Friday Family Update {April 7}

We have been busy around here!  Ben has been super in to helping me in the kitchen.  The girls hit a big shopping milestone.  And we have been getting outside to play every chance we can.  

Ben decided we needed to bake a cake a couple of weeks ago.  It doesn't take much to convince me to bake something yummy, so we went for it.  Ben was such a great helper!  He is getting pretty good at measuring, cracking eggs, and stirring up the batter.  My favorite part is how much he is learning.  His favorite part is licking the bowl when we are done.  I handle the oven part, but Ben likes to keep checking in on his pans.  This time he decided he wanted a dinosaur space cake.  I just love his creativity!  It challenges me a bit, but we found a way to make it happen.  A couple of toy dinosaurs and some marshmallow stars and we were in business!

Baking buddies!

The best part- licking the bowl.

He was so proud of his cake!  I love the pride in a job well done.  Dinosaur space cake!

While we were baking Sammy decided to take up the study of medicine.  I'm glad she has a career path in mind.

Dr. Sammy.  She puts the stethoscope around her neck herself!

Ali has been all about the books!  I have a couple little readers on my hands and I love it!

Ali loves to share her books!

 Ali and Sammy took a break from their studies for an important occasion- their first shoe shopping trip!  The ladies are standing and starting to take their first steps.  I can't wait for them to be able to play outside with us, and that means they need shoes.  I can honestly say I had way more fun with this than they did.  They enjoyed themselves, but they are still a bit too young to get how fun new shoes are.  I loved checking out all the cute styles!  I do have to keep our budget in mind, so I didn't go nuts.  Flip flops and super cute high tops for these girls.  Not fancy, but they can pull them off in any situation. This little outing has me so excited for all the future shopping expeditions the three of us will hopefully have!

Pretty girls with pretty shoes.  They did like looking at their feet!

Look at those standing babies in shoes!

Rocking the high tops. 

The girls got new shoes, and Ben got a haircut!  My kiddos are looking good.  I just love these pictures because Ben pretended to drink coffee right out of the carafe and said he was 'just like mommy.'  Now, I don't actually drink it from the pot, but I do have a strong love of coffee.  The kid knows me.

Ben's impression of me.  Sadly not too far off. 

Ben got to sit in the police car, and the sirens and lights really work!  He was so excited.  I kind of want to get my hair cut in a police car.  

Who wouldn't want to get their haircut in a police car?

It is already hot here.  I know a lot of people are still waiting for their warm weather to arrive.  I am not a big fan of heat.  I prefer to hide inside.  But, well, the kids need to get out and play.  This means we do a lot of water play!  Nothing beats the heat like getting soaking wet.  I can't wait til the girls can play in the water with us!  Ben adores playing outside, so we spend a lot of time this way.

This kid just loves water!

A cake, new shoes, a haircut, and water play.  What could be better?

-Kim

Friday Family Update {March 24}

Time to catch  up on what the kids have been up to!

A couple of weeks ago we invaded Aunt Gail's house to visit.  We had so much fun!  Fortunately for us Aunt Gail and Uncle Dan have a bunch of toys at there house.  Ali, Ben, and Sammy are always happy to have different toys to explore.  Plus Aunt Gail's house has a big hallway to run down.  The best part- she doesn't mind! We played inside for a bit then had some lunch.  After lunch we headed outside!  I was able to let Ali and Sammy crawl around a bit for once.  I put out a blanket for them.  They crawled right off it, of course.  Ali actually ventured into the grass for a bit.  Sammy was a little more hesitant about it.  I think they really liked having the freedom to crawl around outside.  I can't wait for them to get past the everything-in-the-mouth time.  I guess they don't put everything in their mouth right now.  But they did attempt to taste some rocks.  They won't be loose very frequently.  I do also have some concerns about all the prickly plants around here.  While it is fun to let the girls crawl around free, they do still need some serious attention.  

