Twins: Siblings & Friends for Life

I can’t help but smile when I see Grace & Graham playing together in their room.  Love, love!

Wrestling or Hugging?

Ben’s favorite past time is wrestling with the babies.  They laugh and think it’s hilarious so it just encourages him to do it more.  On Monday, Ben kept wrestling Grace to ground.  She’s tough and loves it, but I eventually started to get nervous that she was going to get hurt.  So, after a few minutes I asked Ben to please stop wrestling with Grace.  Without missing a beat, he replies: Mom, I’m not wrestling her…I’m just hugging her on the ground.  I'm not sure if Grace sees it that way.

Ben's 1st Day of School: 3 Day Threes at SLDS

Yesterday was Ben’s 1^st day of school at St. Luke’s Day School.  He’s in the 3 day threes with Ms. Harris and Ms. Hetzler.  He was a little sad when I left him (I guess he got used to being with me since he literally spent EVERY SINGLE DAY with me for the past 6 weeks), but was beaming when I picked him up.  He created a beautiful painting, played on the “big boy” playground (it sounds like mostly in the sandbox), sang songs and read books.  It was a successful day and he was very excited about getting back school this morning.  I think it’s going to be a great year for Ben at SLDS!

We LOVE to eat!

Grace and Graham will pretty much eat anything that you put in front of them right now.  They love strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, pasta, broccoli, cheerios and crackers. But, without question, their favorite meal is black beans, rice & chicken.    

Too many kids in the bath!

One day our kids will kill us for taking these pictures (much less posting them on a blog for loved ones to see)…but I had to since my time is limited in having a quick & efficient bath time each night.

There is not one inch left to put a body or toy, so the older boys are about to be kicked out for a little shower time each night. Grace (who has always maintained her own space in the “princess chair”) could care less about having the older boys in the tub for bathtime, but Graham is going to miss having Ben around.

Ben is 3!

Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet Benjamin!

As I sit on the couch starting this blog entry, I hear Ben banging around in his room (it’s 9:45pm!). I go in to find him playing with all of his birthday presents. As I enter the room, he says, ”I don’t want you to take away my new toys”. Only when I promise not to remove a single item does he agree to get into bed and go to sleep.

This is probably the 1st birthday that Ben understands that today is a celebration about HIM. For the most part, I spent the entire day focusing on his wants and desires. We ate Chuy’s for lunch and Chick Fil A for dinner. He picked out a huge fire truck balloon at a party store and played for a long time at our neighborhood park. When Sam got home from school, they played and played with all of his new toys. He enjoyed a push pop (lunch) and a slice of cake. I hope it’s a day that he will look back on fondly for years to come.

Happy birthday, Bud! I feel honored to have spent the entire day with you.

Graham WALKS!

The entire house cheered when Graham took step after step today.  We're so proud and you can see from his expression (permanent grin) that he's thrilled as well!  Go sweet Graham!

Kindergarten is AWESOME!

Kindergarten is awesome! Those were Sam’s first words when he saw us at pick-up this afternoon. During our very hot (but only 5 minute) walk home, he elaborated on his favorite things about his 1st day:

1.) Going to the cafeteria. He was sad he didn’t get to finish his cookie…but he consumed it quickly when we walked into the house after school.

2.) His teacher, Ms. Prater…she’s really nice.

3.) The Smartboard that they used to learn math on. He says, “Mom, we used a smartboard, not a chalk board, to learn today. Did you have a smartboard growing up? When I said, no…we had chalkboards he asks, “Was that before electricity?” I had to laugh but the question was because smartboards use electricity and chalkboards don’t. Fair enough.

4.) The Lincoln Logs station. He built a tower.

5.) He made a kissing raccoon based on the story “The Kissing Hand”.

6.) He played soccer on the playground. They had small practice goals for the kindergartners to use.

7.) He loves that his lunchbox can hook onto his backpack.

8.) Science. He learned how to use his ears, eyes and nose.

9.) Fire drill. He thought it was great that ALL grades evacuated to the kindergarten playground.

10.) And finally, he LOVED walking to Mark Twain Elementary with Dad, Mom, Ben, Grace & Graham.

What a successful first day!

Beach time...Galveston style

My Mom, Dad and Aunt Deta took Sam & Ben to Galveston a few weekends back.  The boys had so much fun building sand castles, fishing, eating at the Rainforest Café (not Ben), eating lots of pancakes and hanging out on the “pirate ship”.  The boys had such a great time!

Ben & Scott

I love these pictures of sweet Ben and Scott.  Such love!

The Baby Worshiper

It’s a little hard to see Sadie at the bottom of the picture…but she’s there in her usual post.  She waits patiently for the babies to finish their meals because when they are done, they throw the leftover food overboard.  Most of the food doesn’t even have time to hit the ground as Sadie catches it in midair.  We love our doggie vacuum!

Wrestlemania 2011!!!

Scott puts up with a lot when it comes to wrestling with the boys.  I just sit back and laugh, but they usually put him through the wringer.  This weekend was no exception.  What a patient dad!

Chair time

Our little astronauts

This email post is for Uncle Jim who brought this astronaut suit into our home almost 3 years ago.  It was at the time, and still is, one of the favorite items in the playroom.  I had to dig out these photos to show Jim the wear (and love) it’s received over the years.  This is Sam in 2008, Ben last month (it is WAY to small for him but he still loves to put it on) and Graham last week. 

