Sunday afternoon fun

Cheap Ikea train sets + two new battery-operated engines + Duplos + Alex's new Imaginext knight and lion set=endless entertainment. And, of course, a few heated disagreements. ;)

Christmas: Photo overload

We enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at church and then had a pretty low-key Christmas Day at home, just the four of us. That evening we went to another family's house for dessert, which was also a lot of fun. Our Christmas morning traditions: When the boys wake up, they go looking for the baby Jesus figurine to put in the nativity scene. Then we read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and pray, then open stockings, then eat breakfast, and then open the "tree presents." We open the tree presents one at a time, taking turns.

The boys enjoyed baking cookies with me on Christmas Eve. It was the first time in years I had actually made cut-out cookies, so of course it was the boys' first time ever to make them. And they LOVED it. Will kept exclaiming things like, "This is so fun! Making cookies is so cool! This is such a fun thing to do!" I guess we'll have to do it again. :)

And Christmas morning, putting baby Jesus in the nativity scene and then enjoying and showing off some of their presents:

Christmas was extended since the package from my older sister and her family was delayed in the mail. The boys had a lot of fun with gifts from their cousins.

Fish

Will and Alex had their first real swim classes this week.

On the way home from swim class one day, I was discussing with the boys why we shouldn't be drinking the pool water. :p
Alex: But I have to drink water! So the fish in my tummy will have something to swim in!
Me: You have fish in your tummy?
Alex: Yeah! Because I eat goldfish, and tilapia, and fish sticks! And those fish need water to swim in!

Nuts

conversation over lunch

Alex: "I'm allergic to walnuts, cashews, spectachios, and coupons."
Me: "Um, it's pecans, not coupons."
Alex: "No, I'm allergic to coupons."
I'm not entirely sure we're actually related ...

Treats

(trying to wean Alex off expecting a reward for a certain desired behavior ;))
Alex: I want a treat please. What treat can I have?
Me: You can have a raisin or a Craisin.
Alex: But I want a BIG treat.
Me: OK, you can have 3 raisins or 3 Craisins.
Alex: But raisins and Craisins aren't treats; they're fruit!
Me: Fruit is a treat. A healthy treat!
Alex: But I don't want a healthy treat; I want a treat that will make me WEAK!

Going to work

Alex put a toy microphone, a book and a wooden whistle in a bag, slung it over his shoulder, and called out, "Bye! I'm going to work now!"
"Really? Where do you work?" I asked him.
"Hmm ..." he was lost in thought for a moment, then brightened and announced, "I work at the purple church!"

Purple pants

While I was browsing in the women's clothing section at Target with Alex in tow, he spotted a pair of purple pants on the rack and said, "You're not going to buy those purple pants, Mommy. I'm not going to let you."

If you deny a child some water ...

Quote of the day:
Will: "You can't leave Alex's water bottle in the car! Because if he doesn't have water, he will get SICK and then he will DIE and then he will get FIRED!"

And another recent Will quote:

overheard

Will: Savannah bit my finger at preschool.

Alex: Did it hurt?

Will: Yeah, it really hurt.

Alex: Why did you put your finger in her mouth?

Will: Well ... because ... it was fun. Except then, it wasn't fun, because she bit me.

  
Some lessons have to be learned the hard way.

The Christmas Spirit

We got our tree on Friday and the boys had so much fun helping decorate! I love their excitement about all things Christmas this year, and am amazed by how much they remember from last year!

Will remembered a light-up Buzz Lightyear ornament he received for Christmas "lasteryear" and has been pretty obsessed with it. Unfortunately, he hit his brother with it a couple days ago so Will went in time out. He then hit Alex with it again a little later so Tom stepped in and told Will he was going to have to take the ornament away from him for a few days.

Will was crying ... and after listening to him for a moment, Alex asked, "Daddy, can you give Will his Buzz Lightyear ornament back?"

"Why do you want me to give it back?" Tom asked.

"Well," Alex said, "because I want him to be happy. And because it's Christmas!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

The boys have colds, so we had a low-key Thanksgiving at home just the four of us. Highlights of our relaxed day included a walk near our house in the early afternoon and, of course, an amazing dinner cooked mostly by my talented husband. The boys were pretty cranky for much of the day (see photo evidence below) but we still had fun. :)

New room

I love 3-year-old enthusiasm. Yesterday we did some furniture rearranging in the boys' room and living room to make a space in the living room for the Christmas tree (which we haven't even bought yet). We didn't add anything new and haven't decorated at all yet; just rearranged. And Will and Alex can't stop talking about their "new room." I just overheard Will ask Alex, "Are you excited about your new room, Alex?" And Alex said, "Yes!! Are you?" :)

The "ugly" shirt

I encouraged the boys to try picking out their clothes and getting dressed all by themselves today.
Will emerged a few minutes later with the sweatshirt pictured below.

Will: "Can I wear this shirt, Mom?"
Me: "Sure! It's a sweatshirt so that should keep you nice and warm."
Will: (studying it) "It's the ugliest shirt I never seen!"

"When I was older ..."

Yesterday, my husband was showing the boys pictures online of a bunch of Playmobil stuff he had when he was a kid.