I got some pictures, but managed to forget to get any of Aunt Gail with the kids!  Sorry!  But thank you for letting us invade and hang out for the day.  We had a lot of fun.

Sweet girls outside!

Sammy knows how to work the camera.

Ali!  I love these sweeties in their sun hats!

Ali was quite the explorer!  Ben made sure she was safe.

These three had so much fun!!

Sweet sisters sharing lunch.  I love that they are willing to share the little table.

And then your sister puts her foot on the table.  Twin problems.

A couple of weekends ago Pat's school had a 5k run.  No, we didn't run in it. Pat helped out so we went to check it all out!  I am so glad we did.  I got to meet so many nice people that Pat works with.  I loved hearing that they all liked him!  (I wouldn't expect otherwise.)  The race was a big event for the community, with music, food, and activities for the kids.  Ben got to go in a little petting zoo.  He played on the playground.  The highlight was getting to sit in a real firetruck!  It took some time for Ben to warm up to it, but he did climb up!  It was so cute to see him talking to the fireman.  The look of pride on his face afterwards was priceless.

My boys checking everything out!

Ali! Happy to be at the event.

Sammy, trying not to smile.

Ben and the firemen!  He listened so carefully to them.

Future fireman?

Finally, as I mentioned Pat and I had our 8 year anniversary on Pi Day.  We didn't do anything big, but I did take advantage of the day to make Pat's favorite pie- banana cream!  My favorite part of this was that Ben could help with pretty much every step.  We helped me press the crust into the pan, make the filling, cut the bananas, and put the filling in the crust.  I am pretty certain his favorite part was liking the bowl afterward.  I don't blame him- that was my favorite part too!  Ben was so excited to show Daddy the pie, Pat didn't even get through the door before Ben was running up and telling him about it.  

Mixing the filling.

Cutting up the bananas.  Just a butter knife, but I was a bit nervous!

Filling the pie.

Liking the bowl!  The best part.

My happy helper!

Thank you again to Aunt Gail for letting us come visit!  We all had a great time.  Looking back on these pictures is making me want more pie.  I wonder what I can let Ben help me bake next... :)

-Kim

"Mommy, you need to smile." Empathy Developments

"You need to smile.  Mommy, you need to smile.  Smile at me."

This is something I have been hearing more and more of around the house.  I know it can be annoying as a woman to be told you need to smile more, but these statements from my three year old son are really telling to me.

I am fascinated by how much my son is noticing how other people feel!  He has been recognizing his feelings for some time now.  We explored feeling sad heavily back when we were in the process of moving.  It was hard for Ben to be away from his daddy for so long.  Plus I was super  busy with getting everything ready to move and taking care of his sisters, who were only six months old.  He wasn't having a ton of focused attention, and frankly not a lot of fun times.  He felt the stress of the situation and was able to verbally tell me he was sad.  We spent a lot of time talking about feeling sad, and how sometimes that happens.  Then we would think of ways to feel better.

Since then Ben has been making a lot of strides in explaining how he feels.  He is great at identifying when he feels happy, sad, frustrated, angry, and scared.  We talk about how he feels, why he feels that way, and I try to focus on sitting with those feelings.  Of course sitting in general is tough when you are a three year old boy.  We take a moment to explore how he is feeling.  We also talk about what are okay ways to express those feelings.  We can use words to explain how we feel.  We can ask for a hug if we are sad.  We can hit a pillow if we are angry.  That sort of thing.  Generally our conversations end with Ben saying he feels better, which works for right now.

But lately, Ben has been taking his focus outward.  When Ali or Sammy cry Ben will tell me that they are unhappy.  It is so cute to hear him say, "Uh oh, a sister is sad."  I don't want him to think that making his sisters happy is his job, but I am impressed that he is noticing their feelings!  Even more so, he is noticing my feelings.  Like all moms I don't want to take my negative feelings out on my kids.  I do think it is good for them to see me having real emotions though.  I don't overreact in front of them (at least I try not to), but I do express my feelings.  Ben has started to see when I am unhappy or frustrated.  He will run up to me and tell me to 'take a step back and ask for help' when I am frustrated.  (Thank you Daniel Tiger.)  He has also started to see when I am unhappy about something, and reminds me to smile.

