Instructor Training

When Granddaddy was in the Navy he learned to fly jet airplanes. After the service, he took that skill to Trans World Airlines and became a commercial pilot. During certain periods of his career he worked at TWA’s Training Center in Kansas City teaching other pilots the techniques for flying large commercial airliners. Given this extensive background, teaching the twins the techniques for operating their new Thomas the Train toys on Saturday was child's play for all ages.

Remembering Great, Great Aunt Jane

Jane Schott, of Indianapolis, passed away Saturday morning in her Central Avenue home after enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with her family. She was 83. Knowing that she was in diminishing health, we took the opportunity four weeks ago to visit her. Jane was very found of the twins and asked to see them. Previously, we visited her in 2007 when Sandy was very pregnant and again in 2009 when the boys were 15 months old. During our 2007 visit, Jane showed us the scrapbook Sandy’s great grandmother Schott had prepared for her son Charles, Jane’s husband. Charles’ mother had written stories beside each photo laid out chronologically through his life. While Jane was not the author or the subject of this work, she was our link to this family history and in doing so provided us with the inspiration for this very blog. God Bless you Aunt Jane.

The Icing

Sandy’s birthday party masterpiece may have been a piece of cake, but it was by no means easy. She found the idea on a website and ambitiously decided to give it a try. Baking the cake, slicing it into sections and assembling it into a train form weren’t the hardest steps for our engineer. Applying the icing was much more challenging. The red icing ran and the detailing and lettering were tedious. Sandy used licorice sticks for the train’s funnel and side bumpers and whole Oreo cookies for the wheels. Crushed Oreos made realistic looking coal for our steamer. When she had real difficulty icing the face, I removed a plastic Thomas face from a toy and it fit perfectly. It was the perfect cake for our “T” party, and it tasted great too!

Our "T" Party

In 2009, populists, conservatives and libertarians began protesting massive U.S. government spending, and these actions were labeled the Tea Party movement. On this day in 2010, grandparents, parents and boys gathered to celebrate the twins’ third birthday one week early, and the “T” in our party stood for “Thomas the Tank Engine”. Thomas was everywhere. He was on our cups, on our plates, on our napkins and on our cake. He was on our balloons, on our hats, on our signs and tablecloth. The twins received some very nice gifts from their grandparents before being presented with a large Thomas toy box filled with Thomas toys, each with a unique ability. One played records, one was a flashlight, one would go when you pushed down the driver’s head and another would go when you blew a whistle. It was a noisy, festive event with no protests.

Groom and Doom

Nail clipping is right up there with haircuts on Trey Davey’s least favorite list. He hates it. Perhaps he believes these activities invade his personal space or cramp his grooming preferences. Who knows, but he has consistently resisted these actions from the beginning. Every grooming experience is a wresting match, and this little boy is strong. Clipping nails is a delicate procedure under the best conditions.  Trying to trim his tiny little toenails on one pumping foot while his other is being pushed into my kidney is nearly an impossible task. The process of trimming Benji’s toe and finger nails takes about five minutes, while Davey’s grooming may take three times longer due to his squirming and screaming protests. I hope he grows out of it, but if you ever see Davey with shoulder length hair and nails, you’ll know he got too big for me to handle.

Happy Thanksgiving!

These photos encapsulate the very most important things in our lives. First, we have each other, Sandy and I, and it is a match.com made in heaven. Then after so many years and prayers the Lord blessed us with twin boys who are happy, healthy and our lives’ delight. We are blessed to have our four parents who are healthy and fabulously happy grandparents. Al and Lisa Bell represent the best of our many wonderful friends. Their support and encouragement has been steadfast through our lives. Our family room’s ancestral photo collection represents the good names and traditions that we want to pass on to our boys. We are thankful for our attractive, comfortable home where our cupboards have never been bare. With so much to be thankful for, it has become our family’s tradition to join hands and thank God for our blessings at every meal not just on Thanksgiving.

Clean One Liners

It is interesting to listen to Grandma Roe’s observations about the boys’ developments. With consistent visits about every 6 to 8 weeks over the last three years, she has noticed their advances better than we have, seeing them every day. One of the activities she enjoys most on every visit is giving the boys a bath. It is one of the few places where she can contain their energies and talk to them. What amazed her on this visit was the length of their sentences and their growing vocabulary. She was pleased to hear Trey Davey asked her “hey Grandma, what are you doing?” and Benji suggest “how about Benji James Edds Senior do it, not Grandma?” referring to sticking letters to the wall. No stand up comic could have tickled her more.

Welcome Chesney!