Welcome to Ms. Prater's Class at Mark Twain Elementary

This morning, Sam and I walked the few blocks to Mark Twain Elementary where we met his kindergarten teacher, Ms. Prater.  We were both a little nervous but enjoyed meeting his new teacher and friends.  I was pleasantly surprised at the large room, bright windows and vast learning materials available to him for his first year at Twain.  Before heading home we organized his school supplies, picked his cubby for the year and played a little on the kindergarten playground.  It’s going to be a great year for Sam!

Happy Birthday, Grace & Graham

It’s hard to believe that this time last year, Scott and I were sitting in our hospital room at St. Luke’s trying to figure out how on earth we were going to feed, bathe, soothe and diaper change two babies at the same time. But as each sleepless day passed, we figured it out (mostly) little by little. A year later, we can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of those early days…many of which we don’t even remember.

Honestly, it’s pretty emotional to look back on the past year. I thank God everyday for bringing us such a large family. There is nothing that makes me happier, than watching our four children interact and play with each other on a daily basis. I love how protective Sam is over his younger siblings and how G&G can watch the older boys for hours on end. Each of their relationships has grown over the past year and I look forward to watching their journey as siblings.

Graham came into this world in ease and continues to be our “love bug” that is calm and cool in every situation. He flirts with everyone that passes by and has eyelashes that can melt your heart. He holds on tight when you hold him and might be the fastest army crawler on the planet (though he’s taken a few consecutive steps over the past few days).

Grace, our “wild child”, is always on the go. She’s practically running now and is constantly saying new sounds and words. Her smile lights up a room. Grace can rough house with the best of them and has already learned to get the big boys (and, of course, her Daddy) to do what she wants.

You are such different individuals though you were born only a few minutes apart. Your bond is like nothing I have ever experienced.  It's such a pleasure to have you both in our lives.   

Happy birthday, Grace & Graham. We love you both so much.

Sam saves...one quarter at a time!

At the beginning of the Summer, we decided that Sam was old enough to start doing chores around the house. It’s a big goal of ours to try and teach him the value of a dollar and what better way to do that by teaching him how to save.

For each assigned chore that he did, he earned a quarter or a dime (and sometimes pennies too)…depending on the level of difficulty. On the flip side, instead of sending him to time out as punishment, we would take money from his “earned pile”. Wow…this sure made a difference in his attitude about things because he never wanted to part with his hard earned cash.

After 2 months, Sam had saved $14.53. Yesterday we went to Toys R Us. He was able to purchase anything he wanted with his money. He was SHOCKED at how few things were for sale under this amount. After looking up and down EVERY SINGLE AISLE, he chose this Pokemon ball. After picking it out, he proudly marched up to the cashier and checked out. He was very concerned when his $11.99 purchase turned into an almost $13 purchase because of taxes. I told Scott that it was a bit difficult to get a 5-year-old to understand the role of taxes in our society. Ultimately, I think he just gave up on the concept and turned his attention back to his new toy.

And...we're potty trained!

Ben will KILL me for sharing this picture one day…but it’s too hilarious not to include on the blog.  Ben has worked really hard over the past few days so that he can wear “big boy underwear like Sam”.  I nearly gave up after day one, but Scott held firm and we made HUGE progress on day 3.  I never thought I would be so proud to have him potty trained…but I am.  GO BIG Ben!

The Star Wars Exhibit!

We’ve been promising Sam for months that we would take him to the Star Wars exhibit, at the Health Museum, before it leaves town in September. With the temperatures in the low 100s, I thought today would be the perfect morning.

I’m not sure what any of us expected from the exhibit, but here is my perspective on the experience:

1.) Ben does NOT like simulated rides. If you decide to take him inside a full-sized replica of the Millennium Falcon cockpit, be prepared to leave quickly. He’s fine sitting in the chairs, but once it gets dark and the seats start to move…watch out visitors because we’re getting out now.

2.) Sam has never seen a Star Wars movie, but he knows every single character, vehicle, location, weapon, etc.

3.) Watching short clips of Star Wars makes everyone (young and old) want to grab their imaginary light saber and fight.

I think the boys were a little disappointed that there was no person inside the costumes (can you even imagine how much a life sized Darth Vader would have scared them both)…but it was amazing to see the actual film costumes up close. Even for a non-Star Wars fanatic, I would say the morning got an A.

Animal Love

This morning we were one of approximately 20 people that decided to brave the Houston Zoo.  Yes, it was pretty warm when we started at 9am but it was worth it to have the entire zoo to ourselves.  For the first time, the babies actually noticed and smiled at the animals.  I allowed Grace to roam (she tried hard to keep up with the big boys) while I pushed Graham in the stroller.  When everyone was on the verge of a heat stroke, we exited quickly to a breezy ride on the train.  Such a fun morning with my 4 favorite people.

And while the animals were nice, the fan misters were also a huge hit during our visit.  Can I get a few of these installed in my backyard?

Superheroes Unite!

The center picture was taken at FAO Schwarz in NYC.

A road less traveled

That’s the road we WANTED to be on during our long trip from Houston to Rosemary Beach, Florida.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t find that road and ended up with thousands of other cars on I-10.  I hope others see the humor of this photo.  Even stopped at 0 mph on the interstate, we couldn’t help but laugh when it flashed this sign up. 

Ben, our little swimmer

An amazing thing happened during our stay at the beach, Ben started to swim.  Our house had a pool a few steps away and we spent many, many hours hanging out in the pool while the twins napped inside.  Ben started off by jumping into the pool to Scott.  He would tell Scott, “All the way back, all the way back, right there, right there…” until he had him exactly where he wanted him to be.  After a few rounds, Scott told him to kick..and he did.  So, the child who cried through many swim lessons just a few weeks back, now loves to swim.   

Rosemary Beach: Heaven at the Beach