Cute Even Pooped

This is what I call a successful workout. After returning from Legion Park where we enjoyed all of the playground equipment, kicked a ball all around the park and ran in the spray ground, both boys fell fast asleep minutes after reaching their car seats. Once home, we carried the boys upstairs and laid them on our bed because their sheets were still damp in the dryer. They were so tired; neither woke, but only snuggled together under the warm blanket. Once we had their sheets dry and on their bed each boy was carefully transferred to his own quarters to sleep the afternoon away.

Ying and Yang

When Carol Cox first told us that her twins would trade personalities back and forth, it was a difficult concept to embrace. Now that the boys are approaching their third birthday, we have seen them do the same thing. If one dominates, the other recedes. When the laid back one begins to become more assertive, the aggressive one begins to hesitate. These are not daily cycles; they evolve over time. Perhaps they are the product of learned behavior. A year ago Benji was fearless. He would climb to the top of the couch and leap off. Perhaps after multiple injuries this reckless behavior gave him pause, because he now is much more measured. At the same time, Trey Davey, who had been more cautious in his actions, has become more confident within his comfort zone. When it comes to water activities or playground equipment, he now dives in without hesitation.

A Yeoman’s Effort

We call Benji our pee pee man because he seems to require diaper changes much more frequently than his brother. He is a very prolific water maker. If we aren’t attentive enough, his healthy bladder will make short work of the market’s best super absorbent diapers. Had he been born in the cloth diaper era, there would have been no rest for the changing pad. The child enjoys hydrating and requests milk or water often. Cause and effect produces predictable results, and any delay in addressing the issue can manufacture spectacular blowouts. This diaper put up an impressive effort, spilling not one drop, but the sheer weight of the achievement was too much for his left side’s waistband. When it let go the burden fell to the right. We caught the issue before the other side let go and probably prevented a small animal’s drowning.

Reading Already

Avid reading is a characteristic the twins inherited from their mother. As a girl, Sandy devoured books finishing 8 to 10 titles per week during her summers. She loved mysteries and prized the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Children’s Alfred Hitchcock series. She often preferred reading to other activities. While the boys can not yet read the word, they already love books. Thanks to Grandma Roe, Aunt Susan and a number of garage sales, we have amassed a large number of children’s books. The boys loved to be read to and have memorized some of their favorite books’ narratives word for word. They ask for books to read in their cribs at naptime and find flipping through the pages comforting. If their passion for books continues, they should have no problem with school.

I Found My Thrill

Through Sandy’s Mothers of Multiples’ group, we have enjoyed many new activities. Our most recent adventure was blueberries picking. The patch was covered with heavy netting to ward off hungry birds. It was fun watching the boys pick the berries, each with a technique indicative of their personalities. Benji picked one berry at a time slowly and methodically. He didn’t move around much, preferring to focus on completing a bush before advancing. By contrast, Trey Davey’s method was to grab the inside of a branch, then pull it through his fingers stripping off the berries and leaves. Most of it fell into his bucket, and some of it was edible. Sandy later picked out the leaves, stems and crushed berries. She served us the fruits of our labors over the next week’s deserts.

Fordsville Depot Museum

While on our train adventures we visited the Fordsville Depot Museum. The first rail service came here from Owensboro in 1889 thanks to the Owensboro, Falls of the Rough, and Green River Railroad. Fordsville’s second line came two years later from Irvington via The Louisville, Hardinsburg and Western Railway. When the Illinois Central Railroad took over the OFR&GR, it built Fordsville’s third line to Horse Branch in 1891 to meet IC’s mainline. In 1893, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad took possession of the LH&W. This gave the Depot four lines on the area’s two major railroads. Passenger service was discontinued in 1941 while freight train service continued through Fordsville until 1980. The museum was stocked with much local memorabilia, but offered no trains or rolling stock on display. One item the boys did love was a device that made a steam engine whistle noise when the string was pulled it.

Point and Spray

We’ve been logging a lot of sprinkler time lately with the recent series of steaming, over 90 degree days. Not only is this fun, but also good for the lawn. Typically, Trey Davey runs directly into the sprinkler’s spray without fear or hesitation, while his brother has a more measured approach testing the perimeter slowly before immersing himself. After enduring several days of Benji’s hesitation, apparently Davey decided to take the situation into his own hands. Rushing to the source of the hydration, Davey seized the opportunity to accelerate BeBe’s rain dance. Focused on his afternoon snack while standing next to the garage, Benji was totally ambushed.

