Thursday, September 24, 2009

Doe in the Headlights

Caleb and Joshua wrapped up their second week of preschool today. They love going to preschool and their teacher can't seem to tell me enough how "sweet" she thinks they are. Today when she was telling me how sweet they are, she likened them to "a doe in the headlights". Metaphorically speaking, I guess the preschool experience is the vehicle coming towards them at full speed, and instead of freaking out or running away, our boys calmly face it head-on with a great sense of wonderment and awe. Anyway, I'll take it as a compliment since I'm pretty sure that's what she intended! It's nice to hear someone else (especially someone who has spent a lot of time with a lot of other 3 and 4-year-olds) tell us how sweet our boys are. Anyone who has spent enough time with them knows that they haven't always been little angels. I guess in the grand scheme of preschoolers, they really aren't that terrible after all!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Twins' First Week of Preschool

The twins have completed their first week of preschool, and from what we can tell, it went really well! Joshua was excited about it from the get-go, but Caleb was hesitant and wanted Mommy to stay with him at preschool. The great thing about this preschool is that it's a co-op, so Joe or I will be helping out in the classroom once every 2 weeks, which should make both boys very happy.

On the first day of preschool the boys seemed a little disoriented when I dropped them off, which was to be expected. When I went to pick them up, though, their eyes lit up as soon as they saw me and they ran towards me, exclaiming, "Mommy, did you have fun at preschool?!" which means, "Mommy, I had fun at preschool!" We're hoping that, among other things, preschool will help the boys learn how to speak in the first person. :) When I asked them what they did at preschool, they told me they ate muffins and watermelon, washed their hands, sat in chairs and read a book with their teacher, cleaned up, listened to music, and saw chickens and bunnies. That's right, their preschool has its own chicken coop and each classroom has its own bunny! As you can imagine, this was a major selling point for me. ;)

Their teacher, Mrs. Lavergne, told me that Caleb and Joshua are such good boys and that they're adapting to the concept of "school" better than she expected. Most of their classmates have already been to preschool for a year or two, so the boys have some catching up to do. She said she feels like she's overloading them with new information, but that they're handling it really well. She told me that they are learning how to sit in a circle, carry their chairs correctly, and pour water from a pitcher into their cups, among other things. Mrs. Lavergne did mention that Caleb and Joshua definitely have their own "twin thing" going on and that they like to stick together. I'm so thankful that they have each other to help ease this transition to school which might have otherwise been difficult. Sometimes I feel sorry for Moses because he doesn't have a twin, but then I figure that most of the rest of us are singletons who successfully navigated the rough waters of childhood on our own. Having a twin with whom to share the journey is simply an extra special blessing!

7 Months for Moses

Moses is 7 months old today! In the past week or so he's figured out how to get into a sitting position on his own, and he likes to bounce up and down while perched on his bum. He loves crawling around the house scavenging for all the toys and knick-knacks his brothers leave lying around. It's so nice living in a house with no stairs- one less thing to worry about!

Moses has also started babbling. He says "Ma-ma-ma-ma" when he wants me to hold him or feed him. He also likes to say "Na-na-na-na" when he's in a playful mood. He loves playing with his older brothers, and Joshua is especially good at entertaining him. Joshua will stand across the room from Moses and say "koochi koochi coo!" while running in place, squinting his eyes, scrunching up his nose, and shaking his head. This act never fails to send Moses into a fit of giggles, complete with batting his arms and kicking his feet in delight.

And if for no other reason than to prove that there is no such thing as a perfect baby, Moses has decided to be a little more demanding recently. He whines and pouts when he wants me to hold him, which is almost every waking moment. Mind you, this wouldn't be a huge inconvenience if Moses weighed as much as an average 7-month old baby (most people assume he's a toddler and are shocked when I tell them how old he really is). His two top front teeth are coming in, so I'm assuming that has something to do with his sudden spike in neediness. But considering he still sleeps about 9 hours straight each night on a regular basis, I have absolutely no reason to complain!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Up, Up, and Away!

Moses has started pulling himself up. The plant table, chair legs, and upside down laundry baskets have all been deemed suitable bolsters for our little explorer. He hasn't pulled himself up into a standing position yet, but he does enjoy hoisting himself up into a kneeling position and taking in the view before settling himself down into a sitting position. Moses has also perfected the art of crawling. His favorite bait is his brothers' brightly colored Polliwalks (mock Crocs), which he enjoys gnawing on with his two (soon to be three) teeth. He also has an adorable habit of locating me in the room, crawling towards me at full speed, and pulling himself up onto me with a big happy smile :)