Today, Aunt Kristin and Uncle Wes welcomed their first child, Chesney Kallan Price, into the world. She was born at 5:36 p.m. MST in St. Marks Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah. At birth, Chesney weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 19 inches long. Her due date was December 6, a day after the twins’ birthday. The potential of these overlapping birthdays provided Grandma and Granddaddy Roe many birthday celebration concerns. However, Chesney’s two-week early birth created a nice grandchild birthday separation for the grands’ future travels. Chesney is Trey Davey and Benji’s fourth cousin joining Christine and Tyler on the Roe side and Levi on the Edds side.

Six one way, half a dozen another

As toilet training began, my cost-accountant’s mind began to calculate the savings we would enjoy once diapers were no longer a part of our lives. Those preliminary numbers were exciting, then I realized; no more wet wipes or diaper genie refills would be required either. My rough estimates were about a $120 a month savings. What a vacation we could have with all this extra money. Then, I began to watch the boys. After each hourly potty deposit, each boy would pour the contents into the toilet and enjoy a celebratory flush. With two boys, that’s an extra 24 flushes per day. Plus, each boy allows the sink faucet to run as he thoroughly washes his hands after each flush, 24 times a day. Soon I realized my diaper savings were going to be transferred to my water bill, and my vacation plans went literally down the drain.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Except for Cousin Levi’s wonderful addition to our little viewing party, all the environmental factors for this year’s Owensboro-Daviess County Christmas Parade were the same as the previous two years. We enjoyed the same cozy second-floor office view with Pa and Granny that we had before, and things started off much the same with each boy sitting still in a window box and watching the parade with one of the adults. But, before too long, each lost interest and began to squirm and wiggle. Trey Davey wanted to wander off and play with his trains, and Benji continually wanted to leave to explore the restroom.  While very good, the parade was admittedly far from captivating. Still, in the coming year the boys will need to work on developing the discipline to sit still at events till the very end, which often is the very best part.

Catching That Train

On Saturday we drove to Evansville to take our Christmas card photograph.  Since trains have played such an important part in our lives over the last year, we thought they would make the perfect backdrop for our photo. We chose the Evansville Museum of Transportation because it was one of the first trains we visited and because the train is covered and clean. We chose an excellent morning to visit, beating the crowd and practically having the place to ourselves. The staff allowed us to set up our props and even snapped the photos once we were in place. After all that standing still for the photographs, the boys needed to run off all their excess steam.

Synco-pee-tion

The sight of both boys watching TV while sitting on the potty has become a very familiar scene at our house this week. As we continue potty training, our routine of sitting them on the potty a few minutes each hour has been unpopular but successful. The process of interrupting their play, getting their pants off, forcing them to sit still and go, march to the bathroom, flush the contents, wash hands, get their pants back on and return to play can take five to 20 minutes. Just as it has been throughout their childhood development, keeping the twins’ schedule synchronized has been a necessity in order for the caregivers to get anything else done.

Child Proven

Pa and Granny came over recently to babysit, and we had just sat down for dinner when my cell phone rang. Pa wanted to know how to load the movie player so they could watch a video. I suggested they needed to remove the child proof latch from the TV cabinet. He said Trey Davey had already done that and opened the doors. I described where the tape ejection button was located, and he said Davey had already removed the old video and Benji had inserted the new one. I described which remote control belonged to the TV and where the “On” button was located. He asked Benji where the remote was and Benji found it, turned on the TV and handed the controller to him. Pa said it still wasn’t working.  I suggested trying channel 3, and he said, “That did it. It’s the only thing they missed.”

Big Boy Briefs

These briefs are the most prized possession our boys have this week. They represent a progression from baby to boy. Only children mature enough to control their bladders are allowed to dress in underwear. Only parents who trust their children’s maturity consent to the diaper retirement. Benji and Trey Davey know this is a big deal, and they enjoy the praise they receive each time they choose the potty rather than their underwear. After the initial morning transition to underwear, there has been only one accident in the briefs. That incident was very upsetting to the offender because he really didn’t want to soil his Thomas underwear. Before long, wearing underwear will be as taken for granted as walking and talking, but it is the big news this week.

Give That Boy a Medal

Our Sunday morning had been filled with nearly a dozen potty accidents by our two boys. The “cold turkey” potty training strategy we had adopted was beginning to look like a complete failure. It was just before lunch and we were all exhausted when Benji said he had to pee-pee.  This time before he wet his pants, he made it to the pot. After he finished emptying his bladder, he was surprised to find that he had also emptied his bowels. This achievement earned him the medal his mother had promised if he poo-pooed in the potty. The one he selected had a yellow ribbon and said “Super” on the medallion. Benji was very proud of his medal and refused to take it off all day.

