Get used to it boys

This was our fourth of four consecutive Saturdays following Sandy’s work scheduled Friday all-nighters. On each of these Saturday mornings, the boys and I would get up and leave the house quietly so as to not disturb Mommy’s sleeping. Each time we have met Pa early for breakfast and then gone to play at the CLC, starting in the gym then moving to the toddler room. Today we repeated the routine but encountered a new wrinkle. A five-year old little girl walked in the room and immediately began taking over. After learning the boys’ names and ages, she announced that they were going to play house and that she was the mommy, Benji was the daddy and Davey was the family dog. The twins looked at her as if she were from outer space, while Pa and I sat back and shared knowing smiles.

Super Bowl Tradition

National Football League parity rather than dynasties has been the story since the boys’ birth. They have seen seven different teams play and four different Super Bowl winners since they were born. Pa and Granny joined us for their first big game and saw Eli Manning lead the New York Giants to an upset win. The next year we watched the Pittsburg Steelers’ Santonio Holmes game winning catch from a Smyrna, Tennessee hotel lobby. We were then seeking refuge there after an ice storm crippled Owensboro. Last year, Aaron and Kelly Brown joined us as we watched Drew Breeze lead the New Orleans Saints to an upset win over Payton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts. This year, the Ford girls babysat the boys while we attended a party at the Roberts’ house next door, but we were home in time to join the boys in watching the Green Bay Packers win.

Birthday Benchmark Photo – 3 Years 2 Months

We keep thinking the boys are growing, but the scales and measuring tape beg to differ. Perhaps what we are actually seeing is their intellectual growth. The twins’ vocabulary and conversational skills are radically advancing. Trey Davey’s speech has especially progressed and become increasingly understandable. The questions are flying in swarms now and in stereo. Sometimes inquiries are machined gunned at us so fast that we can’t process them. Neither boy has yet learned not to talk while Mommy and Daddy are talking, so eager are they to seek our knowledge and approval. The boys are alert, observant and curious about the world around them. Last night, Sandy especially enjoyed Benji’s questions about the red stars (tower beacons). We will need to step up our game to stay ahead of them.

The Library Kings

The Owensboro Mothers of Multiples had a play date today at the new Daviess County Public Library. The old library was just four doors down from our house, and the new one is just one block away. Carol accompanied Sandy to help with the boys. The group toured the new library and saw all the modern features. One of the librarians read the group a fun story, and then led them in a crown-making craft. Time was allotted to explore the book racks where Mommy found several train books we haven’t yet seen. She then looked through the media area and found some new train DVDs. I anticipate this will be a popular place for our boys for some time to come.

Dishwasher Shopping

When the pump failed on our dishwasher, we chose to replace it rather than repair the old lady. Apparently the good folks at Murphy Appliance appreciate how boring dishwasher shopping can be for little folks, so they prepared a special little place for little guys like ours. The shop has a small side room where their televisions are on display with two chairs tucked back out of the way. The nice clerk made the boys comfortable, and then popped in a DVD of the Disney/Pixar movie “Cars”. The boys were instantly engaged in the movie which allowed Mommy and Daddy ample opportunity to make a dishwasher selection. They had so much fun they didn’t want to leave when we were finished.

Groundhog Day

Probably the most misunderstood holiday ever celebrated is Groundhog Day. Somehow in the annals of history, much about this odd holiday has been distorted. Maybe something was lost in the Pennsylvania German translation. Supposedly the lore’s origin actually involves an ancient European badger making his prediction based on whether he sees his shadow. In America, somebody put this weather prognostication responsibility on a groundhog, which is actually a woodchuck. These worthless rodents can neither chuck wood nor forecast weather. I say, leave seasonal forecasting to the Weather Channel and take a more literal approach to celebrating this holiday like me, Punxsutawney Ben. Take the opportunity to join a few close friends and take over or “hog” as much ground as possible.

Pa’s Clean Bill

When Granny couldn’t accompany him to his annual heart doctor visit in Nashville, Pa asked me to go. Since we wouldn’t return before lunch and I have babysitting responsibilities in the afternoons, we decided to take the boys along with us. His appointment was at 10:00 am and we arrived on time, but had to wait for about 45 minutes before he was called back for routine tests. Waiting rooms are always boring, but the boys entertained themselves with their trains in a relatively quiet manner charming many along the way. We accompanied Pa back to see the doctor, who said his test results were great and that he was healthy. The doctor then did something quite unexpected. He made an ink sketch of a train for Davey and a superhero for Benji. This doctor was an artist of many talents.