Davey’s Parade

Each year, we have had the privilege of a dry, climate-controlled second-floor window seat for the Owensboro Christmas Parade. On a few occasions, we have also watched Thanksgiving Day parades on television. As it has been many months since our last parade, I would think those events would have been long forgotten by our preschoolers, but apparently not. The other day Trey Davey selected each of his fire trucks and emergency vehicles and lined them up bumper to bumper. He loves to align and count things. When he was finished, he announce that he was having a parade. I had a wonderful view and stayed through the entire progression.

Stopping Off on the way Home

On Wednesdays we visit The Little House of Learning from 8:30 am until 11:00 am. From the moment I arrive at the door to pick them up, the boys begin lobbying for the park. The school is located not far from Legion Park, and we do have an open hour to play before lunch. Unfortunately, most weeks have been either too cold or wet to go, but today was just right. The boys were very excited by this opportunity and ran from station to station in order to squeeze in as much play as possible in an hour. When lunch time came there was a little resistance to our departure, but the food was enthusiastically greeted and the nap was actively embraced.

Bull’s-eye

Right in the center of our local Target store is the toy department, and right in the center of that area is the Thomas the Train toy section. Our boys know it well. At every opportunity, they shoot to that Target’s center point faster than William Tell’s arrows. It is interesting that they have never asked us to buy them anything, possibly because they may not yet know this is a possibility. From their prospective, toys arrive to them only as gifts, usually wrapped for special occasions. I’m sure they never considered how the giver acquired the toy initially. For them, at this point at least, the toys in stores are like those found in school or church – there to play with, but not to take home. When they learn the truth, Sandy and I will have to guard our shopping carts from little hands.

On the job Training

These days, our schedules always seem to be full of things needing to be remodeled, repaired, restored, repainted or rearranged. The difficulty of these tasks increases considerably when curious little boys wedge themselves between you and your work in an effort to see what you are doing. More difficult still is fielding all your little auditor’s questions about your task. With an engineer as a mother and a father who was raised in a hardware store, it is only fitting that our twins would be mechanically inclined. Perhaps if we are patient now with our explanations and training, the payoff to that investment will be self-reliant children who can help out with some of these tasks in the near future.  

Thomas & Friends Magazine

When Sandy saw this publication, she immediately subscribed to it for the boys. Published eight times a year, Thomas & Friends Magazine brings to life the magical world of the little blue tank engine for early learners. Each issue is filled with charming stories, a collectible poster, and a workbook filled with fun, educational activities designed to put children on the right track to improving their early learning skills while having fun with their beloved friends from the island of Sodor. Every issue includes activities that focus on reading skills, creativity, counting, and cognitive skills. The table of contents provides a key for parents explaining the icons that are associated with each type of skill or activity. We look forward to receiving each new issue, and I’m quite certain that we’ll continue to subscribe for as long as our sons continue to be interested in Thomas the Tank Engine.

Our Stagecoach

Mommy’s OMOM’s group held their semiannual rummage sale today, and we talked her into buying us a stagecoach. Sure, we already have a deluxe wooden wagon, but it is based on a hay wagon design (flat bed with removable sides). This less expensive plastic model is based on a stagecoach design. A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for goods and passengers. Before the passenger train era, these coaches made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers. Like a stagecoach, our little wagon has seats with passengers seated face to face. There were two at the sale to choose from, and we picked the one without a tarp cover. It’s lighter than our big wagon, which makes it easier for little boys to pull each other.

Our Favorite Songs

I suppose all children love music. We have always played and sung songs to the boys. At first they just listened and took comfort by the music. As they got older, they began dancing to the music and would sing along. Now we have noticed them singing songs on their own while playing or winding down for a nap. We’ve made a list and here are their current top 10 favorite songs in no particular order: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I’ve been working on the Railroad, Down by the Station, The Thomas Theme, The Wheels on the Train (bus), Old McDonald, Chattanooga Choo Choo, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Happy Birthday and Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

Our Puzzle Master

Trey Davey loves puzzles, especially those of Thomas the Train. He is very adept at matching colors and objects in the picture. We began on simple wooden jigsaw puzzles of just a few pieces and have advanced to larger puzzles of a couple dozen pieces. Historically, an artist would paint a beautiful image on a wooden sheet, and then use a jigsaw to cut his painting into interlocking tiles to create a puzzle. These works were aptly named jigsaw puzzles. While today’s versions are made of cardboard and cut by a laser, they are just as much fun as always. Jigsaw puzzles are also excellent tools for developing problem solving skills. Davey may well be learning the art of solving a mystery.

