Tuesday, February 22, 2011

From the Triassic Period Straight to Space and the Circus


Peter and I thought that the way Andy plays with his pals on the Toy Story series is a little far-fetched. Imagination can be ingenious and absolutely clever on occasion, but really? In a child that young? Andy's playtime travels light years beyond just good versus evil. You see Woody and Buzz teaming up to fight off Evil Mr. Porkchop and conspirators, those toys throw up mean force fields that would make any Star Trek fan proud, and there are an endless spree of bank robberies where Woody and Buzz save the day. It's not just man to man either. T-Rex gets involved beside Bo-Peep and sidekick Slinky. And the issues are complex where teamwork and camaraderie are required, feelings are explored and life lessons are examined. We had to ask, do children really mix their toys this way and explore these mature ideas? The answer is surprisingly, yes, they really do.

From the Triassic through space, our kids' dinosaurs travel millions of years to join space shuttles and good astronauts to fight off nasty aliens and examine their brains. Samuel even insists that while everyone else's brains are interesting, alien brains are quite gross. Mars is the coolest place to travel because Mickey Mouse has gone there in the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and lots of bats live there. Saturn is a close second because it has rings around it. Those rings must be a wild ride or one gigantic slide right? And it just makes sense doesn't it? Of course a space shuttle totes around 5 ton dinosaurs.

Samuel and Ethan regularly tell me stories about their toys that leave me a mass of juvenile giggles. One of the hardest parts of being a mom is not breaking into laughter when they tell you very seriously and very emphatically about the ways of the world. Take for example my biology lesson some weeks back. While the kids were playing with Mr. Potato Head, Samuel explains, "Mommy, Mr. Potato head is a carnivore. See, arms and legs and eyes come out of his butt." Not only does he understand the concept of carnivore, herbivore and omnivore, but he gets the gastrointestinal system too, well sorta. Probably a bit uncomfortable for an entire leg to exit, so he's a little fuzzy on the digestion part. During this same playtime Ethan brings me his spud and asks me, "Mommy, will you put his butt on? He needs it to be closed like mine. See?" Then he proceeds to give me a turn around to demonstrate that his rear-end is indeed closed.

Just today our Triceratops and Spinosaurus made bad choices by ganging up and attacking T-Rex together. Such behavior was not only unfavorable, it was downright mean and Scary Moose (Sam's imaginary friend - we're still trying to figure that out!) put them in time-out to chill out and rest on the circus truck. If they could behave, Scary Moose would permit them to venture to the circus with Thomas, Lightning McQueen and Giganotosaurus. Triceratops and Spinosaurus cleaned up their act and were allowed to join in the fun. It was discovered that the circus truck wasn't quite large enough to haul all the pals, so since there were so many friends attending the circus, they needed a ride in the rocket ship (the laundry basket). All the travelers had to promise not to eat each other and if they were good, they would get popcorn at the circus.

The picture above shows how although everyone made a promise, it appears that T-Rex and Giganotosaurus couldn't adhere to that promise as you see them hovering in what appears to be attack stance over Brachiosaurus. Poor herbivore. Then in comes Ankylosaurus (what Sam calls temper tantrum saurus because he swings his club) and breaks up all the fun at the circus. T-Rex, Giganotosaurus and Ankylosaurus were later disciplined for ignoring the directions, picking on others, and making messes.

There is a lesson here and I'm still analyzing what it means. Should I be proud that when I say something 7000 times it is sinking in and they are playing it out through their friends? Or should I sit back and say, wow, I'm kind of a tough ol' mommy!

I've learned so many things. These toys aren't just friends to each other and Samuel. They are the best of friends, and truly, no man will be left behind. Don't you know that Party Mickey Mouse gets very lonely when left in the car? His favorite place to ride is between Thomas and Clarabel. Thomas doesn't like to sleep under the covers. His steam makes it too hot. As big as T-Rex is, he is terribly sad when he isn't playing with his pals because he is scared to be alone. Scary Moose needs his mom and dad to hold his hand to cross the street. Ethan's favorite Allosaurus is a twin, we literally have two, and they must both go to bed with him at night. And Tokyo Lightning feels best when he gets a bath every other night. Samuel and Ethan always take care of these pals whether they came from the Triassic period or they picked them up off the moon during their adventures. Just like real pals should. Thanks for the lesson kids - we'll all keep looking out for each other. Loyal, kind and loving.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Jocelyn Has a Spot, Nina Does Not


It is becoming apparent to the world at large that our baby girls are identical, and we are regularly asked how we tell them apart. Nina and Jocelyn are starting to look more and more alike as we cross off days on the calendar. Jocelyn is finally filling out with some baby fat, her legs finally have rolls and she's getting round in the face. Nina is on the move (backwards for now, but progress is progress!), so she's thinning down as she shakes that body. In some ways, they are meeting in the middle size wise.

