What kids do when they've been snowed in too long......

The boys took my camera the other day and were having a little too much fun in their room. The pictures are great quality, but if you look past that fact they're pretty funny I think. Enjoy!

This is Kaleb

And here is Damen.

Looking different

I cut the boys hair on Saturday and before I cut Kaleb's he started crying about not wanting it cut. He then said he wanted a mohawk, which Nathan had not been a big fan of in the past...well he said he wanted it so that he wasn't called Damen anymore and people could tell them apart, Nathan was okay with it then.

Many people have thanked me for cutting their hair different....I still need some practice on getting the mohawk even, but we can work on that :-) 

Twins!

I walked into the living room the other day right after the boys had finished getting dressed. I said "You're matching!" and they turned and looked at each other not even realizing what they had done :-)

 Aren't they cute?

And a day or two later while I was brushing Kaleb's teeth he says to me "Mommy, do Damen and I have the same face?" I said yes, most people can't tell you apart and he started laughing. Finally realizing why it was so hard for everyone else. I also told him the story of how when they were younger they used to look in the mirror and think they were seeing their brother, which he also found quite funny.

3 years old x 2 = trouble

I'm learning more and more about twins as our life continues on. I now fully grasp why schools do not put twins in the same class. The boys are three, as everyone I've talked to lately about the trouble we've been having with them has reminded me, threes are worse than twos, and even more so when you have two of them! I never had terrible twos with the girls, never, but threes, yeah, we won't go there. The boys had a little bit of the terrible twos, but not much. Threes...yeah, well, let's go there. We started having them go to things independently, such as AWANA. There are five three and four year old boys in their AWANA class. There has been one teacher the past two weeks, one of the weeks she only had a 12 year old helping......that resulted in some boys feeling they could do whatever they wanted. Yes, that would be my boys. And then Sunday school.......well apparently they were angels the first week, but by this past week (week 3) the Sunday school teacher was unable to control them. They got a talking to in between services and were much better the second service....but still, you never want to have "those kids."  The advantage (for them, not for us) is that while one is getting disciplined the other can continue to get into trouble, and maybe, just maybe what you said to his brother doesn't apply to him. And when you have two the destructive capability is worse, much worse than with one. I was talking to a dad at the park yesterday who has twin four year old boys. He said all the baseboard heaters in his house were pulled off the wall....yeah, I know about that. Two of ours are no longer on the wall, I thought it was just us, I'm thankful it's not! I know it's just a phase, this too shall pass. And there are some definite bright spots, but some days it's just hard!  I'm trying to focus on the good parts, how whenever the boys see me, especially Damen it's "There's MY MOMMY!!!!!" It's always MY mommy, which makes me smile :-) Also, today at the library they did a half an hour program on their own, they are so excited to be like the girls and do it on their own, and when I picked them up the librarian said they did great. So there is hope. I've also realized through the loving discipline they have been receiving ever so regularly lately and how they react to that and other things they are really well bonded at this point. Which is wonderful!

no more cribs

Monday or Tuesday this week I wasn't paying much attention to the boys as they were napping, until they started getting really loud, so I went in their room. Little Boy Blue was in Green Machine's crib....hmmmm that wasn't how they started....I put Little Boy Blue back and left, checking them again a little later Green Machine was in Little Boy Blue's crib. Apparently they not only know how to climb out of their cribs, but back in as well. They managed to break Little Boy Blue's rail during that nap time, so we have removed it and he now has a toddler bed. We're going to remove Green Machine's next week. Right after Thanksgiving we also switched them from high chairs to sitting at the table. They are quite the big boys now!

have you ever wondered....

