Monday Miscellany

I am sure I am not the first parent to experience this but...while I was driving my six-year-old daughter to dance last week, I took a moment to lecture her on the importance of behaving properly while in public. She listened intently and affirmed, "That is right. We should behave that way in Publix or Kroger or Target or any store."

When my wife told me that one of the twins fell asleep standing up, I thought she was exaggerating and could not visualize the possibility. I skeptically shuffled up the stairs with my camera and stood agog and took the following pictures:

The boys are getting closer and closer to each other. The curly-headed hobbit boy fell asleep in my lap on Easter. His first words on waking up were, "Where's Lala [his word for his brother]?" I said, "Outside." He replied without hesitation, "Outside, too" and jumped off of my lap. I like how this photo suggests that they fell asleep while looking at each other.

The blond-headed Nordic boy did, in fact, say, "Knees hurt" as soon as he woke up. You can see why.

Peace

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Cheese!

The eldest twin loves the new camera almost as much as I do. As soon as he sees it in someone's hands, he makes a rush for the shiny lens while squealing, "Cheese!" This has made for more than a few fun shots. Here he is saying "Cheese!"



Typically I am careful to put the camera down out of the reach of little hands, but I had just taken a few shots when my eldest son needed some homework help so I put the camera on the coffee table, confident that I would be right back to it. Minutes later I heard the eldest twin's sweet little voice calling out, "Cheese!" I was sure that I would turn around to the sight of my camera dragging along the floor with high priced pieces trailing behind it. Instead, my boy was busy composing a still life using my camera and his most priced possession, his cup. If he had known how to take off the lens cap, turn on the camera, and push the button, this is the shot he would have taken:


I took the shot for him and showed him the results. He was immensely proud of himself.



Here is a free shot of the twins. The writing on the wall is the product of the eldest twin; whenever he finds a pencil or crayon, he can be counted upon to sneak off and color something. The younger twin (the big one on the right) always brings me crayons and pencils when he finds them so that I can put them away.




Peace
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Snow Days

We had snow on Wednesday evening and Saturday. It was my daughter's first snow, and she had a grand time. My eldest son claims to remember making footprints in the snow when he was two; it's quite possible he does.

We:

Made a snowman

Had a snowball fight

Played orcs and kings (I was the king)

Caught snow on our tongues

Had a child fall on the sidewalk and acquire a bloody knuckle and a knot on his forehead (the youngest twin)

Had hot chocolate

Froliced until our faces were red and our fingers were numb

Peace
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The Twins Turn One

Are they really related?

W takes his first bite of a cupcake.

M tries to eat the entire cupcake in one bite.

One year ago today, the second of the twin boys scared me by emerging motionless and blue. Now he is a healthy and round one year old though still often motionless. Sometimes we are shocked by how different the two of them are. My fears of not being able to tell them apart are long past.


Here is who they are at one year old:

W (the first born)
Dark complexion, dark hair
One wild curl behind his right ear
Eats anything
Strong and wiry
Climbs everything
An escape artist
Blue-eyed
Throws himself into everything
Goes over things instead of around them
Has begun to put a toy to his ear as though it is a phone
Has taken a few tentative steps
Has started to get his leg stuck in his crib
Loves TV
Enjoys making noise
Impresses the family with pull ups on the pack & play
Prefers to hop
Laughs easily and quickly
Ticklish all over




M (the second born)
Light, pale complexion
Very light brown, thin hair
Picky, demanding, and voracious eater
A gentle giant
Sees no reason to escape
Blue-eyed
Studies things before deciding to touch
Goes around things
Has learned to wave this week
Has taken a few tentative steps
Makes some really entertaining attempts at clapping
Loves his momma
Prefers to sway
Only ticklish in the right places at the right time

VIDEO and my wife's commentary here.

Peace

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Beach Boys

I am back from the beach while the rest of the family stays until Saturday. There is a lot to tell, but I have to be up early for pre-planning so here are a few pictures. It was the first time at the beach for the twins and my four-year-old daughter.


Above: First Wave
Below: Asleep in the Gulf




Above: Loving the Sand
Below: Loving the Water



Above: Cautious Boy
Below: At the National Museum for Naval Aviation


More over at Flickr.

Peace
..._

Mid-Week Miscellany: The Wiggles and Pirates, Too!

On Sunday we went to my sister's for my niece's birthday party. Since my niece finds Orlando Bloom's work in the Pirates movies to be that of a deeply talented actor, the party was pirate themed, and each child attendee received a cup of pirate loot. My six-year-old son and four-year-old had great fun with the eye patches and pirate bouncy balls. At one point my son came up with the idea of using the bouncy ball as his fake eye. He ran into the room and queried, "Do you want to see my peg eye?"


Earlier at that same party he was eating at a table full of older girls. Somehow, his elbow got wedged into the back of the chair, and he couldn't get it out. Not wanting to lose face in front of the ladies, he played it cool until his uncle walked by chair. He quietly asked if his uncle could help him because his elbow was stuck in the chair. His uncle helped him out, and the girls were never the wiser.


The twins just passed their ten month birthday. Yesterday I caught the eldest standing on his on-all-fours brother's back in an attempt to crawl onto the couch. He is becoming an accomplished escape artist, but has yet to learn that his actions have often painful consequences.

Did you see this Washinton Post piece: Va. School's No-Contact Rule Is a Touchy Subject? A couple of snippets:

All touching -- not only fighting or inappropriate touching -- is against the rules at Kilmer Middle School in Vienna. Hand-holding, handshakes and high-fives? Banned. The rule has been conveyed to students this way: "NO PHYSICAL CONTACT!!!!!"