Mommy and daddy can always differentiate between the two. We can even guess by weight in the dark which baby is which and listen to their different cries. There are a few others that have it down pat such as my parents and Peter's mother; however, most cannot tell the difference without being told. Not even their big brothers.
Samuel determines which baby is deserving of his attention day to day based on their moods and their attire. He loves holding the babies, and asks EVERY five minutes to do so. I'll say, "Which baby do you want to hold?" Samuel doesn't indicate the baby by name, but he'll answer with either what I call Man in Training responses or the Make Mama Proud responses. Man in Training responses include "I want to hold the baby that isn't crying," or "I'll hold the baby that won't spit up on me." Make Mama Proud responses include things like, "I'll hold the baby with the cute yellow pants." He's even taken to charming his sisters with, "My don't you look pretty today!" or "Hi sweet cheeks!" when he's in Make Mama Proud mode. All this affection is sugary sweet to witness, but ask him to play name the baby and he can't tell the little gals apart. Ethan is much the same in his regard for his sisters with less nomenclature and a lot more sloppy kisses. The solution? I've made up a catchy saying to help the boys tell the twins apart. "Jocelyn has a spot, Nina does not." Classy huh? But it works.

This adorable spot is actually a birth mark on the right side of Jocelyn's head called a hemangioma. Say that ten times. Eventually this stork bite will fade first to a gray, spongy brain looking matter, yum, and eventually all but disappear. And okay, it isn't really adorable if you consider the fifty or so people who have claimed that at least it will be under her hair if it doesn't go away. Or the fact that small children often ask us why we don't have a band-aid on her boo-boo, since it does resemble a bloody scab down the side of her noggin. Ugly or adorable, for now, it helps family and friends identify her.
Other ways to tell the girls apart are just their physical size. Now I know it's not nice to talk about a girl's waistline, but Nina's our champ. She was nearly 2 pounds bigger than Jocelyn before they started evening out. She fared better in the womb. She was our little nutrition thief. Jocelyn is on a race to catch up though....and if you don't believe me...this is where their personality differences come in. Drama, drama, llama. Jocelyn is definitely our girly-girl and you should hear her squeal if the bottle runs out. That's right, squeal.
They are so different in just about every facet of their busy 6-month old lives. They eat, sleep, chatter, cry and laugh different. Take eating for example. When it's time to eat, Nina gets down to business and gets the job done. She likes everything. Whether it's cereal, green beans or exotic mango, the mouth opens, the food goes in and she smiles. Jocelyn on the other hand delicately sucks on the nipple, daintily swallows and eats slower than a 350 pound giant tortoise walks. And she acts like every solid food will kill her if she swallows it. The faces are painful.
Nina isn't tentative about anything. If she wants it, she'll fight and struggle to wiggle her body to find a way. Jocelyn looks at things and basically says, "why bother?" or totally freaks out.
Jocelyn is cutting teeth first, and rolled over first. Nina is moving backwards first. Jocelyn whoops and screams while Nina mostly chatters. Jocelyn has a hysterical cry and Nina just sounds so sad when she cries. Nina's huge smile opens really wide up and down and Jocelyn is exactly the opposite with a big ol' horizontal smile. You've gotta see it.
Who would have thought that from the time they were this young these lyrics would be so true:
"Friends, pals, partners, chums,
But we're marching to different drums
We look a lot alike
But we are not alike
Two...two...totally...totally...utterly...utterly
Opposite...opposite, totally...totally, different...different
Identical twins!"

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

Our kiddos say, "Love it the Best!"


From left to right, Ethan, Nina, Jocelyn and Samuel.


Poopy Wars: Mom 0, Ethan 12 (or more)

We decided it was time for Ethan to be potty-trained since he is 2.5 years old, if for nothing else than to save money on diapers now that we have the baby girls. After trying all the tricks I did with Samuel throughout January, I finally gave up and just put Ethan in underwear thinking if he wets himself enough he'll get the idea. Sure enough...2 weeks later he is completely potty-trained....but NOT poopy trained. Is he scared of the toilet? I don't know. Does he like that squishy feeling? Gross!

He's not regular, so sitting him on the toilet in the mornings or after meals hasn't worked like it did for Samuel. So we talked about "feeling" to no avail. I've resorted to the lowest common denominator...if I see him grunting, pushing or turning red, I swoop him up and run him to the toilet. This usually ends up with us dragging mess down his legs, the front of the toilet and overall being a failure. Enter stealth pooper. I'll ask, "Ethan, do you have to go to the bathroom?" and he'll answer in the negative. Ethan disappears and two minutes later Samuel says, "Mommy, I smell something." I caught Ethan in one corner of the house doing stealth pooping, resulting in his changing locations. I haven't found it yet, but I will catch my stealth pooper.

In the meantime, Ethan says things like "Mommy, I pooped on Lightning's face" resulting in a discussion of how Mr. McQueen felt about that. Lightning doesn't like it, and let's face it - who would?

And now the underwear drama begins. We must change the dirties and only certain characters are allowed to grace Ethan and Samuel's rear-ends in their opinion. Lightning McQueen holds the rights to their tushies and only when the Lightning supply has run out are other characters allowed to roam in derriere territory. A close second are other Cars figures such as Mater or Ramone. Voluntary butt attire also include Buzz Lightyear, Woody or various dinosaurs, but if and only if Cars underwear are nowhere to be found. Characters such as Thomas or Mr. Incredible are slipped on only when mommy gets them talking and they aren't paying attention to what is being put on their bodies. If caught, a loud "NOOOOO!!!" will ensue and negotiations will take place to prove that superior underwear are currently unavailable. Nemo and Wiggles pants can only be worn in cases of severe duress such as being out on the town with absolutely no other options. Plain white undies are completely unacceptable. Who knew?

Samuel can put his own underwear on these days so very little hostile negotiations occur. While stealth pooper Ethan is still winning the poopy battles, mommy will win the underwear battles. Maybe. What I meant to say is I guess I’ll go do the laundry.