Particular Caleb, Part 2

Our Caleb is just as particular as ever! The boys have a matching pair of RL Polo Sport jeans that have a small round patch with an American flag print on the lower left leg. This flag is barely noticeable--less than a half-inch wide, mind you. One of the flags has faded over time, but the other one is still a vibrant red, white, and blue. A couple months ago when we went to have my ultrasound, we were all sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's office when Caleb suddenly burst into a fit of hysterics. He flew off the hook, crying and pointing at his pants leg. We asked him what was wrong, but for the life of us couldn't figure out what the problem was. Then, it hit us. We had committed the grave error of dressing Caleb in the faded flag pants. So right there in the doctor's office waiting room, we switched the boys' pants. I'm sure anyone else who might have been paying attention thought we were nuts, but we knew it was extremely important to Caleb. Joshua, of course, couldn't care less and was cheerful to oblige to his brother's whims.

This sort of thing happens all the time! When we are putting them in paper diapers, Caleb always requires to have an option. "Zoe or Grover?" he will ask himself out loud as he scrutinizes each diaper, "Grover or Zoe?" It literally takes him several minutes to decide which diaper he wants sometimes, even though he's seen all of the designs hundreds of times before. When offering the boys apples to eat, we know it's wise to give Caleb the first choice, especially since he refuses to eat apples that are missing their stems. Going to the pumpkin patch was a nightmare, trying to get Caleb to hurry up and decide upon a pumpkin that suited him. I could go on and on...!

The funny thing is that there's no doubt about whom Caleb inherited his particular tendencies from. If you've ever gone shopping with me, you can attest to the fact that I am likely to deliberate amongst 10 of the exact same red shirts in the same size, in an effort to select the very best one. Ever since I was a little kid I have always been determined to pick out the prettiest pumpkin, the most well-shaped Christmas tree, etc. I have been known to linger in the produce section of the grocery store for forever and a day, selecting only the most perfect grapefruit and apples. Joe has pointed out that I must have applied the same philosophy in my quest for a husband ;) So while Caleb's particular tendencies may drive us nuts at times, I think it's a trait that will serve him well, especially when the time comes for him to start thinking about getting married :)

Mini Mommy, Part 2

I thought I should make a note of Joshua's more recent Mini Mommy behavior. Wheras earlier his "mothering" efforts were mostly focused on correcting his older brother, he has recently blossomed into quite a nurturer as well.

For example, on Sunday morning when we left the boys with Mimi in the toddler room at church, Caleb was crying and Joshua was quick to rush over and comfort him, gently assuring him that "Mommy will be right back". Then that evening, Mimi and Papa volunteered to babysit the boys so we could go out on a date. And by "date" I mean take our laptops to Panera so Joe can do homework and I can waste time online without feeling guilty about neglecting the boys... we are so romantic, aren't we? ;) Anyway, Mimi said that as soon as we left, Joshua, fighting back tears, rushed over to Caleb and put his arm around him and said, "Don't worry, Caleb. Mommy will be back soon. When the car comes, Mommy will be back," even though Caleb clearly wasn't feeling nearly as upset about our absence as Joshua was!

Joshua is also very generous with his compliments. If I put on a nice outfit, he will tell me, "Oh Mommy, you look so CUTE!" This past Sunday was a rare occasion on which I wore a skirt and tights to church, and both Joshua and Caleb made a huge fuss over how "cute" I looked. Joshua often strokes Mimi's hair and tells her how cute she looks, too. Somehow, Joshua knows better than to tell the men in his life that they look cute :)

Goodnight, John Boy

When the lights are out and all four of us are lying in our beds at night, it's not uncommon to hear Joshua's husky voice call out into the darkness, "Caleb, are you okay?"

"I'm 'kay," Caleb cheerfully responds. "Joshua, are you okay?"

"I'm kaaay," Joshua replies. "Mommy, are you okay?"

"I'm okay," is my dutiful response. "Caleb, are you okay?"

"I'm 'kay," Caleb chirps. "Daddy, are you okay?"

"I'm oh-kay," enunciates Joe, in an effort to encourage proper pronounciation. "Joshua are you okay?"

And so it goes on and on until it has been determined that all of us are indeed okay. So there you have our version of the Waltons' bedtime adieus. Good night!

"Arguing" with Joshua

I find myself having many ridiculous arguments with Joshua these days. For example, here is one we had this morning while I was getting him dressed:

Joshua: I wearing jeans!
Me: No, these are khaki pants.
Joshua: No, Mommy, I wearing jeans.
Me: Joshua, don't argue with me. These are not jeans, they are khaki pants.
Joshua: Mommy, these are not khaki pants. These are jeans!
Etc, etc, etc.

Joshua always maintains a good attitude while arguing so I'm sure he's just doing it for the fun of it. Who knows, maybe he will join the debate team in high school. It can get to be pretty annoying, though, when it's completely obvious that he is wrong!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Caleb & Joshua!

Today the twins turned three! Wow! Last night Joe and I were reminiscing about what our lives were like exactly three years ago. We remembered that we'd gone to the Korean buffet for a big lunch, which was the boys' final in-the-womb meal. In the evening I treated myself to a frapuccino and Joe treated himself to some Hot Pockets. How typical that all we can remember about that day is what foods we ate! Then we went home to bed, knowing that the very next day we would wake up, go to the hospital, and in the blink of an eye our family would double in size. What a strange feeling that was!