Mommy’s Patience Rewarded

When the boys got up from their naps Sunday afternoon, Mommy was determined to potty train her boys. She allowed them to play any video they wanted if they would sit on their potty while they watched. Her theory was they needed to sit still and relax, and the only time they did that was while watching Thomas the Train videos. Her first success came when Benji peed several ounces just after he finished his milk. Davey watched as we cheered on Benji and presented him with a sticker. Davey was resistant to participate, but Mommy sat down next to him and patiently encouraged him to relax and enjoy the movie. He was so engrossed in Thomas’ adventures that he didn’t even notice he was filling his potty. He was surprised and delighted by his achievement and his first sticker.

The Gauntlet

Today we have run the proverbial gauntlet between two strong-willed children in full resistance to our “cold turkey” potty training efforts. Just after they woke up we replaced their diapers with Thomas the Train underwear, placed their potty chairs in the family room and told them “big boys potty on the toilet, not in their pants”. Within minutes Benji said “uh-oh!” as a puddle formed at his feet. Mommy was quickly on the spot with her basket stocked with cloth towels, paper towels, disinfectant wipes and spray. Daddy stripped off his wet pants, set him on the pot and then provided dry clothes. No sooner had we set a dry Benji loose then Davey was standing in his own puddle, and so it went all morning back and forth with five accidents each. All four of us were exhausted by nap time.

An Accident Waiting to Happen

We have been trying to potty train the boys. Benji has shown interest; Trey Davey has not. Benji’s constant requests to go the bathroom may have had more to do with him wanting to explore beyond the family room than actually using the head. When asked whether he wanted to go to the potty, Davey would simply say “no thanks”. One of Sandy’s OMOM friends told her that she had gone “cold turkey” with her twins. She replaced the diapers with underwear and after about two days of messes, the children got the message. We jumped on that idea this weekend. In preparation, Sandy purchased 26 pairs of Thomas the Train underwear, a bundle of paper towels, a large supply of wet wipes, extra laundry detergent and a mattress pad to cover the couch. We tried to cover every contingency should this weekend not go to pot.

Hanging Out at The Park

With Carol taking a few vacation days and the weather unseasonably warm, I took the boys to play this morning at Legion Park. We joined about four other families there, all with children about the same age, because this time of year older children are in school. As I sat back and watched our boys play with their contemporaries, I realized just how much they have advanced. Their strength, coordination and confidence on the playground equipment have developed remarkably from the level they possessed in the early spring. Both boys are really exerting themselves now, pulling themselves up with their arms and climbing with their legs. Their social skills have also developed, introducing themselves, conversing and sometimes arguing with the older kids. They are no longer passively swinging or simply sliding. They are now actively playing and exercising.

Happy Birthday Aunt Susan

Have you ever seen the side of a train used as a billboard? We haven’t either, but I know two boys who think that it is a good idea. Then they could share the big news that it is Aunt Susan’s birthday. She lives in California with our cousins Christine and Tyler, and while we didn’t have the opportunity to see her this year, we look forward to our next visit. Aunt Susan understands little boys, having raised Cousin Tyler, and knows just what interests us. She passed on to us several of Tyler’s coolest toddler toys and purchased a GeoTrax train set for us last Christmas. Maybe one day we can travel to California and visit them at their home. Since every trend seems to begin in “The Sunshine State”, maybe we can ignite the Caboose Billboard craze.

Scratch Another Goal Achieved

Maybe we needed just another week outside to practice. One goal the boys failed to achieve this summer was peddling a tricycle. Our neighbors next door, the Roberts, give us this tricycle earlier in the spring, and I adjusted the seat all the way forward so our boys’ short legs could reach the pedals. Each boy enjoyed sitting in the seat and pushing the trike forward with their feet against the pavement, but resisted using the pedals for motion. This week’s unseasonably warm temperatures allowed the boys to play outside a little more and this additional time made all the difference. Carol was the one who coached them today and was there when they made their pedaling breakthrough.

Potty Training could be worse

When I saw this photo taken earlier this summer at Hilliard Ohio’s Historic Village, it had new relevance for me in our current potty training environment and provided a new prospective on our task. We have it so easy. Sandy and I have never suffered outhouses, having always lived in homes with indoor plumbing.  But in their childhoods, Pa and Granddaddy did live in homes with outdoor facilities, which caused me to think – What was potty training like then? A quick Google search reminded me of the outhouse’s indoor partner, the chamber pot. My continued research found dozens of historic chamber pot designs, and I noted their similarity to our little plastic training toilets. Also, I learned the word “potty” was a nickname for the chamber pot. So I suppose Pa and Granddaddy potty trained just like their grandsons, only without the motion activated music and applause sound effects.