School officials say the rule helps keep crowded hallways and lunchrooms safe and orderly, and ensures that all students are comfortable. But Hal, 13, and his parents think the school's hands-off approach goes too far, and they are lobbying for a change.

...

Deborah Hernandez, Kilmer's principal, said the rule makes sense in a school that was built for 850 students but houses 1,100. She said that students should have their personal space protected and that many lack the maturity to understand what is acceptable or welcome.

"You get into shades of gray," Hernandez said. "The kids say, 'If he can high-five, then I can do this.' "

She has seen a poke escalate into a fight and a handshake that is a gang sign. Some students -- and these are friends -- play "bloody knuckles," which involves slamming their knuckles together as hard as they can. Counselors have heard from girls who are uncomfortable hugging boys but embarrassed to tell anyone. And in a culturally diverse school, officials say, families might have different views of what is appropriate.

It isn't as if hug police patrol the Kilmer hallways, Hernandez said. Usually an askance look from a teacher or a reminder to move along is enough to stop girls who are holding hands and giggling in a huddle or a boy who pats a buddy on the back. Students won't get busted if they high-five in class after answering a difficult math problem.

Typically, she said, only repeat offenders or those breaking other rules are reprimanded. "You have to have an absolute rule with students, and wiggle room and good judgment on behalf of the staff," Hernandez said.

Schools exist to educate. Besides subject area teaching, the social education of children is one of the most important functions of schools. Children must learn to function in groups in appropriate and constructive ways. They must learn how to appropriately talk to, listen to, and, yes, touch others. Teachers and administrators must serve the central place in this development and must ensure that children to do not come to serious harm.

Frankly, this policy is a cop-out and is lazy educating. In a misguided attempt to keep students from any harm, the school has abandoned all responsibility for the development of the vital social skill of appropriate touching and has instead opted to teach that touching is wrong without considering the harm that might to done to a child who is deprived the gift of friendly touch: "Usually an askance look from a teacher or a reminder to move along is enough to stop ... a boy who pats a buddy on the back." While it is important to stop the malicious plague of boys who pat their buddies on their backs, isn't it more important to engage students in the "shades of gray" that Principal Hernandez is so loath to consider? She argues that, "You have to have an absolute rule with students," but one wonders exactly how can an absolute rule have "wiggle room" and still be absolute. Perhaps students are free to wiggle all they wish as long as they don't touch during "wiggle-time." Besides, that wiggling will most certainly be eliminated as soon as the Ritalin is added to the school water-fountains. I agree with her that "good judgment on behalf of the staff" is necessary; let us hope that the staff of Kilmer Middle School shall one day demonstrate that good judgment. Until then there will be a lot of teachers looking askance at the giggling girls and at the boys patting boys on the back.


Peace
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Twins Reach Ten Months!

Twin A at ten months.



Peace
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Twins at Six Months

Twin A on the left and Twin B on the right.


Peace
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Meet the Twin Boys at Four and a Half Months

Shortly after the twin boys were born I posted brief introductions to the personalities of the newborns. What struck us most then was how different they already seemed to be. You can read the original posts here and here.

2006 was very good and very challenging to our now family of six. The twins have been a great blessing to us. Here is what they have grown into:

Twin A (the first-born and smallest)
Weighed 14 pounds and 1 ounce at his last dr's visit (just before Christmas)
Has prominent blue veins on his head
Has a crooked smile
Tends to be very stiff and intense
Only poops about once a day now (his overpooping and underpooping have been concerns)
Has been on antibiotics once
Seems to be getting another ear infection (this was chronic with his sister who took ear tubes and surgery; she just got over another one)
Is teething with nothing to show for all the drooling
Is talkative
Is mostly bald
Seems to say "ma.ma.ma.ma" when he is crying
Has beautiful blue eyes
Loves to run in place while laying on his back (especially after coming off Benadryl or while nude)
Enjoys watching TV
Has a narrower face than his brother though they are starting to look more alike
Is a fitful sleeper
Has has a clogged tear duct in his left eye since birth

Twin B (the second-born and largest)
Weighed 15 pounds and 6 ounces at his last dr's appointment (just before Christmas)
Is very floppy and laid back
Looks at you like you are the greatest thing in the world
Melts right in to whoever is holding him
Is very talkative
Is mostly bald (has a bulging vein on the back of his head; his doctor told us not to let him shave his head when gets older (for aesthetic, not medical reasons))
Enjoys watching TV
Has big beautiful blue eyes
Has a round, happy face that lights up the room
Calms down very easily (once he gets fed)
Is a very intense eater
Tries to take out his pacifier and put it back in (he has the taking out part down, but struggles with putting it back in)
Likes to be held or in visual range
Is helping me write this post
Is a manly burper
Is a good sleeper
Likes to hold onto a blanket or towel

They are both much loved by us all.

Can you tell which is which?



Peace

Bumbo Babies

The twins got Bumbo seats for Christmas. They are from South Africa and are all the rage among hip moms. I think they are pretty funny.


Don't laugh at me--you look pretty funny too!


Twin A's first girlfriend.

More photos at my Flickr account here.

Peace

Sick Boy: Updated

This is the big twin. His mother took the picture. He is going to the doctor today. He will probably be the third member of our family to be diagnosed with an ear infection. Little twin was diagnosed yesterday and three year old girl was diagnosed Monday. No one is getting much sleep right now.

Peace

UPDATE: It was not an ear or sinus infection, merely viral. Everyone in the house seems to have it.