Let the dance party begin

Ever since Pa bought Granny ballroom dancing lessons for their anniversary last year, she has developed a Ginger Rogers complex. Always someone who enjoyed dancing, she never became serous about the activity until recently, and last night, she may have bitten off more than she could chew. You see, with Pa, she always had a partner evenly matched in terms of technique and endurance. Feeling perhaps overconfident in her newly acquired dance education, she endeavored to teach all three of her grandsons a few steps. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing and keeping up with one dancing pre-schooler can be a marathon undertaking. Engaging all three may very well wear holes in her boogy shoes.

A Tricycle Built for Three

We love to play with our cousin, Levi. Sunday night the family traveled over to Granny and Pa’s house, where he’s visiting for a few days. Coordinating our schedules can sometimes be tricky, because we nap all afternoon. It’s nice that he’s around for several days this trip to give us more get-together opportunities. The 16-month age difference is really beginning to diminish as an issue, and we are beginning to play together more as peers. While our toys used to be too young for Levi, we are increasingly advancing into the same age appropriate toys. For instance, this was our first experience on a tricycle. Up until now our legs weren’t long enough to reach the pedals, and we’re just learning how to make it go forward like Levi does. By mid year, we should be ready to give him a race. Now, that would be fun!

I'm Coming Daddy

In these early spring days when temperatures are just warm enough for outside play, I look for interesting opportunities for our twins to burn off excess energy. Recently we visited a cemetery to photograph grave makers for our family tree. Once unbuckled from their car seats, our heroes took full advantage of this peaceful venue to run and scream. At first they stayed close to me, climbing on and hiding behind the markers. In time they bravely explored new areas. When they would wonder more than 10 yards away I would call “Benji, Davey, come over here’, and Benji would reply, “I’m coming Daddy,” as he ran further away. After repeating this call and response several times followed by chasing them down for retrieval, it occurred to me that while he may be saying “I’m coming Daddy,” he actually means “I hear you Daddy,” which is an entirely different thing.

Play Time is Stacking Up

Stacking up is defined as to measure up or equal. It can also mean to make sense or add up. So it can be said that our twins stack up perfectly in terms of age, ancestry and environment, and the idea that they would compete continuously to gain physical or intellectual superiority also stacks up nicely. We see their twinship as a blessing. Each boy was born with a brother his exact age, a perfect peer. Unlike identical twins, our boys have individual looks, builds, and personalities which allow them to easily forge their own identities. Each has progressed in some areas ahead of his brother, and competition or imitation has helped the other catch up faster than an only child may have. The fighting can sometimes be annoying, but we hope the competition for superiority stacks up to higher achievement for both.

Stop, Squat & Drop

It’s no mystery what Trey Davey’s doing; the mystery is when we should begin toilet training. Our doctors have told us the key to this stressful endeavor is to not attempt training until the child is ready. Signs of toilet training readiness usually appear between 18 months and 3 years of age. They include staying dry for at least 2 hours at a time, having regular bowel movements, being able to follow simple instructions, being uncomfortable with dirty diapers and wanting them changed, asking to use the potty chair, or asking to wear regular underwear. While we don’t expect to begin toilet training anytime soon, both boys have begun developing some of these developmental signs. What’s unusual about this photo is that Davey is doing his business in the open. He and his brother usually hide when they have to go.

Reading to one another

Any casual follower of this blog has seen photographs of our many friends and family members reading to the boys. Benji and Trey Davey love books, and we have read some of their favorites to them many, many times to the point where Sandy and I have memorized some book’s text from cover to cover. What we hadn’t seen was the boys “reading” to each other. Left alone one morning recently, Sandy returned to see just this exercise. She heard the little voices talking and when she peaked in they were reading to one another, describing the objects in the pictures on each page. We hope they will one day help each other with their homework in the same way.

The “Our” Concept

The shared ownership concept must still be too complex for our toddlers based on the number of conflicts we mediate daily. They don’t fight over everything. Some objects are accepted as belonging to someone else. Color coding has helped us segregate common items such as bottles, shoes and some toys. Both boys accept that green is for Davey and blue is for Benji. Other objects, like blankets, are either Davey’s or Benji’s and they acknowledge and accept this fact without dispute. However, for many favorite items like trains, cars and books, physical and verbal conflicts are common. Even when we have two identical examples of a desired object, the boys scuffle over the same one. It’s as if the only item they want is the one thing their brother has. If only brothers could learn to share, then we could all live in a more peaceful world.