Over time, like really over time as in many years, I hope he learns that it is okay to feel however you feel.  I don't want him to feel pressured to be happy all the time.  I think that is unrealistic and frankly a lot of pressure.  It is okay to not be happy.  But I love that when he sees someone unhappy he wants to make them feel better.  It is a big step to recognize feelings in others, and to try to do something in response to it.  This is how empathy is grown.  And we can all use a little empathy in life.

-Kim

This article from Scholastic has an easy to understand break down of where kids are in terms of developing empathy by age.  

Ben's best friend Isaac

Alright, we have wrapped up the twin only focus for now.  Time to do a little update about what we have been up to lately!

First off we need to talk about Ben's newest best friend.  His name is Isaac.  Isaac and Ben first met during our winter break.  Let me tell you, they became best friends right away.  In fact, Ben did not stop talking about Isaac for weeks.  When Meo came to town for Ali and Sammy's birthday party we met up with Isaac again, this time bringing Peyton and Aunt Gail.  Once again, they had a blast.  Peyton really enjoyed her visit with Isaac.

A week ago we took another visit to Ben's newest best friend.  It was bit more crowded this time, but Ben and Isaac got to spend some time together.  Oh, have I mentioned Isaac is a camel?

Yes, Isaac the camel has made quite the impression on Ben.  Every time we have been to the zoo Ben wants to go on the camel rides.  This past time Ben walked up to one of the big maps, found the pictures of the camels, and told us 'we go here.'  When Meo was in town we wanted to take her to the zoo too, and Aunt Gail was able to bring Peyton with us too!

Isaac the camel!

Isaac, Ben, and Peyton! 

Despite having been on the camel twice in about a month's time, Ben still wanted to do it again.  He looks so little on the camel, but seems like such a big boy!  I can't believe my little baby is such a little boy now!  This most recent time was pretty crowded at the zoo, so they actually had three camels going at once.  I was fully prepared to tell Ben whomever he rode was Isaac, but he actually got on the real deal!  It was cute how excited he was.  The zoo worker who led them around actually remembered Ben and called him 'Isaac's best friend.'  Oh the sweet look of pride on Ben's face when he heard that.

Can I just say how much I love this camel?  He totally preens and poses for pictures.  He knows he looks good! 

 Besides the camel rides the zoo trips were pretty good.  The one with Meo sadly started off a bit rough.  Sammy and Ali were just not happy at first, and Ben was having some issues with his listening ears.  But everyone came around and we managed to have a good time.

Ben and Meo at the zoo!

The kids loved playing in the big treehouse.  

Peyton can pose like a pro too! :)

I love these two sweeties hanging out

Uh, oh, Ben's driving! ;)

These two just love to RUN!

The second Isaac trip had Pat with us, which of course the kids adored.  We went through a different part of zoo.  They have a special kids section.  We didn't get to spend a ton of time in it, but we will for sure be going back.  Ben got to climb on a couple of tractors.  The girls were in a much better mood on this trip too!  Of course everything is more fun when Daddy is there.

Happy Ali!

Smiling Sammy!

 We got to share our lunch time with a family of ducks!  These little birds were super brave and not shy about looking for food.  Ben was tickled to see them.

On the tractors!

This kid adores a steering wheel.

What can I say, we adore the zoo.  Thank you again to Aunt Gail and Uncle Dan for the membership!

Besides the zoo, the rest of Meo's trip was spent on the girls' birthday party.  We had a great time with Meo when she came to visit.  The kids love going to the airport to pick her up.  We get to ride the sky tram, not once, but twice!  Ben loves going to 'save Meo.'  I'm not completely sure what we are saving her from, but Ben is very adamant that we saved her.

Ben was so proud of his sign for Meo!