Have you ever wondered what an identical twin thinks when they look in the mirror and are still learning what a mirror is? This question came up when birth to three was doing their testing because one of the "skills" was being able to identify yourself in a mirror. While, Little Boy Blue likes the mirror now and when looking in it he'll say "Green Machine, Green Machine" so I was looking in it yesterday with him and he said "Mommy" and pointed to me in the mirror, I pointed to him and said "who's this?" he thought for a minute and said "Green Machine" I said "it's Little Boy Blue" he said "Little Boy Blue, Little Boy Blue... Green Machine"

potty training

As I mentioned, shortly after getting the boys they showed an interest in the bathroom, so we got out our little potties and started sitting the boys on them. Debi, from birth to three recommended doing all diaper changes in the bathroom and sitting them on the potty every time we changed their diaper. Well we've been doing that and it seems like it's starting to click. Little Boy Blue will now pretty much pee every time you sit him on the potty. Which means if you take him about every two hours he stays dry all day! Friday he even went at the visit with his birthmom. He didn't do so well today, but Sundays are kind of crazy with church and all. Green Machine is really working on it, he tries to go and then if he gets anything out he gets so excited he stops immediately. :-) I have to say it's super cute having two two year olds because then they have a cheering section, they both cheer whenever either one pees, along with two older sisters who come running and cheering as well if they hear that someone peed it's all a very positive experience! Now, if we could start getting the poop in the potty we'd be well on our way!

fun in the dirt!

It's turning out to be a beautiful Spring here and we are enjoying it. The high today was 71 degrees and both girls were loving the shorts and t-shirts. Yesterday we spent a lot of time outside in the yard. The boys loved playing in the dirt. They had a blast and got dirt everywhere! Since I'm not allowed to post pictures of them I figured I could at least post pictures of the bath tub after they were bathed yesterday :-) That's fair right? That and the fact that I didn't take any pictures of them covered in dirt might be part of it. Please note, their hands and faces were wiped down before they took a bath.

The park solo

Yesterday I took the kids to the park on my own. We went to a slightly smaller park than we went to last week and it was great! The boys really loved to swing and were upset when I wouldn't push them any longer. But that just shows that they're meant to be part of our family, as the girls would never get off the swings either :-) The boys also figured out how to climb up on the playground several different ways and liked going down the slides, so that kept them busy for awhile. Running was also a good time. We only spent about an hour at the park, but I'm sure we'll be heading to the parks a lot more now that the weather is nicer. The boys did great and made it super easy.

hair cuts!

Friday my Mom and Grandmother came into town and I decide one of the things I was going to attempt on Friday with my Mom's help was hair cuts for the boys. So Friday afternoon I cut the boys hair (and Evie's too) and Nathan came home and didn't notice. I think that's good right? It means it looked okay enough that it didn't bring attention to it. I don't think they look bad. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from the hair cut.....for some reason my picture taking has dramatically decrease since having four kids....I'm trying to work on that...but every time I think, "oh, I should take a picture" I can never find my camera! AH!

doctors and more doctors

Yesterday we got to experience the Children's Medical Center in Hartford. At least a VERY small part of it. And the boys previous foster Mom, Barb came to help us. I have to say Barb is not only the best foster mom in the world, she also knows WAY more about the boys than DCF. I learned yesterday (from Barb) yes, in fact the boys are identical (the social worker and DCF Nurse said they didn't know), we also learned other information about Little Boy Blue (who the appt was for) that DCF told us they didn't know. Anyway, it was a great appointment. The doctor walked in and said "Why are you here?" That was my question exactly! I had tried to get out of this appointment, but the boys social worker insisted it was needed. Fortunately we will not have to go back :-) Today both boys went to the eye doctors. It took us 40 minutes to be seen, and then we had to wait for 20 plus minutes for their eyes to dilate. They did not like the dilation at all, but they did pretty well over all and the girls did great! The girls did great yesterday too! The eye doctor said we don't have to go back for two years!!!!!!!!! I can deal with that! I'm currently pretending the  boys are napping now. Little Boy Blue managed to climb out of his crib. It didn't end well for him, so hopefully he won't try it again for a few more days at least. But I know once they do it once, even if it doesn't end well they will do it again soon. 

