Life: August 28, 2013

 Devon enjoyed a trip to Chick-fil-A.  I really need to stop taking him there every time we go to the allergist.  I can't have him forming a negative connection and starting to dislike waffle fries.  His face in the picture says "not likely".

D: Mommy, you're like Roo.
M: How am I like Roo, Devon?
D: You're fun like Roo.
M:  Awwww....

I package the whole outing as Special-Devon-and-Mommy-Time.  What is the definition?

"And NO GIRLIES WILL BE AROUND!" says Devon.

That's right.  He loves his sisters, but sometimes one-on-one is nice.

We converse in the car on the way home.

D:  Soon I will be bigger.
M: Yes, that is true.

On the way home from a very uneventful follow-up, Devon falls asleep.  Fresh from an afternoon with their favorite babysitter, the girls exploit his weakness.

We get home just in time for Daddy and the girls enjoy some "Gonkey Time".  Devon, cheekily, photobombs.

Fresh from breakfast, we get out our picture Bible and have storytime.  We've been having some pretty indepth theological conversations.

D: What is Samuel doing? (pointing to a picture)

M: He's anointing David with oil.  That means David is chosen by God to do something special!

D: Why is he Ointing David? 

M: That's how they told David he would be king someday!

D: (looking skeptically at the tube of diaper cream).......

D: What is Goliath doing? (pointing to a picture)

M: Goliath fell to the ground.  He is dead.

D: Did he die on a cross?

M: No, he disobeyed God and taunted his people.  David hit him with a stone from a slingshot.  And then he died.

D: On a cross?

M: NOT on a cross

D: Soon I will be bigger.  And then I will walk on water.

M: Good luck with that.

We've had several picnics lately.  We're fans because nobody has to pick up the food everybody has thrown.

 Here we are having popsicles at Food Truck Frenzy, a Riverside Park event where people dine from artsy food bought from food trucks that come in from all over for the event.

 Yep, still teething, and added colds to the mix.  Afternoon naps are not happening.  Whiny evenings are.

 Mornings are still pretty cheerful, thank goodness.  Devon and Melina play 'night night in the spare room'.  Then they ask to play Toots the Train:

M: No, we can't play Toots today.  His batteries are all run down.
D: Are they dead?
M: Yes, they are dead. (Oh no, here it comes, here it comes....)
D: Did they die on their little crosses?
M: No, they did not die on crosses.  They just ran down.
D: The girlies are fussing.  Are THEY dying on a cross?
M: No.  Nobody is dying on a cross.  Jesus did.  That's it.
D: He made a bad choice.
M: No, he didn't! Jesus made all good choices.  Even dying on the cross was a good choice because he died for us.
D: He made a good choice?
M: YES
D: Can I die on a cross?
M: NO!

 We've lifted the ban on writing instruments for Devon, ever hopeful that he won't go on wall-marking binges when we least expect it.

D: Look, Mommy, I made a cross!
M: Great, Devon! (Oh no, here it comes, here it comes!)

Fresh from art time and covered in marker, Devon gets a haircut and his very first piece of gum to amuse himself.  It'll still be with him seven years later, if you believe the tall tale.

 At this point, when Devon was flinching and I nicked his neck, I almost gave up and kept the mullet.

 We put the cut hair out on the grass, so the dove in our eaves could use it to line her nest.  I'm not sure what children's book I got that from and if it really happens, but Devon nodded sagely at this.

 As usual, he was traumatized by the haircut, but recovered quickly.

 Handsome boy in profile.  Ready for his second year of TOTS in just a few weeks.

 After nap snackies, or maybe Tea and Crumpets in the Nudist Colony?

Since Devon is back to napping 3-4 days a week, we've reinstated late evening shopping trips with Mommy.  Yes, I know.  Napping again!  I can't believe my luck!  I don't know of any other child who's staunchly given up naps at 2 1/2 and picked them up a year later.  All I know is that it's SO nice.  If you know of this happening only to go away again with no explanation, DON'T tell me!!!!

 Now, if only these two would get over their colds and start napping again....

 ...or maybe stop the after bedtime crib hopping shenanigans...

 They still LOVE talking to Siri, and I can't resist screen capturing what poor Siri thinks they are saying. 

I'll end with a picture of Melina pushing the stroller that Mommy recovered.  I selfishly repurposed the tablecloth that Grammy made for the picnic table and sewed it in.  It was just the right size, and it saved me a trip to the fabric store.

D: Why are the bunnies wearing hats?
M: It's Easter fabric, Devon.
D: What's Easter?
M: Easter is a holiday.
D: What happened on Easter?
M: Jesus rose from the dead!  After he died on the cross, he came back to life!
D:And then what happened?  Did he die on a cross again?
M: Nope.  Nobody has to die for their sins at all.  And Jesus had to die on the cross only once.
D: And then he was dead!
M: But now he is alive!
D: No, he's dead, Mommy.
M: Sigh.....

My Babies: August 15, 2013

 The celebration hasn't stopped around here.  Packages trickle in from kind relatives, prolonging the birthday fun.  I ask Devon what he wants to do every day when he gets up from a nap, and he says "open presents".

 The girls enjoyed a package of dresses from Great Auntie Esther.  They're now at the age when a new dress means trying it on.  So much fun!

 They're playing with a new play kitchen that Mama and Papa installed in their room during a recent visit.  It's replaced the morning ritual of pulling all the organized twin outfits from their dresser drawers and dumping them on the floor.  Mommy is over the moon about this new development, and hopes that clothes are now clothes and toys are toys from now on.

 Since we're closing in on our second year in Vero Beach and still unsure of where God wants us in the future, we're making our list of things to do and checking them off one by one.  Here's Mommy sneaking into one of the nicer Vero Beach hotels to enjoy a kid-free two hours by the pool.