Going for the Gold

Sandy read that potty training could be achieved through using incentives. She made refrigerator posters for each child with their names on it and told them they would receive a sticker for their board each time they pottied. Benji cheered and crowed the first time he received a sticker for urinating. After receiving a few more stickers, Benji attempted to circumvent the rules by claiming a sticker each time he deposited only a few drops. He protested mightily when his mother cried foul. Trey Davey was unimpressed by the stickers and refused to participate. Upping the anti, Sandy purchased Thomas the Train stickers for successful #1 potties and award medals for #2 potties. This motivated Davey to try, but he found only limited success due likely to performance anxiety. So far, no one has medaled in the poopy competition.

Blog #1100

When Uncle Stephen was about eight years old, I can remember him asking our parents to tell us stories about when we were little boys. I suppose we all ask our parents these things, especially as our early childhood memories fade. Most of the stories become part of a family’s oral history and if not retold repeatedly are lost. A few family stories were written down occasionally, captured in letters or journals, but these documents were commonly lost over time. Just as technology replaced the plow with the tractor, so has the internet replaced letter and journal pages with email, social networking sites and web pages. Sandy and I created this blog to share our stories with distant family and friends, and we are saving and preserving these blogs so that our boys and their children and grandchildren may know all the stories about Benji and Davey’s childhood.

Daddy’s Rocket Launcher

After almost a year of watching Sandy and the boys make train layouts out of GeoTrax, I decided to try and build something myself. Since the boys enjoyed watching their trains coast down their two-story high mountain ramps, I wondered if I could build a ramp from the shelving top to the floor. The shelves are the equivalent of seven-stories high, so I had to build six piers to step the track down to floor level. The boys became very excited and barely allowed me to finish before they started ramp testing with their trains. What we quickly found was the grade was too steep and the trains were too light to ride the rails all the way down. Even with guardrails, the engines and their cars always derailed. This flaw was no less entertaining, and the boys loved every dramatic train wreck.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 2 Years 11 Months

 With a month to go until their third birthday the boys have advanced well on most of their 36 month goals. Both boys understand most speech, can communicate with four or five word sentences (or more), use pronouns and follow two or three part commands – that is when they are so inclined. Trey Davey is slightly ahead when it comes to socializing with others and his interest in ‘pretend’ play. Benji appears slightly ahead with dressing and undressing himself, with his speech being comprehended by others, and with toilet training. In the next month, both boys need to work on alternating feet on the stairway and pedaling a tricycle to ace all their goals.

Benji and his Friends

Our home is in a constant state of evolution. Recently Trey Davey has shown a preference for playing at eye level over ground level. As a result he has taken to clearing the tops of the shelves and dressers to make way for his trains and tracks. His redecorating left all the stuffed animals on the floor, which Benji relocated to the space under the clothing rack. A few days later when the winter’s first sick day struck our home, Benji chose this space to recuperate with all his stuffed friends around. Mommy and Davey soon joined him on the floor to provide additional support and comfort. With all this nursing Benji quickly recovered.

Crib Diving

Sandy’s friend Rachel has twin girls. She shared a story recently about moving her children from cribs to beds. They arranged the beds in different locations than the cribs had been, and her children couldn’t handle all the changes. In fact, during the night her twins moved to sleep on the floor where their cribs had been. Rachel said had she to do it over again she would have first moved the cribs for a few weeks and then replaced them with the beds later. Research shows that small children are stressed by too much change, so we made the proactive move to relocate the boys’ cribs today to the location where we plan to put their beds after their birthday. Based on the excited, gymnastic reaction to this move, I anticipate little sleep once the cribs are retired. And the boys proved they can climb in and out of them, even though they had not so far.

Election Day

Finding our new poling place was not difficult. We can see it from our bedroom balcony.  It is now housed in the new Owensboro High School Gymnasium located just across the football practice field behind our house. We took the opportunity this election day to not only take the boys with us to vote, but also to check out the interior of the new gym while we were there. This year, the high school’s basketball team’s games will be returning to campus and will be played in this new 2,500 seat facility. For the last 60 years the games were held in the Owensboro Sportscenter, the community’s 6,000 seat arena. If this season goes as well for the OHS Red Devil’s basketball team as this election went for the Republicans, then another state championship banner will soon be added to this new gym.

Play by Play Man

It is immensely entertaining to just sit back and observe the boys at play. Several people who have watched Benji have noticed the way he seems fascinated by how things work and may make a good engineer one day. One’s presence in the room is not even required to follow Trey Davey’s flow of play – they need only listen as he describes it in detail. This habit has become even more pronounced lately due to his recent preference for playing in a standing position on counter tops rather than in a kneeling position on the floor. His voice is loud and punctuated by dramatic moments in his story telling. Like all little boys, he adds sound effects for tires squealing and engines revving, but then Davey also describes the action as it occurs. The world needs more keen observers and commentators.