Two Years Old

The boys turned two today! We took them in for their physical and found that Green Machine has an ear infections. After the doctors appointment we headed over to the library for our normal Monday afternoon library time. Upon returning home at just past five I had one child a sleep (Little Boy Blue), one with an ear infection (Green Machine), one who had been coughing and sneezing all day (Hannah) and one who was exhausted and ended up throwing up (Evie). I'm really hoping everyone will get healthy at the same time sometime soon! Anyway, on to the boys. Yesterday while walking down the stairs to head out for church Little Boy Blue said "ashes, ashes ...... down!" the .... was trying to say we all fall, but he doesn't quiet have that part yet. He also now says Evie and Amen and the end of praying :-) Green Machine is able to copy a whole lot of the random words I have him repeat back to me. which is good, he's not as into singing as Little Boy Blue. Oh, have I mentioned that Little Boy Blue is working on learning his alphabet in sign? He can do the letter D and is very proud of it and does Z as well and a few other random ones in the middle. He loves any song that has motions with it.
Their official weight was 28.5 lbs and their height was 35 inches.....I think the height was a little off on the tall side. Their heads were the only thing different, as Green Machine was 50 cm and Little Boy Blue was 51...but none of the measurements were very exact. They have big heads....my girls have very small heads. When we first got the boys it was hard to figure out how to get shirts on and off over their heads, I never had that problem with the girls :-) Anyway, that's a quick update on where we're at. Hopefully I'll have pictures up from the weekend soon.

library time

The boys started their first library session today. The program is called lap sitters and they have two groups that run every Monday. Both groups have three sets of twins in them. Crazy! Anyway, it was pretty crowded and the boys freaked out a little when we walked in, but they did pretty well over all. That was just the beginning to our crazy day. On Mondays we will be at the library twice, once first thing in the morning, and once an hour before closing until about closing time for Hannah's program. Evie does something Monday afternoons in general too, but didn't today because she's not feeling well. Like she's had a sinus infection FOREVER and been on four different antibiotics and it's still not going away and she's coughing all night not feeling well. We brought her to the doctor after lunch today. They put her on an antibiotic shot. We are praying that works because it's been bad. I think it's the same sinus infection she's had since Christmas. And Hannah....well Hannah's might not be gone either....she's still complaining of being dizzy. I'm going to see if I can just add her on to Evie's appointment for tomorrow. Fun times I'm telling you! Everyone asks how the boys are doing, and really truly they are doing great. They are wonderful.....it's just the girls haven't been so good so the parents haven't been getting much sleep. But it has nothing to do with the boys! Speaking of boys. Green Machine has decided he's a big boy and wants to go straight up and down the steps standing up in the middle of the steps. He does pretty well at it, he's been practicing a lot. Little Boy Blue did that at first, but I think he decided it's faster to hold onto something, so he does. Another example of Green Machine and how he thinks of himself. He points to a boy at the library who was probably four or five and says "baby, baby" I said "where's the baby?" and he repeated baby, I think said "No, that's a boy" and did the sign for boy and he copied that and said "boy" the boy thought it was cute and was excited when I used the sign for boy as well, so it was all good!

the words keep coming...

Like I've said, both boys are learning new words every day, but today Green Machine busted out a lot of new words, I'd say at least ten, which is a lot for one kid in one day. As he was drinking milk at dinner tonight he pauses and said "cold" not only had I not heard him say cold before, but he actually used it in context! I thought that was pretty impressive. Both boys have also picked up the word "bite" as in "do you want a bite?" and they'll respond with "bite, bite" and sometimes please too :-) There was also great progress made in ring around the rosies today! The boys now hold hands so there is a completed circle. This is the first day they've done that. Little Boy Blue now does everything, the thunder, lighting, falling down, standing up. Green Machine isn't too into the thunder or lighting, but that's okay.
Yesterday we had a visit with the boys birth mom, it takes about an hour to get to the visits and I had the privilege of listening to the girls recite an entire Psalty CD on the way there (thank you Rachel! they LOVE Psalty!). It was very amusing, and cute, and nice to hear them singing as well! Anyway, we walked in the door of DCF and before they buzzed us in Green Machine realized where we were and wanted nothing to do with it and wanted to leave. When their birth mom showed up Little Boy Blue ran over and had her pick him up, but I had to pry Green Machine off me. The boys have gotten very good at saying "hi" and "bye" and when I came back to get them they were both ready to go, they both started saying "bye" immediately, it was kind of cute, but it's sad too. Sad that they don't have a better relationship with their mom.