Train Bound for Slumbertown

Sandy couldn’t resist snapping this Trey Davey photo as he peacefully napped. It tells quite a story. Just as he has done from a very young age, he continues sucking on his security blanket. We have two identical polka dot blankets that we alternate daily for freshness. His infant blankets are too small to cover his growing body, so we recently added a larger Thomas the Train blanket. His constant companion, the black Geotrax choo choo, usually sleeps on the dresser during naptime but made it to bed with him today. While he still likes them around, his stuffed animal friends have become less significant to him, garnering much less attention. And while both boys easily have the ability to climb out of their cribs, neither has elected to at this point. It will be interesting to see what happens when the twins no longer have the cribs to contain them.

Panther Creek Park Playground

In our quest for adventure and cheap fun we thought it would be cool to play on all the public playgrounds around us. We never realized how many local facilities there were until the boys learned to say the word “Playground”. Now they spot them everywhere, in parks, school yards, behind churches and even in the backyards of some private homes. Recently we drove outside the city to Panther Creek Park. Once unstrapped from their car seats, the boys sprinted to the playground equipment. Most of the activities were a little advanced for their size, but they enjoyed all that they could.

I’d rather go with my boots on

When Benjamin James Edds, Senior gets an idea in his head, it is difficult to dissuade him. On this day he got the bright idea to wear boots to the bath tub. Following our usual routine, we discussed why this was a bad idea, and then asked him politely to remove his boots. Following his absolute refusal, we attempted to first gently, then more forcibly remove the boots. These acts were met with blood curdling screams of loss, flailing arms and legs in protest and the obligatory big waterfall of tears. These tactics are highly effective when facing babysitters and grandparents. They often fold like cheap luggage, but we are parents, and parents must be strong even when faced by this barrage of protest. Parents must also learn to pick their battles, so he kept the boots on.

Sons and Father’s Day

In all the confusion and activity of the boy’s half-birthday trip to see Thomas the Train, we forgot to have a birthday party. Since we were getting together with the Edds Grands on Sunday for Father’s Day anyhow, we decided to combine the two events. Certainly Pa and I enjoyed the cards and gifts we received, but watching the boys opening their gift bags made our day. Following the Thomas the Train theme, the boys received Thomas books, t-shirts and videos. They also received large Thomas fleece blankets. An unexpected bonus was the blanket’s packaging which fit perfectly as party hats.

Time for a Cool Change

The weather certainly has been unusual this summer. After a very wet spring, we have experienced a prolonged period of extreme heat and humidity. Wanting the boys to vigorously exercise at least one full hour per day, we have taken them outside at 7:00 a.m. several mornings to play. This might not be popular with the neighbors, but it’s the coolest part of the day. Usually, we avoid the evenings because it is still very hot and the mosquitoes are feeding, but on this steamy late afternoon we thought it would be fun to play in the cool water. So we filled the pool, moved a slide over and turned on the sprinkler. The twins needed no encouragement to jump right in, literally.

Rails to Trails

After a nice Mexican lunch in Bowling Green, we waved goodbye to Grandma and Granddaddy Roe as they turned south for home. Not being in a hurry, we turned west towards Russellville while the boys enjoyed their afternoon nap. I had read that the community had a caboose on display, but found none on inspection. We then turned north and found this green caboose near Powderly. Using abandoned rail lines, Muhlenberg County built a six mile paved trail connecting the communities of Greenville, Powderly, and Central City. To solute the trail’s railroad heritage, they added a retired Paducah and Louisville caboose. The PAL is a Class II railroad that still operates freight service between Paducah and Louisville, Kentucky. After inspecting the caboose up close, we vented a little excess steam along the trail.

Taking the long way home

After two full days in Bardstown, we rose early on the third day, wished Great Aunt Roberta and Uncle John goodbye, checked out of our hotel and hit the road. Since Granddaddy and Grandma Roe were heading south towards home, we made plans to meet them in Bowling Green at the Historic Railway Museum. It wasn’t exactly on our way home, but we had enjoyed our visit there just a few weeks before, and we were anxious to see it again and share it with the Grands. Sandy and I spoke to the boys and asked them to be quiet during the tour. Even though they were thrilled to be on the train and sometimes became overly excited, for the most part they were much more behaved than our previous visit.

Chasing Down Kisses

She knew they planned to leave early Monday morning, didn’t expect to see us again this trip and wanted more toddler kisses, so upon hearing us loudly returning from the pool area Great Aunt Roberta Hand popped out of her hotel room to intercept us in the hall. Our boys’ response was to run directly at her with hugs, but played cagey with the kisses. No problem, Roberta knows the game. Getting kisses from little boys is work. She and Great Uncle John raised Sandy’s only male cousin, Robert, but haven’t yet become grandparents. Until that time comes, we welcome the opportunity to let them practice on us.

