill" and many variations began pretty early on during the first year. From the get go, Will has been quite good at expressing his emotions. Needless to say, the first year of his life he was primarily unhappy/cranky/disgruntled. Enjoy some photos of my sweet pill!

Matty P!

Our sweet and talented nanny took some great photos of the boys over Easter weekend. Below are a few of Matt.

Proud Parents... We Think?

Chris and I had to substitute "teach" in the boys' class last Sunday at church. They ended up combining 2 classes, so we had 10 toddlers ranging from 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 years old. It didn't take long for me to realize that teaching toddlers with a Christ-like manner is not my forte.

Because the boys have never been in any organized program like daycare or Mother's Day Out, I never really knew if they were well-behaved kids. Like every parent, I struggle with discipline and we have some good days and some really bad days. I never thought Matt and Will were "bad" kids, but I did not realize how well-behaved they were until I witnessed them in a group setting.

While the other boys were chasing each other, hitting, shoving, and tackling one another to the ground, Matt and Will were quietly entertaining themselves. When we read the Bible story, did our craft project, sang songs and prayed, Matt and Will sat, listened and participated. They did not cut in line, they did not interrupt, they did not wander off. For a moment I was incredibly proud of them, and then I came to a few realizations:
1. Matt and Will are shy. What looks like "well-behaved" to others could really just be timidness in an unfamiliar situation.
2. The worst offenders in the class were the older boys. Perhaps I just got a horrible glimpse of our future.
3. It may be a really good thing if we don't get Matt and Will into a preschool. I certainly don't need them picking up any more bad habits than the ones they already have.

Chris and I would normally leave the boys in their class for a second hour so we could attend church, but we were both ready to bolt. It's just too bad that at 9:30 on a Sunday morning you can't find a good margarita. We really could have used one.

In the Kitchen

I am so fortunate to be able to spend so much time at home with the boys. I wouldn't trade it for the world, because we get to do things like this.



















Lately the boys have been all about making their own breakfast. Today we made banana-blueberry-flax-bran muffins. I'd tell you they were scrumptious, but they didn't leave any leftovers for mommy. Note Will's overflowing batter in the photo below. He likes to try to fit all the batter in one spot.





















The final photo was taken by our budding photographer. Will loves taking pictures with our phones and cameras, and he's actually getting pretty good. He captured a great action shot of Chris and Matt. I only had a crop out half of the photo- Will's fingers.
If you're thinking to yourself what a lovely peaceful home we have, let me just tell you that things went downhill fast after muffin making. Don't let those innocent faces fool you.

Video

Blood!

It's no secret that Matt and Will have some crazy fears- dogs, cats, insects (especially flying ones), wind- just to name a few. I don't understand where these came from. We have 2 dogs for goodness sake! And wind? I don't even know what to say about that. But one thing they are not afraid of? Blood! They love it. They love to talk about it, see it, talk about it some more and then talk about it again.
Last week I listened to them on the monitor when they woke up. Here's the gist of the conversation.
Will: Will have bloody nose! Will have bloody nose! It's all over mine's shirt!
Matt: Matt want see! Matt want see!
Will: Matt see it?
Matt: No, Matt no see it? Will have bloody nose?
Will: Will have bloody nose! It's all over mine's shirt!
Matt: Matt see it?
Turns out there was no need to try to see Will's gore when Matt suffered the same fate. Then we had to call daddy to give him the news. I just love how thrilled Chris seems to be to get a call about a runny nose.

Just Like Mommy

I'd be a happy camper if I could wear turtlenecks 365 days a year, so it's a treat to see Matt and Will sporting them too. They were perfect for today's cold snap and kept them warm as they got in and out of the van to tour preschools. We checked out our 4th and 5th schools today and are hopeful that we'll get the boys into one of them. I'm still incredulous that they are actually going to be 3 years old next month.
As I was filling out the 4-page registration form today for our #1 choice in round 3, I came across questions like "when did your child begin to talk?" "and walk?" Ummmm, apparently this is when I should be able to turn to page 76 in my keepsake baby book and see that why sure, they started to talk at 14 months and 3 days. Right after they got their 6th tooth and ate organic peanut butter for the first time. I thought about putting "no clue, but they apparently picked it up somewhere- both can talk and walk!" Instead I'll just have to google the approximate age for talking and walking and go with that.

Is Anyone Out There?

In our house we've been stuck in the D&D phase of twin toddlerhood- demanding and destructive boys! Matt and Will do not ask for things, they shout commands. As in "mommy, I want milk RIGHT NOW!" In addition to this, they can also destroy a house in 2.2 seconds flat. I might need to start hiring them out as a demolition crew. Needless to say, we've been a little busy over the last few months. But for all the moments that I've been pulling my hair out (only the silver ones for now), we've had just as many hilariously funny times. Chris and I both agree that each month Matt and Will are even more fun than the last. So here are a few highlights off the top of my memory challenged head:
- We sing songs every night before bedtime. They're not sold on traditional lullabies, so right now the #1 requested song is "So What" by Pink. They know every word of the chorus.
- We took them to an alumni event last week and Matt insisted on bringing along "The Potty Book." In the middle of the video presentation, Will started flipping through the book and occasionally exclaiming, "he NAKED!"
- Their birthday has been a hot topic lately. Asked what they want for the big day, and they both respond "chocolate dobash cake." I guess they still have nightmares from their first birthday cake.
- We learned this week that it's really hard to get a child into the right preschool, much less two children. These boys could use a structured program, so we'll keep trying.
- Chris and I aren't much into big birthday celebrations for little kids, so we're going to take them somewhere special on their big day. They love to watch animals on TV (hunting shows are a favorite in our house) and read about them in books, but they are scared to death of animals in the flesh. I've even asked Matt if he'd like to go to the zoo. His reply? "Matt want to see little elephants. Matt don't like big elephants." And would Will like to go to the aquarium? "Will no like big fish. Will want to see little fish." Looks like we might be visiting a local pet store instead.
- My boys love to be naked. They spend entire mornings sans clothes and diapers working at the tool bench, reading books, having snacks. It's crazy butt apparently normal.

Top photo- Matt and Will modeling their new underwear. They rarely stay in them longer than 3 seconds.
Middle photo- Will and Matt on top of their Christmas gift. They don't actually play with trains on the train table. The first few weeks they discovered that they could take all the pieces apart. Since then, all the pieces have been glued and nailed down... twice!
Bottom photo- Matt on top of table apparently begging for animal crackers.

Just a quick update since I've been so lax in blogging. And no, I did not resolve to blog more in 2009. Today marks the end of a nearly two week break from work. I was so looking forward to the holidays since we'd have family in town (i.e. help with the boys). I envisioned sleeping past 5:30am, reading lots of books, playing tennis and taking naps. That all came to a halt on day one of the break when Matt came down with a nasty virus that lasted 6 days. On day 7 I was patting myself on the back for keeping Will healthy. So much for celebrating! Will started running a fever on day 8 and today was his first day fever free.
Despite the first illness in goodness knows how long, we did enjoy the holidays with our families. The boys love playing with all their new toys, I had some unbelievably good meals, read some books and still managed to squeeze in 2 tennis lessons. Here's to a healthy start to 2009!