warming up

Today the high was 46 degrees. It felt super warm! The girls didn't feel coats were necessary while playing outside, or shoes for that matter :-) and I spent an hour outside with the boys. We just spent the time walking around. Green Machine was little independent wondering where he wanted to....except when he got to snow (yes, there is still snow on the ground, it's almost gone, but not quiet). When he got to snow and couldn't find away around he's whine until I came and held his hand and then he'd walk through it and let go again immediately. Little Boy Blue on the other hand would not let go of my hand hardly at all, but he was pulling me over to the snow so he could walk through it. It was a fun time. The girls who did have boots and snow pants on (the second time they went out I had to make them come back in and get coats and shoes) came in covered in mud. They had a blast. It was even sunny in the morning when we were all out. It was great!

One Month

Today is one month since we've had the boys! It seems so long and so short at the same time. Everything is going way better than I had expected and the boys are thriving! You read and hear people say you should expect kids that come out of foster care to regress when they come into your home. That is definitely NOT the case with these boys. I think it all has to do with the home they came from. They had absolutely amazing foster parents, I know that made a huge difference. The number of words they are saying is increasing everyday. They are learning new skills quickly, it is fun to watch! I'm also learning new things about them everyday! They fit right in with our family and we are all having a great time! Not only are they learning, but they are growing as well. I think they're working on catching up to their sisters. At the doctors on Friday both the boys were weighed and with clothes and shoes on they were about 30 lbs. At their last weight check before we got them they were 26 (not sure if this was dressed or not). I think they're eating alright :-) Last night while walking by their room I heard one of them quoting "Moo, Baa, LaLaLa!" it went like this "cow, mooooooo, lalala, no no no" it was super cute. I'm guessing it was probably Little Boy Blue, but Green Machine is getting into Moo, Baa, LaLaLa too. Tonight Little Boy Blue was chatting up a storm before falling asleep, talking and singing. He is really working on his speech. One thing I did learn from Debi this past Thursday as we were discussing the boys speech was that there are some sounds kids "can't" say until 3-5 years of age. Who knew? My girls had all their sounds down way earlier than that.....We are so thankful God has blessed us with two beautiful boys and we're looking forward to the months to come!

the long days continue

Yesterday we had our first real session of birth to three, we weren't just going over paper work this time. How they are working it is an hour every other week per child, so they come every week and work with one of them each week, but still interact with the other. Little Boy Blue had the first session. He did really well and had fun. Our EIA Debi does great with the boys and they are both really comfortable with her. At the end of the session she was writing up her notes and I guess she has to put down instruction for the parent and things for them to work on each time because she said "It's going to be really hard coming up with things you aren't already doing to put in the notes" at least we're doing somethings right. :-) After that we headed over to a friends to help her organize some of her house. Yes, I had all the kids, they actually did really well. I was surprised. I feel as though I'm at that totally not helpful stage again, you know, the one where you can't volunteer to do anything because your kids are too young. Yeah, I was finally out of that stage and we were doing all kinds of stuff, but now I'm back in it, it's okay though, it won't last long. Anyway, my friend had a dog and everyone did fine with it. The dog was wondering around the room that we were working in and the kids were playing in (it was a big room) and Hannah got scared a few times, but in general did really well. And the boys actually went up to it and would look at it. It was cute. Although I think it may have been a little too much for Green Machine. After we got home he cried for awhile, I held him and talked to him and he was TONS better today. He had had several bad days where he was really upset and not liking much. Today we had a visit with their birth-mom and after picking the boys up I played with Green Machine for a couple minutes while getting him in the car and after he was in and got him from mad to happy and he was great the rest of the day. They were both very playful and happy this afternoon. Green Machine even put up with a doctors appointment because he broke out with a rash a couple days ago, since it was gone I figured I better have a doctor check it out. The good news is it isn't scarlet fever and it's not an allergic reaction. It might be viral, but it didn't look like that either. So the doctor said come up if he gets new symptoms or it doesn't go away in 2-4 days. Ever so helpful at times :-)

