Oliver's Girlfriend

My friend Krystal came over with her family to visit Sunday afternoon. We met through the twins club about a year ago (she is the amazing sleep consultant who helped us sleep train the boys!).  Her boy / girl twins just turned 2 years old and are super cute.  Everyone wanted to see baby Spencer - he's surrounded by all the twins in the picture below.  The odd man out, and yet the center of attention!

Jocelyn was the only baby girl in the bunch, and very adorable with her bright red curls.  She wanted to play with Elmo, and so we tried to teach Oliver to be a gentleman and share his toy with her.

"Wait!  I changed my mind - give it back!!"

Everything turned out to be ok...he even decided to push her in the rocking chair (or just keep a close eye on his Elmo!!)

Owen's Piggy Face

We've encountered the first instance where one of the twins has started to mimic our actions, and it came as somewhat of a surprise (I guess this is probably most often the case)!  We keep a little farm animal book next to the highchairs to distract the boys during dinner if they become too tired or fussy.  Over time we've gotten used to picking out different animals and asking them where they are on the page.  On the cover of the book is a picture of two pigs, so "where's piggy" gets asked most often.  The funny thing is that we've gotten into the habit of asking this question followed by a quick imitation of a pig face and noise, not really thinking much of it (we also make a meow noise for the cat, moo for the cow, and so on).  A couple day's ago, when asking Oliver where the piggy was, we saw Owen start scrunching up his face and breathing funny through his nose...and after testing it out a couple times, realized he did it every time he heard us ask where's piggy!  I suppose he decided to imitate the animal that's most appropriate during feeding time.  It's really cute, especially because he's our little piggy when it comes to eating :)

Bowling

I showed the boys how to bowl yesterday with a set of soft pins and ball.  They caught on to the concept that the pins were supposed to be knocked over...but Owen was too impatient to use the ball, instead throwing his whole body at them!  I guess it's easier to get a strike that way :)

Police Car Battle

One of Owen's favorite toys for a long time has been a little police car that makes siren noises.  Lately Oliver has taken a liking to this car as well, and they don't understand the concept of sharing yet!  We've baby proofed the entire family room level (given that the bathroom and laundry room doors stay closed), so they can now move freely from the playroom through the hall and into the main area.  You can sort of see the tall white gates blocking off both stair cases in the picture below.  The open space behind the couch has turned out to be a nice "runway" for the boys to ride their Harley and race cars, push the choo choo train, and to play with their little cars.  We were playing with the police car today and they got into a mini-battle over it!

This video shows a good update on Oliver's walking skills (he's now a full fledged walker at 14 months, but not nearly as steady as Owen).  I thought it was kind of funny because it both begins and ends with the boys tackling the other's head because they are trying to get the police car from the other.

Still clinging to his trusty choo choo train...

Wesley trying to stay safe up on the ledge.

Owen in time out...just kidding!!!  He's been really interested in getting in and out of this chair on his own over the past couple days.

Baby Spencer thinks this is all too funny.  He says, "Just wait a few more months and I'll be in the mix too!"

Foot Up

I didn't really pay too much attention to this, until my dad pointed out that Oliver likes to kick back and relax during afternoon wagon rides by putting one foot up on the cup holder. I noticed that over the last week I did have a number of pictures where he had that foot up! Today he did this, but first made sure to take his sock off. He sure does have funny little habits with his feet and socks!

Six Week Smiles

Six weeks is around the time babies start smiling...and Spencer's right on schedule!

Clean Teeth

I admit, we haven't been very good about enforcing this fairly new habit, partly because it's been challenging enough trying to get 3 babies bathed, fed, and in bed at the end of the day. But instead of using the fingertip gum cleaners, we've moved on to regular infant toothbrushes and are starting to make clean teeth a nightly habit - even if they only have 8 or 9 of them :)  Owen doesn't like anyone to hold the brush for him or come near his mouth with it, while Oliver on the other hand is content to lay back and let us do all the brushing.