Front Porch Serenade

The wind carried a tune to our ears as we ventured outside today to enjoy a pleasant spring day. Following the sound around the house to the front then across the lawn to the house next door we found our hero, Zach, practicing his guitar. He is thirteen and loves lawnmowers and guitars. A few years ago I took him to the music store to select a beginner’s guitar as payment for mowing our lawn. We made that trip several more time over the years to trade up or add to his collection. If the temperature is above freezing, Zach is usually outside doing something interesting. The boys have watched him from their window upstairs, but prefer hanging out with him on the porch.

Bitten by the Bug

We were an hour away from home when the boys woke from their afternoon nap. The twins and I had been driving around while Julie cleaned our house. After stopping for a snack, we were just about to leave when Benji projectile vomited all over himself, his car seat and the floor board. It took a few minutes to calm him down, change him and drive to a car wash to hose everything down. I strapped his dripping wet car seat on the luggage rack, buckled Benji in the front seat and headed towards home. He seemed fine but tossed his cookies again about halfway home. Luckily, most of it went into the blanket he was holding, and that nasty thing soon joined the seat on top of the van. By the time we reached home, everyone was exhausted. Benji’s bug passed in 24 hours, and then he was fine.

Happy 70th Anniversary Alice and Jack

Yesterday we traveled to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to attend the 70^th wedding anniversary of Minnie Alice and Jack Scott. Alice is my maternal grandmother’s first cousin and an ordained Methodist minister. They were close, and Alice offered an outstanding eulogy at Grandmother Embry’s funeral. The Scotts produce an extended family newsletter, which has been an invaluable resource to my ancestral research.  We asked them the secret to being married for seven decades. She said “marry young, treasure every moment and live a very long life.” Since we blew the first step, Sandy and I are focusing on over achieving on the second two secrets. I hope the twins go all out for our 70^th,as a reward for us living to the age of 110.

Spring Swing Training

Since the boys love to swing so much, I thought I would try to teach them to push each other, and it was much more difficult than I expected. The pendulum concept was beyond them. They wanted to push and follow the seat like a shopping cart. Once I convinced then to stand still and let the swing return to them, they would punch the seat back like you were pushing a heavy box deeper onto a shelf. The impact would stop the swinging motion altogether. I never realized that the job was all about precisely engaging a slow moving object and boosting its forward speed with a well timed push. Suddenly, I felt like a middle school science teacher with a class full of preschoolers. Six year old AnnaKaye Roberts came over from next door and actually taught them how to do it properly.

U-Bounce Fun

Now this is a party! The twins were the guests today of Peyton Hamilton at U-Bounce, an inflatable amusement facility. Peyton is a male triplet with two sisters. His parents, bless their hearts, hosted a dual themed birthday party with boys enjoying a Batman motif and the girls bejeweled by Tinkerbell. The Hamiltons are also members of the OMOMs group, who visited a similar facility last year in Evansville. At that time, our boys were a little young and unsure of themselves, but now they are just the right age for this kind of fun. They climbed, jumped, slid and bounded around the various stations as fast as they could go. It goes without saying that they slept hard that afternoon.

Making Connections

The boys are become more challenging every day and you really have to continually step up your game if you wish to keep up with them. When they were small, I could recite the Gettysburg Address while turning pages to their children’s books, and they wouldn’t have known the difference. Today, that wouldn’t work. These boys are sharp. They are making the connection between the characters they know from TV and movies to those we read about in their books. Their memories are sharp, and they remember details. If you mispronounce a name, they correct you. While you are reading, they will point out and name each character on every page. It is all starting to come together for them and unravel for me.  I’ve got to get the story straight or face being corrected by three year olds.

St. Patrick’s Train

Mommy teased Daddy about buying us St. Patrick’s Day t-shirts last year just so he would have a photo opportunity for the blog. It wasn’t a very prudent purchase to buy t-shirts that could only be worn one day she reasoned. She was right. When Daddy dug them out of the drawer for this year’s annual photo, he found we had outgrown them by a considerable amount. Before he became too despondent though, Mommy produced these lucky day green train shirts. They were perfect for this holiday and appropriate to wear all summer. Daddy really did get lucky when Mommy found him.

Happy Birthday Aunt Kristin

What do we have to do to wish Aunt Kristin a happy birthday, stand on our heads? Well, we are heals over heads excited by the year she’s had. After all, she became a mommy since we last saw her last summer. Dad said life has really changed for him and Mom since we were born, and I bet life has really changed for Aunt Kris and Uncle Wes too since Chesney was born. We look forward to seeing them all this summer and judging the change for ourselves. No matter what, I bet they are just as fun as ever. I don’t know for sure; I’m just going by the seat of my pants.

