our two are three (w/ photo overload)

today is my favorite day by a long shot. abel and oskar turned 3! celebrating with them has been more fun than i could have ever imagined.

phase one: we woke up to oskar saying, "mommy, i am three today?!" we had their birthday banner hung and presents waiting underneath. they ripped through them with gusto. upon opening their presents from lee-lee and papa, which were cool alligator papier-mache banks wrapped in protective bubbles, oskar pronounced, "ooooohhhhh! mommy, i got bubble wrap!" it's all in the little things! they were equally psyched about their retro snoopy electric toothbrushes, which i also sported when i was around their age. and they were serious team players, working together to open their joint chutes and ladders gift.







but by a long shot, their morning highlight was getting to eat the candles off their giant chocolate birthday lollipops from lee-lee and papa. i mean, is there really any better way to usher in your birthday?!



the boys burned off some of that sugar by jumping on their bubble wrap for a solid 20 minutes.



phase two of operation birthday included festivities at school. the boys were greeted with abundant "happy birthdays" and hugs by all their teachers and friends. i dropped off my camera with the teachers and asked if they could capture a few shots of the celebration. i had no idea we would get an amazing glimpse into the wonderful day the boys had with their school community.

abel got the coveted position of holding the flag during the pledge of allegiance.



the boys with their beloved teacher, ms. leti. she is truly an amazing woman and the boys love her dearly.





and here is a shot of the sugar and spice class.



phase three included a trip to nana's house where the boys were showered with new thomas trackmaster trains and tracks. the boys were BONKERS excited about their new engines!





we then finished off the night with dinner at the boys' favorite tex-mex restaurant - chuys. they ordered their own dinners - queso and chips, mac and cheese and ice cream sundaes.











what a day! we still have another celebration with friends and family on sunday for their official birthday party. but i will never forget the joy of their third birthday. we are truly blessed to have the lights of abel and oskar shining in our lives. we love you boys with all our hearts!!!

Our two are THREE!

Happy Birthday, Abel!

Happy Birthday, Oskar!

You are the lights of our lives and we love you so much.

(many pictures to follow soon)

heading for splitsville?

we're in deep contemplation, friends, and need some advice. the boys have been in a great montessori program for exactly one year now. they love their teachers, they are happy and thriving. problem is, it's about a 40 minute round trip commute, and on my days off work, that pretty much sucks. i'm also less than thrilled with the next two classes the boys will advance into. the vibe i get just passing by the rooms leaves much to be desired.

enter the montessori school one minute from our house. less than one minute, really. my curiosity finally got the better of me and i scheduled a visit before the holidays. i was seriously impressed. great facility, wonderful teachers (although one seemed a little too "in control" of everything), and did i mention it's less than ONE MINUTE from our house?!? seriously, i could walk the boys to school.

it all sounds too good to by true, no? well, the catch is they require all twins, even siblings, to be in separate classes. their logic makes sense. spliting them up fosters their individuality and autonomy without the dynamic of their twin around. unintended side effects: home life is easier because they are not in each other's faces every day. the ole' "absense makes the heart grow fonder," i guess? i totally get it and even believe it to a certain extent. i'm first in line when it comes to the philosophy of fostering individuality and sense of self. but at age three? not so convinced. i'm even less convinced of this philosophy being policy. and i think it's downright cruel to expect our kids to transition to a brand new school and, while we're at it, split them up so they don't even have each other for support.

i'm torn (no pun intended). i love so much about the school and the convenience aspect just can't be beat. it just seems like a no-brainer. i've even talked to another mom with three-year old twins at the school and she assured me her boys are thriving (although she did say they are learning totally differently and she can't figure out if it's a factor of their nature or their classroom/teacher). maybe i'm having so much trouble with it because i hate being pushed into something? i'm thinking of calling them and seeing if they can be in the same class for a transition period and then make the move after their comfortable in the new school. or is that like slowly pulling the bandaid off when it would be better just the rip it off in one felt swoop?

i've read that when it comes to splitting up twins, the only right decision is what will be best for your kids. if only i felt that intuitive at this moment. any idea, advice, experiences?

one tough cookie

it's amazing how resilient and tough these little men can be, really. so much can happen in their lives and they weather it like nothing's happening.

abel's been "sick" the past few days. i say it like that because he's had a low-grade fever and congestion and complained on and off about a sore throat and being tired, but really he's just been his normal happy-go-lucky-goofy self. so now that we are on his third day of minimal fever and with their best friends' (another set of twins) birthday in the afternoon, we decide to take abel to the doctor just to make sure we don't unleash terrible germs on an unsuspecting crowd of kids (and parents!). turns out the poor boy has strep! the doctor couldn't get over how happy he was in spite of being really sick. i had strep once. i was twenty years old and i'll never forget how miserable i was. definitely in my top three most sick moments ever.

abel has also demonstrated his masterful resiliency as we've methodically transitioned him away from his baby-comforts. on a whim one random day in november, we switched them to big beds with no preparation other than them watching jordan convert their cribs to day beds after nap. they were completely non-phased, both of them, and they've never looked back.

and then the time came for the binky. this one was a bit trickier and we were starting to think strategy - maybe a new years resolution. but the stars aligned and just before christmas the binky broke. it was a tiny tear, but enough to render it non-functional. instead of pulling out one of the other three we had as backups, i used my sinister mom-thinking and told abel it was broken and he couldn't put it in his mouth anymore. he could hold it if he wanted, but it was too broken to suck on. that ushered in two weeks of abel having the binky in his bed but not putting it in his mouth. step two involved a binky fairy (thanks to dawn!) taking the broken binky and leaving in its place a new "going engine" with tracks (aka trackmaster thomas). she would then fix the broken binky and deliver it to a new baby. it was that simple and abel has been binky-free since the first week of january.

in actuality, i think all these changes have affected me more than him. the crib and the binky were the last vestiges of "baby" around here. and to add insult to injury, abel insists we call him "abel" instead of his babyish nickname "abie." now that these things are gone, we're left with the stark reality that we have two boys in this house, and they are growing up awfully fast. as of this wednesday, i'll have two THREE year olds. i love this and i hate this. i adore this age and how much fun we have, how much we can communicate, how hilarious and easy they are, how their relationship has blossomed into a crazy friendship. jordan and i have been in so many moments over the past month and thought, "this is better than how we dreamed it would be." i hate it because, well, it only keeps going faster from here.


later days, binky!

01/01/2010

i really just wanted an excuse to write out the date today - the number combination is so cool!

happy new years to you all. wishing you a healthy, happy 2010!

and from abel and ozzy, "live every minute to its fullest; rest when you need to; and don't forget to look down sometimes!"