There is still some confusion about which end of the brush to use...

School Bus

On our daily walks the boys love watching the school bus and pointing as it goes by. Today the driver slowed down when he went past and informed the boys that this was their future mode of transportation! Oliver said he's content with just kicking back and relaxing in the wagon for now...

Luscious Hair

Because I'm worth it.

Cars

Since the boys love cars we were excited to give them their own Cozy Coupes to drive around the driveway.  We got one regular car and one police car, and it was funny how they seemed to fit the roles of their cars this particular day.  Owen was happily cruising around, going on the grass occasionally, and driving where ever he wanted. While Oliver appeared to be on the lookout for something, monitoring Owen's every move.

Oliver cruising on patrol...

"Hold on, is that a violation I see!??"

Surprise!!

Ryan and I were very disappointed that we wouldn't be able to make my brother Matt's wedding this past Saturday because it was so close to baby Spencer being born, and would just be too hard traveling 7 hours in the car to Rochester with 3 small babies (probably more with feeding time factored in).  But we came up with a last minute plan that would at least allow me to get there...and baby Spencer!  It turned out that with the help of my aunt Weyma, we were also able to pull the whole thing off as a surprise to my family. When my dad and brother arrived at the airport to pick up my cousin, they found me and Spencer! It was a beautiful wedding, and dare I say a "relaxing" weekend for me, with only 1 baby and lots of family wanting to help and hold him.

Baby Spencer sitting in the front row... taking a nap during the ceremony!  

Our place setting at the reception!  It was so nice of them to make us a last minute spot.

Uncle Mario and Aunt Weyma taking good care of Spencer during dinner.

My dad took care of Spencer during the night, bringing him to me only when he needed feeding.  It was such a nice break.  Here he is in his comfy little travel bed.

Spencer spending some time with his Great Grandma.

All packed and on our way home in the airport.  Spencer was very good and slept the whole time on the plane both there and back.  

Colgate Day!

Every Friday the 13th is Colgate Day - the number 13 is considered to be lucky by students and alumni alike. Apparently the college was founded by 13 men with 13 dollars and 13 prayers in 1819. Fun fact - Colgate is the 66 oldest college in the United States.

Well Colgate students aren't triskaidekaphobics (yes, this is a real thing - people who fear the number 13), they instead celebrate Friday the 13th by wearing Colgate gear...and dressing their babies accordingly! Oliver says Go 'Gate!!

One Sock Boy

You may have noticed that Oliver is usually only wearing one sock in most pictures and/or videos.  He's not really a big fan of wearing socks, and is constantly pulling them off.  He's even discovered that he can push them down the slot where blocks are supposed to go on his choo choo train to hide them from us. Today on our walk he undid his Velcro shoes to take them off. I looked back and this is what I saw...





I wonder if he was thinking he could just eat them and they'd go away for good?

Coffee Break

After just waking up and coming into the playroom with Spencer and my mug of coffee, Oliver insisted on seeing what was in the cup...and on trying some too.  He's gotten used to getting small sips of water from my water bottle, so I thought if I let him taste the inside of the mug he would realize he didn't like coffee and leave it alone.  I'm not so sure he didn't like it!

Day At The Park

The day after the boys got their new shoes, we took them to the park for the afternoon to try them out.  It was a much different experience compared to last fall, when all they could do was go on the baby swings - this time they were toddling all over the place, with some crawling around on hands and knees to explore the dirt and grass mixed in.  Those new shoes were dirty and had grass stains all over them in minutes...but that's to be expected with boys, right!

Here's Owen running free on the playground!

This year they climbed the climbing rock, went down the slides by themselves, and rode the merry-go-round.

Before we left, we walked over to the soccer field where Grand Bobby and Daddy found a Frisbee.  The boys had fun crawling around and exploring (tasting?) the grass...