obsession

to say the boys are obsessed with trucks is an understatement. at this point, our world revolves around identifying every truck on the road, in every book, and on articles of clothing. it's not enough to be riding the toy truck. no siree, we have to be looking at the truck book while riding the truck toy. and no, it's not enough to wear pajamas with trucks and other motorized vehicles. you have to wear said articles of clothing while sucking on a matchbox truck. this is clearly a case where nature has taken over. it's definitely in these boys dna.

walk about

the boys have become hard core neighborhood walkers. we typically take a 40 minute walk around the hood in the morning and the boys can walk half of it on their own. and it's pure delight for them. i honestly think it's their favorite thing to do. they stop and touch all the leaves and flowers, inspect all the major cracks and stains in the sidewalk, wave to the passing cars and cyclists, and say hello to all the neighborhood cats. our family walks, especially during the weekend when we have the time to really relish them, are some of our most treasured times. hopefully we maintain it as a ritual for many years to come.

family foto

it's a rare thing to find pictures of the four of us. i hunt through iphoto in hopes of finding a good family pic from different stages of the boys' lives and there's slim pickins'. so with j's mom in town this past week, i was determined to have some pics taken of all of us. i knew it wouldn't be easy. out of about 40 pics in 3 different shoots, we managed to get ONE good shot:



now, i say this pic is good because we're all sort of looking at the camera, no one is crying, it's not blurry and jordan and i actually look decent.

here are some of the pics we got to choose from. you'll note that the oz-man was having an especially rough time of it, due i think to his molars. or perhaps the site of the camera made him want to vomit?



i don't even have the words to capture this expression. it speaks for itself:



obviously oz doesn't want to be on my shoulders:



getting closer, but distracted by the car driving by:



and last but not least, my personal fav:



i think there's a very good reason professional photographers get paid the big bucks to capture those pics where everyone is smiling and looking fabulous and i think one of them is going to get a call from me very, very soon.

prime spot

the boys have decided that the coffee table affords them the best view while watching the backyardigans. where do they come up with this stuff?

food fight

for jordan's deceptively easy lamb kafta recipe, and to read about our latest foodie trials and tribulations, check out my recent post over at how do you do it!

you say potato

to say our boys have their own individual styles is an understatement. they just approach life differently, and it shows in interesting and funny ways.

- abie goes down stairs on his butt (always) and oz either crawls down backwards, side steps while holding the door frame, or (when a small enough step) will just barrel down forward. it's hysterical watching them go down the step at the same time to get to the garage.

- oz signs everything and abel verbalizes everything

- oz moans really loudly when we put him to sleep and abie is quiet as a mouse

- abie loves him some binkie and oz has nothing to do with it

- abie gives open mouthed kisses and oz does the peck

- oz is a terror when he eats w/ food going everywhere; abel is neat and tidy and gets the spoon in his mouth every time

- ozzy is right handed and abel is an obvious lefty

brotherly love

affection is exploding out of these boys lately. j and i now receive awesome kisses on the lips, hugs galore, as do lots of objects around our house including matilda, the couch and ottoman, blankies, stuffed animals, etc. but last week the boys' realized that they can shower each other with affection. sure, they've hugged before, but it's becoming a regular thing nowadays.

last week in the tub, abie was standing in front of a sitting oskar. oz looked up, saw abie's penis, and touched it. jordan said matter of factly, "you can touch your own penis, but not abel's." within 60 seconds the boys were sitting facing each other and, laughing, leaned in to give each other a big open-mouthed kiss. and then it happened. oz slipped abie the tongue, which made them laugh even more.

but this increased physical contact comes in all forms, and while sweetness is behind lots of it, frustration is behind some of it too. the boys are certainly sorting out the concept of "that's mine, this is yours" as well as taking turns on favorite toys and books. we're reffing lots of MMA matches around the house lately and they are both totally guilty. we really don't have one offender, but rather they have demonstrated that they can equally well tackle, pin, pull hair and clothing, get each other in the guard and smack each other on head. we really try not to laugh and find ourselves bitting our tongues a lot.

on the whole, i'm pretty impressed by how well they get along and how much they enjoy playing with each other. they have a really caring, empathetic relationship and they are constantly doing nice things for one another. if one goes into their room to get his blanket, he always brings his brother's blanket for him. if one goes into the kitchen for milk or water, he always brings his brother's cup too (and offers it to him!). they frequently hold hands and play footsie in the stroller. it melts my heart in ways i never imagined.

it ends as fast as it starts, the anatomy of a fight:

oz steals the wagon so abie pulls his hair


oz retaliates with a double fisted shirt pull



oz takes abie to the ground


they turn a corner and abie pulls oz in for a kiss


smiling and laughing, they're back up and abie is pushing oz around in the stolen wagon


hmmmmmm...i wonder where they learn this behavior?

(note bald man holding his best friend richard in his guard)

balancing act

abie's new thing is balancing objects on himself and matilda. two nights ago he spent a good 30 minutes following mati around the house, balancing cups on her back. and last night in the car i heard him cracking himself up. i looked back to find his book balanced on his head. over and over and over again, balancing the book on his head and cracking up. calling all pageant contestants, abel charges $100/hour for lessons on good posture.