If I need to offer any incentives for friends to come and visit us, here it is.  The kids will help you unpack.  They are super helpful and not at all afraid to go through each and every item you brought with you.

Helpers in action. ;)

 Thanks for visiting, Meo!  We love you!

We had a great time with Meo, Aunt Gail, Peyton, Isaac, and at the zoo.  Be ready for more pictures of camels, I think we'll be visiting Ben's friend a lot.

-Kim

Letter from Gramma- Guest Post

Well, we have survived the first year of having twins.  Go us!  I can't believe a whole year has gone by.  It is so true what they say sometimes, the days are long but the years are short.  I feel like the girls were just born yesterday, but that we've had them forever.  So yup, all the cliches are holding up here.  :)  I've decided to take a couple of weeks and look back at all things twin.  I really love blogging because it helps me organize my thoughts and keep a record of our lives.  Things can get pretty hectic, especially with three kids, and I don't want to forget this amazing year.

To start off with we have a guest post from Gramma!  Gramma has a unique point of view in that both of her kids have twins.  And no, there is no genetic reason why we both should, just pure chance.  Can you imagine having one set of twins as grandchildren, then finding out you are getting another?  I'm not sure what the odds are on that, but I would think not very high.  I asked her to write a bit about her thoughts when she found out Ali and Sammy were on the way, and a bit on her perspective of the girls' first year.  Thank you so much for writing, Gramma!!

Here is what she had to say:

I remember when we first found out you were expecting what was to be your second baby (our 5th grandchild) and teasing you about possibly having twins (since Lindsay had a set of twins) and we all laughed (Kim and Patrick perhaps a bit uncomfortably).  Even though the timing was a bit earlier than anticipated, we were so excited for you and for the new addition to the family.  We knew you would be great parents to this new life you had created together.

Imagine everyone's surprise when ultrasounds and other tests showed there were, in fact, two babies!!!!  Of course, I can't even begin to understand your shock/joy/terror/anticipation (and many more emotions I'm sure), but we were thrilled for you knowing your family would be complete, that Ben would have two little siblings to help care for/play with/boss around.

Apparently our kids don't mess around with having kids.  First Lindsay has a baby and 2 years later has twins, then you have Ben and a little over 2 years later have twins as well.  How many grandparents can say that each of their children has a set of twins?  It's amazing and wonderfully magical!

I know you were happy that you had a sister-in-law Lindsay to lean on during the pregnancy and after the twins were born, having gone through it in the not-too-distant past.  And Lindsay was happy to lend what expertise (are we ever experts as parents?) and reassurances she could to you.  I know that this shared experience has made you two closer and I am delighted to see that.

I somehow never doubted that all would go well with both the pregnancy and birth and that mother and both babies would be healthy.  Sometimes one just feels that instinctively and that was the case with me.

You two did such a great job preparing Ben for the babies and making him on one hand feel special that he was the big brother and on the other hand that this was just normal life and the babies weren't going to take anything away from his relationship with the two of you.  Ben didn't seem too impressed by the new additions and mostly just ignored them; however he always made sure they had their binkies, their burp cloths, and their loveys with them which was pretty special!!!  As the girls have grown, Ben has overall been gentle with them, has allowed them to crawl over him, has learned to share most toys with them (of course, he still needs his own "big boy" toys, which is only right), and straightens up after them which is hysterical.

Our only regret is that we don't live closer and can't see them and their big brother Ben as often as we would like.  I know we've missed a lot being so far apart, but you two have done a great job of keeping us up to date and in touch with picture, videos, phone calls, and Skype.  Thank you for that!

These new additions to our family have been loved from the moment we knew of their existence and it has been a joy to see them thrive in their first year of life.  They are beautiful, snuggly (which is a grandmother's dream of course), funny, loud, giggly, sweet girls and we are so lucky to have them in our lives.  

Thank you for your great letter, Gramma!

Gramma and Sammy!

Gramma and Ali!

-Kim