Two Boys Turn TWO

Jett Everett and Calvin Judah turned TWO today!  It has been a whirlwind and a fast two years since they arrived, but already I can barely remember our family dynamic before these buddies entered our life.  We are such a family of 5 (6 counting Mango the puppy pants) and though it was a surprise, I can't imagine it any other way.  Piper and the boys play so well together.  Piper is a great big sister and leads them in fun imaginative games usually involving baby dolls and building houses.  They love to play along and are starting to be able to communicate better which is adding to the fun.        

What a special opportunity to be twins and have a built in buddy to experience life with.  I am so happy that they get along well and love playing with each other and at the same time, seem to be fine on their own doing their own thing as well.

Calvin is funny, I can see him being the family jokester.  He is quick to laugh and loves telling jokes. Even if we don't totally understand what he said, he will just laugh and laugh because he knows he just said something really funny.

His body movement is super loosey goosey.  He is always jumping and hopping and bopping around.  As a baby he was a pile of mush and now he can  lounge like no one I have ever seen, super chill, just melts into the couch or my arms and snuggles so cozily.  Even his cheeks are squishy which make them so pinchable.

Calvin is very social, and comfortable around new people.  He is quick to give high fives or hugs.  He likes hanging with other kids and seems to join right in to be a part of a group.


Calvin is getting pretty vocal and starting to string 3 to 4 words together.  He asks lots a questions and wants to know what something is if he doesn't already know.  He loves to help and be a part of what ever is going on, whether it is cooking or yard work or sweeping.  He wants to understand how things work.  "I do it!"

Unfortunately Calvin can be quick to whine which is a never ending battle with all our kids, but Calvin can also be pretty reasonable. Sometimes if I just calmly explain that he can get "whatever he is about to freak out about" his way at another time, a lot of times he is like "Oh Tay Mommy."

Calvin has always been good in the pool, he loves to swim and jump in and has no problems going underwater. He is brave with climbing and jumping off things.  Pretty coordinated catching and kicking  balls (going to be a lefty).  He loves books, riding bikes, playing hide-n-seek, playing with balloons, driving cars and trains and holding baby dolls.  Calvin has just started to count to ten, which he learned from playing hide-n-seek.  He is very squeamish towards bugs and squiggly things.  Calvin loves accessories, you must remember the blue Easter bonnet he wore almost nonstop this spring and summer.  Around the house he is always sporting necklaces, has fun wearing tutus and recently has taken to a little purse.    

Calvin has pooped in the potty several times, but I think we are still a ways out from actually being potty trained.  But Calvin is very proud of his "Big POOPS!"

Calvin likes putting his hands in his pockets and drinking from a cup with "NO top on, Mommy."

Calvin is gentle and polite, as well as very sensitive and sweet with other people.  Though he seems to be a bit dominate over Jett (this is a twin A/twin B thing) but over all he is good at sharing.  He has an opinion about the way he wants things done, and can get pouty.

I can see his imagination being really great.  We play "Big Bad Wolf" and blow the house down and the kids scatter and run away.  Calvin always has an actual look of fear in his face when the wolf is chasing him.  Even though he loves it, he cant take much before he says "No thank you Daddy."

Calvin Malvin you are so cute, we love you!  

Jett E Juice Box, Jetty Spaghetti, Juice, Juicifix, all silly names for buddy boy number 2.  Jett is also super sweet.  In a way he has a softer voice and seems quiet but he has this surprising ornery side that comes out occasionally.  Maybe it is just him being two, but he has gotten into lots of mischief lately.  For example taking ornaments off the tree and putting them in the toilet, pulling over the xmas tree, pulling out all the blankets and socks out of his drawers, dumping out the basket of blocks.  Sometimes he will unleash this furry and swing toys around or throw them, loves to knock over blocks.

But then, well actually most of the time he is super easy going.  If Calvin or Piper wants something he has, he has no problem handing it over or trading.  He is always getting two toys and bringing one of them over for Calvin to play with.  Or getting Calvin his shoes and jacket when he is getting his own too.  He has this soft, yet deep voice that kind of sounds like Fozzy Bear.  His voice always makes me laugh.  Jett's words are a little harder to understand.  Recently he told a friend "Thank you" and she said he sounded like Mork and Mindy.  He still has his high pitched scream that he has had from day one, but thankfully he uses it very infrequently, like if he is really hurt or mad.  When Piper slammed his finger in the door jam is the last time I remember, and wow that must have HURT.

Jett is independent and confident in group playing.  He is not usually that interested in the other kids, but content running around exploring and doing his own thing.  He is not easily won over by new people, even Santa did not get warm fuzzies from Jett.

Jett has the exact opposite body movement type than Calvin.  When Jett runs he holds his body high and tight.  He is efficient, his feet move super fast, and the rest of his body is stiff.  Sports wise he is pretty coordinated.  He can swing a bat, catch and kick a ball, and has a pretty good arm.