Fast forward three years.... Today our little party animals celebrated their big day with not one but two parties! First, their friends came over to our house for cupcakes and play time. I'm very thankful that Mimi had the day off from work and could come over to help me get ready. She even took the boys for a drive to make sure they'd take their nap early. Once their friends arrived, we lit six candles on their cupcakes, three for each boy. Caleb, who is usually fascinated with birthday candles and had been singing "Happy Birthday" to himself all morning, suddenly became very distressed. He kept yelling "No! No!" so took him out of the dining room, where he was content to observe from a distance while we all sang to him and Joshua. He then licked all the frosting off his cupcake and then decided he was done (I can't really blame him, though... homemade chocolate whipped cream frosting... mmm). Joshua wasn't interested in eating his cupcake at all. They would have nothing to do with their party hats, either. Why succumb to conventional birthday party traditions when you can run wildly around the house screaming with your buddies? I couldn't help but notice how properly their friends Faith and Elizabeth sat at the table, wore their party hats, sang the song, and ate their cupcakes. The differences between little boys and little girls never cease to amaze me, especially now that I have been bestowed with the privilege of having not just two but three boys! :) Anyway, we all had a great time, but it was a bittersweet celebration since it was the last time we would get to hang out with our dear friends Faith and Mary Jane. They are moving across the country at the end of this week and we will miss them terribly!

After their friends party, we went over to Mimi and Papa's house to have a family party! The boys were excited that Uncle Chris and Uncle Bob could also join us in eating the boys' favorite meal, spaghetti. We hung up the "Happy Birthday" banner that I'd made for their 1st birthday party, and Mimi decorated two cakes, one for each boy. Joshua's cake had a Thomas candle on it, and Caleb's cake was decked out with mini American flags. The boys were completely enamoured with their personalized cakes, and this time did not object at all to singing, being within blowing range of their candles, and posing for the camera. Afterwards they opened their presents. They each got two Thomas trains, but Mimi put several flags in Caleb's bag for good measure. Good thing, too, because Caleb could not dump the trains out of the bag fast enough to allow easier access his precious new flags! And Joshua, of course, was perfectly content to have all four new trains to play with all by himself :)

The boys couldn't have asked for a happier third birthday. Happy Birthday, Caleb and Joshua!

5 weeks ahead!

This past Thursday at my midwife appointment, I was surprised to learn that my belly measured 31-32 weeks even though I was only 25-26 weeks along! Yes, I'm a whopping 5 weeks larger than average, and we know it's not because of excess fluid because my midwife also said I am not drinking enough water. In the back of my mind I couldn't help but wonder if the ultrasound technician had failed to locate a second baby during my sonogram a few weeks ago, although in reality I know that with today's modern technology it'd be pretty impossible for a 20-week baby to hide from the cameras! Anyway, it looks like I'm one of those lucky women who is destined to have a huge whopper of a belly regardless of the number of babies I have growing inside of me :)

Halloween

Our trip to New York sidelined my Halloween costume planning, and I was at a loss as to what Joshua and Caleb would wear to Ryker's costume party on Monday. Much to my surprise, we discovered that the lion costumes they wore the previous two years still fit! I used my neglected eyeliner to paint a nose and whiskers on their faces while they napped, since I suspected they'd have nothing to do with having their faces painted if they were awake. I cut a pumpkin face out of construction paper and taped it to my orange-shirted belly, then we headed over to Ryker's house where Miss Susan had gone all-out with her expansive menu of yummy Halloween-themed treats. The boys and I had a great time with our playgroup friends. When we got in the car to go home, Caleb caught a glimpse of his painted face in the rear view mirror and expressed grave concern. He fought back tears as he pleaded with me to wash it off. Joshua reacted similarly when he caught sight of himself in a mirror later on that evening. I am constantly amazed that face-painting is such a popular feature at most children's festivities, considering how averse our boys are to the concept.

I surreptitiously painted their faces again during their naps yesterday afternoon, and when evening rolled around the boys donned their lion costumes once again to go trick-or-treating. We stumbled upon a Halloween block party just a stone's throw from our house, complete with complimentary hot dogs and lemonade courtesy of our neighborhood's citizen's association. Neighbors also offered hot cider, marshmallows for roasting over a huge pit of fire, and other treats. The boys were most excited about the spider cookies, which were oreos with black licorice "legs".

At first Caleb and Joshua were wary of taking candy from other people, but they quickly caught on, preferring to select their own pieces rather than receive what they were offered. They were very polite all throughout the evening, amusing candy-distributors by saying, "Thank you, woman! Thank you, man! Good-bye! See you later!" at each house. Many people seemed surprised that such little boys who are not yet 3 years old would have such good manners (although if we were doing a really good job parenting we would have taught the boys to say "ma'am" and "sir" instead of "woman" and "man"). They were also quick to observe if someone had a ceiling fan in their house, in which case the boys would also say "Good-bye, ceiling fan!"

I am optimistic that with a few minor alterations, the lion costumes will make a fourth appearance next Halloween. And who knows, maybe by then the boys will actually want to have their faces painted! I'm not counting it, though.