 Once the Play-doh is mixed, you can't put it all back.  Oh well.

 The girls have had a rough couple of weeks.  Two-year-old molars are coming in hard and fast, with another erupting just when I think we're going to catch a break.  Two hours after bedtime I heard Melina fussing in her crib.  I peeked in on her to see her reading her bedtime book.  A few minutes later she had taken her book and crawled into Sissy's bed.

We've learned the best kept secret in Sebastian: the Splash Pad opens at 8 and nobody really gets there until 10.  I've actually sat down in there for an hour!  When others arrive, Little Napoleon starts to play My-Toys-Are-Mine-But-Your-Toys-Are-Mine and Mommy doesn't sit down again.  Thirty minutes later, we're headed home.

 We had our first call ever to Poison Control this week.  Mommy was so busy chasing Devon and Melina that she missed the little "click" of Carrie getting up from her nap and closing the spare room door so she could get into mischief.  She found an ancient bottle of hand sanitizer from who knows when and dumped it on the carpet.  Finding her with an empty three-ounce bottle and a puddle on the floor sent me into a panic.  Hand sanitizer is 63% ethyl alcohol.  Middle schoolers drink it to get drunk.

Shaking, I dialed the number and explained the situation.  I was assured that the stuff tastes so nasty that it was very unlikely that Carrie imbibed to the point of alcohol poisoning.  Just to be safe, I should give her lots to eat and drink and watch for signs of intoxication.

"Our family doesn't drink!" I countered.

So I was given a crash course in How to Know if Someone is Drunk

-Staggering

-Vomiting

-Slurred speech

-Thinking members of the opposite sex are more attractive then they really are

Long story short, Carrie was fine by the follow-up call and Mommy was very relieved. 

I promise my children do wear clothes.  They have a habit of taking their pajamas off which means that after-nap and before-bed play gets a little au naturale around here.  Melina has started setting up her "babies" in rows so she can talk to them.

 Can you find all four discarded shoes in the third picture?  This is why we keep shoes in the car and put them on only when their feet need protection.

 Devon kept his water shoes on that day.  We took them off and dumped a full cup of beach sand from each.

 I wish I had time for a better zoom picture, but we chased four Sandhill Cranes around the neighborhood yesterday, listening to their distinctive calls and watching them dip their feet in the water.  The girls wore their second new outfit from Aunt Esther.

 Later that evening as Craig and  I left for date night, he braked and said "Is that ours?"  I looked to see a discarded pink skirt in the middle of the sidewalk.  Melina was bored on the way home, so she shimmied out of her bottoms while still in the seat belt.  We've found swimming towels, toys, shoes, and several other articles of clothing in this manner.  People leave things on our glider by the front door if they find them because they assume that one of ours chucked it on a walk.

They usually did.

 Here's some more baby play from Melina to end this post.  "Babies crying" she says, shaking her head and wandering around the pen.

 She stretches her arms to hold all three.  Always three.  I think she's doing her impression of Mommy.

Oh yeah.  She is.

Happy Second Birthday Carrie and Melina: August 1, 2013

I can't believe these girls are TWO!  We've been singing Happy Birthday to them all week to warm them up to the idea.  Devon would always interject that it was actually HIS birthday and make us sing it again.

The day started with an attempt to take a "nice picture" of the new outfits sent from Auntie Laura.  This was the nicest one.

Over breakfast the girls opened cards from Grammy and Grandpa.

Our birthday destination was the Brevard Zoo.  Devon heartily approved and still insisted that it was really his birthday.

The first stop was the giraffes.  Carrie and Melina wore their elephant and monkey leashes, fitting right in and enjoying the semi-freedom of walking around.  Say what you will about leashing your children like animals, but it does provide respite from those moments that twins will dart in different directions at the same time.  It also makes it pretty clear which child you're in charge of at any moment, avoiding the awkwardness when you each think the other is watching and realize that someone's wandered off.

The girls enjoyed the bansai garden

and the bird house, always a favorite.  "Duckie!" they shouted eagerly.

Yet another advantage of the leashed morning is that everyone was tired and ready to sit down at the same time.  We set the stage for our birthday picnic.

 It was still hard to get good shots of both girls at the same time. 

 Either they were both looking silly,

 or just Carrie...

 ...or just Melina.

 We need to photoshop the two previous pictures together into one that shows each twin with their best expression.

We lingered over lunch, enjoying our big girls.

Candles never light outdoors, but we sang the birthday song and enjoyed our cake.

 Before the drive home, Mommy peeked into the gift shop to choose a birthday surprise for the girls.  Devon got Raffy the Giraffy at the age of two as a tangible memory of his first favorite zoo animal.  I chose a River Otter for Melina and a Macaw Parrot for Carrie.  On the drive home, Melina enjoyed peeking into the bag and pulling out her surprise.

There were many more surprises at home for the birthday girls.  I suppose it wasn't so surprising that the girls ripped out their birthday barettes and had hair hanging in their faces for the photoshoot, but we didn't want to interrupt the fun.

Even Devon got a present: two new metal cars he immediately named Finn and Gorsha.

Wow.  What fun!

We attempted a nice family picture.  Mommy and Daddy look a little desperate to make the kids look and smile, but overall it turned out well.

The last gifts were new backpacks from Mama and Papa.  The girls decided the gifts were meant to go together.  They put their new backpacks on their backs, new play heels on their feet, and Cinderella and Zoo Animal under each arm.

 

"Bye bye, Mommy, see you wayyter!"  They called, walking back and forth between the couch and the door.

We finished the night with a Skype session, telling Grammy and Grandpa all about the fun.