Swimming just clicked on his birthday when we were at the pool.  Every other time we would take him swimming, he was super nervous, usually had a death grip around my neck, and here is where he would use his high pitch scream to let everyone know he did not want to go in the water.  Today it clicked, and once he decided he liked going underwater that is all he wanted to do.  Throw his head back and go underwater  backwards with his eyes wide open.  He held his breath and loved it every time.  Come to think of it this is how he learned to walk.  He watched and watched and watched until he knew he could do it, then he just started walking.

Jett is super sensitive to sugar or lack of sleep.  He visibly just gets crazy and is punch drunk.  He does shaky face, starts acting really cheeky, more likely to push or hit his brother or sister.

Jett likes to line up toys in a row, blocks, cars, whatever, seems he likes to organize.  He LOVES music and dancing and singing.  "Happy Day, Happy Day" is his favorite thing to sing.  Reading books is another favorite, he will bring book after book after book over to be read.

"Oh Man" is Jett's favorite word.  He says it with such emotion, it so cute.  Jett is a happy kid.  He loves dolphins and whales and stuffed animals and blankets to snuggle.

Jett, you are sweet, we love you!  

            

Calvin and Jett you are a JOY and have brought so much laughter, love and good energy to our family.  Thank you for always keeping our life interesting .  Happy 2nd Birthday boys!


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Here are a few pics from the group birthday party for Calvin, Jett and Mae.  The Plantenbergs hosted a spaghetti feed.  We played play dough, ate cake and colored t shirts for a fun mellow TURNING TWO party.  It was great.

Christmas

A couple days before Christmas we went down to the Old Mill to catch a horse drawn carriage ride before hitting up happy hour at one of our favorite spots.

We got down there just in time and were lucky enough to get the last ride offered for the season.  Lots of anticipation waiting our turn in line for Jerry the Horse.  But, such a fun festive way to start our Christmas weekend.

We had a perfect simple Christmas at home this year.  The only other time we have not traveled for the holidays was two Christmases ago when the boys were born and that was kind a blur in it's own way. It felt nice to not be on the road, able to cozy up at home and enjoy each other.  The kids loved opening their Advent calendar each morning, all the build up for the special day was exciting, visiting Santa, ice skating, going to parks, cooking nice meals...just living our life as we do and loving it.                                                                                                                                                           

 Xmas eve was spent with fun friends the Plantenbergs and their little Mae who is just a few days younger than the boys.  It is crazy to try to wrap my mind around the fact that just two years ago these babies were still all squished inside our bellies.  (see pics from 2009)

And now, a fast two years have gone by and we have such independent, capable little people marching around telling us what is on their mind.

We did a repeat of that Xmas eve of 2009 with a mouth watering sushi feast again this year.  The best roll made is credited to Eric with is tricky inside out sesame seed covered  tuna, crab, mango, sweet potato cream cheese roll.  YUM!

We put out cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer, read "The Night Before Christmas" and tucked Calvin, Jett and Piper in with hopes for dreams of sugarplums that night.

Thankfully they were all so tired that not a creature stirred until 7:15am Christmas morning.

We all went down together to see what Santa brought and it was so fun to see especially Piper's reaction to the two seated doll stroller she asked for.  The boys were stoked about their remote control cars too.  I was surprised that they were actually able to work the cars and when we skyped with my parents, my dad informed me that it was in there genes to be rock star remote controllers!

We took our time opening stockings one at a time (very hard for Jett to wait his turn), had an easy breakfast of cinnamon rolls, bacon and berries, then went back to passing out presents.  Everything was open and ready to be played with by 11am.  Santa's presents were by far the biggest hits, but the sticky octopus that slowing crawls down the wall came in as the next best entertainment.  The kids spent probably 45 minutes throwing them up at the bathtub walls squealing with delight as it creepily crawled down the wall.  

 Lots of hugs, snuggles, thank you's and LOVE...and a little overwhelmed whining that I guess couldn't be helped from such a stimulation overload kind of day.  I love our kids and am so thankful for their presence and energy in my life.  I cant imagine my life any other way, these three kiddos make me smile.  

 Calvin and his new ladybug helmet

 Me and Piper trying out my new yoga mat with a refreshing down dog.

Jett LOVES dolphins and whales and he adored his new stuffed humpback whale.  It was so cute how excited he was when he opened it.  And this new fuzzy friend has gone crib camping every nap and night since!

 Piper and Dave had a rousing game of connect four.  Who needs rules, they just had fun racing to see who could put the chips in the fastest.

After nap we had two more big presents to surprise the kids with from Grammy and Grandpa Richard.  A  new 16" wheel bike for Piper and a spinning seesaw for the boys.  Christmas was good to these three,  what lucky little kids!  Unfortunately  it was too cold to play outside for long, but long enough for Piper to crash on the dismount a few times!  All is good, her little legs will grow by spring and she will be ripping it up on the mt. biking trails.  In the mean time the seesaw was fun for all three to bounce and bop on.