one of those days

Today was one of those days that you really don't want to have very often. Let's start by listing what fell down the stairs shall we? The first large item down the stairs was a kitchen chair. I'm not quiet sure what happened. Hannah had asked if she could take the boys down stairs to play, I had said sure. I hadn't been by the stairs recently and didn't realize someone had brought a chair and put it at the top of the stairs (we have a high ranch, so our kitchen/dining room etc are all upstairs). So Green Machine decided it was a good idea to push it down the stairs. The next large item to go down the stairs was Green Machine (it was later in the day) he fell at about the fourth step from the bottom, I think it was due to the basket he was wearing on his head made it hard for him to see. I was there, but didn't catch him quiet fast enough. He's fine, but large things falling down the stairs adds up in a day! The boys have gotten a little too confident on the stairs already and like to carry toys up and down now. None of the kids napped and by the afternoon the girls were forbidden from playing or reading for the rest of the day and forced to clean. The good news in my house is slightly cleaner, I got laundry washed, sorted and put away, Little Boy Blue I think actually got two feet off the ground while attempting to jump today and the boys are actually using "yes" and "no" instead of just making a random sound or pushing things away! They're getting new words everyday, it's super fun to see how much they're picking up!

walking

Yesterday Nathan took Evie to the store while Hannah, the boys and I hung out here an take a walk. I took the boys in the stroller and we went to the end of our street and then went down to the end of our cross street. I let the boys out of the stroller and they played with Hannah for awhile in the cul-de-sac. After that I let the boys walk the .15 miles up hill to our house. They did super well with it and had a lot of fun. They were both excited to be walking outside.
In other news, the girls are able to tell the boys apart most of the time. I brought Green Machine in after a bath one night and asked the girls who it was and they gave the correct answer at the same time :-) It's been so much fun watching how the kids are growing and getting along so well! I know most of the focus has been on the boys of late, but the girls have really taken to their big sister roles and are being super helpers, entertainers and teachers! And they are doing it willingly with joy! It's been wonderful. I'm just in awe of how God has been working in our family. He is an amazing God!

sledding and other fun things

The past two days have been long. Yesterday we had someone from birth to three come (head start type program) and went over what they would do to help the boys with things like speech. Debi, the EIA (early intervention assistant) was here from 2:45-4:45 and the boys hadn't napped, so it was a long afternoon. I think we have a good plan for going forward with therapy for the boys, so it should be good. Today we had the boys social worker and the nurse practitioner from their office come and visit us. The visit was scheduled for 1 pm, they didn't show up until 2, but it meant no nap. They were both really surprised by how well the boys were doing. All the words they had, how they're going up and down the stairs, how they're interacting and how comfortable they are here. It was a good visit. We found out the boys are no longer "medically complex" which we kind of figured would be the case, which is good, that means they're doing really well now. We discussed things such as how Green Machine would not eat blueberries (the first day their social worker brought them I gave them blue berries and Little Boy Blue chowed them down, but Green Machine just looked at them like they were the grossest thing every) and today how he couldn't wait to get them and ate a bunch of them. Green Machine is eating EVERYTHING and anything we give him. Everyone is wondering what happened because he is the one who was much pickier of the two. The nurse was surprised the boys had picked up so many new skills, as in most transfers to a new home the children regress. God is so good! Okay, so on the the sledding. I took the boys sledding today in our front yard. They both liked going down the hill on the sled, Green Machine really liked it and kept asking for more. They both did not like climbing back up the hill in the snow. Little Boy Blue was crying even if I was holding him. I only took them down a couple times because it was hard getting them back up, but they had fun. Then we sat and watched the girls sled and they liked that. We also worked on ring around the rosie today. Green Machine finally got it, the falling down and then after doing "cows in the meadow eating buttercups, thunder, lightening, we all stand up" he'd stand right up. Little Boy Blue does not like to "fall" down and when he does he's up a second later, but he was clapping for the lightening. We showed that to our visitors today as well and did it a number of times, they asked how many times I normally did it and I said a LOT. Repetition is good for toddlers right? We did lots of ups and downs and fun play today. And I'm tired, but it was a good workout :-)