Moses is now 8 months old and is getting into everything. His favorite variety of mischief is playing with his brothers' shoes. Caleb has become quite the tattle-tale, frequently informing me that "Moses is touching the shoe" or "Moses is eating paper." It amazes me how the complusion to tell on one's siblings is so innate, since I'm sure that no one explicitly taught him to do this. I guess Caleb feels it's his duty as the eldest to keep his younger brothers in line. Joshua likes to keep me up-to-date on Moses' activities, as well, but his reports usually have a more positive spin, such as, "Mommy, Moses stood up," which actually happens so frequently now that Joshua doesn't even bother telling me about it most of the time anymore.
Sometimes Moses surprises us with other forms of mischief, such as the other day when I found him sitting on the kitchen floor sprinkled with a flaky green substance. Upon closer inspection I determined that he used his four enormous teeth to bite through a tea bag. After all, how could he have resisted something that so closely resembles his favorite delicacy, paper? Then today we caught him standing at the toilet, happily splish-splashing away. Miraculously, the toilet and toilet water were relatively clean, which isn't often the case in our one-bathroom house where two little boys have recently learned to pee standing up. To give you an idea of the kind of abuse our toilet suffers, the twins' favorite thing to do is stand at the toilet side by side and "make a cross" with their pee streams. But I digress. I'm sure we sent splash-happy Moses mixed signals when I asked Joe to go run and grab the camera and snap a few pictures while he was still in the act!
Moses is so much different than his big brothers were at this age. In addition to putting everything in his mouth (we were thankfully spared this common phenomenon when the twins were babies), being a lot bigger (he now wears the same clothes the twins wore when they were walking), and being developmentally advanced, he also seems much happier and is always smiling. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that he sleeps much longer stretches than his brothers did at this age. Moses also seems to have abandoned typical baby babbling and instead prefers to communicate by growling. The first time I heard him growling I could have sworn there was a grown man in the room, but no, it was our sweet Moses. It probably doesn't help that I tend to growl back at him, while hugging and kissing him, of course. I'm sure he now thinks this is a normal way to communicate!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Daddy Slop
In light of the cold, rainy weather we've been having recently, we decided that a dinner of homemade chili--something we haven't had since last winter--would hit the spot. So I threw a batch together, and when the boys came home from preschool this afternoon, Joshua peered into the crockpot and proclaimed, "it's daddy slop."
"What's that?" I asked, confused. "Daddy slop", Joshua reiterated. And then it hit me. The chili looked exactly like the sloppy Joes filling that I often cook for dinner, and of course Joshua is well aware that his daddy's name is Joe. From now on I think we'll have a new name for sloppy Joes in our household!
And now for a slightly less palatable anecdote from today. I asked the boys what they did at school, and as usual the first thing to come to mind was what they had for snack. Caleb told me that he ate crackers and oranges, and that the worms ate oranges, too. At first I thought he was making stuff up, and then remembered catching a glimpse of a new addition to their classroom--a worm composting bin. The children must have put their orange peels in the composting bin after snacktime. Caleb then went on to tell me that "the worms look like red spaghetti." Lovely. I think I'll stick to daddy slop for the time being ;)
"What's that?" I asked, confused. "Daddy slop", Joshua reiterated. And then it hit me. The chili looked exactly like the sloppy Joes filling that I often cook for dinner, and of course Joshua is well aware that his daddy's name is Joe. From now on I think we'll have a new name for sloppy Joes in our household!
And now for a slightly less palatable anecdote from today. I asked the boys what they did at school, and as usual the first thing to come to mind was what they had for snack. Caleb told me that he ate crackers and oranges, and that the worms ate oranges, too. At first I thought he was making stuff up, and then remembered catching a glimpse of a new addition to their classroom--a worm composting bin. The children must have put their orange peels in the composting bin after snacktime. Caleb then went on to tell me that "the worms look like red spaghetti." Lovely. I think I'll stick to daddy slop for the time being ;)
Friday, October 2, 2009
Hummus Tummus
One of the great things about the boys' preschool is that the parents take turns bringing in healthy snacks to share, and the children serve themselves family-style. While I think I'm pretty good about exposing to (or should I say "forcing upon") the boys a variety of healthy foods, there are some things I've never bothered with, one of those being hummus. Yesterday's school snack consisted of whole wheat bagels, carrot sticks, and hummus. Much to my surprise, Mrs. Lavergne reported to me that Caleb, who is usually suspicious of new foods, simply couldn't get enough of those smushed chick peas. Joshua, of course, wanted nothing to do with the stuff. So after school I asked Caleb, "what did you eat at school today?" and he told me he ate, "bagels, carrots, and tummus."
"Tummus?" I asked. "Don't you mean 'hummus'?"
Caleb grinned and replied, "No, Mommy. Tummus. Tummus Jefferson!"
"Tummus?" I asked. "Don't you mean 'hummus'?"
Caleb grinned and replied, "No, Mommy. Tummus. Tummus Jefferson!"
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!
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!
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 :)
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