Inviting Looking Water

After another full day in Bardstown, we again decided to take advantage of the hotel’s indoor pool. On our way downstairs, we had stopped to say hello to Grandma and Granddaddy Roe and Great Uncle John and Great Aunt Roberta Hand, who were relaxing in a second floor lounge area. Once in the pool the boy’s excitement must had resonated through the walls because we soon noticed an audience of our Grands and Greats waving to us from the upstairs observation window. It wasn’t long before they joined us in the pool area. Aunt Roberta began taking photos while Grandma jumped in to play. Everyone had fun and marveled over the twins’ rapid swimming skill advancement.

Totally Without Reservations

Among the various log cabins and frontier structures at Bardstown’s Pioneer Village were a couple of authentic teepees. As the twins approached these with curiosity, an extraordinary realization hit me; the boys have no idea what Native Americans are. In fact, their only exposure to cowboys is through the movie Toy Story. Now this is an amazing cultural change, because Cowboys and Indians were the foremost fascination for their grandparent’s generation. They were the pop stars of that time. Children read books about the old west, watched western movies, ask for guns, holsters, bows and arrows for Christmas and played Cowboys and Indians imagination games. For various reasons, these old west icons have lost popularity among today’s generation. Maybe when they learn that their sixth Great Grandmother was a Cherokee Indian, it will inspire them to learn more about Native Americans.

Just Milling Around

After visiting My Old Kentucky Home, we bid farewell to Granny and Pa who took Cousin Levi back to meet his parents. The rest of us explored Bardstown’s Pioneer Village. It is a reproduction of a colonial village, with original cabins from the county that date from 1776 to 1820. Exploring the settlement was a great opportunity to stretch our legs and soak up a little history. The boys are too young to appreciate the significance of these simple buildings, but we were touched by the simplicity and labor intensity of life 200 years ago. When one considers the technological advances in just their grandparents’ life-spans, imagine the advances the twins will see during their lifetimes.

My Old Kentucky Home

In 1795, Judge John Rowan built Federal Hill on his plantation near Bardstown, Kentucky. During his life, the mansion became a meeting place for local politicians and hosted several visiting dignitaries. After an 1852 Federal Hill visit, Rowan’s cousin, Steven Foster, wrote the popular song My Old Kentucky Home. In 1922, Federal Hill was donated to the commonwealth to become a park. Six years later Foster’s tune became the official state song. The home has appeared on U.S. postage stamps and on the Kentucky state quarter issued in 2002. The day after our Thomas visit, we gathered the family for a tour of My Old Kentucky Home and breathed in the rich history.

Riding the Bench

Our half-birthday party started with a two-hour trip to the Kentucky Railway Museum to have a Day Out with Thomas. To make the most of this opportunity, we knew it couldn’t be a day trip because we lose the afternoons to the twins’ nap. To have the whole Saturday morning we need to start our day near the museum. Once we decided to spend Friday night in Bardstown, we searched for other attractions to see and found enough to warrant a second night’s stay. On Sunday morning we drove over to visit My Old Kentucky Home. These two good boys waited on the bench for our museum tour to begin while Benji lead Daddy on an exploration of the plantation’s gardens.

Indoor Swimming

After our big Thomas morning and afternoon nap, we took advantage of Hampton Inn’s indoor swimming pool. The boys love water and had already gone swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, the Lake of the Ozarks and Grandma and Granddaddy Roe’s outdoor pool. This was their first dip in an indoor pool, where no sun glared, no wind blew, no fish nibbled and no sharp rocks cut. The water was clear, clean and comfortable. It must have looked inviting because Trey Davey immediately walked to the pool’s edge and fearlessly stepped in an area well above his head. The adults nearly had heart failure, but he was wearing a swimsuit with built-in floatation and immediately bobbed to the surface with a big smile. We had never swum with Pa, Granny and Levi before, and the three boys enjoyed paddling from one adult to another.

Pride of the Fleet

Here we stand before the official steam locomotive of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was so designated by an act of the state legislature. It is also listed on the national registry of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Built in 1905 by Rogers Locomotive Works, this 4-6-2 Pacific type locomotive was numbered 152 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The boys and Cousin Levi, all dressed in identical Thomas the Train outfits, each got the opportunity to climb aboard the engine and ring its bell. The Kentucky Railway Museum operates this steam locomotive on select weekends throughout the summer and fall for tourist excursions. It might be fun to bring everyone back for a ride behind old 152.

Thomas Train Ride

This was it, the big event, a real train ride lead by Thomas the Train. Our departure time was 10:40 a.m., and we moved early to our departure gate. We boarded Coach 884, which was originally built for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas (KATY) railroad in 1930. It was a 42 seat coach with central heating and very welcomed air conditioning. I’m really not sure the boys understood that we were on a real train, and they clung close while exploring this new experience. When the conductor came to collect our tickets, Pa called him by name. Frank had once been a sales rep who called on our store 30 years ago. He now is the Museum Board’s Chairman. Once the tickets were collected, we were under way. The train traveled about 10 minutes down the tracks through the beautiful rural countryside, then reversed directions to return to the station.