Will: I had that when I was a kid, too. When I was older.
Me: Oh, really? When were you older?
Will: When I was 9 or 10. And when I was 5 or 6. I turned 6 when I was 5.
Me: Oh, really? When will you turn 4?
Will: In January. But I'm going to turn NINE in CHACHUPACKY. Chachupacky is the time that makes people turn 9.

Never a dull moment

Today's drive home from preschool included requests from both boys to dye their hair blue; attempted explanations of the difference between a baby and a toddler and the revelation that our friend's toddlers are not actually named "Baby Rivers" and "Baby Zachary," and the inevitable question of how babies get out of their mommies' bellies.

They expressed great empathy for mothers who had C-sections. I didn't get into detail about the other option. That can come later. :p

Family Tree

Me (just because): "Will, who's your twin?"
Will: "Well, there's this boy named Jaja, and he's one of the little boys ... from my high school ... and he likes the black Batman. He's Bruce Wayne today. He's my twin."
Alex: "I have a sister! Her name is Luigi. And she has long hair."
My boys =/= reliable sources of information about our family. ;)

And a pic of today of my two hard-working little computer scientists:

 

Zoo trip today!

We had absolutely perfect weather for a long-overdue zoo trip today.
Highlight for Will: Making friends with a cow.

Words to live by

Wise words from Alex tonight, as we were discussing the boys' food allergies and my cat allergy: "You can't eat kitty cats! You can eat Kit-Kats though!"

Some day they'll sleep ...

Tom (coughs)
Will (yelling from his bedroom): "Daddy, are you OK?"
Tom: "Yeah, I'm fine."
Will: (still yelling) "Oh. Is it morning time yet?"
Me: "Um, no. You haven't even fallen asleep yet!" (2 hrs after bedtime)
Will: "WHAAT? IS IT MORNING TIME YET?"

Making peanut butter

Tonight, Alex and I made peanut butter for the first time. It was easy, super simple (Ingredients: one 16-oz jar Planters dry roasted peanuts) and it tastes great! I followed the directions on this blog. A few pics of the process and my little helper.
As you start to process, the peanuts get chopped up and look rather like graham cracker crust bits:

When it starts to form into a ball, you know you're getting somewhere (the process is the same as making almond butter, which I've made a few times, but this seemed even easier!)

The unappreciated superhero

Little girl to Will at the playground: "I don't! Need! To be! Rescued!!"

Zebras and winners

Alex: "Mommy, you're wearing a zebra belt?"
Me: "Yep!"
Alex: "But zebras don't wear belts!"

*********
Will is providing a great example of how NOT to convince your brother to play with you: "I need to play with you, Alex, so I can be the winner! I need to win the game, Alex! I need to play so I can be the winner, Alex!"

Oh, that explains it!

When I was getting Will ready for nap, I noticed some little red dots around his belly button. I asked him if he knew how they got there. He replied matter-of-factly, "The bad guys were shooting arrows at my belly, so that's how I got those red spots."

Can we fix it?

Alex: "Daddy and Bob and God are good builders."

Pretending

So I'm hanging out with this brown-haired Buzz Lightyear who looks exactly like my son Alex. Whenever I call him Alex, he graciously says, "I can pretend to be Alex."

Nap time

Alex: "It can't be nap time. My energy's full!"

An overdue realization ;)

Will, when DH got home from work (just after the boys' bedtime): "Why did you come here, Daddy?"
DH: "Because I'm done working for today."
Will: "Ohhhhh! You LIVE here!"

Do you know about the *other* Mario brother?

Tonight Will was introduced to Super Mario Brothers through a Netflix clip he watched with Daddy-O. At bedtime he was trying to get their names straight, which brother wears which color, etc.

Will: I'm going to be Mario and Alex, you can be Luigi.
Alex: NO, I don't want to be Luigi! He doesn't wear purple!
Will: (without missing a beat) OK, then you can be the other Mario brother, Lueek!
Alex: Lueek?
Will: Yeah, he's the purple one!
Alex: No, I want to be ... I want to be ...
Will: Mariote? He wears purple, too.

Embracing ... Wrestling

My fraternal twin boys are 3.5 years old. Their relationship has been ... intense from the beginning. After 9 months of hosting wrestling matches, I was relieved when they moved it to the outside! ;)

This past weekend, I attended a Living Proof Live conference in Charleston. Beth Moore taught on Genesis 32 & 33. As familiar as those stories are about Jacob wrestling with God on his way back to face and reconcile with his twin brother, they came alive to me in a new way now that I've been experiencing the intense love-hate relationship between twin brothers up close and personal!

Beth also mentioned that the Hebrew words for "embrace" and "wrestle" are very close, and pointed out how close the two actions are. She said that wrestling with God is a form of intimacy, which made a lot of sense to me!

After the conference, those of us who follow her blog (known as Siestas) met for a "Siesta picture" with Mama Beth. I was chatting with a Siesta I just met, telling her about my boys. I pulled out my digital camera to show her a picture of them ... and realized that the last pictures I had taken were a series of my twin boys in an embrace ... that turned into a wrestling session. Beth was right; the two really are close. ;)
Starts out so sweet, right? Scroll down ...

Classic.