Water and Snowmen

I really enjoy individually taking the boys out to the Mommy and Me class we do on Thursdays (I rotate Owen and Oliver each week).  It's a nice opportunity for some one on one time, and I can usually get a small Target trip or other errand in on the way home having only one with me (see last picture of Owen riding with a plastic bear full of animal crackers at Target).

This weekly outing is interesting because the boys act so differently when out without the other, and also in a classroom setting.  The past few times I've been with Owen he has been obsessed with the drinking fountain in the back of the room - it completely trumps any interest he has in playing with the puzzles and toys they have out before class beings, or sitting with the group and singing songs once we start.  He loves pushing the fountain button and watching the water come out, and especially loves when I take a drink from it while he holds it down.  I have to admit, it's right up his alley as something he can tinker with and try to figure out.  Good thing he is always willing to move on to the weekly craft once the teacher brings out the art supplies.  And if a glue stick is involved (which is almost always the case) he is even more eager to work on the craft!  Today's creation: a snowman!

Bye Bye Bath Seat

Recently, Spencie has been anxious to squirm out of his bath seat and roam freely with the big boys during bath time.  When the twins graduated from their bath seats we started out with only a couple inches of water in the tub, allowing them to safely go back and forth from sitting to belly surfing.  Over time their baths have gotten deeper, with both more water and bubbles, and so I wasn't sure if Spencie was ready.  This past weekend we took his seat out and he's done great, having more fun with the whole playing in the tub experience.  He has better access to all the toys, and now Owen and Oliver have yet another arena in which they have to contend for toys with baby Spencer...he's even starting to take over Big Bear during the pre-bath routine!

Pre-bath time wrestling with Big Bear...

Spencie needs to learn to stay seated in the tub!

Pick up sticks

Today was an unusually warm 70 degrees, especially after last weekend's snow (obviously all melted now)!  We played outside in the morning and in the afternoon.  The fascination today was picking up sticks - I showed the boys how to snap them in half and collect them in the shopping cart.  They loved this activity, but made sure to check on baby Spencer every so often, strolling him around the driveway...always at the same time of course.  Before coming in for lunch we fit in a wagon ride, which Spencie loves far more than being in the stroller!

Owen's "I Love You's"

Owen and Oliver have been practicing saying their I Love You's before bed...this is Owen chatting away after his bath.  His sweet little voice makes a mommy's never ending hard work so worth it!!!

Stair Climbers

Spencer started climbing up the stairs earlier this month, at about the same age Owen did last year - 10 months.  I think I first noticed his proud little face climbing up into the kitchen via the small set of two steps leading down into the family room.  Guess I have to keep the gate closed all the time now, breaking my habit of leaving it open while the twins are napping and I'm going back and forth between the kitchen and Spencer playing down in the family room.  He sure does get excited about getting to practice crawling up the big stairs with Owen and Oliver before nap time and bed time!

Peas in a Pod

Oliver and Spencer have been like 2 peas in a pod lately.  We've been playing a lot of "get Oliver" or "get Spencer" and the two have a ball wrestling together, especially in Oliver's crib because it seems to have the most stuffed animals and soft blankets each morning.  Some mornings the boys like taking an extra long time lounging in one crib together before going down to breakfast, and so it takes a lot of talk about how good the eggs, bananas, blueberries, cheerios, milk, etc. are going to be before they are ready to get out.  Owen's new thing has been to put his blankie on his head - he loves to walk around the bedroom with it over his head like a hood!  He is so funny with that thing...if he loses sight of it for a minute while in his bedroom he frantically starts crying, "blankie, blankie!!"

Beef stew

Spencer loves to eat!!  When the twins were his age they were still mainly eating baby food jars, with small amounts of steamed veggies for finger food.  But Spencer is just about entirely on table food at 10 months because he likes it so better than baby food.  At this point I'm trying to finish off my stock of baby food, but he has been increasingly fussy over it.  When he sees the big boys getting pieces of sandwich or deli meat on their trays, he cries until I give him some too!  Today during snack time he started grabbing handfuls of their bunny graham snacks and putting them in his mouth.  Here are some pictures of him trying and loving a healthy crock pot beef stew we made for the whole family this week.  Owen of course was the only one who didn't like it...

Twins That Trade

This post really goes with "Playing in the Snow"...but it's such a common phenomenon with our twins that it deserves to be highlighted on its own.

The boys love trading...everything.  We allow (or should I say encourage) this with most things, especially toys when they are on the verge of a disagreement / tug of war.  A quick mention of the word "trade" and they are suddenly more interested in the exchange than the item/s in contention.  They regularly request trades throughout the day, and sometimes are sneaky enough to make more advantageous trades than others.  One will often trade an empty cup of milk for a full one (although the trade is allegedly based on the color of the cup).  They even try to trade toothbrushes, but that one we are firmly against with them (yuck!)

The funny thing about all this trading is that it has become so commonplace for them that they often do so silently without halting whatever activity they're doing.  For example, there are two rocking chairs in our family room that the boys sometimes sit in and watch a few minutes of Sesame Street or Word World while we prepare lunch or dinner.  We recently noticed that after they have settled in their chairs, they will randomly get up and switch chairs without a word, or even looking away from the TV.  Ryan and I always say that we want to capture this on camera, but never do.  So yesterday I happened to be videoing them just playing with their lawn mowers in the snow...and what do you know, they decided to trade a few times, haha!!

Playing in the Snow

We woke up to snow on Thursday, enough to cancel my morning Mommy and Me class with Oliver, so we played outside instead!  The boys have seen snow a few times in their lives, but this was the first time they have been big enough and the weather was sunny and warm enough to go out and really play in it.  It took some time to chase the boys around the house, trying to get them dressed in their snow pants and warm layers, but when they went out the front door and saw two blue sleds waiting for them in the fresh snow they were super excited!  I think they were a bit thrown off when they took off out the door and discovered how much harder it was for them to move and run with their puffy gear on.  There was enough snow for me to pull them fast around the yard, and it was actually quite easy to run and pull both sleds at once.  After a few spins around the yard, the boys decided it was time to mow the snow...the lawn mowers have been elevated to an all-around, four season toy!  It was hard to convince the boys that it was time to go inside, but they were happy once we got back in and had a warm grilled cheese sandwich and steamed veggies for lunch!

Tunnel of Love

Another note on toy rotation - the tunnel is one toy I don't see the need for rotating out!  The boys love this thing and it gets incorporated into their play at some point each day.  Now that Spencer is flying through the tunnel we often have traffic jams that end in squealing laughter and Mommy having to help pull someone off a pile of tangled up boys and through the end.  Sometimes I get in there with them and things really get crowded :)

My favorite pic - if you look hard you'll see Owen in the middle!