Station to Station

The Day Out With Thomas tour was certainly well organized. We passed a merchandise tent on the way in and learned during orientation that if we visited each station and received a stamp on our card, we would receive a free gift on our way out. The stations included Thomas storytelling, a photo with Sir Topham Hatt, a magic show, live music, bounce houses, model trains, and an opportunity to board a real train led by Thomas. As you would imagine, the venue was packed with little boys accompanied by parents. The first station we visited was a play area stocked with toy Thomas trains and tracks. The twins and Cousin Levi loved the area, and Trey Davey would have been content to spend his entire day there. When it was time to move along, he was devastated. He couldn’t imagine anything could be as good as that.

A Day Out With Thomas

Since the twins’ birthday falls near Christmas, we decided to celebrate their half birthday in the middle of the year. Several parents of older preschoolers recommended that we go see Thomas the Train when he appeared nearby. When I discovered that he was scheduled to be in Kentucky on the twin’s half birthday, we began making plans. We invited both sets of grandparents, and they invited Cousin Levi and Great Aunt Roberta and Uncle John. Given the boys’ love for trains, everyone really looked forward to the event. The Kentucky Railway Museum is located in New Haven, about 90 minutes from our home. Rather than commute, we booked rooms at nearby Bardstown, Kentucky so we would be fully rested for our adventure.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 2 Years 6 Months

This is our third half birthday, which means in theory we are half way through the ‘terrible twos’. If this is the worst, then we know we will survive this year. Sure, each boy has had his moments, tested our limits and seen considerable penalty box time, but we can see them learning and adjusting their behavior. Both are also growing physically. Trey Davey is almost 37 inches tall, and Benji is about an inch behind. Both weigh about 34 lbs in dry diapers. Their vocabularies and memories are exploding. They are constantly identifying objects and will repeat an item’s name over and over until you acknowledge them. If you correct them - no that isn’t a tractor, it’s a back hole - then they will remember and use that name the next time. They are inquisitive, uninhibited and we may never answer all their questions, but we’ll try.

Horse Branch Caboose

Every other Tuesday, the boys and I go for a long afternoon drive while Julie deep cleans our house. This week we drove to the community of Horse Branch to see their caboose. Horse Branch is just a few miles from where Great Granddaddy Embry grew up in Baisetown. In 1882, a railroad was established in Owensboro running south. The first section extending to Fordsville was completed in 1887 and the final section reaching Horse Branch opened in 1893, where it connected to Illinois Central Railroad’s mainline. When these railroads merged in 1897, Owensboro was on the IC. While passenger service was dropped in 1928, daily freight trains ran the line until 1981. In Owensboro, the line passed 50 yards from our hardware store, and as a boy I enjoyed counting the freight cars and waving at the cabooses.

Just Skimming the Surface

Since our vacation theme was Playgrounds, Trains and Mexican Food, Sandy suggested we visit Sunset Park in Evansville. She had always wanted to go there, and this was our first best opportunity. It is located downtown not far from where she used to work at Bristol-Myers Squibb. She enjoyed following the progress of the community volunteer groups who designed, purchased and assembled the equipment. Many of the playground’s stations are designed to salute Evansville landmarks and institutions. Of course, my favorite was the hydroplane. The boys loved the unique activity centers and happily crawled, climbed and slid down every station several times while we were there.

Tanks for your service

Recently we visited the Livermore, Kentucky Riverfront Park and saw their Army tank and memorial walkway. The M60A3 tank represents the Livermore unit of The Kentucky National Guard. Great Uncle Richard Edds served in this unit during the early 1970’s. Grandpa Edds also served the Kentucky National Guard as a tank commander a decade earlier, but was assigned to the Owensboro unit. Both units were called into active duty on October 28, 1961 during the Berlin Crisis. This was just weeks after Pa and Granny were married, and they were forced to move to Fort Stewart, Georgia to begin combat readiness. Thankfully, tensions stabilized and they were released from active duty August 12, 1962. On returning home, Granny learned she was expecting. This was the twin’s first exposure to military equipment and they were curious about the big green machine.

Strawberry Fields Endeavor

Another Owensboro Mothers of Multiples play date was held today at Reid’s Orchard. Guests were invited to pick our own strawberries. This was something I had never done before, nor had any real interest in ever doing, but found the whole experience to be surprisingly fun. We gave each child a half-peck basket and took them out into the strawberry patch. Other people had already picked the plants closest to the road, so we walked way down the row until we found some big, plump strawberries. Each boy’s style was different. Benji moved very little. He systematically picked one plant clean before advancing to the next. Trey Davey had more of a snatch and go method. He picked a few big ones from each plant while continually moving and exploring for more. The fruits of our labors adorned our dinner plates for the next week.