MIA

i know, i know. it's been a while since i posted and i'm sorry. really i am! it's not for lack of things going on here, i promise. but these days it's been difficult to schedule time on the computer. with the boys solidly on one nap, i find i have to use that break even more efficiently now. and jordan is getting his CFP (certified financial planner) which involves him glued to our mac 3 hours every night. truth be told, i've enjoyed taking this break from technology! but as i run through my memory of all the fun things going on with the boys, i realize i've got to get my bunz in gear or else 16 months will have came and went. so get ready, here comes the barrage...

random moments

last night oz pulled his slippers out from the drawer and desperately tried to get them on his feet. mind you, the boys have worn these slippers maybe twice in their lives, a good seven months ago, when they were in chicago for christmas. austin just isn't the place for wearing fleece booties most of the year. so i put the plush cozy shoes on oz and he was in all his glory. it was one of the cuter things i've seen - little boy with pot belly in footed pjs and big slippers running around the house.

life is so much fun with two lil' boys who turn 16 months old today!






p.s. the green liquid in his cup his green machine veggie drink, because i just have to get some kind of veggies in these kids some way. they love it!

spontenaity

we walk with the boys every morning. it's been our ritual since the guys were just a few weeks old. i remember in the very early days walking around our neighborhood pre-dawn. yah, we had some early risers on our hands. these days our walk starts sometime around 8am, after breakfast and getting ready for the day, but before hard core play. with the advent of walking, our walk has evolved. now we have some running around time in the front yard, followed by abel leading us on a little "pre-walk" walk down the side walk, before we fully embark on our 30-45 minute stroller chasse.

this morning we stepped outside to find our neighbors sprinkler in full force. four eyes lit up. two eyes gave them an affirming "go for it." another two eyes looked at the affirming two, rolled, and said without saying, "what are you getting us all in to."

i love spontaneity and i try to give into it whenever i can, especially if the repercussions are within reason and easy to clean up. jordan is more of a carefully planned person, neat and clean. i'm a roll in the mud kind-of gal. so with my positive nod, the boys charged forward for their morning frolic in the water. it ended up being the perfect start to a very hot day in texas.

nanny 911

we finally did it! lupe joined our house this past monday and will be hangin' with the boys in the morning for three days a week. i have to admit it, being a stay-at-home-mom with twins was starting to make me a little batty, and after talking to jordan, we quickly decided to get some help so i could regain a little "me" time. i can't tell you how important this is. because while i love being mom, i love being tracey-who-is-a-mom even more. i plan to use this time for myself each week wisely. i want to regain an old hobby or two (rock climbing will be one of them). and i want to start giving back to my community, which has been sorely lacking. i also want to spend more time with my friends!

lupe is a wonderful nanny who already works two days a week with a fellow family in the neighborhood. she speaks spanish exclusively with the boys, which we are overjoyed about. she is kind and gentle and has an amazing way with oz and abie. they warmed up to her immediately and started putting on a show for her (they do this with guests in our house). by friday, she was on her own with them and i swear, the guys could have cared less that i wasn't there. oh, and get this! she nannied for twin boys for 6 years and was ecstatic to have twins back in her life.

i feel like this is such a great development for all of us. the boys need to be comfortable spending time without me during the day, and they will be with a wonderful caregiver and learning spanish to boot! and i already feel like i have regained a sense of myself in this short time. now if i can just get jordan to stop worrying about our check book...

summertime...

and the livin' is easy.

welcome to pukesville

we had one very good thing and two very bad things happen this past week. the good first. lee-lee came into town last weekend and we got to celebrate her birthday and mother's day with her! the first bad news. we found abel last sunday morning covered in puke and within a few hours he was in the throws of full blown stomach flu. the second bad news. oz got it two days later.

it's been pretty miserable around here lately with projectile everything coming out of our two toddlers. and it's just plain weird when you witness your energetic, happy, playful, running around boys turn into wet noodles without enough strength to even stand up and walk. abel basically slept on me for two straight days and oz slept on lee-lee and dad. and just when we thought they were coming out of it, oz decided to throw in one more day of non-stop puking yesterday, just for good measure. ugh! so far today seems pretty good and he's kept down some frozen waffles and strawberries. cross your fingers...

all i can say is, once again, thank god lee-lee was here all week. this is her second time being our saving grace with sick twins. she got in two great days with the guys before this knocked them out and here are the pictures to prove it!


lee-lee models her new b-day hat

we had a nice celebration for lee-lee on saturday - j made his famous smoked brisket!

lee-lee brought the boys my old synthesizer from when i was seven. i can't believe she kept it all these years! it is a huge hit with the boys.

oz modeling his new chef's hat.

"hey dude, you got a big puffy thing on your head!"

oz fell in love with the hat. he kept bringing it to lee-lee for her to put it on his head. he even wore it during the party! here's oz and the boys' bf kai.

the chair

the boys new thing is to climb into our arm chair, hang out and play with the "texas" pillow. it's a pretty cool pillow and they make them for all 50 states, plus cities, regions and countries! i brought up the boys' fascination with this arm chair to my girlfriend this morning and she astutely said, "well, you know that's where you breastfed them for 13 months." makes sense!


ozzy demonstrating his texas pride - he already loves the longhorn


brotherly stare-down



half the fun of getting up is getting down!


abie is the king of expressions. here he says, "puhleese mom. of course i know what i'm doing."