Annual Checkup

It had been over a year since we last visited our pediatrician, Dr. Don Neel. No shots were required for this visit. It was just a check up and an opportunity to collect the paperwork required for preschool. We have been so fortunate over the last year to be healthy enough not to require Dr. Neel’s services. What surprised him most about this visit was how clearly and how much they were taking. He was inundated with a volley of questions about every test he administered. For every one he could answer, three more were asked. Welcome to Twin Speaks, Don. He checked them all over and declared them each to be in outstanding health.

Caught with Timeout Contraband

They fight like brothers do, but don’t get between them, because their bond is as strong as twin brothers can be. As we endure the training regiment necessary to groom fine young men, it is necessary on a regular basis to sentence one or both boys to the timeout area in order to calm them down, get their attention or reprimand bad behavior. On this particular day, Benji was the offender and was serving his sentence in the red chair. To comfort him, Davey brought the wrongdoer a snack and voluntarily served the penalty time kneeling beside his brother until Benji’s liberty was restored. At the moment of this photo, neither boy was sure whether this show of unity was acceptable behavior or another offence.

Daddy’s New Blackberry

I received a new Blackberry cell phone for my birthday. My old one was 7 years old, prehistoric by technology standards. In fact, the AT&T phone store clerks were facinated by my “antique”. This one is like the Swiss army knife of cell phones. It’s a mini computer with a full keyboard. I can compose and receive e-mail and text messenges, surf the web, and play games. It’s a PDA with a calendar, notebook, tasks manager and contact information. It’s an Ipod capable of playing Mp3 songs or audio books or dozens of Internet radio staions. It’s a still and a video camera capable of taking some pretty good pictures if you can hold it steady, which is impossible if you are also holding exuberant boys in front of a mirror as this photo testifies. Oh, it’s a phone too.

Happy Birthday Daddy

I almost expected to be depressed by this benchmark. The zero years (30 & 40) never bothered me, but for many reasons turning 26 & 37 really did. Those were times of extreme career and personal frustration, misdirection and helplessness. I couldn’t see God’s purpose for my life. This birthday, number 48, would have been the next in that 11 year cycle, but that blue tradition has been broken. The reason for my happiness is family. God has blessed me with those pictured here plus my wonderful wife and in-laws. Family has always been important to me and the boys have really bonded us all together like nothing else before. My life has a new direction and purpose, and I couldn’t be happier. Jobs will come and go. Awards will be celebrated and forgotten, but God’s gift of family is the greatest birthday present a man could ever receive.

If It Ain’t Broke

Change is difficult for many people. In trying to transition Trey Davey from his beloved toddler Cozy Coupe to a new preschooler tricycle, we have met resistance. He loves his car even though he’s physically outgrown it. Research finds children especially more comfortable in their routines and with familiar places, objects and faces because they lack the control over their lives that adults enjoy. When they find themselves in the midst of change, children can feel confused, afraid and even hostile. On the other hand, children are very adaptable to change, especially when they are prepared well in advance. We intend to transition to tricycles by vacation time and believe sentimental Davey will be ready by then to move on from his first love to begin a summer romance with his new three wheeled friend.

Got His Poop Together

We are so proud of our boys. Sandy and I commented recently that we can’t remember the last “accident” they had. After months of toilet training, our twins seem to have mastered self control. Now it helps that we have created an environment of readily accessible facilities and have made it a point to encourage potty visits on regular intervals, but the boys' success is completely their own. Benji, in particular, has embraced the activity as a favorite pastime. In fact, he often makes a nuisance of himself by constantly visiting the facility to sit on his Thomas toilet seat and read his Thomas books. Annoying as his frequent visits can be, his track record has been so good that we no longer bother with Pull-ups for naps.

Little House of Training

The boys’ second week at the Little House of Learning went just as smoothly as the first. They were excited to go, made no fuss when we left and Ms. Jennifer said they were very good boys during their stay. Not surprisingly, one area she said they really enjoyed was the train table. The facility has an extensive set of wooden Thomas Trains, which are different than those we have at home. We were worried that Ms. Jennifer would have difficulty getting the boys, especially Davey, to play or do anything else, but she said they were very cooperative, which made us proud.

Two Twins Equal a King

Sandy and I had talked about replacing our mattress for some time. The pillow top model we had enjoyed for many years had broken down to form two deep valleys in the mattress. We interviewed several of our friends who had purchased a wide variety of miracles sleeping systems, some quite costly. The only thing they all suggested was moving up to a king sized bed. We finally selected and purchased a new king memory foam mattress last week. Knowing the stairway and landing were too small to accommodate a bed of this size, I was delighted to see a huge 6’ 8” delivery man who lifted the mattress onto our balcony for easy second floor entry. This big mattress rests on two twin-sized box springs, which seems appropriate when you consider the mattress is about two twins long, two twins wide and one twin tall.