Christmas dinner was another fantastic feast of king crab legs and spinach artichoke dip...so simple, but oh so good.  We are eating well at Camp Staley.

Winter fun

 Ho! Ho! Ho!

We have a fun ritual every night after dinner where Piper says "Let's play Duck, Duck, Goose!"  And the initial start to the game looks pretty close to Duck, Duck, Goose.  In fact every one sits on the floor, Piper "Ducks" everyone until she comes to Dave.  He is the "Goose" every time and from here the game turns into chase, where one by one Dave gets one of the kids, hangs them upside down before flopping them on the couch to tickle them.   This gets the before bed time crazies out and everyone loves it.  Actually in the last week we have switched to Hide and Seek, and even though there are only so many hiding places, it never gets old.

These Santa pictures of the kids happened from an idea of Piper who turned her napkin into a beard and said "Ho Ho Ho!"  Everyone had to have one, and it added to the fun for our nightly game of chase and tickles.

 

Oh the buddy boys!  I can't say enough how fun it is to have two of these guys.  Once again these sweet twinsy pj's came from the Shaw boys (Thanks Tricie).  We don't dress them alike very often, but I have to admit it is darn cute when we do.

Calvin and Jett gave me a run for my money this week showing off two recently acquired skills they have learned.  First off, they have figured out how to take their clothes and diaper off on their own.  It wasn't that big of deal, we would see them do it, then put the diaper right back on...well one nap time they decided to try their luck and stripped down with out me knowing it and we had a surprise (read: BIG LOG OF POOP) in Jetts bed when nap was over.  Yuck!

From now on they don't go to bed without duct tape on their diapers, which has worked just fine.  Ha, take that buddies!

Well, not so fast mommy, they must have thought because during another nap they were up to antics again...this time climbing out of their crib was the new victory.  I was surprised, and curious how this happened without anyone getting hurt, but I guess they learned from Piper who goes in every morning and climbs in and out of both of their cribs.  Keeping them entertained while Dave and I cherish a few more minutes of shut eye before the day begins.

Anyway, I could hear walking around upstairs, so I went up to investigate and sure enough Jett was out of his crib and pushing over a stool  to help Calvin get down.  Ahhhhh!  I put them back in their cribs 4 or 5 times, but they kept climbing out.  Not sure what else to do, I just laid out 2 blankets on the floor,  locked their door and let them have at it, thinking that they would eventually conk out.  I was wrong, I guess they were just too stoked on their new freedom that there was no need for sleep.  They were quiet, no crying, so I just left them in until 3pm the normal time they get up.  Well, I found out then the reason it was so quiet....they were busy destroying their room.  Everything was out of their drawers, probably 300 wipes scattered across the room, all books off the bookshelf...a big mess and two big smiles were there to greet me.  BUT thanks to the duct tape, their diapers were still on!

We solved this problem quickly by putting their travel tents inside their cribs.  Thankfully they love crib camping, so it wasn't a big deal.  So for now we are keeping them on lock down.  Hopefully we can put off the bunk bed purchase for at least another 6 months or year if we are lucky!  

How could these sweet boys ever cause us any trouble?!  =-)

 

Piper's school had a winter solstice performance and cookie making party to start off the winter break.  Piper was so excited, it was super cute to see her and the whole school squished together singing songs for the packed house of parents.  Such a fun community of people, we love River Song Montessori School.

Quinn and Piper did a fine job frosting the cookies.  Quinn saved hers for after dinner, but Piper gobbled hers right up and licked the frosting container clean too!

Then it was off to see Santa at the Old Mill.  A funny story from the weekend before...Piper and I were down at the Old Mill picking up a present at REI when I thought it would be a good idea for Piper to get a preview of what the Santa meeting would be about the following weekend when we planned to go.  So we walked in to check it out and I ran into a friend and started chatting away, Piper couldn't see Santa, so I told here to walk up the side and take a peak (thinking that she would indeed just look).  Well, it happened to be in between families coming and going and she walked right up to Santa.  I was quickly on her heals, yelling "Piper, wait" and Santa must have heard me call her name and he addressed her, "Oh, Hi Piper..." before I snatched her out of there.  No harm done, except for a cross Piper telling me she had something important to tell Santa.  I convinced her she needed to wait until the following weekend when we would officially have the chance to sit on his lap.

I totally called it, that Calvin and Piper would be all over sitting on Santa's lap and Jett would have nothing to do with him.  Jett was interested in the candy cane Santa had to offer, but would not go near his lap.  The funny compromise was having Dave hold Jett above Santa on the edge of the top of the chair.

We joked that Jett looks like a little angel floating  and over looking Piper and Calvin with Santa.
 

No tears and Piper got her practiced speech in about wanting a doll stroller with TWO seats for Christmas.  She spoke up for the boys stating that Jett would like a car and Calvin would like a truck.   Santa said, "What a good big sister you are Piper!"  She just smiled!  

Sister and Brotherly LOVE!