Owensboro Gymnastics

The OMOMs held a play date at Owensboro Gymnastic and Fitness Center. Sandy wasn’t sure what to expect, imagining advanced activities like the parallel bars and trampolines, which are way too advanced for our preschoolers. They had those, of course, for their older students, but for beginners the facility offered bounce houses, foam pits and padded slides. These stations help cautious children like Davey feel more comfortable with landing after tumbling falls and provide cushion to fearless children like Benji who possess a tendency to enthusiastically leap before they look. All these activities led to huge smiles, lots of giggles and sweaty, tired little boys who barely made it through lunch before they crashed.

Twinonometry

Our food order was taking an extraordinarly long time to materialize recently, and the boys were becoming hungry and fussy. They had grown bored with their crayons and wanted to eat. Digging in her purse, Sandy found only one toy car for diversion.  She handed it to Davey and kept digging for something interesting for Benji. Suddenly she got an inspiration and handed him her calculator. It had lots of buttons to push and displayed numbers for him to count. He was fascinated by it and had to be encouraged to sit it down when our food finally appeared. The next day, Sandy visited the Wal-mart to purchase one green and one blue calculator so each boy would have his own. The restaurant’s check for our next time out was $30.00, the cost of two fascinating boy toys was $2.00, and the value of a peaceful family meal was priceless.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 3 Years 3 Months

We are preparing to celebrate March Madness at our house. Our two favorite teams, Kentucky and Florida, have had good seasons and will certainly make it into the NCAA Tournament. The boys are beginning to make the connection between the game they see on TV and the balls and baskets they play with at home and the CLC. Before we know it, they’ll be shooting hoops in the driveway, but they’ll need to grow a little more before they’ll be ready for the hardwood. Still, progress has been made. We could tell Benji had grown, and he has made up a half inch on his brother by growing a full inch over the last three months. Benji now stands 38-1/2 inches tall (68 percentile) and weighs 38 lbs (90 percentile). Davey added a half inch to now stand 39-1/2 inches tall (86 percentile) and weighs 37 lbs (85 percentile).

Gentle Persuasion

Our twins are distinct individuals, and while Sandy and I want to provide for them equally, they require different approaches from us. Trey Davey has more of an artist’s demeanor. He is talented, passionate, demonstrative and insecure. The boy that we once nicknamed the pleaser has evolved into a rebel by refusing to participate or even cooperate most of the time. If he is into something like trains, he is into it heart and soul. Suggesting he set down his trains for dinner or bedtime will often evoke a dramatic emotional reaction. He doesn’t like change and won’t willingly try new things. First we tried competition with his brother as motivation, but found that ineffective. What works best for us is a little one on one time with him and a gentle nudge of encouragement towards areas outside his comfort zone where his talents will take him far.

Risk Management

Two of Benji’s characteristics that give his mother and me both great pride and continual concern are his focus and fearlessness. Once he sets his sights on a goal, he attacks it often without concern for the consequences. Many people have grand ideas or goals that are never achieved, not because they lack the talent required but because they are paralyzed by the fear of failure or public ridicule. There is no sin in being a prudent decision maker, but the accolades and often the profits come to those who reach the destination first, and being first is a risky business. Mommy and Daddy won’t always be there to catch him if he slips, so we hope Benji will learn to choose his risks wisely.

First Day of School

There was no crying as we dropped the boys off today for their first day of school. I’m not even sure they registered this day’s significance, as nothing we did was new. This day’s routines had already been established. We rise every day around 6:00 am, and every Sunday we shower, dress and eat breakfast together before early church. Sunday school has given them exposure to the classroom environment, and they had previously visited The Little House of Learning for an OMOMs’ play date. The Little House of Learning is not a day care; it is a prep-school for preschool, and our goal is for the boys to learn how to sit, listen and participate in group activities, sharing time and attention with the other children. After a few months practice here every Wednesday, they will be ready for preschool in the fall.

Windows on the World

It was the spoken word that first provided children with a window to a world beyond their own. Story tellers would regale their listeners with adventures and descriptions of fabulous far away places, some real and some imaginary. Listening to a fine story-teller is still one of my favorite activities, whether it is listening to Pa tell one of his family stories, Bruce Springsteen singing about the people he knows, Sandy reading aloud a children’s book, an actor narrating a Ken Burns documentary or some strong voice reading a novel on an audio book. Through experiences like these I have seen more of the world than I could ever possibly touch in a lifetime. Our boys can experience these places too, if they just listen.